Award Data

The purpose of this program is to develop a compact and efficient ultraviolet laser system for ozone sensing from space. The basis for this system will be a diode-pumped neodymium-yttria (Nd:Y2O3) laser which is frequency-tripled to generate uv light at either 305nm or 315nm. The ability to generate both uv wavelengths from a single frequency-tripled Nd:Y2O3 laser makes this approach potentially 4 ...

The purpose of this program is to develop a compact and efficient ultraviolet laser for use in space-based uv-Raman instruments. The basis for this system will be a diode-pumped neodymium-yttria (Nd:Y2O3) ceramic laser which is frequency-quadrupled to generate uv light at 237nm. The unique combination of a low-cost and robust ceramic laser with efficient 4th harmonic generation will provide an ide ...

Proposed is the development the extended depth of field (EDF) or confocal like imaging capabilities of a breakthrough multispectral high resolution imaging flow cytometer. This platform shall have unparalleled cellular analysis capabilities intended to further biological space research (fundamental, micro-gravity and radiation biology) and the potential capability of monitoring astronaut health. ...

Low cost, reliable atmospheric entry technology is needed to support NASA cargo recovery from the ISS, earth return of small payloads, planetary aerocapture, and planetary probe missions. Fixed aeroshields and winged structures are well proven, but are not appropriate for many missions due to envelope, weight, and cost constraints. Inflatable ballute technology offers a low weight, cost effectiv ...

Time Reversal Acoustic (TRA) structural health monitoring with an embedded sensor array represents a new approach to in-situ nondestructive evaluation of air-space systems. The suggested approach is based on a sufficient improvement of recently developed Electro-Mechanical Impedance method and will use a similar array of embedded sensors. The application of TRA principles will significantly improv ...

This work further developed a highly promising Variable Emittance technology for spacecraft thermal control based on Conducting Polymer (CP) electrochromics developed earlier by this firm with the Air Force, NASA and JPL, with: Extremely thin (< 0.2 mm), flexible (plastic), lightweight (0.176 kg/m^2), extremely durable, variable area (0.5 cm^2 - 0.5 m^2), flat-panel construction; high Delta Emitta ...

Enabling a new generation of high speed civil aircraft will require breakthrough developments in propulsion design, including novel techniques to optimize inlet performance across a wide speed range. Maximizing propulsive performance while minimizing weight and mechanical complexity is a key goal for such systems, and rapidly maturing smart materials technology can enable adaptive control of inle ...

We offer a novel liquefier that has the potential to simultaneously increase thermodynamic efficiency and significantly reduce complexity. The ?active gas regenerative liquefier? (AGRL) uses an array of discrete micro compressor-expander units in a periodic heat exchanger to accomplish extremely efficient liquefaction of hydrogen and other cryogenic fluids. When an array of these units are comb ...

DMI has produced functionally-graded diamond-TiC-Ti cutters for machining lightweight mirror optics, particularly those made of SiC, with high precision and with minimal wear of the cutting edge. The improved wear (relative to commercial diamond tools) is achieved by orienting diamond crystals on the tips of specially designed cutter inserts, so as to exploit the anisotropy in diamond hardness. Th ...

In Phase I of this SBIR project, DMI demonstrated the feasibility of fabricating a new class of lightweight, heat-resistant Diamonite(TM)-bonded C/C composites for thermal protection of re-entry vehicles. DMI?s nano-carbon structure is produced by pressure-assisted polymerization of mixed fullerenes/nanotubes to create a new high specific strength carbon material called Diamonite-B(TM), which has ...