Award Data

Light (UV and visible) curing composite matrix resins are being explored as an attractive means for rigidizing inflatable spacecraft for large space-deployed structures such as solar sails, radar and communications antennas, radiometers, and solar arrays. Light curing provides a controlled, clean, low power rigidization technology to harden these inflatable spacecraft once they have achieved the ...

To determine pointing and position vectors in both local and inertial coordinate frames, multi-spacecraft missions typically utilize separate attitude determination and formation metrology systems. For low Earth orbits (LEO), fleet position and geometry knowledge is almost exclusively achieved by using GPS data or ground uplink. In the ab-sence of this information, inter-satellite ranging between ...

To achieve the capability to affordably produce scores of nano-spacecraft for envisioned constellation missions, a new manufacturing process is needed to reduce the time and cost of fabricating and testing the nanosats. However, to achieve substantial savings, a fundamental paradigm shift in how spacecraft are built must be made. Current spacecraft are built with the same processes and procedures ...

NASA has determined that the use of modular and reconfigurable components is critical for the success of future large and complex space systems. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to be able to assemble and reassemble modules both on the ground and on orbit. Therefore, it requires a means to join components that is simple, reliable, and non-intrusive as well as strong and stiff enough ...

This innovative SBIR Phase I proposal will develop new binder systems through the systematic investigations to tailor required unique performance properties and reliability through tailoring Nano-cluster chemistry. The efforts address a critical need of NASA which plans to undertake challenging missions in high radiation orbits for high power thermal management. This feasibility evaluation mainly ...

For a distributed aperture sensor, especially at infrared and optical wavelengths, the relative position of the aperture components must be known and controlled precisely. When the aperture components are on separate independent spacecraft, determining the relative range and bearing is the challenge our proposed innovation addresses. The estimation of the relative range and bearing will be used ...

Barron Associates, Inc. proposes to develop a novel on-line trajectory optimization approach for Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLVs) under failure scenarios, targeting alternative abort-landing sites. Key features of the proposed approach are: An innovative on-line optimization approach: By describing decision variables (variables whose optimal solutions are sought) in terms of appropriate basis func ...

To remain competitive, the US aerospace industry must continually improve system performance (e.g. increased adaptation and autonomy), enhance safety (e.g., fault tolerant systems), and reduce costs. These improvements demand avionics software that is orders of magnitude more complex than that used in current operational systems. While software complexity is increasing, there is a tremendous (an ...

Rolling wall vessels (RWV) utilizing both single cell lines and co-cultures with two or more cell types are contributing significantly to our understanding of tumor development, cell biology and the role of cell-cell interaction in physiological processes. These studies would be significantly enhanced if the various populations of cells could be individually identified and monitored over the cours ...

It is accepted that adaptive aerospace vehicles whose flight avionic systems are reconfigurable are needed to respond to changing flight parameters, vehicle system performance degradation, or external threat environments. To this end shape modification of aerospace structures during flight can provide significant performance improvements derived from matching the aerodynamic shape to particular fl ...