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Our proposed innovation is the Lithium-Ion Thruster (LIT) system, a multi-use device capable of both electrical energy storage and thrust generation using the same hardware. The LIT system is an ideal candidate for a NASA Phase I SBIR grant because proving its feasibility will introduce a new propulsion and battery technology that provides distinct advantages over all other deorbiting technologies ...

Atmospheric aerosol have important impacts on climate and air quality and affect efforts to retrieve information regarding the Earthrsquo;s surface, including oceans. Airborne measurements of aerosol size are critical to understanding physical drivers over time and space, and to validate satellite and other remotely sensed observations. The current state of the art instrument for measuring aerosol ...

Future science missions to the Lunar surface and other planets and their moons will require advanced secondary battery systems that can operate at extreme temperatures. Advancements that address battery operation at extreme temperatures, combined with high specific energy and energy density, are critically needed. Conventional rechargeable Li-ion cells operate within a narrow temperature range of ...

Future NASA missions will require system operation at extreme environmental conditions, with temperatures as low as -180deg;C. Current state-of-practice is to place the hardware in bulky and power-inefficient environmentally protected housings. Hence, NASA is seeking systems that can operate in these extreme environments without needing environmental protection systems.nbsp;TDA Research, Inc. is d ...

The U.S. hypersonic ground- and flight-test communities require advanced Instrumentation systems that can inform a vehicle structural health monitoring (SHM) system operating in extreme hypersonic environments, with the long-term goal of deployment on an operational hypersonic aircraft allowing maintenance requirements and life predictions to be based on the vehiclersquo;s/systemrsquo;s actual fli ...

In-situ instrumentation is needed that can withstand the harsh environments imposed by planetary atmospheres in order to make advancements in solar system exploration. Technologies that can withstand the corrosive/caustic gases, radiation levels, stresses, and high temperatures and pressures, while still producing reliable, real-time data are a major facilitator for planetary missions. To address ...

In support of deployable lidar membrane optic systems requiring maximal deployed tension, the proposed Phase I effort seeks to advance the state of closed cross-section deployable booms.nbsp; The proposed Assembled Tubular Masts (ATMs) provide closed-cross section performance while eliminating problems associated with permanently bonding shell halves to form closed cross-section booms.nbsp; At the ...

Vescent Photonics, LLC (Vescent) proposes to develop a compact, low-power, environmentally robust optical fiber frequency comb (OFC) that operates in the visible spectrum (400-800 nm) and is constructed from telecommunications (telecom) components to enable next-generation space-deployed optical atomic clocks and Rydberg-atom based quantum sensors. The proposed system will meet the challenging per ...

The NASA SBIR subtopic, S14.01 Space Weather R2O2R, discusses key risks associated with space weather effects, including risks posed to spacecraft, crew, telecommunications, satellite systems, and position, navigation, and timing services. The Heliophysics Division is seeking innovative approaches to better understand, monitor, predict and mitigate space weather impacts. Area 1 of the subtopic des ...

Much of the outstanding physics yet to be learned about the coupling of the magnetosphere-ionosphere (M-I) system resides in the small- and mesoscale structures of the aurora, field aligned currents, plasma convective motions, and wave activity. Untangling these spatial and temporal structures with in situ measurements will require a constellation of spacecraft. For cost-effectiveness, such a cons ...