Award Data

The innovation proposed here is a fidelity-adaptive combustion model (FAM) implemented into the Loci-STREAM CFD code for use at NASA for simulation of rocket combustion. This work will result in a high-fidelity, high-performance multiphysics simulation capability to enhance NASA's current simulation capability of unsteady turbulent reacting flows involving cryogenic propellants. This novel FAM m ...

The proposed μG-LilyPond is an autonomous environmentally controlled floating plant cultivation system for use in microgravity. The μG-LilyPond concept expands the types of crops that can be grown on a spacecraft in a flexible, efficient, low maintenance package. The μG-LilyPond features several innovations relative to state of the art, including passive water and nutrient delivery to floating ...

The RINGS project (Resonant Inductive Near-field Generation Systems) was a DARPA-funded effort to demonstrate Electromagnetic Formation Flight and wireless power transfer in microgravity. Integration inconsistencies in both hardware and software prevented the experiment from achieving its objectives during the planned test sessions. A later project supported by NASA ARC focused on the assessment, ...

Through the STTR program, NanoSonic and Virginia Tech will create low-cost, reusable membranes that selectively capture and recycle nutrients (e.g., N, P, K) from urine in space. Urine is a readily available commodity in space that is rich in valuable nutrients for plant growth. Humans produce individually about 500 L of urine per year that contains ~7 g/L of nitrogen (N), ~1 g/L phosphorous (P) ...

Distributed Spacecraft Missions (DSMs) such as constellations, formation-flying missions, and fractionated missions provide unique scientific and programmatic benefits. Distributed mission architectures allow for multipoint in-situ measurements, multi-angle viewpoints, and considerably improved understanding of the connections between separately measured phenomena and their time variations. DSMs a ...

Launch safety and efficiency requires timely and accurate wind, thermodynamic and pressure information from the surface to 20 km height, and lightning risk identification. A Doppler radar now provides wind measurements that satisfy this requirement at the Eastern Test Range. Thermodynamic soundings are provided by intermittent radiosondes on launch day. Typical intervals of an hour or more between ...

One of the challenges facing missions to other planetary bodies including Earth's Moon, Mars, Venus, Titan, Europa; and proximity operations (including sampling and landing) on small bodies such as asteroids and comets' is the ability to provide accurate altimetry for descent, then assess safe landing sites by surveying the landscape. To address NASA's need for space-hardened planetary entry, desc ...

In this Phase I STTR project, pursuant to the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI) and Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) interests, the proposed collaborative effort between WSU and Advratech will represent the first AM optimization framework of its kind, constructed entirely from experimental sensor data collected in-situ. Rather than using in-process data to inform limited "phy ...

Tyvak, in collaboration with UCLA, proposes a novel approach to the challenge of creating a large reflector for Ka-band high data rate links. We propose to attach the primary reflector surface permanently to the surface of a 6U spacecraft and illuminate the reflector using a Cassegrain style subreflector with an illuminating antenna that is permanently mounted to the transmitter / receiver inside ...

Luna is addressing NASA?s need to develop new multifunctional textiles for improved Environmental Protection Garments (EPG). Previous protective suits such as the Apollo era EPG or currently used Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) provide thermal and micrometeoroid protection, but are intended only for short duration use. NASA plans for a future manned Mars mission will potentially require exten ...