Award Data

Long duration manned space exploration requires further closure of the oxygen loop of the life support system than is currently realized aboard the International Space Station. In order to further close the oxygen loop, NASA has been developing an advanced Plasma Pyrolysis (PPA) technology that reduces the waste methane to higher order hydrocarbons in order to better utilize the hydrogen for oxyge ...

Liquid rocket developers have identified advanced engine concepts that are not feasible due to manufacture due to limitations in currently available technologies. Specifically, engine developers are in need of a manufacturing technology that is capable of generating cooling channels in liquid rocket nozzles and combustion chambers at low cost, while supporting increasingly complex designs (see a ...

Functional robustness, resulting from superior engineering design, along with appropriate and timely mitigating actions, is a key enabler for satisfying complex mission goals, and for enhancing mission success probability. Fault Management (FM) is a crucial mechanism to ensure system functionality from system design through the operational phase of a mission. FM is implemented with spacecraft har ...

While additive manufacturing is a game changing technology for in-space repairs and part formation, it still requires a plastic feedstock material to fabricate the printed parts. For longer duration or long distance missions, a large supply of feedstock will need to either be stored on-board, taking up both mass and cargo space, or flown up in expensive resupply missions to enable the continued u ...

This Phase II SBIR will seek to develop a prototype laser source suitable for atomic interferometry from compact, robust, integrated components. AdvR's design is enabled by capitalizing on robust, well-commercialized, low-noise telecom components with high reliability and declining costs which will help to drive the widespread deployment of this system. The key innovation is the combination of c ...

The proposed model-based Fault Management system addresses the need for cost-effective solutions that enable higher levels of onboard spacecraft autonomy to reliably maintain operational capabilities. The system will provide onboard off-nominal state detection and isolation capabilities that are key components to assessing spacecraft state awareness. The ability to autonomously isolate spacecraft ...

To enable future robotic exploration systems to have greater mobility capabilities on difficult terrain such as craters, cliffs, gullies, and skylights, Tethers Unlimited proposes to develop the "Advanced Regolith Anchoring for Cable-assisted Mobility" (ARACMO) Anchor. This device can launch hundreds of meters from a rover vehicle, self-right, autonomously anchor, and support high loads through t ...

To overcome the communication gap to Venus, TUI proposes to develop the Venus or Titan Exploratory (VORTEX) Gimbal to point a meter scale diameter, high gain antenna. The VORTEX Gimbal is a highly advanced adaptation of the COBRA gimbal developed by TUI for the nanosatellite market. The VORTEX Gimbal will be capable of providing performance characteristics that are unmatched in the current high-fi ...

Ongoing rocket test operations at NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC) result in substantial quantities of hydrogen gas that is flared from the facility in addition to valuable helium gas that is vented to the atmosphere. One method that can dramatically reduce the cost of test operations is to recover these gases using an electrochemical process. A Hydrogen Recovery System (HRS), which has recently b ...

Shortly after NASA made the most recent planetary science SBIR topics public, we began discussing the possibility of translating our experience in maximizing momentum transfer by specialized electrospray jets into a vacuum for micro-satellite propulsion as a new alternative to the diffusion pump concept. Indeed, what is currently being done for "colloidal propulsion" parallels the requirements for ...