Award Data

With the capacity and performance of FPGAs suitable for space borne applications continuously increasing, the design of FPGAs is becoming increasingly complex involving trading off or simultaneous optimization of space, speed, and power. RNET and ANL are proposing to develop software infrastructure that facilitates automatic performance tuning of FPGAs in terms of speed, power, and size. We introd ...

The liberation of particles induced by rocket plume flow from spacecraft landing on unprepared regolith of the Moon, Mars, and other destinations poses high mission risks for robotic and human exploration activities. This process occurs in a combination of "extreme environments" that combine low gravity, little or no atmosphere, with rocket exhaust gas flow that is supersonic and partially rarefie ...

Advances in structured heterogeneity together with nanomaterials tailoring has made it possible to create thermoelectrics using high temperature, polymer composites. While such thermoelectrics do not have the capability to approach the efficiency of top performing ceramic modules such as BiTe, they do provide two unique aspects of use in energy scavenging: the ability to cover large areas easily, ...

Despite the rapid commercialization of additive manufacturing technology such as selective laser melting, SLM, there are gaps in models for material microstructure and property prediction that slow qualification and certification. Improvements in coupling microstructure prediction models to local process conditions, validation, and control of material microstructure are required to mature the stat ...

Advanced turbomachinery components play a critical role in launch vehicle and spacecraft liquid rocket propulsion systems. To achieve desired efficiencies, extremely tight tolerances are often imposed between inducer blades and shrouds or other system components which sets up strong interactions that influence both the aerodynamics and the structural performance of blades and vanes. These transien ...

NanoSonic has demonstrated that Shape Memory Metal RubberTM (SM-MR) adaptive skins exhibit reconfigurable and durable RF properties. It is hypothesized that such morphing skins shall also exhibit durable radiation resistance upon morphing; a property that few, if any, flexible materials offer. Typical highly filled or metal evaporated nanocomposites crack and spall upon flexation, and cannot be ...

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) ...

Wrong decisions during the missions can lead to an unsafe condition or immediate failure, while correct decisions can help continue the missions even from faulty conditions. In view of the lessons learned from mishaps, i.e., failed space missions, it is imminent that reliability analysis and risk assessment are kept in sync with space system design as it evolves from the concept through preliminar ...

The objective of this NASA STTR program is to develop single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) based ultracapacitors for energy storage devices (ESD) application, using NanoSonic's patented molecular level self-assembly process performed at room temperature. Specifically, we would combine advances in metallic SWCNTs, metal and oxide nanoclusters, and polymeric materials and electrostatic self-assembly ...

The NASA Phase I program would develop and demonstrate semiconductor nanomembrane (NM) based flight sensors and arrays on flexible substrates, using SOI (Silicon on Insulator) silicon NM technique in combination with our pioneering HybridsilTM copolymer nanocomposite materials. Specifically, ultrathin nanostructured sensor skins with integrated interconnect elements and electronic devices that can ...