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Ionic liquids are candidate lubricant materials. However for application in low temperature space mechanisms their lubrication performance needs to be enhanced. UES Inc in collaboration with Covalent Technologies Inc propose to improve the tribological (lubrication) characteristics of the appropriate ionic liquids through formulation with innovative additive technology. The formulated ionic liquids will be thoroughly characterized to demonstrate their extremely low volatility and non-corrosive extreme pressure anti wear characteristics. The performance of the formulated ionic liquids will be ranked. Highly ranked formulations will be further optimized in Phase II.

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The allocation and scheduling of limited communication assets to an increasing number of satellites and other spacecraft remains a complex and challenging problem. Feasible schedules that address mission requirements over the short, medium and long term are inherently faced with the need to resolve conflicts when multiple missions contend for the same time windows of opportunity. This proposal is for an oversubscribed mission scheduler conflict resolution system that will rapidly provide feasible schedules using innovative boolean satisfiability methods and then leverage software agent personas to minimize or eliminate conflicts in scheduling. Agents will free up valuable human resources in the de-conflict loop, using an ask-offer process to negotiate future timeslots based on a deferred value function. Phase 1 will demonstrate the feasibility of applying mature SAT solver process to the rapid generation of feasible schedules and also demonstrate the potential for the application of semi-autonomous belief-desire-intent (BDI) agents to conflict resolution and user interface support. Phase 2 will evolve proof-of-concept prototypes into fully functional systems.

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A new high capacity rechargeable Li battery anode based on Li metal alloys protected by carbon nanoshells will be developed. A reversible Li-ion capacity exceeding 600 mAh/g or nearly twice that obtainable with graphite anodes is expected. Coupled with our advanced polymer electrolyte and high voltage cathode, we expect a fully developed battery to have a specific energy of >150 Wh/Kg, and energy density of >300 Wh/l and the capability to produce >1000 deep charge/discharge cycles and thus makes it very desirable for space power applications of NASA.

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Honeybee Robotics proposes to develop a vacuum compatible percussive dynamic cone penetrometer (PDCP), for establishing soil bin characteristics, with the ultimate intent of taking it to a flight system level. Penetrometers are used to determine the Cone index (CI), which is a composite index influenced by both soil compressibility and shear strength. A dynamic cone penetrometer is used to estimate bearing strength, soil compressibility, and shear strength (when compared with calibration data), consisting of a percussive actuator and a rod with a sharp 60 degree cone at the end. The penetrometer is driven into the soil under constant load and the penetration, converted to California Bearing Ratio (CBR), which gives an indication of soil trafficability. The Honeybee-developed percussive dynamic cone penetrometer offers the significant advantage of being a low mass, low power, low force, stand alone device that requires limited to no human intervention to operate, as opposed to heavy and cumbersome manual Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) widely used today. This percussive system is also of further advantage with its capability to reach much greater depths than typical surface tools such as Bevameter. The high-frequency vibration of the percussive rod also reduces the force required for pushing a rod into regolith by almost two orders of magnitude. This translates directly into smaller rover/lander or less effort on behalf of an Astronaut.

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Information about the world and its local environments is becoming increasingly available due to the development and deployment of sensors. Deployed sensors include those on satellites, from NASA's "Earth Observing System' for research into the Earth's biosphere, land, atmosphere and oceans to NOAA's weather satellites. However, Sensor Webs are by no means restricted to large systems involving satellites. For example, components of ocean observing systems include buoys, especially for coastal region monitoring. The coupling of sensor data and Internet connectivity has resulted in huge volume of sensor data that would be of interest to researchers. A key question is 'how can individual researchers easily find, access and manage sensor data streams of interest to them?' We propose a Sensor Management Tool (SMT) that supports the individual researcher in finding, accessing and managing sensor data. Intelligent Automation Inc (IAI) and Southeastern Research Universities Association (SURA) are collaborating on SMT: it will be open source and it will utilize the NASA World Wind Java SDK for visualization. Our proposed Sensor Management Tool (SMT) is standards-related and incorporates Community Discovery aspect.

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Robotic planetary exploration missions will need to perform in-situ analysis of rock and/or regolith samples or returning samples back to earth. Obtaining and delivering a sample can be a complex engineering problem, especially if it's done autonomously thousands of miles away. To accommodate future missions, these subsurface access and sample handling technologies must be developed to meet a broad range of potential requirements, including a variety of rock or subsurface materials, rigorous sample preservation requirements, and the general problem of autonomous operation in the presence of dust and with limited resources. The one-to-three meter range has been identified as a critical regime for planetary exploration and while there has been some technology development in this regime, there is currently no proven flight-like approach to robotically achieving this depth through layers of challenging material from realistic roving or landed platforms. The Phase 1 research has resulted in proving the benefits of rotary-percussive drilling system as it pertains to breaking of formation and cuttings transport. The primary objective of the proposed effort is to develop, via testing in a simulated Mars environment, a breadboard one-meter sampling drilling system for acquiring a small volume of drilled cuttings and a core (if necessary) from a target depth on Mars. This project would build on the existing knowledge base of Mars drilling, and its particular strength lies with its capability of performing drilling tests under simulated Martian conditions of temperature and pressure and CO2 atmosphere. This is a component technology effort that includes the development of a rotary percussive drill head and a sampling lead drill string. Honeybee Robotics will leverage drill head development by utilizing voice coil percussive actuator technology developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the Mars Science Laboratory Powder Drill.

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Bear Engineering proposes to develop a simple, robust, extreme environment compatible, mechanical load cell to enable the control of contact forces for placement of sampling systems and instruments against target locations. The load cell will be used to provide preset preloads and dynamically control the reaction force to a platform upon which a sampling system or instrument is mounted. The novel device has been designed to work solely by mechanical means using spring preloaded electrical contacts to create 6, 9, 12 or 18 discrete load sensing levels, depending on design parameters. When any of the load thresholds has been reached, the corresponding electrical contact changes state from normally open or normally closed. The load cell is completely sealed and has similar size, shape and strain displacements as traditional strain gage load cells. It is expected that this new design will have a diameter ranging from 2 to 3 inches (depending on designed force level) and a thickness of about = to 1 inch. Strain displacement at full load is expected to be about 0.003 inch. For future Mars, Venusian or other planetary sampling missions, the robust load cell would be a key component in ensuring and maintaining proper contact with rocks or samples of interest and it will be developed to TRL 4 at the end of the proposed effort. A potential Phase 2 will advance the design to TRL 6.

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NASA's exploration, science, and space operations systems are critically dependent on the hardware technologies used in their implementation. Specifically, the performance and deployment of autonomous and computationally-intensive capabilities for space based observatories, orbiters, autonomous landing and hazard avoidance, autonomous rendezvous and capture, robotics, relative navigation, and command, control and communications systems are directly dependent on the availability of radiation-tolerant, high-performance, reconfigurable and adaptable, energy-efficient processor technology. Coherent Logix, Incorporated proposes to develop a radiation tolerant HyperX technology based processor to address these critical needs. This program will leverage more than $18M of previous investment by the Department of Defense. Building on the research done in Phase I, the Phase 2 program will develop the radiation hardened by design (RHBD) HyperX. This will be followed in Phase 3 by the completion and productization to a TRL 8/9 of a Radiation Tolerant HyperX Processor.

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An Adaptive Feedforward and Feedback Control (AFFC) Framework is proposed to suppress the aircraft's structural vibrations and to increase the resilience of the flight control law, in the presence of AE/ASE interactions. Specifically, the adaptive feedforward controller is designed to reduce any atmospheric induced structural vibrations of the aircraft. The adaptive feedback controller is applied as an additive perturbation of the flight control system to suppress any undesired AE/ASE interactions, and prevent the onset of Flutter/Limit Cycle Oscillation (LCO) instabilities within the flight envelope of a flexible aircraft. The proposed research effort fits very well within the scope of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center topic "A1.10 Adaptive Structural Mode Suppression," specifically within the Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control (IRAC) effort under the Aviation Safety Program. This research will help the original flight control system to robustly recover from or adjust easily to any unforeseen change during its normal operation due to AE/ASE interactions. In addition, practical concerns will deal with the minimal interference with the original rigid-body controller, as well as its feasible implementation using the standard controller's sampling rate frequency.

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The severity of the lunar dust problems encountered during the Apollo missions were consistently underestimated by ground tests, illustrating the need to develop significantly better lunar dust simulants and simulation facilities. ORBITEC is proposing to continue developing high-fidelity lunar dust simulants that better match the unique properties of lunar dust than existing regolith simulants (such as JSC-1AF). Current lunar regolith simulants do not have enough of the very fine particles, most lack the agglutinitic glass and complex surface textures that dominate lunar dust, and none of them have nanophase iron (Fe0). High-fidelity lunar dust simulants approximate the size, morphology, composition, and other important properties of lunar dust (including nanophase Fe0). High-fidelity lunar dust simulants are required to physically evaluate the effects of lunar dust on the operation of all Exploration Surface Systems and to verify the effectiveness of dust mitigation strategies and technologies. During Phase 1, several prototype lunar dust simulants were created, samples of the prototype lunar dust simulants were delivered to NASA for characterization (TRL 4). The proposed Phase 2 effort will refine and demonstrate the production process for lunar dust simulants that will be characterized and delivered to NASA for a variety of applications (TRL 6).

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Titan is ideally suited for balloon exploration due to its low gravity and dense atmosphere. Current NASA mission architectures baseline Montgolfiere balloon systems, which use waste heat from a radioisotope power system to heat balloon interior gases to provide buoyancy. A disadvantage of this approach is that the balloon is unable to make rapid changes in altitude which limits system utility. The feasibility of adding a rapid buoyancy modulation subsystem which uses chemical reactions to provide high heat input to balloon interior gases will be assessed in the proposed effort. Several concepts, including the baseline, will be traded on the basis of heat release capability and mass/volume efficiency in the context of proposed mission requirements, a concept will be selected and refined, and a lab scale demonstration of the reaction mechanism will be conducted in a relevant environment. Aurora's baseline Titan Montgolfiere Buoyancy Modulation System (BMS) concept uses a catalytically piloted burner, which combusts onboard stored oxygen with atmospheric gas, to provide rapid heat input an order of magnitude higher than the balloon's primary heat source. This system is scalable, lightweight, consumes minimal electrical energy, and is capable of providing altitude changes of approximately 200 m in under 60 s.

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Biodegradable Nanocomposites for Advanced Packaging Project

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Better performing ablative thermal protection systems than currently available are needed to satisfy requirements of the most severe crew exploration vehicles, such as the Mars Sample Return with 12-15 km/s Earth entry. The primary objective of CU Aerospace's Phase I work will be to fabricate and test aromatic thermosetting copolyesters (ATSP) composites for use as ablatives in next generation spacecraft missions. The synthetic development of novel aromatic thermosetting copolyesters was a major innovation in the field of polymer science. Previous testing of their capabilities showed excellent performance as adhesives, rigid foams, matrices for composites, and dielectrics for microelectronics. Only recently has this material been considered as a viable ablative due to its high temperature stability and excellent composite mechanical properties especially due to the liquid crystalline nature of the polymer, which allows a matching of CTE between fiber and matrix. Our team partner the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will assist CU Aerospace to perform basic research and provide technical support to accelerate the transition of ATSP polymers into ablative composites. If successful CU Aerospace envisions the ATSP to be utilized in a wide variety of applications in both civilian and military spacecraft, either as a retrofit or as a next-generation design.

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Under this and several other programs, CTD has developed TEMBO<SUP>REG</SUP> deployable solid-surface reflectors (TEMBO<SUP>REG</SUP> Reflectors) to provide future NASA and Air Force missions and commercial communications satellites with large RF apertures that can operate at very high operational frequencies (Ka band and above). TEMBO<SUP>REG</SUP> Reflectors incorporate non-tensioned graphite composite membranes that are formed using conventional construction techniques and stiffened using CTD's TEMBO<SUP>REG</SUP> shape-memory composite panels to allow practical packaging and deployment without complex mechanisms. The simplicity of the design provides a significant cost advantage when compared to existing deployable reflector technologies, (4-fold cost reduction over mesh antenna and 2-fold reduction in manufacturing time) and the continuous graphite surface enables high frequency antenna operations at Ka band and above. CTD can stow either a Cassegrainian (center-fed) or Gregorian (offset-fed) 5m TEMBO<SUP>REG</SUP> Reflectors in a Falcon 1e launch vehicle. To moderate cost and fabrication time, the TEMBO<SUP>REG</SUP> reflector is supported by a deployable backing structure. In the proposed Phase II effort, CTD will further refine innovative backing structure developed in Phase I as well as to develop additional precision capability to enable both the high frequency (Ka band and above), large aperture (5 to 8 meters) performance required for near-term and future NASA programs.

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This project develops the Spatial Heterodyne Interferometer for Methane Sounding (SHIMS), a lightweight, compact, robust spectrometer system for remote sensing of methane (CH4) via a series of absorption lines in the ~tetradecad~, over the range 1.6 to 1.7 microns. This instrument will be incorporated into a satellite package, and is capable of being scaled into a 2- to 3-U CubeSat payload size. The end result of this project will be: (1) a full nadir-viewing near IR spectrometer system, featuring the first-ever high-resolution monolithic Spatial Heterodyne Spectrometer for the near IR range; and, (2) a separate prototype of the first-ever SHS monolith with dedicated, built-in output optics which attach directly to the SHS monolith and to a detector via a standard c-mount adapter. This innovation will circumvent the need for the user to incorporate separate optics outside the monolith, making the unit even more end-user-ready.

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The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is located near one of the most corrosive natural environments in the world. Corrosion of KSC ground assets is exacerbated by the highly acidic exhaust of the Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs). During launch approximately 17 tons of hydrochloric acid are generated from the SRB exhausts. Thus while the launches are infrequent, they produce a highly acidic environment on coated structures leading to excessive corrosion. To mitigate the corrosion of carbon steel structures in and near the launch areas, KSC uses solvent-based topcoated inorganic zinc rich coatings. Regulations arising from Clean Air and other environmental legislation restrict the use of most solvents in paints and may restrict the use of inorganic zinc rich protective coatings. TDA will produce and test environmentally friendly smart coatings using its low-cost nanostructured carriers for corrosion inhibitors that provide smart release of the corrosion inhibitors via both pH-triggered and controlled release mechanisms. In the Phase I program TDA will demonstrate that its smart materials approach can provide higher-performance, environmentally-friendly protective coatings for NASA infrastructure and equipment. At the end of the Phase II effort we expect the technology to be at a technology readiness level of seven to eight.

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The overall goal of this project is to design, develop, demonstrate, and deliver a miniature, high torque, low-vibration reaction wheel for use on small satellites. Creare's miniature reaction wheel has the potential to revolutionize the design and operation of small satellites (i.e., mass from less than 1 kg up to 500 kg). Currently available reaction wheels are too large and heavy, and miniature reaction wheels do not provide sufficient control authority for use on small satellites. This primarily results from the need to greatly increase the speed of rotation of the flywheel in order to reduce the flywheel size and mass. We will achieve this goal by making use of our unique, proprietary, space-qualified, high-speed motor technology to spin the flywheel at a speed much faster than the other known miniature reaction wheels either under development or currently available. This will enable the fabrication of a miniature reaction wheel with greatly improved performance and smaller size. Creare is particularly well qualified to lead this effort given our considerable and unique past experience in miniaturizing devices for use in important space missions, our firm's longevity, and the space-qualified fabrication facilities that we maintain.

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Lift Gas Cracker Project

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NASA needs high stability laser source of 1W output power for Lidar applications. Princeton Optronics has developed ultra-stable, narrow linewidth diode pumped solid state lasers using stable packaging and high performance locker. We have also developed high power Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) semiconductor laser sources. We propose to develop a high reliability master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) type of source with VCSEL as a master oscillator and a semiconductor optical amplifier to obtain a power level of 1W CW. We would use our laser welded packaging technology to develop a rugged package which could be space qualified. By the end of the SBIR program we plan to develop a CW laser source in MOPA configuration for phase modulation and the packaged unit can be space qualified.

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The proposed Phase I SBIR program will study the feasibility of building next-generation burst-mode laser diagnostics that will enable unparalleled planar imaging capabilities for quantitative analysis of flow parameters, such as velocity, temperature, and species concentration in large-scale hypersonic flow facilities, including short run duration "impulse" facilities. In particular, the instrumentation would provide the unique capability for measurements of multiple parameters at data collection rates as high as ~1 MHz with flexible wavelength and interpulse spacing for quantitative velocimetry and thermometry. During the Phase I, the proposal team will study the feasibility of developing burst-mode Nd:YAG technology with programmable temporal output while pumping a wavelength-agile UV OPO for multi-line fluorescence imaging. This requires innovation of the burst-mode pump laser to allow dual-pulse seeding, an appropriate chain of laser amplifiers, and a narrowband OPO designed for pulse-pair operation and rapid wavelength switching. Proof-of-concept demonstrations of NO molecular tagging velocimetry (MTV) and two-line NO PLIF will be accomplished in a laboratory scale high-speed flow facility (up to Mach 5). Finally, the feasibility of performing high frame rate (~50 kHz) imaging in high enthalpy impulse facilities using Rayleigh scattering will also be evaluated. This program will enable prototype development of a next generation ultra-high frame rate imaging system for high-speed flows, demonstration tests in NASA facilities, and the potential delivery of a prototype system to NASA during the Phase II.

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NASA is investigating advanced turboelectric aircraft propulsion systems that utilize superconducting motors to drive a number of distributed turbofans. In an early-stage concept, two superconducting turbine generators, mounted on each of the wing tips, are used to supply electrical power to 16 superconducting motors. Conventional electric motors are too large and heavy to be practical for this application, and so superconducting motors are required. These would operate at a temperature near that of liquid hydrogen, between 20 and 65 K. In order to improve maneuverability of the aircraft, variable speed power converters would be required to throttle power to the turbofans. The low operating temperature and the need for lightweight components that place a minimum of additional heat load on the refrigeration system opens the possibility of incorporating extremely efficient cryogenic power conversion technology. A complete study of cryogenic power conversion equipment for use in this application is the focus of this proposal. MTECH has designed, built, and tested a number of cryogenic inverters for different applications, and will adapt the cryogenic power technologies it has developed to the NASA application in this program.

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We propose a highly innovative system for enhancing speech in helmet. First, we propose to apply a circular array with 8 microphones that are inside the helmet. In our past studies, it was found that circular arrays have better directivity than linear arrays. The use of 8 microphones achieves a compromise between performance and complexity. Second, since the speech source and mics are close, we apply proven near-field beamforming to speech acquisition. This will ensure better speech acquisition and high signal-to-noise ratio. Third, we propose to apply latest developments in speech separation to untangle the speech from other background noises. The particular technique is known as Adaptive Decorrelation Filter (ADF) and has been proven to outperform conventional techniques such as Independent Component Analysis (ICA). ADF has strong potential in separating breathing noise from normal speech. Then only the speech segments will be transmitted. The proposed algorithms will be implemented in Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) in Phase 2.

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The schlieren technique has been used for flow diagnostics in wind tunnels since the beginning of aerospace research, due to its ability to make airflows ? especially shock waves and turbulence ? visible. This proposal describes a novel type of schlieren system that would increase efficiency, capability, and productivity for ground test facilities. The concept and the availability of state of the art components make the system more portable, easier to align, and more versatile than existing systems. A major drawback of current schlieren systems and one that has restricted their widespread commercial use is that they require exact alignment between a pair of widely separated mirrors or grids, which takes time and limits portability, and costs are prohibitive for most such applications. This problem is partially relaxed by focusing schlieren methods. The proposed concept incorporates features of existing schlieren systems while removing the primary limitations. All of the elements that require precise alignment are contained within a camera body and can be relatively inexpensive. Also, very large fields of view are made possible. This is advantageous in wind tunnel facilities, since experiments are frequently installed only to be torn down shortly afterwards.

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The proposed effort aims to evaluate the feasibility of using transpiration-cooled Titanium as the primary material in small-scale thrust chambers for in-space chemical propulsion applications in the 25-5,000lbf thrust class. This approach would allow for bipropellant thrust chambers that are almost 10-times lighter and significantly less expensive than current state-of-the-art radiatively-cooled refractory metal (e.g. Iridium / Rhenium) systems. In addition, since they are actively cooled, the proposed approach will allow for higher chamber pressures, thereby providing further reductions in thruster size and mass for performance improvement.

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Impact Technologies, LLC in collaboration with Wright State University and Pratt & Whitney, propose to develop innovative methods to differentiate sensor failure from actual system or component failure for advanced propulsion systems. In sharp contrast to many conventional methods which deal with either sensor failure or component failure but not both, our method considers sensor failure and component failure under one systematic and unified framework. The proposed solution consists of two main components: a bank of real-time nonlinear adaptive fault diagnostic estimators for residual generation and a Transferable Belief Model (TBM) based component for residual evaluation. By employing a nonlinear adaptive learning architecture, the presented approach is capable of directly dealing with nonlinear engine models and nonlinear faults without the need of linearization. Fault sensitivity and robustness to modeling uncertainty is enhanced by several important techniques including adaptive reference nonlinear engine model, adaptive diagnostic thresholds, and TBM based residual evaluation method. Software modules will be developed and integrated into the NASA C-MAPSS engine model for performance evaluation. A subset of core algorithms will be implemented and used in a hardware-in-the-loop demonstration under dSPACE environment to justify a Technology Readiness Level of 4-5 at the conclusion of Phase I.