A Plan Execution System For Web-Based Scientific Data Integration, Phase II

Crew Activity Analyzer, Phase I

The key element in producing an efficient low temperture cryocooler is the performance of the regenerator. It must have good heat transfer characteristics while providing low pressure drop, especially for compact high speed coolers. The axial thermal conductivity must be low to reduce losses but provide good radial conductivity for flow uniformity and maximum use of all material. At low termperatures, the heat capacity of the regenerator material must be high to achieve these low temperatures. The geometry of the regenerator material will be investigated to meet the requirements and minimize losses while providing the necrssary characteristics for efficient cryocooler performance. Altermative fabricaiton methods and materials, including rare earths will also be investigated to take advantage of the improved low temperature material properties.

Development of the CESI focal plane and optics technology will lead to miniaturized hyperspectral and SWIR-band spectral imaging instrumentation compatible with CubeSat and other nanosat platforms. The project will implement the technology by developing a CubeSat-compatible SEMM instrument for global mapping of atmospheric methane concentrations.
Specific Phase I technical objectives include:
- Perform a trade study comparing the performance potential of alternate concepts for a miniaturized spectrometer with respect to the methane mapping mission.
- Demonstrate that the image of a scene collected through an interferometer is a product of the scene radiance pattern with the interferogram.
- Build a laboratory prototype and demonstrate enhanced detection of a multi-line molecular absorption band.
- Test novel detector devises suitable for high-gain, low-noise SWIR imaging in a nanosat setting.
- Develop the instrument architecture for SEMM and validate the concept analytically by a radiometric model.
- Design the high sensitivity, low-noise SWIR focal plane for SEMM.
The CESI project is undertaken by Wavefront LLC with the Space Dynamics Lab (SDL) collaborating as the research institution. The key personnel are the Project Manager and the Principle Investigator (from Wavefront) and the scientists (from SDL). The duration of Phase I is 12 months.

During Phase II, SDL will prototype the complete CESI instrument incorporating Wavefront's novel high-sensitivity focal plane and readout over 24-month duration.

In a rotorcraft, optimized camber change not only reduces vibratory hub loads and noise but also increases available thrust and improved flight control augmentation. Therefore, the ability to dynamically change airfoil camber is a significant technology advancement leading to improved overall rotorcraft performance. Research efforts in recent years have led to the application of active material actuation for rotorcraft blades in order to dynamically change blade camber. Small-scale bench top system validations have been successful. However, when scaled-up to full-scale aircraft, the performance of current actuation systems in a demanding rotor blade environment gets significantly degraded by operational factors including friction, free play, and, aerodynamic and inertial loads.

We propose a unique three dimensional concept wherein the typically closed section blade is cut open to create a torsionally compliant mechanism that acts as its own amplification device; the deformation of the blade is dynamically controlled by out-of-plane warping. Our innovative approach for camber control is a radical departure from the current techniques. The proposed development and engineering effort will lead to a new camber control technology suitable for full-scale aircraft that would result in improved operational efficiencies at lower costs. Concept feasibility will be demonstrated both analytically and through experiments on blade sections of a Sikorsky Blackhawk. A Phase II program will follow for technology scale-up and optimized full blade testing.

Atmospheric entry is one of the most critical phases of flight during planetary exploration missions. During the design of an entry vehicle, experimental and analytical methods are used; however, the current integration level of experimental and analytical methods with planetary entry simulations is low. Comprehensive software, comprised of multiple design tool components for simulating planetary entry, analyzing experimental data, and evaluating configuration modifications and control designs, will be developed. The software will be configured so that it can accommodate vehicles ranging from blunt bodies to aircraft-like configurations. Furthermore, the software will be designed as an extension of current aircraft flight dynamics theory so that aerospace engineers with basic flight dynamics knowledge will have an easy transition to entry body flight dynamics. Merging of the aircraft and entry vehicle flight dynamics enables educational institutions to adopt entry vehicle flight dynamics as an extension to current aircraft flight dynamics educational programs. This will promote the education of the next generation of engineers with the basic knowledge of entry flight dynamics. The proposed software will run on a desktop / laptop computer so that proof-of-concept design work can be done easily, efficiently, and at low cost.

Achieving low-cost space missions implies lowering all phases of mission development, including spacecraft design, assembly, integration and test. The concept of the wireless spacecraft bus is something most technical people are at least half familiar with - the half which includes wireless data transfer, something available on every computer laptop today. But wireless is not really wireless if the power is delivered through wires. Both power and data need to be delivered wirelessly for the true potential impact of wireless to be made on spacecraft design, build, integration, and test.
Integrating today's commonplace wireless data systems into spacecraft would seem to be a logical step in spacecraft development, but to date has not been implemented widely if at all. AeroAstro proposes an innovative solution to design and build micro-spacecraft (and spacecraft components) harnessing the true promise of wireless systems. The overall objective of the proposal is to develop and demonstrate a truly wireless spacecraft bus - exhibiting not only wireless data, but also wireless power distribution. By definition, this wireless approach is inherently modular, and alleviates the need for wire harnesses of any type while simultaneously making staged built-in-test possible concurrently during spacecraft assembly.

During the Phase I NASA SBIR, MATECH GSM (MG) has developed and evaluated the world's first ultra-high temperature (UHT) Zr-(O)-C ceramic fiber pre-form / organic ablative matrix composite TPS system.
This Phase II NASA SBIR Proposal from MG seeks to expand this technology to the following areas:
1)Microstructural level refinements and optimization of the char- and ablator phases for more reproducible material systems
2)Scaling-up for the fabrication of a larger and more complex-shape geometry
3)TPS design data generation with extensive arc-jet testing for a full TPS Component demonstration in Phase III.
In this TPS material concept, the "char" phase is UHT zirconium carbide (Zr(O)C) ceramic fiber pre-forms, which have dual functions of high compressive strength of ligaments and non-recession of fiber components after matrix ablation. MG's ablative TPS are designed to retain their shape, thereby reducing the thickness requirement and lowering the TPS total mass, crucial at high re-entry velocity. MG's new ablator slowly absorbs high levels of energy during high temperature ablation.
At the completion of the Phase II-Base and Phase II-Option program, MG will have fabricated a high specific strength C-Zr(O)C / C-ablator (CZOCA) and have demonstrated one TPS component, operational at > 5000oF.

Spacecraft ground systems are on the cusp of achieving "plug-and-play" capability, i.e., they are approaching the state in which the various components can be quickly integrated with near-automatic interoperability. When properly architected, such systems offer advantages over their traditional counterparts, such as improved upgradeability and extensibility. They can also be more easily automated and can provide better fault tolerance. These characteristics are important for all NASA spacecraft, from Exploration to Science. However, plug-and-play systems also pose some interesting challenges that can undermine their effectiveness. For example, they can be more complex in terms of information management and system administration. This is especially true when automation is used to reduce the workload of the operators. In fact, as the number of components increases, as much "situational awareness" of the ground system is needed the spacecraft. A software framework that supports plug-and-play integration, while also providing information management and system coordination, is required. Emergent Space Technologies Inc. therefore proposes to research and develop an Enterprise Management System for spacecraft ground systems. Called GEMS, it will provide spacecraft controllers and crew members with "situational awareness" of the current state of the ground system as well as understanding of how events and automated actions are affecting the system in real-time. The innovation lies in the development of algorithms and software adapters that gather data from the various components of the ground system to construct a data model that captures the system state and displays it to the controllers.

The proposed innovation is:

A data and information integration (DI2) system built from the methods and tools used to create Wiki websites. Wiki (Hawaiian for "quick") is software that allows users to create and edit Web page content using any Web browser.

The significance of the innovation is that a Wiki-based DI2 system will:

(1) Produce a collaborative, interactive website designed for the unique needs of government and commercial spacecraft projects for capturing, disseminating, managing and linking data resources across multiple projects and among distributed teams,

(2) Provide "out of the box" advanced DI2 capabilities needed by project management and technical personnel from day one,

(3) Provide a low cost DI2 solution for small companies and teams needing alternatives to expensive, complicated and inflexible project management tools,

(4) Be easy to install, use and maintain without requiring programming or webmaster skills.

The proposed innovation merges the Wiki philosophy of fast, easy and rewarding online content creation with standard project management functions and capabilities for data and information integration within secure, user-authenticated environments. This facilitates critical elements of communication, interaction and data capture/synthesis that are often missing or underdeveloped in many traditional project management efforts. Phase 1 TRL will be 6.