Abstract: An inflatable structure includes a plurality of inflation cells each have a respective internal gas generator connected to an external control processor for sequential inflation of the inflatable structure. Power and control lines feed through the inflation cells for powering the internal gas generator and for communicating control signals between the gas generators and the external control processor. A method of sequence inflation can use various types of exemplar gas generators, such as cellular containment evaporation gas generators and laser ablation gas generators.

Abstract: A collision prediction and maneuver method determines which ones of many potential target objects have a close conjunction within a gross miss distance with a subject object by trajectory propagation, then determines which one of the conjunctive objects have a high collision probability within a critical miss distance, and then determines an optimum vehicle maneuver to reduce the probability of colliding with another colliding object by determining the maneuver direction, magnitude, and time so that the least amount of propellant is consumed while avoiding potential collisions within miss distance margins. The method includes computational efficiencies in collision probability calculations using trajectory propagations and contour integrations and efficiencies in optimum avoidance maneuvering using gradient and searching computations.

Abstract: An inflatable structure includes a plurality of inflation cells each have a respective internal gas generator connected to an external control processor for sequential inflation of the inflatable structure. Power and control lines feed through the inflation cells for powering the internal gas generator and for communicating control signals between the gas generators and the external control processor. A method of sequence inflation can use various types of exemplar gas generators, such as cellular containment evaporation gas generators and laser ablation gas generators.

Abstract: A selectable waveguide transitions between two positions to at least two independent signals by their polarization or frequency. This waveguide consists of dissimilar wave sections coupled to an antenna feed and is mechanically actuated for signal selection switching to route signals to output ports and respective probes that are polarization sensitive. The waveguide sections offer high polarization purity so that signal components remain separated to avoid mutual interference and low insertion loss to maintain system efficiency. Selectable waveguide can be extended for multiple polarization and frequency operation. Frequency selective surfaces and tapers establish pass bands and attenuation levels for frequency selection. The selectable waveguide is suitable for both frequency and polarization selectively in antenna system.

Abstract: A command and telemetry communication system includes a downlink subsystem having a spacecraft downlink transmitter communicating a quadrature component carrying a pilot code for coarse acquisition and an inphase component carrying a Walsh-Hadamard code and a PN code for fine acquisition using spread spectrum signaling and amplitude modulation for code division multiplexing to downlink receivers respectively disposed in a plurality of mobile surface landers, and includes an uplink subsystem having a spacecraft uplink receiver and lander uplink transmitters communicating code division multiple access telemetry data using spread spectrum signaling and phase modulation. The communication system enables command and telemetry control of a plurality of mobile surface landers.

Abstract: The direct-write pulsed UV laser technique combined with the variable laser exposure fabrication method entails the precise variation of the laser irradiance during pattern formation in the photostructurable glass for variable laser exposing processing. The variable laser exposure patterning utilizes the dependence of the chemical etching rate on the controlled laser exposure dose for forming variable laser irradiated and crystallized regions of the exposed glass, that have variable etch rates that are dependent on the laser irradiance, resulting in the formation of high and low aspect ratio features in a common substrate that are realized during a single, maskless etch step.

Abstract: An optical fiber quadrature demodulator, for use in optical receivers, has an optical local oscillator for providing a coherent pilot tone that is mixed with an optical input signal to provide a piloted optical input signal. The pilot tone tracks phase shifts through the optical fibers for tracking the phase shift to the optical input signal as a phase shift reference in the demodulator providing coherent signal demodulation. The demodulator maintains optical phase coherence between the physically separated I and Q optical channels in the presence of unknown and time varying phase perturbations that occur in optical fibers used in photonic processing and communication systems.

Abstract: A power recycling system receives input power at an input and feeds back through an auxiliary output recycled power to the input for supplementing the input power for recycling energy of the recycled power that would normally be wasted so as to provide improved power efficiency. The system can have several configurations, including a system for testing power supplies under test, or can be any electrical device, system, appliance or electronic load having a power input and auxiliary output for feeding back recycled energy to the power input.

Abstract: A conductive hinge is made of a superelastic shape memory alloy such as nitinol (NiTi) having a large elastic strain limit for enabling the hinge to bend around a small radius during stowage and flexible return to a trained rigid hinge position. The hinge is conductive enabling use of the hinge as a conductor for routing power through multiple solar cell panels interconnected by the hinges forming a hinged solar cell array that is deployed when the hinges are released from the bent stowed configuration to the rigid deployed configuration when the hinges further function as latches to lock the panels in place.

Abstract: Data aided carrier phase and symbol timing synchronizers are implemented at baseband as digital modulators isolating input signal inphase and quadrature component signals fed into inphase and quadrature Laurent transforms that function as data detector to provide odd and even data bit multiplexed output data signal while cross coupling the inphase and quadrature transformed outputs for removing data modulation in error signals to correct phase errors and timing errors in the received signal so as to provide reliable data demodulation of noisy received signals having dynamic carrier phase and symbol timing errors as found in continuous phase modulation communications systems such as Gaussian minimum shift keying communications systems.

Abstract: A footwear database system receives precision three dimensional foot image data of imaged feet of human beings, and receives precision footlast 3D image data from footwear manufacturers for storage into databases for automatic determination of footwear sizes. After imaging feet and storing the footlast data, a customer can thereafter remotely select, for example, through catalogs and web sites, a style of footwear and the footwear database system then determines the acceptable and best fitting size for the desired style of the footwear of a respective footwear manufacturer, and in so doing provides an automatic best fitting size selection for reducing footwear returns due to poor and uncomfortable fits.

Abstract: A deployment method maintains a cluster of subsatellites within a rigid formation relative to and orbiting about a real or fictitious center satellite that in turn orbits the earth in a frozen inclined eccentric reference orbit by determining the subsatellite reference orbits of the each of the subsatellites based upon position and velocity vectors of the center satellite. The determined subsatellite reference orbits can then be maintained through fuel efficient microthrusting so as to maintain the rigid formation for coherently combining communication signals within a very large sparse antenna array formed by the cluster having improved beam directionality for improved signal communications.

Abstract: The design and performance of an analog cancellation system is presented. The system generates either narrow or wideband nulls in order to minimize the effect of interfering signals on a receiver. A microcontroller directs the detection and classification of the interfering signal relative to frequency, amplitude and modulation, such as pulse-width or continuous wave modulation. A sampled version of the interfering signal at frequency, fi, is phase-inverted, amplified, and vector-summed with the input signal stream to null the interfering signal at fi. The microcontroller also monitors and adjusts the cancellation systems' circuit parameters to minimize any residual interfering signal at fi or respond to changes in the interference. The example system operates from 100-160 MHz, and can generate wideband nulls over a 5MHz bandwidth with a 15dB depth attenuation or narrowband nulls with a Q greater than 200, and with a null depth greater than 30dB.

Abstract: A computationally efficient analytical method determines when two quadric surfaces, such as ellipsoids surfaces, share the same volume by adding an extra dimension to the solution space for providing extradimensional product matrices defining degenerate quadric surfaces. The method then examines computed eigenvalues associated the product matrices to determine when the two quadric surfaces share the same volume or when surface projected areas based on viewing angle share the same area. The method provides direct share volume results based on comparisons of the eigenvalues that can be rapidly computed. The method can be use for collision avoidance detection where the objects are modeled by quadric surfaces.

Abstract: An adaptive smoother includes a phase lock loop, a scintillation amplitude estimator and a fixed delay smoother operating on amplitude estimates for providing improved phase and/or code delay estimates of coherently modulated signals in the presence of dynamic phase process and time varying amplitudes. The adaptive smoother can be applied to GPS communication signals that are subject to fading due to small-scale temporal and spatial variations in ionospheric electron density. The adaptive smoother in a communication or navigation receiver results in improved signal tracking and navigation solutions.

Abstract: A collision prediction and maneuver method determines which ones of many potential target objects have a close conjunction within a gross miss distance with a subject object by trajectory propagation, then determines which one of the conjunctive objects have a high collision probability within a critical miss distance, and then determines an optimum vehicle maneuver to reduce the probability of colliding with another colliding object by determining the maneuver direction, magnitude, and time so that the least amount of propellant is consumed while avoiding potential collisions within miss distance margins. The method includes computational efficiencies in collision probability calculations using trajectory propagations and contour integrations and efficiencies in optimum avoidance maneuvering using gradient and searching computations.

Abstract: Various launch vehicles configurations each include an X33 aeroshell of a booster or orbiter both of which use bell nozzle engines, and a feeding stage for supplying liquid propellant to the engines for providing primary lifting thrust for lifting a payload into orbit. The feeding stage can be an external tank without engines or a core vehicle also with bell nozzle engines. The orbiter or booster use three, two-two or five bell nozzle engines configurations and the feeding stage uses a zero or two bell nozzle engines. The combination of orbiters, boosters, external tanks and core vehicles offer a variety of configuration to meet particular mission requirements.

Abstract: An adaptive predistorter system receives and predistorts an input signal so as to linearize the output signal of a nonlinear high power amplifier amplifying the predistorted input signal using closed-loop feedback of the output signal in complex form at baseband so as to adaptively change the amount of the predistortion of the input signal in the presence of high power amplifier changing characteristics.

Abstract: A fault detection pseudo gyro emulates mechanical gyros by processing space system appendage measurement data and reaction wheel tachometer data within reference and control systems of a satellite to compute the vehicular bus angular velocity rate data by accounting for external torques, the momentum transfer between the satellite, the bus, and the appendages for providing accurate relative vehicular position and angular velocity rate data in an attitude reference and control systems now having accurate vehicular angular velocity rate data while enabling fault detection of hardware gyros and momentum sensors.

Abstract: A metalization process forms metal contacts having defined profiles for contact between microelectromechanical (MEMS) devices or chemical sensors with semiconductor devices. Gold contacts may be used for connecting the MEMS devices or chemical sensors to integrated CMOS devices. Gold contacts are deposited over a photoresist via having sidewalls for forming upwardly extending flanges. The metal contacts to the underlying semiconductor device, are formed using a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) etch back process for exposing and dissolving the gold metalization layer save the metal contact under a surviving portion of the etched back PMMA layer in a dimple of the gold layer over the photoresist via. The photoresist layer serves to form deep well gold contacts having upwardly extending flanges for connection to the MEMS devices or chemical sensors and to the integrated semiconductor devices.