Abstract: The present invention relates to a novel rotator for a standardized coarse azimuth-pointing system for a balloon-borne platform—either zero pressure or Super Pressure Balloons (SPB)—with a maximum suspended payload of 5,500 lbs. The 5.5K Rotator novel shaft design, bearings, motor, and housing, result in a weight of the rotator being decreased by 33% from existing legacy rotators. The present invention achieved a 24% parts reduction from existing legacy rotators, and has the advantages of lighter weight, reusability, cost-effectiveness, machinability, and ease of assembly.

Abstract: A pneumatically adjustable lifting apparatus utilizes inflatable spring devices for lifting and precisely positioning a load at a desired location. Variations in the forces produced by the load cause the inflatable spring devices to expand or compress thereby allowing soft mating between components that need to be connected together, such as assembling or disassembling large threaded connections. Pneumatic pressure in the inflatable spring devices may be adjusted depending upon the particular load. The pneumatically adjustable lifting apparatus provides lightly damped vertical travel with a substantially linear force profile over a relatively wide displacement range. Recirculating linear ball bearings cooperate with the linear loading characteristics of the inflatable spring devices to minimize the vertical motion damping of the pneumatically adjustable lifting apparatus.

Abstract: A dark mirror optical stack, particularly a low emittance, high absorbance dark mirror optical stack is provided. The dark mirror optical stack includes a polyimide substrate containing carbon filler, an aluminum layer on the polyimide substrate, a first silicon oxide layer on the aluminum layer, a chromium layer on the first silicon oxide layer, and a second silicon oxide layer on the chromium layer. In a particularly exemplary embodiment, the aluminum layer has an average thickness of 600 to 2000 Angstroms, the first and second silicon oxide layers have average thicknesses of 500 to 1000 Angstroms, and the chromium layer has an average thickness of 40 to 100 Angstroms.

Abstract: System and method for in-process cure monitoring of a material utilizes one or more sensors such as fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) or phase-shifted FBGs (PS-FBGs) and at least one optical line fiber connected to the sensor(s). The sensor(s) and the optical line may be embedded in the material prior to curing the material may comprise a fiber reinforced polymer. Waves are excited into the material during curing thereof to form guided waves that propagate through the material. At least one wave metric of the guided waves is measured utilizing the sensor(s).

Abstract: The present invention relates to a single-board processor card configured for use in a 1U CubeSat payload form-factor multi-purpose architecture, including: a field-programmable-gate-array (FPGA) which is reconfigurable in flight; wherein a configuration memory of the FPGA can be scrubbed in flight to correct errors or upsets; and a radiation-hardened monitor (RHM) which provides radiation mitigation and system monitoring of the single-board processor card, and which reconfigures said FPGA during flight, scrubs the configuration memory, and monitors a health of the FPGA. The 1U CubeSat payload form-factor multi-purpose architecture includes a backplane having a plurality of slots, one of the plurality of slots which accommodates the single-board processor card, wherein the backplane routes signals to a plurality of standard-sized processor cards, interchangeably disposed in any of the plurality of slots.

Abstract: A processor is configured to execute instructions stored in a memory to determine, in response to identifying vehicle operational scenarios of a scene, an action for controlling the AV, where the action is from a selected decision component that determined the action based on level of certainty associated with a state factor; generate an explanation as to why the action was selected, such that the explanation includes respective descriptors of the action, the selected decision component, and the state factor; and display the explanation in a graphical view that includes a first graphical indicator of a world object of the selected decision component, a second graphical indicator describing the state factor, and a third graphical indicator describing the action.

Abstract: An apparatus for space and terrestrial communication applications includes a Ka-band horn combined with a S-band cross-polarization cup. The S-band cross-polarization cup is placed around a neck of the Ka-band horn in a form of a collar.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices of the various embodiments provide for microfabrication of devices, such as semiconductors, thermoelectric devices, etc. Various embodiments may include a method for fabricating a device, such as a semiconductor (e.g., a silicon (Si)-based complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS), etc.), thermoelectric device, etc., using a mask. In some embodiments, the mask may be configured to allow molecules in a deposition plume to pass through one or more holes in the mask. In some embodiments, molecules in a deposition plume may pass around the mask. Various embodiments may provide thermoelectric devices having metallic junctions. Various embodiments may provide thermoelectric devices having metallic junctions rather than junctions formed from semiconductors.

Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to nuclear thermionic avalanche cell (NTAC) systems and related methods of generating energy from captured high energy photons. Huge numbers of electrons in the intra-band of atom can be liberated through bound-to-free transition when coupled with high energy photons. If a power conversion process effectively utilizes these liberated electrons in an avalanche form through a power conversion circuit, the power output will be drastically increased. The power density of a system can be multiplied by the rate of high energy photon absorption. The present disclosure describes a system and methods built with multilayers of nuclear thermionic avalanche cells for the generation of energy. The multilayer structure of NTAC devices offers effective recoverable means to capture and harness the energy of gamma photons for useful purposes such as power systems for deep space exploration.

Abstract: A low-noise multi-propeller system includes at least two propellers, each propeller including at least two blades. The propellers rotate in a first direction and define an angular phase relative to one another. A drive system corotates the propellers at substantially equal rotational rates in the first direction. The propellers are substantially phase-locked at a predefined relative phase offset that reduces the overall sound power of the fundamental tone at a blade passage frequency.

Abstract: An extended reanalysis ensemble service includes a loader services application program interface configured to receive data parameters for a set of automated multisource data provisioning operations, provide climate source data from one or more disparate climate data collections specified in the data parameters to conversion utilities for transforming the climate source data into flat, serialized block compressed sequence files, and load the sequence files to a distributed file system of the extended reanalysis ensemble service, and a reanalysis ensemble service application program interface configured to receive operational parameters for the set of automated multisource data provisioning operations, convert the operational parameters to one or more methods recognized by a service interface of the extended reanalysis ensemble service to be converted to analytical operations executed by the extended reanalysis ensemble service, and provide results of the one or more analytical operations executed by the exten

Abstract: A Field Programmable Gate Array (“FPGA”) transmitter reliability directly drives an optical modulator. Each time the FPGA is powered up, the transmitters are aligned using optical feedback for coarse and fine alignments. The fine alignment may be executed using a built-in transmitter phase interpolator Parts-Per-Million (“PPM”) controller.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an imaging device that includes a gating element which receives incident photons and releases pulsed electrons; a single microchannel-plate (MCP) which receives the pulsed electrons and amplifies the pulsed electrons as an amplified pulsed electron flux; a collection element which receives the amplified pulsed electron flux; a high-pass filter; and a gated integrator; wherein the high-pass filter element receives the amplified pulsed electron flux from the collection element and alternate current (AC) couples the amplified pulsed electron flux as a charge pulse to the gated integrator; and wherein the gating element and the gated integrator are time-synchronized to allow charge-integration only while the AC-coupled charge pulse is unipolar. A feedback loop can provide an auto-gating function. The imaging device can be used in night vision goggles or a mass spectrometer.

Abstract: A method and system for ultrasonic testing of adhesion within a sample, which provides ultrasonic bursts of different frequencies to the sample and maintains a predetermined phase difference between echoes returned from the sample and representative reference signals of the bursts supplied to the sample until a spectrum of the phase differences versus frequency is obtained and from which properties of the adhesion at an interface reflecting the echoes are derivable.

Abstract: An analog digital converter that does not require a dedicated reference voltage, can digitize a rail-rail input signal and provide house-keeping functions to a ROIC or other IC. The RHADR system may operate without support from a main electronics board, which would only have to supply a power supply voltage to, and read the outputs from, the chip. This is achieved with (1) a Pivoting Successive Approximation Register ADC (PSAR ADC) and (2) radiation hard by design (RHBD) techniques.

Abstract: A lithium battery comprises cathode active material comprising particles of a transition metal oxide, each particle coated in an ion-conducting material that has an electrochemical stability window against lithium of at least 2.2 V, a lowest electrochemical stability being less than 2.0 V and a highest electrochemical stability being greater than 4.

Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to imaging an environment and providing velocity characteristics of one or more objects in the imaged environment. As may be implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments, objects in a local environment are scanned with laser light, and reflections of the scanned laser light from the objects are received and processed to generate a 3D image of the local environment. Distance and velocity of each object is provided or detected based on a frequency delay and frequency shift of one or more reflections of the scanned laser light from the object. For instance, the 3D image may provide relative position of an object and indicate velocity of the object, which may be ascertained based on a frequency shift.

Abstract: A reanalysis ensemble service includes a plurality of conversion utilities, each conversion utility configured to convert a specific one of a plurality of disparate climate data collections from different sources to common format files that are temporally and spatially registered, where the disparate climate data collections include reanalysis data sets and forward processing data products, a data analytics platform for storing and operating on the different sourced common format files, a service interface for mapping service requests to analytic operations performed on the different sourced common format files by the data analytics platform, and a services library that dynamically creates data objects from one or more of the different sourced common format files in response to the analytic operations, and delivers the data objects to the service interface.

Abstract: One aspect of the present disclosure is an imaging system including an optical sensor defining an optical axis. The system further includes a light source. The system may include an optical beam splitter, and may also include an optional diffusing lens that may be configured to diffuse and/or collimate light from the light source and direct light exiting the diffusing lens to the optical beam splitter. The optical beam splitter is configured to direct light from the light source along the optical axis of the optical sensor.

Abstract: A high-fidelity, multi-point, full-mission sonic-boom propagation tool that includes functionality to handle aircraft trajectories and maneuvers, as well as, all relevant noise metrics at multiple points along the supersonic mission. This allows efficient computation of sonic-boom loudness across the entire supersonic mission to allow pilots and aircraft operators to plan the aircraft flight path to manage the sonic boom footprint.