Abstract: An energy conversion and transmission system includes a thermal energy converter configured to convert thermal blackbody radiation energy to thermal infrared (IR) energy and to output a thermal IR energy stream. The system further includes a transmission device configured to receive the thermal IR energy stream from the thermal energy converter at a first location and output the thermal IR energy stream at a second location. The transmission device supplies the thermal IR energy stream to a thermal IR energy destination at the second location.

Abstract: An orbital satellite has a bus formed of a bus module and a payload module. Both the bus module and the payload modules may include a pair of panels integrally formed at an angle of for example 90° with respect to each other. Components and electronics supporting the satellite systems may be mounted on the panels of the bus and payload modules. Heat generated by the components and electronics are conducted between panels of the bus module and/or payload module. Sufficient heat transfer between panels occurs as a result of their being integrally formed with each other.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems and methods for using printing process data to predict quality measures for three-dimensional (3D) printed objects and properties of the materials comprising the 3D objects. Printing may be performed using resistive or Joule printing. The system may include a computer communicatively coupled to a 3D printing apparatus, which may store printing parameters. The 3D printing apparatus may be able to take measurements during a print job, and record those measurements in memory. The 3D printing apparatus may also be able to record printing states before, during, and/or after printing. A combination of printing states, printing parameters, and measurements may be analyzed, for example, by a machine learning algorithm, in order to predict material properties and quality measures.

Abstract: A method for structuring an insulating layer on a semiconductor wafer includes providing a semiconductor wafer with a top, a bottom and includes multiple solar cell stacks, wherein each solar cell stack is a Ge substrate, which forms the bottom of the semiconductor wafer, a Ge subcell and at least two III-V subcells, in the above order, and at least one passage opening, which extends from the top to the bottom of the semiconductor wafer and has a connected side wall, an insulating layer two-dimensionally deposited on the top of the semiconductor wafer, on the side wall of the passage opening and/or on the bottom of the semiconductor wafer, and the deposition of an etch-resistant filling material by means of a printing process on an area of the top which include the passage opening, and into the passage opening.

Abstract: A system aligns a 3D model of an environment with image frames of the environment and generates a visualization interface that displays a portion of the 3D model and a corresponding image frame. The system receives LIDAR data collected in the environment and generates a 3D model based on the LIDAR data. For each image frame, the system aligns the image frame with the 3D model. After aligning the image frames with the 3D model, when the system presents a portion of the 3D model in an interface, it also presents an image frame that corresponds to the portion of the 3D model.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and non-transitory media are provided for timing half-duplex transmissions in a wireless communication system. An example method can include receiving, by a user terminal (UT), a radio frame transmitted by a satellite to a group of UTs; identifying an offset delay defined in the radio frame for scheduling transmissions between the satellite and each UT in the group of UTs, the offset delay providing non-overlapping time intervals for receive, process, and transmit operations at each UT; determining, based on the offset delay and a time when the radio frame was received by the UT, a time for transmitting an uplink radio burst to the satellite, wherein the uplink radio burst transmitted at the time is estimated to arrive at the satellite within a same radio frame interval as uplink radio bursts from other UTs; and transmitting, to the satellite, the uplink radio burst at the time.

Abstract: A bellows assembly includes a first compliant portion extending outwardly at a first angle relative to a lateral axis, a second compliant portion, and a third compliant portion extending outwardly at a second angle relative to the lateral axis. The second compliant portion is formed between, and coupled to, the first and third compliant portions. The first angle and the second angle are between about 30 degrees to 80 degrees, such that the first compliant portion and the third compliant portion form inward extending cone shapes.

Abstract: A solar array structure, such as for a spacecraft, uses thin solar array panels that, when in a stowed configuration, are stiffened by being bent or curved in one direction to be shaped like a section of a cylinder and placed within a rigid structural frame. As a curved solar panel is not as efficient as a flat panel directly facing the sun, the solar array panels are curved in their stowed configuration for launch only, but flatten after deployment by use of a partially flexible structural frame, where a rectangular frame is made of two opposing rigid sides and two opposing flexible sides, with a thin flexible solar panel attached to rigid sides only. The rigid sides are compressed during stowage to curve the panel before hold-down tensioning. The structure and panels return to their flat free state configuration after release.

Abstract: An onboard cloud detection system comprising: a camera (1000) configured to acquire images of the Earth at predetermined acquisition intervals; and a data processing unit (2000) comprising: a cloud detection unit (2210) configured to use artificial intelligence, AI, algorithms to detect clouds; a packet utilization standard, PUS, application layer (2230) configured to issue telemetry and/or telecommands corresponding to a predetermined parameter of the output of the cloud detection unit (2210); and an interface configured to distribute the telemetry and/or telecommands to an external hardware and/or an external software terminal (3000, 4000).

Abstract: The present invention relates to an organic compound, an organic electroluminescent material, and an organic electroluminescent element. The structural formula of the compound is shown in formula (I). When the organic compound of the present invention is used for preparing an organic electroluminescent element, the electron mobility, thermal stability, and luminescent characteristics are excellent; and the organic compound can be applied to an organic layer of the organic electroluminescent element. The organic compound of the present invention has a relatively good film-forming property; and when same is applied to an electron transport layer and an electron transport auxiliary layer, an organic electroluminescent element, which has a lower driving voltage, a higher light emission efficiency, and a longer service life than existing electron transport materials, can be manufactured, and thus, a full-color display panel with having improved performance and a prolonged service life can be manufactured.

Abstract: Embodiment herein provide a Bose-Chadhuri-Hocquenghem (BCH) encoder for generating a BCH signal. The BCH encoder (1) includes a memory for storing a minimum distance to be used for generating the BCH signal for a BCH code (n, k) and a polynomial generator for generating a generator polynomial for the BCH code (n, k) and encoding the generator polynomial to obtain the BCH signal. The polynomial generator includes a set of k registers (4) connected in series to receive the information bits and output an encoded bit based on a clock signal, a first gate (5) to receive a code length, a number of information bits, and the minimum distance as input, a second gate (6), and a finite field adder circuit (7) for determining a finite field sum of the output of each register of the set of k registers (4).

Abstract: A solar array structure for a spacecraft is based on a modular approach, allowing for arrays to be designed, and designed to be modified, and manufactured in reduced time and with reduced cost. The embodiments for the solar array are formed of multiple copies of a “bay” of a multiple strings of solar array cells mounted on semi-rigid face-sheet structural elements. The bays are then placed into frame structures made of tubes connected by nodes to provide an easily scalable, configurable, and producible solar array wing structure. This allows for rapid turnaround of program specific designs and proposal iterations that is quickly adaptable to new/future PhotoVoltaic (PV) technologies and that can create uniquely shaped (i.e., not rectangular) arrays, allowing for mass production with simple mass producible building blocks.

Abstract: Retrofittable satellite systems for an in-orbit host satellite comprising an enhancement module for adding a capability to the in-orbit host satellite, modifying the function of the in-orbit host satellite, and/or extending the function of the in-orbit host satellite. The in-orbit, retrofittable satellite system comprises a transfer vehicle for transferring the enhancement module from a first to a second location and a service vehicle for receiving the enhancement module from the transfer vehicle and installing the enhancement module on the in-orbit host satellite.

Abstract: A 3D printer can print a structure by depositing material into a weld pool that is moving relative to a workpiece. A multi-wire process may be utilized to increase the deposition rate of the 3D printer. An electrode wire can supply energy to the weld pool while being fed at a first feed rate into the weld pool. A second wire can be fed into the weld pool at a second feed rate to deposit additional material and thereby speed up the overall material deposition rate. All of the energy in the weld pool may be supplied by the electrode wire. Different materials may benefit from different orientations of the electrode wire and the second wire.

Abstract: An apparatus for making and depositing bricks includes a nozzle having an inlet opening, an outlet opening, and a plurality of walls surrounding the outlet opening. At least one of the walls is configured to retract relative to the other walls. When a first brick is deposited, all of the nozzle walls are in the extended position. When subsequent bricks are deposited, one or more of the nozzle walls are retracted so that the form for the subsequent bricks is provided by the walls that are in the extended position and the sides of the already-deposited bricks. In this manner, the nozzle is configured to deposit the bricks directly adjacent to each other without any space or intervening material between them. The bricks may be deposited in a heated state and they meld together as they cool. The nozzle is particularly advantageous for paving autonomously in otherwise inaccessible locations, such as surfaces on the moon or other planets.

Abstract: A data encoding device suitable for encoding a plurality of LDPC codes is disclosed including an input interface and an output interface, and a first circuit for encoding quasi-cyclic LDPC code, connected at an input to the input interface and at an output to the input of a first multiplexer circuit, a second circuit for encoding quasi-cyclic LDPC code, connected at an input to the input interface and at an output to the input of the first multiplexer circuit, a third circuit for encoding quasi-cyclic LDPC code, connected at an input to the output of the first multiplexer circuit and at an output to the input of a second multiplexer circuit.

Abstract: A deployable membrane structure for an antenna comprises a membrane comprising a plurality of first regions of higher-stiffness material integrally connected via one or more second regions of lower-stiffness material, wherein the one or more second regions are formed from compliant material configured to permit the membrane to be folded into a collapsed configuration and subsequently unfolded into a deployed configuration, and are arranged so as to allow adjacent ones of the plurality of first regions to be folded so as to lie against one another. In some embodiments the membrane is formed of a composite material comprising a plurality of fibres in a compliant matrix, and the plurality of first regions comprise material with a higher fibre density than the one or more second regions. A deployable antenna comprising the deployable membrane structure is also disclosed.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are system, method, and computer program product embodiments for assessing performance of a player of a game. An embodiment operates by monitoring for an input from the player of the game, receiving the input from the player of the game, and determining a characteristic of the game resulting from the input from the player. Based on the input from the player, a performance of the player is assessed. The performance of the player relating to one or more metrics of the game is monitored, and is assessed by comparing the input from the player during the period of time to an optimal input during the period of time in the game.

Abstract: Optical unit for a projective optical metrological system, which receives a light signal coming from a light constellation comprising a number of light sources; the optical unit includes: an optoelectronic image acquisition system and a first and a second optical circuit, which receive the light signal and are traversed by a first and a second optical beam, respectively. The first and the second optical circuits direct, respectively, at least a first part of the first optical beam and at least a first part of the second optical beam on the optoelectronic image acquisition system, so as to cause the simultaneous formation of two different images of the constellation in the optoelectronic image acquisition system. The optical unit further includes an electronic processing unit coupled to the optoelectronic image acquisition system, which determines a number of quantities indicative of the position and/or attitude of the light constellation with respect to the optical unit, based on the two images.

Abstract: In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a satellite communication system includes a satellite constellation including a plurality of satellites in non-geosynchronous orbit (non-GEO), wherein at least some of the plurality of satellites travel in a first orbital path at a first inclination, and an end point terminal having an earth-based geographic location, the end point terminal having an antenna system defining a field of regard for communicating with the satellite constellation, wherein the field of regard is a limited field of regard, wherein the field of regard is tilted from a non-tilted position to a tilted position, and wherein the tilt angle of the tilted position is a function of the latitude of the geographic location.