Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Chu, Andrew.
This paper describes an RFID reader antenna that offers reduced polarization loss compared to that typically associated with reader-tag communications involving arbitrary relative orientation of the reader antenna and the tag.
One of NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) projects is the Logistics Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) project, which has the goal of reducing logistics resupply items through direct and indirect means. Various technologies under development in the project will reduce the launch mass of consumables and their packaging, enable reuse and repurposing of items, and make logistics tracking more efficient. Repurposing also reduces the trash burden onboard spacecraft and indirectly reduces launch mass by one manifest item having two purposes rather than two manifest items each having only one purpose. This paper provides the status of each of the LRR technologies in their third year of development under AES. Advanced clothing systems (ACSs) are being developed to enable clothing to be worn longer, directly reducing launch mass. ACS has completed a ground exercise clothing study in preparation for an International Space Station technology demonstration in 2014. Development of launch packaging containers and other items that can be repurposed on-orbit as part of habitation outfitting has resulted in a logistics-to-living (L2L) concept. L2L has fabricated and evaluated several multi-purpose cargo transfer bags for potential reuse on-orbit. Autonomous logistics management is using radio frequency identification (RFID) to track items and thus reduce crew time for logistics functions. An RFID dense reader prototype is under construction and plans for integrated testing are being made. A heat melt compactor (HMC) second generation unit for processing trash into compact and stable tiles is nearing completion. The HMC prototype compaction chamber has been completed and system development testing is under way. Research has been conducted on the conversion of trash-to-gas (TtG) for high levels of volume reduction and for use in propulsion systems. A steam reformation system was selected for further system definition of the TtG technology.
One of NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) projects is the Logistics Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) project, which has the goal of reducing logistics resupply items through direct and indirect means. Various technologies under development in the project will reduce the launch mass of consumables and their packaging, enable reuse and repurposing of items and make logistics tracking more efficient. Repurposing also reduces the trash burden onboard spacecraft and indirectly reduces launch mass by replacing some items on the manifest. Examples include reuse of trash as radiation shielding or propellant. This paper provides the status of the LRR technologies in their third year of development under AES. Advanced clothing systems (ACS) are being developed to enable clothing to be worn longer, directly reducing launch mass. ACS has completed a ground exercise clothing study in preparation for an International Space Station (ISS) technology demonstration in 2014. Development of launch packaging containers and other items that can be repurposed on-orbit as part of habitation outfitting has resulted in a logistics-to-living (L2L) concept. L2L has fabricated and evaluated several multi-purpose cargo transfer bags (MCTBs) for potential reuse on orbit. Autonomous logistics management (ALM) is using radio frequency identification (RFID) to track items and thus reduce crew requirements for logistics functions. An RFID dense reader prototype is under construction and plans for integrated testing are being made. Development of a heat melt compactor (HMC) second generation unit for processing trash into compact and stable tiles is nearing completion. The HMC prototype compaction chamber has been completed and system development testing is underway. Research has been conducted on the conversion of trash-to-gas (TtG) for high levels of volume reduction and for use in propulsion systems. A steam reformation system was selected for further system definition of the TtG technology. And benefits analysis of all LRR technologies have been updated with the latest test and analysis results.
The Space Life Sciences Directorate/Medical Informatics and Health Care Systems Branch (SD4) is assessing the benefits Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for tracking items flown onboard the International Space Station (ISS). As an initial study, the Avionic Systems Division Electromagnetic Systems Branch (EV4) is collaborating with SD4 to affix RFID tags to a water kit supplied by SD4 and studying the read success rate of the tagged items. The tagged water kit inside a Cargo Transfer Bag (CTB) was inventoried using three different RFID technologies, including the Johnson Space Center Building 14 Wireless Habitat Test Bed RFID portal, an RFID hand-held reader being targeted for use on board the ISS, and an RFID enclosure designed and prototyped by EV4.
The presentation examines BCR radio frequency identification (BCR/RFID) hardware, integrated RFID over a delay/disruption tolerant network (DTN), and pilot projects for RFID for center operations.
A method for automated fabrication of flexible, electrically conductive patterns on cloth substrates has been demonstrated. Products developed using this method, or related prior methods, are instances of a technology known as 'e-textiles,' in which electrically conductive patterns ar formed in, and on, textiles. For many applications, including high-speed digital circuits, antennas, and radio frequency (RF) circuits, an e-textile method should be capable of providing high surface conductivity, tight tolerances for control of characteristic impedances, and geometrically complex conductive patterns. Unlike prior methods, the present method satisfies all three of these criteria. Typical patterns can include such circuit structures as RF transmission lines, antennas, filters, and other conductive patterns equivalent to those of conventional printed circuits. The present method overcomes the limitations of the prior methods for forming the equivalent of printed circuits on cloth. A typical fabrication process according to the present method involves selecting the appropriate conductive and non-conductive fabric layers to build the e-textile circuit. The present method uses commercially available woven conductive cloth with established surface conductivity specifications. Dielectric constant, loss tangent, and thickness are some of the parameters to be considered for the non-conductive fabric layers. The circuit design of the conductive woven fabric is secured onto a non-conductive fabric layer using sewing, embroidery, and/or adhesive means. The portion of the conductive fabric that is not part of the circuit is next cut from the desired circuit using an automated machine such as a printed-circuit-board milling machine or a laser cutting machine. Fiducials can be used to align the circuit and the cutting machine. Multilayer circuits can be built starting with the inner layer and using conductive thread to make electrical connections between layers.
This viewgraph document reviews some potential uses for Radio Frequency Identification in space missions. One of these is inventory management in space, including the methods used in Apollo, the Space Shuttle, and Space Station. The potential RFID uses in a remote human outpost are reviewed. The use of Ultra-Wideband RFID for tracking are examined such as that used in Sapphire DART The advantages of RFID in passive, wireless sensors in NASA applications are shown such as: Micrometeoroid impact detection and Sensor measurements in environmental facilities The potential for E-textiles for wireless and RFID are also examined.
Inexpensive, lightweight array antennas on flexible substrates are under development to satisfy a need for large-aperture antennas that can be stored compactly during transport and deployed to full size in the field. Conceived for use aboard spacecraft, antennas of this type also have potential terrestrial uses . most likely, as means to extend the ranges of cellular telephones in rural settings. Several simple deployment mechanisms are envisioned. One example is shown in the figure, where the deployment mechanism, a springlike material contained in a sleeve around the perimeter of a flexible membrane, is based on a common automobile window shade. The array can be formed of antenna elements that are printed on small sections of semi-flexible laminates, or preferably, elements that are constructed of conducting fabric. Likewise, a distribution network connecting the elements can be created from conventional technologies such as lightweight, flexible coaxial cable and a surface mount power divider, or preferably, from elements formed from conductive fabrics. Conventional technologies may be stitched onto a supporting flexible membrane or contained within pockets that are stitched onto a flexible membrane. Components created from conductive fabrics may be attached by stitching conductive strips to a nonconductive membrane, embroidering conductive threads into a nonconductive membrane, or weaving predetermined patterns directly into the membrane. The deployable antenna may comprise multiple types of antenna elements. For example, thin profile antenna elements above a ground plane, both attached to the supporting flexible membrane, can be used to create a unidirectional boresight radiation pattern. Or, antenna elements without a ground plane, such as bow-tie dipoles, can be attached to the membrane to create a bidirectional array such as that shown in the figure. For either type of antenna element, the dual configuration, i.e., elements formed of slots in a conductive membrane, can also be used. Finally, wide bandwidth antennas or arrays can be formed in which the principal direction of radiation is in the plane of the membrane. For this embodiment, the set of elements on the membrane is arranged to form one or more traveling wave antennas. In this case, a nonconductive form of the perimeter springlike material is required to provide the deploying force.