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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 199 records · Page 11

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NASA NTRS1990

Airborne lidar/radiometric measurements of cirrus cloud parameters and their application to LOWTRAN radiance evaluations

SRI has assembled an airborne lidar/radiometric instrumentation suite for mapping cirrus cloud distribution and analyzing cirrus cloud optical properties. Operation of upward viewing infrared radiometers from an airborne platform provides the optimum method of measuring high altitude cold cloud radiative properties with minimum interference from the thermal emission by the earth's surface and lower atmospheric components. Airborne installed sensors can also operate over large regional areas including water, urban, and mountain surfaces and above lower atmospheric convective clouds and haze layers. Currently available sensors installed on the SRI Queen Air aircraft are illustrated. Lidar and radiometric data records are processed for real time viewing on a color video screen. A cirrus cloud data example is presented as a black and white reproduction of a color display of data at the aircraft altitude of 12,000 ft, the 8 to 14 micron atmospheric radiation background was equivalent to a blackbody temperature of about -60 C and, therefore, the radiometer did not respond strongly to low density cirrus cloud concentrations detected by the lidar. Cloud blackbody temperatures (observed by radiometer) are shown plotted against midcloud temperatures (derived from lidar observed cloud heights and supporting temperature profiles) for data collected on 30 June and 28 July.

Uthe, Edward E.↗

NASA NTRS1991

COMSAT Laboratories' on-board baseband switch development

Work performed at COMSAT Laboratories to develop a prototype on-board baseband switch is summarized. The switch design is modular to accommodate different service types, and the architecture features a high-speed optical ring operating at 1 Gbit/s to route input (up-link) channels to output (down-link) channels. The switch is inherently a packet switch, but can process either circuit-switched or packet-switched traffic. If the traffic arrives at the satellite in a circuit-switched mode, the input processor packetizes it and passes it on to the switch. The main advantage of the packet approach lies in its simplified control structure. Details of the switch architecture and design, and the status of its implementation, are presented.

Pontano, B. A.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Adaptive optics for array telescopes using piston-and-tilt wave-front sensing

A near-infrared adaptive optics system operating at about 50 Hz has been used to control phase errors adaptively between two mirrors of the Multiple Mirror Telescope by stabilizing the position of the interference fringe in the combined unresolved far-field image. The resultant integrated images have angular resolutions of better than 0.1 arcsec and fringe contrasts of more than 0.6. Measurements of wave-front tilt have confirmed the wavelength independence of image motion. These results show that interferometric sensing of phase errors, when combined with a system for sensing the wave-front tilt of the individual telescopes, will provide a means of achieving a stable diffraction-limited focus with segmented telescopes or arrays of telescopes.

Wizinowich, P.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Cryogenic monocrystalline silicon Fabry-Perot cavity for the stabilization of laser frequency

A 1.6 kg silicon monocrystal was used to make a Fabry-Perot optical cavity operated at cryogenic temperatures. High-resolution thermal expansion measurements were made as the silicon cooled to 4.2 K, in order to characterize the cavity as a length reference standard. A helium-neon laser was then locked to a transmission resonance at liquid-helium temperatures, and the laser frequency tracked the cavity resonance with error fluctuations at the level of 10 Hz/sq rt Hz in the bandwidth dc to 1 Hz. Implications of the combined set of data, thermal expansion plus frequency-tracking fluctuations, for using such a system as a frequency standard are discussed.

Richard, J.-P.↗

NASA NTRS1939

Investigations and Experiments in the Guidonia Wind Tunnel

This paper is a presentation of the experiments and equipment used in investigations at the Guidonia wind tunnel. The equipment consisted of: a number of subsonic and supersonic cones, an aerodynamic balance, and optical instruments operating on the Schlieren and interferometer principle.

Ferri, Antonio↗

NASA NTRS1992

Tetravalent chromium (Cr(4+)) as laser-active ion for tunable solid-state lasers

Generation of femtosecond pulses from a continuous-wave mode-locked chromium-doped forsterite (Cr(4+):Mg2SiO4) laser has been accomplished. The forsterite laser was actively mode-locked using an acousto-optic modulator operating at 78 MHz with two Brewster high-dispersion glass prisms for intra-cavity chirp compensation. Transform-limited sub-100-fs pulses were routinely generated in the TEM(sub 00) mode with 85 mW of continuous power (with 1 percent output coupler), tunable over 1230-1280 nm. The shortest pulses of 60-fs pulsewidth were measured.

Seas, A.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Reducing video frame rate increases remote optimal focus time

Twelve observers made best optical focus adjustments to a microscope whose high-resolution pattern was video monitored and displayed first on a National Television System Committee (NTSC) analog color monitor and second on a digitally compressed computer monitor screen at frame rates ranging (in six steps) from 1.5 to 30 frames per second (fps). This was done to determine whether reducing the frame rate affects the image focus. Reducing frame rate has been shown to be an effective and acceptable means of reducing transmission bandwidth of dynamic video imagery sent from Space Station Freedom (SSF) to ground scientists. Three responses were recorded per trial: time to complete the focus adjustment, number of changes of focus direction, and subjective rating of final image quality. It was found that: the average time to complete the focus setting increases from 4.5 sec at 30 fps to 7.9 sec at 1.5 fps (statistical probability = 1.2 x 10(exp -7)); there is no significant difference in the number of changes in the direction of focus adjustment across these frame rates; and there is no significant change in subjectively determined final image quality across these frame rates. These data can be used to help pre-plan future remote optical-focus operations on SSF.

Haines, Richard F.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Real-Time, Holographic, Dynamic Image-Storage Device

Solid-state device developed for high-speed acquisition, dynamic storage, and amplification of three-dimensional holographic images. Holograms generated via four-wave mixing in two or more photorefractive crystals (or subelements of single crystal) to create single-crystal or multicrystal oscillator. Apparatus provides dynamic storage of holographic image of object after electronic shutter closed to turn off object beam. Provides capability to store, amplify, process, and transmit time-varying, two-dimensional, spatial information. Developments include sensors, actuators, and optical computers operating at speeds on order of speed of light. Potential in applications in which need for high-speed acquisition and storage of three-dimensional holographic images.

Montgomery, Raymond C.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Material Testing Device

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts led to two commercial instruments and a new subsidiary for Physical Sciences, Inc. (PSI). The FAST system, originally developed for testing the effect of space environment on materials, is now sold commercially for use in aging certification of materials intended for orbital operation. The Optical Temperature Monitor was designed for precise measurement of high temperatures on certain materials to be manufactured in space. The original research was extended to the development of a commercial instrument that measures and controls fuel gas temperatures in industrial boilers. PSI created PSI Environmental Instruments to market the system. The company also offers an Aerospace Measurement Service that has evolved from other SBIR contracts.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2000

Observational Model for Precision Astrometry with the Space Interferometry Mission

The Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) is a space-based 10-m baseline Michelson optical interferometer operating in the visible waveband that is designed to achieve astrometric accuracy in the single digits of the microarcsecond domain. Over a narrow field of view SIM is expected to achieve a mission accuracy of 1 microarcsecond. In this mode SIM will search for planetary companions to nearby stars by detecting the astrometric "wobble" relative to a nearby reference star. In its wide-angle mode, SIM will provide 4 microarcsecond precision absolute position measurements of stars, with parallaxes to comparable accuracy, at the end of its 5-year mission. The expected proper motion accuracy is around 3 microarcsecond/year, corresponding to a transverse velocity of 10 m/ s at a distance of 1 kpc. The basic astrometric observable of the SIM instrument is the pathlength delay. This measurement is made by a combination of internal metrology measurements that determine the distance the starlight travels through the two arms of the interferometer, and a measurement of the white light stellar fringe to find the point of equal pathlength. Because this operation requires a non-negligible integration time, the interferometer baseline vector is not stationary over this time period, as its absolute length and orientation are time varying. This paper addresses how the time varying baseline can be "regularized" so that it may act as a single baseline vector for multiple stars, as required for the solution of the astrometric equations.

TILE OBSERVATIONS↗

NASA NTRS2006

Development Tests of a Cryogenic Filter Wheel Assembly for the NIRCam Instrument

The James Webb Space Telescope is an infrared-optimized space telescope scheduled for launch in 201 3. Its 6.5-m diameter primary mirror will collect light from some of the first galaxies formed after the big bang. The Near Infrared camera (NIRCam) will detect the first light from these galaxies, provide the necessary tools for studying the formation of stars, aid in discovering planets around other stars, and adjust the wave front error on the primary mirror (Fig. 1). The instrument and its complement of mechanisms and optics will operate at a cryogenic temperature of 35 K. This paper describes tests and test results of the NIRCam Filter Wheel assembly prototype.

McCully, Sean↗

NASA NTRS2007

Kilopixel Pop-Up Bolometer Arrays for the Atacama Cosmology Telescope

The recently deployed Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) anticipates first light on its kilopixel array of close-packed transition-edge-sensor bolometers in November of 2007. The instrument will represent a full implementation of the next-generation, large format arrays for millimeter wave astronomy that use superconducting electronics and detectors. Achieving the practical construction of such an array is a significant step toward producing advanced detector arrays for future SOFIA instruments. We review the design considerations for the detector array produced for the ACT instrument. The first light imager consists of 32 separately instrumented 32-channel pop-up bolometer arrays (to create a 32x32 filled array of mm-wave sensors). Each array is instrumented with a 32-channel bias resistor array, Nyquist filter array, and time-division SQUID multiplexer. Each component needed to be produced in relatively large quantities with suitable uniformity to meet tolerances for array operation. An optical design was chosen to maximize absorption at the focal plane while mitigating reflections and stray light. The pop-up geometry (previously implemented with semiconducting detectors and readout on the SHARC II and HAWC instruments) enabled straightforward interface of the superconducting bias and readout circuit with the 2D array of superconducting bolometers. The array construction program balanced fabrication challenges with assembly challenges to deliver the instrument in a timely fashion. We present some of the results of the array build and characterization of its performance.

Chervenak, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Low-Cost, Light Weight, Thin Film Solar Concentrator

This research addresses a cost barrier towards achieving a solar thermal collector system with an installed cost of $75/sq m and meet the Department of Energy's (DOE's) performance targets for optical errors, operations during windy conditions and lifetime. Current concentrators can cost as much as 40-50% of the total installed costs for a CSP plant. In order to reduce the costs from current $200-$250/sq m, it is important to focus on the overall system. The reflector surface is a key cost driver, and our film-based polymer reflector will help significantly in achieving DOE's cost target of $75/sq m. The ease of manufacturability, installation and replacement make this technology a compelling one to develop. This technology can be easily modified for a variety of CSP options including heliostats, parabolic dishes and parabolic troughs.

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP)↗

NASA NTRS2015

Optoelectronic Infrastructure for Radio Frequency and Optical Phased Arrays

Optoelectronic integrated circuits offer radiation-hardened solutions for satellite systems in addition to improved size, weight, power, and bandwidth characteristics. ODIS, Inc., has developed optoelectronic integrated circuit technology for sensing and data transfer in phased arrays. The technology applies integrated components (lasers, amplifiers, modulators, detectors, and optical waveguide switches) to a radio frequency (RF) array with true time delay for beamsteering. Optical beamsteering is achieved by controlling the current in a two-dimensional (2D) array. In this project, ODIS integrated key components to produce common RF-optical aperture operation.

Cai, Jianhong↗

NASA NTRS2016

The Wide-Field Imaging Interferometry Testbed (WIIT): Recent Progress in the Simulation and Synthesis of WIIT Data

The Wide-field Imaging Interferometry Testbed (WIIT) is a double Fourier (DF) interferometer operating at optical wavelengths, and provides data that are highly representative of those from a space-based far-infrared interferometer like SPIRIT. This testbed has been used to measure both a geometrically simple test scene and an astronomically representative test scene. Here we present the simulation of recent WIIT measurements using FIInS (the Far-infrared Interferometer Instrument Simulator), the main goal of which is to simulate both the input and the output of a DFM system. FIInS has been modified to perform calculations at optical wavelengths and to include an extended field of view due to the presence of a detector array.

Juanola Parramon, Roser↗

NASA NTRS2018

The Wide-Field Spatio-Spectral Interferometer: System Overview, Data Synthesis and Analysis

The Wide-field Imaging Interferometry Testbed (WIIT) is a double Fourier (DF) interferometer operating at optical wavelengths, and provides data that are highly representative of those from a space-based far-infrared interferometer like SPIRIT. We have used the testbed to observe both geometrically simple and astronomically representative test scenes. Here we present an overview of the astronomical importance of high angular resolution at the far infrared, followed by the description of the optical set-up of WIIT, including the source simulator CHIP (Calibrated Hyperspectral Image Projector). We describe our synthesis algorithms used in the reconstruction of the input test scenes via a simulation of the most recent measurements. The updated algorithms, which include instruments artifacts that allow the synthesis of DF experimental data, are presented and the most recent results analyzed.

Juanola-Parramon, Roser↗

NASA NTRS2016

Low-CNR Inverse Synethetic LADAR Imaging Demonstration with Atmospheric Turbulence

An Inverse Synthetic Aperture LADAR (ISAL) system is capable of providing high resolution surface mapping of near Earth objects which is an ability that has gained significant interest for both exploration and hazard assessment. The use of an ISAL system over these long distances often presents the need to operate the optical system in photon-starved conditions. This leads to a necessity to understand the implications of photon and detector noise in the system. Here a Carrier-to-Noise Ratio is derived which is similar to other optical imaging CNR definitions. The CNR value is compared to the quality of experimentally captured images recovered using the Phase Gradient Autofocus technique both with and without the presence of atmospheric turbulence. A minimum return signal CNR for the PGA to work is observed.

ISAL↗

NASA NTRS1999

Searching for Planets with the Space Interferometry Mission

The Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) is designed as a space-based optical interferometer operating in the visible waveband. This mission will open up many areas of astrophysics, via astrometry with unprecedented accuracy during its 5-year mission.

astrometry↗