Results for “Marketplace” — Page 6

NASA NTRS2003

NASA Helps Keep the Light Burning for the Saturn Car Company

The Saturn Electronics & Engineering, Inc. (Saturn) facility in Marks, Miss., that produces lamp assemblies was experiencing itermittent problems with its automotive under the hood lamps. After numerous testing and engineering efforts, technicians could not pin down the root of the problem. So Saturn contacted the NASA Technology Assistance Program (TAP) at Stennis Space Center. The Marks production facility had been experiencing intermittent problems with under the hood lamp assemblies for some time. The failure rate, at 2 percent, was unacceptable. Every effort was made to identify the problem so that corrective action could be put in place. The problem was investigated and researched by Saturn's engineering department. In addition, Saturn brought in several independent testing laboratories. Other measures included examining the switch component suppliers and auditing them for compliance to the design specifications and for surface contaminants. All attempts to identify the factors responsible for the failures were inconclusive. In an effort to get to the root of the problem, and at the recommendation of the Mississippi Department of Economic Development, Saturn contacted the NASA TAP at Stennis. The NASA Materials and Contamination Laboratory, with assistance from the Stennis Prototype Laboratory, conducted a materials evaluation study on the switch components. The laboratory findings showed the failures were caused by a build-up of carbon-based contaminants on the switch components. Saturn Electronics & Engineering, Inc., is a minority-owned provider of contract manufacturing services to a diverse global marketplace. Saturn operates manufacturing facilities globally serving the North American, European, and Asian markets. Saturn's production facility in Marks, Mississippi, produces more than 1,000,000 lamps and switches monthly. "Since the NASA recommendations were implemented, our internal failure rate for intermittency has dropped to less than .02 percent. Most importantly, we restored our high-level of customer satisfaction. Stennis provided an invaluable service to our business," Patrick said. Both NASA and Saturn were pleased with the results form this technical assistance project. The Technology Assistance Program at Stennis makes available to the public NASA technical expertise and access to lab facilities. This project provided both services with a positive outcome.

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NASA NTRS2004

The Case for Moderately-Cooled, Far-Infrared Thermal Detectors

There are moderately-cooled (around 77K) infrared detectors, for instance InSb (around 5 microns wavelength) and HgCdTe (around 15 to 20 microns wavelength). However for longer wavelengths there are either uncooled thermal-type detectors or highly cooled (about 4K and lower) quantum and thermal detectors, with the notable exception of high Tc superconductor detectors. We will describe certain long-wavelength applications in space where only moderate cooling is feasible, and where better sensitivity is required than possible with uncooled detectors. These requirements could be met with high Tc bolometers, but it may also be prudent to develop other technologies. Additionally, over the past 16 years a marketplace has not developed for the commercial production of high Tc bolometers, indicating their production may be a natural endeavor for government laboratories.

Brasunas, John C.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Research and Technology 1999

This report highlights the challenging work accomplished during fiscal year 1999 by Ames research scientists, engineers, and technologists. It discusses research and technologies that enable the Information Age, that expand the frontiers of knowledge for aeronautics and space, and that help to maintain U.S. leadership in aeronautics and space research and technology development. The accomplishments are grouped into four categories based on NASA's four Strategic Enterprises: Aero-Space Technology, Space, Human Exploration and Development of Space, and Earth Science. The primary purpose of this report is to communicate knowledge-to inform our stakeholders, customers, and partners, and the people of the United States about the scope and diversity of Ames' mission, the nature of Ames' research and technology activities, and the stimulating challenges ahead. The accomplishments cited illustrate the contributions that Ames is making to improve the quality of life for our citizens and the economic position of the United States in the world marketplace.

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NASA NTRS2002

Ames Research Center Research and Technology 2000

This report highlights the challenging work accomplished during fiscal year 2000 by Ames research scientists,engineers, and technologists. It discusses research and technologies that enable the Information Age, that expand the frontiers of knowledge for aeronautics and space, and that help to maintain U.S. leadership in aeronautics and space research and technology development. The accomplishments are grouped into four categories based on four of NASA's Strategic Enterprises: Aerospace Technology, Space Science, Biological and Physical Research, and Earth Science. The primary purpose of this report is to communicate knowledge-to inform our stakeholders, customer, and partners, and the people of the United States about the scope and diversity of Ames' mission,the nature of Ames' research and technolog) activities,and the stimulating challenges ahead. The accomplishments cited illustrate the contributions that Ames is willing to improve the quality of life for our citizens and the economic position of the United States in the world marketplace.

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NASA NTRS1999

Research and Technology 1998

This report highlights the challenging work accomplished during fiscal year 1998 by Ames research scientists, engineers, and technologists. It discusses research and technologies that enable the Information Age, that expand the frontiers of knowledge for aeronautics and space, and that help to maintain U.S. leadership in aeronautics and space research and technology development. The accomplishments are grouped into four categories based on NASA's four Strategic Enterprises: Aero-Space Technology, Space Science, Human Exploration and Development of Space, and Earth Science. The primary purpose of this report is to communicate knowledge-to inform our stakeholders, customers, and partners, and the people of the United States about the scope and diversity of Ames mission, the nature of Ames research and technology activities, and the stimulating challenges ahead. The accomplishments cited illustrate the contributions that Ames is making to improve the quality of life for our citizens and the economic position of the United States in the world marketplace.

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NASA NTRS2003

Industry Consolidation and Future Airline Network Structures in Europe

In the current downturn in demand for air travel, major airlines are revising and rationalizing their networks in an attempt to improve financial performance and strengthen their defences against both new entrants and traditional rivals. Expansion of commercial agreements or alliances with other airlines has become a key reaction to the increasingly competitive marketplace. In the absence, for regulatory reasons, of cross-border mergers these are the principal means by which the industry can consolidate internationally. This paper analyzes the developments which have been taking place and attempts to itentify the implications for airline network structures and the function of different hub airports. The range of services available to passengers in long-haul markets to/from Europe is evaluated before and after recent industry reorganization. Hubs are crucial to interlink the route networks of parmers in an alliance. However, duplication between nearby hub airports that find themselves within the same airline alliance can lead to loss of service at the weaker locations. The extent to which the alliance hubs in Europe duplicate or complement each other in terms of network coverage is assessed and this methodology also enables the optimal partnerships for "unattached" airlines to be identified. The future role of the various European hubs is considered under different scenarios of global alliance development. The paper concludes by considering possible longer-term developments. In an environment where the low-cost carriers will provide a major element of customer choice, it is suggested that the traditional airlines will retrench around their hubs, surrendering many secondary cities to the low-cost sector. Further reduction in the number of alliances could threaten more of the European hubs. For both regulatory and commercial reasons, the end result may be just one airline alliance - so recreating in the deregulated market the historic rule of IATA.

Dennis, Nigel↗

NASA NTRS2005

Critical Propulsion Components: Exhaust Nozzle - Volume 3

Several studies have concluded that a supersonic aircraft, if environmentally acceptable and economically viable, could successfully compete in the 21st century marketplace. However, before industry can commit to what is estimated as a 15 to 20 billion dollar investment, several barrier issues must be resolved. In an effort to address these barrier issues, NASA and Industry teamed to form the High-Speed Research (HSR) program. As part of this program, the Critical Propulsion Components (CPC) element was created and assigned the task of developing those propulsion component technologies necessary to: (1) reduce cruise emissions by a factor of 10 and (2) meet the ever-increasing airport noise restrictions with an economically viable propulsion system. The CPC-identified critical components were ultra-low emission combustors, low-noise/high-performance exhaust nozzles, low-noise fans, and stable/high-performance inlets. Propulsion cycle studies (coordinated with NASA Langley Research Center sponsored airplane studies) were conducted throughout this CPC program to help evaluate candidate components and select the best concepts for the more complex and larger scale research efforts. The propulsion cycle and components ultimately selected were a mixed-flow turbofan (MFTF) engine employing a lean, premixed, prevaporized (LPP) combustor coupled to a two-dimensional mixed compression inlet and a two-dimensional mixer/ejector nozzle. Due to the large amount of material presented in this report, it was prepared in four volumes; Volume 1: Summary, Introduction, and Propulsion System Studies, Volume 2: Combustor, Volume 3: Exhaust Nozzle, and Volume 4: Inlet and Fan/Inlet Acoustic Team.

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NASA NTRS2005

Critical Propulsion Components: Inlet and Fan/Inlet Accoustics Team - Volume 4

Several studies have concluded that a supersonic aircraft, if environmentally acceptable and economically viable, could successfully compete in the 21st century marketplace. However, before industry can commit to what is estimated as a 15 to 20 billion dollar investment, several barrier issues must be resolved. In an effort to address these barrier issues, NASA and Industry teamed to form the High-Speed Research (HSR) program. As part of this program, the Critical Propulsion Components (CPC) element was created and assigned the task of developing those propulsion component technologies necessary to: (1) reduce cruise emissions by a factor of 10 and (2) meet the ever-increasing airport noise restrictions with an economically viable propulsion system. The CPC-identified critical components were ultra-low emission combustors, low-noise/high-performance exhaust nozzles, low-noise fans, and stable/high-performance inlets. Propulsion cycle studies (coordinated with NASA Langley Research Center sponsored airplane studies) were conducted throughout this CPC program to help evaluate candidate components and select the best concepts for the more complex and larger scale research efforts. The propulsion cycle and components ultimately selected were a mixed-flow turbofan (MFTF) engine employing a lean, premixed, prevaporized (LPP) combustor coupled to a two-dimensional mixed compression inlet and a two-dimensional mixer/ejector nozzle. Due to the large amount of material presented in this report, it was prepared in four volumes; Volume 1: Summary, Introduction, and Propulsion System Studies, Volume 2: Combustor, Volume 3: Exhaust Nozzle, and Volume 4: Inlet and Fan/Inlet Acoustic Team.

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NASA NTRS2005

Critical Propulsion Components: Summary, Introduction, and Propulsion Systems Studies - Volume 1

Several studies have concluded that a supersonic aircraft, if environmentally acceptable and economically viable, could successfully compete in the 21st century marketplace. However, before industry can commit to what is estimated as a 15 to 20 billion dollar investment, several barrier issues must be resolved. In an effort to address these barrier issues, NASA and Industry teamed to form the High-Speed Research (HSR) program. As part of this program, the Critical Propulsion Components (CPC) element was created and assigned the task of developing those propulsion component technologies necessary to: (1) reduce cruise emissions by a factor of 10 and (2) meet the ever-increasing airport noise restrictions with an economically viable propulsion system. The CPC-identified critical components were ultra-low emission combustors, low-noise/high-performance exhaust nozzles, low-noise fans, and stable/high-performance inlets. Propulsion cycle studies (coordinated with NASA Langley Research Center sponsored airplane studies) were conducted throughout this CPC program to help evaluate candidate components and select the best concepts for the more complex and larger scale research efforts. The propulsion cycle and components ultimately selected were a mixed-flow turbofan (MFTF) engine employing a lean, premixed, prevaporized (LPP) combustor coupled to a two-dimensional mixed compression inlet and a two-dimensional mixer/ejector nozzle. Due to the large amount of material presented in this report, it was prepared in four volumes; Volume 1: Summary, Introduction, and Propulsion System Studies, Volume 2: Combustor, Volume 3: Exhaust Nozzle, and Volume 4: Inlet and Fan/ Inlet Acoustic Team.

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NASA NTRS2005

Critical Propulsion Components: Combustor - Volume 2

Several studies have concluded that a supersonic aircraft, if environmentally acceptable and economically viable, could successfully compete in the 21st century marketplace. However, before industry can commit to what is estimated as a 15 to 20 billion dollar investment, several barrier issues must be resolved. In an effort to address these barrier issues, NASA and Industry teamed to form the High-Speed Research (HSR) program. As part of this program, the Critical Propulsion Components (CPC) element was created and assigned the task of developing those propulsion component technologies necessary to: (1) reduce cruise emissions by a factor of 10 and (2) meet the ever-increasing airport noise restrictions with an economically viable propulsion system. The CPC-identified critical components were ultra-low emission combustors, low-noise/high-performance exhaust nozzles, low-noise fans, and stable/high-performance inlets. Propulsion cycle studies (coordinated with NASA Langley Research Center sponsored airplane studies) were conducted throughout this CPC program to help evaluate candidate components and select the best concepts for the more complex and larger scale research efforts. The propulsion cycle and components ultimately selected were a mixed-flow turbofan (MFTF) engine employing a lean, premixed, prevaporized (LPP) combustor coupled to a two-dimensional mixed compression inlet and a two-dimensional mixer/ejector nozzle. Due to the large amount of material presented in this report, it was prepared in four volumes; Volume 1: Summary, Introduction, and Team. Propulsion System Studies, Volume 2: Combustor, Volume 3: Exhaust Nozzle, and Volume 4: Inlet and Fan/Inlet Acoustic Team.

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NASA NTRS1999

Binary Colloidal Alloy Test Conducted on Mir

Colloids are tiny (submicron) particles suspended in fluid. Paint, ink, and milk are examples of colloids found in everyday life. The Binary Colloidal Alloy Test (BCAT) is part of an extensive series of experiments planned to investigate the fundamental properties of colloids so that scientists can make colloids more useful for technological applications. Some of the colloids studied in BCAT are made of two different sized particles (binary colloidal alloys) that are very tiny, uniform plastic spheres. Under the proper conditions, these colloids can arrange themselves in a pattern to form crystals. These crystals may form the basis of new classes of light switches, displays, and optical devices. Windows made of liquid crystals are already in the marketplace. These windows change their appearance from transparent to opaque when a weak electric current is applied. In the future, if the colloidal crystals can be made to control the passage of light through them, such products could be made much more cheaply. These experiments require the microgravity environment of space because good quality crystals are difficult to produce on Earth because of sedimentation and convection in the fluid. The BCAT experiment hardware included two separate modules for two different experiments. The "Slow Growth" hardware consisted of a 35-mm camera with a 250- exposure photo film cartridge. The camera was aimed toward the sample module, which contained 10 separate colloid samples. A rack of small lights provided backlighting for the photographs. The BCAT hardware was launched on the shuttle and was operated aboard the Russian space station Mir by American astronauts John Blaha and David Wolf (launched September 1996 and returned January 1997; reflown September 1997 and returned January 1998). To begin the experiment, one of these astronauts would mix the samples to disperse the colloidal particles and break up any crystals that might have already formed. Once the samples were mixed and the experiment was powered on, the hardware operated autonomously, taking photos of the colloidal samples over a 90-day period.

Hoffmann, Monica I.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Silicon Carbide Being Developed for High-Definition Television (HDTV) Transmitter Modules

Through a Space Act Agreement, the NASA Lewis Research Center has helped develop the base silicon carbide (SiC) epitaxial growth technology for Westinghouse's efforts to bring silicon carbide products to the marketplace. SiC is a high-temperature, high-voltage semiconductor that can deliver greater than three times the power of conventional silicon devices. The technology was initially disclosed in the 1994 R&T report. NASA Lewis High Temperature Integrated Electronics and Sensors (HTIES) team is developing SiC as a material for advanced semiconductor electronic device applications because SiC-based electronics and sensors can operate in hostile environments where conventional silicon-based electronics cannot function. SiC transmitters hold great promise for television stations because they can convert broadcasts from analog to digital signals. A modular solid-state design provides broadcasters with an option to gradually add modules, increasing the power of their transmitters as they expand their high-definition television (HDTV) coverage. Using these high-power transistors will significantly reduce the space needed for high-power transmitters at television stations and will offer a solid-state solution, reducing long-term maintenance costs. Thus, transmitter manufacturers will be able to abandon their reliance on tube-based technology for high-power transmitters and will be able to build smaller, high-power, solid-state transmitters.

Costello, Donald E.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Unmanned Aircraft Hazards and their Implications for Regulation

Use of unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) has been characterized as the next great step forward in the evolution of civil aviation. Indeed, UASs are in limited civil use in the United States today, and many believe that the time is rapidly approaching when they will move into the commercial marketplace, too. To make this a reality, a number of challenges must be overcome to develop the necessary regulatory framework for assuring safe operation of this special class of aircraft. This paper discusses some of what must be done to establish that framework. In particular, we examine hazards specific to the design, operation, and flight crew of UASs, and discuss implications of these hazards for existing policy and guidance. Understanding unique characteristics of UASs that pose new hazards is essential to developing a cogent argument, and the corresponding regulatory framework, for safely integrating these aircraft into civil airspace.

Hayhurst, Kelly J.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Solar Meter

The instrument pictured is an inexpensive solar meter which is finding wide acceptance among architects, engineers and others engaged in construction of solar energy facilities. It detects the amount of solar energy available at a building site, information necessary to design the most efficient type of solar system for a particular location. Incorporating technology developed by NASA's Lewis Research Center, the device is based upon the solar cell, which provides power for spacecraft by converting the sun's energy to electricity. The meter is produced by Dodge Products, Inc., Houston, Texas, a company formed to bring the technology to the commercial marketplace.

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NASA NTRS2006

Progressive Plant Growing Has Business Blooming

In 1997, AgriHouse, Inc. (d.b.a. Aeroponics International), a leading agri-biology company, united with NASA and BioServe Space Technologies, a nonprofit, NASA-sponsored partnership research center, to design a soil-less plant-growth experiment to be performed in microgravity, aboard the Mir space station. This experiment aimed to gauge the effectiveness of a non-pesticide solution on the immune responses of bean plants. In essence, the research consortium was looking for a means of keeping plants free from infection, without having to rely on the use of pesticides. This research, combined with follow-on grants from NASA, has helped Berthoud, Colorado-based AgriHouse gain credibility in the commercial marketplace with related technology and gross the capital necessary to conduct further research in a new-age field known as bio-pharming.

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NASA NTRS2006

The Echoes of Earth Science

NASA s Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) acquires, archives, and manages data from all of NASA s Earth science satellites, for the benefit of the Space Agency and for the benefit of others, including local governments, first responders, the commercial remote sensing industry, teachers, museums, and the general public. EOSDIS is currently handling an extraordinary amount of NASA scientific data. To give an idea of the volume of information it receives, NASA s Terra Earth-observing satellite, just one of many NASA satellites sending down data, sends it hundreds of gigabytes a day, almost as much data as the Hubble Space Telescope acquires in an entire year, or about equal to the amount of information that could be found in hundreds of pickup trucks filled with books. To make EOSDIS data completely accessible to the Earth science community, NASA teamed up with private industry in 2000 to develop an Earth science "marketplace" registry that lets public users quickly drill down to the exact information they need. It also enables them to publish their research and resources alongside of NASA s research and resources. This registry is known as the Earth Observing System ClearingHOuse, or ECHO. The charter for this project focused on having an infrastructure completely independent from EOSDIS that would allow for more contributors and open up additional data access options. Accordingly, it is only fitting that the term ECHO is more than just an acronym; it represents the functionality of the system in that it can echo out and create interoperability among other systems, all while maturing with time as industry technologies and standards change and improve.

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NASA NTRS1979

Spinoff 1979

Technology is knowledge, the technical "know-how" employed by a society to produce things that improve the quality of human life. Like other forms of knowledge, it is transferable; once developed, technology can be applied to uses different-and often remote-from the original application. Thus, the technology that NASA has developed in more than two decades of space and aeronautical research constitutes a valuable national resource, a bank of knowledge available for secondary utilization, or "spinoff." NASA mainline programs, by their challenging nature, are particularly demanding of technological advance; meeting their goals has forced extraordinary advancements in virtually every scientific and technological discipline. For that reason, the wealth of aerospace-generated knowledge available for transfer is exceptionally diverse, and much of it is readily applicable to secondary use over a broad spectrum of public needs and conveniences. Through its Congressionally mandated Technology Utilization Program, NASA seeks to promote wider use of this technological resource. The program provides a link between the technology bank and those in either the private or public sectors who might be able to re-use the technology productively. Its aim is to accelerate the transfer process, to bring to the marketplace sooner those spinoffs which might eventually occur in the normal course of events, and to gain thereby more immediate economic benefit in terms of new products and new jobs. The program has been remarkably successful. Since its inception 17 years ago, thousands of spinoff products and processes have emerged. Some of these innovations bring only moderate increments of economic gain or lifestyle improvement, but many others amount to significant public benefits, with economic values often running to millions of dollars. Collectively, spinoffs provide a substantial bonus return on the funds invested in aerospace research. This publication is intended to increase public awareness of the resource that is NASA's technology bank and its potential for further public benefit. It is devoted primarily to the NASA technology transfer process, but in the interests of perspective it also describes related areas of NASA endeavor. Section 1 consists of a resume of NASA's current mainline programs. These programs are producing direct public benefit through direct application of technology; at the same time, they are contributing to indirect benefit-spinoff-by generating new technology which may find secondary application in the future. Section 2 is the focal point of this volume. It contains a representative sampling of spinoff products and processes employed in various avenues of everyday life, and it describes briefly the NASA technology from which these transfers derived. Section 3 details the mechanisms of the technology transfer process, including the means by which NASA seeks to stimulate technology utilization. Also described are NASA's activities in a related area of technology transfer: provision of assistance to agencies interested in exploiting the benefit potential of satellite remote sensing technology.

Haggerty, James J.↗

NASA NTRS2007

The Effects of Radiation on Imagery Sensors in Space

Recent experience using high definition video on the International Space Station reveals camera pixel degradation due to particle radiation to be a much more significant problem with high definition cameras than with standard definition video. Although it may at first appear that increased pixel density on the imager is the logical explanation for this, the ISS implementations of high definition suggest a more complex causal and mediating factor mix. The degree of damage seems to vary from one type of camera to another, and this variation prompts a reconsideration of the possible factors in pixel loss, such as imager size, number of pixels, pixel aperture ratio, imager type (CCD or CMOS), method of error correction/concealment, and the method of compression used for recording or transmission. The problem of imager pixel loss due to particle radiation is not limited to out-of-atmosphere applications. Since particle radiation increases with altitude, it is not surprising to find anecdotal evidence that video cameras subject to many hours of airline travel show an increased incidence of pixel loss. This is even evident in some standard definition video applications, and pixel loss due to particle radiation only stands to become a more salient issue considering the continued diffusion of high definition video cameras in the marketplace.

Mathis, Dylan↗