SBIR Phase 1 Solicitation   STTR Phase 1 Solicitation Abstract Archives

NASA 2010 SBIR Phase 2 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Ophir Corp
10184 West Belleview Avenue, Suite 200
Littleton, CO 80127-1762
(303) 933-2200

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Loren Caldwell
caldwell@ophir.com
10184 West Belleview Ave., Suite 200
Littleton,  CO 80127-1762
(303) 933-2200

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Ophir's Phase I research was highly successful and all contract objectives and tasks were successfully completed. In Phase II, Ophir proposes to continue this important research by developing and flight testing a multifunction, low-cost, laser radar capable of enhancing aviation safety by accurately measuring kinetic air hazards, providing supplemental air data, and enhancing ride comfort. The innovation is providing a single, cost-effective sensor that has multiple-use functionality, in a package that is easily integrated onto commercial aircraft. Conventional air data systems provide critical information to the aircraft for safe flight, but there are vulnerabilities, as evidenced by the recent Air France accident. A more robust air data system for flight controls on aircraft is needed - particularly to measure airspeed in icing and severe weather conditions. This proposed sensor also detects and quantifies kinetic air hazards which impact the safety of air traffic; enhances ride comfort while reducing airframe fatigue; decreases fuel consumption, and reduces the frequency and severity of encounters with turbulent events. Building upon the Phase I design and performance trade studies, Phase II will finalize the prototype design, assemble the working prototype, perform Proof-of-Capability laboratory testing, package the prototype for flight testing and demonstrate the multifunction lidar technology in a representative flight environment (TRL 5).

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The Non-NASA commercial applications for this multifunction lidar include commercial aircraft manufacturers, manned and unmanned military aircraft developers, and manufacturers of conventional air data probes. The regional jet market and the Air Force aircraft developers may also benefit from the air data measurement capability of this lidar for new aircraft flight testing and calibration. The commercial markets have been reticent to adopt an optical air data sensor due to the size, weight and power consumption factors, as well as, the single function nature of the sensor. But, the ability to condense the sensor and offer multimode operation enables the market acceptance and ultimate sensor commercialization.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Airspace transformation to NextGen may be significantly safer by providing additional information for kinetic air hazard detection. NASA has pioneered many innovations and improvements for wind hazard detection, warning and forecasting. This innovation enables this airspace transformation by providing wind hazard measurement and resulting real-time information for air traffic operations. This innovation will not only increase in-safety flight, but also may impact the volume of traffic able to traverse the continent due to the provision of resultant weather warnings. Also, safety of the air traffic system will be improved with the provision of a supplemental air data system on commercial aircraft. NASA has shown the utility of lidar wind and air data measurements over the years, however, the systems have been quite cumbersome. Ophir solves this challenge by providing a supplemental air data system and a dual-use kinetic air hazard monitoring system in a small size, weight and power consumption package, as well as at a low cost.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Avionics (see also Control and Monitoring)
Analytical Instruments (Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma, Energy; see also Sensors)
Detectors (see also Sensors)
Lasers (Ladar/Lidar)
Optical/Photonic (see also Photonics)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
MUSYN Inc
P.O. Box 13377
Minneapolis, MN 55414-5377
(651) 602-9732

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Peter Seiler
peter.j.seiler@gmail.com
P.O. Box 13377
Minneapolis,  MN 55414-5377
(651) 602-9732

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Adaptive control offers an opportunity to fulfill aircraft safety objectives though automated vehicle recovery while maintaining performance and stability requirements in the presence of unknown or varying operating environment. Future aircraft are a natural application of adaptive control. These aircraft will be more fuel efficient, have longer operating ranges though more flexible aircraft structures. This increased flexibility will tightly couple structural and rigid body modes. The traditional control approaches to address the aeroservoelastic (ASE) will not work due to this coupling. Furthermore, the application of adaptive control to these flexible aircraft may result in undesired ASE excitation leading to structural damage or failure. Hence an integrated flight control system is needed for gust load alleviation, flutter suppression and rigid body control of the aircraft which works in concert with the adaptive control system for improved resilience and safety. MUSYN proposes an integrated approach based on linear, parameter-varying (LPV) control to the design of integrated flight control algorithms. Phase II research is focused on developing a fully functional prototype tool suite to model, identify, analyze, design, simulate and implement in real-time, linear, parameter-varying (LPV) ASE controllers. The objective is to combine the integrated LPV flight control system with adaptive control to preserve rigid body performance during upsets while mitigating ASE effects. The prototype LPV tools will be used to analyze and design an inner-loop LPV ASE and adaptive outer-loop controller for the MAD-MUTT test vehicle. The LPV designs will be validated in software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop testing prior to their implementation and flight test on the MAD-MUTT vehicle. The objective is to demonstrate the viability of the LPV tools suite to analyze and synthesize integrated controllers for highly flexible aircraft.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Non-NASA commercial applications fall under two categories: (1) Uninhabited aerial systems (UASs) like SensorCraft, for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and (2) Space, automotive and ship transportation systems. MUSYN or the companies it has worked with have already demonstrated the application of LPV control techniques to aircraft, launch vehicles, automotive suspensions, trucks, missiles and underwater vehicles. All these systems are seeing increased aeroservoelastic coupling due to the push for more efficient, lightweight structures. The software tool develop in the SBIR addresses a unique need that is currently only being addressed by European aerospace companies using proprietary software tools. A Matlab based LPV Control Toolbox would address a need in the US aerospace and transportation communities and complement the robust control tools already developed MUSYN.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The immediate NASA application will be the Multi-Utility Aeroelastic Demonstrator (MAD), Multi Utility Technology Test-bed (MUTT)vehicle being transferred to NASA Dryden in Summer 2012. This aircraft will provide an experimental flight test capability for aeroservoeleastic control research. Lockheed Marting and the USAF developed this test bed to investigate the use of active control strategies for highly flexible aicraft. The MAD-MUTT vehicle is an ideal facility to use the LPV framework for modeling, identification, analysis, control, simulation and real-time implementation of LPV controllers. The proposed research will develop an integrated LPV flight control for the MAD-MUTT test vehicle. The performance and robustness of the LPV design will be accessed and compared with a baseline aeroservoelastic system.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Analytical Methods
Autonomous Control (see also Control & Monitoring)
Algorithms/Control Software & Systems (see also Autonomous Systems)
Software Tools (Analysis, Design)
Verification/Validation Tools
Simulation & Modeling

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Global Engineering and Materials, Inc
11 Alscot Drive
East Lyme, CT 06333-1303
(860) 398-5620

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Jim Lua
jlua@gem-innovation.com
11 Alscot Drive
East Lyme,  CT 06333-1303
(860) 367-4970

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
A Probabilistic Fatigue Damage Assessment Network (PFDAN) toolkit for Abaqus will be developed for probabilistic life management of a laminated composite structure with both microcracking induced stiffness degradation and cyclic loading induced delamination crack growth without remeshing. It is based on a high fidelity Fatigue Damage Assessment Network (FDAN) which includes 1) a coupled continuum damage and discrete crack model for ply damage characterization; 2) a moment schema finite element coupled with XFEM for efficient crack growth simulation in a thin ply; 3) a mixed mode fatigue delamination module to account for the mode mixity and failure mode interaction; and 4) an adaptive fracture process zone model for mesh independent delamination growth. A reduced-order model of FDAN will be generated using a combined response surface and a Gaussian process surrogate model builder to perform the subsequent probabilistic analysis efficiently. For the module verification and validation, experimental studies at the sub-component level will be performed along with the use of a damage monitoring and characterization system. The developed toolkit will be used to perform damage prognosis and risk informed life management using SHM data. GEM has secured commitments for technical support and commercialization assistance from Clarkson University, Sikorsky Aircraft, and Boeing.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Structural aging under fatigue loading is one of the most common failure mechanisms in civilian structures such as buildings, bridges, power lines, pressure vessels, and ship structures. The developed probabilistic fatigue life prediction tool can be used effectively and efficiently to assist a designer and rule-maker to answer the following questions: 1) does a proposed design have an acceptable risk of fatigue failure; 2) how tolerant is a proposed design of a crack without the risk of catastrophic failure; 3) if a crack is found in service, how long is it safe to leave the crack before repair; 4) the vessel's mission and operational profile have changed, what are the implications for fatigue and fracture risks; 5) how often should the vessel be inspected for fatigue cracks; 6) what crack size does a structural health monitoring system need to be able to detect to reduce the risk of fracture; and 7) how can measured loads from a structural health monitoring system be used to update the fatigue risks? The tool can be used to assist commercial and military industries to reduce the cost of test-driven design and process iterations with the use of the virtual testing tool. Finally, teaming with LM and Sikorsky, highly visible aircraft manufacturers, will considerably shorten our development cycle from producing a prototype research orientated tool to commercially accessible design software.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The results from this research will have significant benefits to enhance the aviation safety program in NASA. It will result in: 1) a commercially viable, accurate, computationally efficient, and user-friendly probabilistic residual life assessment tool for characterizing fatigue crack growth and performing damage analysis at the presence of uncertainties in design and loading parameters; 2) an integrated analysis framework for fatigue damage prognosis and health management of aging structures; 3) a virtual testing tool to reduce current certification and qualification costs which are heavily driven by experimental testing under various stress conditions; and 4) innovative probabilistic methods and reliability assessment procedures to facilitate the structural health management. The developed tool integrates advanced crack insertion and growth characterization, innovative fatigue damage modeling, and efficient probabilistic methods into a seamless framework for probabilistic crack growth analysis and structural damage prognosis.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Air Transportation & Safety
Analytical Methods
Characterization
Models & Simulations (see also Testing & Evaluation)
Software Tools (Analysis, Design)
Composites
Structures
Verification/Validation Tools
Simulation & Modeling

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Mitek Analytics LLC
281 El Verano Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306-2937
(650) 400-3172

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Dimitry Gorinevsky
dimitry@mitekan.com
281 El Verano Avenue
Palo Alto,  CA 94306-2937
(650) 400-3172

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Aircraft Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) programs are implemented by most of the aircraft operators. Vast amounts of FOQA data are distributed between many computers, organizations, and geographic locations. This project develops methodology for transforming such distributed data into actionable knowledge in application to aircraft health management from the vehicle level to the fleet level to the national level. The distributed data processing methodology provably obtains the same results as would be obtained if the data could be centralized. The data mining methods are efficient and scalable so that they can return results quickly for 10Tb of distributed data. This data mining technology that we call Distributed Fleet Monitoring (DFM) developed in SBIR Phase I satisfies these requirements. The data are transformed into models, trends, and anomalies. The model training and anomaly monitoring are formulated as convex optimization and decision problems. The optimization agents are distributed over networked computers and are integrated through remote connection interface in a scalable open grid computing framework. Though the data and the computations are distributed, they yield provably the same optimal solution that would be obtained by a centralized optimization. DFM feasibility was demonstrated in the problem of monitoring aircraft flight performance from fleet data using large realistic simulated datasets. We demonstrated efficient computation of quadratic optimal solution by interacting distributed agents. The feasibility demonstration successfully recovered aircraft performance anomalies that are well below the level of the natural variation in the data and are not directly visible. The algorithms are very efficient and scalable. Phase I demonstration extrapolates to processing 10Tb of raw FOQA data in under an hour to detect anomalous units, abnormal flights, and compute predictive trends.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
One application of Distributed Fleet Monitoring (DFM) technology is to multivariable FOQA monitoring of commercial aircraft fleet. The architecture is most suitable for use in existing and future FAA nation-wide systems for safety monitoring of data from multiple airline operators. The technology allows monitoring of distributed data sets from different airline while keeping the source data private; only pre-processed abstracted data are collected for centralized processing. The unique value of the technology is in fleet-wide monitoring of aircraft performance that allows improving the safety of operation. DFM monitoring of FOQA data can be used for commercial airlines and military aircraft fleets. The software is automated and easy to deploy because it relies on data-driven models. In addition to improving safety, the technology can be used for condition-based maintenance and fuel consumption monitoring. DFM allow to monitor both airframe and propulsion. There are multiple applications in jet and turboshaft engine fleet monitoring in commercial and military fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. Other potential applications are to monitoring turboshaft engines in ground vehicle fleets. DFM technology could be applied to monitoring of energy generation and power distribution systems. This includes fleets of gas turbines used for power generation, wind turbines in wind farms, power distribution transformers and other such equipment.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The developed software architecture and framework support objectives of NASA Aviation Safety Program by enabling aircraft monitoring applications using large distributed data sets. The architecture is open for integration of third party algorithms. It could enable transition of NASA data mining research into practical use in the aviation industry. The architecture is suitable for use in existing and future FAA and NASA portals for safety monitoring of data from multiple airline operators.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Aerodynamics
Condition Monitoring (see also Sensors)
Process Monitoring & Control
Computer System Architectures
Data Fusion
Data Modeling (see also Testing & Evaluation)
Data Processing
Knowledge Management
Diagnostics/Prognostics

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Aerodyne Research, Inc.
45 Manning Road
Billerica, MA 01821-3976
(978) 663-9500

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Michael Timko
timko@aerodyne.com
45 Manning Road
Billerica,  MA 01821-3976
(978) 932-0280

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Aerodyne is developing a sulfate detection instrument, based on the Tunable Infrared Laser Differential Absorption Spectrophotometer (TILDAS) technology and therefore termed the "TILDAS-sulfate" instrument, for measurement of the size-resolved sulfate PM emissions of aircraft engine combustion. Over the past 10 years and through a series of NASA led efforts, the Aerodyne Research Inc emissions team has made a series of contributions to on-going NASA programs to characterize aircraft engine emissions. Despite progress, significant knowledge gaps exist – especially for combustion emissions of alternatives to petroleum jet fuel. During this SBIR effort, we tested instrument performance in the absence of interferences, in the presence of >20-fold excess sulfur dioxide interference, in the presence of a combustion gases containing nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons as potential interferences, and for particles ranging in size from 100 to 300 nm. Instrument sensitivity was shown to be at least 600 ng per meter cubed (on a 1-sec cycle). In Phase II, we plan to: upgrade the instrument and incorporate improvements to Aerodyne's TILDAS technology to improve the detection limit to as low as 60 ng per meter cubed – on a 1-sec data acquisition cycle; test the upgraded instrument in the laboratory; demonstrate the instrument in the field for characterization of aircraft engine particle emissions.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
NASA, EPA, SERDP, U.S. Air Force, FAA, airport operators, and engine manufacturers are all aircraft particle emissions stakeholders. EPA in particular has maintained that aircraft emissions regulations must taken into account both non-volatile particle (soot) emissions and volatile (sulfate and organic) particle emissions. The FAA has been considering mandating use of lower sulfur jet fuels and the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy are aggressively pursuing low-sulfur synthetic fuels and synthetic fuel blends for use in their aircraft. We anticipate working with these partners to characterize particle emissions, develop better airport and Air Force base operation procedures, and design lower emissions aircraft engines and fuels. The TILDAS-sulfate instrument will be an important capability in these efforts. A primary factor in all of these is reduction of particle emissions, specifically sulfate particle emissions. Few commercial instruments are capable of providing direct measurements of sulfate particle emissions, and none of them match the specifications we are targeting for the TILDAS-sulfate instrument. Additional potential non-NASA applications include: diesel exhaust characterization, atmospheric chemistry studies, urban air quality studies, and industrial pollution characterization. Out of these applications, DOE and NOAA are specifically interested in improving understanding of anthropogenic contributions to climate change and the role of particle emissions.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
NASA applications include characterization of aircraft sulfate emissions and atmospheric particle characterization tests. Sulfate is one of the major categories of aircraft particle emissions and it plays a crucial role in determining the size distribution of particles in the evolving plume. Sulfate is an important contributor to the urban and atmospheric PM balance. NASA is spearheading efforts to encourage adoption of alternatives to petroleum jet fuel and the TILDAS-sulfate instrument can play an important role by helping to demonstrate the potential emissions reductions possible with the alternative fuels. In terms of atmospheric studies, sulfate is emitted directly from a number of anthropogenic sources (coal-fired power plants, aircraft) and formed in the atmosphere by oxidation of sulfur dioxide. Time resolved measurements of particle sulfate would permit differentiation from potential sulfate sources, crucial for better understanding and mitigation. The field of atmospheric nucleation is both active and &#150; due to potential climate change implications &#150; timely. An instrument capable of field deployment and simultaneous measurement of <50 nm sulfuric acid and trace gas sulfur dioxide would provide valuable information to resolve current debates on the importance of sulfuric acid and organic materials to atmospheric nucleation processes.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Analytical Instruments (Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma, Energy; see also Sensors)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Combustion Research and Flow Technology
6210 Keller's Church Road
Pipersville, PA 18947-1020
(215) 766-1520

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Neeraj Sinha
sinha@craft-tech.com
6210 Keller's Church Rd.
Pipersville,  PA 18947-1020
(215) 766-1520

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
The proposed SBIR Phase II program will lead to the validation of a state-of-the-art Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model, coupled with a Ffowcs-Williams-Hawkings (FW-H) farfield acoustic solver, for supporting the development of advanced engine concepts, including innovative flow control strategies for attenuation of their jet noise emissions. During Phase I, the LES/FW-H model was validated against matched sets of flowfield and companion acoustic data acquired at NASA/GRC for round nozzles. The flowfield validation included detailed comparisons against imagery, mean flow measurements and turbulence statistics. During Phase II, the end-to-end LES/FW-H noise prediction model will be demonstrated and validated by applying it to high aspect-ratio rectangular nozzle designs, proposed for testing at NASA GRC under the Fundamental Aeronautics Program. The model will also be validated against acoustic and flowfield data from a realistic jet-pylon experiment, thereby significantly advancing the state-of-the-art for LES. This critical validation will provide the foundation for proceeding to application of this innovative methodology in supporting the design and optimization of control concepts, e.g. chevrons, bevels, etc., as well as ultimately performing predictions of noise emissions from full-scale, realistic nozzles with complex exhaust flowpaths, airframe/propulsive jet interactions, etc.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed research is directly applicable to the US Navy's development of noise suppression technology for the F/A-18 E/F and JSF/F-35B programs. The F/A-18 E/F program office is currently engaged in development of retrofits for the General Electric F414-400 engine that entail the replacement of their nozzle seals with a new design of seals which feature chevron extensions at the trailing-edge. Comparable modifications are also being considered for the General Electric F404-400 engine for the F/A-18 C/D aircraft. Over the longer-term, the Navy's focus is shifting towards advanced suppressions concepts beyond chevrons, etc. for next-generation propulsion systems, where high-fidelity modeling will be crucial in supporting technology development. The proposed technology also has applicability in the automobile industry. Although significant resources are being spent in reducing noise from vortex shedding from side-view mirrors, the efforts are presently hindered by the absence of high fidelity predictive tools.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The research proposed is of direct relevance to NASA's Fundamental Aeronautics Program, with its focus on development of supersonic commercial flight, while meeting current and future noise certification levels. In parallel with airframe design for supersonic flight, advanced propulsion concepts are also under development, with non-axisymmetric, rectangular nozzle designs that incorporate noise control concepts. The engines that will be used with these aircrafts require significant advances in noise control technology &#150; an undertaking for which high-fidelity LES modeling will prove crucial in providing insight into physics and also complementing laboratory tests. The validated model will support NASA's upcoming tests of scale-model single or dual rectangular nozzles, as well as nozzles with chevrons and bevels. The same high-aspect ratio rectangular nozzles are also of interest to the Subsonic Fixed Wing Project.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Aerodynamics
Air Transportation & Safety
Analytical Methods
Spacecraft Design, Construction, Testing, & Performance (see also Engineering; Testing & Evaluation)
Characterization
Models & Simulations (see also Testing & Evaluation)
Software Tools (Analysis, Design)
Isolation/Protection/Shielding (Acoustic, Ballistic, Dust, Radiation, Thermal)
Atmospheric Propulsion
Launch Engine/Booster
Spacecraft Main Engine
Acoustic/Vibration
Simulation & Modeling

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Tao of Systems Integration, Inc.
144 Research Drive
Hampton, VA 23666-1339
(757) 220-5050

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Arun Mangalam
arun@taosystems.us
144 Research Drive
Hampton,  VA 23666-1339
(757) 220-5040

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Large amplitude, unsteady heating loads and steep flow gradients produced in regions of shock-wave/turbulent boundary-layer interaction (SWTBLI) pose a serious and challenging problem for designers of hypersonic vehicles. Characterizing SWTBLI flow features, such as the size of flow separation, is important for design evaluation and CFD validation. Tao Systems and CUBRC propose to develop a wide-bandwidth, thin-film heat transfer sensor system that quantifies the high frequency SWTBLI at duplicated flight conditions. This effort combines Tao Systems' high frequency-response/high-sensitivity electronics and signal processing techniques with the unique expertise of CUBRC in high-speed, high-enthalpy flows to obtain spatiotemporal information for the development of physics-based turbulence models.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Apart from the military hypersonic applications, high-sensitivity, high-bandwidth heat transfer instrumentation would be useful for general spatiotemporally accurate measurement of temperature and heat flux. The electronics could be used for measurements in turbomachinery (turbine blades) and for pulse detonation engines. One interesting commercial application where high-temperature heat flux measurement would be useful is fuel cell research, in which spatiotemporal heat flux is critical for performance evaluation. Another application is fire monitoring/control. As an example, it would be useful for naval ships to monitor the heat flux from weapons systems to adjoining areas.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
In aeronautics, heat flux sensors will help meet measurement challenges in providing validation and verification of CFD codes for heat transfer. Development of reliable turbulence modeling and CFD codes depend on making precise aerothermodynamic measurements of heat flux on various test models. NASA ARMD specifically cites prediction of transition and flow separation as high-priority objectives for the future of aeronautics, and heat transfer measurements is a key tool in providing insight into the dynamics of flow phenomena in SWTBLI regions. Specific applications of interest include SWTBLI at high enthalpies (flap forces and Scramjet), laminar/turbulent transition (crossflow instability), and unsteady separated/reattaching backshell flows on capsules.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Aerodynamics
Analytical Instruments (Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma, Energy; see also Sensors)
Aerobraking/Aerocapture
Entry, Descent, & Landing (see also Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Spacecraft Design, Construction, Testing, & Performance (see also Engineering; Testing & Evaluation)
Spacecraft Instrumentation & Astrionics (see also Communications; Control & Monitoring; Information Systems)
Process Monitoring & Control
Circuits (including ICs; for specific applications, see e.g., Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Control & Monitoring, Sensors)
Materials (Insulator, Semiconductor, Substrate)
Conversion
Distribution/Management
Characterization
Models & Simulations (see also Testing & Evaluation)
Thermal Imaging (see also Testing & Evaluation)
Microfabrication (and smaller; see also Electronics; Mechanical Systems; Photonics)
Processing Methods
Coatings/Surface Treatments
Fluids
Nanomaterials
Vehicles (see also Autonomous Systems)
Contact/Mechanical
Thermal
Simulation & Modeling
Heat Exchange
Diagnostics/Prognostics

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Frendi Research Corporation
7561 Wall Triana Highway
Madison, AL 35757-8327
(256) 679-2662

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Kader Frendi
kfrendi@knology.net
7561 Wall Triana Highway
Madison,  AL 35757-8327
(256) 824-7206

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Accurate simulations of unsteady turbulent flows for aerodynamics applications, such as accurate computation of heat loads on space vehicles as well the interactions between fluids and structures is of utmost importance to the aerospace industry and NASA. Using a Finite Element Framework suited for both fluids and structures, we propose to continue building on the successes of Phase I by adding various turbulence solution methodologies as well additional multi-disciplinary physics to address complex problems with complex geometries, while maintaining high order accuracy of the framework.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The aerospace industry is in dire need for accurate methods for unsteady turbulent flows that can be run on smaller clusters. This is a very challenging need and we are proposing to meet that need through our efficient and innovative finite element based computational framework. Outside the aerospace industry, many smaller companies desiring to use CFD in their design cycle will be able to do so with our newly developed tool.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Accurate predictions of heat loads on space vehicles during ascent and re-entry is critical. In addition, fluid-structure interaction problems are becoming more important as we design ever quieter and more fuel efficient machines. Our computational tool will help achieve these goals. As CFD becomes the tool of choice for design and development, the accuracy of the numerical methods has become more critical. In addition, a desirable attribute of accurate methods is data compression and that is what we plan to deliver.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Aerodynamics
Development Environments
Verification/Validation Tools

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Phoenix Integration
1715 Pratt Drive, Suite 2000
Blacksburg, VA 24060-6472
(540) 961-7215

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Peter Menegay
pmenegay@phoenix-int.com
1715 Pratt Drive, Suite 2000
Blacksburg,  VA 24060-6472
(540) 961-7215

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
As NASA modeling efforts grow more complex and more distributed among many working groups, new tools and technologies are required to integrate their efforts effectively. This project will build on Phoenix Integration's current product suite (ModelCenter, Analysis Server, and AnalysisLibrary) to create a collaborative modeling and execution environment for large system models. The project will involve many interrelated elements: 1) The use of reference components, which are pointers to sub-models that reside elsewhere, are managed independently, and are updated automatically in a master model, 2) The use of a model library such that collaborators can share their efforts in a centralized network-based repository, 3) An execution manager that can distribute and parallelize runs efficiently among several available compute resources, 4) The separation of models, data, and links such that they can be managed independently and reused effectively, 5) The simplification of model building efforts by providing debugging and diff tools to developers much like those that exist in the software industry, 6) User interface features that make model building easier, such as quick validation of model correctness, the ability to create sub-models from assemblies, etc. These elements will be developed with and tested against real modeling efforts taking place at NASA Langley.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Beyond NASA, the proposed technology will benefit a wide range of high-tech organizations involved in the design of complex vehicles and systems. These organizations include other government agencies such as DoD, DOE, and DOT/FAA, as well as commercial aerospace and defense organizations such as BAE, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Pratt and Whitney, and Raytheon. Many of these organizations already use Phoenix Integration's products and would benefit from an enhanced collaborative integration and trade-study environment. Other markets include the automotive, green energy, electronics, process, energy, heavy machinery, and shipbuilding industries.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed technology will combine with previously developed NASA SBIR technology and other NASA funded technologies to directly support the goals of the NASA Fundamental Aeronautics Program (FAP) and the Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) programs by giving NASA engineers the tools that they need to efficiently develop more comprehensive and accurate MDO system models. The end result will be a shortened design cycle, a reduction in errors and rework, increased innovation, and ultimately better aircraft designs. The need for a comprehensive and flexible MDO design tools extends beyond aeronautics and also encompasses other important NASA activities. For example, the framework will also benefit engineers in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) and the NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD), as they develop the next generation of space vehicles and systems. Several NASA sites use Phoenix Integration's products and would benefit from the technology developed here such as JPL (new space mission concepts), Glenn (propulsion system design), Johnson (mission analysis), Ames (multidisciplinary systems analysis), and Kennedy (space mission in-situ resource utilization).

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Aerodynamics
Analytical Methods
Software Tools (Analysis, Design)
Computer System Architectures
Knowledge Management
Development Environments
Verification/Validation Tools

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Sukra Helitek, Inc.
3146 Greenwood Road
Ames, IA 50014-4504
(515) 292-9646

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Andrew Hollingsworth
nappi@sukra-helitek.com
3146 Greenwood Rd.
Ames,  IA 50014-4504
(515) 292-9646

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 2
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
During initial design studies, parametric variation of vehicle geometry is routine. In addition, rotorcraft engineers traditionally use the wind tunnel to evaluate and finalize designs. Correlation between wind tunnel results and flight tests, when not good, have been often attributed in part to uncertainty in blockage corrections. Estimation of rotor blockage is significantly more complex than bluff body corrections as the correction depends on operational characteristics such as rotor RPM and thrust produced. This proposal offers to develop an Integrated Design Environment (IDE) which can simulate a complete rotorcraft with or without wind tunnel walls including all the facility effects. At the heart of the innovation are: 1. An automated hybrid grid generator. (viscous grids near the bodies and unstructured Cartesian grid everywhere else) 2. A robust and economical incompressible flow solver for the entire system of grids. 3. Momentum source based rotor model that is suitable and economical for simulating configurations with multiple rotors. In Phase I, the proof-of-concept developed used unstructured Cartesian grid for the model and wind tunnel. In phase II, the tool will be extended to hybrid grid with viscous grid near solid surfaces and will include several tools including a simple CAD like geometry manipulation tool and pre- and post-processing tools all integrated in one environment to facilitate ease of use.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The integrated Design Environment with a simple module for geometry manipulation and tools for pre-processing and post-processing CFD simulation will be an asset to any organization with a need to analyze a rotorcraft design or develop a new design. Incidentally the tool acting as a computational wind tunnel will be an asset to other government agencies including ARMY, NAVY and AIR FORCE where wind tunnel testing of rotorcraft and V/STOL aircrafts is routine. In the rotorcraft industry, the proposed tool can be used to assist during the design process. The tool will be designed to be versatile and enable the user to easily vary design parameters. In the educational institution the tool will help the students to gain insight on different flow phenomena, the effect of geometric variation and wind tunnel walls on the flow and the performance of a rotorcraft.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
NASA's interest in civil rotorcraft research prompts for a computational tool which has an Integrated Design Environment that is easy to learn and be robust and computationally efficient. The proposed design tool accomplishes this goal, especially in areas where geometric design changes are being considered and wind tunnel testing is integral to the design study. The tool can be effectively used for rotorcraft and V/STOL aircrafts where quantification of parametric variation in the design is essential for success.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Software Tools (Analysis, Design)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Micro Cooling Concepts, Inc.
7522 Slater Avenue, #122
Huntington Beach, CA 92647-7738
(714) 847-9945

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Jack Fryer
jayfryer@microcoolingconcepts.com
7522 Slater Avenue, #122
Huntington Beach,  CA 92647-7738
(714) 847-9945

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Gas turbine engine technology is constantly challenged to operate at higher combustor outlet temperatures. In a modern gas turbine engine, these temperatures can exceed the blade and disk material limits by 600 ¿F or more, necessitating both internal and film cooling schemes in addition to the use of thermal barrier coatings. Internal convective cooling is inadequate in many blade locations, and both internal and film cooling approaches can lead to significant performance penalties in the engine. Micro Cooling Concepts has developed a turbine blade cooling concept that provides enhanced internal impingement cooling effectiveness via the use of micro-structured impingement surfaces. These surfaces significantly increase the cooling capability of the impinging flow, as compared to a conventional untextured surface. This approach can be combined with microchannel cooling and external film cooling to tailor the cooling capability per the external heating profile. The cooling system can then be optimized to minimize impact on engine performance.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Military and commercial aircraft can both benefit from this technology, which permits higher combustion temperatures with lower engine penalties than state-of-the-art turbine blade cooling technologies. The blade cooling concept could be also applied to power generation plants, which are also seeking means of operating at higher temperatures and efficiencies. More generally, the enhanced impingement cooling techniques proposed here could be applied to a variety of cooling problems in the electronics, industrial processes, automotive, and laser industries.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed Phase I effort directly supports core NASA research efforts in turbine engine development, as well as the multi-agency Verstaile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engine (VAATE) initiative. It is also applicable to two-state to orbit designs.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Aerodynamics
Analytical Methods
Processing Methods
Joining (Adhesion, Welding)
Active Systems
Heat Exchange

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Optimal Synthesis, Inc.
95 First Street, Suite 240
Los Altos, CA 94022-2777
(650) 559-8585

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Monish Tandale
monish@optisyn.com
Optimal Synthesis Inc.
Los Altos,  CA 94022-2777
(650) 559-8585

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
NASA is developing algorithms and methodologies for efficient air-traffic management. Several researchers have adopted an optimization framework for solving problems such as flight scheduling, route assignment, flight rerouting, nationwide traffic flow management (TFM) and dynamic airspace configuration. Computational complexity of these problems have led investigators to conclude that in many instances, real time solutions are computationally infeasible, forcing the use of relaxed versions of the problem to manage computational complexity. The primary objective of the proposed research is to accelerate optimization algorithms that play central roles in NASA's ATM research, by parallel implementation on emerging high performance computing (HPC) hardware. The Phase I R&D effort implemented a Simplex-based Dantzig-Wolfe (DW) decomposition solver that exploits both coarse-grain and fine-grain parallelism in the sub-problem and master iterations of the DW decomposition. The implementation also exploits the sparsity in the problems, to manage both memory requirements and run-times for large-scale optimization problems. This parallel implementation was used to solve a Traffic Flow Management (TFM) problem with 17,000 aircraft (linear program with 7 million constraints), in 15 seconds. The implementation is 30¿ faster than the exact same code running on the CPU. It is also 16¿ faster than the NASA's current solution that implements parallel DW decomposition using the GNU Linear Programming Kit (GLPK) on an 8-core computer with hyper-threading. Based on the promising Phase I results, the Phase II R&D effort will explore Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) methods to solve optimization problems arising in the terminal area and on the airport surface, in addition to DW decomposition for the nationwide TFM problem. Phase II work will develop operational prototypes of the algorithm implementations on HPC hardware, and deliver them to NASA for further evaluation.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
High-complexity large-scale optimization problems arise frequently in the industry in several areas, such as: 1) Layout planning: designing the layout of equipment in a factory or components on a computer chip to reduce manufacturing time and minimize cost, 2) Network optimization: setup of telecommunications networks to maintain maximum throughput and quality of service during outages, 3) Resource allocation problems, optimal search and routing, 4) Supply chain management: managing the flow of raw materials and products based on uncertain demand for the finished products, 5) Transportation: managing freight transportation and delivery systems, 6) Scheduling applications: personnel staffing, manufacturing steps, project tasks, network data traffic, sports events and their coverage. The accelerated optimization software suite developed under this R&D effort will enable faster runtimes making it practical to deploy them more widely in operations.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Proposed R&D effort will enable rapid solution to large scale optimization problems formulated by NASA researchers in the air traffic domain such as flight scheduling, route assignment, flight rerouting, national traffic flow management and dynamic airspace reconfiguration. The optimization software suite will enable real time execution of many optimizations problems that were deemed infeasible due to computational complexity. The software suite developed under the proposed research will enable solutions to such problems without resorting to approximations.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Air Transportation & Safety
Algorithms/Control Software & Systems (see also Autonomous Systems)
Sequencing & Scheduling
Transport/Traffic Control

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Lightning Ridge Technologies
4106 Aikins Avenue Southwest
Seattle, WA 98116-3518
(650) 430-0458

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Chad Jennings
chad@lrtechno.com
4106 Aikins Avenue Southwest
Seattle,  WA 98116-3518
(650) 430-0458

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 4

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Lightning Ridge Technologies, LLC, working in collaboration with The Innovation Laboratory, Inc., extend Automatic Dependent Surveillance ¿ Broadcast (ADS-B) into a safe, secure, authenticated system. Historically, ADS-B has been criticized for its inability to guarantee safe and secure surveillance in all operational conditions. The technology presented provides an integrity check on all ADS-B data that is independent of all primary surveillance modes and is 100% robust to all Global Positioning System (GPS) spoofing attacks. An important by-product of that integrity check provides us with the further ability to do aircraft-to-aircraft relative positioning that is more accurate and more reliable than any civilian system in existence today. The ADS-B integrity check and the aircraft-to-aircraft positioning can provide a further basis on which to enhance the safety of the National Airspace System (NAS). Our innovation extends ADS-B into a new standard for providing safe, secure, and authentic surveillance, which is required for Separation Assurance (SA) and Traffic Flow Management (TFM) in the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
ADS-B is a public interface, an easy target for attack. The US Air Force is actively studying how to add security to ADS-B to ensure that attempts to disrupt military missions are identified and counter attacked. In particular the Air Force is concerned that enemies could add ghost aircraft to congested airspace for the purpose of disrupting C17, C130 and C5 flights that supply troops overseas. The GPS Location Based Authentication (GBLA) technology presented in this document can solve that concern. In addition the Differential Co-Processing techniques to calculate relative position between aircraft can act as a backup to the air-to-air radars currently deployed for operations such as formation flying. The largest military application of GBLA may not be in aviation. GBLA provides military quality GPS authentication without needing a reference copy of the secret military GPS codes. GBLA embedded into a handheld GPS receiver allows that receiver to be built entirely with civilian hardware, drastically reducing the cost of the receivers.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Traffic Flow Management (TFM), Separation Assurance (SA), Super Dense Operations (SDO) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in the National Airspace all make heavy use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B). This proposal presents technology that brings extra capability to ADS-B in the form of unspoofable authentication and a method called differential co-processing that can calculate the relative position between aircraft more accurately than any civilian method today. The potential impact of these capabilities on NASA's NextGen requirements ranges from ADS-B authentication, detection and identification of attacks; to using better relative positions to determine more accurate wind-shear models and enabling precise trajectory modeling during Very Closely Spaced Parallel Approaches (VCSPA). In short, the GPS Based Location Authentication and Differential Co-Processing could change and accelerate the course of NextGen development.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Air Transportation & Safety
Avionics (see also Control and Monitoring)
Analytical Methods

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
SibellOptics
815 Beauprez Avenue
Lafayette, CO 80026-3419
(303) 913-1772

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Russell Sibell
hanoverberry@msn.com
815 Beauprez Avenue
Lafayette,  CO 80026-3419
(303) 913-1772

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging) systems have proven their value in the remote measurement of spatially resolved atmospheric wind velocities in a number of applications, including the detection of clear-air turbulence, wind shear, aircraft wake vortices, and microbursts. The capacity of coherent LIDAR systems to produce a continuous, real-time 3D scan of wind velocities via detection of the Mie backscatter of atmospheric aerosols in clear-air conditions and at stand-off distances of up to 50 km at relatively low pulse energy gives this technology a clear advantage over other atmospheric monitoring technologies. SIBELLOPTICS proposed and successfully executed on a Phase I SBIR contract whose purpose was to design, build, and test a novel hemispherical scanner as part of a compact all-fiber coherent wind LIDAR sensor. Activities included detailed drawings, procurement of the custom opto-mechanical materials, and build and test of the scanner assembly and controller. During the execution of contract NNX11CG86P SIBELLOPTICS designed, procured, and assembled the key components of the hemispherical scanner and controller and tested the assembly for operation with the control computer, repeatability of positioning, accuracy of pointing, and azimuth and elevation load endurance. In Phase II, it is proposed that, based upon findings and testing during Phase I efforts, the full hemispherical scanner system be designed, built, and tested using a computer-based controller that operates with an interactive, user-selected interface menu.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
SIBELLOPTICS, LLC was formed to provide wind measuring instruments to several global market segments; (1) aviation, (2) wind energy (3) meteorology and (4) maritime. Aviation: In the major countries of the world, LIDAR has been recognized as the most suitable instrument to measure glide slope wind hazards and wake vortices. The U.S. aviation market could probably absorb at least 50 units over five years which represents a market size of almost $50 million at the proposed prices. On the international market, there are another 50 airports in need of a LIDAR system. Wind Energy: Wind energy generation is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. The Global Wind Energy Council is predicting the market to grow by 140 GW by the year 2012. LIDARs are gaining a great deal of momentum in this market segment as a means to assess potential wind farm sites, optimize the performance of current facilities, and to protect expensive wind turbines from damage. Maritime: Maritime markets include sales to ocean-going vessels as well as subscription wind data and weather sales to harbors and ports. There are four opportunities to address in this market: (1) the owners of luxury yachts, (2) the yacht manufacturers, (3) the yacht charter operators and (4) the harbor market where ships of all types operate. Meteorological: Environmental scientists have used LIDAR systems to accurately track the direction and dispersion of factory atmospheric emissions and to tracking typhoons.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Of particular interest to NASA are the following LIDAR advancements: ¿ Detection of aircraft-induced wake vortices and turbulence ¿ Novel transceiver architectures with improvements in range and sensitivity size, weight and power (SWAP) system efficiency reliability and maintenance time ¿ Wake processing algorithms ¿ Real-time data reduction and display schemes The fiber-LIDAR unit can also be redesigned for greater compactness and efficiency for installation and operation on an aircraft. Reductions in size are facilitated because the full capabilities and environmental control will not be required on the aircraft. In addition of wind sensing, SIBELLOPTICS engineers are exploring reconfigurations of the LIDAR system to allow the measurement of chemicals and other particulates in the atmosphere. These capabilities have wide application in meteorology and climate change research.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Air Transportation & Safety
Transmitters/Receivers
Waveguides/Optical Fiber (see also Optics)
Condition Monitoring (see also Sensors)
Circuits (including ICs; for specific applications, see e.g., Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Control & Monitoring, Sensors)
Prototyping
Data Acquisition (see also Sensors)
Data Processing
Fiber (see also Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Photonics)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
SibellOptics
815 Beauprez Avenue
Lafayette, CO 80026-3419
(303) 913-1772

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Allen Tracy
ahtracy@msn.com
1947 Clark Ct
Erie,  CO 80516-7213
(303) 828-2505

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging) systems have proven their value in the remote measurement of spatially resolved atmospheric wind velocities in a number of applications, including the detection of clear-air turbulence, wind shear, aircraft wake vortices, and microbursts. The capacity of coherent LIDAR systems to produce a continuous, real-time 3D scan of wind velocities via detection of the Mie backscatter of atmospheric aerosols in clear-air conditions and at stand-off distances of up to 50 km at relatively low pulse energy gives this technology a clear advantage over other atmospheric monitoring technologies. During the execution of contract NNX11CG87P SIBELLOPTICS assembled the key components of the fiber-based transceiver in a breadboard system and demonstrated performance against proprietary LIDAR modeling. In addition, we were able to demonstrate 12 hour battery-powered operation, a unique, compact BPLO method that uses quad-cells, and were able to take a significant step towards future miniaturization by packaging the fiber sub-assembly on a 1-ft x 1-ft optical bench. In Phase II, it is proposed that, based upon Phase I efforts, a brassboard version of the fiber-LIDAR system be designed, assembled, and tested including data collection, processing, and display capabilities. The system will include custom opto-mechanical designs of mounts and benches, packaged components for reduced SWAP and more robust operation, and higher output energy to increase sensitivity. Software will be developed to demonstrate real-time capability to collect, process, and display data in real-time using a unique interactive user interface.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
SIBELLOPTICS, LLC was formed to provide wind measuring instruments to several global market segments; (1) aviation, (2) wind energy (3) meteorology and (4) maritime . This company is based upon its' expertise in Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology utilizing new fiber optic technology which facilitates significant cost savings with equal or better performance than exists today. Activities which require accurate and timely wind measurement are the industries the company plans to pursue. The background of the founders of the company is LIDAR based wind measurement and the strength of the company resides in its founders who draw on many years experience in the design, engineering, manufacturing and marketing of LIDAR. The global contacts fostered through tens of years of international sales and marketing, provide SIBELLOPTICS the foundation on which it can grow.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Of particular interest to NASA are the following LIDAR advancements: ¿ Detection of aircraft-induced wake vortices and turbulence ¿ Novel transceiver architectures with improvements in range and sensitivity size, weight and power (SWAP) system efficiency reliability and maintenance time ¿ Wake processing algorithms ¿ Real-time data reduction and display schemes The fiber-LIDAR unit can also be redesigned for installation and operation in aircraft. Also, with some redesign, the sensor can be configured for atmospheric monitoring of chemicals and other particulants in the atmosphere. This would be useful in climate change and meteorological studies.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Air Transportation & Safety
Algorithms/Control Software & Systems (see also Autonomous Systems)
Condition Monitoring (see also Sensors)
Prototyping
Data Acquisition (see also Sensors)
Data Processing
Fiber (see also Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Photonics)
Detectors (see also Sensors)
Optical/Photonic (see also Photonics)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Interdisciplinary Consulting Corporation
5004 Northwest 60th Terrace
Gainesville, FL 32652-4061
(352) 359-7796

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Tai-An Chen
taianchen@gmail.com
5004 NW 60th Terrace
Gainesville,  FL 32653-4061
(937) 361-7711

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Interdisciplinary Consulting Corporation proposes a sensor that offers the unique capability to make non-intrusive, direct, simultaneous mean and fluctuating shear stress measurement for subsonic and transonic test applications. Currently a standard for shear stress measurement tool does not exist. A precise silicon micromachined, differential capacitive, instrumentation grade sensor will facilitate skin friction measurement with high bandwidth, high resolution, and minimal sensitivity to extraneous inputs such as pressure. The proposed sensor possesses through wafer vias for backside electrical contacts to enable non-intrusive measurements in turbulent boundary layers. A robust and compact package with miniature interface electronics enables flush sensor mounting conformal with the surface. Circuit topology development for biasing and signal conditioning provides the ability to make simultaneous mean and dynamic shear stress measurement. The sensor performance will exceed its predecessors and set the standard for quantitative skin friction measurements. The simplicity of sensor design and an equally simple and proven fabrication technique allows for low cost, high performance skin friction sensors.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Several research institutes and aviation companies perform routine wind tunnel testing in the subsonic and transonic regimes. Formula 1 cars undergo aerodynamic design changes on a weekly basis and are tested at full scale in wind tunnels. With depleting petroleum reserves, wind turbines are being increasingly utilized, necessitating blade/vane design and material improvements for better efficiency. Wind turbine control is increasingly implemented in wind farms for power regulation using turbine pitch and yaw control techniques where skin friction measurement may serve as a feedback signal. In 2008 alone the wind energy industry attracted over $17 billion indicating substantial amount would be invested in control system, which is a portion of the 34% of the wind turbine cost. Skin friction measurement is extremely important for advancements in all of these applications. Shear stress may also be used to estimate flow rate, which opens the $1.35 billion flow rate sensor market for non-intrusive measurements. For example, remote flow rate monitoring in transcontinental pipelines for transporting natural gas and other hydrocarbon fuels. This sensor may also serve as a platform technology with a potential impact on a broad application spectrum that ranges from fundamental scientific research to industrial process control, biomedical applications, etc.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Simultaneous mean and dynamic shear stress measurement will enable NASA ATP facilities to precisely measure wall skin friction, which is currently not possible. Specifically, in the subsonic and the transonic regimes, this sensor will allow NASA ATP to explore skin friction drag reduction technology. This capability provides scientific value and poses significant commercial gain to NASA ATP by means of providing aerodynamic design and testing opportunity to the aviation industry. Furthermore, this technology enables NASA to establish a primary calibration standard for other shear stress measurement techniques, potentially extending this capability to supersonic and hypersonic regimes. Specific NASA ATP facilities that will benefit from precise skin friction instrumentation for aerodynamic performance estimation are: ¿ NASA Glenn Research Center: 9' by 15' low speed wind tunnel ¿ NASA Langley Research Center: 14' by 22' Subsonic Wind Tunnel, 20 Foot Vertical Spin Tunnel, and the 11 ft x 11 ft Transonic Unitary Plan Facility. The silicon micromachining technique inherently minimizes unit cost. Overall, NASA and the aviation industry stand to significantly benefit via better aerodynamic design and higher efficiency/ lower drag at lower cost.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Aerodynamics
Air Transportation & Safety
Analytical Instruments (Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma, Energy; see also Sensors)
Autonomous Control (see also Control & Monitoring)
Circuits (including ICs; for specific applications, see e.g., Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Control & Monitoring, Sensors)
Manufacturing Methods
Materials (Insulator, Semiconductor, Substrate)
Data Acquisition (see also Sensors)
Data Processing
Microfabrication (and smaller; see also Electronics; Mechanical Systems; Photonics)
Coatings/Surface Treatments
Composites
Fluids
Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and smaller
Contact/Mechanical
Positioning (Attitude Determination, Location X-Y-Z)
Simulation & Modeling

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Makel Engineering, Inc.
1585 Marauder Street
Chico, CA 95973-9064
(530) 895-2770

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Darby Makel
dmakel@makelengineering.com
1585 Marauder Street
Chico,  CA 95973-9064
(530) 895-2771

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
The goal of this program is to develop a miniaturized and in-situ operated gas microsensor array for the real time monitoring of chemical composition of turbine engine combustors and/or exhaust streams to improve NASA's aeronautical flight test capabilities. Phase II will develop a high temperature microsensor array suitable for incorporation in engines, as installed in aircraft. Sensor arrays developed by our team and research partners have been demonstrated for ground test usage to quantify composition of critical constituents in turbine engine exhaust products, e.g., CO, CO2, NOx, O2 and HC. To date, our research efforts for exhaust monitoring have focused on ground applications, such as installations in stationary rigs for engine development. The goal of the proposed program is to build on knowledge accumulated on ground-based systems to develop a flyable prototype. The program will leverage test opportunities in larger research programs to move through the maturation steps from ground-based to flyable systems. The microsensor array probe, cabling and control electronics will be developed to withstand the harsh environment of an aircraft engine. Initial tests will be performed with the prototype installed the engine of a grounded airplane. Beyond Phase II, full flight tests are envisioned.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
This technology has military and commercial applications as well, which fits well with NASA's mission for the promotion of advanced technology for civil aviation. Near term, based on input from members of the emissions testing community, there is a need for a lower cost, readily available emissions detection capability for use in engine development and performance measurements. As the sensors and packaging technologies mature, the gas sensor array system might also be used for emissions certification testing for commercial engines. This technology will also apply to in-situ measurement capabilities for coal power plants, industrial burners, boilers, gas turbines, and other engines.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
This proposal targets the improvement of NASA's ground and flight test aeronautics testing capabilities. Potential end users within NASA include ground test facilities such as Western Aeronautical Test Range (WATR) and Flight Loads Laboratory (FLL), as well as flight facilities such as DFRC with both piloted and unmanned systems. Real-time, in-flight data regarding combustor condition and emissions species can provide a previously unavailable test capability for NASA. Monitoring of bleed air for contaminants and fuel backflow is also an area of interest.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Chemical/Environmental (see also Biological Health/Life Support)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Sustainable Innovations, LLC
160 Oak Street
Glastonbury, CT 06033-2336
(860) 652-9690

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Trent Molter
trent.molter@sustainableinnov.com
160 Oak Street
Glastonbury,  CT 06033-2336
(860) 652-9690

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Hydrogen is an essential resource for space missions. NASA has a need for equipment to generate, handle and store hydrogen. In terms of handling hydrogen, conventional rotating mechanical pumps and compressors require extensive modification and have limited reliability. Electrochemical pumping and compression of hydrogen occurs without any moving parts and is highly reliable and efficient. Sustainable Innovations has demonstrated up to 6,000 psi of compression using electrochemical cell hardware. However, for high flow applications, such as a 6 CFM hydrogen pump for NASA, a departure from traditional electrochemical cell hardware designs is needed. Our work in Phase I demonstrated an Expandable Modular Architecture cell design, that allows a large footprint for the electrochemical stack. This is achieved using modular cell parts to create large active area cells. The modular parts are inexpensive to manufacture and can achieve the high tolerances need for large active area cells. The proposed Phase II activity will leverage the key developments in Phase I and demonstate the scalability of this device for critical NASA and commercial applications. This will include increasing the active area/capacity of the electrochemical cell stack by a factor of 5, and to increase pressure capability from 200 psi to 750 psi. The resultant unit will be utilized to actuate pneumatic tools that could be used in space.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The emergence of hydrogen based economy will necessitate the ability to pump and compress large amount of hydrogen. A range of EHPC products with an EMA cell design will facilitate a hydrogen economy by delivering hydrogen to fueling stations and providing the compression for vehicular refueling. Assuming the adoption of a pipeline hydrogen based infrastructure, there is a need to pump the hydrogen along the pipeline to the fueling stations. A medium to large size fueling station would require 300 lbs per day of hydrogen, which at 500 psi is 1,730 cf. A 30 CFM EHPC system, would allow a fueling station to store a day's worth of fuel in 2 hours. Hydrogen powered vehicles require hydrogen at 6,000 10,000 psi to facilitate efficient volumetric storage. Sustainable Innovations' cell hardware has already demonstrated a Compression Ratio (CR) of over 400, which is significant greater the then CR of 20 needed to compress hydrogen from 500 psi to 10,000 psi. Therefore a EHPC system with a EMA cell design and a large flow rate capacity would be a invaluable tool in the developemnt of a hydrogen based economy.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
An Electrochemical Hydrogen Pump & Compressor (EHPC) using an EMA cell design is applicable to several NASA applications. For extraterrestrial in situ resource utilization the EHPC will be able to handle the flow rates, 6 CFM, needed to recirculate hydrogen and facilitate pneumatic transport. Terrestrial NASA applications include capturing, purifying and compressing purge gas for various experimental rocket test stands. In extraterrestrial applications it is envisaged that the EHPC variable footprint will allow construction to conform to geometric constraints of a spacecraft. In addition, the simplicity of the systems balance-of-plant, a regulated power source, and the proven high reliability of electrochemical based devices means that redundant units may not be needed. The EHPC technology would add a key tool to NASA ability to move and store hydrogen efficiently and safely in extraterrestrial environments. A large amount of hydrogen used during testing of rocket engines and other space systems is wasted due to cryogenic boil-off loses and pre-test purging. The ability to efficiently capture, purify and compress this hydrogen for reuse, relies on handling large flow rates. Very large cell active areas are needed to meet this need. The EMA cell design facilitates the building of a large scale EHPC to recycle hydrogen. This will be economically beneficial to NASA while lowering the carbon footprint of NASA testing.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Spacecraft Design, Construction, Testing, & Performance (see also Engineering; Testing & Evaluation)
Tools/EVA Tools
Essential Life Resources (Oxygen, Water, Nutrients)
Remediation/Purification
Conversion
Distribution/Management
Generation
Sources (Renewable, Nonrenewable)
Storage
Material Handing & Packaging
In Situ Manufacturing
Processing Methods
Resource Extraction
Fluids
Joining (Adhesion, Welding)
Actuators & Motors
Machines/Mechanical Subsystems
Pressure & Vacuum Systems
Vehicles (see also Autonomous Systems)
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Propulsion
Fuels/Propellants
Launch Engine/Booster
Spacecraft Main Engine
Surface Propulsion

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Materials and Systems Research, Inc.
5395 West 700 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84104-4403
(801) 530-4987

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Greg Tao
gtao@msrihome.com
5395 West 700 South
Salt Lake City,  UT 84104-4403
(801) 530-4987

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
This small business innovation research is intended to develop a long-life, highly efficient O2-CO cogeneration system to support NASA's endeavors to pursue extraterrestrial exploration (Moon, Mars, and Asteroids/Phobos). The cogeneration system will be built using a Tubular, Negative Electrode-supported Solid-Oxide Electrolysis Cell (Tune-SOEC) employing MSRI's most promising degradation-resistant ceramic materials and a unique cell design. The system will be capable of co-generating breathable oxygen and CO fuel directly from carbon dioxide extracted from the Martian atmosphere, lunar regolith/soil, or from the cabin air of extraterrestrial human missions at 800¿C. In Phase I, CO2 electrolysis degradation mechanisms were investigated via nonequilibrium thermodynamic analyses and tests of Tune-SOECs with special embedded reference electrodes. Unique solutions for long-term, high performance CO2 electrolysis will be developed and implemented. In Phase II, a prototype O2-CO cogeneration system using the Tune-SOEC technology will be developed. A proof-of-concept system will be demonstrated for cogenerating O2-CO directly from a CO2 source at pressures ranging from 1 atmosphere to 50 atmosphere at 800¿C; showing the capability of using ISRU to generate 1 kg oxygen daily (enough to support 1 human).

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Potential non-NASA commercial applications lie in both the oxygen related industries and hydrogen markets, which are predicted to grow to $192.3 billion by year 2050 to support hydrogen vehicle deployment. Some applications include: (a) greenhouse gas reduction, (b) hydrogen production, (c) synthetic fuel production via integration of renewable energy with Co-electrolysis of CO2 and H2O, and (d) energy storage (convert renewable energy into synthetic fuels).

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The subject long-life, highly-efficient O2-CO cogeneration system will be developed to support NASA's development of In-situ Resource Utilization technologies, and will be capable of producing fuel and oxygen from carbon dioxide extracted from the Martian atmosphere, lunar regolith/soil, and/or from the cabin air of extraterrestrial human missions. In addition, the same system can be used for H2O electrolysis, from which the H2 product is used for synthesizing methane (via Sabatier reaction) to support In-situ Propellant Production (ISPP) development.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Conversion
Storage
In Situ Manufacturing
Ceramics

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Plasma Processes, LLC
4914 Moores Mill Road
Huntsville, AL 35811-1558
(256) 851-7653

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Timothy McKechnie
timmck@plasmapros.com
4914 Moores Mill Road
Huntsville,  AL 35811-1558
(256) 851-7653

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Non-toxic monopropellants have been developed that provide better performance than toxic hydrazine. Formulations based on hydroxylammonium nitrate (HAN) have superior performance as compared to hydrazine with Isp (261 seconds, 12% greater), higher density and volumetric impulse (60% greater density-impulse), lower melting point, and much lower toxicity (No self contained breathing apparatus required). HAN based monopropellants require higher chamber temperatures (2083K vs 883K) to combust. Current hydrazine based combustion chamber technology (Inconel or niobium C103 and silicide coating) and catalyst (Shell 405) are inadequate. However, current state of the art iridium lined rhenium chambers and innovative new foam catalyst were demonstrated in pulse and 10 second firings in the Phase I. The goal of the SBIR project is develop and test a flight weight thruster for an environmentally "green" monopropellant.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Rocket nozzles for satellites and military. Commercial applications are crucibles, heat pipes, propulsion subcomponents, x-ray targets, sputtering targets, turbines, rotors, furnaces, power generation, jet engine restarters, catalysts, etc.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Mars Ascent Vehicle, lunar landers, reaction control systems, in-space propulsion, attitude control, orbit maintenance, repositioning of satellites/spacecraft, and descent/ascent engines, nuclear power/propulsion, microgravity containment crucibles and cartridges.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Space Transportation & Safety
Prototyping
Processing Methods
Coatings/Surface Treatments
Metallics
Fuels/Propellants
Maneuvering/Stationkeeping/Attitude Control Devices
Spacecraft Main Engine

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Arkansas Power Electronics International, Inc.
535 West Research Center Boulevard, Suite 209
Fayetteville, AR 72701-6959
(479) 443-5759

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Jie Yang
jyang@apei.net
535 West Research Center Boulevard, Suite 209
Fayetteville,  AR 72701-6959
(479) 443-5759

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
There are a number of critical telemetry measurements to be monitored under continuous field operation, including temperature data across the reactor chamber and the nozzle, pressure data, neutron flux density and flow rate of the propellant. Real-time monitoring of this data in nuclear thermal engines would greatly improve operational safety and performance, reduce operational costs, and significantly impact maintenance costs and reliability. Even though some extreme environment sensors become available recently, it is still impossible to directly and accurately measure the critical operational parameters of NTP engines due to the lack of extreme environment electronics for those sensors. Data from extreme environment sensors is delivered via wire-line to an external actively cooled electronics box, where it is processed. This approach presents significant drawbacks such as the need for complex shielded wiring harnesses that not only are heavy but also limit sensor location and signal quality (i.e., signal to noise ratio). Additionally, these systems suffer from reliability issues due to wiring connections. In this Phase II SBIR, APEI, Inc. will build on the successful demonstration of high temperature wireless transmitter designs during Phase I, to deliver a set of SiC based, integrated wireless sensor-transmitter suites for extreme temperature operation (450 Deg C) in NTP engines. These sensor suites will allow for the real&#150;time monitoring of critical engine components, reducing the risk of catastrophic failure and decreasing the inherent risk associated with NTP operation. The final wireless sensor systems will be fully integrated into an autonomous 'drop-in' solution for advanced sensing systems, including wireless energy harvesting.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The immediate application of the proposed hash environment SiC wireless sensor suite will be the health monitoring of turbine engine for both military and commercial aircraft. The ability to have embedded sensors (in both aircraft and spacecraft) that can detect temperature, strain, vibration, cracks, etc. will provide much needed engine health status as well as prognosis for possible or eminent in-flight failures. This technology will enable nearly continuous on-board situational awareness of the vehicle health state for use by the flight crew, ground crew, and maintenance depot, and contribute to the reduction of aircraft system and component failures and malfunctions that cause and contribute to aircraft accidents and incidents. Another promising application of this technology resides in power generation industry, including both nuclear power generation and gas turbine power generation. By introducing high temperature sensors and wireless transmitters into the gas turbine units (specifically within the blades where temperatures range from 450 to 1200 Deg C) and gathering, transmitting, and monitoring the obtained data sets in real-time, very accurate turbine conditions can be determined. Under such cases where the turbine internal systems conditions are known in detail, maintenance will be performed on an as needed basis, as opposed to the costly regularly scheduled downtimes.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The first market for this technology will be in the health monitoring systems of NASA space exploration vehicles, including spacecraft, rockets, and aircraft. There are a wide range of NASA applications in which this technology could significantly improve reliability, performance and/or reduce costs of operation. Extreme environment capable SiC electronics will eliminate (or reduce) the need for thermal shielding, and active cooling systems, reducing size, weight, and the complexity of the control systems.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Health Monitoring & Sensing (see also Sensors)
Transmitters/Receivers
Condition Monitoring (see also Sensors)
Process Monitoring & Control
Circuits (including ICs; for specific applications, see e.g., Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Control & Monitoring, Sensors)
Telemetry (see also Control & Monitoring)
Ionizing Radiation
Pressure/Vacuum
Thermal
Diagnostics/Prognostics

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
e-beam, Inc.
21070 Southwest Tile Flat Road
Beaverton, OR 97007-8739
(503) 628-0703

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Bernard Vancil
bernie@ebeaminc.com
21070 Southwest Tile Flat Road
Beaverton,  OR 97007-8739
(503) 628-0703

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
We propose a hollow reservoir cathode to improve performance in ion and Hall thrusters. We will adapt our existing reservoir cathode technology to this purpose. Reservoir cathodes are the only emission sources that are capable of supplying the necessary current density (>5.0 A/cm2) and life (>100,000 hours) for next generation high-power thrusters. More powerful thrusters are needed for interplanetary and lunar missions, as well as earth escape and near-earth space maneuvers. Reservoir cathodes are able to sustain high rates of barium diffusion to the cathode surface to overcome the high rate of barium removal in ion engines. The key Phase I innovation was flexible supports for the cathode matrix. This prevented the matrix fractures and reservoir leaks of previous reservoir cathodes for ion engines. Cathode operation and stability was verified. In Phase II,the design is refined and tested in actual ion engines. The key challenge is the stresses exerted on the cathode tube and reservoir due to differential expansion and large temperature excursions. These originate from the outside heater and also from heating due to collisions with the cathode. These stresses can lead to fractures and weld failure. Our innovation solves this problem. This was proven on the Phase I device. In Phase II we further test and optimize the Phase I device and perform life testing on it. We build cathode assemblies for insertion into ion engines which we test in an ion environment at e beam, JPL and Colorado State University. Their maximum specific impulse will be measured.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Ion thrusters are used in commercial satellites to stabilize their orbit and to change it. A higher performance, longer-life thruster might lower the number required, raise efficiencies and reliability, lower mass and size. Other areas include Department of Defense radars and communications. This is the biggest market for high performance cathodes. Reservoir cathodes such as are developed in this project would dramatically increase the life and performance of these systems. Non-governmental applications include high speed x-ray tomography systems, electron beam stimulated lasers, and geosynchronous satellite downlinks and ion thrusters.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Mars and lunar cargo missions, and the upcoming Juno mission to Jupiter. Also, piloted interplanetary missions become feasible with sufficient cathode output and life. Earth transfer, stationkeeping and earth escape would occur at less cost, size and mass. Improved conventional reservoir cathodes, following from this effort, are needed in linear beam amplifiers to increase data rates in space communications. Output power, life, bandwidth, and frequency will all improve with better cathodes. These devices include traveling wave tubes and klystrons.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Attitude Determination & Control
Conversion
Metallics
Nanomaterials
Maneuvering/Stationkeeping/Attitude Control Devices

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Paragon Space Development Corporation
3481 East Michigan Street
Tucson, AZ 85714-2221
(520) 903-1000

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
John Straus
jstraus@paragonsdc.com
3481 E Michigan Street
Tucson`,  AZ 85714-2221
(520) 382-4809

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
a. Paragon Space Development Corporation¿ (Paragon) proposes to continue our investigation into the use of microporous-ionomer membrane technology to improve the robustness and effectiveness and simplify water recovery processes for space applications. Improved robustness and effectiveness will be evident through (1) reduced loading on the downstream post processor due to the ionomer¿s unique property of selective permeability, (2) near complete removal of water from wastewater, and (3) inclusion of a backup barrier between the retentate and permeate. The technology offers simplification over existing technology through (1) a lower dependency on moving parts, and (2) integrated capture of wastewater solutes for disposal. Phase 1 testing showed that 99% of the contaminants in concentrated pretreated urine ersatz were removed by the proposed technology and virtually complete dewatering of the brine was achieved in a configuration that would appear to be insensitive to gravity and orientation. As the technology is fully developed, it can be inserted into existing and/or developing water recovery system architectures to increase water recovery rates beyond that currently available to date. The application of this technology for spacecraft water reclamation will be referenced as IWP (Ionomer-membrane Water Processor).

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The non-NASA applications are significant as fresh water demands are becoming a serious problem at various regions of the planet. The technology generated here may very well help improve the efficiency and/or portability of terrestrial-based water recovery systems. The technology has obvious military applications as well, e.g., potable water production for long term military outposts.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Contemplated long-duration missions to the Moon, Near Earth Asteroids, and Mars will be mass-constrained. The successful development and application of ionomer-microporous membrane pair technology to spacecraft water processing will lead to improvements in the efficiency, robustness, and reliability of these systems. These improvements will in turn translate directly into safety improvements and mass reductions..

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Remediation/Purification
Waste Storage/Treatment

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Giner, Inc.
89 Rumford Avenue
Newton, MA 02466-1311
(781) 529-0500

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Badawi Dweik
bdweik@ginerinc.com
89 Rumford Avenue
Newton,  MA 02466-1311
(781) 529-0520

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Development of a sensor to detect select trace toxic heavy metals (Ag, Cd, Mn, Ni, and Zn) in water is proposed. Using an automatic side-stream sampling technique, this compact, electrochemical sensor will use small volumes of water and detect metals in the low parts-per-billion range. The novel coupling of a high-performance novel electrode material, microarray electrode geometry, and a highly sensitive sensing algorithm allows for a sensor with low detection limits and excellent specificity. Additionally, the sensor will show long-term repeatability and reliability, while requiring minimal maintenance or user calibration time. The sensor and its components have been engineered to function in a microgravity environment and for easy integration with the Water Recovery System. Giner will partner Johnson Space Center to ensure the ability of the sensor to detect trace metals in a range of reclaimed water samples and determine the appropriate concentrations. This sensor will detect trace heavy metals in water in near real-time, allowing for timely response and resolution to water contamination problems.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Portable sensor for the determination of heavy metals in drinking water: Contamination of drinking water with various heavy metals is a world-wide problem. Successful development of a compact sensor for trace toxic metals in water would open the door to portable water analysis and water quality monitoring. Current techniques require the shipment of the sample back to a laboratory, which is cost-prohibitive and time consuming. This portable sensor would allow more frequent and more extensive water quality monitoring, which would lead to increased safety of drinking water worldwide and assurance that the metal contents of the water falls within acceptable limits for drinking water. Portable sensor for the determination of heavy metals in surface water, groundwater, and river water: Another potential application of this sensor is for the detection of heavy metals in environmental waters, where high heavy metal content can negatively affect various aspects of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
International Space Station Water Recovery System The Water Recovery System (WRS) aboard the International Space Station reclaims water from several sources, including humidity condensate, urine, and hygiene water. Extensive filtration and processing allow its reuse as drinking and wash water. However, incomplete water processing, resin failure, or leaching from metal coatings could lead to unsafe levels of metals in the crew drinking water. Trace toxic metals such as Cd, Ni, Ag, Zn, and Mn have been found in water samples from various expeditions at potentially dangerous concentrations and pose a significant threat to the crew. While Cd, Mn, Ni, and Zn are contaminants leached from the zinc coatings and stainless steel in the spacecraft water distribution lines and the humidity heat exchangers, Ag is added as a residual biocide to processed water. NASA has expressed a need to include measurement technologies to assure that the trace heavy toxic metal content of the water falls within acceptable limits and that the WRS and storage system are functioning properly for long-duration missions. A real-time sensor would allow the crew to quickly diagnose and resolve the metal contamination problems, thus protecting the health of the crew.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Analytical Instruments (Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma, Energy; see also Sensors)
Analytical Methods
Essential Life Resources (Oxygen, Water, Nutrients)
Health Monitoring & Sensing (see also Sensors)
Condition Monitoring (see also Sensors)
Data Acquisition (see also Sensors)
Data Input/Output Devices (Displays, Storage)
Data Processing
Microfabrication (and smaller; see also Electronics; Mechanical Systems; Photonics)
Chemical/Environmental (see also Biological Health/Life Support)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Ashwin-Ushas Corp, Inc.
9 Red Coach Lane
Holmdel, NJ 07733-1138
(732) 739-1122

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Prasanna Chandrasekhar
chandra.p2@ashwin-ushas.com
9 Red Coach Lane
Holmdel,  NJ 07733-1138
(732) 739-1122

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 6
End: 8

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Among thermal control methods, variable-emittance materials remain the most promising for addressing deficiencies of current systems (mechanical louvers, loop heat pipes, MEMS, electrostatics, phase change materials, others), especially, e.g., for missions in extreme light/dark environments, planetary platforms. This firm's unique, patented variable-emittance skin technology, based on conducting polymers, microporous membranes and ionic liquids, with proven, space-environment performance, remains at the world forefront, with highest known Delta-emittance, good Turn-Down Ratio (TDR), very low power, low cost. Phase I work demonstrated separate emittance variation from 0.065 to 0.816, Delta-emittance > 0.48, and long-term space durability, with one "breakthrough" innovation, two very significant innovations. A clear, specific pathway was demonstrated for combining low/high emittance in single devices to achieve TDR of 7.1, possibly 10.0. Phase II work will use this as basis to increase the TDR to > 7.1, possibly > 10.0, keeping the dark-state emittance ca. >/= 0.80. Surface Solar Absorptance will be further reduced from present ca. 0.31 to as low as possible (objective 0.09 to 0.24). Other Phase II tasks, following completion of TDR optimization, will address Controller, further space-qualification testing, manufacture, space-flights, commercialization pathway, other issues. Two identified commercial partners will assist in marketing.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The commercial space industry, including future micro- and nano-spacecraft, near-space tourism, very high altitude balloons, large satellites, and possible future manned and unmanned space platforms, could all transition to this variable-emittance technology, displacing extant technologies. It would also give rise to much greater engineering design flexibility in space platforms as well as spacecraft. This may potentially open doors to profound new applications, e.g. in micro-satellites such as the CubeSats which currently have no thermal control means. This would ¿democratize¿ space, allowing small and medium businesses to launch their own, dedicated satellites. Other potential applications of this technology include terrestrial, military IR camouflage/stealth which this firm has been pursuing elsewhere, with an estimated market size about 3 X the space market, and building or shelter cover materials for desert climates with high night/day temperature variations, in both commercial and military applications.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
If successful, this variable-emittance technology may displace extant, alternative technologies (e.g. those listed in the Abstract) on manned and unmanned space platforms and spacecraft, including planetary and interplanetary platforms and small (micro-, < 20 kg, nano, < 2 kg) as well as large spacecraft. It will also give rise to much greater engineering design flexibility in space platforms as well as spacecraft, potentially opening doors to profound new applications. The potential variable emittance market is estimated at 120 to ca. 2000 m^2 per year, with a substantial (> 50%) portion for NASA. One example of an immediate future application is the Solar Probe Plus mission to Mercury, with expected launch in 2017-2018.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Spacecraft Design, Construction, Testing, & Performance (see also Engineering; Testing & Evaluation)
Space Transportation & Safety
Active Systems
Heat Exchange

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Reaction Systems, LLC
17301 West Colfax Avenue #405
Golden, CO 80401-4892
(303) 881-7992

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
David Wickham
wickham@reactionsystemsllc.com
5310 Illini Way
Boulder,  CO 80303-4210
(720) 352-7161

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
The development of new, robust, lightweight systems for CO2 removal during EVA is a crucial need for NASA. Current activity is focused on extending mission times without increasing the size and weight of the portable life support system (PLSS). Although CO2 sorbents that can be regenerated during EVA are being studied, these system add "on back" hardware, increasing weight and complexity, and reducing reliability. A simpler approach is to use a membrane system to separate CO2 and H2O from the O2 environment, however separating CO2 from O2 is difficult with standard membranes. However, developing a low pressure liquid sorbent that reversibly absorbs CO2, could facilitate the needed separation. In the Phase I project, Reaction Systems synthesized new CO2 low vapor pressure sorbents that had good reversible CO2 absorption capacity and demonstrated high selectivity for CO2 over O2 in a supported liquid membrane tests. Therefore we demonstrated the feasibility of employing a supported liquid membrane to control CO2 in EVA. In Phase II we will improve the performance by increasing the sorbent loading, reducing its viscosity, and optimizing the membrane support. We will then design and construct a prototype, that is sized to control the metabolic CO2 generation of a single crew member.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
In addition to the wide spread use for NASA applications, identifying effective means to reduce CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion is an area that is receiving much attention. The wide spread use of fossil fuels has caused a substantial rise in the concentration of atmospheric CO2, a recognized green house gas and further increases in atmospheric CO2 are not desirable. Thus, there currently is a great deal of interest in the development of methods to sequester CO2 from combustion processes. Other commercial applications would include the control of CO2 in underwater vehicles and other enclosed spaces and the development of rebreathers for SCUBA gear.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The most immediate application of the technology being proposed herein is the control of CO2 levels in the space suits of astronauts during EVA. This is a critical need as NASA mission objectives include extending the duration of EVA missions and the use of membrane technology has many important advantages over the regenerable sorbents and systems that are being developed currently. In addition, with only slight modification, the technology could be applied to CO2 control in spacecraft and on the surface of Mars.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Essential Life Resources (Oxygen, Water, Nutrients)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Composite Technology Development, Inc.
2600 Campus Drive, Suite D
Lafayette, CO 80026-3359
(303) 664-0394

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Robert Taylor
robert.taylor@ctd-materials.com
2600 Campus Drive, Suite D
Lafayette,  CO 80026-3359
(303) 664-0394

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 4

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
NASA is seeking innovative structure technologies that will advance expandable modules for orbital and surface based habitats. These secondary structures must increase utilization of the primary pressurized volumes by accommodating hardware, experiments, storage space, and cable routing. The expandable structures must use minimal launch mass and volume, be easy to install, and maximize operational volume and structural performance in a crewed or material transfer pressure vessel. Utilizing unique materials and innovative mechanical designs, CTD has created a new class of deployable structures for increasing the utility of inflatable habitats. These new concepts are referred to as Composite Rollable Extendible Slit-Tube Structures, or CRESTS. CRESTS can provide room divisions or load bearing floors and provide mounting for racks, storage and cabling. CRESTS are stowed by rolling slit-tube beams, lateral support battens, and floor or wall surfaces into a single compact tube. CRESTS have been designed for linearly expanding lunar modules and for toroidal inflatable orbital habitats. CRESTS are elastically strained deployable composites that provide a positive deployment force and an inherent geometric lock-out to occur once the deployment is complete. This technology can address the challenges within this application of being lightweight, yet rigid.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The most immediate Non-NASA application for this technology is to work with companies developing low earth orbit commercial habitats and help advance their product lines. Full-scale demonstrations of working hardware that will greatly increase the utility of their type of habitat will be essential to attract commercial investment. This technology is protected by patent and by unique materials and engineering for extremely thin composites, making collaboration efforts the best possibility for product advancement. However, licensing of technology can also be considered to allow commercial entities to have a higher degree of design control. In addition, all forward progress with stiffer laminates, more complex geometries, integration techniques and deployment methodologies are applicable across all of CTD's rolled structure programs. CTD has taken rolled space solar arrays and modified them for quick-setup terrestrial arrays and man-portable bridges.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The intent of this technology development is to provide NASA with a means for enhancing the utility of inflatable habitats for future space exploration. The first direction that extended space exploration will take us is still undefined, but it is becoming more evident that expandable structures can greatly increase the crew living environment where ever we go. CTD will be ready and is advancing the technology TRL of secondary structures appropriate for expandable habitats for both surface and zero-g exploration. With the goals set by NASA to support the manned exploration of other planets, the development of innovative structure technologies that will advance expandable exploration space modules and surface based habitats is a necessity. The proposed deployable technology will make significant progress toward this end by providing a low-cost, mass-minimized deployable structure that can be used to maximize operational volume and structural performance of a crewed or material transfer pressure vessel.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Spacecraft Design, Construction, Testing, & Performance (see also Engineering; Testing & Evaluation)
Composites
Polymers
Smart/Multifunctional Materials
Deployment
Fasteners/Decouplers

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Cornerstone Research Group, Inc.
2750 Indian Ripple Road
Dayton, OH 45440-3638
(937) 320-1877

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Michael Rauscher
rauschermd@crgrp.com
2750 Indian Ripple Road
Dayton,  OH 45440-3638
(937) 320-1877

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Cornerstone Research Group Inc. (CRG) proposes to continue the efforts from the 2010 NASA SBIR Phase I topic X5.03, "No-Oven, No-Autoclave (NONA) Composite Processing." NONA offers NASA the ability to manufacture composites without an oven or autoclave, which will significantly decrease manufacturing costs. Large, single-piece composite structures for NASA Heavy Lift Launch Vehicles are currently expensive to fabricate partly because of the capital equipment (ovens, autoclaves, and tooling) needed to cure the part and maintain tolerances at cure conditions. There are only a few autoclaves in the world large enough to support large composite fabrication, and they are already committed to long-term programs. The cost of building additional autoclaves is prohibitive, and inherent size constraints still remain. CRG's innovative technology addresses these roadblocks by providing: - High-performance, 350F epoxy composite cured without oven or autoclave - Decreased capital, operating, and labor costs - No post cure required - A scalable resin infusion process - Increased part throughput

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
This project's technologies developed for NASA systems would directly apply to systems operated by other government and commercial enterprises. Government systems that would derive the same benefits would include future Joint Heavy Lift and other cargo aircraft and future Navy ships operated by the Department of Defense. This technology's attributes for very large, affordable composite structures should yield a high potential for private sector commercialization of private space launch vehicles, commercial aircraft, large marine craft, civil and automotive infrastructure, and wind blades and towers

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Supporting NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, this project's technologies directly address requirements for advanced manufacturing technologies for composite materials for launch and in-space vehicle structures. This project's technology offers the ability to produce very large, high-performance, single-piece, affordable composite structures and tooling for these systems, providing benefit beyond current autoclave and out-of-autoclave cure systems

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Processing Methods
Composites
Structures
Launch Engine/Booster

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Picometrix, LLC
2925 Boardwalk Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-6765
(734) 864-5600

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
David Zimdars
dzimdars@picometrix.com
2925 Boardwalk
Ann Arbor,  MI 48104-6765
(734) 864-5639

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Picometrix's time-domain terahertz (TD-THz) non-destructive evaluation (NDE) technology could be used to inspect space flight structures such as inflatable space habitats, thermal protection systems (TUFI-type tiles, SOFI TPS), for voids, disbonds, and damage such as tearing and micron-meteorite impact. The current instrumentation paradigm is that a multi-purpose TD-THz control unit is used to provide common drive, data acquisition, and analysis functionality to interchangeable sensors and imaging which connect to the control unit with a fiber-optic/electrical umbilical. However, the current COTS control unit is substantially larger and heavier than would be desirable for a space-flight capable unit. In Phase II we will construct a prototype compact TD-THz control unit with a fiber optically coupled remote compact TD-THz reflection tomography sensor based on the Phase I designs. At the end of a successful Phase II, and transitioned into Phase III, we envision that a hand-held A or B-Scan NDE imager could attach to a control unit, sufficiently robust for spaceflight, no larger than a shoebox. In Phase II, it should be possible to reduce the size of the control unit to approximately 1/3 of the current values to, for example, 14 in. X 10 in. X 4 in. and 15 pounds.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Ceramics, foams, and polymer matrix composites are used in automobile and ships and many other consumer and industrial products. A compact TD-THz imaging system could be used inspect automobile dashboards, inspect for delamination of printed circuit boards, inspect of pipe insulation, as well as inspect manufactured parts such as pure plastic and paper products. A compact TD-THz imager benefits homeland security applications under development such as personnel and luggage inspection for concealed weapons and explosives (in luggage, shoes, etc.).

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
At the end of a successful Phase II, the goal would be to space qualify the compact control unit design in Phase III so that it could be used for in-orbit inspections of inflatable habitats and thermal protection systems. In addition, THz NDE instrumentation will be valuable in characterizing the aging and durability of aircraft and spacecraft materials and components. Materials include ceramics, foams, Kevlar, Zylon, and other non-conductive polymer matrix composites. Additional NDE applications include inspection of soft shell fan containment, thermal protection systems, and composite overwrap pressure vessels.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Space Transportation & Safety
Tools/EVA Tools
Condition Monitoring (see also Sensors)
3D Imaging
Data Acquisition (see also Sensors)
Optical/Photonic (see also Photonics)
Terahertz (Sub-millimeter)
Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE; NDT)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
TRACLabs, Inc.
100 North East Loop 410, Suite 520
San Antonio, TX 78216-6363
(281) 461-7884

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Russell Bonasso
r.p.bonasso@nasa.gov
100 North East Loop 410, Suite 520
San Antonio,  TX 78216-6363
(281) 483-2738

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Automation and autonomy technologies, such as automated planning software, are key elements in realizing the vision for space exploration. However, the major stumbling block to realizing the widespread use of automation tools for operations is capturing and maintaining the domain models -- the object types and subtypes, relationships among them and operational constraints -- needed to support such techniques. Our success in Phase 1 showed that it is possible for subject matter experts (SMEs) to author ISS model information to produce a consistent model useful for planning, scheduling and procedure execution. In this Phase 2 proposal we aim to fully develop the authoring and data integration portions of our design and to integrate the resulting models with our interactive planning aid for flight controllers. The benefits for NASA operations are that the resulting modeling framework will 1) make available a consistent domain model that need not be reproduced for each automation project, unify the often disparate sources of EVA and Core Systems information, provide for rapid update of ISS configuration information, thus allowing automation applications to provide results based on the most recent data, provide a consistent view of the domain so as to minimize error in authoring procedural data.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The number of robotic entities becoming available for military operations is increasing dramatically and their capabilities are evolving at a rapid pace. As the military begins to use automated planning technologies for the efficient use of these increasingly complex resources they will be plagued with the same modeling problems as NASA. Our technology will again serve as a unifying framework to capture military domain models for use across a variety of automated technologies used for the generation of efficient plans that integrate human and robotic units. We also see a need for domain ontologies to support the use of procedures and planning in operations such as refineries, chemical plants, nuclear and other power plants and any installation that has established standard operating procedures that must be carefully followed under often stressful situations. As these industries move to electronic procedures tied to system telemetry and integrated with planning for more efficient and safer operations, they will require our ontological framework to maintain a consistent representation of their domains.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Procedures are at the core of all NASA missions, especially human space missions. Mission planning is also at the core of all space missions due to the high cost of space assets such as astronauts, equipment and communication links. Since domain models are essential to both generating plans and executing procedures, our technologies will have applications across many NASA programs, from Mission Control to on-board NASA vehicles and outposts. We expect an early application of our technology &#150; the ORU Location (ORLOC) tool &#150; will streamline future EVA/Robotics missions by providing a single source of data on the location and status of external ORUs. Our models will also unify disparate research programs through a common set of domain models and concepts. Our work will provide connection to automated planning and procedure technology development through the Automation for Mission Operations (AMO) project run out of NASA ARC and the joint ARC/JSC Mission Control Technologies (MCT) program.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Intelligence
Man-Machine Interaction
Process Monitoring & Control
Telemetry/Tracking (Cooperative/Noncooperative; see also Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Models & Simulations (see also Testing & Evaluation)
Prototyping
Software Tools (Analysis, Design)
Data Acquisition (see also Sensors)
Data Modeling (see also Testing & Evaluation)
Knowledge Management
Development Environments

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Qualtech Systems, Inc.
99 East River Drive
East Hartford, CT 06108-3288
(860) 257-8014

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Ghoshal Sudipto
sudipto@teamqsi.com
99 East River Drive
East Hartford,  CT 06108-7301
(860) 761-9341

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 5
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Space missions are immensely costly endeavor &#150; fault free function of the hardware and software used therein are highly critical to mission success. Being highly complex, manual intervention in operation, troubleshooting, and health management related areas are labor intensive and time consuming. On top of that with time the complexities of the systems are increasing, and the performance and availability requirements are become even more stringent. In the face of this situation, automation technologies are increasingly looked upon to perform critical tasks in short time, without manual intervention (or with minimal intervention) in error-free manner. Qualtech Systems, Inc., in collaboration with TRACLabs, Inc., proposes developing novel capabilities in the areas of health management, providing information for health and capability-related situational awareness, acquisition of data from onboard systems, and generating and invoking procedures for troubleshooting, restoration of operation, and/or initiating safety assurance processes.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The results of the proposed research and technology development effort will be of immense value to any complex systems that are critical to automated or semi-automated industrial and military missions and operations such as aircraft systems, combat vehicles, Navy ships as well semiconductor FAB and industrial automation equipment. Specifically, air transport, space-based systems, underwater, and maritime (both civil and military) sectors can be the potential end user of the technologies developed from this effort. All these systems require the presence of mission critical systems whose operations are mostly automated and conducted in demanding circumstances. The techniques, algorithms and information workflow developed in this effort will enhance operational efficacy and contribute significantly to mission success through condition monitoring and aiding in the reconfiguration of critical systems and facilitating effective choices of mission plans.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The benefit to NASA from this effort will be a fully integrated health monitoring, capability assessment, and maintenance planning tool that reduces flight controller workload by sharing information with other MCC applications. The first deployment of the proposed technology is expected to be for the NASA for their projects' involving exploratory vehicles. - Application will be well integrated with SHIELD, DRaTs and HRaTs led by NASA, AMES for improved mission performance. - Utilization of continuous health assessment and mission satisfiability information for improved mission success while increasing mission safety and reducing flight controller and crew workload

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Diagnostics/Prognostics
Recovery (see also Autonomous Systems)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
RNET Technologies, Inc.
240 W Elmwood Drive, Suite 2010
Dayton, OH 45459-4248
(937) 433-2886

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Todd Grimes
tgrimes@Rnet-Tech.com
240 W Elmwood Dr., STE2010
Dayton,  OH 45459-4248
(937) 433-2886

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
RNET has demonstrated the feasibility of developing an innovative radiation hardened (RH) and ultra low power (ULP) field programmable gate array (FPGA), called the RH/ULP FPGA. The design utilizes an advanced SOI process technology. It is the vision of RNET to develop a family of radiation hardened FPGA products with a variety of features including programmable logic, configurable analog functions, soft/hardcore microprocessor, dedicated DSP functions, I/O, dedicated memory blocks, memory controllers, global clock, and JTAG interface. In addition, specialized circuits for mitigation of TID/temperature effects, radiation hardened by design SEU techniques, and memory scrubbing are planned. Our vision at the conclusion of this proposed SBIR is to fabricate a "commercial" RH/ULP FPGA with the most important features listed. Ideally the FPGA to be developed under the proposed Phase 2 would contain all of these features, but due to the limitation of funds and allotted time, a scaled down version would be completed. The envisioned device will incorporate the basic programmable logic functions, dedicated block RAM, DSP functions, configurable I/O, global clock distribution network, and JTAG interface. Phase 2 will set the stage for more feature-rich product families to be developed as commercialization continues.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Potential non-NASA markets would include the DoD and Homeland Security on the government side, and Prime Contractors that manufacture Electronic Components/Processors for NASA and DoD. In fact, this technology has direct application where small satellite are operated in medium earth orbit in the Van Allen Belts. Due to the small size of these satellites limited radiation shielding is available and therefore, highly radiation hardened electronics are required. Another need exists for radiation hardened processing devices that support numerous sensors used in a variety of space missions.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
One potential customer will be NASA for future Flagship exploration missions, such as the mission to Jupiter and its moons called the Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM). This is a joint mission between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). Hardened electronics are needed for systems and sensors that will become part of the Jupiter Europa Orbiter (JEO) and Jupiter Ganymede Orbiter (JGO). Other general opportunities exist in space vehicles, orbiters, satellites, etc.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Condition Monitoring (see also Sensors)
Process Monitoring & Control
Telemetry/Tracking (Cooperative/Noncooperative; see also Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Circuits (including ICs; for specific applications, see e.g., Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Control & Monitoring, Sensors)
Image Processing
Telemetry (see also Control & Monitoring)
Ionizing Radiation
Sensor Nodes & Webs (see also Communications, Networking & Signal Transport)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Innosense, LLC
2531 West 237th Street, Suite 127
Torrance, CA 90505-5245
(310) 530-2011

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
David Hess
david.hess-1@innosense.us
2531 West 237th Street, Suite 127
Torrance,  CA 90505-5245
(310) 530-2011

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
NASA needs an advanced lubrication solution for its future robotic systems and planetary surface assets. The required lubrication technology must offer low-temperature performance while minimizing wear in these robotic systems and reducing the maintenance needed to keep them running. In this Phase II project, InnoSense LLC (ISL) proposes to meet NASA's need by further-engineering of its IonoGlide&#153; liquid-based lubricants and validating its performance through testing by third party. IonoGlide lubricants offer low-temperature performance with limited off-gassing and high decomposition temperatures. ISL's approach is to introduce proprietary additives to the ionic liquid matrix to impart thermal stability and enhance lubricity. This depresses the apparent freezing point while maintaining high decomposition temperatures. Through electrostatic interactions, the proprietary additive and ionic liquid form an order. With near metallic surfaces, this quasi-ordering contribute to improved lubricity. Phase I testing shows that ISL's lubricant outperforms top commercially available lubricants. ISL will work with a major NASA contractor to test lubrication efficiency under simulated field conditions. IonoGlide lubricants are envisioned for use primarily in metallic ball-bearing conditions at low pressures.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
According to a March 2010 Freedonia Focus report, synthetic lubricants and functional fluid demand in the United States is expected to be $4.8 billion by 2013 and grow by 3.2% per year. Synthetic engine oil is seen as a $2.6 billion market by 2013 with annual gains of 7.3% since 2008. The need for higher-performing engine oils drives this market. For the vehicle and equipment market, synthetic engine oils along with hydraulic and transmission fluids will drive an expected $4 billion in demand by 2013. According to the same report, the market for heat transfer fluids increased 6.8% between 2003 and 2008 to a value of $1.3 billion. This is the niche within which NASA applications fall. Heat transfer fluids are used in antifreeze, energy production, asphalt, laun¿dry, biotechnology, metalworking, mining, process manufacturing, and refrigeration and heating systems. In the commercial arena, variants of IonoGlide will find uses in aerospace, automotive, electronics, energy, synthesis, engineering fluids, and marine sectors.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
In collaboration with its industrial partners, ISL will continue to develop IonoGlide lubricants for NASA-specific applications ranging from Mars rovers to use in robotic arms for extravehicular missions. A potential operational limitation of remote robotic systems is lubrication failure at low temperature. IonoGlide lubricants promise continuing mission-critical performance in the harsh Martian environment. Preliminary results of ISL's lubrication technology indicate potential for dependable and prolonged performance in such extreme environments.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Airship/Lighter-than-Air Craft
Space Transportation & Safety
Tools/EVA Tools
Man-Machine Interaction
Recovery (see also Vehicle Health Management)
Robotics (see also Control & Monitoring; Sensors)
Command & Control
Process Monitoring & Control
Telemetry/Tracking (Cooperative/Noncooperative; see also Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Teleoperation
Mission Training
Training Concepts & Architectures
Materials (Insulator, Semiconductor, Substrate)
Prototyping
Quality/Reliability
Support
Knowledge Management
Material Handing & Packaging
Transport/Traffic Control
Processing Methods
Coatings/Surface Treatments
Composites
Fluids
Joining (Adhesion, Welding)
Organics/Biomaterials/Hybrids
Smart/Multifunctional Materials
Actuators & Motors
Fasteners/Decouplers
Isolation/Protection/Shielding (Acoustic, Ballistic, Dust, Radiation, Thermal)
Machines/Mechanical Subsystems
Pressure & Vacuum Systems
Structures
Tribology
Vehicles (see also Autonomous Systems)
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Propulsion
Maneuvering/Stationkeeping/Attitude Control Devices
Chemical/Environmental (see also Biological Health/Life Support)
Contact/Mechanical
Inertial
Positioning (Attitude Determination, Location X-Y-Z)
Development Environments
Operating Systems
Active Systems
Cryogenic/Fluid Systems
Passive Systems
Recovery (see also Autonomous Systems)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Sustainable Innovations, LLC
160 Oak Street
Glastonbury, CT 06033-2336
(860) 652-9690

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Trent Molter
trent.molter@sustainableinnov.com
160 Oak Street
Glastonbury,  CT 06033-2336
(860) 652-9690

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) water electrolyzers have undergone continuous development for the generation of oxygen and hydrogen for commercial, military and space applications since the 1970's. Unfortunately, conventional technology developed over this time period has required a complex balance of plant that adds to the overall weight of the system package. Research in the past two decades resulted in the creation of systems that minimized balance of plant components, but had significant current density and efficiency limitations, limiting their use. This SBIR program builds upon recent success in the development of a high-pressure electrochemical cell architecture and inserts novel water management technology to generate a passive liquid feed electrolyzer capable of operating at 2,000 psi - and scalable to higher pressures. If successful, implementation of this new technology can save substantially on system weight with a high system operational efficiency and enhanced current density capability.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The hydrogen market is huge, currently about 10 million tons/year in the U.S. alone and a multi-billion dollar business. Industrial markets, such as refineries, ammonia production, chemical plants, etc, use most of the commercial quantities of hydrogen. Most of the hydrogen is either shipped to the end user via pipeline or trucked as compressed gas, at pressures of ~2,000 psi or greater. However, other applications for the hydrogen economy, especially vehicle refueling applications, require higher pressures, up to 12,000 psi. Successful development of efficient, high pressure water electrolysis systems is critically important in meeting these developing needs. It is anticipated that the worldwide combined industrial and emerging vehicle market for hydrogen will be >100 billion dollars.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The successful development of an advanced passive liquid feed electrolyzer capable of operation at high pressure will be instrumental in supporting energy storage requirements for many NASA space missions. In particular, the ability to efficiently generate hydrogen and oxygen at high pressure allows the creation of high energy density systems for long-term space travel, Lunar and Mars bases. In addition, oxygen produced at high pressure can be used to meet space life support needs, including recharge of the EMU. Furthermore, successful development of high pressure cell technology can be instrumental in the creation of efficient hydrogen recovery systems that could result in substantial savings due to hydrogen loss resulting from cryogenic boil-off.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Conversion
Distribution/Management
Generation
Sources (Renewable, Nonrenewable)
Storage
Processing Methods
Resource Extraction
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Propulsion
Fuels/Propellants

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Deployable Space Systems, Inc.
75 Robin Hill, Building B2
Goleta, CA 93117-3108
(805) 693-1319

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Brian Spence
Brian.Spence@DeployableSpaceSystems.com
75 Robin Hill Road, Bldg. B2
Goleta,  CA 93117-3108
(805) 722-8090

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Deployable Space Systems (DSS) will focus the proposed Phase 2 SBIR program on the hardware-based development and TRL advance of a highly-modularized and extremely-scalable solar array (Mega-ROSA) that provides immense power level range capability from 100kW to many Megawatts in size. Mega-ROSA will enable extremely high power spacecraft applications, including: Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) spacecraft, SEP space-tug, and large-scale Planetary and Human Exploration missions because of its ground-breaking stowed packaging efficiency, high deployed stiffness / strength, low-cost and straightforward ground test capability. The innovative and synergistic Mega-ROSA solutions, to be validated to a TRL 6 level during the proposed Phase 2 program, will enable future high power missions through low cost (25-50% cost savings depending on PV and blanket technology), high specific power (>200 W/kg to 400 W/kg BOL at the wing level depending on PV and blanket technology), extremely compact stowage volume (>50 kW/m3 for very large arrays), high deployment reliability, platform simplicity (low parts count and reduced potential failure modes), high deployed strength/stiffness (>5X stiffer and stronger than rigid panel arrays of similar sizes), high voltage capability, scalability to ultra-high power (100kW to several Megawatts), and operability in unique environments (high/low illumination, high/low sun intensity and high radiation).

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Non-NASA space applications are comprised of practically all missions that require photovoltaic power production through deployment of a lightweight and modular structural system. The proposed technology is particularly well suited for ultra-high power applications including: high power spacecraft, space-tugs, power station applications, and other large scale applications. Mega-ROSA is well suited for applications requiring affordability, lightweight, scalability/modularity, compact stowage, operability within high radiation environments, high voltage operation, and operation in LILT and HIHT environments. Applicable non-NASA space missions include: LEO surveillance, reconnaissance, communications and other critical payload/equipment satellites, LEO commercial mapping satellites, MEO satellites & re-supply space-tugs, and GEO commercial communications satellites. A strong commercial infusion path has been identified for the Mega-ROSA technology and the proposed Phase 2 program. DSS has a formed strategic relationship with Orbital Sciences Corporation and Space Systems Loral for this program and the Mega-ROSA technology to help expedite commercialization / technology infusion into their high power applications.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
NASA space applications are comprised of practically all Exploration, Space Science, Earth Science, Planetary Surface, and other missions that require photovoltaic power production through deployment of a lightweight, modular and highly scalable structural system. The proposed technology is particularly well suited for ultra-high power applications including, but not limited to, high power spacecraft, Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) spacecraft, space-tugs, and large scale Planetary Science applications. Because the Mega-ROSA technology can package much more power into a given launch vehicle envelope than any other solar array it potentially enables future cost-constrained NASA SMD/ESMD (and other) missions because the stowed-package of an ultra-high-power array actually can fit within the designated compact stowage volume of a smaller, less expensive and more readily available launch vehicle. Mega-ROSA's ability to potentially reduce launch vehicle needs could literally provide a step function in large NASA SEP / Exploration mission cost savings.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Spacecraft Design, Construction, Testing, & Performance (see also Engineering; Testing & Evaluation)
Conversion
Generation
Sources (Renewable, Nonrenewable)
Composites
Deployment
Machines/Mechanical Subsystems
Structures

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
DR Technologies, Inc.
9431 Dowdy Drive
San Diego, CA 92126-4336
(858) 587-4210

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Nicholas Walmsley
nwalmsley@vst-inc.com
9431 Dowdy Drive
San Diego,  CA 92126-4633
(858) 587-4200

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 5
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Thin, flexible, and highly efficient solar arrays are needed that package compactly for launch and deploy into large, structurally stable high power generators. Inverted Metamorphic Multi-junction (IMM) solar cells can enable these arrays, offering higher efficiencies of >33% and lower mass and flexibility, but integration challenges of this thin crystalline cell technology need solution. The Thin Hybrid Interconnected Solar-Array (THINS) technology allows robust and reliable integration of IMM cells into a flexible blanket comprising standardized modules engineered for producibility. The modules support the IMM cell by using multi-functional materials for structural stability, shielding, CTE stress relief, and integrated thermal and electrical functions. The Phase I effort demonstrated the feasibility of key THINS component, including the structurally stabilized IMM cell, and integration with advanced multi-functional substrate and superstrate components, and completed the modularity approach for interfacing into the Roll Out Solar Array (ROSA) deployable structure, while improving standardization and manufacturability. Design evaluation shows figures of merit for array level specific power, including deployable structure, greater than 400W/kg and volumetric efficiency greater than15kW/m^3, significantly higher than current approaches. The low mass and low stowed volume provides a path to package 300kW in a single launch with a deployment approach that uses simple, robust mechanisms. Phase II advances the THINS/ROSA technology, incorporating advanced 4 -Junction IMM solar cells into THINS modules using demonstrated spaceflight qualified materials, testing module coupons in thermal cycling and plasma environments, fabricating a full-scale module to demonstrate automatable manufacturing processes, integrating that module and inactive modules (with cell simulators) into the ROSA deployable structure, and culminating in a full-scale deployment demonstration.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The ability to fit tens of kilowatts in a compact stowage envelope is of great benefit to commercial missions, where high power translates directly to improved spacecraft revenue. Improvements in reliability and reduced costs are also of great interest to commercial spacecraft suppliers, since the solar array can often drive the total spacecraft and launch costs, and reliability is needed to avoid the failures that drove up costs of commercial missions significantly in recent years. The ability to package high power with compactness can significantly reduce launch costs by enabling smaller, economical launch vehicles, and high efficiency reduces cost by reducing solar array area and therefore the required hardware and station-keeping costs. The modularity concept provides a means of improving process control and standardization to improve reliability and reduce the cost of manufacturing and qualification. Significant interest in this technology has been expressed from commercial spacecraft providers such as Boeing, Orbital Sciences and Loral. Vanguard has been working extensively with Boeing on its development of high power, flexible arrays, such as the Integrated Blanket Interconnect System (IBIS), which is a version of Boeing's High Power Solar Array (HPSA) that incorporated earlier versions of THINS, and which would benefit from the technology maturation achievable with the continuation of this SBIR.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
NASA technology objectives have traditionally included solar arrays with high specific power, high power capability, high voltage capability, compact packaging, and modularity for improved schedule responsiveness, standardization, qualification traceability, automation, and lowered cost. Lightweight, high power solar arrays with compact packaging is a key enabling technology for meeting NASA goals of establishing a capability for Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP), as well as for long-duration manned missions. In particular, providing tens to hundreds of kilowatts can be enabling for outer planetary missions, allowing improved SEP performance during cruise, and providing significant power (hundreds of watts) for the objective mission, despite the minimal sunlight available at the asteroid belt, Jupiter and beyond. The THINS/ROSA array also has the advantages of improved electromagnetic cleanliness because of the capability for flex-circuit back-wiring, encapsulation, and the continuity of coverglass materials to create a continuous grounded, shielded enclosure. Such a technology can be enabling for high performance electric and magnetic field instruments often used on NASA science spacecraft, such as THEMIS, MMS, and Maven, and could also enable the higher voltages needed for direct drive SEP approaches.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Conversion
Generation
Composites
Telescope Arrays

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Fiber Materials, Inc.
5 Morin St
Biddeford, ME 04005-4497
(207) 282-5911

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Steven Violette
sviolette@fibermaterialsinc.com
5 Morin Street
Biddeford,  ME 04005-4497
(207) 282-5911

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
FMI has developed graded density CBCF preforms for graded density phenolic impregnated carbon ablator (PICA) material to meet NASA's future exploration mission requirements for higher performance ablative TPS. Graded Preform PICA (GPP) will be achieved by the continued development of lightweight, graded density carbon preforms which will decrease the overall areal mass of the resulting TPS material while enhancing its thermal performance capability. The preform material designed to achieve this goal is comprised of a more mechanically robust, ablating outer layer and a lower weight, lower thermal conductivity inner layer than state-of-the-art PICA material. The ablative outer layer and thermal inner layer will be integrated in a continuously cast, monolithic material with equivalent capability for resin impregnation and conversion to PICA as the baseline existing preform material (FiberForm&#174;). During the proposed Phase II program, FMI will continue to develop its capability to produce graded density preform material to achieve TPS areal mass reductions estimated between 17-25% relative to PICA with the goal of improving ablation performance. The developed preform materials will be converted to GPP and then characterized mechanically, thermally, and tested for ablation performance. In addition to providing a pathway for these enhancements to tile acreage PICA TPS ablator material, FMI will incorporate the developed processing methodology to produce near net-shaped cast PICA TPS material preforms with a reduced density gradient compared to baseline manufacturing techniques.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
PICA preform development conducted under this program program would support commercial space operations including Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS). During 2008, NASA entered into contracts with Orbital Sciences and SpaceX to utilize their COTS cargo vehicles, Cygnus and Dragon respectively, for cargo delivery to the International Space Station (ISS). PICA is an enabling technology for earth return vehicles. More tightly controlled TPS preform density and resulting properties increases utility and reliability for commerical space applications.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The Stardust Sample Return Capsule completed its objective with earth reentry in January 2006. Mars Science Laboratory Aeroshell heat shield has been completed and delivery of the Curiosity rover to Mars is scheduled for 2015. With the successful fabrication of these PICA TPS heat shields in support of NASA flight missions, FMI has quoted and is prepared to continue supporting PICA heat shield missions. The program proposed will assist FMI in support of the NASA missions including ORISIS-REx and Mars EDL development by demonstrating near net-shaped density control and areal mass reduction. While OSIRIS-Rex is intended to use Stardust-like TPS, the demonstration in this program will validate improvements over the Stardust preform and provide a baseline for future missions. Thus, a successful program will enable other NASA TPS mission requirements.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Aerobraking/Aerocapture
Entry, Descent, & Landing (see also Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Processing Methods
Composites
Isolation/Protection/Shielding (Acoustic, Ballistic, Dust, Radiation, Thermal)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Creare, Inc.
P.O. Box 71
Hanover, NH 03755-3116
(603) 643-3800

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Mark Zagarola
mvz@creare.com
P.O. Box 71
Hanover,  NH 03755-3116
(603) 643-3800

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
This proposal is responsive to NASA SBIR Topic X10.01, specifically, the need for efficient small- to medium-scale hydrogen liquefaction technologies, including domestically produced wet cryogenic turboexpanders. Future NASA missions will require hydrogen liquefaction systems for spaceport, planetary, and lunar surface operations. A critical part of these systems is the cryogenic expansion turbines, which must be designed for high-speed operation and long life, and must be robust against the pressure and momentum excursions and the surface tension effects associated with two-phase flow. On the Phase I project, we identified and optimized a liquefaction system for spaceport operations. We demonstrated by analysis the benefits of using expansion turbines in the product stream instead of the customary Joule-Thomson throttle. We designed a set of high-performance turbines for use in these systems. On this Phase II project, we will demonstrate cryogenic expansion turbines for use in hydrogen liquefiers. The expansion turbines will be reliable, compact, lightweight, and efficient and will be able to operate in a two-phase system. They will have the innovative feature of recovering the expansion work through use of an alternator instead of dissipating work through a brake wheel. This approach greatly simplifies controls, improves reliability, and reduces system mass and input power.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The commercial potential of an advanced turboalternator are significant and include cooling for laboratory- and industrial-scale gas separation, liquefaction, storage, and transportation systems; high temperature superconducting motors, generators, transmission lines, and magnetic resonance imaging systems; liquid hydrogen fuel cell storage for the automotive industry; and commercial orbital transfer vehicles and satellites.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The result of this Phase II project will be the demonstration of expansion turbines for small- to medium scale hydrogen liquefiers. These expansion turbines provide between 1.4 kW of refrigeration at nominally 80 K to 0.5 kW of refrigeration at 20 K. The turbines will be suitable for liquefiers for spaceport, planetary, and lunar surface operations. The turbines may also be used in high-capacity cryocoolers for cooling high temperature superconducting motors, generators, and transmission lines. These cryocoolers are needed for advanced superconducting electric aircraft being developed by NASA.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Cryogenic/Fluid Systems

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Intelligent Automation, Inc.
15400 Calhoun Drive, Suite 400
Rockville, MD 20855-2737
(301) 294-5221

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Mun Wai Lee
mlee@i-a-i.com
15400 Calhoun Drive Suite 400
Rockville,  MD 20853-2737
(301) 294-4762

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Crew exercise is important for maintaining the health and fitness of astronauts, and to prevent adverse health problems, such as bone density losses. We developed algorithms for ESPRIT: an Exercise Sensing and Pose Recovery Inference Tool, in support of NASA's Exercise Countermeasure Program. ESPRIT is a stereo camera system that monitors exercise activities, detects markers placed on the body and other image features and recovers 3D kinematic body pose. ESPRIT relies on strong prior knowledge and modeling of human body, pose, dynamics, and appearance. It also relies on advanced statistical inference techniques to achieve robust and accurate motion capture. Phase I result has been promising and has demonstrated motion capture of several exercises, including walking, curling and dead lifting. Phase II effort will focus on enhancement of algorithms, development of an ESPRIT prototype, detailed performance evaluation, and delivery of prototype for testing and demonstration.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Non-NASA applications include uses in medicine and rehabilitation, such as gait analysis, orthopedics, and other applications for monitoring skeletal movement. Other applications include personal fitness and support of the aging, human-robotics and human-computer interaction, simulation, immersive reality, and video games. Potential customers include government research agencies such as Air Force Research Laboratory for human performance analysis and human factor engineering; National Institute of Health for rehabilitation research; physiotherapy clinics and nursing homes

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Crew exercise is important for maintaining health and fitness of astronauts, especially in preventing adverse health problems associated with long-duration space flight, such as losses in muscle strength and endurance, bone density, balance and aerobic capacity. The proposed ESPRIT system will support NASA's Exercise Countermeasure project for observing crew's exercise activities, performing motion capture and kinematic analysis, and will contribute towards the understanding the effect of microgravity in physical activities. ESPRIT is designed to satisfy the constraints in size, weight and power consumption imposed by the spacecraft environment. The system will be easy to set up and operated by the crew.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Health Monitoring & Sensing (see also Sensors)
Image Analysis
Image Processing

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
TRS Ceramics, Inc.
2820 East College Avenue
State College, PA 16801-7548
(814) 238-7485

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Kevin Snook
kevin@trstechnologies.com
2820 East College Avenue
State College,  PA 16801-7548
(814) 238-7485

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 4

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
TRS proposes to develop a simple-to-use, launch capable, ultrasound transducer that is capable of producing the necessary bandwidth to accurately determine in vivo bone characteristics that correlate to loss of strength in astronauts in long-duration space flights (microgravity). The transducer will be capable of measuring backscatter, attenuation, reflectivity and other ultrasound parameters of bone in the spine or hip that have been correlated with physiological bone density, structure and porosity through systems that provide high fidelity but are not space-capable. The Phase I program showed that a compact ultrasound transducer with more than 4 octave bandwidth could be produced using the special properties of single crystal piezoelectrics and special processing techniques, a bandwidth 175% larger than that of conventional transducers. The Phase II program will extend the capabilities of the Phase I transducer by providing more sensitivity, and optimizing the frequency content relative to the acoustic field. Additionally, TRS will team with Stony Brook University to further analyze the relationship between the bone structure and ultrasound parameters towards eventual use in space. TRS will deliver a robust, wideband transducer that can be integrated with NASA components at the end of the program.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
There is potential for the ultrasound system to be used as a low-cost diagnostic tool in the medical setting, particularly in areas where the larger, more costly imaging tools such as CT and MRI are not available. The additional information from this method could also surpass these modalities. This includes other pathologies such as skin cancer. The concept of the transducer could be expanded to other frequency ranges, and could be used in industrial or defense applications. Acoustic spectroscopy is used to evaluate fatigue as structure crack over time and acoustic signatures across the structure change. A wider frequency range could provide more fatigue data.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
With the potential as a low-cost system, the ultrasound method could be implemented as a series of units for astronauts both in space and before or after returning. The applications of the material and methods can also be integrated into other areas, such as evaluation of materials (non-destructive evaluation) while on the job. The cryogenic performance advantages of single crystal have been shown in adaptive optics applications, showing that this could be a very adaptable technology.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Health Monitoring & Sensing (see also Sensors)
Acoustic/Vibration
Biological (see also Biological Health/Life Support)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Pulsar Informatics, Inc.
3401 Market Street, Suite 318
Philadelphia, PA 19104-2614
(215) 520-2630

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Daniel Mollicone
daniel@pulsarinformatics.com
3401 Market Street (Suite 318)
Philadelphia,  PA 19104-2614
(215) 520-2630

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Given the extended duration of future missions and the isolated, extreme, and confined environments, there is the possibility that stress-related behavioral conditions and mental disorders (DSM-IV-TR) will develop. The overarching goal of this project is to deliver an integrated system that will track physiological signals (heart rate and heart rate variability) and behavioral signals (sleep wake patterns) to detect chronic stress, hyperarousal, and insomnia during space missions. This project will deliver both the sensor hardware and signal processing software needed for the real-time data collection and integration with other behavioral health monitoring systems (e.g., Individualized Fatigue Meter and Individualized Behavioral Health Meter). The result of Phase II will be a system that can be deployed in space analog environments for validation testing and ultimately deployed on ISS to assist astronauts and mission support personnel in the detection of astronaut chronic stress, hyperarousal, and insomnia. The critical need for an Individualized Stress Detection System has been identified as a priority outlined in the BHP IRP Gap BMED2. The Technology Readiness Level at the end of Phase II will be TRL 5.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The Individualized Stress Detection System can be adapted to meet an articulated need to track chronic stress and hyperarousal in occupations associated with high workload and high danger factor such as military operations and law enforcement. A tool that enables the systematic and efficient tracking of sympathetic activation in these occupational settings can provide a means to detect and address stress-related behavioral disorders and mental conditions at an early stage. Taking military operations as an example, there is evidence that stress-related behavioral disorders and mental conditions such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder have a high prevalence among soldiers. There is a present market opportunity to deliver an Individualized Stress Detection System to track changes in objectively-measured markers of chronic stress levels in soldiers during training, deployment, and post-deployment.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The Individualized Stress Detection System will meet the specific requirements of long duration exploration missions and provide feedback to astronauts, Op Psy personnel and flight surgeons about stress levels and hyperarousal as well as aid in the selection of countermeasures. It will be designed to be unobtrusive and to require minimal training and crew effort to utilize. The resulting product will be primarily relevant to NASA's Behavioral Health and Performance (BHP) research gap BMED 2: "What are the most effective methods to predict, detect, and assess decrements in behavioral health (which may negatively affect performance) before, during, and after spaceflight missions?" The resulting product will also be relevant to gaps BMED1, BMED6, and BMED7. When validated, the Individualized Stress Detection System will be deployed on ISS to support crew behavioral health during training, mission, and return to Earth.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Analytical Methods
Spacecraft Instrumentation & Astrionics (see also Communications; Control & Monitoring; Information Systems)
Tools/EVA Tools
Intelligence
Man-Machine Interaction
Perception/Vision
Health Monitoring & Sensing (see also Sensors)
Medical
Physiological/Psychological Countermeasures
Ad-Hoc Networks (see also Sensors)
Architecture/Framework/Protocols
Network Integration
Transmitters/Receivers
Algorithms/Control Software & Systems (see also Autonomous Systems)
Condition Monitoring (see also Sensors)
Sequencing & Scheduling
Mission Training
Training Concepts & Architectures
Models & Simulations (see also Testing & Evaluation)
Software Tools (Analysis, Design)
Computer System Architectures
Data Acquisition (see also Sensors)
Data Fusion
Data Input/Output Devices (Displays, Storage)
Data Modeling (see also Testing & Evaluation)
Data Processing
Knowledge Management
Biological (see also Biological Health/Life Support)
Chemical/Environmental (see also Biological Health/Life Support)
Verification/Validation Tools
Simulation & Modeling

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Orbital Technologies Corporation
Space Center, 1212 Fourier Drive
Madison, WI 53717-1961
(608) 827-5000

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Ross Remiker
remikerr@orbitec.com
1212 Fourier Drive
Madison,  WI 53717-1961
(608) 229-2746

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
ORBITEC's Non-Thermal Sanitation by Atmospheric Pressure Plasma technology sanitizes fresh fruits and vegetables without the use of consumable chemicals and without significantly raising the temperature of the food, so food taste and quality are not affected. Atmospheric pressure plasma is well known to be highly effective in promoting oxidation, enhancing molecular dissociation, and producing free radicals and other types of high energies. It has recently attracted much attention in the food industry due to its potential for being a non-thermal and highly effective sanitation method. The proposed technology will support surface sanitation of delivered fresh fruit and vegetables, and freshly prepared foods in a space-based habitat. It can function in reduced gravity and pressure environments, and is efficient in terms of waste and resource use. During this Phase 2 effort, designs of the primary operating components of the system will be refined and incorporated into a plasma processing chamber prototype capable of treating one to two servings of fresh food at a time. The antimicrobial performance of the prototype will be tested with a number of fruits/vegetables and different inoculums. The prototype will also be evaluated for the effect of plasma treatment on food quality.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Terrestrially, non-thermal plasma sanitation technology can reduce the number of cases of food-borne illness due to contaminations by sanitizing food at the point of use, such as a restaurant, or at a food processing facility. This technology can be used in place of chlorinated water, which can leave a residue and is not entirely effective, and irradiation, which generally has a poor public perception.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Non-thermal plasma can be used to sanitize fresh foods grown in the space habitat and to sanitize raw ingredients either produced on orbit or sent up as bulk raw ingredients. Non-thermal plasma does not raise the temperature of the treated food significantly, so it has minimal effect on food quality. Non-thermal plasma can replace chemical disinfectants in most applications. The technology has low system mass, consumable mass, and power consumption. The function of this technology is insensitive to reduced cabin pressure and reduced gravity.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Food (Preservation, Packaging, Preparation)
Crop Production (see also Biological Health/Life Support)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Invocon, Inc.
19221 IH 45 South, Suite 530
Conroe, TX 77385-8746
(281) 292-9903

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Eric Krug
ekrug@invocon.com
19221 I-45 South, Suite 530
Conroe,  TX 77385-8746
(281) 292-9903

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Invocon's Radiation Alert Immediate Disclosure (RAID) system is a miniature, low-power, real-time, active radiation badge. It is designed for monitoring personnel, equipment, and environments while minimizing complicated user interfaces. RAID's ability to determine characteristics and dose rate in addition to total dose provide significant advantages over other types of devices. A single sensor provides information about all types of ionizing radiation in order to provide a comprehensive assessment of radiation environments. Many radiation health experts believe that dose rate is an important parameter in addition to total dose for determining tissue damage. The real-time nature of RAID enables personnel to respond proactively to radiation events in order to minimize damage to personnel and the equipment on which they depend. RAID's wireless interface provides advantages for interrogating badges in difficult or inconvenient locations. Examples include monitoring radiation exposure to personnel throughout Extra-Vehicular Activities, reading monitors installed behind equipment racks or in isolated modules, and automatically downloading radiation data from astronauts' badges to minimize their workload. Phase II for this program will result in the delivery of fieldable badges that NASA can use for a Station Development Test Objective (SDTO), terrestrial evaluation, or general use by NASA researchers.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Non-NASA applications include: -Real time radiation / warning devices for use in Nuclear Power Generating facilities. -Particle detectors for use in experimental accelerators -Radiation detectors for examination of containerized package shipments to detect possible terror nuclear weapons or materials. -Real time radiation detection of luggage within airport security systems to detect controlled nuclear substances. -Real time radiation detection badges to be used anywhere that radiation risk is a possibility. -Particle detection and reporting capability for use on commercial satellites to verify radiation protection design parameters and contribute to upgraded design specifications for future satellites. -Particle detection and reporting for commercial satellites designed to explore the earth and other planets. -Near real time radiation detection and path verification for medical applications

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Potential NASA commercial applications are listed below. Of particular importance is that the proposed phase II program supports work being performed by the Space Radiation Analysis Group (SRAG) at Johnson Space Center as part of the Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) program. One goal of this program is to develop radiation monitors for various environments in support of future exploration missions. Invocon's Phase II provides NASA with an efficient means to obtain very promising technology. Specific applications include: -Real time radiation warning for Astronauts engaged in EVA activity in space or on surface exploration of space bodies exposed to potentially hazardous radiation environments. -Radiation detectors/recorders on the exterior of space vehicles -Radiation detectors for the interior of space vehicles. -Particle detectors with the capability of producing accurate accounts and predictions of radiation damage to biomass. -Radiation detectors used for verification of test beam scattering and intensity. -A detector capable of differentiating different types and magnitudes of radiation. -Selective radiation detector to verify shielding effectiveness.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Analytical Instruments (Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma, Energy; see also Sensors)
Health Monitoring & Sensing (see also Sensors)
Isolation/Protection/Radiation Shielding (see also Mechanical Systems)
Circuits (including ICs; for specific applications, see e.g., Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Control & Monitoring, Sensors)
Radiography
Data Acquisition (see also Sensors)
Data Processing
Ionizing Radiation
Radiometric
X-rays/Gamma Rays

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Redfern Integrated Optics, Inc.
3350 Scott Boulevard, Building #62
Santa Clara, CA 95054-3104
(408) 970-3500

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Lew Stolpner
lew.stoplner@rio-inc.com
3350 Scott Blvd., Bldg #62
Santa Clara,  CA 95054-3125
(408) 970-3500

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 1
End: 3

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
In this Phase II proposal we plan to design and develop a semiconductor, low phase/frequency noise, single-frequency, external cavity semiconductor laser (ECL) emitting at 1064 nm for use in high-precision outer space measurement NASA missions. Many NASA space missions rely on the utilization of Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) techniques for atmospheric analysis and/or surface topography and distance measurement. A key and vital component of any LIDAR system is the laser source. Single frequency lasers are highly desirable for use in planned missions using LIDAR systems. The laser is based on the PLANEX&#61652; laser technology developed by Redfern Integrated Optics Inc. (RIO). The PLANEX&#61652; 1550 nm laser was originally designed and developed for terrestrial applications but it has been experimentally demonstrated to have a sufficiently low level of frequency and intensity noise to be suitable for precision measurement applications, such as those encountered in spaceborne LIDAR. For the Phase II effort, we propose to carry out a plan to design and develop a 1064 nm PLANEX laser for NASA LIDAR applications which will be based on the RIO PLANEX ECL originally designed for emission at 1550 nm, but need re-design for different semiconductor materials, fabrication processes and opto-electronic packaging for operation at 1064 nm wavelength in outer space.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Space qualified RIO PLANEX laser can be used in the LIDAR systems in various defense and commercial aero-space applications. Also applications will include injection seedlings of high power MOPA fiber and DPSS industrial lasers for material processing, second harmonic generation and UV lasers for scientific applications. Furthermore, development of a 1064nm PLANEX laser will open up additional commercial and aerospace applications and markets for RIO, now served by 1064nm fiber lasers. Potential commercial customers will include prime DoD contractors, like LMC, NGC, leading laser manufactures as IPG, Coherent, Continuum, Fibertek, etc.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
A key and vital component of any LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and system are the single-frequency laser sources which are needed in any LIDAR-based terrestrial and space applications of atmospheric measurement and analysis as well as surface topography. For instance, planned missions using LIDAR systems such as LIST (LIDAR for Surface Topography), LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna), the follow-on GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment), and ASCENDS (Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons), would all benefit from the availability of space-qualified, high reliability, precision single-frequency laser devices.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Analytical Instruments (Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma, Energy; see also Sensors)
Spacecraft Instrumentation & Astrionics (see also Communications; Control & Monitoring; Information Systems)
Telemetry/Tracking (Cooperative/Noncooperative; see also Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Emitters
Lasers (Guidance & Tracking)
Lasers (Ladar/Lidar)
GPS/Radiometric (see also Sensors)
Optical
Ranging/Tracking
Interferometric (see also Analysis)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Advanced Scientific Concepts, Inc.
135 East Ortega Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101-1674
(805) 966-3331

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Steve Penniman
asc@asc3d.com
135 E. Ortega Street
Santa Barbara,  CA 93101-1674
(805) 966-3331

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 7
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
3D Flash LIDAR (3DFL) is ideal for determining real-time spacecraft trajectory, speed and orientation to the planet surface, as well as evaluating potential hazards at the landing. The "framing camera" nature of 3DFL systems makes them well suited as hazard avoidance and docking sensors for EDL and AR&D. 3DFL can provide a direct, real-time measurement of the altitude of the spacecraft during descent as well as surface relative velocity and orientation, while simultaneously mapping terrain topography to identify landing hazards and provide localization information. ASC has developed the core technology for Flash LIDAR with its 3D-FPA hybrid, but would like to work with NASA to further enhance the functionality of the 3D sensor by adding embedded image enhancement and classification algorithms. For this SBIR solicitation, ASC is developing a new 3D Flash LIDAR camera architecture that allows for embedded processing of 3D Flash LIDAR point clouds. Advanced Scientific Concepts Inc. (ASC) is a small business that has developed a number of 3D flash LADAR systems and has twice successfully flown 3DFL cameras (DragonEyes) on space shuttle (STS 127 and 133) Rendezvous and Docking DTO missions with the ISS; the first 3DFL in space.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Collision avoidance to save pedestrians and prevent vehicle damage, Helicopter landing in BrownOut conditions, Mid-Air Refueling, Surveillance, Terrain Mapping, Autonomous Navigation for UGVs, unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and UAV, Smart intersection, Ladar brakes, Robotics, Machine Vision, Hazard Material Detection and Handling, Underwater 3D Imaging, Sub Nanosecond Dynamic Imaging, 3D Sports Imaging and data transmission, consumer electronics. The applications continue to develop.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
These sensor improvements will increase the success of NASA operations such as: ¿ Mars Landed Exploration ¿ Exploration of Moons (ALHAT, Jupiter Icy Moons) ¿ Asteroid and Comet Rendezvous and Sample Return ¿ ISS Rendezvous and Docking ¿ Space Situational Awareness ¿ Rock Abundance and Distribution Maps ¿ Topographical Mapping ¿ Rover Mobility and Navigation NASA Langley Research Center has purchased three of ASC's existing 3DFL camera systems for performing laboratory, field, and airborne test and evaluation of this technology for use on the ALHAT program. The system has been deployed for EDL helicopter experiments and has shown excellent results. NASA LaRC has supported an effort to produce high density arrays for increased area coverage for the ALHAT mission by funding ASC under a NASA NRA. Under a LaRC sponsored SBIR ASC has developed unit cells and ROICs that show a 3-10 times increase in sensitivity. ASC currently sells and has customers for a very competitively priced ISS Rendezvous and Docking sensor, the DragonEye.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Entry, Descent, & Landing (see also Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Navigation & Guidance
Relative Navigation (Interception, Docking, Formation Flying; see also Control & Monitoring; Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Autonomous Control (see also Control & Monitoring)
Perception/Vision
Robotics (see also Control & Monitoring; Sensors)
Algorithms/Control Software & Systems (see also Autonomous Systems)
Attitude Determination & Control
Telemetry/Tracking (Cooperative/Noncooperative; see also Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Teleoperation
Circuits (including ICs; for specific applications, see e.g., Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Control & Monitoring, Sensors)
3D Imaging
Image Analysis
Image Capture (Stills/Motion)
Image Processing
Data Acquisition (see also Sensors)
Data Processing
Detectors (see also Sensors)
Lasers (Ladar/Lidar)
Entry, Descent, & Landing (see also Astronautics)
Optical
Ranging/Tracking
Optical/Photonic (see also Photonics)
Positioning (Attitude Determination, Location X-Y-Z)
Infrared

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
AdValue Photonics, Inc.
3708 E. Columbia Street, Suite 100
Tucson, AZ 85714-1962
(520) 790-5468

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Jihong Geng
jgeng@advaluephotonics.com
3708 E. Columbia Street, Suite 100
Tucson,  AZ 85714-1962
(520) 790-5468

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 2
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Frequency-locked single-frequency 2 micron fiber laser is proposed to be used for airborne/spaceborne coherent lidar measurements, i.e., Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons. The laser is based on our proprietary fiber technology and extensive experience in fiber laser development, which features a compact, highly stable, frequency-stabilized light source. Advanced frequency-locking schemes for both center-line frequency-locking and offset-frequency locking is developed in the laser source to address the bandwidth issue associated with airborne and space-borne coherent lidar measurements. Important key concepts in the proposed laser have been successfully demonstrated in the Phase I effort. This Phase II program will focus on the development of prototype units of two frequency-locked lasers at a specific wavelength of NASA interest. The prototype units will be delivered to NASA Langley Research Center at the end of this Phase II program for evaluation test.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
There are a number of potential non-NASA commercial applications for frequency-stabilized single frequency 2 micron fiber laser. Our proposed frequency-stabilized 2 micron fiber source is an ideal light source for mid-infrared frequency metrology. It can also be used in gas sensing and high-precision molecular spectroscopy.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
For our proposed laser source, one of the potential NASA applications is NASA's ASCENDS mission, i.e., Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons. This mission will provide a tool and data to understand the natural processes driving the variability of natural carbon sources and sinks, and the transportation of carbon through the atmosphere. It needs to measure the number density of CO2 in the column of air through CO2 column profilers from air-borne or space-borne platforms. Our proposed laser system could be a perfect source enabling to use large-collection-area photo receiver in air-borne or space-borne CO2 coherent lidars for column measurements.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Lasers (Ladar/Lidar)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Teraphysics Corporation
110 Alpha Park
Cleveland, OH 44143-2215
(440) 573-0008

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Carol Kory
ckory@teraphysics.com
110 Alpha Park
Cleveland,  OH 44143-2215
(440) 554-3417

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 4

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Teraphysics Corporation completed the Phase I objectives for the electrical design of a 94 GHz, 26 W TWT with 53% overall efficiency, including the helical circuit with efficiency enhancing taper, input/output couplers, electron gun, magnetic circuit and multistage depressed collector. The device includes a novel, microfabricated, helical circuit with electron beam propagating above the helix rather than through the middle. In addition to completing all of the proposed Phase I objectives, we designed vacuum windows, made significant progress on the mechanical design, fabricated the electron gun electrodes and circuit block, and conducted machining trials, and brazing experiments. The successful Phase I results at 94 GHz along with Teraphysics' proven results at 95 and 650 GHz warrant further development of the 94 GHz TWT in a Phase II program. If awarded, we will apply our relevant experience and the Phase I results to fabricate, assemble, and test a 94 GHz TWT. The advantages of implementing high efficiency TWT amplifiers into NASA spacecraft compared to the current state of the art include lower system power requirements, reduced payload volume and reduced thermal management challenges.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Military applications include high data rate, network-centric communications and anti-jam and low detection warfare communications; airborne, ship borne, and ground-based radar; jamming; and decoy applications. Commercial applications include satellite communications, radar, imaging, and materials processing. Teraphysics has the capability to commercially exploit this technology, and it would have a wealth of commercial opportunity. The upper end of the mm wavelength band will be attractive to space commercial users because of the large amounts of contiguous spectrum that are available for broadband, high data rate, satellite and wireless terrestrial communications. This is also applicable at E-Band where larger bandwidth is commercially available as well as around 140 GHz where there is more spectrum and fewer competing allocations. The technology developed for the proposed 94 GHz TWT can readily be applied at E-Band or operation above 100 GHz. In fact, the same 94 GHz slow wave circuit proposed here can operate at E-Band simply by increasing the beam voltage. Additional applications include imaging for areas such as homeland security.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The TWT is a vacuum device invented in the early 1940s for amplification of radio frequency (RF) power. Because of their high power, broad bandwidth, compact size, reliability and high efficiency, vacuum electron devices are used in several NASA applications including high data rate communications, radar, spectroscopy and remote sensing. Vacuum devices have a long history in NASA applications and are chosen for their unsurpassed efficiency, reliability, and power at high frequencies. They have been employed countless times by NASA in applications such as advanced cloud and precipitation radars, advanced SAR, radio science and telecommunications. In the area of telecommunications, this amplifier could enable very high data rate communications for links between orbiting satellites; planetary spacecraft; planetary surfaces and orbiting spacecraft; and deep space and earth. This 94 GHz technology would also increase the volume of data transmitted for low earth orbiting spacecraft that are in view of a ground station only briefly.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Amplifiers/Repeaters/Translators
Transmitters/Receivers
Circuits (including ICs; for specific applications, see e.g., Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Control & Monitoring, Sensors)
Models & Simulations (see also Testing & Evaluation)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Mosaix Technologies, Inc.
176 Melrose Avenue
Monrovia, CA 91016-2139
(626) 305-5550

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Raoul Tawel
raoul@mosaixtech.com
176 Melrose Avenue
Monrovia,  CA 91016-2139
(626) 305-5550

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Growing concern over global climatic and environmental changes and our urgent need to quantify track and understand their impact on our planet¿s atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces have prompted the development of extremely sensitive and technologically sophisticated instruments. To meet the challenges of these next generation instruments, a new class of high performance electronics needs to be developed. In this SBIR Phase II proposal, Mosaix proposes to design and build two separate low power, and compact single board digital poly-phase Fast Fourier Transform spectrometer (FFTS) optimized for the back-end signal processing requirements of next generation instruments. These two spectrometer designs are targeted to meet different mission requirements and leverage a common FPGA based digital electronic design and spectrometer IP core. Whilst sharing a common architecture, the boards differ in the analog-to-digital (ADC) samplers used at the front-end of the spectrometer and the actual FPGA device used for the digital signal processing tasks. The first spectrometer design is for a 8 GHz bandwidth spectrometer targeted for earth observing (EOS) missions. The second spectrometer design is for a 750 MHz bandwidth spectrometer targeted for planetary radiometer missions. The spectrometers developed under this SBIR will be state-of-the-art spectrometers.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
A number of commercial opportunities exist for our proposed wide bandwidth digital spectrometers. These include: Ground based receivers for radio astronomy applications; Aircraft and Balloon atmospheric research; Software Defined Radio (SDR); Satellite communication systems; Baseband communication transceivers; Imaging arrays; Explosive detection; NMR and PET scan medical imaging equipment; Radar & radar jamming; Multi-channel digital receivers; Video image processors; Sonar image processor

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Spectrometers are at the heart of all NASA missions, whether for planetary exploration or Earth observing missions. Our spectrometer would find applications on the following NASA missions/experiments: The Global Atmospheric Composition Mission (GACM) - a mission designed to study at high resolution the Earth's chemical-weather processes; The Airborne Scanning Microwave Limb Sounder (A-SMLS) - an experiment to test an airborne version of the GACM instrument that was specifically designed to mitigate the development risks of the GACM SMLS instrument; The Composition of the Atmosphere from Mid-Earth Orbit (CAMEO) - a mission similar to the GACM mission but with a new Earth orbit for composition measurement; the SOFIA Heterodyne Instrument - an instrument on board a Boeing 747 to observe the earth's atmosphere; The Cornell Caltech Atacama Telescope (CCAT) - an instrument to fit on the back-end of the CCAT telescope; The Mars Volcanic Emission and Life Scout (MARVEL) - a Mars orbiter mission to analyze the Martian atmosphere for chemical traces of life or environments supportive of life; The Venus Sounder for Planetary Exploration Sub-millimeter Limb Sounder (VESPER) - a Venus orbiter mission to analyze the planet's atmospheric composition and dynamics; The Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer (JUICE) - a mission to investigate the planets as an archetype gas giant; & The Titan Saturn System Mission (TSSM) - a mission to investigate Saturn and its moons Titan and Enceladus.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Circuits (including ICs; for specific applications, see e.g., Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Control & Monitoring, Sensors)
Data Acquisition (see also Sensors)
Microwave

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
TechnoScience Corporation
P.O. Box 60658
Palo Alto, CA 94306-0658
(650) 838-9833

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Jam Farhoomand
jam.farhoomand@nasa.gov
P.O. Box 60658
Palo Alto,  CA 94306-0658
(650) 838-9833

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 4

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
We propose to design a low noise, two-side buttable, 64x64 readout multiplexer with the following key design features: 1- By far the largest readout array developed for far IR detectors to date. Four of these readout can be butted together to form a >16k-pixel mosaic array satisfying the need of the next generation of astronomical instruments. 2- Optimized for use with far infrared detectors requiring low bias levels. The unit-cell design will maintain constant bias across the detector during the integration eliminating non-linearity and detector debiasing. The design will also minimize pixel-to-pixel DC variations which improves the bias uniformity across all pixels of the array. 3- Capable of operation at cryogenic temperatures at least as low as 1.6K. Advanced monolithic cryo-CMOS technology will guarantee deep cryogenic operation with minimal impact on noise performance. 4- Offers the potential of being directly hybridized to IR detector arrays using planar bump-bond technology. This technology has been identified by NASA as well as the science and astronomy community as key for future far IR astronomy. It fits well within the scope of the SBIR Subtopic S1.04 and will be a benefit to many large and small NASA missions including SAFIR/CALISTO and SOFIA.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Far-infrared astronomical instruments on board SPICA, a japanese-led, JAXA-ESA joint mission scheduled to launch in 2017.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Far-infrared astronomical instruments on board SOFIA, balloon experiments, and any follow-on missions to Spitzer and Herschel such as SAFIR/CALISTO.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Circuits (including ICs; for specific applications, see e.g., Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Control & Monitoring, Sensors)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
IntelliEPI IR, Inc.
1250 East Collins Boulevard
Richardson, TX 75081-2401
(972) 234-0068

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Paul Pinsukanjana
pinsu@intelliepi.com
1250 East Collins Boulevard
Richardson,  TX 75081-2401
(972) 814-6050

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
This Phase II SBIR proposes to develop high quantum efficiency (QE) and low dark current infrared epitaxy materials based on Type II Strained Layer Superlattice (SLS) for space-based sensor applications. The epi materials will be grown with Sb-capable multi-wafer production Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) reactor at IntelliEPI. The initial goal includes achieving QE of at least 50% with MWIR spectral wavelength band in the 2.5 to 12 um, and possibly beyond. The SLS detector design will be done in collaboration with Dr. Sarath Gunapla's infrared device group at JPL to ensure that the effort addresses NASA needs. Advanced structure design incorporating barriers will be used to reduce dark current. If successful, a Focal Plane Array may be fabricated during Phase II.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
With the success of this Phase II SBIR to develop resonant Type II SLS technology, both the military and commercial markets stand to benefit greatly. The SLS technology offers the opportunity to realize very high sensitivity thermal imager operating at higher operating temperature from mid wave to long wavelength, and to very long wavelength infrared based on readily available GaSb substrates. With GaSb material system, very large format FPA will be possible. Currently, 4" diameter substrate is already available. Furthermore, GaSb-based SLS technology can piggy back onto the III-V semiconductor industry for rapid product ramp up. For the military, this opens the door for more vehicles/platforms to be outfitted with these high performance cameras. Commercial business such as environmental or gas sensing can benefit from very competitive eventual cost structure.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Completion of this Phase II SBIR will enable Type II SLS technology to serve as a platform for the next generation of high performance and large format infrared FPAs. SLS will be an enabling technology for the exotic and often very specialized infrared imaging NASA needs such as this high sensitivity and high operating temperature sensor for space-based and terrestrial applications. NASA specific programs include the high performance thermal imager for the Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM) or the next generation Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) for terrestrial applications such as Landsat satellites.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Thermal Imaging (see also Testing & Evaluation)
Detectors (see also Sensors)
Materials & Structures (including Optoelectronics)
Thermal
Infrared
Long

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
CoolCAD Electronics
7101 Poplar Avenue
Takoma Park, MD 20912-4671
(240) 432-6535

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Akin Akturk
akin.akturk@coolcadelectronics.com
7101 Poplar Avenue
Takoma Park,  MD 20912-4671
(301) 405-3363

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Silicon Carbide deep UV detectors can achieve large gains, high signal-to-noise ratios and solar-blind operation, with added benefits of smaller sizes, lower operating voltages, radiation hardness, ruggedness and scalability. SiC UV APDs implementation is challenging due to some material defects, relatively not-well modeled device operation, and very high absorption coefficients near 200nm wavelengths. The objective of this proposed work is to extend the state-of-the-art in UV sensors by: a) developing SiC deep UV detectors, and b) improving their responsivity down to near 200nm wavelengths. We plan to accomplish this goal by using the SiC UV APD design simulator developed in Phase I, and making further improvements as we introduce new design concepts to improve the responsivity utilizing novel design and fabrication techniques tof the critical n+ top contact layer on the APD to reduce charge recombination in the UV absorption layer. We will develop unique fabrication techniques to improve surface quality of the SiC APD structure. This effort will be led by Auburn University, which has developed state-of-the-art fabrication methodologies and capabilities for SiC MOSFETs, in collaboration with CoolCAD who will design the devices and the implantation process. Our main effort will focus on generating a built-in surface field by creating a steep doping profile right at the surface. Since steep dopant gradients necessary to create a field within 40nm of the surface are not feasible using epitaxial growth techniques for SiC, we will develop implantation and dopant activation sequences, and backend processing techniques to achieve this goal. By creating a field in the deep UV absorption layer (~40nm), we will reduce the initial recombination of electron-hole pairs created by the UV photons and increase current reaching the multiplication region of the APD.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Non-NASA commercial applications include UV spectrometry for the military, the semiconductor industry, as well as the food processing and healthcare industries where bacterial sterilization, identification, and classification, are important. A particular unique application that can take further advantage of the wide bandgap of SiC detectors, in addition to solar-blindness and low noise qualities, is their applicability to high temperature operation. High temperature applications can include monitoring of UV in rocket plumes and jet engines. Fires in jet engines are of safety concern to the U.S. Air Force and commercial airplane manufacturers. We plan to develop relationships with firms that develop and market sensors, such as Integrated Micro Sensors of Houston, Texas, in an effort to partner with them to license or market high temperature UV sensors that are a unique outcome of this R&D effort. Deep UV detectors are also one of the enabling technologies for UV Non-Line-of-Sight (NLoS) communication networks that have the added benefit of data security.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Characteristics such as visible-blind operation and potentially 1E15 factor lower dark current than Silicon make SiC based detectors especially attractive for the many UV and EUV needs expressed in NASA's future missions. These programs include the Global Atmospheric Composition Mission (GACM) for monitoring atmospheric ozone and related gasses as well as the Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events (GEO-CAPE) mission for monitoring aerosols, ozone, air pollution and coastal ecosystems. In addition, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-S) will require instruments to monitor UV from solar flares and the Sun's atmosphere, as well as the Sun's extreme UV radiation. According to the Heliophysics Roadmap of 2009, EUV Avalanche Photo detectors will be necessary for imaging very low intensity UV radiation in order to amplify extremely low photon flux UV signals. The low dark current of wide band-gap SiC APDs will help to realize low flux UV detectors, where detecting flux rates as low as six photons per second are being sought. SiC APD's will operate at relatively low voltages compared to PMTs. By utilizing solid state technology, wide bandgap based UV spectrometers will offer a lightweight and small volume instrument option for use in space vehicles. In summary, SiC APDs will provide benefits to NASA for many years by expanding its imaging capabilities into the EUV regime with higher resolutions and enhanced signal-to-noise ratios.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Spacecraft Instrumentation & Astrionics (see also Communications; Control & Monitoring; Information Systems)
Health Monitoring & Sensing (see also Sensors)
Transmitters/Receivers
Circuits (including ICs; for specific applications, see e.g., Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Control & Monitoring, Sensors)
Materials (Insulator, Semiconductor, Substrate)
Characterization
Models & Simulations (see also Testing & Evaluation)
Software Tools (Analysis, Design)
Image Capture (Stills/Motion)
Processing Methods
Detectors (see also Sensors)
Biological (see also Biological Health/Life Support)
Biological Signature (i.e., Signs Of Life)
Ionizing Radiation
Optical/Photonic (see also Photonics)
Verification/Validation Tools

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Voxtel, Inc.
15985 Northwest Schendel Avenue, Suite 200
Beaverton, OR 97006-6703
(971) 223-5646

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Vinit Dhulla
vinit@voxtel-inc.com
15985 NW Schendel Avenue
Beaverton,  OR 97006-6104
(971) 223-5646

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Large-area (3m2), UV-sensitive focal plane arrays are needed for observation of air showers from ultra-high energy cosmic rays (JEM-EUSO) as well as for visible-wavelength spectrographic and photometric instruments planned for future telescopes (OWL). Existing photocathode-based technologies for visible and UV instruments lack sensitivity, are bulky, and have limited reliability. Solid-state silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are efficient, light, and reliable, but the front-illuminated designs demonstrated to date have poor UV response, limited sensitive area and optical fill-factor. To solve the above problems, a large-area, back-illuminated silicon photomultiplier (BaSiPM) array technology has been developed. The BaSiPM technology will integrate SiPM pixel arrays, fabricated on domestic, large volume commercial CMOS fab, with wafer-scale thinning. Short-wavelength light is absorbed near the surface of a silicon detector, and moving the optical entry surface to the back side of the wafer enhances UV response by ensuring that all photo-carriers are generated on the correct side of the junction for efficient avalanche multiplication. Placing the optical entry surface on the back of the wafer also improves the optical fill since it is no longer be necessary to shine light through the quench resistor network on the front surface of the detector. Lastly, back-thinning the detector wafer significantly reduces the mass per unit area of the focal plane array. Voxtel has successfully demonstrated the ability to perform wafer-scale back thinning fabrication for superior UV sensitivity. Three SiPM architectures (25 variations) have been characterized and studied in detail and their performance compared with commercially available SiPMs. The design of a large format focal plane design, including a mechanical model, mounting, and alignment will be developed using the proposed technology.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
- Nuclear weapons antiproliferation and treaty verifi cation - High-energy physics and nuclear physics experiments - Time-correlated single-photon spectroscopy instrumentation - LIDAR/LADAR - Medical: PET, DNA-sequencing, Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC)

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Orbiting Wide-angle Light-collectors (OWL): OWL is an Earth-orbiting system to study air showers initiated by >1E19 eV particles. Focal Plane for Ring Imaging Cherenkov Detection (RICH): RICH is a particle detector that can determine the velocity, v, of a charged particle. Extreme Universe Space Observatory (EUSO): observes the brief flashes of light in the earth's atmosphere caused by particles arriving from deep space. Scintillation Detection: NASA does a lot of work with scintillators, which needs photon detectors in the 390-420nm range.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Ad-Hoc Networks (see also Sensors)
3D Imaging
Detectors (see also Sensors)
Ranging/Tracking
Optical/Photonic (see also Photonics)
Visible
Infrared

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Creare, Inc.
P.O. Box 71
Hanover, NH 03755-3116
(603) 643-3800

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Mark Zagarola
mvz@creare.com
P.O. Box 71
Hanover,  NH 03755-3116
(603) 643-3800

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Future NASA Space Science Missions will incorporate detectors, sensors, shields, and telescopes that must be cooled to cryogenic temperatures. An enabling technology for these missions is advanced cryocoolers that can provide continuous and distributed cooling with minimal input power. On this program, Creare proposes to develop and demonstrate an innovative cryocooler that produces refrigeration at temperatures of 30 to 70 K and rejects heat at a temperature of 150 to 210 K with extremely high efficiency. The heat rejected can be absorbed by an upper stage cryocooler or rejected to space through a small cryo-radiator. The overall mass of the cryocooler, cryo-radiator and electronics is nominally 6 kg, the area of the cryo-radiator is 0.8 m2 and the input power is significantly less than current state-of-the-art cryocoolers. The electronics utilize parts that are tolerant to 300 kRad total ionizing dose. In addition, the cryocooler technology is extremely reliable and scalable, and produces no perceptible vibration. The key innovation is a cryogenic compressor which has heritage to the cryogenic circulator developed by Creare and operated on the Hubble Space Telescope for 6.5 years. On the Phase I project, we optimized the cryocooler design for a particular mission class and predicted the performance of the cryocooler using a combination of analyses and component-level test data. On the Phase II project, we will build and test a demonstration cryocooler and cryo-radiator. The Phase II testing will be structured to achieve a TRL of at least 5, and will include cryogenic performance and launch vibration testing.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed cryocooler requires minimal input power and is extremely compact making it ideal for small satellites. Military space applications for this cooling system include space-based surveillance for Operationally Responsive Space missions. Terrestrial applications for the military and intelligence community include high speed conventional and quantum supercomputing, RF signal sensing for communications, electronic warfare, and signal intelligence. For these terrestrial applications the cryo-radiator would be replaced with either a stored cryogen or a tactical Stirling cryocooler. The small size and low input power are ideal for mobile applications. Commercial applications include cooling for communication satellites, superconducting circuits, and cryogenic computers.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The successful completion of this program will provide mission planners with an extremely high performance, lightweight, and compact cryocooler that can meet requirements for a variety of missions. The cryocooler is reliable, emits no vibration, and can be used for remote and distributed cooling. The latter feature is expected to reduce size, mass and costs of the overall payload. The primary application will be for cooling detectors, sensors, shields, and telescopes for space science missions. NASA applications include future satellites, probes and astronomical observatories utilizing superconducting bolometers, and infrared, far infrared, submillimeter and X-ray detectors. Missions include the Jupiter-Europa Orbiter (JEO), Wide Field Infrared Survey telescope (WFIRST), Single Aperture Far-IR (SAFIR) telescope, Space Infrared Interferometric Telescope (SPIRIT), Submillimeter Probe of the Evolution of Cosmic Structure (SPECS), and the International X-Ray Observatory (IXO).

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Cryogenic/Fluid Systems

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Space Environment Technologies, LLC
1676 Palisades Drive
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272-2111
(310) 573-4185

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
W. Kent Tobiska
ktobiska@spacenvironment.net
1676 Palisades Dr
Pacific Palisades,  CA 90272-2111
(310) 573-4185

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 7
End: 8

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
The existing state-of-the-art for physics-based, data-driven, climatological specification of the global radiation environment is the capability embodied by Nowcast of Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation for Aviation Safety (NAIRAS) and supported by the validation activity in the Automated Radiation Measurements for Aviation Safety (ARMAS) project Phase I. In Phase II the ARMAS team will: i) integrate, fly, and operate two micro dosimeters on aircraft; ii) validate and calibrate the micro dosimeters with a tissue equivalent proportional counter; iii) retrieve the micro dosimeter dose and dose rate data in real-time via an automated downlink system; iv) use the dose and dose rate measurements in a data assimilation algorithm to correct the NAIRAS model dose and dose rate output along the flight track; and v) report the corrected dose and dose rate via server, web, Google Earth, and smart phone apps for aviation safety.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The end-user communities that benefit from ARMAS are the commercial airline industry (airline corporations, aircrew professional associations, and frequent flyers), the FAA, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), DoD aviation, and NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. The ARMAS commercialization strategy is to develop a prototype system in Phase II to include aircraft measurements retrieved through services (AirDat) for data assimilation into NAIRAS. Once at TRL 8 system is demonstrated at the end of Phase II, we will expand the number of dosimeter-equipped aircraft with the objective of global aviation radiation risk mitigation. Expansion will start with major air transportation corridors (CONUS, North Atlantic, Pacific, Cross-Polar) and then expand to other regions.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
NASA has a demonstrated interest in quality, cutting-edge research that leads to revolutionary capabilities for the airspace system and the aircraft that fly within it. Aviation safety has been a strong concern for those developing the nation's Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), particularly in the area of technologies for improved aviation crew safety. ARMAS, when automated and operational in Phase III will provide data for assimilation into the NAIRAS system and will facilitate a safer and more efficient air transportation system. ARMAS will enable the airline industry, crew, frequent flyers, and FAA to more quickly and accurately mitigate radiation exposure risk due to cosmic rays and solar energetic particle events. ARMAS will provide the accuracy and timeliness of measurements that can be assimilated into advanced physics-based models for global effective dose rate specification and radiation risk mitigation

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Air Transportation & Safety

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Masstech, Inc.
6992 Columbia Gateway Drive, Suite 200
Columbia, MD 21046-2985
(443) 539-1758

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Guangkun Li
homer@apmaldi.com
6992 Columbia gateway Dr
Columbia,  MD 21046-2985
(443) 539-3111

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 5
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Formaldehyde (HCHO) is a key trace species that is of great interest to atmospheric scientists in NASA and other research institutions. In this SBIR project, we proposed to build an airborne atmospheric formaldehyde (HCHO) profiler implementing a Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) technique. This airborne instrument can also be used on the ground for measuring vertical HCHO profiles. To our knowledge, there exists no previous formaldehyde remote sensor that can measure range resolved formaldehyde profile by any technique. The instrument will be able to provide an HCHO profile from an aircraft flying at 20 km altitude to the ground at a 1 km range resolution, and achieve sensitivities better than 70 part-per-trillion-by-volume (pptv) concentration levels at a range of 1 km at nighttime with one second averaging time. In addition, we will explore the feasibility of daytime operation achieving sensitivity of less than 1 part-per-billion-by-volume (ppbv) at a range of 3 km. In Phase I we have built a breadboard formaldehyde profiler instrument and demonstrated the capability of performing highly sensitive nighttime formaldehyde measurements. The outcome of the Phase I work established the feasibility for high sensitivity detection of range resolved HCHO, and provides the design of the prototype sensor.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Several government agencies including NASA, EPA, DoE and DoD have identified the need for instruments for formaldehyde detection. Besides the environmental and industrial application, the LIF lidar technique can be used by many other military applications including detection of Chemical warfare Agent (CWA), bio warfare agent (BWA) aerosols, explosives.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The HCHO profiler can be easily mounted on an aircraft or deployed ground based, which makes it a suitable candidate for a lot of currently active and future NASA missions. HCHO is a primary measurement objective in two missions of the Decadal Survey (GEO-CAPE and GACM). The proposed sensor allows profiling of formaldehyde for Earth science research such as, climate science, environmental monitoring and commercial pollution compliance efforts. With minor adaptations such as using a UV laser at different wavelengths, the sensor can be used to measure fluorescence signal of other chemicals such as NO, NO x , NO2, and OH, etc.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Lasers (Measuring/Sensing)
Optical/Photonic (see also Photonics)
Ultraviolet

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Los Gatos Research
67 East Evelyn Avenue, Suite 3
Mountain View, CA 94041-1518
(650) 965-7772

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Elena Berman
e.berman@lgrinc.com
67 East Evelyn Avenue, Suite 3
Mountain View,  CA 94041-1518
(650) 965-7772

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Los Gatos Research (LGR) proposes to develop highly-accurate, lightweight, low-power gas analyzers for measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor (H2O) aboard NASAs Sensor Integrated Environmental Remote Research Aircraft (SIERRA) unmanned aerial system (UAS). These analyzers, which will exploit both conventional mid and near-infrared tunable diode laser spectrometry and LGR's patented Off-Axis ICOS technology, will be capable of meeting the stringent weight, power, and environmental requirements for UAS deployments. At the conclusion of the Phase II effort, LGR will deliver and deploy two complete systems. The first analyzer will make extremely rapid (> 20 Hz) airborne eddy flux covariance measurements of CO2 and H2O. The second instrument will measure CO2 isotopes aboard SIERRA, allowing a better understanding of the chemistry, transport, and exchange of carbon between the atmosphere, anthropogenic sources, and natural carbon sinks and sources in the terrestrial biosphere. Airborne measurements enable regional-scale investigations of carbon sources and sinks as well as measurements where conventional tower flux deployments are infeasible. These data will complement current satellite observations by providing higher horizontal resolution and vertical profiling, enabling better quantification of carbon sources and sinks. Such deployments are critically important to NASA's Earth Science Division, because they enable more efficient and cost-effective Earth observations.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Besides its application to NASA, a compact, ultrasensitive gas analyzer also has significant commercial application. Through a series of strategic partnerships, LGR is developing a suite of analytical sensors to measure trace gases for environmental research laboratories, industrial process control monitoring, and military applications. The proposed work is essential in making these instruments more compact, rugged, and cost competitive, and will thus enlarge the potential market size significantly.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The NASA Earth Science Division is primarily concerned with studying how the global environment is changing and how such changes affect human civilization. The majority of these observations involve using satellite data to make measurements of key atmospheric species on the planetary scale. Such observations are critical in quantifying the ozone cycle, greenhouse emissions, the hydrological cycle, and aerosol formation (and the resulting radiative forcing). In order to verify and complement satellite data with better accuracy, faster time response, and higher spatial resolution, NASA seeks to develop innovative in situ sensors for these important gases. Moreover, in an effort to make such deployments more numerous, efficient, and cost-effective, these analyzers need to be highly accurate and deployable on unmanned aerial systems (UASs) and other small aircraft. The objective of this SBIR program is to develop and deliver atmospheric gas analyzers that are suitable for such platforms.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Analytical Instruments (Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma, Energy; see also Sensors)
Lasers (Measuring/Sensing)
Chemical/Environmental (see also Biological Health/Life Support)
Infrared

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Q-Peak, Inc.
135 South Road
Bedford, MA 01730-2307
(781) 275-9535

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Bhabana Pati
pati@qpeak.com
135 South Road
Bedford,  MA 01730-2307
(781) 275-9535

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
For lightweight and power-efficient instruments that enable elemental and/or mineralogy analysis, Q-Peak proposes to develop a compact, robust, and efficient instrument capable of performing imaging spectroscopy, Laser-Raman Spectroscopy (LRS) and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). The main advantage in using these techniques for planetary science is the ability to rapidly collect a wealth of chemical information, by simply directing a laser beam on remote targets of interest. No sample preparation is necessary. As an important component of the Raman/LIBS instrument in Phase I, we developed, built and tested a 1.5 cubic-inch, Q-switched, solid state laser fitted with commercial, off-the-shelf optical components. The laser produced ~1 mJ, < 2 ns-duration pulses at 523-nm wavelength and was used to analyze a norite sample by means of Raman/LIBS techniques. In Phase II we propose to further miniaturize and ruggedize the Phase I laser to a size of < 1 cubic inch. We will scale up the energy-per-pulse up to 2 mJ and test the laser in a wide range of environments such as vibration, vacuum and temperature. We will design and test the optics in a CHAMP instrument modified to accommodate the compact laser. The TRL of the laser will be 6 at the conclusion of the effort.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Commercial applications are in portable LIBS systems to replace the current bulky, inefficient lamp-pumped lasers. LIBS, besides having scientific applications, can also be used in industrial applications for process control through monitoring of exhaust streams, analysis of pharmaceuticals, profiling of metals, composition determinations of minerals in mining and detection of contamination in the environment. This laser architecture can be coupled to an Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) instead of the SHG non-linear process and produce ~ 1 mJ, <10 ns pulses with a TEM00 mode and spectral output in the laser eyesafe regime around 1.5 microns. With a package size of ~1 cu. in. and a weight estimated at < 2 ounces, this laser would fulfill a market need for small size and weight, man-portable, eyesafe rangefinder sources. Green lasers have found increasing use in the Non-Lethal Laser Dazzler field. The dazzler market has great potential both for DOD and for civilian law enforcement in the present security-conscious environment. This compact green source can be an enabler for broader adoption and application of dazzler technology. The usefulness of the proposed architecture spans scientific, industrial, and defense applications. The proposed laser development represents a fundamental advancement in the state-of-the-art.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
NASA applications are in systems requiring compact, efficient, reliable, moderate-energy, nanosecond-pulsed lasers. For planetary exploration, these applications are in LIBS systems for planetary surface characterization and in lidar systems for atmospheric measurements of aerosol concentrations and distributions as well as precision ranging for planetary surface mapping from satellites and other spacecraft. The laser we propose to develop is compact, efficient, rugged and reliable, making it ideal for planetary missions.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Lasers (Measuring/Sensing)
Visible

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Espace Inc.
30 Lynn Avenue
Hull, MA 02045-2216
(781) 925-3893

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Francois Martel
fm@space.mit.edu
30 Lynn Avenue
Hull,  MA 02045-2216
(781) 925-3893

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
New low cost, low volume, low power, rugged electrospray thrusters will be ideal as actuators for precision thrusting, if provided with precision high voltage power supplies. The small thrusters show minimum thrusts of 1.2 nanoNewton, and thrusts scalable in a wide range to hundreds of microNewtons, with an ISp of 3500 sec. We propose to develop and test a high-precision high-voltage power supply optimized for fine control of the thrusters, and designed to support accurate formation flying of space telescope elements, and precision alignment and stabilization of space platforms. The HV supply design will be developed into a cubesat format Precision Electrospray Thruster Assembly including thrusters, and ready for flight tests of the technology. At the end of Phase II PETA units will be provided as protoflight avionics to be flown, tested and qualified.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
PETA is also applicable to missions from other US government agencies, and for fine thrust control of commercial satellites. Accurate formation flying facilitated by PETA opens new areas of observation of interest to different agencies.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
PETA will be applicable to NASA projects requiring precision thrusting for accurate and stable sensor pointing, accurate flight formations or precise alignment and orientation of systems or free-flying subsystems. There are multiple applications for space interferometric observatories, for gravitational waves detectors, for geodetic "free falling" observatories and for large telescopes with free flying mirrors or focal plane arrays. PETA also applies to cubesat and nanosat experiments, opening new opportunities for precision pointing and well controlled clusters of sensors, large synthetic antennas and automatized rendezvous and assembly of larger structure from small modules.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Entry, Descent, & Landing (see also Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Navigation & Guidance
Relative Navigation (Interception, Docking, Formation Flying; see also Control & Monitoring; Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Spacecraft Design, Construction, Testing, & Performance (see also Engineering; Testing & Evaluation)
Spacecraft Instrumentation & Astrionics (see also Communications; Control & Monitoring; Information Systems)
Space Transportation & Safety
Microfabrication (and smaller; see also Electronics; Mechanical Systems; Photonics)
Actuators & Motors
Vehicles (see also Autonomous Systems)
Maneuvering/Stationkeeping/Attitude Control Devices
Spacecraft Main Engine

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
BEAM Engineering for Advanced Measurements
686 Formosa Avenue
Winter Park, FL 32789-4523
(407) 629-1282

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Nelson Tabirian
nelson@beamco.com
686 Formosa Avenue
Winter Park,  FL 32789-4523
(407) 629-1282

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Using small aperture telescopes for detecting exoplanets could have a significant impact on astronomy and other imaging and space communication systems. In this new generation of smaller, lighter and more affordable coronagraph systems, the starlight is rejected with the aid of phase-based transparent masks capable of transmitting planetary light at small angular separation from the star. These so-called vector vortex waveplates (VVW) are complex optical components wherein the optical axis orientation is azimuthally modulated in space at a high spatial frequency. In the Phase 1 of the project, we showed the feasibility of fabricating VVWs that would meet requirements for astronomy applications due to small singularity size, high topological charge, high contrast, and broadband functionality. The breakthrough polarization conversion and beam shaping technology of printing VVWs developed in the Phase 1 will undergo further fundamental improvements in the Phase 2 of the project along with further optimization of photoalignment materials and liquid crystal polymers to fabricate and deliver VVWs characterized by: subwavelength singularity sizes; spectrally broadband/achromatic functionality, particularly, for infrared wavelengths; stability to radiation and large temperature variations; and functionality at cryogenic temperatures. This will accomplish the project's general objective &#150; development and delivery of VVWs adequate for practical use.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
High quality achromatic VVWs that allow high contrast modulation of light beams have important applications in many fields of optics and photonics, including optical tweezers, image processing, phase contrast microscopy, electro-optical and all-optical switching, information displays and free-space optical communications.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The new generation coronagraphy systems will be of interest for many, small and large, astronomical instruments and observatories, including Palomar observatory, the Very Large Telescope in Chile (ESO), Keck telescope, Large Binocular telescope, European-ELT and the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT). A number of Government projects will greatly benefit using these components, among them the ACCESS (Actively Corrected Coronagraph for Exoplanet Space Studies, JPL) and its European equivalent SEE-COAST (Super-Earth Explorer- Coronagraphic off-axis Space Telescope, Observatory of Paris); TPF-C (Terrestrial Planet Finder-Coronagraph); and NASA's recent "Strategic Astrophysics Technology, Technology Development for Exoplanet Missions" project.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Waveguides/Optical Fiber (see also Optics)
Display
Image Analysis
Image Processing
Nanomaterials
Polymers
Adaptive Optics
Fiber (see also Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Photonics)
Filtering
Gratings
Lenses
Detectors (see also Sensors)
Lasers (Communication)
Lasers (Measuring/Sensing)
Optical
Optical/Photonic (see also Photonics)
Ultraviolet
Visible
Infrared

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Boston Micromachines Corporation
30 Spinelli Place
Cambridge, MA 02138-1070
(617) 868-4178

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Steven Cornelissen
sac@bostonmicromachines.com
30 Spinelli Place
Cambridge,  MA 02138-1070
(617) 868-4178

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 2
End: 3

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
The goal of this project is to develop and demonstrate a reliable, fault-tolerant wavefront control system that will fill a critical technology gap in NASA's vision for future coronagraphic observatories. The project outcomes include innovative advances in component design and fabrication and substantial progress in development of high-resolution deformable mirrors (DM) suitable for space-based operation. Space-based telescopes have become indispensible in advancing the frontiers of astrophysics. Over the past decade NASA has pioneered coronagraphic instrument concepts and test beds to provide a foundation for exploring feasibility of new approaches to high-contrast imaging and spectroscopy. From this work, NASA has identified a current technology need for compact, ultra-precise, multi-thousand actuator DM devices. Boston Micromachines Corporation has developed microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) DMs that represent the state-of-the-art for scalable, small-stroke high-precision wavefront control. The emerging class of high-resolution DMs pioneered by the project team has already been shown to be compact, low-power, precise, and repeatable. This project will develop a system that eliminates the leading cause of single actuator failures in electrostatically-actuated wavefront correctors &#150; snap-through instability and subsequent electrode shorting and/or adhesion. To achieve this we will implement two innovative, complementary modifications to the manufacturing process that were proven successful in Phase I. We will develop a drive electronics approach that inherently limits actuator electrical current density generated when actuator snap-down occurs, and we will modify the actuator design to mitigate adhesion between contacting surfaces of the actuator flexure and fixed base electrode in the event of snap-down. This project will results in a MEMS DM with 2048 actuators and enhanced reliability driven by current-limiting drive electronics.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Reliable, small stroke, high precision deformable mirrors and associated drive electronics have a few commercial applications. The following applications apply to all Boston Micromachines mirrors that benefit from new manufacturing processes developed which increase reliability. Space surveillance: BMC has success developing arrays up to 4096 elements for astronomy which can be used for space-based systems. These programs are funded by Department of Defense administrations with classified agendas. Optical communication: Lasercomm systems would benefit from this new architecture for long-range secure communication. Microscopy: The capabilities of non-adaptive optics-enabled Optical Coherence Tomography(OCT) and Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy(SLO) devices have reached their limits. By increasing reliability, users will be able to utilize high-resolution equipment for use in detecting disease in uncontrolled environments. Other modalities affected include two-photon excitation fluorescence (TPEF) and coherent anti-stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS). Pulse-Shaping: Laser science strives to create a better shaped pulse for applications such as laser marking and machining, and material ablation and characterization. The use of a highly reliable, high-actuator count array for these purposes will enable new science and confidence that equipment is usable in non-ideal environments.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Space based astronomical imaging systems are inherently challenged by the need to achieve diffraction-limited performance with relatively lightweight optical components. Given the current constraints on fabrication methods, it is necessary to develop new methods of manufacture to increase reliability and prevent single actuator failures. These higher-quality deformable mirrors will enable diffraction-limited performance for many space-based optical systems such as space-based observatories, interferometric telescopes and coronagraphic instruments for programs such as EPIC, TPF-C, TPF-I and PECO. By providing wavefront control and correcting for static and thermally induced aberrations of larger optics in a space-based optical platform, the use of a space-qualified MEMS DM will result in a significant performance improvement. Producing a more reliable and robust MEMS DM will also have a significant benefit for non-space-based optical instruments. BMC has had success developing arrays up to 4096 elements for the Gemini Planet Imager and with further research can achieve fewer actuator failures during the manufacturing process and better reliability during use.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Microfabrication (and smaller; see also Electronics; Mechanical Systems; Photonics)
Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and smaller
Adaptive Optics

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Iris AO, Inc.
2680 Bancroft Way
Berkeley, CA 94704-1717
(510) 849-2375

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Michael Helmbrecht
michael.helmbrecht@irisao.com
2680 Bancroft Way
Berkeley,  CA 94704-1717
(510) 849-2375

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 4

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology has the potential to create deformable mirrors (DM) with 10^4 actuators that have size, weight, and power specifications that are far lower than conventional piezoelectric and electrostrictive DMs. However, building a MEMS DM with a relatively large aperture that is flat in the unpowered state is challenging. Currently, a large portion of the mirror stroke must be used to flatten the MEMS DMs. In the case of the large-stroke segmented MEMS DMs manufactured by Iris AO, there is sufficient stroke for wavefront correction after flattening. However, the resolution is significantly reduced because the dynamic range of the digital-to-analog converters (DAC) used to operate the DM is spread over multiple microns of stroke rather than the 0.5 micron range required for a coronagraph. This Phase I SBIR will make substantial improvements in the fabrication process of MEMS segmented DMs that reduce the deleterious residual surface-figure errors. It will do so by systematically addressing the sources of the segment position variations as well as addressing low-spatial frequency chip bow that can result in large peak-to-valley deformations across the DM array. The Iris AO DM architecture will also be modified to enable picometer resolution actuation with ultra-precision drive electronics.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
In addition to NASA systems, the proposed adaptive-optics technology would find immediate application in several military communications and imaging products. Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) both are interested in satellite AO. Systems used in military surveillance such as in the Predator drone and Global Hawk would benefit from the high-resolution, light weight, and low power consumption afforded by Iris AO's MEMS. Military contractors have also shown significant interest in using Iris AO technology for long range imaging through turbulent air. The thick mirror segments can be coated with dielectric coatings and are thus useful for laser-guidestar uplink corrections and beam shaping for laser machining. The DMs can also be used to correct horizontal-path aberrations for free-space laser communication links and reconnaissance. The segmented architecture is well suited for coupling beams to fibers for high-power lasers and fiber-based spectrographs.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The DM architecture developed here is a perfect match for visible nulling coronagraphs (VNC) that were studied for ATLAST, DAViNCI, and EPIC. In addition to the VNC, Iris AO technology can be a key enabling component in a host of future NASA missions that include Space Astronomy Far Infrared Telescope (SAFIR) Life Finder, and Planet Imager. Other potential programs such as Structure and Evolution of the Universe (SEU) and ultraviolet telescopes will also require adaptive optics. Finally, ground based telescopes, like the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), Keck, and Gemini North & South, require adaptive optics to remove aberrations caused by air turbulence.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Microfabrication (and smaller; see also Electronics; Mechanical Systems; Photonics)
Processing Methods
Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and smaller
Adaptive Optics
Mirrors

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc.
44 Hunt Street
Watertown, MA 02472-4699
(617) 668-6800

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Vivek Nagarkar
vnagarkar@rmdinc.com
44 Hunt Street
Watertown,  MA 02472-4699
(617) 668-6801

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 5
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Since the launch of the first X-ray focusing telescope in 1963, the development of grazing incidence X-ray optics has been crucial to the development of the field of X-ray astronomy. The recent Decadal Survey also highlights the important contribution that X-ray astronomy can make in addressing some of the most pressing scientific questions about black holes, cosmology and the ebb and flow of energy and matter in the evolving universe, and recognizes the research needed to mature the key enabling technology of X-ray optics. The proposed development directly addresses this need by providing a unique detector designed specifically to support the development of the next generation of X-ray telescopes, which will allow researchers and engineers to characterize such X-ray telescopes with high accuracy, and thereby optimize their performance and best utilize their gathered data. By the end of the Phase II program we will have developed a fully calibrated detector ready for use at various facilities, including NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and other NASA-funded research centers such as the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Columbia University. The estimated technology readiness levels (TRLs) at the beginning and end of the Phase II contract are 5 and 6, respectively.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Due to its high intrinsic spatial resolution, individual X-ray and gamma-ray photon counting ability, spectral resolution suitable for many applications, and large imaging area, the proposed detector is expected to find numerous applications in fields of high resolution X-ray/gamma-ray detection, small animal single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and other nuclear medicine applications, X-ray medical imaging (including mammography, digital tomosynthesis and computed tomography), time-resolved X-ray diffraction studies at synchrotron sources, dynamic X-ray imaging of hypervelocity projectiles, X-ray microscopy, and low-light optical tomography. With its very high spatial resolution and high frame rate performance, this imaging detector may also be used for dynamic nondestructive evaluations (NDEs) of spacecraft and other components, which are routinely performed for quality assurance and design improvement purposes. The current annual commercial market for X-ray and nuclear imagers is estimated to be several billion dollars, a significant fraction of which represents areas where the proposed detector technology may be utilized.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The value of this type of detector, a high-performance X-ray imaging camera, is evident from our Phase I results, where our prototype detector played a crucial role in the ground calibration of the two X-ray telescopes that will fly on the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission, a NASA SMEX (Small Explorer program) mission scheduled for launch in 2012. The proposed detector, with its enhanced performance, will allow its use for several specific new missions and mission areas, including future X-ray missions for space astronomical observatories, which include the Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI), Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG, using a medium-X-ray-energy survey instrument ART-XC), and the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium Explorer (WHIMex) Mission. Furthermore, the proposed detector can be used for in-situ characterization during X-ray mirror assembly, as is performed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and MSFC.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Characterization
Radiography
Telescope Arrays
Ionizing Radiation
X-rays/Gamma Rays
Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE; NDT)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Applied Material Systems Engineering, Inc.(AMSENG)
2309 Pennsbury Court
Schaumburg, IL 60194-3884
(630) 372-9650

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Mukund Deshpande
m.deshpande@amseng.net
2309 Pennsbury Court
Schaumburg,  IL 60194-3884
(630) 372-9650

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
This Phase II proposal is submitted to further develop and Validate materials and process engineering of the space environment stable, multifunctional conductive thermal control material system (TCMS) that can be applied to space hardware and can enables the hardware to carry higher leakage current through engineering the high electrical conductivity. An innovative space environmental stable TCMS concepts suggested through phase I research & development work for the multifunctional, low (&#191;S/&#191;T) material systems that can meet these aggressive goals in cost effective, reliable manner have emerged as validation candidates. The suggested efforts emphasize developments in two material science areas: the first one considers the development of born nitride nano structure that includes nanotubes and nano mesh along with ZnS nano whiskers concept and the second area proposes the synthesis and processing of atmospheric plasma deposition of the various doped ZnO and Zn-Ga-Al-O compounds that are recently identified as the high conductivity compounds. The material system that integrates these two technologies can allow higher leakage currents that may also help to defend against the natural solar storm events. The suggested TCMS have been derived from the available mathematical models for space craft charging that pay attention to the individual charge dissipation mechanisms and the molecular dynamics of the material systems as well as its thermodynamics. Thus the envisioned derived material systems can provide the needed reliable & validated TCMS in typical space environments in (LEO), (GEO) & beyond. The reliability goal for the multifunctional conductive TCMS is to have a design life of > 10 years in LEO and > 15 years in GEO, and we anticipate the phase II developments to mature enough by end of first year to suggest a phase II E program with investments from primes specifically ready for the hardware demonstration.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The commercial industry has plans for several satellites for the communication activities. The transportation authorities are also planning commercial space based radars. These planned candidate optimal fleet operations may require designs that require radiation stability along with the high conductivity for the higher leakage current carrying capability. Currently technology gap exists and no TCMS is available that is space stable and provides flexibility in leakage current. Success of this program spells fulfillment of this gap. Many commercial as well as the DOD platform hardware can also benefit form the fulfillment of this technology gap. Thus, the return on investments can be sizable and multifaceted

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
This proposal provides validated concepts based on the nano-science inspired generic multifunctional high conductivity capable thermal control material system that are suitable for the science exploration hardware needs and are geared towards delivering the reliable end products. These developments will contribute uniquely to the survivable material systems. The NASA missions that can benefit from its applications: Tether concepts. The missions that need white (low ¿S/¿T) conductive TCMS coatings are: JUNO, MAVEN, GOES-R, LADEE GRAIL, JPSS, & SAA.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Spacecraft Design, Construction, Testing, & Performance (see also Engineering; Testing & Evaluation)
Antennas
Manufacturing Methods
Materials (Insulator, Semiconductor, Substrate)
Distribution/Management
Characterization
Processing Methods
Ceramics
Coatings/Surface Treatments
Composites
Nanomaterials
Nonspecified
Organics/Biomaterials/Hybrids
Polymers
Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and smaller
Structures
Vehicles (see also Autonomous Systems)
Adaptive Optics
Mirrors
Telescope Arrays
GPS/Radiometric (see also Sensors)
Optical
Ionizing Radiation
Ultraviolet
Visible
Infrared
Lifetime Testing
Active Systems
Cryogenic/Fluid Systems
Heat Exchange
Passive Systems

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Deployable Space Systems, Inc.
75 Robin Hill, Building B2
Goleta, CA 93117-3108
(805) 693-1319

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Brian Spence
Brian.Spence@DeployableSpaceSystems.com
75 Robin Hill, Building B2
Goleta,  CA 93117-3108
(805) 693-1313

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Deployable Space Systems, Inc. (DSS) will focus the proposed NASA Phase 2 effort on the development and TRL 5/6 maturation of our innovative Functional Advanced Concentrator Technology (FACT) for standard multi-junction and advanced IMM photovoltaics. FACT is a highly-affordable, practical, high-efficiency, ultra-lightweight photovoltaic concentrator blanket assembly that can be rolled or z-folded in a stowed configuration. FACT coupled to an ultra-lightweight solar array structural platform will provide game-changing performance metrics and unparalleled affordability. FACT will enable emerging SEP Space Science and Exploration missions through its ultra-affordability, ultra-lightweight, ultra-compact stowage volume, and practical/user-friendly off-pointing versus power characteristics. The FACT technology promises to provide NASA/industry a near-term and low-risk flexible blanket technology for advanced solar array systems. The FACT technology provides revolutionary performance in terms of: High specific power (>260W/kg BOL with ZTJ/XTJ and ~400W/kg BOL with IMM PV when coupled to ROSA-array); Affordability (>40% cost savings when coupled to ROSA-array); Flexible blanket compatibility / architecture flexibility (accommodates rolled or z-folded blankets); User-friendly off-pointing versus power characteristics; Compact stowage volume (>50kW/m3); High deployment reliability; High radiation tolerance and high voltage operation capability; Applicability/scalability to many missions (500W-1MW+ sizes); LILT/HIHT operation capability; and Adaptable to standard rigid honeycomb panel arrays.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Non-NASA space applications are comprised of practically all missions that require affordable and high performance photovoltaic power production through solar arrays. The technology is particularly suited for missions that require game-changing performance in terms of affordability, high voltage operation, radiation tolerance, ultra-lightweight, compact stowage volume, and operation within LILT and HIHT environments. Applicable non-NASA space missions include: LEO surveillance, reconnaissance, communications and other critical payload/equipment satellites, LEO commercial mapping and critical payload/equipment satellites, MEO satellites & space-tugs, GEO commercial communications and critical payload/equipment satellites, and GEO communications and payload/equipment satellites. The proposed technology also has tremendous dual-use opportunities for a variety of non-space applications including both ground and roof-mount applications where low cost, manufacturability, ease of installation, compactness and high reliability is demanded. A terrestrial version of the technology would allow for low-cost high-performance theater mobile power production for the U.S. armed forces, or mobile power production for the commercial terrestrial based user.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
NASA space applications are comprised of practically all Space Science, Earth Science, Exploration, Planetary and Lunar Surface, and other missions that require affordable and high performance photovoltaic power production through solar arrays. The technology is particularly suited for missions that require game-changing performance in terms of affordability, high voltage operation, radiation tolerance, ultra-lightweight, compact stowage volume, and operation within LILT and HIHT environments. The proposed technology will enable ultra-high power solar arrays for future Exploration missions through affordability (>40% cost savings when coupled to ROSA-array), lightweight / high specific power (>260W/kg BOL with ZTJ/XTJ and ~400W/kg BOL with IMM PV when coupled to ROSA-array), compact stowage volume (>50kW/m3), user-friendly off-pointing versus power characteristics, high deployment reliability, radiation hardness, high voltage operation capability, scalability to high power, and operability in unique environments.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Conversion
Generation
Sources (Renewable, Nonrenewable)
Project Management
Coatings/Surface Treatments
Composites
Metallics
Polymers
Deployment
Structures
Mirrors
Passive Systems

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Busek Co., Inc.
11 Tech Circle
Natick, MA 01760-1023
(508) 655-5565

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Nathaniel Demmons
nate@busek.com
11 Tech Circle
Natick,  MA 01760-1023
(508) 655-5565

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
During Phase I, Busek designed and manufactured an electrospray emitter capable of generating 20 mN in a 7" x 7" x 1.7" package. The thruster consists of nine porous-surface emitters operating in parallel from a common propellant supply. Each emitter is capable of supporting over 70,000 electrospray emission sites, with the plume from each emitter being accelerated through a single aperture, eliminating the need for individual emission site alignment to an extraction grid. The total number of emission sites during operation is expected to approach 700,000. Phase II results will focus on optimization and characterization of the thruster fabricated during the Phase I effort, as well as fabrication of additional porous emitters for full-scale testing. Propellant will be supplied to the thruster via existing feedsystem and micro-valve technology previously developed by Busek, under the NASA ST7-DRS mission, and follow-on electric propulsion programs. Methods for extending thruster life beyond the previously demonstrated 450 hours, will be investigated and include potential alternate emitter materials selection, and bi-polar thruster operation. The life extending capabilities will be demonstrated on a sub-scale version of the thruster developed.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The primary non-NASA application for the proposed thruster is to support development of colloid-based multi-mode propulsion using green monopropellants, where there is a lack of suitable thrusters at the milliNewton level or greater. This allows a spacecraft to utilize shared propellant tanks for high thrust chemical propulsion as well as high Isp electric propulsion, and is particularly attractive for small spacecraft with limited mass and volume for multiple propellant tanks. Additional applications include replacement of some of the lower thrust plasma-based electric propulsion devices, which suffer from decreased efficiency at low power due to unfavorable surface-to-volume scaling. The variable Isp capabilities and higher thrust levels provide a useful multimode solution for spacecraft requiring both dwell/stationkeeping as well as rapid maneuvers from a single propulsion system.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Primary NASA applications include missions requiring exceptional thrust/power in power-limited missions, and missions benefiting from variable specific impulse (200-2000+seconds) and variable thrust (10x throttling). In many cases, the proposed colloid thruster may prove superior to most other electric propulsion technologies in nearly all metrics for power levels <200 Watts (where thruster efficiency has greater impact on total system efficiency).

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Fuels/Propellants
Maneuvering/Stationkeeping/Attitude Control Devices
Spacecraft Main Engine

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Physical Sciences, Inc.
20 New England Business Center
Andover, MA 01810-1077
(978) 689-0003

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Prakash Joshi
joshi@psicorp.com
20 New England Business Center
Andover,  MA 01810-1077
(978) 689-0003

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 4

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) and Orbitec Inc. propose to develop a unique chemical propulsion system for the next generation NASA science spacecraft and missions that is compact, lightweight, and can operate with high reliability over extended periods of time and under wide range of thermal environments. The system uses a new storable, low toxicity, liquid monopropellant as its working fluid. In Phase I, we have demonstrated experimentally the critical ignition and combustion processes for the propellant and used the data to develop thruster design concepts. Phase I work achieved TRL 3. In Phase II, we propose to develop and demonstrate in the laboratory a proof-of-concept prototype thruster. Phase II will achieve TRL 4+. We envision follow-on Phase II Enhancement (Phase II E) and Phase III programs to advance the TRL to 5 and 6, respectively. Phase III will be the development of a full-scale protoflight propulsion system applicable to a class of NASA missions. On both Phase II E and Phase III programs, we will collaborate with specific NASA programs and the industry to address the cost share component. Following a successful Phase III a space flight demonstration on a NASA mission will advance the TRL to 7.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Applications of the proposed technology to non-NASA agencies include the Air Force, National Reconnaissance Organization (NRO), and the Army. Specifically, the Air Force is interested in liquid thrusters for in-space propulsion, the NRO is interested in fast response, long-life, maneuvering propulsion systems and the Army is interested in the development of green monopropellant based high pressure gas generators for pressurizing gelled propellants. Other potential DoD applications include liquid engines for propelling highly maneuverable, throttlable tactical missiles.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
NASA's future science missions need propulsion systems with demanding performance in challenging environmental conditions, with long operational life, and with high duty cycles. Examples of missions enabled by the proposed propulsion technology include sampling atmospheres of planets, their moons, and other small bodies, descent and landing on their surfaces, returning soil samples from their surfaces in ascent modules, and rendezvous and docking with orbiting mother ships. Missions to the earth's moon, Venus, Mars and its moons, moons of Jupiter, and asteroids are envisioned for applications of our propulsion technology.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Fuels/Propellants
Maneuvering/Stationkeeping/Attitude Control Devices
Spacecraft Main Engine

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Plasma Processes, LLC
4914 Moores Mill Road
Huntsville, AL 35811-1558
(256) 851-7653

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
John Scott O'Dell
scottodell@plasmapros.com
4914 Moores Mill Road
Huntsville,  AL 35811-1558
(256) 851-7653

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Radiation-cooled, bipropellant thrust chambers are being considered for the ascent/descent engines and reaction control systems for NASA missions such as Mars Sample Return and Orion MPCV. Currently, iridium-lined rhenium combustion chambers are the state-of-the-art for in-space engines. NASA's Advanced Materials Bipropellant Rocket (AMBR) engine, a 150-lbf iridium-rhenium chamber produced by Plasma Processes and Aerojet, recently set a hydrazine specific impulse record of 333.5 seconds. To withstand the high loads during terrestrial launch, rhenium chambers with improved mechanical properties are needed. Recent EL-FormTM results have shown considerable promise for improving the mechanical properties of rhenium by producing a multi-layered deposit comprised of a tailored microstructure, i.e., Engineered Re. During Phase I, an AMBR size chamber was produced to demonstrate formation of the Engineered Re material in both the throat and barrel regions. Tensile tests showed the Engineered Re material had a yield strength greater than 40ksi at room temperature. In addition, Engineered Re deposits were produced on multiple mandrels at one time, i.e., multi-component process demonstration. During Phase II, the Engineered Re processing techniques will be optimized. Detailed characterization and mechanical properties test will be performed. Optimization of the multi-component fabrication technique will result in a 30% or higher reduction in chamber fabrication costs. The most promising techniques will be selected and used to produce an Engineered Re AMBR size combustion chamber for testing at Aerojet.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Both government and commercial entities in the following sectors use advanced high-temperature materials for the following applications: coatings, defense, material R&D, nuclear power, aerospace, propulsion, automotive, electronics, crystal growth, and medical. Targeted commercial applications include net-shape fabrication of refractory and platinum group metals for rocket nozzles, crucibles, heat pipes, and propulsion subcomponents; and advanced coating systems for x-ray targets, sputtering targets, turbines, rocket engines, wear and thermal/electrical insulation.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Targeted NASA applications are the ascent/descent engines and reaction control systems for missions such as the Mars Sample Return and Orion MPCV. Other NASA applications include in-space propulsion components for apogee insertion, attitude control, orbit maintenance, repositioning of satellites/spacecraft, reaction control systems, and descent/ascent engines, nuclear power/propulsion, microgravity containment crucibles and cartridges.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Processing Methods
Coatings/Surface Treatments
Metallics
Maneuvering/Stationkeeping/Attitude Control Devices
Spacecraft Main Engine

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
GSSL Inc
PO Box 909
Tillamook, OR 97141-0909
(503) 842-1990

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Timothy Lachenmeier
tim.lachenmeier@nsc.aero
PO Box 909
Tillamook,  OR 97141-0909
(503) 842-1990

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
With the Titan Saturn System Mission, NASA is proposing to send a Montgolfiere balloon to probe the atmosphere of Titan. To better plan this mission and create a robust optimized balloon design, NASA requires the ability to more accurately evaluate the convective heat transfer characteristics of the balloon operating in Titan's atmosphere. Based on limitations of previous efforts, NASA has requested proposals for a testbed to support CFD validation. Leveraging the results of the Phase I effort, Near Space Corporation (NSC), proposes to develop and operate two full scale Testbeds (~9 m diameter) in order to help validate CFD models for the TSSM Titan Montgolfiere balloon. The Testbeds will incorporate new envelope design innovations and state-of-the-art data acquisition methods to enable data intensive tethered and free-flight tests. Utilizing its unique balloon facility located in a large blimp hangar, NSC will conduct iterative tethered hangar tests of the full scale Testbeds (which is not possible in existing cryogenic test chambers). These flights will enable better IR imaging and flow characterization measurements. The acquired data will provide critical input to incrementally improve and validate the CFD models. The outdoor drop/inflation test and a free flight test will retire technology risks associated with the future Titan mission in addition to generating the validation data necessary to improve the existing CFD models. NSC proposes to develop and operate a mature TMTT system during Phase II, generate pertinent data that will be used to improve the CFD models, and leverage the effort to create valuable technology with both NASA and non-NASA commercial applications.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Several non-NASA applications could be targeted with the technologies developed during this effort, including the monitoring of commercial inflatable space stations and lighter-than-air vehicles. At least one private commercial space technology company seeks to place inflatable space stations in low earth orbit in the next decade, and could benefit from the technologies developed through this SBIR. These technologies could also be used to monitor the performance and integrity of airship and aerostat hulls, which are increasingly used by the US Military for low-cost situational awareness in combat zones. To ensure that this new technology is used for commercial applications, NSC will leverage the technical capabilities developed during this effort to provide accessible services to non-NASA customers.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Technologies developed during this SBIR effort could be used for several NASA applications, including planetary exploration missions, inflatable space habitats, and scientific terrestrial balloons. The primary target market for the Titan Montgolfiere Terrestrial Testbed is the Titan Saturn System Mission (TSSM), including preparatory research projects, as well as the actual mission. NASA JPL's efforts to develop a Montgolfiere balloon for Mars could benefit from computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models validated with data generated by a similar Terrestrial Testbed. The capabilities developed during this SBIR could also be used to embed sensors directly into inflatable space habitats and use IR imaging to monitor performance. Another potential application would be to embed temperature sensors into scientific terrestrial balloons and use IR imaging in order to better understand the performance, and help optimize innovative balloon concepts and designs. NSC intends to provide services based on the technical capability developed during this effort. In all, these technologies will enable a variety of promising products and services relevant to NASA and its mission.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Airship/Lighter-than-Air Craft
Analytical Instruments (Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma, Energy; see also Sensors)
Analytical Methods
Spacecraft Design, Construction, Testing, & Performance (see also Engineering; Testing & Evaluation)
Condition Monitoring (see also Sensors)
Telemetry/Tracking (Cooperative/Noncooperative; see also Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Models & Simulations (see also Testing & Evaluation)
Prototyping
Software Tools (Analysis, Design)
Support
Image Analysis
Image Capture (Stills/Motion)
Image Processing
Thermal Imaging (see also Testing & Evaluation)
Data Acquisition (see also Sensors)
Data Modeling (see also Testing & Evaluation)
Fluids
Joining (Adhesion, Welding)
Vehicles (see also Autonomous Systems)
Contact/Mechanical
Optical/Photonic (see also Photonics)
Sensor Nodes & Webs (see also Communications, Networking & Signal Transport)
Thermal
Infrared
Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE; NDT)
Simulation & Modeling
Cryogenic/Fluid Systems
Passive Systems
Diagnostics/Prognostics

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Innovative Dynamics, Inc.
2560 North Triphammer Road
Ithaca, NY 14850-9726
(607) 257-0533

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Jack Edmonds
jedmonds@idiny.com
2560 N. Triphammer Road
Ithaca,  NY 14850-9726
(607) 257-0533

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Advanced dropsondes that could effectively be guided through atmospheric regions of interest such as volcanic plumes may enable unprecedented observations of important atmospheric phenomena. IDI proposes to develop a flight ready optical sensor to provide cloud properties and hazardous volcanic ash and icing information within commercial airspace. The probe will initially be developed for a dropsonde but eventually be integrated into the unmanned SCAN EAGLE UAV. The innovation is a new capability for making in-situ measurement of cloud particulates to improve pilot awareness of hazardous operating conditions, such as those recently experienced by aircraft engines operating near volcanic plumes in the North Atlantic near Iceland. . During a Phase I program IDI developed a miniature Nephelometer sensor prototype and demonstrated the ability to measure small ash and water particulates as well as provide discrimination between them. Phase II will integrate the Nephelometer and a commercial SO2 sensor into a radiosonde package for a tethered field test at the NASA Wallops test facility and finally deployed near an active volcano in central America. The probe packaging will designed such that it is upwardly compatible in size and weight with the SCAN EAGLE UAV payload as well as other payload recovery vehicles.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Each day over 900 Radiosondes are launched worldwide. Radiosondes launched with cloud property measurement capability would provide users invaluable airborne particulate and icing information not currently available. The proposed infrared sensor would have a unique and potentially lucrative market niche because of its affordability. The principle product will have a moderately high volume application which will be used primarily for aircraft icing avoidance.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
NASA has immediate need for a high atmospheric particulate probe for its ongoing earth sciences and atmospheric research programs. More recently NASA has been chartered to do high altitude atmospheric research with UAS (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). As part of this program NASA will be employing dropsondes deployed from high altitude UAV¿s to measure dangerous and toxic particulates from volcanic ash. The proposed low cost optical Nephelometric probe will be an ideal low cost expendable probe that can acquire particulate size and density measurements of upper atmosphere volcanic ash.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE; NDT)
Diagnostics/Prognostics

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Toyon Research Corporation
6800 Cortona Drive
Goleta, CA 93117-3021
(805) 968-6787

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Eric Sandoz
esandoz@toyon.com
6800 Cortona Dr.
Goleta,  CA 93117-3021
(805) 968-6787

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 6
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Toyon Research Corporation proposes to develop and demonstrate a prototype low-cost precision navigation system using commercial-grade gyroscopes and accelerometers. During the Phase I effort an uncalibrated brassboard system was built and flight tested using a manned biplane. The brassboard system comprised an experimental single-channel (L1-only) software GPS receiver, and a 720 deg/hr inertial measurement unit (IMU) costing only $1k. The performance of the brassboard system was comparable to that of a $42k precision reference system that comprised a dual-channel (L1 and L2) GPS receiver and antenna, and a tactical-grade (1 deg/hr) IMU ($24k). This tactical-grade performance was achieved by fusing low-cost inertial measurements with attitude and position measurements from a GPS-based attitude (GPS/A) sensor. The Miniature Integrated Direction-finding Attitude-determining Anti-jam System (MIDAAS(TM)) obtains position, velocity, attitude, and time (PVAT) measurements directly from GPS signals and employs an innovative small single-aperture antenna to compute full 3-D attitude (roll, pitch and yaw) using only two RF channels, leading to a smaller, simpler, lower-cost GPS/A receiver system. During the Phase II program, a form-fit-function prototype system will be designed, built, and flight tested in an operational environment. The prototype performance will be compared with that of a higher-accuracy, more expensive attitude reference system.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The MIDAAS GPS-based attitude (GPS/A) sensor technology and inertial navigation system (INS) is applicable to a wide range of military and civilian applications including manned and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), micro air vehicles (MAVs), unattended ground sensors (UGS), handheld positioning units, recreational/virtual reality orienting devices, radio-controlled (RC) vehicles, ground vehicles, and far-target locators (FTL). The technology appeals to customers who desire robust position and attitude measurements for platforms that have stringent cost and size, weight and power (C-SWAP) constraints. The gyro-less system can also provide accurate attitude measurements for spin-stabilized projectiles and launch systems with roll rates at least as high as 300 Hz.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Integrating MIDAAS with a commercial-grade IMU will provide tactical-grade navigation accuracies at a low-cost, which in turn will enable science payload instrument stability and highly accurate pointing accuracy for NASA's manned and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This low-power novel navigation system will satisfy the size, weight and power (SWAP) constraints of most civilian and military small-scale remotely operated vehicles and unmanned systems. Furthermore, the improved attitude accuracy of the navigation system will enable precision flight control for repeatable terrain monitoring. The GPS/A technology is also applicable to spin-stabilized platforms such as sounding rockets and space launch vehicles. Furthermore, a unique ultra-tightly coupled (UTC) anti-jam (AJ) GPS navigation architecture makes the system inherently more robust to interference and significantly improves the attitude estimate, thereby improving the probability of successfully completing a mission even in the presence of unintentional and intentional interference.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Navigation & Guidance
Relative Navigation (Interception, Docking, Formation Flying; see also Control & Monitoring; Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Attitude Determination & Control
Telemetry/Tracking (Cooperative/Noncooperative; see also Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
GPS/Radiometric (see also Sensors)
Inertial (see also Sensors)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Tethers Unlimited
11711 North Creek Parkway South, Suite D113
Bothell, WA 98011-8808
(425) 486-0100

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Jonathan Wrobel
wrobel@tethers.com
11711 N. Creek Pkwy S., D113
Bothell,  WA 98011-8808
(425) 486-0100

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
The PowerCube is a 1U CubeSat module that provides integrated propulsion, power, and precision pointing to enable the low-cost CubeSat platform to be used to conduct high-performance missions. The PowerCube concept integrates three innovative component technologies to provide these capabilities: First, a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) water-electrolysis fuel cell supplies gH2/gO2 to a simple pressure-fed thruster to provide 300 Ns of impulse per 100 mL of water. This approach enables the CubeSat to launch with 'inert' propellant to comply with P-POD limitations on stored energy and then process the water on-orbit into high-Isp fuel. Second, a deployable solar array that stows along the long sides of the CubeSat and deploys in a 'windmill' configuration provides up to 96 W peak. Third, a 3DOF 'carpal-wrist' gimbal, in conjunction with magnetic torque coils, enables sun-tracking of the solar panel, vectoring of the thruster, and precision pointing of payloads. The combination of ample power and water electrolysis will provide up to 6 m/s of delta-V per 90 minute orbit for a 3U CubeSat. Compared to other CubeSat propulsion technologies, the PowerCube thruster will enable more rapid orbital maneuvering and significantly lower contamination issues. Our Phase I effort developed a detailed baseline design for the PowerCube, and built and tested a proof-of-concept prototype of the water-electrolysis thruster. The Phase II effort will mature the electrolysis thruster component to the engineering model level, develop and simulate methods for attitude control and precise pointing of both panels and payloads using the gimbal and torque coils, and develop a detailed design for the entire PowerCube module to enable flight validation in follow-on Phase III efforts.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The PowerCube system makes the CubeSat platform significantly more capable and able to serve a broader range of missions. This includes industry, military, and university customers. For industry, the PowerCube system provides an inexpensive platform for Earth sensing with orbit-adjustment capabilities and full attitude control, as well as ample power for communication and instrumentation. As a rapid-response platform for military applications, the PowerCube can provide a low-cost solution for deployment of Earth-sensing or communications capabilities to a specific theater. The thruster and fuel-cell systems are modular and can be split from the remainder of the PowerCube system and marketed as a stand-alone propulsion unit capable of providing 300 Ns of impulse per 100 mL of water and an estimated &#916;v of 6 m/s each orbit, significantly greater than electric propulsion thrusters at this scale. For university customers this modularity may be complimentary to the technologies being developed in-house in the academic program, allowing them to plug the holes in their program with only the technologies they require.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The PowerCube system can serve as a complete bus for small satellites, for applications ranging from rapid-response Earth-sensing to orbital debris remediation (development of such systems is underway at TUI). Allocating a larger portion of the CubeSat mass to fuel would enable PowerCube to be used for CubeSat missions to the moon. Cost-effective inspection of in-orbit resources is possible, from the space station to orbiting satellites. Lastly, the PowerCube could serve as a low-cost technology test platform, providing a testbed that can deliver propulsion, attitude control, and power to experiments or technical demonstrations.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Attitude Determination & Control
Generation
Fuels/Propellants
Maneuvering/Stationkeeping/Attitude Control Devices

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Ultra Communications
990 Park Center Drive, Suite H
Vista, CA 92081-8352
(760) 652-0007

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Charles Kuznia
ckuznia@ultracomm-inc.com
990 Park Center Drive, Suite H
Vista,  CA 92081-8352
(760) 652-0007

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
This program develops fiber optic transceivers that offer wide bandwidth (1 Mbps to 10 Gbps) and operate in space environments targeted by NASA for robotic exploration. These environments require components that can operate over a much wider temperature range than available with commercial fiber optic technology. The goal of this research is to develop a process platform to create fiber optic components that operate in the space environment (radiation, temperature, vibration, etc.) and leverage commercial performance/protocols for data transmission. Our overall goal is to create the market availability of space fiber optic transceivers for backbone data communications operating on standard protocols. This will eliminate current cycle of NRE-funded transceiver developments. This is opportunity to provide significant government savings, and reduce risk and associate programs delays that occurred with highly customized fiber optic development.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The CORE components are being developed for general use in harsh environments and this program will benefit in the costs savings created by volume manufacturing and sales. UltraComm is currently pursuing the JSF program with potential sales volume of 18,000 units annually and a lifetime expectancy of 150,000 units. Our first deliveries to C-MAC began in the spring of 2011, with production sales beginning in Q4 2012. The CORE is also base-lined and prototype deliveries have been made into a major space program with Honeywell, F-18 Fibre Channel Switch upgrades with Harris, and Lockheed Martin's advanced transceiver program (next generation optical interconnect). Fiber optics holds significant advantages over copper for high-speed data communications in space applications &#150; it neither produces nor is affected by EMI, it offers ground isolation between electronic units, reduced power, reduced size and reduced weight. Mil-airframes are increasingly fielding fiber optic wiring infrastructures as a long-term solution to bandwidth upgrades (for example, Joint Strike Fighter, Raptor, F-18 and B-2).

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The goal is to enable NASA to field high-resolution sensors and computational systems in robotic exploration missions throughout the Solar System. NASA is pursuing technologies for robotic exploration of the Solar System including its planets, their moons, and small bodies. NASA has a development program that includes technologies for the atmospheric entry, descent, and landing, mobility systems, extreme environments technology, sample acquisition and preparation for in situ experiments, and planetary science instruments. Robotic exploration missions that are planned include a Europa Jupiter System mission, Titan Saturn System mission, Venus Explorer, samples from Comet or Asteroid and continued Mars exploration.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Ad-Hoc Networks (see also Sensors)
Transmitters/Receivers
Waveguides/Optical Fiber (see also Optics)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
StormCenter Communications, Inc.
1450 South Rolling Road, Studio 4029
Baltimore, MD 21227-3863
(410) 203-1316

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Rafael Ameller
rafael@stormcenter.com
1450 South Rolling Road, Office 4029
Baltimore,  MD 21227-3863
(410) 203-1316

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
The innovation aims to develop the tools for multiple geobrowsers to communicate over the Internet to create a real collaborative experience over computer desktop virtual globes when dealing with any type of geospatial information. These functions are especially important when dealing with decision makers, who frequently are non-GIS experts that require visualizing their own assets on a map, like their firefighter engine positions, combined with external expertise and other relevant datasets, like NASA MODIS wildfire hotspots, creating actionable geospatial information to make better informed and timelier decisions. The ultimate objective would be a fully interoperable multi-platform collaborative decision environment that delivers accurate information on emerging situations while collaborating with distributed partners, advisors, specialists and authorities in various jurisdictions, regardless of the virtual globe, hardware or operating systems used.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The solution would be designed with both open standards and popular commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components for rapid deployment, early adoption and innovative growth in support of cross agency information sharing. The core of the system would deliver the ability to distribute information in a way that allows end users access to relevant knowledge in a timely manner when it is most needed. The solution will deliver the "last mile" of information directly into user's hands for immediate assessment and decision support. The solution would be designed to assist in all aspects of the disaster management cycle operation; from pre to post disaster, including rapidly deployable distributed networks to support larger geographic areas of first responders. These networks are critical to coordinate situational awareness and decisive actions in order to save lives and protect property. Non-NASA applications include, but are not limited to: - Improving the usage of earth science data for disasters prediction, identification, assessment and/or mitigation. - Weather briefings and associated hazards; - Events that require coordination at multiple levels and would benefit from a Common Operating Picture (COP) such as crime tracking and positioning of emergency vehicles; - Fire and Rescue services; Search and rescue - Enhancing decision support from a tactical and strategic perspective

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
NASA would greatly benefit from the future development of a multi-platform virtual globe collaboration tool in everything related to intra-agency and inter-agency collaborations dealing with Earth Science Research Data and any geo-collaboration requiring a common operating platform (COP). NASA applications include, but are not limited to: - Supporting operational agencies such as NWS, DHS (Federal, State and Local levels) - Natural resource management and policymaking; - Emergency Management Real-Time Collaboration and Decision Support; from pre- to post-disaster; - Earth Science Research Data Presentations; - Aviation decision support and assessment (i.e. volcanic ash detection and coordination); - Earth observation science training and outreach - Data integration with other agencies and partners (Domestic and International)

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Command & Control
Telemetry/Tracking (Cooperative/Noncooperative; see also Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Outreach
3D Imaging
Display
Image Analysis
Data Fusion
Data Input/Output Devices (Displays, Storage)
Knowledge Management

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Tech-X Corporation
5621 Arapahoe Avenue, Suite A
Boulder, CO 80303-1379
(303) 448-0727

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Michael Galloy
mgalloy@txcorp.com
5621 Arapahoe Ave
Boulder,  CO 80303-1379
(303) 996-2032

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
An integral component of many NASA missions involves remote sensing of the environment, both terrestrial and celestial. This is a challenging problem, since quantities of interest typically can not be directly measured but instead must be inferred. These inferences are made by solving inverse problems, where complex forward models are inverted to estimate parameters of the model. These parameters correspond to physical properties of the environment. Because of the complexity of many forward models, inversion is usually accomplished by minimizing the difference between observations and model predictions through adjustment of model parameters. This minimization process is computationally demanding, since it requires evaluating the forward model many times and minimizing a function of many variables. In this project, we propose to develop, using low-cost high performance hardware accelerators, a fast general-purpose parameter fitting software tool suite for fitting model parameters to observed data. The tool suite will allow NASA scientists to use state of the art high performance computing resources to speed their work. In the Phase I of this project we have shown that the three key components of model fitting, namely model evaluation, gradient calculation and cost functional minimization, can be accelerated using graphical processing unit (GPU) technology. The Phase I work has laid the foundation for Phase II of the project, where the components investigated and developed will be integrated into a parameter fitting tool suite. During Phase II, we will work closely with NASA scientists from the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) III mission, the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and other missions to develop further capabilities of the tool suite.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Parameter fitting is a general capability used across many disciplines. GPULib interfaces to IDL, which is used extensively in astronomy and earth sciences. GPULib also interfaces to MATLAB, which is used extensively across most engineering disciplines, fields of study in science, and in finance. Both IDL and MATLAB are focused on data analysis/reduction, which rely heavily on curve fitting. The parameter fitting software resulting from Phase I will be incorporated into GPULib. These new capabilities will increase revenue for the product, and related consulting services, across all technical computing application areas. Also, the capabilities developed in this project will generate new consulting revenue and additional research contracts from government agencies. Tech-X has an established track record of leveraging knowledge gained and software developed under the SBIR program to obtain additional federal funding from various organizations.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Because of the widespread use of optimization techniques in parameter estimation, the software developed in this project will be used extensively by NASA scientists working on present and future missions. Moreover, with the increasing amounts of data to be processed, hardware accelerated optimization software will provide a valuable, time-saving tool to NASA scientists. Missions that will directly benefit from the proposed software are SAGE III, SDO and Glory, to name a few.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Data Processing
Simulation & Modeling

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
ODIS, Inc.
22 Quail Run Road
Mansfield, CT 06268-2768
(860) 450-8407

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Jianhong Cai
laser242@hotmail.com
22 Quail Run Road
Mansfield,  CT 06268-2768
(860) 486-3466

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Optoelectronic integrated circuits offer radiation-hard solutions for satellite systems with much improved SWPB (size, weight, power and bandwidth). The phased array for sensing and data transfer is one system that optoelectronics can impact in the near term. It is known that optical delay could enable optimum beam steering electronic scanning . Lidar is another sensing system using optical beams that requires mechanical steering. In this SBIR a new integrated circuit technology is applied to the RF array with true time delay for beam steering and combined in the same physical location with an optical beam steered via current control. The integrated components required are lasers, amplifiers, modulators, detectors and optical waveguide switches. The RF at Ka band is generated by an optoelectronic oscillator and converted to RF power in a photodiode at the antenna element. The antenna element is a printed dipole on chip with optimized dimensions Ka band operation. The optical source is an array of vertical cavity lasers closely spaced and coupled by anti-guiding to enable coherent operation. Optical beam steering is achieved by controlling the current in a 2D array. In this SBIR, ODIS will develop the key components integration to produce common RF/optical aperture operation.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Phased arrays with electronic scanning represent a huge future commercial market in the wireless, security and free space optics communications industries. The optoelectronic integration platform being developed here provides a cost effective approach to combine optical and electronic device capabilities from which to generate the components for computer buses, AD converters, optical data links, optical switching matrices, optical routers, optical memories and many more yet to be identified. The integrated approach is the key to reduced cost and improved reliability.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
NASA applications encompass the entire range of integrated systems in space combining both optical and electronic capability. Current and future satellites include 1)sensing in the uv, visible, NIR, MWIR, LWIR, VLWIR, 2)radar and communications in the mmw ¿¿ THz region, 3)computation and digital signal processing, 3)laser communications transceiver functions and fiber optic interconnect throughout the satellite, 3)all-optical-switching including the router, the switching fabric and the control function and 4)optical arrays. A prominent application is the RF phased array combined with optical arrays in the same aperture which represent a multitude of sensors mounted on the satellite external surfaces covering wide bands in the mm wave band and separately in the optical spectrum. The POET technology base has great potential to address this sensing with unique ability to collapse the sensors into a single aperture. Simultaneously POET address many internal computational requirements related to on-board communications.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Avionics (see also Control and Monitoring)
Ad-Hoc Networks (see also Sensors)
Amplifiers/Repeaters/Translators
Antennas
Multiplexers/Demultiplexers
Network Integration
Power Combiners/Splitters
Routers, Switches
Transmitters/Receivers
Waveguides/Optical Fiber (see also Optics)
Circuits (including ICs; for specific applications, see e.g., Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Control & Monitoring, Sensors)
Manufacturing Methods
Materials (Insulator, Semiconductor, Substrate)
Conversion
Generation
Display
Image Processing
Data Fusion
Data Input/Output Devices (Displays, Storage)
Data Processing
Microfabrication (and smaller; see also Electronics; Mechanical Systems; Photonics)
Fiber (see also Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Photonics)
Filtering
Gratings
Detectors (see also Sensors)
Emitters
Lasers (Communication)
Lasers (Cutting & Welding)
Lasers (Guidance & Tracking)
Lasers (Ladar/Lidar)
Lasers (Machining/Materials Processing)
Lasers (Measuring/Sensing)
Lasers (Medical Imaging)
Lasers (Weapons)
Materials & Structures (including Optoelectronics)
Photon Sails (Solar; Laser)
Electromagnetic
Optical/Photonic (see also Photonics)
Sensor Nodes & Webs (see also Communications, Networking & Signal Transport)
Visible
Infrared
Terahertz (Sub-millimeter)
Microwave
Radio
Long
Multispectral/Hyperspectral

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
ICs
PO Box 2236
McCall, ID 83638-2236
(208) 315-0029

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Sterling Whitaker
whitaker@ics-rhbd.com
4615 Cumberland Road NW
Albuquerque,  NM 87120-3863
(505) 980-3083

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 2
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Advanced reconfigurable/reprogrammable communication systems will require use of commercial sub 100 nm electronics. Legacy radiation tolerant circuits fail to provide Single Event Upset (SEU) immunity at speeds greater than 500 MHz. New base level logic circuits have been demonstrated in Phase I that provide SEU immunity for sub 100 nm high speed circuits. A completely new circuit and system approach called Self Recovery Logic (SRL) is proposed for development herein which is able to function at the full speed afforded by the fabrication process and able to tolerate SEU impacts not possible with legacy circuits. Moreover, a truly fault tolerant system is projected to replace Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR) as the on-chip means for fault tolerance. With the proposed building blocks in place, advanced reconfigurable and reprogrammable high speed devices can be implemented. The proposed work herein creates a robust test circuit for fabrication and radiation testing to prove conclusively that SRL is a superior technology and then to create an SRL synthesis library that can be used with commercial synthesis tools to create advanced communication systems.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Reprogrammable/reconfigurable communication systems implemented with fault tolerant electronics has direct applications in Defense systems. As in the past, every custom high performance ICs processor designed for NASA has been incorporated into defense systems. There is every reason to suspect this will be true for the new electronic technology. Sub 100 nm electronics is becoming the basis for most of the commercial electronic systems today. It is conjectured by many that radiation effects will impact terrestrial applications as transistor feature sizes continue smaller. In real time control applications, radiation effects can have costly impacts in terms of financial, physical or human loss. Real time control is evident in aircraft, security, financial transaction, power system control, and even automobile systems. It is extremely difficulty to diagnose SEU issues because they are not easily reproduced, and therefore it may take some time before SEU is recognized as a source of problems in commercial electronics. SRL electronics is the solution for such applications in future commercial systems.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Self Restoring Logic (SRL) provides high speed SEU tolerant solutions which are effective for sub 100 nm electronics and can be used in the design of most if not all future NASA special purpose processors, especially reconfigurable communication processors. Legacy solutions do not work for high speed circuits and TMR is too burdensome. From the basis developed in Phase I, an entirely new SRL electronic circuit library will be created for automatic synthesis of custom chips using commercial CAD tools, enabling NASA engineers the ability to utilize commercial electronic foundries to produce reconfigurable/ reprogrammable communication systems and other custom single-chip applications. SRL technology does not use TMR, and provides higher speed circuits at much greater density than legacy RHBD circuits in sub 100 nm electronics.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Coding & Compression
Network Integration
Circuits (including ICs; for specific applications, see e.g., Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Control & Monitoring, Sensors)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Fibertek, Inc.
13605 Dulles Technology Drive
Herndon, VA 20171-4603
(703) 471-7671

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
James Phillips
jphillips@fibertek.com
510 Herndon Parkway
Herndon,  VA 20170-5225
(703) 471-7671

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 5

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
&#61557; Laser beacons with scalable powers are needed for ground to deep-space optical communication uplinks. They serve as absolute reference for tracking of spacecraft during the downlink laser communication. For such space communication link distances the beam spread due to diffraction is significant enough that only few photons are collected by a moderate size optical telescopes on the spacecraft. This necessitates photon-counting detectors suited for the space environment, along with increasing the output power of the laser beacon. Ultra low noise silicon avalanche photo-detector (Si-APD) based position-sensing detectors are used on the spacecraft to detect the laser beacons. Such Si-APDSs are also radiation-hardened and compatible with space-environment operation. It is therefore desirable to operate at shorter wavelengths ~1000nm, where Si-APDs have improved spectral responsivity. This helps to improve the SNR for tracking, and consequently reduce the uplink laser power requirements. Under Phase 2 program Fibertek will design and build a single-channel uplink laser beacon transmitter operating at 1030nm, capable of 500W average output power and 500kHz 16-PPM ary format operation. Inputs from end-user will be solicited for intended use and application, so as to drive the design requirements. Baseline multi-stage 1024nm nm 300W Yb-fiber amplifier architecture demonstrated in Phase 1 will be transitioned to highly robust 'all-fiber' configuration. Proposed design and prototype hardware is based on COTS fiber-optic technology platform, thereby leading to TRL = 4 &#150; 5 level for the SBIR Phase 2 deliverable.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
&#61557; Laser illuminator and high-rate fine-tracking for directed-energy (DE) applications. In fact, HEL-JTO has a very similar requirement for such laser sources to be used for tracking lidars. &#61557; MDA applications for target identification and designation.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
&#61557; Compact, robust, and high-efficiency 1030nm laser transmitter for uplink beacon application for deep-space communication. &#61557; Highly compact, and cost-effective low power (40&#150;100W) uplink laser beacons for near-Earth optical space communication links, e.g. as part of the NASA-SCaN roadmap. Alternately, using uplink laser beacons with higher powers, smaller aperture optical telescopes (&#61542;~15-30cm) can enable high-bandwidth space optical communication links. &#61557; The various design parameters and trade-offs are applicable to the design of other 1-&#61549;m long-pulse lidar transmitters for NASA application (e.g. for atmospheric column sounding). Similarly, most principles carry over to the design of 1.5-&#61549;m fiber laser/amplifier based lidar transmitters.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Air Transportation & Safety
Avionics (see also Control and Monitoring)
Analytical Instruments (Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma, Energy; see also Sensors)
Navigation & Guidance
Spacecraft Design, Construction, Testing, & Performance (see also Engineering; Testing & Evaluation)
Spacecraft Instrumentation & Astrionics (see also Communications; Control & Monitoring; Information Systems)
Space Transportation & Safety
Amplifiers/Repeaters/Translators
Architecture/Framework/Protocols
Coding & Compression
Power Combiners/Splitters
Transmitters/Receivers
Waveguides/Optical Fiber (see also Optics)
Algorithms/Control Software & Systems (see also Autonomous Systems)
Command & Control
Condition Monitoring (see also Sensors)
Process Monitoring & Control
Teleoperation
Circuits (including ICs; for specific applications, see e.g., Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Control & Monitoring, Sensors)
Conversion
Generation
Characterization
Models & Simulations (see also Testing & Evaluation)
Project Management
Prototyping
Quality/Reliability
Software Tools (Analysis, Design)
Support
3D Imaging
Display
Image Analysis
Image Capture (Stills/Motion)
Image Processing
Computer System Architectures
Data Acquisition (see also Sensors)
Data Fusion
Data Input/Output Devices (Displays, Storage)
Data Modeling (see also Testing & Evaluation)
Data Processing
Actuators & Motors
Fasteners/Decouplers
Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and smaller
Pressure & Vacuum Systems
Adaptive Optics
Fiber (see also Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Photonics)
Filtering
Gratings
Lenses
Mirrors
Telescope Arrays
Detectors (see also Sensors)
Emitters
Lasers (Communication)
Lasers (Guidance & Tracking)
Lasers (Ignition)
Lasers (Ladar/Lidar)
Lasers (Machining/Materials Processing)
Lasers (Measuring/Sensing)
Lasers (Medical Imaging)
Lasers (Surgical)
Lasers (Weapons)
Materials & Structures (including Optoelectronics)
Entry, Descent, & Landing (see also Astronautics)
GPS/Radiometric (see also Sensors)
Inertial (see also Sensors)
Optical
Ranging/Tracking
Telemetry (see also Control & Monitoring)
Ablative Propulsion
Atmospheric Propulsion
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Propulsion
Fuels/Propellants
Launch Engine/Booster
Maneuvering/Stationkeeping/Attitude Control Devices
Photon Sails (Solar; Laser)
Spacecraft Main Engine
Surface Propulsion
Tethers
Optical/Photonic (see also Photonics)
Development Environments
Operating Systems
Infrared
Hardware-in-the-Loop Testing
Lifetime Testing
Simulation & Modeling
Active Systems
Diagnostics/Prognostics

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Intelligent Automation, Inc.
15400 Calhoun Drive, Suite 400
Rockville, MD 20855-2737
(301) 294-5221

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Hui Zeng
hzeng@i-a-i.com
15400 Calhoun Drive Suite 400
Rockville,  MD 20853-2737
(301) 294-4258

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
NASA's Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program is integrating its three current agency networks: Space Network (SN), Deep Space Network (DSN), and Near Earth Network (NEN). This effort raises several issues for the network management in the future integrated space networks. First, an integrated network management function, which uses common standards and implementations, is needed to serve as the interface for all SCaN network customers. Second, satellite operations currently use a highly manual approach. The research and development of autonomous operations has been conducted recently but is still at early stage. Third, due to different characteristics of space networks, security management mechanisms and other network management functions that are widely adopted in the traditional networks are not fully suitable to space networks. In addition, several issues related to Bundle Protocol exist and need to be further investigated to enhance the performance of bundle delivery in delay tolerant networks. To address these issues, we propose an innovative Security-Enhanced Autonomous Network Management (SEANM) scheme for reliable communication in space networking, which allows the system to adaptively reconfigure its network elements based upon awareness of network conditions, policies, and mission requirements.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed solution also has great potential in dynamic military applications. Given the GIG vision, such heterogeneous and dynamic wireless networks will be common and therefore robust and reliable communication is necessary. The proposed cross-layer information sharing architecture, mechanisms, and the developed network management tool can be applied to various military networks potentially supporting a number of major programs like Airborne Networks Program, Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS), Future Combat System (FCS), etc.. The commercial drive for reliable communication is also increasing due to the increasing popularity of wireless network technologies. Potential commercial applications include satellite communications, wireless sensor/ad hoc networks, and vehicle networks.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed DTN networking and network management solution has potential to largely reduce operation costs while maintain or even enhance the reliability for the NASA missions. Due to the heterogeneous nature of network assets and the lack of autonomy, the developed solution can be applied to the NASA's efforts on the integration of its current agency networks. The potential customers of our solution include robotic and human missions at locations ranging from the near Earth (e.g., EO-1) to deep space (e.g., Mars exploration) and SCaN program.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Autonomous Control (see also Control & Monitoring)
Ad-Hoc Networks (see also Sensors)
Architecture/Framework/Protocols
Network Integration
Models & Simulations (see also Testing & Evaluation)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Transition45 Technologies, Inc.
1739 North Case Street
Orange, CA 92865-4211
(714) 283-2118

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Edward Chen
transition45@sbcglobal.net
1739 North Case Street
Orange,  CA 92865-4211
(714) 283-2118

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
In order to design and manufacture complex, one-of-a-kind to limited quantity rocket propulsion system components, while shortening the development cycle time and reducing the associated costs, an innovative method must be developed that expands upon current manufacturing technologies. A flexible manufacturing system that can handle the production of such parts in short time periods is desirable. Today's near-net fabrication technologies are extremely limited in design flexibility due to the use of injection molding. Considering the need for design flexibility as well as shorter development cycles, reduced costs, and minimized variance in making one-of-a-kind components, an innovative manufacturing technology will be demonstrated in this work to fabricate geometrically complex superalloy components

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Potential non-NASA applications include military and commercial rocket and airbreathing propulsion system components, industrial gas turbine components, industrial pump and valve components that use superalloys for corrosion resistance, and biomedical implants.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Potential NASA applications include rocket and airbreathing propulsion system components, especially those requiring sophisticated internal passageways for higher efficiency.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Generation
Characterization
Models & Simulations (see also Testing & Evaluation)
Project Management
Prototyping
Quality/Reliability
3D Imaging
Image Analysis
Radiography
In Situ Manufacturing
Processing Methods
Metallics
Nanomaterials
Machines/Mechanical Subsystems
Structures
Ablative Propulsion
Atmospheric Propulsion
Launch Engine/Booster
Maneuvering/Stationkeeping/Attitude Control Devices
Spacecraft Main Engine
Destructive Testing
Hardware-in-the-Loop Testing
Lifetime Testing
Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE; NDT)
Simulation & Modeling
Active Systems
Cryogenic/Fluid Systems
Heat Exchange

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Stottler Henke Associates, Inc.
951 Mariner's Island Boulevard, Suite 360
San Mateo, CA 94404-1585
(650) 931-2700

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
James Ong
ong@stottlerhenke.com
951 Mariner's Island Blvd., Suite 360
San Mateo,  CA 94404-1585
(650) 931-2700

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
To integrate automated diagnosis and automated planning functions, one must translate diagnosed system faults to corresponding changes in resource availabilities. Implementing reliable translation is challenging, time-consuming, and error prone. We propose to develop Intelliface, an intelligent tool for developing interfaces between diagnosis and planning systems. Intelliface will help ensure that plans are revised appropriately when faults occur in complex space systems. In addition, Intelliface will reduce the effort needed to integrate diagnosis and planning systems. Intelliface will encode and apply a qualitative understanding of generic types of devices and their underlying physics (e.g., electrical storage, distribution, and consumption; fluid flow and storage; signal processing, etc.) in order to identify each activity's direct and indirect resource requirements and their dependencies. Intelliface will use the results of this reasoning to generate resource declarations, updated resource availabilities, and some planning constraints in the planning domain modeling language. In addition, Intelliface will support NASA's top-down systems engineering processes for specifying system functional requirements, performance requirements, and interfaces at each system tier. During Phase 2, we will develop a technology readiness level 6 software prototype that demonstrates the feasibility, utility, and usability of the Intelliface concept within a NASA-relevant environment.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The primary target applications will be the integration of diagnosis and planning functions for NASA manned and unmanned missions, technology studies such as Desert RATS, and resource management of NASA satellite network resources. Improved integration of diagnosis and planning functions is most valuable when the translation from diagnostic states to reduced planning resources and their impact on plans is complex.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Promising non-NASA applications include the management of commercial and government computer systems and communication networks that are used to process large, scheduled computing and data transfer tasks. Management of scientific computing clusters might benefit from Intelliface technology because the servers at various scientific computing centers have different capabilities due to differing hardware, software, and data. Also, batch scientific computing jobs are resource-intensive, so they are scheduled individually.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Autonomous Control (see also Control & Monitoring)
Intelligence
Sequencing & Scheduling
Diagnostics/Prognostics

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Techshot, Inc.
7200 Highway 150
Greenville, IN 47124-9515
(812) 923-9591

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Michael Kurk
akurk@techshot.com
7200 Highway 150
Greenville,  IN 47124-9515
(812) 923-9591

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 5
End: 7

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
With retirement of the space shuttle program, microgravity researchers can no longer count on bringing experiment samples back to earth for post-flight analysis. Locker-sized processing facilities, which were typically transported up to and down from the International Space Station during the shuttle era, quite simply consume too much volume, mass, and power to be accommodated as part of both the upmass and downmass on current space transportation vehicles. As a result, more analysis must be accomplished on ISS, which makes on-orbit analytical tools critical to the continued success of microgravity research. The Analytical Cassette transfer Tool (ACT) is a low-cost, disposable device that efficiently transfers experiment samples in a safe and contained manner from unique experiment specific spaceflight hardware to on-orbit analytical tools that enable real-time analysis in microgravity. ACT interfaces with several flight qualified processing payloads to extract experiment samples via a needle-less septum and then allows transfer of those samples into a number of different on-orbit analytical devices, including such instrumentation as the Light Microscopy Module, the Microfluidic Flow Cytometer, a Spectrophotometer, and/or a Mass Spectrometer. Applications in life and environmental sciences include sampling liquid cultures/suspensions or sampling spacecraft water for quality evaluation. ACT functions within or outside of on-orbit gloveboxes to safely transfer any liquid material from one container fitted with the ACT mating receptacle to another container fitted with a receptacle. Its safe, simple, effective, and with its economical advantage, ACT is destined to become the new standard fluid transfer device for the ISS and future space research venues. For the Phase II project, Techshot will develop a flight version of the ACT and subject it to the major spaceflight integration tests.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Building on its heritage of developing and integrating space flight hardware, and then conducting experiments in space, Techshot expects to soon offer flight experiment services to non-NASA customers, including the private sector and university researchers. The success of Techshot's processing facilities like the Avian Development Facility (ADF), the ADvanced Space Experiment Processor (ADSEP), and soon the ACT, will enable Techshot to serve more researchers and offer more diversified services on ISS. In combination, this broad range of services is expected to improve Techshot's competitive position. Furthermore, with the expected availability of commercial launch vehicles (e.g. SpaceX, Orbital), once these vehicles begin routine visits to the ISS, and eventually to commercial space stations (e.g. Bigelow) and free fliers (e.g. DragonLab), the economics of transporting and processing materials in microgravity should become far more compelling. And eventually, given enough commercial launch vehicle capacity, ACT could become the fluid transfer tool of choice to support the processing of larger quantities of high-value materials, including cells, pharmaceuticals and other high-value medical-grade materials. Finally, the potential also exists for an ACT patent and licensing to companies interested in selling such a product to ground-based research labs for use in BSL-3 facilities where additional containment of hazardous biological materials is critical for employee safety.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
ACT offers important potential NASA commercial applications, as well as a significant return on NASA's SBIR investment. Techshot expects to commercialize the ACT by incorporating it into the company's spaceflight service program that it offers to NASA mission programs, as well as for other Government agencies such as investigators funded by the National Institute of Health's Biomed-ISS program. ACT provides an innovative tool for transferring liquid samples from unique experiment specific spaceflight hardware to on-orbit analytical tools, thus enabling real-time analysis on ISS. Both physics and life science investigators can expect to benefit from ACT since it can safely transfer, store and manipulate a host of fluid media to enable both processing and analysis of samples. Overall, the science research community will be better served with increased capacity of getting more samples processed and analyzed in space, and NASA will be one step closer to realizing its goal of fully utilizing ISS as a national laboratory.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Analytical Instruments (Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma, Energy; see also Sensors)
Biomass Growth
Health Monitoring & Sensing (see also Sensors)
Medical
Physiological/Psychological Countermeasures
Image Processing
Nanomaterials
Organics/Biomaterials/Hybrids
Polymers
Machines/Mechanical Subsystems
Biological (see also Biological Health/Life Support)
Chemical/Environmental (see also Biological Health/Life Support)
Biophysical Utilization

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation
1 Broadway, 12th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02142-1189
(617) 500-0536

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
John Merk
jmerk@aurora.aero
1 Broadway, 12th Floor
Cambridge,  MA 02142-1189
(617) 500-4887

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
With the retiring of the shuttle fleet, up-mass and down-mass to ISS are at a premium. The space station itself has a limited lifecycle as well, thus long-term and/or high-risk development programs pose issues for science 'return on investment', if the technology cannot be adequately matured before the station is decommissioned. Thus innovative systems and technologies that minimize impact on limiting resources such as up-mass, down-mass and crew time, and can do so in the near- to mid-term, are highly desirable. One such area includes the various rechargeable battery systems on ISS used extensively for cameras, camcorders, laptops, communication systems and other portable science and diagnostic equipment. A common (universal) battery charging system for ISS, with the flexibility to accommodate current and future rechargeable battery requirements for payloads and equipment, could reduce the cost of use of the ISS for payload developers. Such a system would not only simplify the safety and integration process for battery-operated ISS applications, but also reduce up-mass by making use of existing ISS resources. In its SBIR Phase I program, Aurora Flight Sciences laid the groundwork for such a system, based on the needs of current and planned ISS battery system requirements. The results of the study indicate that a universal rechargeable battery system is feasible and could significantly reduce up-mass and crew-time to support current and future ISS programs. Expanding on the feasibility study performed in Phase I, Aurora will deliver a protoflight charger system and supporting documentation at the conclusion of Phase II. The proposed system will be fully developed in compliance with NASA safety and integration criteria within the 2-year SBIR Phase II timeframe, facilitating procurement of flight and ground support hardware by NASA in a potential Phase III program.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
DoD applications include the enabled use of ISS research facilities for multiple purposes. Additionally, opportunities may exist in the commercial, institutional and government sectors to 'sell' test time on SPHERES (and other ISS facilities that have been enabled by this innovation) to organizations for developing and validating vision and assembly capability for future satellite applications. This service could be analogous to the way in which the National Testing Service (NTS) provides facility rental and support for both commercial entities and institutions. Table 1 shows projected return on investment for selling SPHERES test time on ISS. Since SPHERES is the only known long duration, microgravity test facility for the development of satellite maneuvering algorithms, an opportunity exists to extend usage of this testbed to organizations outside of NASA. While the proposed innovation itself is not expected to be commercially profitable as a stand-alone item, it enables future researchers to reduce ISS payload development costs, and reduces up-mass overhead for future launches to ISS, thus creating a significant return on investment.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The proposed innovation serves to increase the science capability of ISS, enabling extended use of SPHERES and other battery-operated facilities. The establishment of the ISS as a National Laboratory has significantly enhanced the accessibility of its facilities to organizations outside of NASA and the DOD, including other governmental agencies, research institutions and commercial entities. The universal charger will enable use of these facilities beyond the retirement of the space shuttle. On the government side, the development of a universal charger forms the basis for space research that is at the core of NASA and the DOD. The proposed system provides an upgrade to existing ISS facilities to greatly increase the lifetime of onboard assets. The addition of a universal charger to the SPHERES testbed and other facilities allows for increased research capabilities. SPHERES itself has multiple applications: it is a precursor to technology maturation for inspection satellites for ISS and other manned and unmanned NASA vehicles. Its forthcoming visual-based navigation system enables algorithm development in support of new applications such as standoff cameras for unmanned systems, imaging terminal capture for mars sample return missions, and will support a constantly changing workspace during robotic assembly and servicing missions. All of these applications will require additional battery systems and could benefit from the use of a universal charging system for ISS.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Process Monitoring & Control
Distribution/Management

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
WEVOICE, Inc.
1065 Route 22 West, Suite 2E
Bridgewater, NJ 08807-2949
(908) 393-6101

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Yiteng Huang
ardenhuang@gmail.com
1065 Route 22 West, Suite 2E
Bridgewater,  NJ 08807-2949
(908) 575-8955

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
The International Space Station (ISS) needs to keep quiet to maintain a healthy and habitable environment in which crewmembers can perform long-term and uninterrupted scientific research under microgravity conditions. Acoustic survey is now performed once every two months using hand-held devices at 60 locations on the ISS. It takes a significant amount of precious crew time and the sporadic monitoring program is not adequate. NASA has defined a need for an automated, continuous acoustic monitoring system that is efficient in power consumption (long battery life), accurate, highly integrated, wireless connected, scalable, small and lightweight. WeVoice Inc.\ proposed to develop a ZigBee-based wireless sensor network for acoustic monitoring to meet the challenges. During Phase I of this projects, three essential capabilities were developed, tested, and validated: * The design of a data collection subsystem that integrates measurement microphones and the feasibility of using the state-of-the-art MEMS microphones. * The development of accurate and computationally efficient signal processing algorithms for acoustic frequency (octave, 1/3-octave, and narrowband) analysis and sound level measurement. * The construction of a ZigBee network for data communication. In addition, the WeVoice SBIR research team has started working on flight-like devices. Clear directions for improvement were established for the Phase II efforts that may follow. The Phase II program focuses on system integration and optimization, software implementation, and graphical user interface development. An in-situ calibration plan will be suggested and a demonstrable system will be delivered to NASA for testing in a ground facility at the completion of the Phase II contract. So the expected TRL then is expected to reach 6.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
1) Environmental noise monitoring for communities and airports, 2) Occupational noise survey, 3) Noise monitoring and control in the healthcare industry, 4) Acoustic monitoring in defense, 5) Acoustic surveillance for security purposes, and 6) Noise monitoring for wildlife refuges

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
1) Acoustic monitoring on the ISS, 2) Noise survey on future NASA manned or unmanned spacecraft

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Analytical Instruments (Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma, Energy; see also Sensors)
Analytical Methods
Health Monitoring & Sensing (see also Sensors)
Network Integration
Circuits (including ICs; for specific applications, see e.g., Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Control & Monitoring, Sensors)
Data Acquisition (see also Sensors)
Acoustic/Vibration

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Fine Structure Technology LLC
5114 Balcones Woods Drive, Suite 307 PMB 305
Austin, TX 78759-5212
(425) 516-8442

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Matthew Ellis
matt@finestructuretech.com
5114 Balcones Woods Drive, Suite 307 PMB 305
Austin,  TX 78759-5212
(512) 650-8314

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 4
End: 6

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
The proposed innovation is a novel MEMS gyroscope that uses micro-interferometric detection to measure the motion of the proof mass. Using an interferometric detection technique enables the measurement of proof mass motion with resolution equal to or better than systems that have CMOS detection electronics fabricated on the MEMS substrate. Furthermore, this detection technique can be applied to MEMS designs fabricated in a variety of processes, freeing up more design space and enabling a MEMS design not limited by MEMS fabrication constraints. This combination of factors allows for a broader design space and thus the sense resonant frequency will not have to be closely matched to the drive resonant frequency. This separation of frequencies results in a device that is inherently more stable and easier to manufacture. Specific objective of phase II are: (1) Produce a low cost, low power MEMS gyroscope using interferometric sensing that meets the needs for NASA applications. (2) Deliver multiple prototypes to NASA and other potential customers for evaluation. (3) Demonstrate that the gyroscope prototypes have acceptable performance. The challenges to successfully developing this technology are substantial. Advanced MEMS fabrication technology, innovative micro-optical designs coupled with novel MEMS packaging, and design and simulation techniques will enable successful development of this technology.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Non-NASA Applications: Successful development of this project lays the foundation for commercial impact in a number of areas. For navigation GPS is commonly used in applications where fiber optic gyroscopes or ring laser gyroscopes are either too large or expensive. In many situations GPS signals are unreliable (such as in areas where they could be jammed or indoors) or they are unavailable such as underground. Petroleum and gas exploration, mining, aerospace systems and consumer electronic devices will benefit from the development of technology. In petroleum and gas exploration, directional drilling and wellbore navigation will benefit from the development of robust and stable MEMS scale gyroscopes capable of operation while drilling. For consumer applications this technology will enable personal navigation in areas where GPS signals are unreliable.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Applications within NASA: The proposed technology will result in a small and low power inertial sensor capable of providing tactical grade performance comparable to a fiber optic gyro. This technology will benefit metric tracking of launch vehicles in situations where GPS signals are unreliable. Furthermore, the small size of this technology will benefit small space craft in navigation and guidance. For aerospace applications, MEMS scale gyroscopes with performance characteristic similar to that of fiber optic gyros will enable high performance navigation in small unmanned systems.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Avionics (see also Control and Monitoring)
Entry, Descent, & Landing (see also Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Navigation & Guidance
Relative Navigation (Interception, Docking, Formation Flying; see also Control & Monitoring; Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Attitude Determination & Control
Telemetry/Tracking (Cooperative/Noncooperative; see also Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and smaller
Entry, Descent, & Landing (see also Astronautics)
Inertial (see also Sensors)
Inertial
Positioning (Attitude Determination, Location X-Y-Z)

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN: (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Tahoe RF Semiconductor, Inc.
12834 Earhart Avenue
Auburn, CA 95602-9027
(530) 823-9786

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER: (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/ZIP, Phone)
Michael Shaw
mshaw@tahoerf.com
12834 Earhart Ave.,
Auburn,  CA 95602-9027
(530) 823-9786

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 3
End: 4

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) capability via GPS services are used by NASA for (1) real-time on-board autonomous navigation, (2) attitude determination and (3) earth science including sea height and climate monitoring. It is expected that over the next two decades approximately 95% of ALL space missions will operate within the GPS service envelope. GPS receivers will be "embedded" in most instruments and will require improved SWAP and increased sensitivity for improved tolerance from large interferers and/or ruggedness to multipath errors. The RFIC developed in this Phase II will have 4 coherent GPS receivers on a single silicon die which improves the SWaP metric over the existing solution by 30x. In addition to supporting beam steering capability, it'll provide interference tolerance and signal recovery in multipath environment, such as those during positioning of precision equipment on the International Space Station (ISS). The other NASA programs that will benefit from this device are: 1. Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission 2. Sexton GPS receiver for Xray Telescope on ISS. 3. COSMIC IIA,B Missions 4. Jason III Mission for Oceanography The schedule in this proposal will have the delivery of the initial prototype samples made available to NASA in 12 months. Estimated TRL In: 3 Estimated TRL Out: 4

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Several military applications where this technology can be applied are: ¿ Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). Most of these vehicles are unable to carry any phase array antenna system due to payload constraints. The technology developed under this proposal will achieve the SWaP (Size, Weight & Power) target so as to enable this capability for these vehicles. ¿ Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (UUV) UUV will also similarly benefit from having this capability. This technology has significant application in the commercial world. Some of the applications areas are: 1. Automotive (market size 10s of millions of units per year) o Collision Avoidance Systems o Driver Aides such as Parking Assistance o "Driver Replacement" Traffic Throughput Optimization. This could potentially conserve millions of gallons of gasoline per year 2. Agriculture (market size 10s of thousands of units per year) 3. Avionics (market size thousands of units per year) o Collision Avoidance o Sophisticated Weather Radar 4. Microwave Links in Multipath Environments (market size 100s of thousands of units per year) 5. Handheld Communications (market size 100s of millions of units) o Beamforming WiFi o Beamforming Cellular Communications (LTE and beyond) o Mobile TV Electronically Steerable Antenna 6. Industrial (market size 10s of thousands of units) o Object identification o Object location o Driverless Equipment (such as forklifts) 7. RFID (market size 100s of millions of units per year)

POTENTIAL NON-NASA APPLICATION(S) (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The GPS system will be designed as custom RF ASIC chipset will be used in the navigation of spacecraft. This solution will provide NASA with a compact, beam steerable low power solution that can be deployed in all spacecrafts including small satellites. A partial list of potential NASA applications that will benefit from this GPS Receiver IC is: 1. International Space Station 2. Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission 3. COSMIC II Missions 4. Jason III Mission 5. TDRSS Augmentation Service for Satellites (TASSS) 6. Array of GPS receivers 7. Space Based L-Band Receivers

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
Airship/Lighter-than-Air Craft
Air Transportation & Safety
Avionics (see also Control and Monitoring)
Entry, Descent, & Landing (see also Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Navigation & Guidance
Relative Navigation (Interception, Docking, Formation Flying; see also Control & Monitoring; Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Spacecraft Instrumentation & Astrionics (see also Communications; Control & Monitoring; Information Systems)
Space Transportation & Safety
Autonomous Control (see also Control & Monitoring)
Robotics (see also Control & Monitoring; Sensors)
Ad-Hoc Networks (see also Sensors)
Attitude Determination & Control
Telemetry/Tracking (Cooperative/Noncooperative; see also Planetary Navigation, Tracking, & Telemetry)
Circuits (including ICs; for specific applications, see e.g., Communications, Networking & Signal Transport; Control & Monitoring, Sensors)
Materials (Insulator, Semiconductor, Substrate)
Entry, Descent, & Landing (see also Astronautics)
GPS/Radiometric (see also Sensors)
Ranging/Tracking
Telemetry (see also Control & Monitoring)