GSC-17152-1 |
Dellingr 6U CubeSat |
US 9,938,023 |
Reliable CubeSat design for executing small science-grade missions inexpensively and rapidly. It offers a more cost-effective approach to achieve compelling Earth and space science. |
| GSC-15416-1 |
Directed Flux Motor |
US 7,999,427 B2 |
The motor allows for simple changes to modify the torque to speed ratio of the gearing contained within the motor as well as simple configurations for any number of output shafts up to six. The changes allow for improved manufacturability and reliability within the design. |
| GSC-15419-1 |
Walk and Roll Robot |
US 8,030,873
US 6,640,949
US 7,999,427
|
This technology is a mobile robotic unit. The unit has multiple legs supporting a main body i.e. vehicle body, and moving the main body in forward direction and reverse direction about a base surface. The leg includes wheels to roll along the base surface. A drive assembly comprises a motor operatively associated with hip and knee joints and the wheels for independently driving pivotal movement of the hip joint and the knee joint and rolling motion of the wheels. The assembly comprises drive shafts imparting driving pivotal movement to the hip and knee joint and rolling motion to the wheels |
| GSC-15856-1 |
Aerodynamically Stabilized Instrument Platform for Kites and Tethered Blimps ("AeroPod") |
US 8,196,853 B2 |
A passive device that uses aerodynamic forces to stabilize an instrument package suspended from a kite or tethered blimp. |
| GSC-16438-1 |
Self-Sacrificing Spacecraft |
US 9,171,266 |
When flying as part of formation flying or a swarm of crafts, these spacecraft can sacrifice themselves (give up their functionality) for the greater good of the entire system, thus enabling the continued operation of the other spacecraft in the mission. Upon self destruction, the crafts can donate their power source (fuel, battery) to another element of the swarm to reduce wasted energy resources. |
| GSC-17376-1 |
Frequency Diversity Pulse Pair Algorithm for Miragation of Radar Range-Doppler Ambiguity |
US 10,317,521 |
This algorithm allows for more accurate Doppler radar readings for moving target ranging and velocity detection. Doppler ambiguity is reduced through the creation of an innovative frequency. This step forward in the evolution of the Doppler radar has potential for application in weather tracking, aviation, and automotive contexts. |
| GSC-17113-1 |
CubeSat Compatible High Resolution Thermal Infrared Imager |
US 10,306,155 |
A small, adaptable, and stable high resolution thermal imaging system that provides more detailed spatial and temporal data from orbit. |
| GSC-17774-1 |
Microcontroller Altimeter (uCA) |
Patent Pending |
The uCA combines a high accuracy integrated silicon pressure sensor with MOSFET technology to provide traditional Normally-Open and Normally-Closed switches capable of high power switching for a wide variety of applications. The output of the sensor and switches are provided to the user for real-time altitude determination as well as discrete altitude trip point knowledge. |
| GSC-16795-1 |
Advanced CubeSat Ejector System (ACES) |
US 9,434,486 |
An ejector system for the 6U CubeSat designed to provide the nanosatellite with a more secure constraint interface during launch and an efficient guided ejection, while permitting a less restrictive inner volume. The ejector system interfaces to the launch vehicle and functions to protect the primary payload from the nanosatellite, constrain the nanosatellite during launch, and perform a guided ejection. |
| GSC-17279-1 |
Graphene Field Effect Transistors for Radiation Detection (GFET-RS) |
US 9,508,885 |
A novel transistor technology based on a single graphene layer coupled to a radiation absorber substrate. Unlike conventional charge-sensing detectors, the GFET-RS utilizes the sensitive dependence of graphene conductance on local change of the electric field which can be induced by interaction of radiation with the underlying absorber substrate. This technology provides low power consumption and high sensitivity radiation sensors for the commercial space industry and government agencies. This technology can also be important in future heliophysics science missions, where small, light-weight radiation sensors such as GFET-RS can be used on arrays of CubeSats. |
| GSC-16336-1 |
Nitinol-Actuated Normally Open Valve Assembly (NOVA) |
US 9,677,681 |
The NOVA zero leak, permanent isolation valve helps prevent leaks in space propulsion systems. The actuator is made from nitinol, a heat activated non-explosive shape memory alloy. NOVA is designed in such a way that the pressurized propellant upstream provides positive pressure on the valves seal. |
| GSC-15951-1 |
A Process for Producing High-Quality Lightweight Mirrors |
US 9,075,188 |
An innovative process that helps significantly reduce the risk, time, and costs associated with producing lightweight mirrors for demanding instrument applications. The method employs a solid disc of single-crystal silicon (SCS) and calls for most of the polishing to be completed before lightweighting. Due to the extraordinary homogeneity of SCS, the distortion caused by traditional lightweighting processes is significantly reduced. |
GSC-16509-1
GSC-16509-2 |
Digital Beamforming Interferometry |
US 9,523,768 |
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is a sophisticated form of radar that implements a single antenna to successfully scan a target area, store the received signals, and coherently process the signals to resolve elements in an image of the target area. |
| GSC-16029-1 |
Nanostructure secondary mirror apodization mask |
US 8,963,068 |
An innovative secondary mirror apodization mask for duplex telescopes that (1) uses a superior material (carbon nanotubes grown on silicon) for the absorption of on-axis radiation from the transmitted beam, and (2) applies this material in a way that smoothly tapers or "apodizes" the absorption to minimize diffraction. The shape of the mask provides a smooth transition to the clear aperture of the secondary mirror. This reduces stray light by many orders of magnitude compared to optical systems that do not incorporate a central mask. |
| GSC-15662-1 |
Flight Mirror Mount and Flight Mounting Procedure |
US 8,092,031 |
A process capable of producing a high precision mounted lightweight mirror. This effort included the design of a mount capable of surviving the launch environment of a sounding rocket, as well as a mounting process that did not introduce performance degrading figure distortion. Additionally, analysis techniques were developed and adapted to address the challenges in measuring an optic that exceeds its figure specification under the strain of its own weight. |
| GSC-16995-1 |
Photonic Waveguide Choke Joint with Improved Stop-Bandwidth |
US 9,310,556 |
A cascaded sub-array photonic choke joint structure for suppressing plane-wave propagation over a wide stop-band. This technology enables two waveguide flanges to be connected without physical contact. This allows the two waveguides to operate at two different temperatures in thermal isolation. In sensitive instruments, this helps suppress out-of-band leakages from the waveguide to the detector inside the flanges. The invention can be designed to operate at any microwave frequencies, and does not require any peripheral equipment to operate. |
| GSC-16589-1 |
Photonic Waveguide Choke Joint |
US 9,419,319 |
A low-loss non-contact waveguide interface that suppresses out-of-band radiation leakage while preserving in-band performance. This technology is designed to serve as the port of a low-noise cryogenic detector system. It can be used for loss measurement of a flat surface at microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies. The technology enables near-ideal transmission and reflection. It is simple to fabricate and can operate over a wide temperature range. Applications include low-noise detector systems in which any leakage from the waveguide joint can interfere with performance. |
| GSC-17330-1 |
Active Pointing Monitor for a 2-axis Optical Control System |
US 10,113,908 |
A pointing measurement detection and control system that monitors the real-time optical axis motions (such as tip and tilt) that affect image quality in aerial platforms. |
| GSC-14762-1 |
SMART Solar Sail |
US 7,769,488 |
NASA GSFCs SMART (Super Miniaturized Autonomous Reconfigurable Technology) Solar Sail is a deployable, fully autonomous, solar sail for use in a very fine station keeping of a spacecraft. The solar sail would be highly deformable from an initially highly compressed configuration, yet also capable of enabling very fine maneuvering of the spacecraft by means of small sail-surface deformations. The SMART Solar Sail would be connected to the main body of the spacecraft by a SMART multi-tether structure, which would include microelectromechanical system (MEMS) actuators like those of the frame plus tethers in the form of longer versions of the struts in the frame. |
| GSC-16598-1 |
FlashPose: Range and intensity image-based terrain and vehicle relative pose estimation algorithm |
US 10,024,664 |
Provides a relative navigation capability to enable autonomous rendezvous and capture of non-cooperative spaceborn targets. |
| GSC-17376-1 |
Frequency Diversity Pulse Pair Algorithm for Mitigation of Radar Range-Doppler Ambiguity |
US 10,317,521 |
This technology mitigates the Doppler ambiguity by creating an innovative frequency. This frequency diversity technique takes advantage of the recent development in digital waveform generation and digital receiver technologies by transmitting a pair of pulses (or more pulses) with slightly shifted center frequencies in each pulse repetition period. Radar return signals from these pulses can be separated by the digital filters implemented in the digital receiver. This approach will cancel the phase shift as a function of range between the pulses to enable the retrieval of Doppler phase. |
| GSC-14793-1 |
The Navigator GPS Receiver |
US 7,548,199 |
The Navigator is an autonomous, real-time, fully space-flight-qualified GPS receiver with exceptional capabilities for fast signal acquisition and weak signal tracking. These features enable the use of GPS navigation in high Earth orbit (HEO), geostationary orbit (GEO), and other high altitude applications. The Navigator receiver can quickly and reliably acquire and track GPS signals at 25 dB-Hz and lower. The Navigator is a radiation-hardened GPS receiver specifically designed for use in high Earth orbits. It is capable of significantly faster acquisition times and tracking for both strong and weak signals. It requires no external data, and its fast acquisition enables it to be powered down in any orbit until needed. |
| GSC-15672-1 |
Multicolor detectors for ultrasensitive long-wave imaging cameras |
US 8,912,494 |
Ultrasensitive, long-wavelength sensors that increase mapping speed by a factor of ten through simultaneous multicolor terahertz (THz) imaging. This design also eliminates the need for bulky filters in the focal plane offering a low-loss, high efficiency detector that can be calibrated. |
| GSC-16794-1 |
Far-Infrared Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector (FIR MKID) Array |
US 9,383,254 |
An absorber-coupled far-infrared microwave kinetic inductance detector (FIR MKID) array that incorporates a cross-absorber pattern. It allows incident power to be absorbed equally for both horizontal and vertical polarization. The array enables the output of the detector to be frequency multiplexed at more than twice the frequency of the conventional MKID design. In addition, the technology allows power to be more evenly distributed across the detector area, increasing detector sensitivity. And the detector can be read out at higher operating frequencies than prior art designs, thus increasing the detector array channel capacity |
| GSC-17220-1 |
Micro scale electro hydrodynamic (EHD) modular cartridge pump |
Patent Pending |
This pump uses electric fields to move a dielectric fluid coolant in a thermal loop to dissipate heat generated by electrical components with a low power system. The pump has only a few key components and no moving parts, increasing the simplicity and robustness of the system. In addition, the lightweight pump consumes very little power during operation and is modular in nature. It can be sized to work with small electric components or lab-on-a-chip devices and multiple pumps can be placed in line for pumping greater distances or used as a feeder system for smaller downstream pumps. |
| GSC-17004-1 |
Lotus Coating |
Patent Pending |
A unique formulation of a Lotus leaf-like nano-textured dust mitigation coating, with hydrophobic properties. Originally developed to address a large scale problem of dust accumulation and contamination in dusty space environments such as the moon, Mars, comets, asteroids, and other planetary bodies, the coating can be used for other space applications and aeronautical applications, as well as earth-based ground applications. The Lotus Coating is a lightweight passive coating that also has super-hydrophobic properties and can prevent a variety of particles, liquids, or ice from sticking to the coated surface. |
