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Low Noise Millimeter Wave LNA Project
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-20T05:24:11.000ZThe Phase I effort will result in a low noise MMIC G-Band amplifier the covers the entire 165 to 193GHz frequency range. The amplifier will be designed using a 50nm MHEMT that has already been developed by BAE Systems that enables the state-of-the-art performance to be achieved. The innovative amplifier design will have a gain of 20dB, a noise figure of less than 6dB(~4dB, an input output VSWR of less than 2:1. In addition, the MHEMT has the added advantage of having lower noise power stability and 1/f noise than InP devices. A balanced amplifier is the primary approach while a single ended unit will be investigated for missions that require reduced bandwidths. The MMIC amplifier will be designed to be inserted into a waveguide housing for additional and environmental testing in a Phase II program. At completion of the Phase II program, the amplifier will be capable of being space qualified for NASA missions.
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Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Hazardous Waste Site Polygon Data, 1996
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-19T07:26:48.000ZThe Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Hazardous Waste Site Polygon Data, 1996 consists of 2042 polygons for selected hazardous waste sites that were compiled in January 1996. The Hazardous Waste Site ATSDR layer was created by linking HAZ_SITES_ATSDR_BASE with additional data. Most polygons represent sites considered for cleanup under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund). Typical sites are either on the EPA National Priorities List (NPL) or are being considered for inclusion on the NPL. This dataset is distributed by the Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN). (Suggested Usage: To provide a polygon dataset of hazardous waste sites in the United States, which can be used to identify nearby populations and assess their potential risk)
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Photonic antenna enhanced middle wave and longwave infrared focal plane array with low noise and high operating temperature Project
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-20T05:33:59.000ZPhotodetectors and focal plane arrays (FPAs) covering the middle-wave and longwave infrared (MWIR/LWIR) are of great importance in numerous NASA applications, including earth remote sensing for carbon-based trace gases, Lidar mapping for earth resource locating, and environment and atmosphere monitoring. Existing MWIR/LWIR photodetectors have a low operating temperature of below 77K. The requirement for cryogenic cooling systems adds cost, weight and reliability issues, making it unsuitable for satellite remote sensing applications. This STTR project aims to develop a new plasmonic photonic antenna coupled MWIR/LWIR photodetector and FPA with significantly enhanced performance and a high operating temperature. In Phase I, we developed a preliminary plasmonic photonic antenna enhanced MWIR/LWIR photodetector and demonstrated significant enhancement in photodetectivity and operating temperature. Antenna directivity is also tested and agrees with the simulation. The phase I results not only demonstrated the feasibility of achieving high performance MWIR/LWIR photodetector using the proposed innovation, but also show its promising potentials for high operating temperature FPA development. Motivated by the successful feasibility demonstration and the promising potentials, in this STTR Phase II project, we will develop a prototype of the plasmonic photonic antenna enhanced MWIR/LWIR FPA with a high operating temperature and demonstrate its earth remote sensing capability.
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Low Cost Variable Conductance Heat Pipe for Balloon Payload Project
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-20T05:08:14.000ZWhile continuously increasing in complexity, the payloads of terrestrial high altitude balloons need a thermal management system to reject their waste heat and to maintain a stable temperature as the air (sink) temperature swings from as cold as -90<SUP>o</SUP>C to as hot as +40<SUP>o</SUP>C. Currently, constant conductance, copper-methanol heat pipes are utilized on balloon payloads to remove the waste heat. It would be desirable to use a Variable Conductance Heat Pipe (VCHP) instead, to allow the thermal resistance to increase under cold operating or cold survival environment conditions, keeping the instrument section warm. In spacecraft, thermal management is achieved using axially-grooved aluminum-ammonia heat pipes and VCHPs, which are relatively expensive to manufacture and validate. Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) is proposing a low-cost VCHP based on smooth-bore, thin-wall stainless steel tubing, with either methanol or pentane as working fluids, that is capable of passively maintaining a relatively constant evaporator (payload) temperature while the sink temperature varies between -90<SUP>o</SUP>C and +40<SUP>o</SUP>C. The thin wall will be much lighter and will provide much better temperature control due to its higher thermal resistance, while the combination of working fluid and envelope material result in a heat pipe that is much less expensive to manufacture than standard grooved aluminum heat pipes. Spacecraft VCHPs normally have the gas reservoir at the end of the condenser, and maintain its temperature with electrical heaters. The proposed VCHP moves the reservoir near the evaporator, eliminating the need for electrical power to control the temperature. Preliminary calculations show that either system, methanol based or pentane based, is capable of meeting the thermal performance requirements. For both the pentane and methanol systems, the evaporator (payload) temperature varies less than 6<SUP>o</SUP>C while the heat sink temperature varies from 90<SUP>o</SUP>C to +40<SUP>o</SUP>C.
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ATSDR Hazardous Waste Site Polygon Data with CIESIN Modifications, Version 2
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-20T04:34:05.000ZThe Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Hazardous Waste Site Polygon Data with CIESIN Modifications, Version 2 is a database providing georeferenced data for 1,572 National Priorities List (NPL) Superfund sites. These were selected from the larger set of the ATSDR Hazardous Waste Site Polygon Data, Version 2 data set with polygons from May 26, 2010. The modified data set contains only sites that have been proposed, currently on, or deleted from the final NPL as of October 25, 2013. Of the 2,080 ATSDR polygons from 2010, 1,575 were NPL sites but three sites were excluded - 2 in the Virgin Islands and 1 in Guam. This data set is modified by the Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN). The modified polygon database includes all the attributes for these NPL sites provided in the ATSDR GRASP Hazardous Waste Site Polygon database and selected attributes from the EPA List 9 Active CERCLIS sites and SCAP 12 NPL sites databases. These polygons represent sites considered for cleanup under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund). The Geospatial Research, Analysis, and Services Program (GRASP, Division of Health Studies, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has created site boundary data using the best available information for those sites where health assessments or consultations have been requested.
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Electronic Correlated Noise Calibration Standard for Interferometric and Polarimetric Microwave Radiometers Project
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-20T05:30:10.000ZA new type of calibration standard is proposed which produces a pair of microwave noise signals to aid in the characterization and calibration of correlating radiometers. The proposed Correlated Noise Calibration Standard (CNCS) is able to generate pairs of broad bandwidth stochastic noise signals with a wide variety of statistical properties. The CNCS can be used with synthetic aperture interferometers to generate specific visibility functions. It can be used with fully polarimetric radiometers to generate specific 3rd and 4th Stokes parameters of brightness temperature. It can also be used with spectrometers to generate specific power spectra and autocorrelations. It is possible to combine these features and, for example, generate the pair of signals that would be measured by a fully polarimetric, spectrally resolving, synthetic aperture radiometer at a particular pair of polarizations and antenna baselines for a specified scene over a specified frequency band. The proposed CNCS will cover all the frequencies used for radiometric observations in the 1 to 40 GHz range. In specific, the Phase II project will develop the system prototypes for L and X bands. While intended for ground based characterization of radiometer systems, the technological approach is amenable to on-orbit calibration.
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High Performance Negative Feedback Near Infrared Single Photon Counting Detectors & Arrays Project
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-20T05:07:52.000ZAmplification Technologies Inc ("ATI") proposes to develop the enabling material and device technology for the design of ultra low noise, high gain and high speed near-infrared single photon counting photodetectors and arrays sensitive in the 1000 nm to 1600 nm spectral region for long range space communication applications, based on the already proven mechanism of internal discrete amplification technology in InGaAs/InP material system. We plan to achieve this by using the concept of internal discrete amplification mechanism in the InP material system that gave state of the art performance parameters in the 1000 to 1600nm wavelength range and the developed device design as part of the Phase I program that shows higher detection efficiency and lower jitter performance. The primary accomplishments from the Phase II effort would be the development of ultra low noise (low jitter), high detection efficiency, very high gain and high speed near-infrared photodetectors and arrays sensitive in the 1000 nm to1600 nm spectral region. The technology of internal discrete amplification enables the combination of high speed, very high gain and ultra low noise because the internal discrete amplification nullifies the effect of impact ionization coefficients and prevents the edge break down, with high detection efficiency and high speed of operation. These photodetectors might also be used in missile seekers, battlefield target identification and recognition systems, and eye-safe LADAR. Potential civilian applications include fiber-optic telecommunications, remote sensing and laser spectroscopy.
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High Performance Negative Feedback Near Infrared Single Photon Counting Detectors & Arrays Project
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-20T05:16:13.000ZAmplification Technologies Inc (&quot;ATI&quot;) proposes to develop the enabling material and device technology for the design of ultra low noise, high gain and high speed near-infrared single photon counting photodetectors and arrays sensitive in the 1000 nm to 1600 nm spectral region for long range space communication applications, based on the already proven mechanism of internal discrete amplification technology in InGaAs/InP material system. We plan to achieve this by designing the InGaAs/InP internal discrete amplifier photodetector and photodector array device structure by building on the design that gave promising results to prove the concept of internal discrete amplification mechanism in the InP material system. The primary accomplishments from the Phase I effort would be the development of ultra low noise (low jitter), high detection efficiency, very high gain and high speed near-infrared photodetectors and arrays sensitive in the 1000 nm and 1600 nm spectral region. The technology of internal discrete amplification enables the combination of high speed, very high gain and ultra low noise. This is possible because the internal discrete amplification nullifies the effect of impact ionization coefficients and prevents the edge break down, with high detection efficiency and high speed of operation. These photodetectors might also be used in missile seekers, battlefield target identification and recognition systems, and eye-safe LADAR. Potential civilian applications include fiber-optic telecommunications, remote sensing and laser spectroscopy.
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Surface Turbulent Fluxes, 1x1 deg Daily Grid, Set1 V2c
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-19T08:49:10.000ZThese data are the Goddard Satellite-based Surface Turbulent Fluxes Version-2c (GSSTF2c) Dataset recently produced through a MEaSUREs funded project led by Dr. Chung-Lin Shie (UMBC/GEST, NASA/GSFC), converted to HDF-EOS5 format. The stewardship of this HDF-EOS5 dataset is part of the MEaSUREs project, http://earthdata.nasa.gov/our-community/community-data-system-programs/measures-projects/surface-turbulent-fluxes-esdr http://earthdata.nasa.gov/our-community/community-data-system-programs/measures-projects GSSTF version 2b (Shie et al. 2010, Shie et al. 2009) generally agreed better with available ship measurements obtained from several field experiments in 1999 than GSSTF2 (Chou et al. 2003) did in all three flux components, i.e., latent heat flux [LHF], sensible heat flux [SHF], and wind stress [WST] (Shie 2010a,b). GSSTF2b was also found favorable, particularly for LHF and SHF, in an intercomparison study that accessed eleven products of ocean surface turbulent fluxes, in which GSSTF2 and GSSTF2b were also included (Brunke et al. 2011). However, a temporal trend appeared in the globally averaged LHF of GSSTF2b, particularly post year 2000. Shie (2010a,b) attributed the LHF trend to the trends originally found in the globally averaged SSM/I Tb's, i.e., Tb(19v), Tb(19h), Tb(22v) and Tb(37v), which were used to retrieve the GSSTF2b bottom-layer (the lowest atmospheric 500 meter layer) precipitable water [WB], then the surface specific humidity [Qa], and subsequently LHF. The SSM/I Tb's trends were recently found mainly due to the variations/trends of Earth incidence angle (EIA) in the SSM/I satellites (Hilburn and Shie 2011a,b). They have further developed an algorithm properly resolving the EIA problem and successfully reproducing the corrected Tb's by genuinely removing the "artifactitious" trends. An upgraded production of GSSTF2c (Shie et al. 2011) using the corrected Tb's has been completed very recently. GSSTF2c shows a significant improvement in the resultant WB, and subsequently the retrieved LHF - the temporal trends of WB and LHF are greatly reduced after the proper adjustments/treatments in the SSM/I Tb's (Shie and Hilburn 2011). In closing, we believe that the insightful "Rice Cooker Theory" by Shie (2010a,b), i.e., "To produce a good and trustworthy 'output product' (delicious 'cooked rice') depends not only on a well-functioned 'model/algorithm' ('rice cooker'), but also on a genuine and reliable 'input data' ('raw rice') with good quality" should help us better comprehend the impact of the improved Tb on the subsequently retrieved LHF of GSSTF2c. This is the Daily (24-hour) product; data are projected to equidistant Grid that covers the globe at 1x1 degree cell size, resulting in data arrays of 360x180 size. A finer resolution, 0.25 deg, of this product has been released as Version 3. The GSSTF, Version 2c, daily fluxes have first been produced for each individual available SSM/I satellite tapes (e.g., F08, F10, F11, F13, F14 and F15). Then, the Combined daily fluxes are produced by averaging (equally weighted) over available flux data/files from various satellites. These Combined daily flux data are considered as the "final" GSSTF, Version 2c, and are stored in this HDF-EOS5 collection. There are only one set of GSSTF, Version 2c, Combined data, "Set1" It contains 9 variables: "E" 'latent heat flux' (W/m**2), "STu" 'zonal wind stress' (N/m**2), "STv" 'meridional wind stress' (N/m**2), "H" 'sensible heat flux' (W/m**2), "Qair" 'surface air (~10-m) specific humidity' (g/kg), "WB" 'lowest 500-m precipitable water' (g/cm**2), "U" '10-m wind speed' (m/s), "DQ" 'sea-air humidity difference' (g/kg) "Tot_Precip_Water" 'total precipitable water' (g/cm**2) The double-quoted labels are the short names of the data fields in the HDF-EOS5 files. The "individual" daily flux data files, produced for each individual satellite, are also available in HDF-EOS5, although from differe...
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Adaptive Distributed Environment for Procedure Training Project
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-20T05:32:41.000ZWith its constantly evolving portfolio of highly technical systems requiring human construction maintenance and operation, NASA has an extreme form of a common yet challenging training problem: how to ensure that personnel are qualified on the (often changing) procedures required to work on or with these systems. Simulation-based training that enables learning while doing is a proven approach, but dependence on hardware-based simulators and the requirement for human instructors to develop and supervise training scenarios raise costs and limit flexibility in delivering training and retraining. We propose to build a distributable intelligent tutoring system (ITS) exploiting a unified representation of human and robotic mission activities that can be used to (1) trace student activity to assess, prompt, and correct their actions, (2) simulate robotic activity, (3) control training scenario generation/selection, (4) cover both general and specific cases, (5) allow for varying degrees of detail in human and robotic activity, (6) support extended scenarios involving multiple procedures, and (7) track detailed re-training requirements resulting from changes in procedures. The innovative merger of general procedure descriptions with specific scenario scripts will facilitate more efficient authoring of consistent broad-coverage automated simulation-based training while retaining the ability to author specific scenarios when needed.