The Collier Report of U.S. Government Contracting

Sampling of Federal Government Funding Actions/Set Asides

In order by amount of set aside monies.

• $94,346 - Thursday the 29th of March 2012
  Department Of Army
  W6QK ACC-APG
  EXERCISE OPTION AND INCREMENTAL FUNDING

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• $94,139 - Friday the 4th of September 2015
  National Aeronautics And Space Administration
  NASA SHARED SERVICES CENTER
  THE PROPOSED WORK SEEKS TO INVESTIGATE THE SEASONAL EVOLUTION OF SATURN'S GLOBAL MAGNETOSPHERIC STRUCTURE AND ASSOCIATED DYNAMICS BY EMPLOYING A COMBINATION OF 3-DIMENSIONAL PLASMA DYNAMIC SIMULATIONS AND CASSINI OBSERVATIONS FROM BOTH THE CASSINI PLASMA SPECTROMETER (CAPS) AND MAGNETOMETER (MAG) INSTRUMENTS. THE PROPOSED WORK BUILDS UPON AN EXISTING MULTI-FLUID MODEL OF THE KRONIAN MAGNETOSPHERE WHICH HAS BEEN APPLIED TO STUDYING CENTRIFUGAL INTERCHANGE IN THE INNER MAGNETOSPHERE [KIDDER ET AL., 2009] AS WELL AS MOON-MAGNETOSPHERE INTERACTIONS WITH TITAN [WINGLEE ET AL., 2010]. THE GOALS OF THIS WORK ARE TWO FOLD: FIRST WE INTEND TO CHARACTERIZE CHANGES IN THE OVERALL STRUCTURE OF KRONIAN MAGNETOSPHERE DUE TO SEASONAL VARIATIONS; THIS INCLUDES THE GEOMETRY OF THE CURRENT SHEET AND LOCATION OF THE HINGE POINTS AS WELL AS OTHER IMPORTANT BOUNDARY LAYERS. SECOND, WE WILL QUANTIFY THE EFFECTS OF SEASON CHANGE ON MAGNETOSPHERIC DYNAMICS IN TERMS OF THE RATE AND LOCATION OF PLASMOID FORMATION AND THE ASSOCIATED MASS SHEDDING RATE. IN ORDER TO ACCURATELY DESCRIBE THE BALANCE BETWEEN THE INTERACTIONS OF THE KRONIAN MAGNETOSPHERE WITH THE NEUTRAL CLOUD AND THE FORMATION OF PLASMOIDS, IT WILL BE OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE TO INCORPORATE ION-NEUTRAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE SATURN S MAGNETOSPHERIC PLASMA AND THE NEUTRAL CLOUD. THE PROPOSAL DETAILS HOW SUCH ELASTIC AND INELASTIC COLLISIONS WILL BE INCORPORATED AND VALIDATED AGAINST OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF MASS AND MOMENTUM LOADING, AND THEIR RELATIVE IMPACT ON COROTATION LAG IN THE KRONIAN MAGNETOSPHERE [PONTIUS&HILL, 2009]. DETAILS ARE ALSO GIVEN AS TO THE INCORPORATION OF OBSERVATIONAL DATA FROM THE CAPS AND MAG INSTRUMENTS FOR THE PURPOSES OF VALIDATING AND CONSTRAINING THE MODEL WORK [THOMSEN ET AL., 2010; ARRIDGE ET AL., 2008]. FINALLY, THE PROPOSED MODELING EFFORT WILL DEMONSTRATE THE IMPORTANCE OF SATURN S MAGNETOSPHERIC STRUCTURE ON THE INTERACTION WITH SATURN'S MOON, TITAN. THE VARIABILITY OF THIS STRUCTURE MAY POTENTIALLY ENABLE TITAN TO PLAY A LARGER ROLE IN GOVERNING THE KRONIAN MAGNETOSPHERIC DYNAMICS, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN IT'S LOCATED DIRECTLY IN THE CURRENT SHEET.

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• $90,980 - Friday the 10th of July 2015
  National Aeronautics And Space Administration
  NASA SHARED SERVICES CENTER
  THE PROPOSED WORK SEEKS TO INVESTIGATE THE ERUPTIVE AND PLASMA DYNAMICS ASSOCIATED WITH ENCELADUS PLUME IN A COMPREHENSIVE WAY THAT INVOLVES COUPLING TWO EXISTING 3D MODELS AND COMPARING THIS COUPLED SIMULATION AGAINST THE EXISTING SUITE OF ENCELADUS FLYBY OBSERVATIONS. THE PROPOSED WORK FOLLOWS ON RESEARCH THAT IS NOW NEARLY COMPLETED DURING A 2-YEAR STUDY TO INVESTIGATE THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE NEUTRAL PLUME OF ENCELADUS AND THE INCIDENT FLOW OF SATURN S ROTATIONAL MAGNETOSPHERIC PLASMA VIA ELASTIC AND INELASTIC COLLISIONS. IN THAT PREVIOUS WORK, WE FOUND THE LEAST UNIQUELY CONSTRAINED PARAMETER WAS THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE NEUTRAL PLUME. WE PLAN TO ADDRESS THIS BY COUPLING THE PLASMA DYNAMICS MODEL TO AN EXISTING ERUPTIVE DYNAMICS MODEL. THE ERUPTIVE MODEL CAN TRACK BOTH THE NEUTRAL PLUME AS WELL AS THE SMALL DUST/ICE GRAINS SELF-CONSISTENTLY, THUS PROVIDING A DETAILED MORPHOLOGY OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF NEUTRALS AND GRAINS AS GOVERNED BY PHYSICAL PARAMETERS. THIS MODELED MORPHOLOGY OF NEUTRALS AT ENCELADUS WILL BE VALIDATED AGAINST CASSINI INMS OBSERVATIONS AND THEN INCORPORATED DIRECTLY INTO THE MULTI-FLUID PLASMA DYNAMIC MODEL TO INVESTIGATE THE STRUCTURE OF THE ION-NEUTRAL INTERACTION SPACE AND HOW IT IS MANIFESTED IN THE SUITE OF CAPS OBSERVATIONS AS WELL AS THE PUBLISHED MAGNETOMETER DATA. WE ALSO INTEND TO COMPARE THE COUPLED MODEL RESULTS TO EXISTING SIMULATIONS TO BE UNDERSTAND THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES EXPRESSED IN THESE DIFFERENT MODELING APPROACHES.

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• $9,000 - Sunday the 30th of August 2015
  Centers For Disease Control And Prevention
  DEPT OF HHS/CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL
  IGF::OT::IGF OTHER FUNCTIONS: TO SECURE SERVICES FOR RESEARCH STUDY. VIDEO IMAGING OF PHAGOCYTOSIS OF FOREIGN OBJECTS.

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• $794,047 - Tuesday the 25th of October 2011
  Department Of Navy
  SPACE AND NAVAL WARFARE SYSTEMS
  EXERCISE AND INCREMENTALLY FUND 12- MONTH OPTION 2 PERIOD FOR R&D SERVICES UNDER SOW ENTITLED "LOW TEMPERATURE TRANSFERABLE WELL-ALIGNED OPEN-ENDED CARBON NANOTUBES AS THERMAN INTERFACE MATERIALS."

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• $75,157 - Wednesday the 15th of July 2015
  National Aeronautics And Space Administration
  NASA SHARED SERVICES CENTER
  WC PROPOSE TO PROVIDE HIGH-PRECISION, IN SITU FLCROIIOL AND CLOUD PARAMETER MCA TIRCMCNTFL AHNARD THC NASA DC S DURING THE S1I AC4RS AND DC3 MIFLSIONS. WC WILL ALSO CONDUCT POST-MISSION ANALYSES TO ESTNBLISH NEROSOLS MICROPHYSICAL, OPTICAL AND HYGROACOPIC CHARACTERISTICS WITHIN CLOUD INFLOW REGIONS AND CXANIINC HAW THESE CHARACTCRIITTICA CHANGE AS A RESULT OF CLOUD PROCESSING AND ATNI4IS THERIE AGIIIG. THT MEASUREMENT CFTORT WILL INCLUDE; 1) PROVIDING REAL-TIME AEROSOL EXTINCTION AND NUMBER DENSITY DATA TO THC AIRCRAFT DISPLAY SYSTEM TO AID IN FLIGHT INIPLCIITENTATIBN; 2) THC APERATIAU O FA COMMON ISO-KINCTIC INLET AND SAMPLE DISTRIBUTION SYSTENI TO SUPPLY THE SAMPLE NEEDS OF REQUESTING AEROSOL INVESTIGATORS; AND 3) COORDINATION OF JOINT AEROSOL INSTRUMENT INTER-CAMPAHSIIN AND CALIBRFLTION ACTIVITIES INCLUDED ARE MEASUREMENT OF TOTAL AND NONVOLATILE PARTICLE NUMBER DENSITIES DRY SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS OF 0.010 TO 5 MIERON DIAMETER PARTIELCI; SIZE, HAMIDITY, AND WAVELENGTH DEPENDENT SCATTERING COEFHCIENTSJ TOTAL NND NONVOLATILE AEROSOL ABSORPTION COEFFICIENTS; CLOUD CONDENSATIOIN NUCLEI (CCN) NUMBER DCRSITIES AS A FUNCTION OF WATER VAPOR SATURATION; AND CLOUD PARTICLE SIE OVER THE 1 TO 1550 MICRON DIAMETER RANGE. IN ADDITION, ARCHIVED DATA SETS WILL INCLUDE CALCULATED PARAMETERS SUCH NS ULTRAFINE PARTICLE CFLNCCNTRATION, AEROSOL SURFACE AREA, VOLUME, WAVE-LENGTH DEPENDENT EXTINCTION COEFFICIENTS AND SINGLE-SCATTERING ALBEDOS, AND ANGSTROM EXPONENTS, ALONG WITH CLOUD WATER CONTENT, CLOUD E:(;TITICTIONI AND CLOUD EFFECTIVE RADIWS. UPDATES TO THE INSTRTIMENT SUITE SINCE ITS DEPLOYMENT NNBIARD THE DC-S DURING THC SUMMER 2010 GENESIS AND RAPID INTENSIFICATION FRACES. MISSION INCLUDE ADDED CAPABILITY TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF VOLATILE COATINGS ON AEROSOL ABSORPTION AN IMPROVED OPTICAL SIZE DISTRIBUTION MEASUREMENT IN THE ACCUMULATION AND COARSC ACROTOL MODES, AND IMPROVED TIME-RESPONSE AND CONTROL FOR SUBMIERON AND HUMIDIFIED SCATTERING COEFTICIENT MEASUREMENTS. ALSO NOTABLE IS N COLLNBORNTION TO INQLUDE POLNRIZED IMNGING NEPHELOINETER (FI-NEPH, IF FUNDED) IN OUR RACK FOR DIRECT EVALUATION OF D O R Y SATELLITE MEASUREMENTS. THE PROPOSED INSTRUMENT SUITE AND RESULTING DATA PRODUCTS ARE DIRECTLY IN LINE WITH PARAMETERS NECESSARY FOR MISSION SUCCESS AND WILT CONTRIBUTE SPECIFICALLY TO ASSESSING HETEROGENEOUS CHEMICAL EFFECTS, ESTABLISHING AEROSOL RADIATIVE IMPACT INVESTIGATING CLOUD-ACROSNL INTCRACTI AND EVALNATING REMOTESENSING MEASUREMENTS FOR SEAC4RS AND DC3. OUR POST-MISSION DATM NNNLYSES WILL BE COORDINATED WITH THE SEAC4RS SCIENCE TEAM AND WILL INITIALLY SEEK TO ESTABLISH THC INTCNIIVC AND EXTENSIVE PROPERTIES OFTHE VARIOUS ACROTNL TYPCN HUNTING, URBAN, DUST, MARITIME BIOGENIC) ENCOUNTERED ALONG THC DC-8 FLIGHT TRACK, THE AIM BEING TO GENERATE A SET OF AEROSOL STNTISTICS AND VERTICAL PROFILES OFTHE INFLOW, DCTRAINMCITT, AND OUTFLMV REGION. THAT CAN BE USED TO EVALUATE AEROSOL RADIATIVE IMPACTS, TEST MODELS, AND VALIDATE REMOTE SENSING OBSETRATIONS. RESULTS OFTHIS AEROSOL/AIR MASS CHARACTERIZATION STUDY WILL ALSO FORM A FOUNDATION FOR OUR MORE DETAILED DNAL:YAES TO ADDRES-; I^PECIFIE SEACRS OBJECTIVES, FNCNSIIIG ON: 1) ASSCSIITG THE RELATIVE CORTTHBUTIONT TO UPPER-TRIPOSPHEHC AEROSOL BUDGETS OF BOUNDARY-LAYER TRANSPORTED PRIMARY AEROSOLS AND NEW PARTICLES FORMED IN CONVECTIVE OUTFLOW, 2) EVNLUATIN THE RADIATIVE SIGNIFICANCE AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF BROWN CARBON (BRC) AEROSOL OVER SOUTHEAST ASIA, 3) EXAMINING THE INFLUENCE OFVARYING AEROSOL PROPERTIES ON CCN CONCENTRATIONS AND OBITCRVCD CLOUD MICROPHYSICAL PROPERTIES, AND 4) CHARACTCRIZIN; THCPHYSICO-CHEMLEAL PROPERTIES AND EVOLUTION OF RESIDUAL, UNIEAVENGED AEROSOL IN CONVECTIVE OUTFLOW. WE WILL ALSO PERFORM COLLABORATIVE ANALYSES TO EVALUATE SECONDARY DATA PRODUCTS (I.E-I EXTINCTION, SINGLE-SCATTERING ALBEDOS, AEROSOL TYPE AND ITIZE DIITRIBUTION, COARSE/FINC-MODC FRACTION) DERIVED FROM AIRBORNE- AND SATCLLITEBASC

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• $67,667 - Wednesday the 29th of July 2015
  National Aeronautics And Space Administration
  NASA SHARED SERVICES CENTER
  IN 2007, THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND PUBLIC POLICY, A COLLABORATIVE OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMV OF SCIENCES, NATIONAL ACADEMV OF EN-~ INEERIN-.P A, ND THE INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE,. O. UBLISHED ITS CONGRESSIONALLY REQUESTED REPORT, RISING ABOVE THE GATHER IN^ STORM: ENER~IZINGA ND EMOLOVINCR AMERICA FOR A BRI~HTEER CONOMIC ~UTURE'. THE REPORT AUTHORS ARGUED THAT FOR THE UNITED STATES TO MAINTAIN ITS GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS, WE MUST INVEST IN, AND GREATLY IMPROVE, OUR K-12 EDUCATION IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS (STEM). THIS CALL TO ACTION IS CONSISTENT WITH THE TRADITIONAL GOALS OF THE NASA OFFICE OF EDUCATION TO INSPIRE STUDENTS, TEACHERS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND EXCITE THEIR INTEREST IN STEM FIELDS, AND TO FURTHER ENGAGE THEM THROUGH COMPELLING LONGER-TERM EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES. THE SIZE OF THE NATIONAL TASK, WHICH ENTAILS BOTH THE CREATION OF HIGH QUALITY CURRICULUM MATERIALS AS WELL AS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A KNOWLEDGEABLE AND INSPIRING TEACHER WORKFORCE, REQUIRES THE ACTIVE PARTNERSHIP OF SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS, EDUCATORS WITH SKILLS IN PEDAGOGY AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT, AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND DIRECTORATES. A CRUCIAL COMPONENT IN THIS INITIATIVE IS THE AVAILABILITY OF HIGH QUALITY PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR K-12 TEACHERS TO ENABLE THEM TO DEEPEN THEIR STEM CONTENT KNOWLEDGE, TO GAIN SKILLS IN BEST PRACTICE PEDAGOGY, AND TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH ENGAGING STANDARDS-BASED CURRICULA. TRADITIONALLY THIS TYPE OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING HAS BEEN CONDUCTED FACE-TO-FACE IN WORKSHOPS AND SUMMER INSTITUTES, LED BY SCHOOL SYSTEMS, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT AGENCIES, AND PRIVATE CORPORATIONS. HOWEVER THIS MODEL ONLY REACHES TEACHERS WHO ARE EITHER WITHIN COMMUTING DISTANCE OF THE SERVICE PROVIDER, OR TEACHERS WHO ARE WILLING AND ABLE TO TRAVEL TO A REMOTE SITE FOR SOMETIMES WEEKS AT A TIME. FURTHER, THIS MODEL DOES NOT PROVIDE SUPPORT TO THE TEACHERS AFTER THE WORKSHOP AND OFTEN THE TEACHERS NEED MENTORING, REFRESHMENT OF THE INFORMATION OR JUST CONFIRMATION THAT THEY ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK IN THEIR THOUGHTS. THESE LIMITATIONS, AND THE NECESSITY TO MINIMIZE TRAVEL DUE TO HIGH ENERGY COSTS AND THE IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT, DICTATE THAT WE, AS A NATION, MUST DEVELOP NEW MODELS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THAT RELY PRIMARILY ON ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION-MODELS THAT LEAVE BEHIND A RELIANCE ON VIDEOTAPED LECTURES AND ARE INSTEAD GROUNDED IN NEW DISTANCE LEARNING TOOLS AND ARE BASED ON RESEARCH ON HOW PEOPLE LEARN. THE NASA ELECTRONIC PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NETWORK (EPDN) PROGRAM PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP THIS MODEL, UTILIZING THE VAST ARCHIVE OF CURRICULUM RESOURCES AND MATERIALS DEVELOPED OVER THE YEARS BY THE NASA OFFICE OF EDUCATION AND THE NASA MISSION DIRECTORATES TO BRING RELEVANCE, INSPIRATION, AND DEEP CONTENT TO STEM TEACHERS, AND BY EXTENSION, THEIR STUDENTS. THE PROPOSED ELECTRONIC ADVANCED GLOBAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT (EAGLE) PROGRAM BRINGS TOGETHER MULTIPLE PARTNERS TO TACKLE DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE ELECTRONIC PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES FOR USE IN NASA PROGRAMS AND BY STEM TEACHERS ACROSS THE NATION. THE THREE PRIMARY PARTNERS ARE LOCATED AT THE GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. GEORGIA TECH, AS IT IS COMMONLY KNOWN, IS ONE OF THE NATION'S TOP RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES, DISTINGUISHED BY ITS COMMITMENT TO IMPROVING THE HUMAN CONDITION THROUGH ADVANCED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND IS CONSISTENTLY RANKED IN U.S. NEWS&WORLD REPORT'S TOP TEN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN THE UNITED STATES. GEORGIA TECH CREATES CONTENT THROUGH STATE-OF-THE-ART RESEARCH CENTERS AND LABS. AMONG NUMEROUS STATISTICS, THE SCHOOL OF AEROSPACE ENGINEERING IS THE LARGEST IN THE NATION AND GEORGIA TECH IS RANKED FIRST IN THE NATION FOR UNIVERSITIES GRANTING UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES TO AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS. THE NASA FUNDED GEORGIA SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUM HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN ONE OF THE TOP 3 CONSORTIA FOR AWARDING FELLOWSHIPS TO MINORITY STUDENTS.

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• $66,000 - Wednesday the 16th of November 2016
  National Aeronautics And Space Administration
  NASA SHARED SERVICES CENTER
  OUTLINED IN THE NRC DECADAL SURVEY (2007), THE AEROSOL-CLOUD-ECOSYSTEM (ACE) MISSION AIMS TO REDUCE UNCERTAINTY OF CLIMATE CHANGE PREDICTION THROUGH STUDYING THE ROLES OF AEROSOLS ON CLOUD FORMATION AND THEIR TENDENCY TO REFLECT SOLAR RADIATION. THE DECADAL SURVEY CALLS FOR A 94 GHZ CROSS-TRACK RADAR FOR STUDYING THE COMPOSITIONS OF CLOUDS; HOWEVER, THE CURRENTLY PROPOSED IMPLEMENTATIONS DO NOT MEET THE SPECIFIED CROSS-TRACK SCANNING REQUIREMENT AT W-BAND DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND COST ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH A DESIGN IN CONVENTIONAL TECHNOLOGY. THEREFORE, IT IS APPARENT THAT IN ORDER TO MEET NOT ONLY THE ACE MISSION GOALS, BUT FOR ALL FUTURE CLOUD PROFILING RADARS, AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD MUST BE DEVELOPED TO IMPLEMENT THE CROSS-TRACK SCANNING REQUIREMENT AT 94 GHZ IN A LOW-COST PLATFORM. THE HIGH FREQUENCY PERFORMANCE OF SIGE HBTS, CMOS COMPATIBILITY, REDUCED SYSTEM AREA REQUIREMENTS, AND LOW-COST NATURE OF THE SIGE BICMOS PLATFORM HAS PLACED SIGE BICMOS TECHNOLOGY INTO A POSITION IN WHICH IT CAN MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF ACE MISSION. THEREFORE, IT IS ATTRACTIVE TO BRING THESE BENEFITS TO THE CLOUD PROFILING RADAR DOMAIN WHILE ELIMINATING THE FIXED, BULKY W-BAND KLYSTRONS THAT ARE IN USE TODAY. ADDITIONALLY, THE HARSH ENVIRONMENT OF SPACE IS BOTH WIDELY VARYING IN TEMPERATURE AND EXTREMELY RADIATION-RICH, PROVIDING DIFFICULT DESIGN TRADEOFFS TO MEET SPECIFIED PERFORMANCES OVER ALL THE EXTREMES. FORTUNATELY, SIGE HBTS HAVE INHERENT TID RADIATION TOLERANCE, SO IT WILL BE IMPORTANT TO PLAY TO THIS STRENGTH BY DESIGNING BICMOS CIRCUITS WHICH ARE RADIATION HARDENED BY DESIGN. NOTABLY, SIGE HBTS ALSO EXHIBIT IMPROVED PERFORMANCE AT CRYOGENIC TEMPERATURES; HOWEVER, IT WILL BE NECESSARY TO DESIGN CIRCUITS WITH RELATIVELY TEMPERATURE INVARIANT PERFORMANCE IN ORDER TO REDUCE TIME CONSUMING CALIBRATION CYCLES OF THE CLOUD PROFILING RADAR. THE PRIMARY GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP LOW-COST SIGE BICMOS W-BAND T/R MMICS TO MEET THE CROSS-TRACK SCANNING REQUIREMENTS OF THE ACE MISSION. THE FIRST YEAR WILL FOCUS ON DESIGN TRADEOFF STUDIES AND THE MAIN MMIC DESIGNS. THE SECOND YEAR WILL FOLLOW WITH MMIC INTEGRATION INTO A MONOLITHIC T/R MODULE. THE THIRD YEAR WILL THEN FOCUS ON THE DESIGN AND TESTING OF A MONOLITHIC MULTI-CHANNEL AESA. IN THE FOURTH YEAR I WILL INVESTIGATE THE ADDITIONAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS REQUIRED TO REALIZE THE CLOUD PROFILING RADAR IN ITS ENTIRETY. ALL PHASES OF DESIGN WILL CONSIDER RADIATION TOLERANCE AND TEMPERATURE INVARIANT PERFORMANCE DUE TO THE EXTREME ENVIRONMENT THAT THESE CIRCUITS WILL FACE. BOTH THE ACE MISSION AND FUTURE TIER 3 MISSIONS INVOLVING CLOUD PROFILING RADARS STAND TO BENEFIT GREATLY FROM THIS RESEARCH.

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• $66,000 - Friday the 10th of July 2015
  National Aeronautics And Space Administration
  NASA SHARED SERVICES CENTER
  DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A PHYSICS-BASED MODEL FOR DEPLOYABLE HYPERSONIC DECELERATOR FLEXIBLE THERMAL PROTECTION SYSTEMS OVER THE YEARS, THE MAIN FOCUS OF ENTRY, DESCENT, AND LANDING (EDL) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN MISSIONS TO THE SURFACE OF EARTH AND MARS, WITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS. IN THE PAST TWO DECADES, THE FUNDAMENTAL VIKING ENTRY VEHICLE DESIGN HAS BEEN INCREMENTALLY IMPROVED TO INCREASE LANDING MASS CAPABILITY. LANDING ADDITIONAL MASS BEYOND MSL CAPABILITY HAS PROVED DIFFICULT IN RECENT YEARS. NASA MUST START AN AMBITIOUS TESTING PROGRAM TO DEVELOP THERMAL PROTECTION SYSTEM (TPS) MATERIAL EFFECTIVENESS FOR DEPLOYABLE HYPERSONIC DECELERATORS (DHDS) AS A MEANS TO DRAMATICALLY INCREASE MISSION CAPABILITIES. NASA HAS INCREASED THE KNOWLEDGE BASE FOR NON-ABLATIVE FLEXIBLE TPS (NAFTPS) MATERIALS THROUGH THE HYPERSONIC INFLATABLE AERODYNAMIC DECELERATOR (HIAD) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT (HIAD TD) PROGRAM. THIS RESEARCH PROPOSES TO SIGNIFICANTLY EXTEND THE HIAD TD FLEXIBLE SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT (FSD)PLAN AND IMPROVE THERMAL MATERIAL RESPONSE MODELING CAPABILITIES BY CREATING A PHYSICS-BASED MODEL (PBM) TO ACCURATELY REPRESENT CONVECTION AND RADIATION FOR NON-ABLATIVE FLEXIBLE TPS (NAFTPS) MATERIALS DURING ATMOSPHERIC ENTRY. RIGOROUS GROUND-BASED TESTING WILL PROVIDE VALIDATION AND VERIFICATION CAPABILITIES FOR THIS COMPUTER BASED, TRANSIENT HEAT-TRANSFER MODEL. THE PBM WILL COMBINE MANY ENTRY PHYSICS MODELS TOGETHER INTO ONE SIMULTANEOUS ANALYSIS USING AN ENGINEERING PROGRAM CALLED COMSOL. THE PROPER GOVERNING EQUATIONS REPRESENTING THE AEROTHERMODYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT AND THE THERMAL MATERIAL RESPONSE BEHAVIOR DURING ENTRY WILL BE EXTRACTED FROM COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS (CFD) TOOLS AND INPUTTED INTO THE COMSOL FRAMEWORK. THE END PRODUCT WILL BE AN ACCURATE 3-DIMENSIONAL NAFTPS MATERIAL RESPONSE SIMULATION THAT MATCHES EXPERIMENTAL DATA AND CAN BE EXTRAPOLATED OUTSIDE OF GROUND TESTING CONDITIONS. THE RESEARCH APPROACH WILL UTILIZE HIAD TD S PREDEFINED NAFTPS MATERIAL COUPON LAYUP AND TESTING SCHEDULE WHILE SUGGESTING A FEW ADDITIONAL EXPERIMENTAL FACILITIES. ONCE VALIDATED AGAINST EXPERIMENTAL DATA, THE PBM WILL PROVIDE MORE ACCURATE NAFTPS MASS ESTIMATIONS WHICH ALLOW FOR EITHER REDUCED MASS MARGIN OR INCREASED PAYLOAD CAPABILITY.

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• $66,000 - Wednesday the 2nd of September 2015
  National Aeronautics And Space Administration
  NASA SHARED SERVICES CENTER
  ENTRY, DESCENT, AND LANDING (EDL) MISSIONS TO DATE HAVE MOSTLY RELIED ON TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED IN THE 1960S AND 70S. FUTURE EDL MISSIONS OF INTEREST AT EARTH, MARS, VENUS, TITAN, AND THE OUTER PLANETS WILL REQUIRE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE PERFORMANCE CAPABILITIES OF EDL SYSTEMS. THIS INCREASE IN CAPABILITY CAN ONLY BE ACHIEVED THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW EDL TECHNOLOGIES, SUCH AS DEPLOYABLE HYPERSONIC DECELERATORS. AS STATED IN NASA'S DRAFT SPACE TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP, DEPLOYABLE HYPERSONIC DECELERATORS (DHDS) HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO REVOLUTIONIZE EDL SYSTEMS, ENABLING NASA'S NEXT GENERATION OF EXPLORATION MISSIONS. HOWEVER, SIGNIFICANT FEASIBILITY QUESTIONS REMAIN ABOUT GUIDANCE AND CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR DHD VEHICLES. WHILE NASA HAS EMBARKED ON A SUBSTANTIAL INFLATABLE DHD TECHNOLOGY MATURATION EFFORT OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, VERY LITTLE DEVELOPMENT WORK HAS BEEN COMPLETED FOR RIGID DEPLOYABLE SYSTEMS, AND ONLY LIMITED WORK HAS BEEN COMPLETED TO DATE IN THE AREA OF GUIDANCE AND CONTROL FOR DHDS. OPEN GUIDANCE AND CONTROL QUESTIONS CENTER AROUND WHETHER DHD VEHICLES POSSESS ADEQUATE TRAJECTORY CONTROL AUTHORITY TO ACHIEVE MISSION OBJECTIVES, SUCH AS PRECISION LANDING, WHEN HIGH-ALTITUDE ATMOSPHERIC VARIABILITY, REALISTIC FLIGHT CONTROL ACTUATION SYSTEMS, AND FSI EFFECTS ARE INCLUDED. AT THE EDL SYSTEM LEVEL, REALISTIC DHD VEHICLE PERFORMANCE CAPABILITY HAS NOT YET BEEN CLEARLY DETERMINED. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH REVOLVES AROUND TWO COUPLED AREAS OF DESIGN AND ANALYSIS: SYSTEM-LEVEL MISSION DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS AND SUBSYSTEM-LEVEL GUIDANCE AND CONTROL DESIGN AND ANALYSIS. NUMERIC SIMULATION, UNCERTAINTY ANALYSIS, AND TRADE STUDIES WILL BE CONDUCTED IN BOTH AREAS IN PARALLEL TO ANSWER FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FEASIBILITY OF DHD ENTRY SYSTEMS. SPECIFICALLY, THIS RESEARCH EFFORT IS EXPECTED TO CHARACTERIZE THE IMPACT OF DHDS ON GUIDANCE AND CONTROL SUBSYSTEM DESIGN, DEVELOP PRELIMINARY DHD GUIDANCE AND CONTROL SYSTEM OPTIONS AND ALGORITHMS, DETERMINE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR DHD VEHICLE PERFORMANCE, AND IDENTIFY ADDITIONAL APPLICATIONS FOR DHD VEHICLES BEYOND HIGH-MASS MARS MISSIONS.

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