BFS (Back from Space)

Landing humans on Mars is perhaps the largest Entry, Descent and Landing challenge for this (or any) generation of NASA engineers.12 Essentially all current Mars EDL technology is based on development efforts in support of the Viking program in the 1960's and 1970's. Since that time, these key technologies have been tweaked and some additions have been added in order to extend the landed mass and altitude capabilities, but it has become clear that this technology suite is fundamentally limited to a landed mass of ∼1.25 metric tons. In contrast, current system studies for human Mars missions indicate a 40 t required landed mass. Clearly, a revolutionary change to the current state of the art is required in order to enable such ambitious missions. The present paper briefly discusses some of the recent NASA systems analysis work that has defined candidate technologies as well as overall system requirements for human landings. Those requirements were used to define a new technology development project within the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in 2010. This Entry Descent and Landing Technology Development Project is currently investing in three major technology areas: rigid and flexible thermal protection systems, supersonic retro-propulsion systems, and simulation models & tools. The project portfolio in each of these areas is briefly discussed and some current results obtained in the first year of execution are presented. The project will continue in 2011, and has developed technology development roadmaps that would support the maturation of all of their technology investments to a Technology Readiness Level of 5 or 6 by 2016 in order to support infusion of the technologies onto either science missions or precursor exploration missions to Mars, potentially as early as 2018 or 2020.

Deployable aeroshells offer the promise of achieving larger aeroshell surface areas for entry vehicles than otherwise attainable without deployment. With the larger surface area comes the ability to decelerate high-mass entry vehicles at relatively low ballistic coefficients. However, for an aeroshell to perform even at the low ballistic coefficients attainable with deployable aeroshells, a flexible thermal protection system (TPS) is required that is capable of surviving reasonably high heat flux and durable enough to survive the rigors of construction handling, high density packing, deployment, aerodynamic loading and aerothermal heating. The Program for the Advancement of Inflatable Decelerators for Atmospheric Entry (PAIDAE) is tasked with developing the technologies required to increase the technology readiness level (TRL) of inflatable deployable aeroshells, and one of several of the technologies PAIDAE is developing for use on inflatable aeroshells is flexible TPS. Several flexible TPS layups were designed, based on commercially available materials, and tested in NASA Langley Research Center's 8 Foot High Temperature Tunnel (8ft HTT). The TPS layups were designed for, and tested at three different conditions that are representative of conditions seen in entry simulation analyses of inflatable aeroshell concepts. Two conditions were produced in a single run with a sting-mounted dual wedge test fixture. The dual wedge test fixture had one row of sample mounting locations (forward) at about half the running length of the top surface of the wedge. At about two thirds of the running length of the wedge, a second test surface drafted up at five degrees relative to the first test surface established the remaining running length of the wedge test fixture. A second row of sample mounting locations (aft) was positioned in the middle of the running length of the second test surface. Once the desired flow conditions were established in the test section the dual wedge test fixture, oriented at 5 degrees angle of attack down, was injected into the flow. In this configuration the aft sample mounting location was subjected to roughly twice the heat flux and surface pressure of the forward mounting location. The tunnel was run at two different conditions for the test series: 1) 'Low Pressure', and 2) 'High Pressure'. At 'Low Pressure' conditions the TPS layups were tested at 6W/cm2 and 11W/cm2 while at 'High Pressure' conditions the TPS layups were tested at 11W/cm2 and 20W/cm2. This paper details the test configuration of the TPS samples in the 8Ft HTT, the sample holder assembly, TPS sample layup construction, sample instrumentation, results from this testing, as well as lessons learned.

Since 1995 EUTELSAT, as well as other service providers (in Europe and worldwide), in collaboration with industrial partners and research institutions have been developing digital platforms for providing multimedia services as well as data broadcasting via satellite services. These digital platforms are based on the same technologies as those used for the emerging digital television and radio services, namely Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) and MPEG-2. These platforms will greatly improve the speed of multimedia services to the end user (e.g. up to 2 Mbit/s per session on an Internet connection) and will provide the possibility of downloading very large files in a very short time (e.g. downloading speeds of up to 40 Mbit/s per transponder) to a very large number of customers. By using the same technology as for digital television and radio, large economies of scale are foreseen, thus making these digital platforms very affordable on both the unlink side and the receiver side (e.g. less than $300 for the DVB-PC card kit).

On November 10, 2022, NASA launched the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) reentry vehicle as a secondary payload on an Atlas V launch vehicle from Vandenburg Space Force Base. The LOFTID technology demonstration mission successfully returned a 6-meter diameter, 70° sphere-cone Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) from low earth orbit. The LOFTID vehicle was instrumented with a suite of sensors that measured high-value science data at over 150 vehicle locations. Thermocouples embedded in the aeroshell monitored the temperature within the flexible thermal protection system and inflatable structure. Heat flux gauges and surface pressure transducers measured the conditions on the vehicle’s rigid nose. Loadcell pins measured the interface loads between the inflatable structure and the centerbody. Onboard visible light cameras and colocated infrared cameras captured a 360° view of structural deflection and temperature distribution on the aft side of the heatshield. The data collected by the LOFTID instrumentation suite enabled reconstruction of the aerodynamic, aerothermal, thermal, and structural performance of the vehicle and provide a wealth of information for the design of future HIAD missions. The LOFTID instrumentation, a summary of the in-flight performance, and examples of data products from the post-flight analysis effort are presented.

For the past 10 years the Advanced Industrial Materials (AIM) has supported development of new and improved materials to enable U.S. industry to improve energy efficiency, increase productivity, and reduce waste. It has been a National Laboratory based program, with work currently under way at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories, in collaboration with industrial and university partners. With the advent of the Industries of the Future (IOF) strategy within the Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT) and the scheduled completion of the Continuous Fiber Ceramic Composites (CFCC) Program in FY 2002, an integrated materials program is being developed in OIT. So this represents the last summary of AIM research and development. The new program, Industrial Materials for the Future (IMF), will be competitive in operation, with solicitations for proposals for development of materials in accordance with the IOF Technology Roadmaps, followed by merit review and funding of the best proposals. Industry will take the lead in ''industry-specific'' research and development, in cooperation with National Laboratories, as needed. National Laboratories and universities will take the lead in maintaining a base technology program, for the purpose of maintaining a continuing flow of new materials technologies. The AIM and CFCC Programs will be replaced by the IMF program over a three year period, so that in FY 2004, all research and development will be in response to industry solicitations and Laboratory/university calls. The Program Manager believes that AIM has been an extremely successful program, thanks to the Laboratory investigators and their partners. For 10 years, the program has increased industrial participation from very little to nearly 100 percent. The CFCC Program, similarly, has been successful in advancing the knowledge of processing and property development in these materials, though much still can be done in advancing their uses in industry. It is hoped that the Industrial Materials for the Future Program will be equally successful, not only in solving industry's short-term, immediate needs, but also in maintaining a materials technology base that will lead to longer-range materials and processing developments. The projects summarized here will be carried to successful conclusions over the next 3 years and the current Laboratories in AIM and CFCC will be joined by other Laboratories, universities, and new industrial partners. The Program Manager expresses his profound appreciation for the very fine work done for OIT during the last 10 years.

An Environmental Control System (ECS) concept is developed to control the temperature of an Electronic System (ES) and to cool the airborne system Electronic Units (EUs). These units are integrated into a Pod that is attached to the centerline station of a fighter aircraft. The objective of this paper is to describe the thermal control system concept used to control the ES bay air temperature, humidity, and pressure; and the cooling system used to cool the EUs. Another objective of this paper is to provide a summary of the thermal-fluid analytical models and the ECS performance predictions. The main components of the ECS are based on vapor cycle cooling. The EUs that support system management and recording are air-cooled. Ground operations are accomplished through the autonomous ECS thermal control of the ES and fan cooling of the EUs. Thermal analyses at aircraft operational altitudes and speeds predict that the ES temperature is controlled within ±5°C of its temperature at take-off by the ECS. ES bay temperatures are held between preset lower and upper bound ES temperatures during the required MIL-STD-210A tropical day without condensation of moisture in the ES bay. In addition, thermal analyses indicate that the EUs are cooled throughout ground and airborne operation to ensure that electronic components are below their manufacturers’ rated temperature requirements.

Statistical analysis is generally seen as the next EDA technology for timing and power sign-off. Research into this field has seen significant activity started about five years ago. Recently, interest appears to have fallen off somewhat. Also, while a lot of focus has been put on research fundamentals, extremely few applications in industry have been reported so far. Therefore, a group including Infineon Technologies as a leading semiconductor IDM and various universities and research institutes, as well as an EDA provider has tackled key challenges to enable statistical design in industry in a publicly funded project called "Sigma65". Sigma65 strives to provide key foundations to allow a change from traditional deterministic design methods to future design methods driven by statistical considerations. The project starts with statistical modeling and optimization of library components and ranges to statistical techniques for designing ICs on gate level and higher levels. In this paper, we present some results of this project, demonstrating how the interaction between industrial perspective, research institutions and EDA provider enables solutions which are applicable already in the near future. After an overview of the industrial perspective of the current situation in dealing with variations recent results on both statistical timing and power analysis will be given. In addition, recent research advances on fast yield estimation concerning parametric timing yield will be given.

In the dynamic landscape of the technology sector, start-ups play a pivotal role in driving innovation, disrupting traditional industries, and shaping the future of business. This review paper provides a comprehensive overview of innovation management strategies adopted by tech start-ups to achieve sustained growth and long-term sustainability. The paper synthesizes existing literature on innovation management, drawing from a diverse range of sources such as academic journals, industry reports, and case studies. It aims to shed light on the key challenges faced by tech start-ups in managing innovation and explores effective strategies employed by successful ventures. The review categorizes innovation management strategies into three main pillars: organizational culture, strategic partnerships, and agile development processes. Firstly, it delves into the significance of fostering an innovative culture within start-ups, emphasizing the role of leadership in creating an environment that encourages creativity, risk-taking, and continuous learning. Success stories of tech start-ups that have successfully embedded innovation into their organizational DNA are analyzed to distill best practices. Secondly, the paper discusses the critical role of strategic partnerships in fostering innovation and driving growth. It explores how tech start-ups strategically collaborate with established industry players, research institutions, and other start-ups to leverage complementary strengths, access new markets, and share resources. Lastly, the review examines the importance of agile development processes in ensuring rapid adaptation to changing market dynamics. It discusses how tech start-ups utilize agile methodologies, such as Scrum and Lean Startup, to iterate quickly, test hypotheses, and respond effectively to customer feedback. The paper concludes with a synthesis of the key findings, highlighting the interconnected nature of these innovation management strategies and their collective impact on the growth and sustainability of tech start-ups. The insights presented in this review provide a valuable resource for entrepreneurs, researchers, and policymakers seeking to understand the intricacies of innovation management in the context of technology start-ups.

В статье авторами анализируются истории успеха технологических стартапов, которые успешно внедрили инновации в свою организационную ДНК, чтобы выявить лучшие практики. Также в статье рассматривается критическая роль стратегических партнерств в развитии инноваций и стимулировании роста. Исследуется, как технологические стартапы стратегически сотрудничают с устоявшимися игроками отрасли, исследовательскими институтами и другими стартапами, чтобы использовать дополнительные преимущества, получить доступ к новым рынкам и обмениваться ресурсами. Наконец, в обзоре рассматривается важность гибких процессов разработки для обеспечения быстрой адаптации к меняющейся динамике рынка. In the article, the authors analyse the success stories of technology start-ups that have successfully incorporated innovation into their organisational DNA to identify best practices. The article also examines the critical role of strategic partnerships in fostering innovation and driving growth. It explores how technology startups strategically partner with established industry players, research institutes and other startups to leverage complementary strengths, access new markets and share resources. Finally, the review examines the importance of agile development processes to ensure rapid adaptation to changing market dynamics.


 MISG 2020
 
 
 University of Newcastle, Australia
 
 
 28 January -- 1 February, 2020
 
 
 
 This special Section of the ANZIAM Journal (Electronic Supplement) contains the refereed papers from the 2020 Mathematics and Statistics in Industry Study Group (MISG 2020) held at the University of Newcastle from 28 January -- 1 February 2020. The MISG is a special interest meeting of ANZIAM, the Australia and New Zealand Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ANZIAM) division of the Australian Mathematics Society. The MISG meetings take place annually and provide a forum where projects proposed by industry can be worked on intensively, by high profile scientists in the fields of Applied Mathematics, Statistics and Operations Research, from Australia, New Zealand and the world beyond, along with representatives from the industries proposing the projects.
 The writing of these papers was coordinated by the project moderators in consultation with the coauthors and company representatives. The manuscripts were submitted to the editors, Associate Professor Mike Meylan, Professor Ngamta Thamwattana and Professor Tony Roberts, and were subsequently refereed by two expert referees. On the advice of the referees, manuscripts were accepted for publication, subject to the recommended revisions, and formally approved by the editorial committee.
 At MISG 2020, six projects were presented from diverse industries, with 78 delegates participating.
 Industry Partners
 We gratefully acknowledge the support of our industry partners:
 
 Lovells Springs;
 Safearth;
 Concrush;
 Hyper Q Aerospace.
 
 Acknowledgements
 In addition to our industry partners, we gratefully acknowledge support from the following organisations:
 
 ANZIAM;
 Office of the NSW Chief Scientist \& Engineer, Department of Industry, NSW Government;
 Priority Research Centre: Computer Assisted Research Mathematics and its Applications, The University of Newcastle;
 Faculty of Science, The University of Newcastle.
 
 We are also grateful to Professor Ryan Loxton from the Centre for Optimisation and Decision Science, Curtin University, for giving a public lecture on power of optimisation research in mining, energy, and agriculture industries, as part of the MISG's outreach event and acknowledge the support from the Hunter Branch of the Royal Society of NSW in promoting the public lecture. We are also grateful to Professor Mark McGuinness (Victoria University of Wellington), Professor Troy Farrell (Queensland University of Technology), Associate Professor Amie Albrecht (University of South Australia) and Dr Neville Fowkes (University of Western Australia) for their helpful advice and comments in organising the MISG 2020.
 MISG2020 Organising Committee
 
 Professor Ngamta Thamwattana (Co-Director)
 Associate Professor Mike Meylan (Co-Director)
 Mrs Juliane Turner (Administrative Support)
 Dr David Allingham (Technical Support)
 
 

The collaboration project UNICARagil aiming to develop new autonomous battery electric vehicle concepts has progressed and the four vehicle prototypes have been built up. All seven universities and six industrial partners have worked towards this milestone. At the time of writing the four vehicles are operational and can be driven by a safety driver using a sidestick. The automated driving functions are being applied on the test track and first demonstrations are carried out. This paper gives an overview of the results, which have been achieved within the work package of the thermal onboard network. The thermal management system including the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system and its development process is explained in detail. Furthermore, climate chamber measurements with prototype hardware of a sensor data processing computer and the integration of the air conditioning control unit into the vehicle’s automotive service-oriented architecture framework are described. A coupled simulation approach to predict occupant thermal comfort in one vehicle variant is presented. Simulation results using environmental conditions typical for a European summer show a comfortable environment for all six occupants. In addition, the simulation and development process of a thermoelectric heat pump is shown. First measurement results with the heat pump on a test bench are highlighted which show an achievable coefficient of performance greater than two.

A strong interest in assessing the current state of the art of the fast growing fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology, as well as the need of stimulating research collaboration, prompted Dr S Bellucci, Professor A Bergamaschi and Professor E Bergamaschi to organize the International School and Workshop 'Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (n&n 2006)', November 6–9, 2006, under the patronage of the INFN (Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics), the University of Rome Tor Vergata and the Catholic University of Rome, with generous sponsorship by 3M, 2M Strumenti, Physik Instrumente, RS. The aims of this event were manifold

The philosophy and technique of ocean bottom imaging and map making is changing as new undersea remote sensing technology provides more versatile equipment with variable resolution. Integrated towed systems can now simultaneously provide quantified acoustic backscatter images, swath bathymetry and multi-spectral echo soundings from a towed vehicle over a wide range of altitude, swath width, and water depth. This data base allows geological facies mapping and hazard evaluation to be made with a single system and a minimum of ship time in the survey area. System resolution is no longer simply maximized; it is care full selected and traded off with survey data on a mission by mission basis to optimize survey efficiency and minimize cost of the off shore operation. Graphs are presented which show how mapping system resolution varies as a function of system bandwidth, tow speed, and the geometric relationship between the tow is hand the swath of bottom to be imaged and contoured. This information is necessary for designing survey strategy and selecting the optimum mapping system for the job. The Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory have been using Sea MARC instrumentation systems successfully for several years. Both systems have worked in water depths from 50 to 5000 meters and together have covered over 100,000 square kilometers of ocean bottom with cruises funded by government agencies, industrial firms and foreign governments. Variables with multi-sensor remote characterization of the ocean bottom is a cost effective way to increase our understanding of geologic processes. A tremendous increase in information gathered for a given amount of ship?s time can be realized with this new technology, both for scientific and commercial purpose. SEEING THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA Ever since mankind emerged from the sea, learned to walk on two legs and how to swim again, trying to 'see' the bottom of the ocean has been one of our most frustrating activities. Furthermore, we have been spoiled by the efficiency of our human visual system in air; not only does it have angular resolution better than one minute of arc but it is intimately connected to the most sophisticated image processing and tracking system we know of our brain. Beneath the sea surface the propagation medium is not so accommodating. With the exception of a 'window' in the green light region of the spectrum, seawater is essentially opaque to electromagnetic energy, and most of the sophisticate imaging equipment (either optical or radar) which has been developed for use from aircraft can not see more than a few meters beneath the sea even in clear water. All submarine optical systems, whether based on conventional cameras or laser scanners with range gated receivers, are also fatally dependent on water clarity. Since only acoustic energy propagates relatively well through water, sonar based imaging systems are used to extend our vision underwater in the way that optics thermal and radar imaging systems have been used to extend our vision on land and in space.

A joint program (Center for Space Transportation and Applied Research, University of Tennessee Space Institute, University of Waterloo, and Lumonics Corporation) is underway to develop a YAG laser based materials processing workstation to fly in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle. The system will be capable of cutting and welding steel, aluminum and Inconel alloys of the type planned for use on the space station Freedom. As well as demonstrating the ability of a YAG laser to perform remote (fiber-optic delivered) repair and fabrication operations in space, fundamental data will be collected on these interactions for comparison with terrestrial data and models.The flight system, scheduled to fly in 1995, will be constructed as two modules to fit into standard Get Away Special (GAS) canisters. The first can holds the laser and its power supply, to be constructed by the industrial partner, Lumonics Industrial Processing Division. The second canister has the materials processing workstation and the command and data acquisition subsystems. These components will be provided by the groups at UTSI and the University of Waterloo. The cans are linked by a fiber-optic cable which transmits the light from the laser head to the workstation.This paper delineates the activities, requirements and accomplishments for the SAILS project to date.A joint program (Center for Space Transportation and Applied Research, University of Tennessee Space Institute, University of Waterloo, and Lumonics Corporation) is underway to develop a YAG laser based materials processing workstation to fly in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle. The system will be capable of cutting and welding steel, aluminum and Inconel alloys of the type planned for use on the space station Freedom. As well as demonstrating the ability of a YAG laser to perform remote (fiber-optic delivered) repair and fabrication operations in space, fundamental data will be collected on these interactions for comparison with terrestrial data and models.The flight system, scheduled to fly in 1995, will be constructed as two modules to fit into standard Get Away Special (GAS) canisters. The first can holds the laser and its power supply, to be constructed by the industrial partner, Lumonics Industrial Processing Division. The second canister has the materials processing workstation and the command an...

Assessing both academic and industrial research institutions, along with their scholars, can help identify the best organizations and individuals in a given discipline. Assessment can reveal outstanding institutions and scholars, allowing students and researchers to better decide where they want to study or work and allowing employers to recruit the most qualified potential employees. These assessments can also assist both internal and external administrators in making influential decisions; for example, funding, promotion, and compensation.