Recent Patents on Space Technology - Volume 4, Issue 2, 2014

It is assumed that cosmic rays and other high-energy particles of extraterrestrial origin can be produced by first-order Fermi diffusive shock acceleration in plasma up to 5x1019 eV, the point where they interact with the cosmic microwave background (CMB). First-order Fermi shock acceleration is due to a supersonic shock with a Mach number dependent on the index (or logarithmic slope) of the shock-induced powe Read More

An example is considered (clock riddle) which demonstrates that opposite results are obtained for the length of an object depending on whether FitzGerald-Lorentz contraction (FLC) is assumed or instead the determination is based on the elapsed time required for a light pulse to traverse between its endpoints. This lack of internal consistency in relativity theory is traced to an undeclared assumption Einstein made regardin Read More

Recent efforts in space exploration have focused on budget solutions for monitoring Earth’s climate and astrophysics. Implementing such a satellite requires thermal design in order to maintain the scientific instruments and bus components within their ideal operating temperatures. This paper outlines the thermal system’s engineering design and thermal analysis for a High Usability Host Spacecraft. Preliminary thermal enginee Read More

We report a highly aligned multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) tape with a P(VDF-TrFE) matrix that is mechanically robust and has excellent piezoelectric properties for sensor applications, including, but not limited to vibration gyroscopes and accelerometers. The tapes were tested for piezoelectric response via hysteresis measurements and d33 measurements. It was found that 10 weight percent P(VDF-TrFE) in a soluti Read More

Soil moisture (SM) plays an important role in groundwater recharge, runoff, air moisture, atmospheric temperature, land degradation, geo-chemical process, surface and sub-surface biota including agriculture, etc. Several studies have reported comparable results of space-borne passive microwaves remote sensing of surface (2 to 5 cm) SM using relationship between volumetric SM and brightness temperature, di Read More