inside ONE - Message from the Chief Technologist: Investing in NASA’s Future 2 Through Innovation and Collaboration

TWO - Where Success Begins: 4 Aligning Investments to Goddard’s Lines of Business • Breakdown of FY16 Awards

THREE - The Best in Collaboration and Infusion 6 • FY16 IRAD Innovators of the Year: NavCube Team • FY16 IRAD Honorable Mention: George Suarez and Team

FOUR - The Year’s Notable Achievements: 9 Investment in Innovative Technologies Reaps Rewards • Award of New Instruments, Sounding-Rocket Missions, About the Cover Aircraft Campaigns, and Capabilities Pictured are just a few of • Technology Infusion and Demonstrations the technologists who are • Follow-On Funding to Advance Technology-Readiness Levels either pursuing or imple- • Mission Preparation and Completed Instruments menting new technologies. • Critical Support Capabilities • Patents From left, moving clockwise: technologists John 18 FIVE - A Focus on CubeSats/Smallsats: The Pursuit of Reliability Kolasinski (left), • New Missions Ted Kostiuk (center), and • Upcoming CubeSat Missions Tilak Hewagama; • Critical Support Capabilities Goddard scientist Al • Technologies to Watch Kogut; technologist Michael Krainak; FY16 24 SIX - Rising Stars: Technologies to Watch Innovators of the Year • Astrophysics Jennifer Donaldson, • Communications and Navigation Monther Hasouneh, and • Crosscutting Technology and Capabilities Dave Petrick; and • Earth Science technologists Murzy • Heliophysics Jhabvala and Anh La. • Planetary Science • Suborbital Platforms and Range Services 30 SEVEN - Ending the Year with Celebration: Scenes from the FY16 IRAD Poster Session 35 EIGHT - A Beautiful Mind: A Tribute to Richard G. Lyon (1958-2016)

1 Message from the Chief Technologist: Investing in NASA’s Future Through Innovation and Collaboration

At the end of each year, we evaluate Maybe even more exciting for the team the effectiveness of the center’s Internal was the announcement that the exist- Research and Development (IRAD) pro- ing Navigator GPS was included in the gram. We ask several questions, the most Guinness World Records for the highest- important being: are we truly advancing altitude GPS fix — a feat accomplished the technologies that NASA will need in by NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale the future? mission. This high-profile mission uses Navigator to maintain the exacting orbit The take-away in 2016 was an emphatic of its four identically equipped spacecraft yes. Through innovation and collabora- now flying far above the GPS constella- tion, our impressive scope of Goddard tion of satellites. technologies is being infused into new missions and instruments. Just as exciting, Infusion in All Forms some of our technologies are being used to dramatical- Indeed, creating technologies that NASA needs is ly improve the performance of already highly successful a hallmark of the IRAD program. Although examples IRAD-supported capabilities. abound — some of which we briefly describe in this NavCube is the perfect example of this. report — I would be remiss in not highlighting the accomplishments of Goddard technologist George Created by the merger of two highly acclaimed, Suarez and his team. They have created, without much IRAD-supported technologies — SpaceCube 2.0 and fanfare, diminutive circuits that both enable high-profile Navigator GPS — NavCube will fly as an experiment missions and increase the reliability of CubeSat mis- on the International Space Station in 2018. There, it not sions — particularly important given NASA’s movement only will demonstrate its dramatically improved naviga- toward greater use of these platforms. tional capabilities, but possibly X-ray communications in space — a potential NASA first. In short, the teams I also would be negligent in not mentioning here the collaborated, blended their technologies, and created success of one of Goddard’s most prodigious scientists a capability that could extend the reliable use of the and innovators, Harvey Moseley. NASA awarded GPS signal to lunar orbits in the future. These successes him and his team millions of dollars to build the High- earned the NavCube team the FY16 IRAD Innovators of Resolution Mid-Infrared Spectrometer — an instrument the Year award (see page 6 for details). that employs a state-of-the-art, Goddard-developed

2 bolometer system as well as a Cornell University-devel- In this report, we highlight other notable achievements oped Fabry-Perot Interferometer. Through collabora- that underscore how Goddard, through its IRAD pro- tion, Moseley and his multi-institution team succeeded in gram, is seeding technologies that NASA needs. securing this important win. In closing, we are thrilled that our highly diverse Likewise, Principal Investigator Bernie Rauscher, who program is supporting the development of innovative, partnered with the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory to strategically important technologies. We are thrilled develop a rad-hard single photon detector, achieved that our investments are reducing mission risk and, in all objectives in FY16 and NASA’s next-generation many cases, involving partnerships with internal and ex- Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope has begun sup- ternal groups, enabling a far greater cross-fertilization porting the technology-development effort. of ideas and capabilities. In short, we are delighted that we are fulfilling our mission as a science and spaceflight Along the same lines, the developers of Goddard’s center — developing the technologies NASA will need MUSTANG avionics technology showed the value to carry out mission science across all scientific areas. of their technology, and a high-profile mission and an instrument-development effort have committed to using and advancing the technology.

Peter Hughes Chief Technologist Goddard Space Flight Center

This is a portion of the spaceflight modem flying on NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration. A Goddard team plans to replicate this fiber-optic receiver, replacing portions of it with a next-generation circuit.

3 Where Success Begins: Aligning Investments to Goddard’s Lines of Business

Year after year, our technologists continue to secure Lines of Business: At A Glance instrument and new mission starts as well as follow-on funding to further advance their technologies at levels Astrophysics that more than compensate for our initial investment in Focuses on missions and technolo- their technologies. gies enabling the study of galax- ies, stars, and planetary systems We believe the secret to our success for both God- beyond our own solar system. dard’s Internal Research and Development (IRAD) and Center Innovation Fund (CIF) programs is our method- ology — the focus and discipline we employ to identify Communications and Navigation investment priorities, unmet needs, and target Supports systems and technologies opportunities. needed for responsive communica- tions and navigation. Selection Criteria for IRAD and CIF Under the IRAD program, for example, we fund only those efforts that map to one or more of Goddard’s strategic lines of business. In addition, we adhere to Crosscutting Technology strict selection standards and require principal investi- and Capabilities Addresses capabilities applicable gators to compete for their awards. to more than one strategic line of business, everything from nanoma- For NASA’s CIF, we use slightly different criteria. terials and electronics to detectors NASA’s CIF is specifically aimed at advancing highly in- and system architectures. novative, potentially high-impact projects that are early in their development. Successful CIF proposals also must Earth Science demonstrate technical merit, feasibility, relevance, and Supports technologies and advanced science instruments value to NASA. Many also leverage partner resources needed to observe and understand and several have the potential to contribute signifi- changes in Earth’s natural systems cantly to national needs. and processes, including severe weather, the atmosphere, the oceans, sea ice and glaciers, and the land surface.

4 Heliophysics Suborbital Platforms Conducts research on the sun, its and Range Services extended solar-system environment Supports systems typically used (the heliosphere), and interactions to place payloads into subor- of Earth, other planets, small bod- bital attitude, including sounding ies, and interstellar gas with the rockets, balloons, and manned and heliosphere. unmanned aircraft. In recent years, the LOB has expanded to include CubeSat capabilities. Range ser- Planetary Science vices include assets for conducting, Supports technologies to explore launching, and operating missions. the solar system, particularly instruments for landers and orbiting spacecraft.

Breakdown of FY16 Awards Goddard is a successful organization. It has proven adept at creating, fine-tuning, and adapting emerging technologies largely because the center focuses on strategic technological areas that match the skills of the workforce and the center’s identified needs. Here is the breakdown of our FY16 investments.

5 “We invest in R&D to create capabilities that NASA needs. NavCube, in particular, represents infusion at its best. The cross-pollination of the two technologies gives NASA another tool for carrying out a range of science missions. The possibility that it might help demonstrate X-ray communications in space — a technology in which we also have a vested interest — is particularly exciting.” — Goddard Chief Technologist Peter M. Hughes FY16 IRAD Innovators of the Year: The Best in Collaboration and Infusion

Two teams whose accomplish- 2.0 team, led by Dave Petrick, ments read like a “Who’s Who” who won the Moe Schneebaum in NASA technology develop- Memorial Award for Engineer- ment received the FY16 IRAD ing earlier in 2016 for his work Innovators of the Year award. implementing the processor on a number of future, high-profile Bestowed annually on those who NASA missions related to ro- demonstrate the best in technol- botic servicing and operations in ogy development, this year’s space. Due to the technology’s recognition went to the Navi- success, Petrick and his team now gator GPS and SpaceCube 2.0 are working to commercialize teams because of their success SpaceCube 2.0. merging their technologies to create a more powerful navigational capability known The first-generation Navigator GPS receiver, which as NavCube. NavCube, which currently is planned an Arizona-based aerospace company already has li- for a demonstration aboard the International Space censed, specifically was designed to meet the challenge Station in 2018, is applicable to a broader range of of high-altitude GPS navigation, and is considered missions, including the possible demonstration of X-ray an enabling technology for NASA’s Magnetospheric communications in space — a potential NASA first. Multiscale mission, or MMS. Without Navigator, the mission’s four spacecraft could not fly in the exacting NavCube Parentage Highly Acclaimed formation needed to gather data about magnetic re- The two technologies that parented NavCube are in connection. So successful in its mission, Navigator GPS themselves highly acclaimed. recently was included in the Guinness World Records for the highest-altitude GPS fix. Since its initial development more than a decade ago, SpaceCube has evolved into a family of computing First demonstrated on the Hubble Servicing Mission platforms. This year’s award recognizes the SpaceCube 4, the Navigator technology now is providing opera-

6 Photo Credit: Bill Hrybyk/NASA Photo Credit:

The winners of the FY16 IRAD Innovator of the Year award include (front, left to right): Monther Hasouneh, Dave Petrick, Milt Davis; (middle): Jennifer Donaldson, Yan-Lu “Annie” Chen, Robin Ripley, Tony Marzullo, Luke Winternitz; (back): Mike Jackson, Eric Bentley, Harry Stello, Todd Bentley, and Luke Thomas. Not pictured are Matt Owens, Peter Spara- cino, Brian Tokarcik, and Sabrena Heyward Ball. tional navigation for NASA’s Global Precipitation navigational challenges, including tracking modernized Mission and has been incorporated into the avionics GPS and Global Navigation Satellite Systems’ signals. of the Orion capsule. In addition, it was used in a GPS The improved sensitivity will support higher-altitude mis- Antenna Characterization Experiment — a successful sions, even those as far as lunar distance. In addition, the effort that led to the team winning a NASA award potential integration of a transponder capability could in 2015. support next-generation space networks.

Now with the merger, the resulting NavCube has ample processing capability for tackling the next set of IRAD Honorable Mention: Creating Technologies that NASA Needs

Goddard technologist George Suarez and his team, nel digital-to-analog converter designed to reduce the Jeffrey Dumonthier and Gerry Quilligan, received an size, mass, and power of CubeSat instrument electron- honorable mention for their behind-the-scenes persis- ics. The job of this diminutive device was to efficiently tence in developing one-of-a-kind circuits designed to and reliably generate voltage levels for detectors, enable high-profile missions and increase the reliability while withstanding the effects of space radiation. of CubeSat missions. Just as important, the team wanted to create a device Their road to success began a few years ago when the that could simplify instrument wiring by including four team started work on a radiation-hardened, multi-chan- channels and interfaces in one small radiation-hard-

7 Principal Investigator George Suarez (right) holds a fingernail-sized circuit that he and Jeffrey Dumonthier created for CubeSat applications. Gerry Quilligan, another team member, is not pictured. ened chip — something that aerospace microelectron- Now, the team is using lessons learned to tackle a more ics vendors have yet to develop. difficult technological challenge: creating a multi- channel radiation-hardened analog-to-digital con- The four-channel circuit has since proved its mettle on verter that converts analog signals to digital data, all Goddard’s Mini Ion-Neutral Mass Spectrometer — the while reducing the size, mass, and power of instrument smallest mass spectrometer ever built — that flew on electronics. The circuit could be applied to CubeSat the National Science Foundation-funded ExoCube instruments, power systems, and command and data mission in 2015. It now is slated to fly on a handful of handling, among other uses. upcoming CubeSats, including missions to prospect for water on the Moon, study particles over Earth’s poles, More Chips, Other Uses and investigate the radiation belt. It also will be used on But the chip’s use is not confined to CubeSat missions the Goddard-developed Dellingr, a new 6U CubeSat or instruments. This chip, along with another called the purposely built to accommodate NASA-class scientific 32-bit Rad-Hard Remote/Output Expander, both have investigations at a lower cost. caught the attention of two much larger missions — NASA’s Pre-Aerosols Clouds and Ocean Ecosystems “This is huge — at least for me. What and the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope. Further- started as an idea for an ASIC (applica- more, efforts are afoot to commercialize both chips. tion-specific integrated circuit), which we funded through Goddard’s Internal Research and Development program, will finally make it to larger flight projects and possibly even commercialization.”

— Goddard Technologist George Suarez

8 The Year’s Notable Accomplishments: Investment in Innovative Technologies Reaps Rewards

Since its inception in 1959, Goddard has remained Award of New Instruments, true to its charter. Goddard is a space flight center. The center applies emerging technologies to enable Sounding-Rocket Missions, forward-reaching missions using a range of scientific Aircraft Campaigns, and platforms — from flagship-type spacecraft and small- Capabilities sats to high-altitude aircraft, balloons, sounding rockets, and the International Space Station. The crowning achievement of any technology program is an investment that leads to the award of a new In FY16, Goddard technologists certainly demonstrated mission, capability, or instrument. In FY16, principal their commitment to this charter. They enjoyed a number investigators not only won new sounding-rocket and of notable accomplishments, many of them involving aircraft missions, but also funding to develop one-of-a- strategic partnerships with others. One long-time inno- kind instruments and devices that trace their heritage to vator and scientist, for example, won millions of dollars previous R&D funding. to create a new instrument for NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. Others won new High-Resolution Mid-Infrared aircraft and sounding-rocket missions as well as berths Spectrometer (HIRMES) on experiment pallets to be deployed on the Interna- Long considered one of Goddard’s most prodigious tional Space Station. They delivered new instruments innovators, scientist Harvey Moseley won $17 million in and they received NASA follow-on funding to further NASA funding to build HIRMES, an instrument that will advance their concepts. study the processes that give birth to planetary systems. This chapter details some of those accomplishments as Designed to fly on NASA’s Stratospheric Observa- well as others that underscore the center’s success at tory for Infrared Astronomy, HIRMES exemplifies the developing technologies that NASA needs. power of technology infusion and collaboration and is expected to fly in 2019.

Contributing to this win was another FY16 IRAD in which Kevin Denis demonstrated low-noise transition-edge sensor bolometers and the development of high-perfor- mance metal mesh mirrors. According to Denis, the IRAD investment contributed to the HIRMES proposal win. The advanced bolometer detector system is a version

9 of a system that Goddard detector expert Christine continue monitoring U.S. forest carbon stocks as part of Jhabvala has applied to other missions. the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis program. Using Goddard’s Lidar, Hyperspectral, and Also noteworthy is the collaboration between the Thermal (G-LiHT) airborne instrument, the team will Goddard team and Cornell University, one of several image the Susitna-Copper River area in Alaska. Since university partners. Cornell will provide the Fabry-Perot its development with FY11 and FY12 IRAD support, the Interferometer sensitive to the mid-infrared wave- instrument has racked up more than 952 hours of aircraft lengths — a spectral region not covered by existing or fight time.(Investment Area: Earth Science) planned infrared missions. (Investment Area: Astrophysics) FLEX-US FLEX-US is an airborne science campaign that will help calibrate and validate the European Space Agency’s new FLEX satellite mission, which will measure actual

Photo Credit: NASA Photo Credit: photosynthesis and indicators of vegetation stress. Key to this aircraft campaign is the IRAD-supported G-LiHT airborne imaging system, whose developers received $600,000 in NASA funding to provide calibra- tion and validation measurements of different biomass needed for interpreting FLEX data. (Investment Area: Earth Science) Rad-Hard Single Photon Detector for WFIRST Goddard scientist Harvey Moseley and his team have The search for life on other worlds could involve the won NASA funding to develop a new airborne instrument called the High-Resolution Mid-Infrared Spectrometer development of a large ultraviolet-visible-infrared (HIRMES). HIRMES will study the processes that give telescope that is equipped with coronagraphs and/or birth to planetary systems aboard the agency’s Strato- starshades. However, these observatories will require spheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. better detectors than exist today. Principal Investigator Bernard Rauscher, who is partnering with the Lawrence Visualizing Ion Outflow via Neutral Atom Livermore Laboratory, completed all objectives in FY16 Sensing-2 (VISIONS-2) toward the development of a rad-hard, single pho- Also slated for a 2018 sounding-rocket flight from ton detector system. The Wide-Field Infared Survey Ny-Ålesund, Norway, is VISIONS-2. Supported Telescope, or WFIRST, began supporting the effort in with $1.8 million in funding from NASA’s Heliophysics September 2016. (Investment Area: Astrophysics) Technology and Instrument Development for Science NN-EXPLORE Exoplanet Investigations program, VISIONS-2 will investigate the outflow of with Doppler Spectroscopy (NEID) oxygen ions from Earth’s upper atmosphere and into the magnetosphere. Unlike its predecessor that observed In FY16, a Penn State University-led team, which the outflow at night from the polar auroral zones, VI- includes Goddard scientist Michael McElwain, won a SIONS-2 will observe the phenomenon during the day NASA award to build NEID, a cutting-edge instrument from Earth’s magnetic cusps. to measure the miniscule wobbling of stars caused by (Investment Area: Heliophysics) the gravitational tug of planets in orbit around them. To be completed in 2019 and installed at the Kitt Peak Remote Sensing as a Bridge to National Observatory, NEID is based on the design of Operational Forest Carbon Monitoring a Goddard-developed instrument, the Prototype Imag- in Interior Alaska ing Spectrograph for Coronagraphic Exoplanet Stud- Scientist Bruce Cook and his team have received ies, which will be used for testing starlight-suppression $958,000 in ROSES Carbon Monitoring funding to techniques. (Investment Area: Astrophysics)

10 Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager-3 NavCube (FOXSI-3) NavCube, an advanced navigational capability made To launch in 2018 from White Sands Missile Range in possible by the merger of two already accomplished New Mexico, FOXSI-3 will give scientists a better view technologies — SpaceCube 2.0 and Navigator GPS of the tiny release of energy — commonly known as — has earned a berth aboard the Defense Depart- nanoflares — in the active and quiet sun. Although ment’s Space Test Program-H6, an external experiment previous FOXSI sounding-rocket missions have dem- pallet to be deployed on the International Space Sta- onstrated the feasibility and potential for directly tion in 2018. In addition to demonstrating its enhanced measuring the release of hard X-rays in the corona, the navigational and processing capabilities made possible new FOXSI-3 will carry upgraded optics and detectors by the merger of its technological parents, NavCube that will push the instrument’s sensitivity as far as pos- also may help demonstrate X-ray communications in sible. FOXSI-3’s hard X-ray imager/spectrometer traces space, which would be a NASA first. In recognition of its heritage to an IRAD-funded instrument that flew on their success, NavCube team members received God- the Air Force-sponsored FASTSAT mission in 2011. The dard’s FY16 IRAD Innovators of the Year award (see campaign is supported with $298,000 in funding from page 6). NASA’s Heliophysics Technology and Instrument Devel- (Investment Area: Communications and Navigation) opment for Science program. (Investment Area: Heliophysics) Miniaturized Space GPS Receiver On another NavCube-related front, Principal Inves- tigator Monther Hasouneh designed and built an application-specific integrated circuit radio-frequency (RF) card that will lead to a new GPS receiver. The RF card is compatible with the existing NavCube and also with the CHREC Space Processor platform, which NASA has adopted for its space-computing needs. (Investment Area: Communications and Navigation) Photo Credit: Bill Hrybyk/NASA Photo Credit:

Steven Christe is pictured here with a cadmium telluride detector made by the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. It will be used on the FOXSI-3 mission.

Technology Infusion and

Demonstrations Bill Hrybyk/NASA Photo Credit: In addition to winning new missions, another significant NavCube, the product of a merger between the God- dard-developed SpaceCube 2.0 and Navigator GPS metric for gauging success is whether a technology is technologies, could play a vital role helping to demon- used in a mission, instrument, or a NASA facility or if strate X-ray communications in space — a potential the principal investigator has demonstrated the concept NASA first. either in a field campaign or in space. As in past years, Goddard technologists were successful in collaborating and ultimately infusing their technologies into the gamut of spaceflight applications and advancing their technol- ogy’s technology-readiness levels.

11 also is developing other circuits geared to CubeSats and other mid-sized space missions. (Investment Area: Crosscutting Technology and Capabilities) Green Propellant Principal Investigator Henry Mulkey, in collaboration with MOOG, the Swedish National Space Board, and Ecological Advanced Propulsion System, carried out a successful multi-phase test handling of green propel- lant LMP-103S at the Wallops Flight Facility in FY16. Handling the Swedish-developed propellant does

Photo Credit: Bill Hrybyk/NASA Photo Credit: not require significant safety precautions and is being Goddard’s Steve Kenyon is the mechanical and packag- eyed as yet another green propellant for powering ing “wizard” for the Modulated X-ray Source (MXS), a key NASA spacecraft in orbit. Today, most spacecraft use technology for demonstrating X-ray communications in highly toxic hydrazine. As a result of the demonstration, space. The equipment shown are various incarnations of NASA’s Pre-Aerosols Clouds and Ocean Ecosystems the MXS hardware, which could be flown as part of the NavCube demonstration. and Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope missions are interested in using the propellant. (Investment Area: Crosscutting Technology and Capabilities) Image Credit: NASA Image Credit:

NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale mission is among the first to use the Goddard-developed Navigator GPS receiver, now considered an enabling technology for this Chris Perry/NASA Photo Credit: highly successful mission. Navigator’s creators are im- This image shows the tank that held the Swedish-de- proving the technology to make it applicable to a broader veloped green propellant, which Henry Mulkey (middle), range of missions. Kyle Bentley (squatting), and Joe Miller (on the right) as- sisted in demonstrating at the Wallops Flight Facility. Radiation-Hardened, Multi-Channel Digital-to-Analog Microchips SnowEx: Challenging the Sensing Techniques Until They Break A team, led by Goddard technologist George Suarez, SnowEx is an ambitious airborne campaign to deter- has successfully infused radiation-hardened, digital- mine which sensor or combination of sensors would to-analog circuits into a number of current and future work best at collecting global snow-mass measurements CubeSat missions. As a result of that success, the micro- from space — currently an inconsistently collected chips now are under consideration for use on NASA’s and difficult-to-obtain data point that scientists say is Pre-Aerosols Clouds and Ocean Ecosystems mission critical to understanding the world’s water resources. and the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope. In rec- In September, a Goddard team collected a no-snow ognition of their work, Suarez and his team received an baseline over Colorado and will begin gathering snow FY16 IRAD Honorable Mention (see page 8). The team

12 data with an assortment of instruments beginning in CO2 Sounder Lidar February 2017. The multi-year snow observation effort is purposely being done to evaluate the effectiveness The CO2 Sounder Lidar is a strong contender for a po- of different sensing techniques, with the end result of tential next-generation carbon-monitoring mission, the ultimately developing a space-based mission. Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons, or ASCENDS. During an aircraft campaign (Investment Area: Earth Science) over California and Nevada in FY16, the instrument- development team reported that the instrument had measured carbon dioxide with unprecedented preci- sion and resolution, thereby meeting mission perfor- mance criteria. The instrument carries an advanced, more capable detector and laser system. (Investment Area: Earth Science) “The advancement of this technology has been amazing. I wouldn’t have thought this was possible just a few years ago.”

Photo Credit: NASA Photo Credit: — Anand Ramanathan, CO2 Sounder Team Member This photograph was taken from the International Space Station as astronauts flew over the Himalayan mountain range, near the China–India border. A team of scientists wants to determine which techniques work best for measuring snow, with the ultimate aim of developing a dedicated space-based snow-measuring mission. Photo Credit: Bill Hrybyk/NASA Photo Credit: VHF Signals of Opportunity Technology Demonstration Principal Investigator Manohar Desphande reported that he had accomplished most of the goals associated with the development of a four-channel VHF receiver for passively gathering soil-moisture data using signals of opportunity. In FY16, he collected direct and re- Mark Stephen (left) and Tony Yu are part of the team, including Jeffrey Chen (not pictured), who helped flected signal data from a MilSatCom satellite during a develop the advanced laser system used on the CO2 demonstration with a hydraulic boom truck. Desphande Sounder Lidar. reports that he presented his work during several international conferences. Currently, the data is being used to validate retrieval algorithms needed to extract Follow-On Funding to Advance ground reflectivity from the measured data. Technology-Readiness Levels (Investment Area: Earth Science) The IRAD and CIF programs are not meant or able to provide cradle-to-grave support. Therefore, a key success metric is whether principal investigators succeed in securing follow-on funding to further advance their technologies. In FY16, these funding sources came from a variety of NASA R&D sources, including the Research Opportunities in Earth and Space Science (ROSES) and the Planetary Instrument Concepts for the Advancement of Solar System Observations (PICASSO) programs.

13 Modular Unified Space Technology Avi- in 2017. The follow-on funding was a direct result of onics for Next Generation (MUSTANG) a number of past IRAD awards developing airborne instrumentation for directly validating carbon-flux Motivated by a desire to keep down avionics-board estimates. (Investment Area: Earth Science) design costs, a Goddard team has created a small integrated avionics system for smaller spacecraft. The system includes power-system electronics, attitude- Mission Preparation and control interfaces, and propulsion electronics, to name Completed Instruments just a few capabilities. NASA’s Pre-Aerosols Clouds and Ecosystems mission and the Ocean Color Instrument In FY16, IRAD-funded technologies were completed missions are funding the team to complete the design. and delivered in preparation for upcoming launch opportunities. (Investment Area: Crosscutting Technology and Capabilities) Development of Highly Reproducible Venus Entry Probe Prototype and Robust Absorber Coatings Kudos goes to Principal Investigator Ari Brown who Principal Investigator Lori Glaze received $995,000 developed an absorber material for another balloon- in ROSES funding to study a Venus Entry Probe Proto- borne mission called the Balloon Experimental Twin type. According to Glaze, the ROSES funding stemmed Telescope Infrared Interferometer (BETTII). Brown and from a number of IRADs advancing planetary probes. his team succeeded in developing the coating made of Furthermore, the ROSES support also contributed to her molybdenum nitride and delivering the BETTII detectors team winning a Phase-A study in FY15 for the proposed on time — a feat that resulted in Brown receiving a Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, “Special Act Award” from Goddard Director Chemistry, and Imaging mission. NASA is expected to Chris Scolese. (Investment Area: Astrophysics) select the winning Discovery mission soon. (Investment Area: Planetary Science) Neutron Star Interior Composition Ex- Scalable Beamforming Radar Processor plorer/Station Explorer for X-ray Tim- for High-Resolution Imaging of ing and Navigation Technology (NICER/ Planetary Systems SEXTANT) NICER/SEXTANT, a potentially revolutionary God- Although NASA has flown more than 15 synthetic dard-led mission that embodies the virtues of faster, aperture radar (SAR) airborne instruments to reliably less-expensive access to space, was delivered to the monitor Earth’s dynamic processes and is now planning Kennedy Space Center in FY16 and is slated to fly in to launch 10 new SAR systems within the next 5 years, early 2017. The payload, which will be installed on the NASA has not launched a spaceborne SAR since the International Space Station, is equipped with 56 X-ray Shuttle Radar Topography Mission in 2000. This fact mirrors and other technologies that will be used to arises because of the high cost of developing SAR study neutron stars, the densest objects in the universe. systems. To address this deficiency, a Goddard team led It also will demonstrate X-ray navigation and poten- by Lynn Carter has received $822,000 in PICASSO fund- tially X-ray communications using a device called the ing to develop a novel concept that would enhance Modulated X-ray Source (see page 12). SAR capabilities and reduce their costs. The improved system is being eyed for missions to the moon, planets, (Investment Area: Astrophysics and Communications and Navigation) and asteroids. (Investment Area: Planetary Science) Airborne Eddy Flux Measurements for Validation/Evaluation of High-Resolution RV Systems Principal Investigator Randy Kawa won $400,000 in ROSES funding to analyze carbon-flux data from airborne flights conducted in FY16 as well as for those

14 HAWC+ carries an advanced Goddard-developed bolometer equipped with a micro-machined device that absorbs as much infrared light as possible. The device

Photo Credit: NASA Photo Credit: was inspired by a moth’s eye. (Investment Area: Astrophysics)

Photo Credit: NASA

Technicians Alex Schaeffer (left) and Eric Norris (right) are seen reflected in a 3.3-foot-diameter parabolic mirror suspended 24 feet above the ground in one of Goddard’s high-bay facilities. Mounted at the top of a custom “col- limator tower,” the mirror provides a parallel beam of light that will allow the beam to co-align NICER/SEXTANT’s 56 X-ray optics. NICER/SEXTANT is scheduled to launch in early 2017.

This image taken with a scanning-electron microscope High-Resolution Airborne Wideband shows details of a new absorber that will enable observa- Camera-Plus (HAWC+) tions by HAWC+, a new SOFIA instrument. In FY16, a Goddard team delivered HAWC+, a new instrument for NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Deformable Mirrors for Spaceflight Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). The upgraded camera Principal Investigator Will Zhang collaborated with the not only images sources, but also measures the align- Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Keith Patterson to develop ment of incoming light waves, giving scientists the ability a process for making lightweight, deformable mirrors to study the early stages of star and planet formation that could be an enabling technology for future astro- and map magnetic fields in the environment around the physics and planetary exploration. Zhang accomplished supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. his objective, making and delivering a dozen mirrors to his JPL and Caltech colleagues who attached preci- sion actuation mechanisms on their backs to adjust their focus and other characteristics. The team is weighing several options on next steps, including a possible pro- posal to implement the technology on a CubeSat. (Investment Area: Astrophysics) Photo Credit: Bill Hrybyk/NASA Photo Credit:

Christine Jhabvala and Ed Wollack hold the sketch of an absorber technology that contains thousands of tightly packed, micro-machined spikes or cylindrical protuber- ances no taller than a grain of sand. The absorber is a critical component of the HAWC+’s detector system.

15 Primordial Inflation Polarization Goddard scientist Michael McElwain and his team Explorer (PIPER) delivered a tabletop-sized integral field spectrograph, PISCES, to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in FY16. The Due to inclement weather, the PIPER balloon mission was device will test starlight-suppression technologies for postponed and is now scheduled to fly in late May or future planet-finding missions. In addition, a similar-type early June 2017 from Palestine Texas. The IRAD-funded instrument has been baselined for NASA’s Wide-Field PIPER is an especially important mission today. In 2016, Infrared Space Telescope, a mission to detect exoplan- scientists announced they had confirmed the existence ets and study dark energy. of gravitational waves. PIPER is designed to search for (Investment Area: Astrophysics) a predicted signature of primordial gravitational waves that would prove the infant universe grew exponen- tially almost instantaneously after its birth. Should PIPER Critical Support Capabilities find the signature, the discovery would have profound consequences for cosmology and high-energy physics. Goddard-developed technologies do not always find (Investment Area: Astrophysics) berths on spacecraft or instrumentation. Their sole pur- pose is assisting scientists in the interpretation of data or providing NASA with capabilities needed to fly missions. Navigation Capabilities for GEODYN Around Binary Asteroids Principal Investigator David Rowlands updated God- dard’s orbit determination and geodetic parameter estimation software, GEODYN, to address binary as- teroid systems. To prepare for such a mission, planners would need to estimate orbits, spin states, and gravity fields of the two asteroids as well as estimate the orbit of the satellite. GEODYN is now capable of estimating

Photo Credit: Bill Hrybyk/NASA Photo Credit: these parameters. Goddard scientist Al Kogut, the principal investigator of (Investment Area: Planetary Science) NASA’s PIPER balloon mission, is shown here with the structural components of the payload. Fast, Autonomous Chemical Interplanetary Mission Design via Hybrid Optimal Prototype Imaging Spectrograph for Control Coronagraphic Exoplanet Studies (PISCES) Principal Investigator Jacob Englander added capabili- ties to a fast, autonomous tool for creating possible orbital trajectories for missions using chemical propul- sion. The tool is able to choose launch parameters, flight times, propulsive maneuvers, gravity assists, and arrival conditions. It is now ready for use by mission- proposal teams. (Investment Area: Communications and Navigation)

A team of Goddard technologists delivered to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory a tabletop-sized device, known as PISCES. It will test candidate starlight-suppression tech- niques. The team includes (from left to right): Qian Gong, Jorge Llop-Sayson, Michael McElwain, Norm Dobson, John Chambers, George Hilton, and Avi Mandell.

16 Scanhead and Hyperspectral Microwave Statistical Delta-V Tool for Pre-Proposal Atmospheric Sounder (HyMAS) Studies (DV99) Principal Investigator Matt Schwaller designed, built, Principal Investigator Donald Dichmann used IRAD fund- and tested a much-needed scanhead that will be used ing to develop a software tool for pre-proposal and to fly the Hyperspectral Microwave Atmospheric concept studies. The tool, DV99, provides an accurate Sounder, or HyMAS. The instrument is the result of and defensible estimate of a statistical Delta-V, with a collaboration between Paul Racette and William a 99 percent accuracy level. The final product is now Blackwell, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of a MATLAB application included in Goddard’s Orbit Technology. HyMAS, with its 52 channels in two micro- Determination Toolbox library. wave bands, is expected to dramatically improve the (Investment Area: Communications and Navigation) sensitivity of measurements needed for more accurate weather forecasts. (Investment Area: Earth Science) A Calibration Facility for Soft X-ray Missions Principal Investigator Adrian Daw has created a calibration and test facility for missions that observe soft X-rays. This is an additional capability that extends beyond the capabilities offered by Goddard’s EUV Calibration Facility. The facility is critically important Photo Credit: Bill Hrybyk/NASA Photo Credit: for understanding the hottest elements in the solar atmosphere. (Investment Area: Heliophysics) Patents Second-Generation Multi-Channel Digitizer (MCD2G) Test/Evaluation

Paul Racette (right) and Matt Fritts have helped develop a Principal Investigator Gerry Quilligan verified a new instrument, HyMAS, whose scanhead is shown here. second-generation MCD2G, a system-on-a-chip that They believe HyMAS will improve weather prediction. integrates a 42-channel digitizer, a digital temperature sensor, and 10 eight-bit digital-to-analog converter integrated circuits. Proving that the technology worked as designed, Quilligan has submitted three patent applications. (Investment Area: Planetary Science)

17 A Focus on CubeSats/Smallsats: The Pursuit of Reliability Gaining faster, less-expensive access to space has New Missions become the clarion call for NASA and other organiza- tions. In FY16, at the behest of NASA and the National Wide Angle Soft X-ray Planetary Science Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences Camera (WASP)/Cusp Plasma studied the scientific potential of CubeSats and recom- Imaging Detector (CuPID) mended ways to improve the platform for scientific use. NASA’s first wide-field soft X-ray camera, which Goddard not only fully supported these recommenda- incorporated a never-before-flown focusing technol- tions, but also had begun implementing many of the ogy when it debuted in late 2012, is a gift that keeps academy’s recommendations long before the report’s giving. In FY16, NASA selected a miniaturized version release. Fulfilling one of the academy’s top recommen- of the original X-ray camera to fly as a CubeSat mission dations, Goddard now plans to form an organization to study the Earth’s magnetic cusps via observations of that will oversee CubeSat-related developments. In the soft X-rays. The instrument, the latest incarnation of fact, Goddard has long understood the cost-saving, the Sheath Transport Observer for the Redistribution of rapid-response potential of the small-satellite platform. Mass, goes by two names. It will gather data important However, Goddard also understood that NASA for planetary science under the name WASP and for would need to develop new technologies to improve heliophysics as CuPID. The CubeSat mission is expected CubeSats’ reliability — critical for gathering NASA- to launch in 2019. grade science. (Investment Area: Heliophysics and Planetary Science) Since 2006, Goddard has focused its efforts on developing technologies and capabilities, as well as mission architectures, not available from the growing CubeSat community. Examples include everything from miniaturized application-specific integrated circuits and thermal-control devices to miniaturized spectrometers and detectors built to withstand the harsh space envi- ronment and gather NASA-quality scientific data.

Our investment in these technologies not only is ben- NASA Photo Credit: efitting CubeSats and smallsats, but also the much larger The CuPID/WASP payload (front of rocket) was integrated flagship-style missions that would profit from miniatur- into a Black Brant IX sounding rocket and launched in ized instruments and components, which consume less early December 2015. The payload now is being miniatur- mass, power, and volume. ized for a CubeSat mission to launch in 2019.

18 digital fine sun sensor designed for small satellites, and decreased its power consumption. As a result of his suc- cess, CANYVAL-X, Dellingr, and a Marshall Space Flight

Photo Credit: NASA Photo Credit: Center CubeSat mission will fly the first-generation sensor. (Investment Area: Suborbital Platforms and Range Services)

In another related development, Principal Investiga- tors Eric Cardiff and Khary Parker set out to develop a propulsion system for CubeSat missions. After car- rying out a trade study to determine the best system, the team identified George Washington University’s Micro-Cathode Arc Thruster as a candidate for further development. This system will propel CANYVAL-X once it’s deployed in space. However, the team believes the system can be further improved and has won an FY17 IRAD to continue the work. (Investment Area: Suborbital Platforms and Range Services)

The miniaturized CubeSat payload called both CuPID and WASP returned data about a physical phenomenon called charge exchange when it was launched aboard a sound- ing rocket in 2015.

Upcoming CubeSat Missions CubeSat Astronomy by NASA and Yonsei Using Virtual Telescope Alignment Experiment (CANYVAL-X) In FY16, a launch failure postponed the flight of CANYVAL-X, which will demonstrate technologies that allow two spacecraft to fly in formation along an iner- tial line of sight, thereby enabling a number of helio- physics and astrophysics missions. Under an internation- al agreement, Goddard technologist Neerav Shah and his team partnered with South Korea’s Yonsei University to fly a passive 1U and an active 2U spacecraft. Aboard the larger craft are a Goddard-provided sun sensor and microthrusters. These technologies are responsible for sensing and controlling the dual-spacecraft align- ment. A launch is now expected for 2017. Photo Credit: Debora McCallum/NASA Debora Photo Credit: (Investment Area: Suborbital Platforms and A Goddard team, including Matt Clovin (front), (left to Range Services) right) Bob Spagnuolo, Joe Roman, Phil Calhoun, Behnam Azimi, Mike Mahon, and Neerav Shah, provided the Virtual In a related development, Principal Investigator Zach- Telescope Alignment System for a CubeSat mission called ary Peterson also reported significant progress. Under CANYVAL-X, a collaboration with South Korea’s Yonsei his FY16 IRAD, Peterson improved the accuracy of the University. Wallops Fine Sun Sensor, or WFSS, a panel-mountable

19 Illustration:KARI

This artist’s rendition shows how CANYVAL-X’s two Bill Hrybyk/NASA Photo Credit: CubeSats will align once they are in orbit. Technologist Cindy Goode holds the tiny spring essential to operating the new thermal-control device that will be demonstrated during Goddard’s 6U Dellingr mission Dellingr in 2017. Also slated to fly sometime in 2017 is Dellingr. A God- dard team developed the 6U CubeSat to increase the reliability of these tiny platforms and drive down costs. Critical Support Capabilities When it launches, Dellingr will fly the already-proven Mini Ion-Neutral Mass Spectrometer (see page 8)that CubeSat Design Tool employs Goddard-developed, radiation-hardened The CubeSat Design Tool, now known as the CubeSat digital-to-analog integrated circuits. It also will demon- Initial Specification Tool, or CUBIST, is a computer strate a thermal-control technology, which Goddard program that will allow Goddard design teams to more technologist Allison Evans purposely designed for efficiently create robust CubeSat missions. CUBIST, CubeSat applications. The device traces its heritage in essence, is a repository for CubeSat knowledge. It to a technology used in the 1960s and features lou- provides a fast, simple tool for accessing that informa- vered flaps that open and close to shed or conserve tion. Future support will expand the CUBIST program. heat. (Investment Area: Crosscutting Technology and (Investment Area: Suborbital Platforms and Capabilities) Range Services) Technologies to Watch Carbon-Nanotube Mirrors A Goddard team is developing a compact, reproduc- ible, and relatively inexpensive telescope that could

Photo Credit: Bill Hrybyk/NASA Photo Credit: become the first to carry a mirror made of carbon nanotubes in an epoxy resin. Designed specifically for CubeSat missions, the telescope would be sensitive to the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared wavelength bands and could be equipped with commercial-off-the-shelf spectrometers and imagers. Its developers say it would be ideal for “quick” looks at targets of interest. The team, led by technologist Ted Kostiuk, has created a laboratory optical bench to test the concept. (Investment Area: Crosscutting Technology and Capabilities)

Principal Investigator Allison Evans has repurposed an old thermal-control technology specifically for the increasingly popular CubeSat platform.

20 Lithium-Ion Battery Development for Smallsats CubeSat batteries, such as those made of a lithium poly- mer, often fail because they can discharge while not be- ing used. A team led by Hanson Nguyen is developing a Photo Credit: Bill Hrybyk/NASA Photo Credit: higher-quality, user-configurable battery pack made of lithium ion. The effort is continuing under an FY17 IRAD. (Investment Area: Crosscutting Technology and Capabilities) Global Aerosol Measurement System (GAMS) The objective of the GAMS effort is developing a CubeSat-scale instrument concept suitable for de- tecting and characterizing aerosols in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. In FY16, Principal Investigator Peter Colarco discovered that he could im- prove characterization of aerosol loading in the weeks to months following a major volcanic eruption. The results of this study helped dictate the instrument design that would fit inside a 3U CubeSat. Work will continue under an FY17 IRAD. (Investment Area: Earth Science) John Kolasinski (left), Ted Kostiuk (center), and Tilak Hewagama (right) hold mirrors made of carbon nanotubes Elements of Tiny Plasma Spectrometers in an epoxy resin. The mirrors, built by Peter Chen, are being tested for potential use in a lightweight telescope The need for electrostatic analyzers to measure ion specifically for CubeSat scientific investigations (see page and electron fluxes in near-Earth space is ubiquitous in 20 for description). heliophysics missions. Principal Investigator Tom Moore has begun work to advance the technology-readiness SmallSat Common Electronics Board (SCEB) level of elements needed to build miniaturized elec- trostatic analyzers that could fly on a constellation of Principal Investigator James Fraction proposed to CubeSats. (Investment Area: Heliophysics) deliver the low-power, general-purpose SCEB to fill a technology gap and fulfill requirements of the Goddard Passive Films for CubeSat Solar and Modular SmallSat Architecture. It can be used across Radiator Thermal Control multiple discipline areas and fits within a 6U CubeSat. A need exists for a reliable, cost-effective thermal- A proposed CubeSat mission has already expressed control system that would contribute to longer-lasting interest in using the technology. (Investment Area: CubeSat missions. Principal Investigator Vivek Dwivedi Crosscutting Technology and Capabilities) is collaborating with researchers at Brigham Young Power System Electronics Development University to create a technique for applying vanadium for Smallsat Technologies dioxide, a transition metal oxide, on solar cells, radia- tors, and external boxes to passively control tempera- In a related effort, Principal Investigator Hanson Nguy- tures on CubeSat components. Work is continuing. en built and tested a modular electrical power system (Investment Area: Crosscutting Technology that is compatible with the Smallsat Common Electron- and Capabilities) ics Board (see preceding writeup). The technology is designed to be reliable, efficient, and flexible. Work will continue under an FY17 IRAD. (Investment Area: Crosscutting Technology and Capabilities)

21 Volume-Efficient Momentum Exchange CubeSat Attitude-Control System Testbed Actuator for CubeSats The primary objective of this IRAD effort was design- The viability of CubeSat missions requires the miniatur- ing, building, and testing a CubeSat attitude-control ization of both instruments and spacecraft hardware. system testbed. According to Principal Investigator Under this FY16 IRAD, Principal Investigator Gerardo John Hudeck, work is continuing on this much-needed Cruz-Ortiz began investigating a so-called momentum capability, which would help reduce the risk of CubeSat exchange actuator, a ring for maintaining attitude con- missions. Attitude control is one subsystem that is in- trol. The technology would maximize the available mass creasingly becoming more complex as the demands on and volume for scientific payloads, particularly those these tiny spacecraft increase, especially when flying in designed for CubeSats. The actuator also doubles constellations. Investment Area: Suborbital Platforms the momentum capabilities of CubeSats, providing the and Range Services required pointing precision for high-quality science on small platforms. The team used additive manufactur- Simulation Environment for CubeSat ing to build prototypes and plans to continue the work Hardware-in-the-Loop Testbed under an FY17 IRAD. (Investment Area: Crosscutting A key objective for CubeSat developers is spending Technology and Capabilities) less time on upfront analyses and more time on testing, with a net savings on schedule and budget. Principal In- Miniaturized, High-Reliability CubeSat vestigator Cinnamon Wright began collaborating with Release Mechanisms the Dellingr 6U CubeSat team to provide testing capa- Principal Investigator James Sturm began research into bilities for CubeSat missions. Such a testbed would help the feasibility of combining an off-the-shelf actua- identify any weaknesses in the design and fabrication of tor with a Goddard-designed mechanism to create a the satellite and quantify performance capabilities. multi-purpose release mechanism. The effort is an at- (Investment Area: Suborbital Platforms and tempt to overcome previous failures in some commonly Range Services) used CubeSat deployment systems that have either degraded science objectives or resulted in a loss of Ultra-Compact Freeform Optics for the mission. Sturm anticipates that upcoming announce- Modular CubeSats ments for Small Explorer missions could benefit from a Principal Investigator Sean Semper is investigating new system. (Investment Area: Crosscutting the development of a free-form optical lens for future Technology and Capabilities) sensor designs. The technology could be used for ultra- compact CubeSat instruments, aimed specifically at A Miniaturized Astrometric Alignment simplifying their design. Semper envisions the technol- Sensor for Distributed and Non- ogy as the first of many instrument and sensor cards that Distributed GN&C Systems would fit into a standard frame. Principal Investigators Sabrina Thompson and Sean (Investment Area: Suborbital Platforms and Semper have begun developing a potential demonstra- Range Services) tion of two CubeSat stellar sensors used for astrometric alignments necessary for formation flying and relative navigation missions. In FY16, the team conducted a trade study to determine optical performance require- ments for two small cameras, determining that a 1U CubeSat camera was suitable for orbital and suborbital flights.(Investment Area: Suborbital Platforms and Range Services)

22 Developing Large-Area SiPM (Silicon Compact UV-Vis-NIR (Ultraviolet-Visible- Photomultiplier) Arrays with the TRYAD Near Infrared) Payload for Planetary Mission: New Techniques for Fast Neutron CubeSats Imaging and Spectroscopy Principal Investigator Shahid Aslam has begun develop- The goal for Principal Investigator Georgia de Nolfo ing the infrastructure to integrate commercial-off-the- was developing large-area arrays and readout for the shelf UV-Vis-NIR spectrometers into CubeSat space- National Science Foundation-funded Terrestrial Rays craft to address broad planetary goals. Analysis and Detection (TRYAD) mission, led by the (Investment Area: Planetary Science) University of Alabama-Huntsville. The CubeSat mission uses two formation-flying CubeSats to measure the beam profiles and tilts of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes. Work is continuing. (Investment Area: Heliophysics)

23 Rising Stars: Technologies to Watch

Research and development is a high-risk endeavor. In some cases, the research does not yield the expected outcome or result. In others, the principal investigator achieves precisely what he or she set out to accomplish. Here we spotlight just a few early-stage, often higher-

risk technologies that could result in Goddard creating Bill Hrybyk/NASA Photo Credit: new opportunities and helping NASA carry out its sci- ence and exploration missions. Astrophysics Gravitational-Wave Mission Goddard scientists continue work on two key technolo- gies necessary for detecting gravitational waves in space. Principal Investigator Jeffrey Livas and Jordan Shannon R. Sankar (left), a NASA postdoctoral student, Camp are developing highly precise telescopes and a has worked with Goddard scientist Jeff Livas on a poten- laser system, respectively, that would be applicable to tial telescope for a possible gravitational-wave mission. the European Space Agency’s proposed Laser Interfer- ometer Space Antenna. In FY16, the Mid-Decadal As- sessment Report strongly endorsed NASA’s involvement in the mission; however, NASA has not yet responded to the endorsement. Photo Credit: Bill Hrybyk/NASA Photo Credit:

Kenji Numata (left), a Goddard laser expert who is building a laser system to measure CO2 and methane, is working with scientist Jordan Camp (right) on a system designed specifically for a proposed, European-led gravitational- wave mission.

24 Phase Fresnel Lens Nanofabrication Novel Ka-Band High-Gain Antenna Phase Fresnel Lenses, or PFLs, are efficient and light- Design for Communications Systems for weight and provide diffraction-limited imaging in the Future Earth-Observing Platforms X-ray and gamma-ray bands. Principal Investigator Principal Investigator Victor Marrero-Fontarez used Takashi Okajima believes they could form the optics of FY16 IRAD support to evaluate a new high-gain antenna a next-generation X-ray or gamma-ray mission, provid- for Ka-band, radio-frequency communications. The ing three orders-of-magnitude better resolution than proposed antenna would allow high-data rates in the current optics on the Chandra telescope. To realize the underused Ka-band for future low-Earth-orbiting the potential, Okajima is teaming with Northeastern remote-sensing missions. University to develop a rapid prototyping technique to fabricate more complex PFL designs. Work is continuing. A Low-G Integrating Bolometer Developments in far-infrared spectroscopy promise to open a new window on the early universe because atomic lines in this wavelength band are the dominant cooling mechanism for the interstellar medium. In FY16, Principal Investigator Ed Canavan demonstrated the first pixel-scale heat switch for a next-generation bolometer needed to trace star formation and galaxy evolution across cosmic time.

Communications and Navigation Bill Hrybyk/NASA Photo Credit: Goddard technologists Mae Huang and Victor Marrero- Algorithms and Techniques to Mitigate Fontanez have collaborated to test and verify components Atmospheric Fading on Laser of a Ka-band space communications system. In this Communications Links photo, Huang is holding a test board upon which the Ka-band/microwave design is mounted and bonded. Atmospheric scintillation creates a random fading of received optical signals, making it the biggest challenge facing space-based laser communications. Principal Investigator Wai Fong is researching mitigation tech- niques. If successful, future NASA laser communications would be able to transfer data at much higher rates, with less complexity. GMAT-Based Mission Analysis and Design Application Program Interface (API) Principal Investigator Joel Parker developed a proof- of-concept mission analysis and design API that is based on the General Mission Analysis Tool, or GMAT, which won Goddard’s 2015 Software of the Year award. The technology provides access to the GMAT software at a much lower level than previously possible, enabling new applications such as closed-loop navigation and mission design studies. The API has drawn interest from a broad cross-section of users, Parker reports.

25 Next-Generation Broadcast Service Since CapSat’s roll out, a number of possible new missions Signal Specification have approached Burt about possibly using the platform. Furthermore, Burt also is developing a smaller CapSat- Principal Investigator Jennifer Donaldson continued type platform, which he calls the CapSat Science Instru- work maturing a beacon service called the Next-Gen- ment Tube, or CapSIT. In this architecture, the pressurized eration Broadcast Service (formerly known as TASS). volume for the CapSat science instrument is reduced to a Such a service would provide global S-band beacon tube about three feet long and one foot in diameter. service to distribute on-demand commands, GPS correc- tions, space weather alerts, among other applications. In FY16, Donaldson finalized the beacon-message content and integrated a TDRS transceiver with the Navigator GPS receiver. Architecture for Navigation and Communications Receivers In a related IRAD, Principal Investigator Luke Thomas, who also was involved in the NavCube effort (see page 6), began developing a generic firmware archi- tecture that could acquire and track a broad spectrum of signals used for communications and navigation. The architecture could potentially support an S-band beacon service (see preceding writeup). Onboard Optical Navigation Measure- ment Processing in GEONS Principal Investigator Cinnamon Wright has begun NASA Photo Credit: developing an optical-navigation software tool to Goddard engineer Joe Burt is applying the CapSat concept to create a smaller pressurized platform, support next-generation interplanetary and small-body which he calls CapSIT. missions that use spacecraft-based images for precisely determining orbits. Once this capability is completed, current onboard navigation software, GEONS, will be enhanced to use high-fidelity camera models for optical navigation. Crosscutting Technology and Capabilities Capsulation Satellite Each time a rocket blasts off to deliver a primary payload into space, it typically does so with room to spare — a reality that got Goddard engineer Joe Burt thinking. Why not exploit that unused capacity and cre- ate a sealed, pressurized, thermally controlled capsule that could take advantage of rideshare opportunities while accommodating less-expensive, off-the-shelf instrument components typically used in laboratory-like settings? Several years in the making, Burt and his team Bill Hrybyk/NASA Photo Credit: now are validating portions of such a system, called the Goddard engineer Joe Burt stands next to the Capsulation Satellite that could allow users to fly laboratory-type Capsulation Satellite, or CapSat. instruments into space.

26 Aerosol Jet Printing Earth Science Principal Investigator Beth Paquette has begun investi- Long-Path OH Absorption Measurement gating the use of a technique called aerosol jet printing to produce new detector assemblies not possible with Hydroxyl radical, also known as OH, controls the life- traditional processes. As with other 3-D printing tech- time of atmospheric gases like ozone, methane and ha- niques, aerosol jet manufacturing builds components by logenated hydrocarbons that affect human health and depositing materials layer-by-layer following a com- climate. Under his FY16 IRAD, Principal Investigator Tom puter-aided design. The benefit of aerosol jet printing is Hanisco demonstrated the optical setup, data acquisi- that it can print on non-uniform surfaces, such as around tion, and spectroscopic analysis of a new laser-based bends, on spheres, or on something flat, making it ideal capability to measure OH. Hanisco plans to further for detector assemblies. advance the concept. Technology Development for Future Spaceborne Remote-Sensing Lidars Under his FY16 IRAD, Principal Investigator Lihua Li focused on developing spaceborne cloud/precipitation Doppler radars — a critical NASA need. Li reported that he has developed a high-speed digital receiver/ processor and waveform generator, among other tech- nologies. The technology could fly on the International Space Station. Development of an Airborne Dual-Axis Optical Tracking System Principal Investigator Scott Janz, collaborating with John Moison at the Wallops Flight Facility, designed and fabricated an optical dome for an airborne, dual-axis Photo Credit: Bill Hrybyk/NASA Photo Credit: optical tracking system capable of pointing at any sky Goddard technologist Beth Paquette holds a small ce- location or ground target afforded by the mounting ramic board with four radiation-hardened digital-to-analog converter chips (in the middle of the board). She created location on an aircraft. Janz reports that such a system the circuitry using a 3-D printing technique, aerosol would enhance calibration and validation measurement jet printing. capability related to upcoming Earth science missions.

Holographic Projection of Structured Heliophysics Beams of Light for Target Ranging, Earth Mesosphere Temperature Remote Velocimetry, and Sample Measurements Via Sodium Lidar: Acquisition System Laboratory Demonstration By using laser-based tractor beams, missions in the future One of the most critical questions in the ionosphere- will be able to remotely target samples and study them thermosphere-mesosphere community is what are the over extended distances. Under this FY16 IRAD, Princi- major gravity-wave sources in the lower and middle pal Investigator Paul Stysley collaborated with New atmosphere and how do they interact with and influence York University and other Goddard divisions to nearly winds, planetary waves, and tides. Principal Investiga- complete the construction of a holographic optical trap- tor Diego Janches is continuing work on a spaceborne ping/tractor beam system. According to him, the team sodium lidar, which could be deployed on the Interna- has successfully projected complex and structured light tional Space Station, to help answer these questions. fields with this system. The research is continuing.

27 Photon Sieve Superposed Epoch Analysis of Storm A team of Goddard scientists and engineers has begun Time Orbital Drag testing a potentially more affordable light-collecting Principal Investigator Peter Schuck is developing a mirror called the photon sieve. The technology, a vari- global model of storm-time neutral density in Earth’s ant of the Fresnel zone plate that focuses light through ionosphere, which could be used to predict satellite diffraction rather than refraction or reflection, could orbital decay during solar storms. The technology is gather light at all wavelengths. However, a Goddard aimed at substantially improving the prediction of satel- team is investigating the technology for studies of the lite positions during storms and identifying satellites that sun in the ultraviolet, a spectral region that could reveal are vulnerable to orbital decay. According to Schuck, details about the physical processes powering the the capability would position Goddard as a leader sun’s corona. The team, in just a few months’ time, built in orbital-drag determination, potentially broaden- three devices and plans to ultimately test them during a ing Goddard’s customer base and funding sources for sounding-rocket mission. space-weather services. Planetary Science Bio-Indicator Lidar Instrument (BILI) Principal Investigator Branimir Blagojevic has suc- cessfully shown that the Bio-Indicator Lidar Instrument could be used for planetary missions. According to the principal investigator, BILI will dramatically increase the probability of finding the signatures of extraterrestrial life by carrying out atmospheric scans in and around a rover or lander. Electrostatic Precipitation to Augment Aerosol Collection for Mass Spectrometry Photo Credit: Bill Hrybyk/NASA Photo Credit: Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, and Titan all have hazes that are Doug Rabin, Adrian Daw, John O’Neill, Anne-Marie Novo- likely composed in part of complex molecules, with Gradac, and Kevin Denis are developing an unconvention- al optic that could give scientists the resolution they need implications for the chemistry and dynamics occurring to see finer details of the physical processes powering the in Earth’s atmosphere. Principal Investigator Melissa sun’s corona. Trainer has developed a collection filter that she then coupled to a neutral mass spectrometer to measure Wire Electric Field Booms: Completion, such molecules. Testing, and Evaluation of an Engineering Developing Wide-Field-of-View Model to be Flown on a Sounding Rocket Supra-Thermal Neutral-Atom Principal Investigator Robert Pfaff is attempting to bring Imaging Optics about a new era of DC/AC electric-field measurement Energetic neutral-atom imaging has provided critical capabilities. Under his FY16 IRAD, Pfaff completed the data on many planetary exospheres, atmospheres, and testing and integration of two engineering model booms surfaces on the Moon, Mars, and Venus. However, cur- that will be flown on a sounding rocket in the high- rent supra-thermal neutral-atom imagers have limited latitude auroral ionosphere. This flight will help advance fields of view. Under this IRAD, Principal Investigator the boom design, which will be tested against other fold- John Keller and his team are advancing the develop- down electric-field booms for direct comparisons. ment of “lobster-eye” optics to focus super-thermal neutral atoms. Work is continuing.

28 Remote and In-Situ Measurements of the Advanced Laser Architecture for Two- Magnetic Field: Technology Maturation Step Laser Tandem Spectrometer and Mission Concept Development In FY16, Principal Investigator Anthony Yu focused on In FY16, Principal Investigator Michael Purucker defined developing a new laser architecture based on the mission concepts, matured technology, and validated successful transmitter used on the Lunar Orbiter Laser techniques for a new method to remotely sense mag- Altimeter that has sent more than four billion laser shots netic fields via satellites at altitudes heretofore inacces- to the lunar surface since its launch in 2009. This technol- sible to in-situ or remote sampling. Work is continuing ogy has the potential to enable many scientific applica- under an FY17 IRAD. tions, including laser spectroscopy, altimetry, and mass spectroscopy. Yu has developed two laser breadboards.

29 Ending the Year with Celebration: Scenes from the FY16 Annual Poster Session

The year ended with the annual “IRAD Poster Session,” which showcased the work of about 90 principal investigators and attracted hundreds of visitors. This chapter tells the story in photos, all taken by Goddard photographer Bill Hrybyk.

Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate (AETD) Director Felicia Jones congratulates George Suarez and Jeffrey Dumonthier who received an IRAD Honorable Mention for their behind-the-scenes persistence in developing one-of-a- kind circuits designed to enable high-profile missions and increase the reliability of CubeSat missions (see page 8). Chief Technologist Peter Hughes (left) and AETD Deputy Director Juan Roman (right) look on.

30 IRAD Innovators of the Year Monther Hasouneh and Dave Petrick hold IRAD Innovators of the Year plaques, which they received for creating a more capable navigational capability called NavCube (see page 6). Pictured from left to right are Chief Technologist Peter Hughes, Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate (AETD) Director Felicia Jones, Hasouneh, Petrick, AETD Deputy Director Juan Roman, and Deputy Chief Technologist Deborah Amato.

Technologist Georgia DeNolfo advanced technologies associated with fast neutron imaging and spectroscopy.

31 Peter Colarco (center) explains a CubeSat concept called the Global Aerosol Measurement System, or GAMS. GAMS would carry a multi-angle stratospheric aerosol radiometer to detect and characterize aerosols in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere.

Technologist Jennifer Donaldson, one of several recipients of the FY16 IRAD Innovators of the Year award, explains the Next-Generation Broadcast Service, a possible messaging system.

32 In addition to the 80-plus “professionals” who celebrated their achievements during the poster session, student interns also were given an opportunity to showcase their work.

Vivek Dwivedi (left) talks with heliophysicst Nick Paschalidis about a new thermal-control radiator he advanced under his FY16 Center Innovation Fund task.

33 Technologist Guangning Yang used his FY16 IRAD funding to advance a high-precision ranging technology for CubeSat applications. He explains his work to Goddard scientist John Baker.

Fall intern Yanelis Lopez was one of several students presenting posters at the IRAD Poster Session. She and Goddard technologist Gary Crum are investigating the use of an open-source software called COSMOS to improve testing infrastructure.

34 “This first milestone still stands as the deepest contrast ever achieved with a nulling coronagraph. It also clearly demonstrated nulling with a segmented aperture — another significant milestone.”

— Rick Lyon, in the last interview with CuttingEdge magazine, referring to the nearly billion-to-one contrast he demonstrated with his Visible Nulling Coronagraph over a narrow band in the visible spectrum.

A Beautiful Mind: A Tribute to Richard G. Lyon (1958-2016)

Goddard lost one of its Excellence in Space Data most fertile minds with the and Information Systems. passing of Richard G. “Rick” Lyon, who died unexpect- Over his rich career, Lyon edly in late January due to authored nearly 150 peer- complications from his late- reviewed journal articles, re- 2014 liver transplant. ceived NASA’s Exceptional Service Medal in 2004, three Universally described as a NASA Group Achievement “brilliant mathematician” Awards, four Goddard and even a “kind of living Special Act Awards, and national treasure” by one in 2012, the James Kerley of his colleagues, Lyon was Award, awarded by God- born in Washington State. dard’s Technology Transfer He came from a working Program. family of watermen from the south side of Boston harbor Chris Gunn/NASA Photo Credit: His consuming scientific and was the first person in the family to get a college passion, however, revolved around cosmology and degree, earning a B.S. in physics Magna Cum Laude from more particularly directly imaging and characterizing the University of Massachusetts and an M.S. in optics planets in other solar systems. About six years ago, he from the University of Rochester. began developing the Visible Nulling Coronagraph, a novel instrument that combines an interferometer with a Prior to joining NASA, and ultimately becoming a mem- coronagraph designed specifically for finding potential ber of Goddard’s Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics signatures of life in these far-flung worlds. Laboratory, Lyon worked as an optical-systems engineer for Perkin-Elmer Corp. (later known as Hughes Danbury Despite his reputation as one of the world’s foremost Optical Systems) where he worked on the Hubble experts in optical physics, Lyon remained a modest, Space Telescope’s Fine Guidance Sensors and then as good-hearted man, who did not think of himself as a a principal investigator for the phase-retrieval efforts to celebrity or a superstar, his colleagues said. quantify aberrations in Hubble’s primary mirror. He spent two years at the Air Force Research Labora- Lyon is survived by his wife, Karen, two sons, Keith Mur- tory before coming to Goddard in 1994 as a research ray and Jack Dean, three siblings, four grandchildren, scientist with the University of Maryland’s Center of and many aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews.

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