TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITY: MMOD Impact Detection and Location (LAR-TOPS-245)
ID: T2P-LaRC-00116Type: Special Notice
Overview

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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATIONNATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATIONUS

PSC

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS (9999)
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    Description

    Special Notice: NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION is seeking inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture, and market a technology for determining micrometeoroid/orbital debris (MMOD) impact on orbiting spacecraft. This technology, developed by NASAs Langley Research Center, involves a strain-sensing system that can be affixed to a spacecrafts MMOD shielding layer or structure. It detects the occurrence, time, location, and severity of MMOD strikes, allowing for the detection and location of potentially harmful impacts on both crewed and unmanned spacecraft. This technology is important for assessing the risk to vehicles in the on-orbit MMOD environment, including commercial crew vehicles visiting the International Space Station (ISS). The technology utilizes one or more optical fibers with encoded strain sensors to record time-varying strain and identify the occurrence and timing of MMOD strikes. The residual plastic strain recorded by the strain sensors can also provide information on the location of the strike.

    Point(s) of Contact
    NASA’s Technology Transfer Program
    Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov
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