NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) 20170011580: Tech Transfer News

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by  NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

National Aeronautics and
VOLUME 9 NUMBER 1 | FALL 2017
Space Administration
Kennedy Space Center
IN THIS ISSUE:
2 I Research & Technology
3 I Innovation Outreach
4 I Licensing Success
5 I New Technology
6 I Innovator Insights
8 I Legal Corner
9-10 I Innovation Success
11-12 I Innovation Recognition
Howard Levine is the Chief Scientist for NASA’s
ISS Research Office. See pages 6-7 to learn more
about Howard’s work in the Space Life Sciences
Labs to grow plants in deep space.
Photo credit:
Tony Gray and Sandra Joseph
RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY
Jonathan Leahy
Esteemed member of the Intellectual Property Legal Team

J onathan Leahy recently joined fore joining NASA as an IP Attorney,
NASA’s Office of the Chief Jon worked as a technology transfer
Counsel at Kennedy Space specialist for the Engineering Ser-
Center (KSC) as a member of the vices Contract supporting the NASA
Intellectual Property (IP) Legal Team. Technology Transfer Program at KSC.
Jon is a licensed attorney in New York His familiarity with KSC’s technology
State and is also a registered patent portfolio, as well as the scientific
attorney authorized to practice in and engineering community at KSC,
front of the United States Patent and makes Jon a perfect addition to the IP
Trademark Office (USPTO). His pri- Legal Team. Jon has held several po-
mary responsibilities for the IP Legal sitions within the field of technology
Team will be assisting the Technology transfer for various companies where
Transfer Program with patentabil- he was responsible for technology
ity assessments for KSC developed marketing, IP licensing, and managing
technologies that have high com- corporate copyrights and trademarks.
Jonathan Leahy
mercialization and licensing potential. It is also worthy to note that Jon is a
In this role, he will also be preparing patented inventor on two technolo-
patent applications and responding gies he co-developed to assist people
to actions from the USPTO on NASA’s with disabilities. It goes without say-
patent applications, as well as draft- ing that Jon is a value-added addition
ing patent license agreements. Be- to the NASA KSC IP Legal Team.
FORGET

NTR
TO SUBMIT YOUR

We look forward to your future contributions.
New Technology Reporting:
http://invention.nasa.gov
KSC New Technology Transfer Office
Contact KSC New Technology Representatives
Meredith Reeves or Megan Victor
for more information
[email protected]
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NASA’S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER I VOLUME 9 NUMBER 1 I FALL 2017
INNOVATION OUTREACH
The Space Race
Encouraging entrepreneurial startups to utilize space technology
T he Center for Advancing In- initiative, which is a licensing ar-
novation (CAI) partnered with rangement that eliminates fees
the National Aeronautics and for the first three years of
Space Administration (NASA) in an commercial use of NASA’s
unprecedented initiative to encourage patented technolo-
entrepreneurs to form startups using gies. Startup NASA
space technology - the SPACE RACE. addressed two of the
The SPACE RACE is a first-of-its-kind biggest challenges
global initiative, which was formed in faced by startup
partnership with NASA to encourage companies: raising
the use of federally-funded technolo- capital and securing
gies by startup companies. The SPACE intellectual property
RACE Challenge is a great opportunity rights.
for entrepreneurs to jump start their
“The NASA invention portfolio
career and learn about how to create
is very advanced, and many of the Fifteen (15) winners and finalists of the
and run businesses, while participating
inventions have multiple applications SPACE RACE startup challenge were
in a competitive and deliverable-driven
that are commercially viable. NASA’s announced in the fall of 2016 by CAI.
environment. The competition is
Kennedy Space Center technologies Startups launched from the SPACE
supported by CAI’S startup challenge-
provide ideal platforms for launch- RACE have moved on to Phase 3 of
accelerator design, which provides
ing new companies with world-class the challenge, where they are tasked
training and expert mentorship to all
crowdsourced talent,” said Rosema- with incorporation, licensing NASA
participants. Topics covered include:
rie Truman, Founder and CEO of the technologies, and raising seed fund-
business strategy, financial planning,
Center for Advancing Innovation. ing. Winners of this race from Ken-
and R&D strategy.
“Coupled with NASA’s new licensing nedy Space Center included Sun City
The SPACE RACE Challenge leveraged agreement and our unique paradigm, Smart Technology Solutions, Inc. and
the benefits of the Startup NASA we’ve created an unparalleled launch Minus Tau, both interested in commer-
pad to accelerate and increase the cializing KSC’s In-Situ Wire Damage
volume of federally-funded invention Detection and Rerouting System, and
commercialization,” Rosemarie added. Native Coatings, which is interested in
commercializing KSC’s Liquid Galvanic
Coating technologies for the protec-
tion of rebar in cement.
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VOLUME 9 NUMBER 1 I FALL 2017 I TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OFFICE
LICENSING SUCCESS
Aviation Technologies
and the Alt AlertTM
T he Personal Cabin Pressure KSC’s Technology Transfer team at
Altitude Monitor and Warning Kennedy Space Center saw a need for
System, which won the NASA this technology in the aviation indus-
Commercial Invention of the Year try. After receiving a US Patent on the
and Government Invention of the technology the team marketed the
Year awards for 2003, grew out of a technology to the aviation industry
project to create a vacuum chamber and attended appropriate events in- The monitor also has a sleep mode
that would allow astronauts to work cluding the Lakeland Florida’s Annual and will only “awaken” and sound
in emulated lunar and Mars environ- Sun ‘N Fun International Fly-in and when the pressure is at an unsafe
ments. NASA’s Jan Zysko, the inven- Expo. limit. It comes with three different
tor of the award-winning device, and mounting options, including a backing
Persistence paid off and in 2007 Stacy
his team were concerned about air with suction cups for window mount-
Pappas Sawaya, an engineer from San
evacuating the chamber while people ing, a backing with Velcro for mount-
Diego who had ties to the aviation
were still inside. Depressurization of ing against the instrument panel, and
industry through her father, a retired
this kind can cause hypoxia, which a clip to attach it to a visor.
Delta pilot, FAA examiner, and flight
is a state of oxygen deficiency in the
instructor reviewed the technology. As an aftermarket product, the Alt
blood, tissues, and cells sufficient
Sawaya reached out to the network Alert™ is an option for pilots of pres-
to impair functions of the brain and
and determined that there was a surized aircraft—jets or airliners that
other organs.
market for the monitor in the aviation fly above 15,000 feet—to take with
industry. Sawaya took the lead and them in their professional pilot’s flight
created a new startup company called bag. It is currently available for all
Aviation Technology and applied and pilots of pressurized aircraft in the
received a commercial patent license United States, a market that could
for the Personal Cabin Pressure Moni- reach tens of thousands of customers.
tor in 2011. In the future, Sawaya plans to offer
the technology to international mar-
With the advent of the Smart Phone,
kets as well. Aviation Technology sold
Sawaya designed the Alt Alert™ to be
their first Alt Alert™ units in August
similar in size and shape of the cell
2014 and have had a steady stream of
phone. She improved upon the origi-
business since.
nal concept and developed a model of
the technology that features a small
monitor with an integrated alarm and
LED annunciation that will sound and
Alt Alert
flash a super-bright LED when the cab-
in pressure is approaching or exceeds
a maximum safe operating altitude.
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NASA’S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER I VOLUME 9 NUMBER 1 I FALL 2017
NEW TECHNOLOGY
Cryogenic Capacitor
Cryo-Fluid Capacitor utilizes nano-porous materials
E ngineers at the Cryogenics Testing Facility have cre- hydrogen, methane, etc., can be stored in a molecular
ated the Cryo-Fluid Capacitor (CFC) that capitalizes surface adsorbed state at densities on par with liquid, at
on the energy storage capacity of liquefied gasses low to moderate pressure, and then supplied as a gas, on-
and relative simplicity of high pressure gas bottles, while demand, to a point of interest.
limiting the downfalls associated with both methods. By
Storage and transfer of fluid commodities such as oxy-
exploiting a unique attribute of nano-porous materials,
gen, hydrogen, natural gas, nitrogen, argon, etc. is an
aerogel in this case, fluid commodities such as oxygen,
absolute necessity in virtually every industry on Earth.
These fluids are typically contained in one of two ways: 1)
as low pressure cryogenic liquids, or 2) as a high pressure
gases. However they have their limitations for practical
use. High pressure gas must be stored in vessels with
heavy thick walls and cryogenic liquids require complex
storage systems to limit boil-off and are not well suited
for overly dynamic situations where the tank orientation
can change suddenly (e.g. in an airplane or car). The CFC
addresses these issues, while still providing excellent
energy storage capability.
The CFC technology includes ingenious packaging in its
design. Tightly coiling aerogel blanket into a cylinder
allows for a larger amount of the storage media (aerogel)
to be densely packaged into a manageable geometry, yet
won’t allow the cryogenic fluid to easily penetrate the
cylinder for fast charging. A spirally-integrated conduc-
tive membrane also acts as a large area heat exchanger
that easily distributes heat through the entire cylinder
to discharge the CFC quickly, and can be interfaced to a
cooling source to charge it up; this feature also allows the
cryogenic fluid to easily penetrate the cylinder for fast
charging. Another important note is that the unit can
be charged up with cryogenic liquid or from an ambient
temperature gas supply, depending on the desired man-
ner of refrigeration. Another novel feature is the heater
integration. Two promising methods have been fabricat-
ed and tested that evenly distribute heat throughout the
entire core, both axially and radially.
Lab Prototype of the Capacitor
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VOLUME 9 NUMBER 1 I FALL 2017 I TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OFFICE
INNOVATION INSIGHTS
Space Life Sciences Lab
Growing food in deep space for extended duration missions
A ll organisms grow differently in psychological benefits for the crew, and
space. Future long-duration space conduct outreach activities. Currently, Veg-
missions will require crew mem- gie provides the largest volume available for
bers to grow their own food; so understand- plant growth on the ISS.
ing how plants respond to microgravity is
NASA’s first plant experiments in Veggie,
an important step toward that goal. NASA’s
called Veg-01 and Veg-03, were used to
Space Life and Physical Sciences Division
study the on-orbit function and perfor-
supports research on this subject in labo-
mance of the Veggie and its rooting “pil-
ratories at NASA Centers, in university and
lows,” which contain the seeds and growth
commercial laboratories, and most impor-
medium. Through numerous tests the
tantly on multiple spaceflight platforms,
Veggie science team has refined the pillow
including the International Space Station
concept and selected growth media and
(ISS) and free-flyer satellites launched using
fertilizers, plant species, materials, and
expendable rockets.
protocols in Veggie to grow healthy plants
Howard Levine, the Chief Scientist for that can provide the crew with food and
NASA’s ISS Research Office, leads a research recreation.
group at Kennedy Space Center who design
The Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery Sys-
and conduct experiments that deal with
tem (PONDS) is an improved plant growth
growing plants in the microgravity environ-
ments of space. This research put lettuce approach that is composed of both an area
on the menu for the first time for NASA as- for a contained plant growth substrate and
tronauts on the ISS last year. Expedition 44 a reservoir for water and/or plant nutrient
crew members, including NASA’s one-year solutions. PONDS was developed to fit
astronaut Scott Kelly, grew and sampled the beneath the Veggie light cap and replace
fruits of their labor when they harvested a the current rooting “pillows.” PONDS
crop of red romaine lettuce from the Veg- provides reliable water delivery to seeds for
etable Production System (Veggie) on the germination (while avoiding overwatering).
nation’s orbiting laboratory. This fulfills the requirement to transport
water from the reservoir for improved plant
Veggie was developed by Orbital Technolo-
growth while providing adequate nutrients
gies to be a simple, easily stowed and high
and aeration to the root zone under both 1g
growth volume, yet, low resource facility
and microgravity conditions.
capable of producing fresh vegetables on
the ISS. In addition to growing vegetables The Advanced Plant Habitat (APH), that
in space, Veggie can support a variety of will be launching to ISS this year, is a large
experiments designed to determine how growth volume plant habitat, capable
plants respond to microgravity, provide of hosting multi-generational studies, in
Example of Veggie and
APH experiments at KSC.
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NASA’S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER I VOLUME 9 NUMBER 1 I FALL 2017
Members of the KSC Space life and Physical Science Lab gather next to the APH. Back row
(left to right) Jeff Richards, John Catechis, Clayton Grosse, Jim Smodell, and Gerard Newsham.
Second row (left to right) Gioia Massa, Oscar Monje, Kelli Maloney, and John Carver. Third
row (left to right) Stephanie Richards, Victoria Long, and Kamber Scott. Front row (left to right)
Dinah Dimapilis and Howard Levine. Photo credit: Tony Gray and Sandra Joseph
which environmental variables (e.g. remove carbon dioxide, purify water,
temperature, relative humidity, and produce food. It therefore holds
light intensity) can be tracked and promise for reducing requirements for
controlled in support of whole plant resupplying these commodities for long
physiological testing (up to 135 days) duration space missions. Given the
and Bio-regenerative Life Support cost of launching supplies into space (a
System (BLSS) investigations. The value of $10,000/lb is often used), this
BLSS approach capitalizes on the approach can dramatically reduce costs
ability of plants to produce oxygen, associated with spaceflight.
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VOLUME 9 NUMBER 1 I FALL 2017 I TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OFFICE
LEGAL CORNER
Behind the Scenes with the Unsung
Heroes of the KSC Legal Team
W hen talking about Chief Counsel before moving to
the NASA Intellectual her current position within the
Property (IP) Legal KSC Office of the Chief Counsel
Team, most people think of in 2008. Dawn assists the IP
the patent attorneys who help team with a myriad of tasks. She
protect NASA’s groundbreak- prepares all documents related
ing inventions. However, the to copyrights within the office,
IP team is much more than just which entails securing copyright
its attorneys. Paralegals Ginger assignments from contractors,
Arrington and Dawn Feick are as well as registering those
invaluable members of the Ginger Arrington Dawn Fieck copyrights with the Library of
team, providing critical support Congress. Dawn also manages
to not only the patent attorneys, but agreements. In addition, she manages the IP invention rights determination
the researchers as well. the IP docket and tracks all aspects of process for the Patent Counsel, which
the patent prosecution and licensing requires her to interface with NASA
Ginger began her NASA career as a co-
processes, including all USPTO filing contractors to obtain invention title
op in 1991 at Langley Research Center
and fee payment deadlines. Ginger elections and patent waiver docu-
(LaRC) where her talents propelled her
also administers and processes royal- ments. In her dual role as the Ethics
to the Technology Transfer Office from
ties received from patent licensing on paralegal with the Office of the Chief
1994-2000. She moved to the LaRC
behalf of the KSC Technology Transfer Counsel, Dawn also helps the IP team
Office of the Chief Counsel in 2001 and
Program, which includes calculating research many ethics issues that arise
eventually to KSC in 2005 as a Patent
the NASA inventor-share of royalties. when NASA collaborates with exter-
Paralegal. At KSC, Ginger’s primary
nal entities.
responsibilities are the preparation In 1986, Dawn began her NASA ca-
and management of patent related reer at Goddard Space Flight Center As you can see, the behind-the-scene
legal documents, such as patent ap- (GSFC), eventually moving to NASA efforts by both Ginger and Dawn are
plications, responses to office actions headquarters in 2003 to assist with substantial and their diligence and
from the United States Patent and the Columbia Accident Investigation professionalism keep the IP Legal
Trademark Office (USPTO), and license team. Dawn became a paralegal in Team seamlessly moving forward.
2005 within the GSFC Office of the
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NASA’S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER I VOLUME 9 NUMBER 1 I FALL 2017
INNOVATION SUCCESS
Leveraging Research Opportunities
Ammonia recovery system for wastewater facilities and the ISS
G riffin Lunn, Sustainable Systems Engineer for SGT, is de-
veloping the Ammonia Recovery System for Wastewater
for potential use as part of the Environmental Control
and Life Support Systems (ECLSSs) on the International Space
Station (ISS). The system uses an affordable media that is highly
selective for ammonia. Ammonia concentrations in wastewater as
high as 100,000 ppm can be reduced to less than 1 ppm. Following
treatment, the media is regenerated for reuse in the system and
ammonia is captured as a by-product.
On Earth, this technology could be used for ammonia recovery from
municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities. However
the technology needed further development and there was not samples. The university matched the funding of the
much funding for that. NASA Technology Transfer Office (TTO) Consortium.
selected the technology and submitted it to the Florida Space Grant
Based on the positive relationship with FIU, Griffin
Consortium which funds development of space technologies. The
Lunn saw an opportunity to seek additional funding
Consortium reached out to Florida based universities with a call for
from KSC’s Center Innovation Fund by partnering
further development and possible commercialization of the Ammo-
with an additional Florida university, the University
nia Recovery System.
of Central Florida. NASA reviewed the proposal and
Florida International University (FIU) was awarded funding by the awarded the project funding for technology devel-
Consortium to evaluate the technology for implementation at large opment. The three partners are currently working
scale wastewater treatment plants. Under an Evaluation License, in tandem to move the technology forward while
FIU, in cooperation with the South District Waste Water Treatment the TTO is marketing the patent pending technology
Plant in Miami-Dade County, evaluated the Ammonia Recovery to industry seeking a commercial company that can
System for Wastewater technology using real-world wastewater scale up the system for wastewater treatment.
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VOLUME 9 NUMBER 1 I FALL 2017 I TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OFFICE
INNOVATION SUCCESS
Fiber Optic Sensing System
Providing the ability to instrument large structures with multiple strain sensors
R ocket launch vehicle control Control (GN&C) system to determine control system response is not ideal
systems must sense and the rockets position, velocity, and atti- for either rigid body or flexible body
correct minute deviations of tude. These specific characteristics of motion control. At a mission level the
the vehicle from the desired course. the rocket are also known as the rigid net effect is a compromise to launch
Modern and historical control system body motion. One of the significant availability and performance.
designs reflect the limited information challenges to control system design
The GN&C group within the Launch
provided by the available sensors. All is that the IMU senses flexible body
Services Program (LSP) located at
rockets use sensor packages known motion as well as rigid body motion.
NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
as Inertial Measurements Units (IMU). Since the IMU cannot discern between
put forth an effort to improve Launch
The IMU is an integrated sensor pack- rigid body and flexible body motion,
Vehicle (LV) control systems utiliz-
age that provides sensed acceleration the rocket control system will respond
ing the new enabling technology of
and angular rates. This information is similarly to both types of motion. This
Flexible Fiber Optic Sensors (Flex-
used by the Guidance Navigation and unfortunate reality means that the
FOS). FlexFOS provides the ability to
instrument a large structure such as
Rocket LV with multiple strain sensors
that can be used to provide flexible
information of the LV to the control
system. This technology coupled with
newly developed algorithms gives the
control system the ability to discern
between flexible dynamics and rigid
body dynamics. The new capabilities
provided by the FOS system config-
ured for flexible control are: vehicle
shape sensing in real time, virtual
IMU sensors, bending energy mea-
surements, increased control system
robustness, and increased resolution
on flight margins across multiple
disciplines. Here on earth the FlexFOS
could be used on Windmill Turbine
Blades and large cranes.
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NASA’S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER I VOLUME 9 NUMBER 1 I FALL 2017