KEYWORDS: Bacteria, Microfluidics, Astrobiology, Microorganisms, Electronics, Solar system, Space operations, Photodetectors, Microcontrollers, System integration
A micro-scale Fluorescent Activated Cell Sorter (μFACS) for astrobiology applications is under development. This
device is designed to have a footprint of 7 cm x 7 cm x 4 cm and allow live-dead counts and sorting of cells that have
fluorescent characteristics from staining. The μFACS system takes advantage of microfludics to create a cell sorter that
can fit in the palm of the hand. A micron-scale channel allows cells to pass by a blue diode which causes emission of
marker-expressed cells which are detected by a filtered photodetector. A small microcontroller then counts cells and
operates high speed valves to select which chamber the cell is collected in (a collection chamber or a waste chamber).
Cells with the expressed characteristic will be collected in the collection chamber. This system has been built and is
currently being tested. We are also designing a system with integrated MEMS-based pumps and valves for a small and
compact unit to fly on small satellite-based biology experiments.
KEYWORDS: Space telescopes, Charge-coupled devices, Telescopes, Space operations, Control systems, Satellites, Mirrors, Optical instrument design, Sensors, Computing systems
Presented is a preliminary design for a small ultraviolet- visible (uv-vis) sensitive space telescope. Included will be optical, sensor, and spacecraft subsystem design considerations. With recent advances in charge coupled device (CCD) technology it is now possible to build a space telescope system with wavelength sensitivity from 200 to 1000 nm. A main objective of this design is to keep costs to a minimum and use commercial off the shelf (COTS) components wherever possible. Such a low-cost system could provide a platform for studying such untested techniques as small space-based optical interferometry. The observatory could be open to a guest observer program with proposal for observing time accepted from anyone with a scientifically useful plan. Amateurs and professional astronomers alike. The World Wide Web (WWW) could be used to provide data and images to registered subscribers.
We present a design for taking advantage of the Boeing inertial upper Stage (IUS) to provide a means of launching small satellites as passengers on a Titan IV-IUS launch of a 1775 kg communications satellite. An overview of a design to use the extra propulsive capability of the IUS to place small satellites into orbit is discussed. It is our proposal to have small satellites travel with the IUS into geostationary orbit and then release the satellites after the main satellite has been released. Alternatively, several small satellite buses could be stacked together on a dedicated mission to launch a series of small or microsatellites into any desired orbit including interplanetary missions. This design project was part of a joint space engineering class offered by Boeing, University of Central Florida and Florida Institute of Technology.
A set of polynomials is derived to represent surface deformations and experimentally observed Ronchigrams for the Surface Tension Driven Convection Experiment-2 (STDCE-2). The observed deformations are steady state and oscillatory. Steady state deformations are described by radially symmetric polynomials. Oscillatory deformations are described by a modified cylindrical Fourier series. Both satisfy specific experimental boundary conditions.
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