Innovators at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center have developed a novel interconnection structure for ceramic Ball Grid Array (BGA) packages. The innovation replaces solder balls and solder columns, preventing connection breaks due to thermal stress and providing longer life for electronics. The technology provides flexibility in three dimensions between the ceramic package and the printed circuit board—a distinct improvement upon cast or copper-ribbon-wrapped solder column interconnects, which have limited flexibility and are therefore less capable of withstanding shear stress. NASA's technology offers a novel alternative, providing better flexibility in high temperatures and harsh environments.

Innovators at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center are seeking patent protection for a fastener system that is designed to simplify the placement, installation, and removal of avionics and electronics equipment within a variety of structures. This box rail mount system is lightweight, allows for self-alignment, minimizes the number of fasteners needed, does not require tools to operate, and can be handled by a single technician. The system consists of a “C” profile trail or track, a cartridge with a spring-loaded lockpin that slides in the track at spaced cut-outs, and a unique self-aligning cleat that allows the mounting of a flat or box-shaped component on a flat, curved, or irregular surface. This unique design is an improvement over prior designs that require two technicians to mount boxes on pallets and secure them with captive screws, using a tool specific to each fastening system. Developed for use in the aerospace industry, the system has broad applicability for fastener systems in the automotive, railway, and construction industries.

Scientists at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center have patented a design for a cylindrical asymmetrical capacitor (CAC) that converts electrical energy directly into thrust with few moving parts. The innovation builds on an existing CAC design that works within Earth’s atmosphere and adapts it to work in space. Pending testing, this design is intended to allow precise maneuvering of spacecraft on long missions in space, among other aerospace applications. Components of the system include a gas supply and shroud, partly surrounding the CAC and into which the gas will flow, a high voltage source, two conductive elements, and a dielectric element. Power source possibilities include lasers or microwaves, fuel cells, batteries, rocket generators, or anti-matter generators as they become available.

Innovators at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center have patented a prototype of a heating element for non-nuclear thermal testing of nuclear-fission reactor cores for spacecraft. The heater element consists of a hollow, cylindrical dielectric element with a single conductor along its centerline, to be inserted in reactors in place of nuclear fuel rods. A radio frequency (RF) signal typically in the 2,000-5,000-volt range and up to 50 megahertz is to be applied to the central conductor to heat the dielectric material. The main advantage of this system is that the wiring will be simpler to fabricate and easier to install than the wiring needed for electrical-resistance heating. In some applications, it may be possible to eliminate all heater wiring and beam the RF heating power into the dielectric rods from external antennas.

Researchers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center have patented a self-contained power controller that can operate on a single power source, monitor environmental parameters, and generate electrical power on the occurrence of a triggering event, such as a temperature or humidity sensor reaching a set point. Marshall’s innovation was developed for and used on the maiden voyage of NASA’s Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), a pressurized module used to transport International Standard Payload Racks (ISPR) and consumable supplies to and from the International Space Station. The invention helped control the internal temperature and pressure of the MPLM. In another application, up to 32 of these devices can be daisy-chained together to produce a distributed controller. Although the original intent was to provide the device with the capability of programmable set points for the control of several distributed heaters, it also can be used as a solid-state power distribution device with the capability to program turn on/turn off thresholds for various sensors.