RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
AMA delivers research and development solutions that drive innovation across many disciplines and industries. Our focus on research is demonstrated by our substantial contributions to government research labs, academic publications, and continual creation of commercial patents. AMA is also heavily invested in the Small Business Innovation Program (SBIR), the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program, and Independent Research and Development (IRAD). These programs are highly competitive and drive collaboration between Federal R&D labs, non-profit research institutions, and the private sector. Ultimately, these programs stimulate high-tech innovation that fosters our nation's entrepreneurial spirit. AMA provides research and development for our nation's most critical tasks, working with our nation's leading institutions.
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NASA Langley Research Center
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NASA Ames Research Center
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NASA Glenn Research Center
- NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
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US Air Force
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US Navy
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National Institute of Aerospace
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Our nations top Universities
Forging New Ground through Understanding of the Fundamentals
FEATURED RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITES
US NAVY Phase II SBIR: "Innovative Concepts for Stabilization and Control of Aerial Refueling Drogues"
The Nielsen Engineering & Research (NEAR) Division of AMA is developing an Actively Stabilized Drogue Refueling System (ASDRS) through a Navy SBIR Phase II.5 contract. AMA’s ASDRS minimizes refueling drogue motion resulting from atmospheric turbulence, tanker wake, tanker motion, and receiver forebody effects. This improved stability significantly increases the success rate, safety, allowable weather envelope, and total cost effectiveness of aerial refueling operations for both manned and unmanned receivers operating with manned or unmanned tankers. A stabilized drogue is viewed as a required piece of technology to achieve operationally acceptable refueling efficiency for automated aerial refueling.
NASA Phase II SBIR: "Robust Trajectory Design of Highly Perturbed Environments Leveraging Continuation Methods"
Research is ongoing to investigate continuation methods to improve the robustness of trajectory design algorithms for spacecraft in highly perturbed dynamical environments, such as near asteroids and comets, where traditional methods that are often used and perhaps taken for granted, such as Lambert’s algorithm, simply do not work. The continuation is achieved through establishing homotopy mappings between some simple models, for which solutions are easy to obtain, and the full models.
NASA Phase III SBIR: "Compressor Station - Computer System Organizational Data Management- Knowledge Based Systems"
The NASA LaRC Compressor Station is comprised of high value critical equipment (HVCE) that represents critical infrastructure required for support to NASA’s aerodynamic research, and it must continue operations under many conditions including: high utility demand, maintenance outages, change of personnel, and emergent repairs. Within this framework, operations must be essentially continuous and provide a high state of readiness. In order to improve the operational posture for production; knowledge of the state of equipment with its routine maintenance, faults, failures, trouble shooting, repairs, and parts; essential real time operational data/information must be evaluated continuously.