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[ Music ]

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Okay SIM control we're
ready to go to run.

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Thank you.

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Well Jim, it looks like
the GPS residual's down.

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They ought to be calling
us here any minute.

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Yeah I agree.

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It's looking pretty good.

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Probably just waiting
on C-band tracking.

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Discovery, take GPS.

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Copy. Take GPS.

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All right, looks like it took.

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Yup.

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Well Jim, you ready
to get some lunch?

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That was a great run.

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Yeah I agree.

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Let's do it.

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All right.

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Maybe we can find
that new restaurant.

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Navigation is the science
of following a planned path

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from one point to another.

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This includes using a GPS,
or Global Positioning System,

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to navigate your car to a
destination, guide a hiker

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through the woods, or help
first responders locate you

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in an emergency.

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GPS is also used by
financial institutions

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to timestamp transactions like
the swipe of a credit card

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or a cash withdrawal
from an ATM.

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Accurate timing is
also necessary

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to support critical
applications in space

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such as NASA's communication
and tracking networks.

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[ Music ]

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NASA's Small Business Innovation
and Research, or SBIR program,

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supports the development of
technologies that benefit NASA,

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encourages private
sector commercialization

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of innovations, and in
turn provides spin-offs

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that improve our
lives every day.

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SBIR program is very important
to developing technology

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for NASA as it insulates
NASA programs

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from the risks associated

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with the far reaching
technology development.

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It also gives NASA
access to the efficiencies

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and the capabilities
of small businesses.

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The small business innovative
research program develops

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technologies in three phases.

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In phase one, a six-month
conceptual study is performed

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to determine feasibility
of the idea.

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In phase two, a two-year
hardware development

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or software development
is undertaken.

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At the end of that time, a
prototype is delivered for NASA.

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Phase three is when the
prototype is incorporated

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or adopted by an
internal NASA program

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or by a large American business
for further development.

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Most US rocket launches take
place along the US eastern

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launch range at either
Kennedy Space Center

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or Cape Canaveral
Air Force Base.

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In the event of a failure,

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the NASA range flight safety
systems provides a means

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to prevent that launcher from
reaching populated areas.

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Three, two-- As part
of the effort

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to improve safety
during launches,

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NASA is developing a system

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that uses Global Positioning
System Receivers placed directly

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on-board the launch vehicle

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to track its trajectory
during ascent.

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The SBIR program allows us to
help guide outside expertise

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and exploring fundamental
problems

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and interests that NASA has.

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We're looking at ways to
mitigate possible interference

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of the GPS signals on a launch
vehicle using commercial

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GPS receivers.

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So it usually involves
antenna technology to look

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at multiple satellites and
compare different signals

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and be able to cancel out
any potential interference.

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The SBIR program funds
a number of initiatives

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that support navigation
from the time

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of launch throughout
interplanetary transfer.

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These initiatives may one
day help navigate spacecraft

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in deep space using x-ray

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and gamma ray pulsar
based navigation.

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Pulsars are rapidly
spinning stars,

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which broadcast a
repeating signal.

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They are, in fact, lighthouses
in the cosmos that can be used

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to help spacecraft
navigate through space.

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We do have a success to talk
about through the SBIR program

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and that is with x-ray
navigation we have developed a

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catalog of pulsars that
are good for our purposes,

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and we've also developed
first generation algorithms

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to analyze the data.

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We are in the process
of building instruments

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for x-ray navigation-- one
to fly on the space station

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and perhaps elsewhere.

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One area where we have a
gap in our knowledge is

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in onboard autonomous
navigation.

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So we want to have pinpoint
landings on various objects

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and when the round-trip light
time becomes prohibitive,

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you want on-board
autonomous nav.

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And that's an area of
focus that we would

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like to delve into more.

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The SBIR also funds a
number of technologies

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that support navigation
once we reach the surface

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of other planets.

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There have been a number of
successes in the SBIR subtopic

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for planetary surface
navigation.

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In particular, there's been
a phase two effort that's

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developed a GPS-like
capability that,

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for surface planetary navigation
position fixing that operates

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over ranges between one
and say 10 kilometers.

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Here we have an example
of a piece of hardware

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that could be deployed on a
suit or perhaps a vehicle or,

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and would also be deployed
on the fixed nodes on towers.

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This was developed as part

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of the phase two
and delivered to us.

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There's also been
successes in the areas

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of celestial navigation for
planetary surface navigation

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as well as Bayesian filtering
for surface navigation.

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The development of these
cutting-edge mission-critical

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technologies not only
help us navigate our way

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through deep space,
they help us get

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to where we're going
right here on earth.

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Turn left on second street.

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I'm not an expert on
GPS's but it looks

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like Tim, we've arrived.

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Yeah, this place
looks incredibly good.

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Well that was some of the best
driving I've ever seen Bob.

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It's not quite as
good as your flying

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of the space shuttle
but- I try to do my best.

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So whether you swipe
your ATM card,

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make a call on your cell
phone, or try to find your way

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to a new restaurant, many of the
advancements in communication

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and navigation technologies
that we enjoy today started