Major Areas of Opportunity - Implications of Emerging Micro-and Nanotechnologies - page 75

nance is needed. The components here are (1) the system being monitored and (2)
the sensor system that is providing data on the status of the system of interest.
The list of functional systems of interest to the military, and to many indus-
tries, is long. Power generation, distribution, and use systems are many and
varied. The same can be said of communications systems. Weapon systems are
also remarkably diverse. The numerous installations and mobile platforms in and
on which various systems are used further complicate monitoring possibilities. It
would be necessary to make a list of systems of interest for monitoring in order to
define a sensor architecture.
Sensors require a nontrivial set of related hardware and software. Smart
sensors capable of turning data into information at the system, logging and ana-
lyzing it, and forwarding routine and emergency information require micro-con-
trollers as well as associated electronics such as amplifiers. The entire sensor
system needs power, the provision of which is usually the limiting factor in the
lifetime and performance of a sensor system. Wired or wireless communications
are needed. Finally, the entire system must be packaged in a housing.
The hardware items will have different susceptibilities to the employment of
micro- and nanotechnologies. Sensors are first-rate candidates for exploitation of
new technologies. Advances in microcontrollers and other ICs are driven by
market forces in the semiconductor industry. Nanomaterials should have an im-
pact on batteries and, possibly, solar cells.
Prognostic Health Monitoring from Satellites and On-Orbit Manned Vehicles
Many space-system operations occur on the ground, and micro- and nano-
technologies will probably be inserted into these operations before they are in-
serted into space operations as a result of the more benign environmental and
reliability constraints. Miniaturized, multiparameter, MEMS-based sensors with
integrated data loggers and wireless (optical or RF) communications will become
important in production and ground operation. Relatively low bandwidth devices
on the market that have peak-sensing capabilities (a.k.a., telltales) to sense trans-
portation or to handle stress variables can ensure that maximum limits have not
been exceeded during production, transportation, and storage operations. MEMS
sensors for these parameters already exist and can be mass-produced for inexpen-
sive environmental monitoring packs. Knowing what, when, where, and how a
limit was exceeded is critical during the spacecraft flight readiness review.
Micro- and nanotechnologies can also be used to instrument launch vehicles.
Current launch vehicles like the Titan IV are often instrumented to measure the
liftoff and ascent flight environments. However, these vehicles often have a
limited number of channels to characterize the dynamic acoustic and vibration
environments. By proliferating sensor units on the launch vehicle, a better char-
acterization of the environment is possible. Similarly, there is a need to instru-
ment the launch site. Ground-based measurement of rocket ignition overpressure