Hand-Held, Battery-Operated Device for Rapid Gene Detection of Multiple Biological Agents

Not Available A Piezoelectric Spherical Pointing System (PSPS) is proposed for electric microsatellite thrusters. This two-axis pointing system uses a single spherical shell that allows direct bearing support, actuation, and position measurement from a single spherical surface. When compared to a classical nested gimbal design the PSPS; (1) requires fewer parts, (2) needs fewer flex cables and lines, (3) is smaller and lighter for the same performance, (4) can use small and low power piezoelectric motors, (5) holds off-power position and is less susceptible to overload torque damage, (6) has symmetric dynamic response, (8) requires minimal launch caging locks, and (9) uses simple linear position encoders to measure angle. Integrating the PSPS with a Hall effect thruster creates an optimized thruster and pointing system for small lightweight satellites (MicroSats and NanoSats). Hall effect thrusters offer significant performance advantages for satellite orbit insertion, orbit transfer, station keeping, attitude control, and de-orbiting. Significant miniaturization and improvement of MicroSat propulsion systems has already been completed which has reduced the wet mass of a satellite. The objective of this project is to demonstrate additional weight savings in the thruster pointing system and bring the full concept of a NanoSat one step closer to reality.