Cortland Cable Receives Assistance from NASA Outreach Program

Cortland Cable Co., one of the nation’s leading specialty cable and rope manufacturers, has turned to the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP) for assistance with developing new predictive equations for calculating electrical transmissions.
The company manufactures a wide variety of cables and ropes ranging from ultra-high-altitude kite strings to complex underwater electro-optical cable. Cortland’s cables and ropes are found in the space shuttle, on the Hubble telescope, the Mars Explorer, and as oceanographic tethers – like those on the vehicle that explored the Titanic.

“We use advanced materials, which help make our cables strong, flexible and light-weight when compared to traditional metallics,” said John Cobb, vice president of electro-optical products at Cortland Cable Company. Late last year, Cobb and his team decided that as a design tool they needed to develop more accurate predictive equations for electrical transmissions. “There are standard equations for diagnostics,” said Cobb, “but we wanted to take a new design and run equations as predictors in an effort to extend our design capabilities.”

Even though Cobb possesses significant engineering experience, the proposed new equations were beyond his realm of expertise. Then he learned about SATOP, which is funded by NASA and provides free technical assistance to small businesses, and decided to submit a Request for Technical Assistance (RTA).

SATOP accepted Cortland Cable’s request and partnered the company with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), the nation’s largest employee-owned research and engineering company. Vadim Gandelsman, a systems engineering specialist with the Space, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (SEAS) Group at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, was assigned the RTA.

“I was told that the requestor needed to identify practical, derived formulas for predicting the transmission properties and attenuation for various types of electrical cables,” said Gandelsman. “As a result of research, I was able to recommend several published theoretical equations for analysis of mid and high range frequencies. In addition, suggestions for computational tools and techniques were provided.”
Cobb explains, “We sent Vadim examples of what we were looking for and he sent back new equations. These formulas can help us predict transmissions in the mid-frequency range, which is where it is most complex. The bottom line is, thanks to SATOP, we’ve been able to improve our design capabilities.”

The Cortland Cable RTA also presented SATOP NY with a new type of challenge. “I really enjoyed this technical challenge since it was refreshingly different from others I have worked on in the past,” said SATOP project engineer, Madi Kalibala. “It’s great that as more and more people learn about SATOP, we are seeing a wide variety of RTAs coming through the door.”

About SATOP -- The NASA-funded Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP) provides small-businesses with free technical assistance through the use of the U.S. Space Program, as well as aerospace contractors, NASA field centers, universities and colleges. These organizations join SATOP as Space Alliance Partners, which donate time and expertise to help SATOP speed the transfer of space technology to the private sector. Platinum level Space Alliance Partners include Lockheed Martin and The Boeing Company. For more information about SATOP, or to request technical assistance, contact TDO at 315-425-5144 or satop@tdo.org