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Articles: Aerospace
Specialized measurement technology helps aerospace engineers improve combustion chambers and fuel injectors. In Switzerland, two ambitious student organizations have been using iterative pressure measurements to develop and build a significantly more efficient next generation of rocket engines. Read on to learn more.
Briefs: Materials
Skoltech engineers have used a 3D printer to fabricate — and investigate the mechanical characteristics of — samples of bronze-steel alloys previously unknown to materials science.
Briefs: Propulsion
Large-scale liquid rocket engines with regeneratively cooled nozzles will enable reliable and reduced-cost access to space. The coolant that circulates through the internal...
Briefs: Aerospace
Non-Catalytic Ignition System for High-Performance Advanced Monopropellant Thrusters
Anon-catalytic pyrotechnic ignition system was developed for advanced green monopropellant systems operating with hydroxylammonium nitrate (HAN)-based monopropellant AF-M315E. This technology will provide increased performance and new operating regimes for future...
Briefs: Propulsion
Green Monopropellant Secondary Payload Propulsion System
Small satellites, launched as secondary payloads, are increasingly being fielded. Advances in liquid rocket propulsion that enhance the on-orbit maneuverability, increase the on-orbit life, and decrease the time between identified need for and deployment of such spacecraft are of great value....
Briefs: Materials
Integrated Ceramic Matrix Composite-Carbon/Carbon Structures for Large Rocket Engine Nozzles and Nozzle Extensions
Low-cost access to space demands durable, cost-effective, efficient, and low-weight propulsion systems. Key components include boost and upper stage rocket engine nozzles and extensions. Nozzle material options include ablatives,...
Articles: Defense
Last year, engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, tested an additive manufacturing process that is being used to make some of the parts for NASA’s new rocket,...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The largest supersonic parachute ever developed is one of the test articles on the Supersonic Flight Dynamics Test (SFDT) vehicle of the Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD)...
Briefs: Aerospace
Regeneratively Cooled Porous Media Jacket
A non-toxic nitrous oxide fuel blend (NOFB) monopropellant with a high adiabatic flame temperature reaching and probably exceeding 3,450 K and a very high thermal decomposition limit (>390 °C) is under development. To design an optimal rocket engine that can handle the high adiabatic temperature during...
Articles: Aerospace
Combustion instability in solid rocket motors and liquid engines is a complication that continues to plague designers and engineers. Many rocket systems experience...
Application Briefs: Aerospace
Servo motors MICROMO (the FAULHABER Group) Clearwater, FL 800-807-9166 www.micromo.com
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) builds economical launch vehicles like the Falcon 9 to carry a range...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
High-Pressure Lightweight Thrusters
Returning samples of Martian soil and rock to Earth is of great interest to scientists. There were numerous studies to evaluate Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission architectures, technology needs, development plans, and requirements. The largest propulsion risk element of the MSR mission is the Mars Ascent Vehicle...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
The use of additive manufacturing technologies in aerospace applications has presented both opportunities and challenges. The ability to produce parts and...
Briefs: Materials
Cu-Cr-Nb-Zr Alloy for Rocket Engines and Other High-Heat- Flux Applications
Rocket-engine main combustion chamber liners are used to contain the burning of fuel and oxidizer and provide a stream of high-velocity gas for propulsion. The liners in engines such as the Space Shuttle Main Engine are regeneratively cooled by flowing fuel, e.g., cryogenic...
Briefs: Information Technology
Influence of Computational Drop Representation in LES of a Droplet-Laden Mixing Layer
Multiphase turbulent flows are encountered in many practical applications including turbine engines or natural phenomena involving particle dispersion. Numerical computations of multiphase turbulent flows are important because they provide a cheaper alternative to...
Articles: Propulsion
Orbital Technologies Corp. (ORBITEC) of Madison, WI, has been a longtime NASA partner, working with the Agency on numerous projects, many through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Advanced Materials and Manufacturing for Low-Cost, High-Performance Liquid Rocket Combustion Chambers
A document describes the low-cost manufacturing of C103 niobium alloy combustion chambers, and the use of a high-temperature, oxidation-resistant coating that is superior to the standard silicide coating. The manufacturing process involved...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Oxygen-Methane Thruster
An oxygen-methane thruster was conceived with integrated igniter/injector capable of nominal operation on either gaseous or liquid propellants. The thruster was designed to develop 100 lbf (≈445 N) thrust at vacuum conditions and use oxygen and methane as propellants. This continued development included refining the design...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Peregrine 100-km Sounding Rocket Project
The Peregrine Sounding Rocket Program is a joint basic research program of NASA Ames Research Center, NASA Wallops, Stanford University, and the Space Propulsion Group, Inc. (SPG). The goal is to determine the applicability of this technology to a small launch system. The approach is to design, build, and...
Articles: Green Design & Manufacturing
TO:CMA Spherical Generator
Angel Francisco Martinez, Delia Beatriz Martinez, and Trupti Bulbule, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
The TO:CMA Spherical Generator creates copious amounts of clean...
Application Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Pressure sensor Sporian® Microsystems Lafayette, CO 303-516-9116 www.sporian.com
Sporian Microsystems has been awarded a NASA contract to develop a capacitive pressure sensor. The...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Catalytic Microtube Rocket Igniter
Devices that generate both high energy and high temperature are required to ignite reliably the propellant mixtures in combustion chambers like those present in rockets and other combustion systems. This catalytic microtube rocket igniter generates these conditions with a small, catalysis-based torch. While...
Articles: Transportation
Air conditioning is a ‘must-have’ for most new cars. But the fluorocarbon refrigerant HFC-134a – the global standard – is one of the ozone-depleting greenhouse gases causing global warming....
Briefs: Information Technology
More-Accurate Model of Flows in Rocket Injectors
An improved computational model for simulating flows in liquid-propellant injectors in rocket engines has been developed. Models like this one are needed for predicting fluxes of heat in, and performances of, the engines. An important part of predicting performance is predicting fluctuations of...
Briefs: Materials
Lightweight, Ultra-High-Temperature, CMC-Lined Carbon/Carbon Structures
lished engineering material used extensively in aerospace. The beneficial properties of C/C include high strength, low density, and toughness. Its shortcoming is its limited usability at temperatures higher than the oxidation temperature of carbon — approximately 400 °C....
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Plasma Igniter for Reliable Ignition of Combustion in Rocket Engines
A plasma igniter has been developed for initiating combustion in liquid-propellant rocket engines. The device propels a hot, dense plasma jet, consisting of elemental fluorine and fluorine compounds, into the combustion chamber to ignite the cold propellant mixture. The igniter...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A class of self-adjusting injectors for spraying liquid oxidizers and/or fuels into combustion chambers has been proposed. The proposed injectors were originally intended for use in rocket-engine...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Triaxial Swirl Injector Element for Liquid-Fueled Engines
A triaxial injector is a single bi-propellant injection element located at the center of the injector body. The injector element consists of three nested, hydraulic swirl injectors. A small portion of the total fuel is injected through the central hydraulic injector, all of the oxidizer is...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
An improved design concept for coaxial propellant injectors for a rocket engine (or perhaps for a non-rocket combustion chamber) offers advantages of greater robustness, less...
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Webcasts
Tech Talks: Automotive

AI-Powered Quality Control for Sustainable Automotive Production
Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Custom Designs and Perfect Moldings with 3D Printing and Scanning
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Improving Thermal Management for Aerospace and Defense Electronics
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive

The Road Ahead for Next-Gen E/E Architectures: Trends and...
Upcoming Webinars: Electronics & Computers

Department of Defense Contracts Denied: New Cybersecurity Rules...
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive

Leveraging Simulation for Net Zero Emissions in Conventional and...