Shark Skin Inspires Functional Surface Film for Aircraft

Following nature's example, Lufthansa Technik and BASF have jointly developed the functional surface film AeroSHARK for commercial aircraft.

Winglet with Injected Flow

Injection of air at the trailing edge of a winglet further reduces drag.

High-Performance, Piezoelectric, Hybrid Synthetic Jet Actuators

These actuators provide active flow control for airfoil surfaces and supersonic inlets of wing-borne vehicles.

Pinpointing Consumption “Sweet Spot” Makes Formation Flight More Fuel-Efficient

A new method of estimating the optimal trailing aircraft position in a formation increases fuel savings.

De-Orbit Device for SmallSats

This retractable de-orbit device facilitates targeted re-entry, attitude and orbital control, and collision avoidance.

Durable Polyimide Aerogels

Stronger and flexible, polyimide aerogels provide insulation and structural support.

Advanced Over-the-Wing Nacelle Transport Configuration

NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a new aircraft design with the engine nacelle over the wing, improving engine ground clearance and freeing landing gear design. While...

Using Direct Current with Inverter Technology in Resistance Welding

Resistance welding with direct current (DC) using inverter technology reduces costs by improving quality, reducing maintenance, and increasing productivity. Switching from...

Airborne Background Oriented Schlieren Technique

NASA has developed a novel method to render visible the density changes in air that cause a refractive index change by an airborne vehicle. These density changes include shock waves, vortices,...

Flexible, Water-Repellent Graphene Circuits for Washable Electronics

New graphene printing technology can produce electronic circuits that are low-cost, flexible, highly conductive, and water-repellent. Low-cost, inkjet-printed graphene...

Flexible, Gravity-Fed Heat Pipe

The advent of cryocooler technology ushers in an era where a cryogenic environment is created and maintained locally. It is no longer necessary to transport cryogen from a factory where it is produced to the...

Fluorinated Alkyl Ether Epoxy Resin Compositions and Applications Thereof

NASA Langley Research Center has developed fluorinated alkyl ether-containing epoxies designed as an anti-insect coating. The robust and durable coating was developed...

Nickel Oxide Compound for High-Temperature Superconductors

Superconducting materials are technologically important because electricity flows through them without resistance. Only low-temperature superconductivity seemed possible before 1986,...

Microwave-Based Test Method for Computer Chips

A new approach was developed that overcomes the limitation of conventional chip-testing methods on 3D chips, which include many thin horizontal “floors” connected to one another by vertical...

Flexible Wearable Electronics Use Body Heat for Energy

Interest in wearable electronics for continuous, long-term health and performance monitoring is rapidly increasing. The reduction in power levels consumed by sensors and electronic...

3D Chip Combines Computing and Data Storage

Fields ranging from autonomous driving to personalized medicine are generating huge amounts of data. But just as the flood of data is reaching massive proportions, the ability of computer chips to...

Multi-Functional Annular Fairing for Coupling Launch Abort Motor to Space Vehicle

NASA's Langley Research Center has designed a Multifunctional Boost Protective Cover (MBPC) for a Launch Abort System (LAS). In the event of a crewed launch,...

In-Situ Load System for Calibrating and Validating Aerodynamic Properties of Scaled Aircraft in Ground-Based Aerospace Testing Applications

The in-situ load system (ILS) provides the ground-testing community with a comprehensive tool that...

Low-Outgassing Labels Identify Instruments on the International Space Station

CILS has developed a computer-printable, durable label for the identification of instruments on the Columbus Space Module, part of the International Space Station...

Transformable and Reconfigurable Entry, Descent, and Landing Systems and Methods

NASA has developed a game-changing deployable aeroshell concept for entry, descent, and landing (EDL) of large science and exploration-class payloads. The...

Single-Fluid-Pumped Radiators with Increased Turn-Down Ratio and Control in the Stagnation Regime

Fluid-pumped radiators are used to reject heat from structures to space. A fluid travels inside the structure to collect heat, and then travels...

Laser Scanning Technique for Testing Fire-Damaged Concrete

Research at The University of Nottingham (UK) and the University at Ningbo (China) has found that laser scanning is a viable structural safety technique to detect the damaging...