Stories
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Briefs: Energy
Technological advancements in materials, sensors, and computing have driven demand for higher-performance satellites. Satellites need to be much more capable in a much smaller size with a longer...
Articles: Materials
With very little fanfare, a special class of alloys has been finding its way into our daily lives. From indestructible eyewear, to smartphone cameras, to coronary stents, this material is...
Briefs: Materials
Commercial buildings in the United States account for nearly 40% of the total energy consumption. Among them, electricity is the largest energy source for buildings....
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has created the Cryo-Fluid Capacitor (CFC) that capitalizes on the energy storage capacity of liquefied gases, and the relative simplicity of high-pressure gas bottles while...
Briefs: Power
Magnetic Induction Heating of Space Foods During Dispensing Under Weightless Conditions
Hot foods are psychologically pleasing. Food heating systems are currently part of the astronaut feeding program. An electrical method of heating foods during dispensing in space uses magnetic induction heating. The process is up to 95% efficient in converting...
Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that innovation.
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
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: Energy
Water heaters and other thermal energy storage devices increase the temperature of a medium above an ambient or normal temperature, and store the warmer medium. Water heaters, in particular, must store the...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
In multi-layer and multi-fluid plate and fin heat exchangers, fluid ports are required to be located on the side of the heat exchanger....
Briefs: Energy
Cryo-Fluid Capacitor (CFC) for Solid-State Storage and Supply-on-Demand of Cryogenic Fluids
Storage and transfer of fluid commodities such as oxygen, hydrogen, natural gas, nitrogen, argon, etc. are absolute necessities in virtually every industry. These fluids are typically contained in one of two ways: as low-pressure cryogenic liquids, or as...
Q&A: Electronics & Computers
Using flexible conducting polymers and novel circuitry patterns printed on paper, researchers in Dr. Yee’s laboratory have demonstrated proof-of-concept...
Articles: Materials
Metal additive manufacturing is being embraced as a choice for parts production across many fields — including aerospace, automotive, healthcare, and other industries —...
Briefs: Energy
A well-designed thermal management system is critical to the life and performance of electric-drive vehicles (EDVs), hybrids (HEVs), plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), and all-electric vehicles (EVs). Temperature and...
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
A collective rattling effect in a type of crystalline semiconductor was discovered to block most heat transfer while preserving high electrical conductivity — a rare pairing that...
Articles: Software
As new concepts need to be investigated, and a wide range of operating conditions has to be considered, the design of new products and processes must push the limits of...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Integrated Three-Dimensional Module Heat Exchanger for Power Electronics Cooling
Critical elements in the operation of electric drive systems are power electronics and power semiconductor packages. Improving thermal management of power electronics can help reduce the cost, weight, and volume of electric drive systems, and thus increase market...
Application Briefs: Energy
Siemens PLM SoftwarePlano, TXwww.plm.automation.siemens.com
The use of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries has made the electric vehicle (EV) a reality, and electric...
Articles: Motion Control
The need for actuators has grown exponentially. Nearly everywhere you look you can see pneumatic, hydraulic, or electric actuator systems at work in an endless variety of applications. There are many stereotypes...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Polymeric Thermal History Sensor
Items such as food and pharmaceuticals exposed over time to temperatures outside the specified range can pose a serious health risk. Determining the heat exposure history of these items is a key step in addressing these issues. In particular, there is a need for determining when an item has been exposed to specific...
Briefs: Materials
NASA’s Langley Research Center scientists have developed a process for fabricating carbon nanotube (CNT) structural nanocomposites...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Aspacecraft thermal control system must keep the vehicle, avionics, and atmosphere (if crewed) within a defined temperature range. Water coolant loops are typically used to transport heat...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Low-Power, Lightweight, Ultra-Compact Reverse Water Gas Shift Reactor
Utilizing CO2 to produce H2O and O2 is critical for sustained manned missions in space, and supports both NASA’s cabin Atmosphere Revitalization System (ARS) and ln-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) concepts. For long-term missions beyond low Earth orbit where resupply of...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Heat exchangers are used for the transfer of heat between two or more media. The media may be separated by a solid wall so that they never mix, or they may be in direct contact. Heat exchangers may be used in HVAC systems, power...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The huge demand for switching components exceeding silicon's (Si) current density limitation of 200 A/cm2 has pushed the enhancement of alternative semiconductor materials such as...
Briefs: Software
Numerical Method to Predict the Evaporation Time of a Water Droplet Attached to a Solid Boundary in the Presence of Fluid Flow
One of the objectives of the In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) RESOLVE project was to extract water from lunar regolith by heating and then capturing and quantifying the released water. A potentially large error in...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Additively Manufactured Modular Thrust Chamber
Thrust chambers have historically been difficult to manufacture. They require extensive tooling and labor, and are expensive with long lead times. Thrust chambers were designed for manufacture using conventional machining. As a result, designs required multiple pieces to ensure machine tool access to...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Millimeter-wave (mm-wave) imaging techniques are already a popular solution for imaging through dust and fog. While mm-wave offers excellent penetration to dust when compared with infrared or optical sensing,...
NASA Spinoff: Materials
Spinoff is NASA's annual publication featuring successfully commercialized NASA technology. This commercialization has contributed to the development of products and services in the fields...
Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
Three-Band Cloud and Precipitation Radar
After many years of use of Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) and CloudSat data, focus groups within the cloud and precipitation science community produced requirements for the next generation of missions. The first draft of Aerosol-Cloud-Ecosystem mission requirements was formalized in 2009,...
Top Stories
INSIDER: Software
Aya Durbin of Boston Dynamics on Why Humanoids Are the Future of...
INSIDER: Software
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Articles: RF & Microwave Electronics
Blog: Manned Systems
NASA Marches Toward Artemis III Mission in 2027
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
This New Quantum Sensor Measures 3D Direction of RF Electromagnetic Fields
Quiz: Propulsion
Webcasts
Editorial Webinars: Motion Control
How Motors, Drives, and Sensors are Advancing Humanoid Robots
Webinars: AR/AI
From Grid to GPU: Validating Next-Gen AI Data Center Power...
Summits: Energy
Hydrogen & Alternative Fuels Summit 2026
Webinars: Automotive
Engineering Extended-Range Hybrid Systems
Editorial Webinars: Medical
Design for Miniaturization: Meeting the Demand for Smaller,...
Webinars: AR/AI
