Manned Systems

Spacecraft

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Articles: Aerospace
The race is on for leadership in cislunar space, considered a gateway to the future of space exploration. Yet operating in this domain introduces unique challenges for propulsion systems. Read on to learn more about the progress being made on the matter.
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Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics
Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed an adaptable RFID system that optimizes transmission for priority data as targets move in and out of passive coverage areas. The method extends the range, and reduces data latency, of ultra-low power battery-assisted passive RFID sensor tags. Read on to learn more.
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Briefs: Energy
NASA Ames Research Center presents a novel, patent-pending adjustable-autonomous intelligent systems approach for developing sustainable, small-scale reproductions of subsets of the Earths biosphere that can be distributed both on and beyond Earth, for improving the quality of life for all life, expanding the diversity of life, studying and protecting life, as well as enabling life to permanently extend beyond Earth. Read on to learn more.
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Blog: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Auxilium Biotechnologies has successfully deployed its 3D bioprinter aboard the ISS. The platform is the first of its kind, making history by printing eight implantable medical devices simultaneously in just two hours.
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Articles: RF & Microwave Electronics
A renewed focus on space sustainability has led to the emergence of several new space startups that are thinking out of the box to find novel technology solutions to tackle space junk. Read on to take a look at seven such startups.
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Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
A team has programmed a robotic spacecraft simulator with what it calls s-FEAST: Safe Fault Estimation via Active Sensing Tree Search. Read on to learn more.
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Videos: Manufacturing & Prototyping
In this video, we provide an overview of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s mission, capabilities and timeline to launch.
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Briefs: Physical Sciences
Want to create a zone of minimum radiation and magnetic/plasma effects for spacecraft? Then read on to find out how!
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Briefs: Unmanned Systems
Innovators at the NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a novel foot-pedal-operated system and device to control movement of an object in 3D space. The Foot Pedal Controller system enables operators to control movement of spacecraft, aircraft, and watercraft using only foot pedals. Read on to learn more.
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Briefs: Manned Systems
NASA has selected a team of University of Florida aerospace engineers to pursue a groundbreaking $12 million mission aimed at improving the way we track changes in Earth’s structures, such as tectonic plates and oceans. The mission, titled “GRATTIS” (Gravitational Reference Advanced Technology Test in Space), was the sole proposal selected in a national competition. Read on to learn more about it.
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Articles: Manned Systems
See the products of tomorrow, including the world’s first soft touchpad that can sense the force, area, and location of contact without electricity; a hydrogel that retains the semiconductive ability needed to transmit information between living tissue and machine; and a thin film sensor that measures temperatures up to 1200 °F.
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Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Over the past decade, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and its team of development partners have developed several unique thermal protection system (TPS) technologies designed to protect spacecraft from the extreme heat conditions and entry environments that space missions face. Read on to learn more about it.
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Videos of the Month: Aerospace
See the videos of the month, including one on Michigan Engineering racing its 17th solar car, Astrum, across the Australian Outback; one on how NASA’s Europa Clipper — a 7,000-pound spacecraft — was packed and shipped from the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to Kennedy Space Center in Florida; one on the MIT Media Lab’s Space Exploration Initiative; and one on leveraging precision growth to convert plants into biodegradable electronic devices.
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Over the past year, the DoD has awarded funding to hypersonics research led by University of Central Florida Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Kareem Ahmed to support the advancements he’s making in the technology. The support is a testament to the progress UCF has made in the field. Read on to learn more about these advances.
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Articles: Aerospace
See the products of tomorrow, including a 3D microwave antenna, smart CCTV systems trained to spot blockages in urban waterways, and a full-scale prototype for six telescopes that will enable, in the next decade, the space-based detection of gravitational waves.
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Articles: Design
“AstroAnts” are small robots for inspection and diagnostic tasks on external spacecraft surfaces, both in orbit and on planetary surfaces. They're also the Robotics & Automation Finalist. Read on to learn more.
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Podcasts: RF & Microwave Electronics
Col. Pete Atkinson, Principal Space Advisor for the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, discusses the Army’s space vision at AUSA 2024.
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Podcasts: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Kevin Lausten, President of Morpheus Space, is the guest on this episode of Season 5 of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast.
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Podcasts: RF & Microwave Electronics
Dan Laubach, Raft LLC's Senior Director of Programs, is the guest on episode 2 of season 5 of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast.
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Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition
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.
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Special Reports: Green Design & Manufacturing
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Aerospace Manufacturing - September 2024
In‐space manufacturing of self‐replicating machines…how freeform injection molding lowers weight and cost…overcoming challenges in composite manufacturing. Read about these and other advances in...

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed and successfully flight tested a high-performance computing platform, known as the Descent and Landing Computer (DLC), to suit the demands of safe, autonomous, extraterrestrial spacecraft landings for robotic and human exploration missions.
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Articles: Aerospace
Greg Richardson leads COSMIC as the Executive Director of the consortium and primary interface to NASA. He is also a principal engineer/scientist in the Human Exploration and Space-flight Division at The Aerospace Corporation. In this interview, he elaborates on the future vision of COSMIC and how the organization will coordinate work to help accelerate ISAM activities that will foster the future space economy.
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Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
It no longer requires the imagination of Arthur C. Clarke to see where the space industry is headed. We need only to look at every other system of vehicles, appreciate the falling technical roadblocks, and observe the regulations and resources environment. It is with confidence that we ask not, “if?” but, “when?” We invite you to consider, “what’s next?” because almost anything becomes possible with the right foundations in place.
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Articles: Robotics, Automation & Control
The concept of space factories holds immense potential to revolutionize space exploration and benefit humanity on Earth. By leveraging advancements in 3D printing, robotics, and automation, these celestial assembly lines will pave the way for a more sustainable and cost-effective space economy.
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Articles: Aerospace
If we were to live and work in space, it’s essential to change the paradigm of affordable habitats in space and economically accommodate venues ranging from science to farming to entertainment and government applications. Expandable modules have the potential to pave the way for humankind’s off-planet existence, whether on the Moon, Mars, or beyond.
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INSIDER: Photonics/Optics
In January, the European Space Agency's (ESA) Science Program Committee approved the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission, the first scientific endeavour to...
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Briefs: Design
Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a programmable steering wheel called the Tri-Rotor, which allows an astronaut the ability to easily operate a vehicle on the surface of a planet or Moon despite the limited dexterity of their spacesuit. This technology was originally conceived for the operation of a lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) to improve upon previous Apolloera hand controllers.
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