Briefs : Software
Software Accelerates Engine Development for Hypersonic Flight
Briefs : Photonics/Optics
Microrobots Activated by Laser Pulses for Treating Tumors
Briefs : Transportation
Origami-Inspired Material Softens Impact Forces
Briefs : Transportation
Inductive Power Transfer for Spaceflight Systems
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has developed technology that uses inductive power transfer (IPT) for wireless power interfaces between spaceflight elements (such as the payload, vehicle, and pad). Current spaceflight systems require traditional hardwire connections for power interfaces. This...
Briefs : Aerospace
Double-Fed Induction Linear Alternator
This technology was developed to address the limitations of traditional, single-fed linear alternators that require permanent magnets, adhesive bonding organics, and heavy iron laminations for flux control. They experience eddy-current losses and require electromagnetic interference protection. Furthermore,...
Briefs : Electronics & Computers
Generating Electrical Power from Waste Heat
Briefs : Motion Control
Improved Directed Flux Motor
Electromagnetic motors typically convert electrical energy into rotational mechanical energy and are employed across a wide array of applications. While motors represent relatively mature technology, practitioners continue to seek ways to enhance motor operation including a decrease in cost, drop in size/weight,...
Briefs : Propulsion
Transforming Flat Elastomers into 3D Shapes
Briefs : Propulsion
Directly Cooled Electric Motor Made from Polymer Materials
Briefs : Electronics & Computers
Achieving Carbon Footprint Reduction with Flywheel Technology
Briefs : Lighting
New Engine Optics to Fuel Future Research
Briefs : Sensors/Data Acquisition
Interoperable Intelligent Controllers for Process Management and Control Networks
NASA Johnson Space Center developed reprogrammable and interchangeable electronic controllers that can attach to a system or subsystem wirelessly or through plug-and-play capability. Originally designed to work with rocket engines, this technology can control...
Briefs : Aerospace
Green Electric Monopropellant (GEM)-Fueled Pulsed Plasma Thruster
NASA required a rocket thruster able to produce a number of pulses at high specific impulse at a relatively low voltage (~300 to 400V). The key problem was that existing propellants for liquid-fueled pulsed plasma thrusters (LPPTs) required high voltages to ablate and accelerate...
Briefs : Aerospace
Real-Time, Fuel-Optimal, Powered Descent Guidance Using Interpolated Time-of-Flight and Propellant Mass
Soft landing using rockets requires a trajectory to be planned for the lander from rocket ignition — typically several kilometers in altitude and moving at up to 200 m/s — to the point near the surface with near-zero velocity. The exact...
Briefs : Propulsion
Small-Body Dynamics Toolkit Version 5.0
The Small-Body Dynamics Toolkit (SBDT) v5.0 is a collection of primitive-body-specific trajectory design and analysis tools written in MATLAB®. The SBDT gives the user the capabilities to propagate, analyze, and visualize spacecraft trajectories and the dynamical environment near realistic asteroid,...
Briefs : Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Sublimable Propellant Source for Iodine-Fed Ion Propulsion System
NASA Marshall has developed a system for generating iodine vapor from solid iodine for use as a propellant in a Hall or ion thruster propulsion system. Xenon has generally been the preferred propellant for these spacecraft ion propulsion systems but more recently, iodine-based...
Briefs : Power
Fuel Cell/Fuel Cell Hybrid System
Fuel cells can deliver clean, reliable, and uninterrupted power nearly 100 percent of the time. Fuel cells offer the advantage of efficiency by converting chemical energy directly to electricity. They have no moving parts, thereby eliminating failures associated with pumps, blowers, heat exchangers, and other...
Briefs : Propulsion
Effects of Reynolds and Mach Numbers in Large Eddy Simulation of Supersonic Round Jets
Rockets/landers arrive on the Moon with supersonic speed and impact lunar regolith. There is no reliable software to computationally simulate in an effective way the supersonic plumes escaping from these rockets/devices. A Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model and...
Briefs : Power
High-Voltage Power Line Multi-Sensor System
Briefs : Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Rocket Nozzle Side-Load Analysis Software
Briefs : Aerospace
Modular, Multi-Mode-Propulsion, Unmanned Aerial Concept
Briefs : Propulsion
Ducted Fuel Injection for Soot Reduction
Briefs : Manufacturing & Prototyping
Submarine Swims Without an Engine
Briefs : Propulsion
Integrated Multiphysics and Advanced Diagnostics
Briefs : Electronics & Computers
Piezoelectric Thrust Vector Control for Hall Effect Thruster
The design of the CubeSat required precision pointing of the thrust vector through the spacecraft center of gravity to minimize fuel usage for attitude correction. Because the center of gravity shifts over the course of the mission, a means of adjusting the thrust vector was needed....
Briefs : Materials
Non-Toxic HAN Monopropellant Propulsion
A highly miniaturized, MR-143, green monopropellant thruster was developed for 1N thrust. Testing indicated the initial catalyst bed heater was insufficient. In subsequent development, the thruster was equipped with a more efficient catalyst bed heater. For reliable ignition of the advanced, non-toxic,...
Briefs : Electronics & Computers
Electrode Design Boosts Supercapacitor Performance
Supercapacitors are rechargeable energy storage devices that deliver more power for their size than similar-sized batteries. They also recharge quickly, and they last for hundreds to thousands of recharging cycles. Today, they are used in hybrid cars’ regenerative braking systems and for other...
Briefs : Propulsion
Double-acting Extremely Light Thermo-Acoustic (DELTA) Converter
Briefs : Manufacturing & Prototyping
Offset Compound Gear Inline Two-Speed Drive
Briefs : Motion Control
VTOL UAV with the Cruise Efficiency of a Conventional Fixed-Wing UAV
Top Stories
Blog: Energy
'Direct Thermal Charging Cell' Turns Waste Heat into Power
Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition
A Breakthrough in Earthquake Forecasting: Floating Buoy Measures Seafloor...
Videos: Manufacturing & Prototyping
"M-Blocks" Jump, Flip, Communicate, and Self-Assemble into Structures
Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Aluminum Joining Methods: Welding vs. Adhesives
INSIDER: Manufacturing & Prototyping
3D-Printed Plastics with High Performance Electrical Circuits
Podcasts: Data Acquisition

Question of the Week
Will Self-Assembling 'M-Blocks' Catch On?
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Collaborative Robot Applications in the Automotive Industry
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Enhance Product Design and Dependability with Advanced Coating Technologies
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Rapid, Selective Volatile Emissions Testing for Vehicles and Components
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TRENDING STORIES
Blog: Wearables
'Direct Thermal Charging Cell' Turns Waste Heat into Power
INSIDER: Power
Exposing Cathodes to Light Decreases Charge Time in Lithium-Ion Batteries
Blog: Materials
Creating the Future: New Take on Welding Gun Bonds Plastic and Metal — In...
Blog: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A Breakthrough in Earthquake Forecasting: Floating Buoy Measures Seafloor Motion
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Making Hydrogen by Electrolysis of Methanol