Aerospace

A document proposes self-deploying storage tanks, based on the cold elastic hibernated memory (CHEM) concept, to be used on remote planets. The CHEM concept, described in previous NASA Tech Briefs articles, involves the use of open-cell shape-memory-polymer (SMP) foam sandwich structures to make...

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new technique for identifying and repairing small, potentially dangerous cracks in aircraft wings and other structures made from polymer composites. By infusing a polymer with electrically conductive carbon nanotubes, and then monitoring the structure's electrical...

A new turbulence detection system alerts pilots to patches of rough air as they fly through clouds. The system, designed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and tested by United Airlines on commercial flights, is designed to better protect passengers from injuries caused by turbulence while reducing flight delays...

The X PRIZE Foundation and Google announced the Google Lunar X PRIZE, a robotic race to the Moon to win a $30 million prize. Private companies from around the world will compete to land a privately funded robotic rover on the Moon that is capable of completing several mission objectives, including roaming the lunar surface for at least...

As part of NASA's Partnership Seed Fund program, Goddard Space Flight Center is integrating the ILIADS software, a geospatial information system (GIS) it developed for lunar applications, with Questus(TM), a management and planning software tool developed by United Space Alliance (USA) for space shuttle operations. The...

By 2020, NASA plans to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon, which means that necessities such as fuel, food and oxygen, and spare parts would have to get from the Earth to the Moon as predictably as an Earth-based delivery system - especially when the delivery point is 240,000 miles...

In a crash, keeping the occupants alive and uninjured is paramount. As a part of the Structural Dynamics Branch in the Research and Technology Directorate at NASA Langley, the Landing and Impact Research Facility (LandIR) tests the safety of aircraft by crashing them. Dr. Karen Jackson is part of the research team.

William Brosey, Section Manager,BWXT Y-12, Oak Ridge, TN Joe Buford, Mfg. Engineer,Boeing Satellite Development Center, El Segundo, CA

By 2020, NASA plans to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon. To make this possible, a reliable stream of consumables such as fuel, food and oxygen, spare parts, and exploration equipment would have to make its way from the Earth to the Moon as predictably as any Earth-based delivery system. To figure out how to do...

Lightweight, High-Performance Propeller/Rotor/Wind Turbine Blade The turbine blade features a much lighter, more efficient, less expensive, and entirely new structural design. Other advantages offered bythis technology include increased performance, lower noise, decreased maintenance time and expense, and optimized...

The Subregional Bone Assessment, a NASA study of the long-term effects of microgravity on the bones of International Space Station crewmembers, showed that the astronauts lost roughly 11% of their total hipbone mass over the course of their mission, more than an elderly woman in a year. While bone mass was regained after a year on Earth,...

Georgia Tech researchers have developed a new protoype engine that uses up to 40% less fuel by running on solar power while in space and by fine-tuning exhaust velocity. The key to the engine improvements is the ability to optimize the use of available power. A traditional chemical rocket engine (attached to a satellite ready...

A paper introduces the concept of a stellar gyroscope, currently at an early stage of development, for determining the attitude or spin axis, and spin rate of a spacecraft. Like star trackers, which are commercially available, a stellar gyroscope would capture and process images of stars to...

SmaggIce version 1.2 is a computer program for preparing and analyzing iced airfoils.It includes interactive tools for measuring ice-shape characteristics, controlled smoothing of ice shapes, curve discretization, generation of artificial ice shapes,and detection and correction of input errors.