Mass and volume limitations make it challenging to load a spacecraft with all the equipment needed for a mission. An effort led by the Air Force Research Laboratory is developing a solid oxide fuel cell that converts chemical energy in a spacecraft’s bipropellant into electricity, thereby allowing an existing spacecraft component to be used as an auxiliary power supply.
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The universe contains many complex chemistries and phenomena yet to be discovered or explained. Two recent studies offer a glimpse into how some ceramic materials may form in space.
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Repairing localized damage in thermal barrier coatings on aircraft turbine blades can require full coat removal and reapplication to avoid blocking cooling holes in the blade. Forschungszentrum Jülich researchers proposed a new laser-cladding-based additive manufacturing technique that shows promise repairing localized damage without the need for full coat removal.
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Ytterbium-based silicates are a current generation of environmental barrier coating materials that demonstrate much promise for protecting ceramic matrix composite components in jet engines. Researchers from the University of Manchester examined the effect of thermal ageing on microstructural characteristics and elastic properties of these silicates.
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Oxide–oxide ceramic matrix composites have desirable properties for use in engine components, but conventional processing techniques usually require high temperatures and pressures, which damage the oxide fiber. Researchers in India developed a one-step process for synthesizing mullite precursors that could lower sintering temperature.
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Finding another way to propel a rocket into space that does not rely on fuel may allow for simpler and less expensive rockets. California-based SpinLaunch is developing a novel ground-based system to launch rockets into orbit using kinetic energy rather than fuel.
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Attention on futuristic technologies such as driverless cars, flying cars, and foldable smartphones fell largely by the wayside when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. Swedish company Jetson, though, has been hard at work behind the scenes and this year plans to ship the first 12 units of its personal electric aerial vehicle to consumers.
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In a recent open-access ACerS journal article, ACerS Distinguished Life Member Alex Navrotsky and Arizona State graduate research assistant Megan Householder discuss how the study of planets shares many of the same analytical and computational frameworks as materials science.
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In December 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope finally launched after decades of delays. Today’s CTT looks at JWST’s 30-year journey to launch and ways that NASA could restructure its approach to large-scale projects in the future.
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Ceramic matrix composites have numerous applications in aerospace, including as radomes to protect sensitive radar devices in an aircraft’s nose. Researchers in China investigated a new way to prepare polymer-derived ceramic fibers for radome composites.
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