For more than 50 years, the Apollo-era Laser Ranging Retroreflector experiment helped scientists track the moon’s orbit and distance from Earth. The efficiency of the moon-based reflectors decreased over time, though, so NASA scientists looked to reflect light from a spacecraft-based reflector instead—a feat they recently achieved for the first time.
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Thermal and environmental barrier coatings are often used to protect turbine blades made from ceramic matrix composites—but these coatings are prone to damage caused by environmental silicate contamination. In three papers published in JACerS, researchers provide extensive insights into the many aspects of damage.
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In their search for places to install PV infrastructure, solar companies have taken several creative approaches, including floating solar panels on reservoirs and co-locating them with crops. Space-based solar power is another concept studied since the 1970s, and this May, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory launched the first orbital experiment with space-based solar power.
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Ultrahigh-temperature ceramics are promising materials for protecting aircraft wings from friction during hypersonic flight—but thermal shock can cause these ceramics to crack. In the cover article for the March 2020 International Journal of Ceramic Engineering & Science, researchers in China report how wing shape affects thermal shock behavior of UHTCs.
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Performing microscale experiments at ultrahigh temperatures is difficult because the high heat can destroy the testing mechanisms. Researchers demonstrated a new method, which combines targeted laser heating and transmission electron microscopy, that may overcome this problem.
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The first images released from the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope show the sun’s surface in unprecedented detail. Such imaging is possible because of ultra-low thermal expansion glass-ceramic mirrors, which are used in numerous large-scale telescope projects around the globe.
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Faster than a speeding bullet: A review on fiber reinforced UHTCMCs for hypersonic aircraft and more
Ultra-high temperature ceramic matrix composites could be used on some of the hottest portions of hypersonic aircraft if their brittleness is reduced. Research on using fibers to reinforce these materials increased greatly in the past decade, and a recent review article in an ACerS journal discusses the progress and challenges in this field.
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With just under 200 of 12,000 satellites launched, SpaceX’s planned Starlink constellation is already causing major complications for astronomers. Global internet coverage could theoretically be achieved with only four satellites, and a new paper proposes a way to make such a constellation economically feasible.
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A whole slate of startup companies are raising millions of dollars in funding to support their missions to extract resources from space—but is mining the moon for rare earth elements even feasible?
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On November 2, Lamborghini sent carbon fiber composite samples to the International Space Station to test the effects of extreme space conditions on composite materials. The project is part of a collaboration with the Houston Methodist Research Institute to research biocompatibility of composite materials.
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