LaserMotive‘s photovoltaic-powered machine became the first in the three-year history of NASA’s space elevator contest to climb a 2,953-foot-long ribbon, securing a prize of $900,000. The competition saw teams use laser-powered robots they designed and built to climb a 1 kilometer-long cable suspended vertically from a hovering helicopter. LaserMotive fell short of the $2 million…
Read MoreFinally, NASA gets some props. International Space Station baby!
Read MoreA new video from composer John Boswell: “A musical tribute to two great men of science. Carl Sagan and his cosmologist companion Stephen Hawking present: A Glorious Dawn – Cosmos remixed. Almost all samples and footage taken from Carl Sagan’s Cosmos and Stephen Hawking’s Universe series” Hey, this ain’t Friday–now that the music’s over, don’t…
Read MoreAn inflatable heat shield was successfully tested, demonstrating for the first time that light, flexible devices could be used to protect a spacecraft as it enters the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds. The outside of the shield is made of several layers of 3M’s Nextel heat-resistant fabric woven from thin strands of ceramic. This covers several…
Read MoreArtist’s rendering of Stardust’s aerogel packs. Credit: NASA NASA reported Monday that the aerogel grid that was carried by the agency’s Stardust spacecraft captured an amino acid, a finding that suggests that some of the building blocks of life may be present in much of the universe. The amino acid is glycine, the smallest of…
Read MoreNASA’s next Mars rover’s massive heat shield is finally ready for the robot. It is the largest heat shield ever built for a spacecraft destined for the red planet. The extra size is needed because this rover – dubbed Curiosity – is about the size of a small car and could endure temperatures up to…
Read MoreR&D Magazine hosts the R&D 100 Awards, which are presented annually to researchers who have developed the year’s 100 most outstanding advances in applied technologies. ACerS just learned that 49 out of the 100 awards were presented to U.S. national labs. The labs competed in an international pool that included universities, start-ups and large corporations.…
Read MoreAfter five failed attempts, space shuttle Endeavour lifted off at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. Endeavour’s flight will deliver the final components of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory to the ISS. The 16-day mission will include five spacewalks and the installation of two…
Read MoreRubicon Technology claims it has successfully grown the world’s largest Al2O3 crystal, a boule that weighs in at 200 kg (441 lb). The company says it plans to use the material to form “high quality large-size optical windows and next-generation wafer products with dimensions over 12 in.” This is quite a leap for Rubicon. Normally,…
Read MoreAs NASA and other space agencies send space vehicles on missions that bring them closer and closer to the sun, one problem is finding improved heat shields. Recently, a group from Johns Hopkins University announced it has some innovations to offer for near-solar environments, using a shield with an alumina optical surface. Their research is…
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