Aeronautics & Space

First stage of NASA’s ‘space elevator’ contest won

By / November 6, 2009

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…

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Monday materials music

By / October 26, 2009

Finally, NASA gets some props. International Space Station baby!

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Monday materials music

By / September 28, 2009

A 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…

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Inflatable ceramic heat shield a success

By / September 3, 2009

An 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…

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Score another first for aerogel

By / August 20, 2009

Artist’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…

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New Mars rover to employ largest heat shield

By / July 24, 2009

NASA’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…

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National labs top list of R&D 100 award recipients

By / July 21, 2009

R&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…

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3-2-1, Liftoff!

By / July 16, 2009

After 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…

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Would 441 pounds satisfy your sapphire craving?

By / July 11, 2009

Rubicon 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…

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Proposal for new space heat shield

By / June 22, 2009

As 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…

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