NASA

Back to the heavens: Sally Ride, 1951–2012

By Eileen De Guire / July 24, 2012

Sally Ride on board the space shuttle Challenger in 1983. Ride, who was the first female astronaut, died yesterday at age 61. Credit: Wikimedia. Sally Ride changed the world for…

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News roundup

By Eileen De Guire / June 22, 2012

News from all corners … MaterialsViews reports that Corning’s Gorilla Glass will be used in Microsoft’s new Surface tablets, which are expected to be released by the end of this…

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Other materials stories that may be of interest

By / May 1, 2012

Check’ em out: Smart bridge: Iowa State engineers load new bridge with damage-detection gauges (Newswise) The new bridge over the Iowa River near downtown Iowa Falls is a major upgrade…

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Other materials stories that may be of interest

By / March 5, 2012

Check ’em out: Mapping the Materials Genome (InsideScience Currents) At the APS Meeting, Krishna Rajan of Iowa State University discussed the work at his “collaboratory” on developing a “materials genome,”…

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National Research Council names 16 tech priorities for NASA

By Eileen De Guire / February 3, 2012

Space Shuttle Atlantis at liftoff in Feb. 2001 on a mission to deliver the module, Destiny, to the ISS. Development of lightweight materials for spacecraft of the future will reduce…

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Federal budget 2012—Congress starts committing to R&D funding

By Eileen De Guire / December 19, 2011

Congress has finalized the first three of twelve parts of the FY’12 federal budget. So far, things look relatively promising for STEM R&D. Credit: Congressional Budget Office. In November Congress…

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NASA shuttle tiles and space food available to schools and universities

By Eileen De Guire / September 13, 2011

Discovery’s under wing surfaces were protected by thousands of high-temperature insulation tiles. Credit: NASA; Wikipedia. NASA is jettisoning some stuff they don’t need, now that the Shuttle program has ended,…

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NASA: Is it worth every half-penny?

By Eileen De Guire / July 22, 2011

The final Space Shuttle mission was completed on Thursday with the landing of  Atlantis in Florida. In this video, astrophysicist and science evangelist, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, laments the end of…

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NASA awards management contract for ISS National Lab

By Eileen De Guire / July 15, 2011

United States ISS lab module Destiny during manufacture in fall 1997. Credit: NASA NASA has chosen the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space Inc., a new Florida-based nonprofit,…

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Beasley biography details quest for space shuttle’s thermal protection system

By / June 21, 2011

If mechanical systems and the weather cooperate, July 8 will bring the 135rd and final mission of the American Space Shuttle program (STS-135). Coincidentally, I recently received a charming biography…

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