November 16, 2009 – 11:05 am
When space shuttle Atlantis makes the next trip to the International Space Station, it will carry experiments and hardware designed, fabricated and tested at NASA’s Glenn Research Center.
- This mission is a utility logistics support mission and will deliver 14 tons of important spare parts, science experiments and other items in its middeck and payload bay. Among the spare parts is a Plasma Contactor Unit (PCU). Within the PCU is a Glenn designed and fabricated Hollow Cathode Assembly.
- The next segment of the Materials International Space Station Experiment, called MISSE-7, will also be aboard this shuttle mission. In addition to several Glenn experiments and sensors, MISSE-7 includes Glenn’s Communications Interface Box that provides a bridge between the active experiments and the space station for telemetry and command data. MISSE-7, developed by the Naval Research Laboratory, also includes the Forward Technology Solar Cell Experiment-II for which the Navy and Glenn are co-investigators.
- Included in the cargo of STS-129 are special glass test tubes that space station crew members will use in a Glenn-designed heat transfer experiment. The constrained vapor bubble experiment is expected to provide data that may increase the efficiency of heat pipes.
Read the full NASA Glenn press release, “Mission of Space Shuttle Atlantis Has Ohio Connections,” at the NASA Glenn website.
Author: Webmaster
| Other Categories: Press Release
October 31, 2009 – 9:59 am
A major international publication Review of Ophthalmology in its October 2009 issue published a review article, “Cracking the Cataract Code: New Technology, New Hope” written by Senior Editor Christopher Kent. The article (pages 80-87) discusses the NASA Glenn Research Center-developed dynamic light scattering (DLS) technology, the clinical trials conducted at the National Eye Institute of the NIH, and current and future studies.
Author: Webmaster
| Other Categories: Bio Sciences & Technology
October 26, 2009 – 1:47 pm
AviationWeek.com reported on October 22, 2009, that “NASA has selected a Williams International high-speed turbojet as the turbine element of its Turbine Based Combined Cycle (TBCC) engine test rig, which will be used to evaluate technologies for potential future two-stage to orbit launcher concepts.
“The 30-foot-long TBCC rig is under construction for runs at Mach 2 to 4 in a supersonic wind tunnel at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, Ohio, starting next year. The Williams WJ38 turbojet is adapted to run at Mach 3-plus and is a predecessor of more advanced high-speed turbine designs being developed separately under the Air Force Research Laboratory/Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Mach 4-plus turbine Histed (high-speed turbine engine demonstration) program.
“Although not a Histed engine, the WJ38 was acquired by NASA as part of that program, and will be integrated into the TBCC rig next year.”
Author: Webmaster
October 26, 2009 – 11:51 am
Via Guy Norris at AviationWeek.com: Test officials preparing for first flight of the X-51 scramjet demonstrator say issues with the U.S. Air Force B-52 mothership may delay the first hypersonic flight attempt to early 2010. The U.S. Air Force/Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)/Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne/Boeing hypersonic test vehicle was originally expected to make its first flight around late October or early November.
However, integration has taken longer than expected, and first flight was later slipped to December, with captive carriage flights on the B-52H set to begin by the end of this month. Maintenance issues on the B-52H have added to the delay, test officials say. In addition, other Air Force mission priorities have been allocated to the test bed and “we have to get in line,” says one scientist attending the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics/DLR-organized space planes and hypersonics conference here this week, where an update on the program was given.
“We are waiting for test assets to be in position,” says Tom Jackson, AFRL Propulsion Directorate aerospace propulsion chief. “If that slips then first flight will slide further,” he adds. The X-51 is a Mach 6 plus waverider vehicle powered by a hydrocarbon (JP-7) fuel-cooled scramjet, and if successful could perform the longest duration air-breathing hypersonic flight in history. Four flights are planned, with the last currently set for April 2010.
Author: Webmaster
October 26, 2009 – 10:32 am
The Aerospace Daily and Defense Report (10/22, Norris) reported NASA “has selected a Williams International high-speed turbojet as the turbine element of its Turbine Based Combined Cycle (TBCC) engine test rig, which will be used to evaluate technologies for potential future two-stage to orbit launcher concepts.”
The rig is being built at the Glenn Research Center for testing in its supersonic wind tunnel. “The TBCC is designed to integrate a turbine and ramjet/scramjet into a unified propulsion system that could be used to power the first-stage of a two-stage launch vehicle from a standing start on a runway to speeds in excess of Mach 7.” Testing of the rig “will be divided into four main phases, beginning with inlet performance work in 2010, followed by unsteady inlet system work.”
Author: Webmaster
October 24, 2009 – 8:38 am
The NASA Glenn Research Center’s unique atomic oxygen testing facilities were highlighted in NASA’s Technology Innovation Magazine for Business and Technology (Volume 15, Number 2, 209). The two-page article (written by Laurel Stauber, Cindy Dreibelbis of GRC and Nancy Oates of Fuentek, LLC), discusses the space and spinoff applications of the uniquely large GRC atomic oxygen facilities.
The article discusses how testing in the facilities by Bruce Banks and Sharon Miller has helped the commercial remote sensing industry and also how their testing also resulted in more than a $15 billion savings to NASA by enabling full mission durability of the International Space Station (ISS) solar array blankets. The research for ISS, published in over 70 papers, and the magnitude of the cost savings, resulted in GRC’s largest Space Act Award.
The article also described how other uses of the atomic oxygen facilities have resulted in technology applications for durability of mirrors and composite materials, atomic oxygen art restoration, improved cell adhesion, and removal of endotoxins from surgical implants. This work is supported by the NASA GRC Technology Transfer and Partnership Office.
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| Other Categories: Space Environment & Experiments
October 22, 2009 – 3:18 pm
Reporters are invited to several events for the upcoming Ares I-X flight test at NASA’s Glenn Research Center. The test launch and flight is a critical milestone in the development of NASA’s Constellation Program that will take astronauts further into space.
Briefings featuring Glenn’s work in building and shipping the Ares I-X Upper Stage Simulator for integration into the Ares I-X rocket will be held for employees on Monday, October 26 at:
- 9 a.m. in the Engineering Building at Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio
- 1 p.m. in the Administration Building Auditorium at Lewis Field
Media are also invited to view live NASA TV coverage of the Ares I-X launch in the Visitor Center at Lewis Field and at the same location at Plum Brook listed above. Ares I-X is now scheduled to lift off between 8 a.m. and noon on October 27. In the event the launch is postponed, the same launch viewing opportunities are offered on October 28 and 29. For launch updates, visit Ares I-X Flight Test.
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| Other Categories: Press Release
October 22, 2009 – 1:48 pm
NASA first awarded Jorge A. Jimenez a summer internship in 2007, and today he finds himself amongst Glenn Research Center’s high-performing summer interns. Recently, Jimenez was inducted into the newly unveiled NASA Student Ambassadors Virtual Community program.
Jimenez, a Motivating Undergraduates in Science and Technology, or MUST intern, worked on the Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Project. His responsibilities included developing the instrumentation and improving software for monitoring pilots’ cognitive state by tracking changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin concentrations at various regions of the brain. The project forms part of a larger effort by NASA to improve aeronautic safety by preventing accidents that may arise because of pilot fatigue or distraction.
“The most exciting part of my research has been the opportunity to build and work with a team of truly brilliant individuals,” said Jimenez. “I consider my relationships with the people I work with to be amongst my most treasured assets, and I invest in them as much and often as I can.”
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| Other Categories: Press Release
October 20, 2009 – 1:59 pm
Sun News reported on October 11, 2009, “Two employees at NASA Glenn Research Center here were among members of a team that won an award for lessening noise in a turbofan aircraft engine. The team used a metallic foam developed at Glenn.
“Team members Daniel Sutliff, of Brunswick, and Cheryl Bowman, of Valley City, were selected as winners of the Midwest region’s Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer, presented by the Federal Laboratory Consortium.”
Author: Webmaster
October 16, 2009 – 12:10 pm
Dr. Rainee N. Simons (Electron & Opto-Electronic Devices Branch) and Dr. Félix A. Miranda (Antenna & Optical Systems Branch) received an award on October 13, 2009, at the Wall Street Journal 2009 Technology Innovation Awards ceremony, taking place in conjunction with the Dow Jones VentureWire Technology Showcase 2009.
At the ceremony, they received their award for the invention, “Miniature Implantable Radio Frequency System for Real Time Telemetry from Microelectromechanical Systems Based Sensors and Actuators,” which was selected as a runner-up in the wireless category. The system provides wireless telemetry from miniature embedded sensors requiring no batteries. NASA foresees uses in such areas as astronauts’ space suits, health monitoring and bridge maintenance.
Select an image below to view larger version.
- Dr. Rainee N. Simons, John M. Leger, News Editor, Wall Street Journal, and Dr. Felix A. Miranda
- Wall Street Journal 2009 Technology Innovation Award Plaque
- Wall Street Journal Technology Innovations Award Winners 2009 (Photo: DJEvents)
Read more…
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| Other Categories: Awards, Honors & Patents
