INSIDER

Plant-Based Jet Fuel Could Reduce Emissions by 68%

Replacing petroleum-based aviation fuel with sustainable aviation fuel derived from a type of mustard plant can reduce carbon emissions by up to 68%, according to new research from...

Method Measures a Drone’s Ability to Recover

Flying cars, drones, and other urban aerial mobility vehicles have potential to provide efficient transportation and delivery solutions but what happens if a drone breaks down over a...

NASA Sees How Drones Fight California Wildfires

NASA’s Scalable Traffic Management for Emergency Response Operations, or STEReO, project is designing software and communication tools to help disaster responders work more safely and...

Lockheed Martin Opens Intelligent, Advanced Hypersonic Strike Production Facility

Lockheed Martin is adding to its manufacturing capabilities portfolio with the grand opening of a new production facility in Courtland, Alabama, focused on...

Riveting Technology Enables Lightweight Magnesium Fasteners for Fuel Efficiency

If Rosie the Riveter had access to a new riveting technology, the erstwhile character of WWII fame could have worked faster and made lighter products. Today,...

Developing Multifunctional Composite Materials for Aerospace Applications

Materials for aerospace applications face many challenges. The structure of an aircraft must be light yet strong. Structural components such as the wings or...

Turning Thermal Energy into Electricity Could Help Soldiers

With the addition of sensors and enhanced communication tools, providing lightweight, portable power has become even more challenging. Army-funded research demonstrated a new...

Kauai Test Facility Launches Its Largest Missile

The largest missile ever to launch from Sandia’s Kauai Test Facility in Hawaii has shown the storied test range is still growing to meet the testing needs of advanced weapons systems....

DOD Taking Measures to Protect Nuclear Weapons and Space Assets

The Defense Department relies on nuclear-armed bombers, submarines and intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as space-based sensors, to provide a strategic deterrence...

3D-Printed Catalysts Propel Hypersonic Flight

Ultra-efficient 3D printed catalysts could help solve the challenge of overheating in hypersonic aircraft and offer a revolutionary solution to thermal management across countless...

NASA Transfers Air Traffic Tool to FAA

As part of an effort aimed at making aviation more sustainable, NASA has transferred an air traffic management tool to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for nationwide implementation. The...

Wing Configuration Could Reduce Fuel Consumption

NASA’s trans-sonic truss-braced wing (TTBW) reduces drag during flight, which in turn reduces fuel consumption by up to 10 percent. This concept is part of an ongoing initiative by...

Air Force Develops Morphing Aileron for Aircraft Wing

Researchers from the Air Force Research Laboratory developed and demonstrated additively manufactured, multi-material conformal control surfaces for aircraft wings. The technology...

Adding Predictability to Fleet Communications During Solar Flares

Suppose a U.S. Navy destroyer is operating in the Western Pacific and is impacted by the effects of a massive solar flare that has caused a ripple effect across the globe,...

New Method Accelerates AI Decision-Making

A new solution compresses and offloads critical data from battlefield machines more efficiently, enabling faster AI processing and decision-making on the battlefield.

New Weapons Testing System Produces Richer Data, Saves Time and Money

A team of Sandia National Laboratories engineers developed a new testing capability in support of its nuclear weapons mission. The team completed their first...

Sensor Film Detects Aerospace Defects

A sensor film monitors how well aircraft and spacecraft withstand the mechanical stresses of flight. It can ultimately reduce maintenance costs and make the reusability of space vehicles more...

NASA Brings Air Mobility Vision to Stratospheric Heights

Designated in the United States as “upper Class E” airspace, the sky above 60,000 feet does not have stringent air traffic control rules since most aircraft are not capable of...

Faster, Cheaper Ethanol-to-Jet-Fuel on the Horizon

A process for converting alcohol sourced from renewable or industrial waste gases into jet or diesel fuel is being scaled up at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest...

Machine Could Power the Future of Aviation Propulsion

A one-megawatt electric motor that could help propel future, more environmentally friendly and economically sustainable aircraft was tested by NASA and its industry and academic...

Training Drones to Avoid Obstacles at High Speeds

The faster drones fly, the more unstable they become and at high speeds, their aerodynamics can be too complicated to predict. Crashes, therefore, are a common and often spectacular...

Researchers Bring Attack-Proof Quantum Communication Two Steps Forward

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a method for secure communication that uses quantum mechanics to encrypt information. While the security of QKD is unbreakable in...

AI Research Strengthens Certainty in Battlefield Decision-Making

A new framework for neural networks’ processing enables artificial intelligence to better judge objects and potential threats in hostile environments. Researchers from...

National Hypersonic Ground Test Facility to be Built

A first-of-its-kind in the U.S. facility to test hypersonic technologies will be constructed in the Purdue Aerospace District adjacent to the Purdue University campus. The Hypersonic...

Automated Flight Control System for Drone Swarms

An automated system was developed that enables an operator to control a small fleet of up to 10 drones from a single ground station. The operator indicates the mission to be undertaken...

Algorithm Flies Drones Faster than Human Pilots

For the first time an autonomously flying quadrotor has outperformed two human pilots in a drone race. The success is based on a novel algorithm that was developed by researchers of the...

Novel Method De-Ices Planes on the Fly

How do you control ice formation on a plane, even when it’s in flight? A de-icing method exploits how frost grows on pillar structures to suspend ice as it forms into a layer that’s easier to...

Shape-Memory Alloys Help Planes Land Without a Peep

Having a home near a busy airport means tolerating the jarring sounds of commercial airplanes during landing and takeoff. Researchers at Texas A&M University validated use of a...

Preventing Dangerous Oscillations in Rocket Engines

Combustion engines can develop high-frequency oscillations, leading to structural damage to the engines and unsafe operating conditions. Researchers clarified the feedback processes...