Stories

INSIDER: Propulsion

Jet Propulsion Without Fossil Fuel

Researchers demonstrated a prototype device that uses microwave air plasmas for jet propulsion instead of fossil fuel. The plasma jet was created by compressing air into high pressures and using a...

INSIDER: Aerospace

Drones for Disaster Response

Natural disasters, like wildfires and hurricanes, can lead to many lives lost and billions of dollars in costs across the U.S. each year. To help reduce that impact, drones have great potential to assist...

INSIDER: Defense

Second Vendor F-35 Canopy Testing Completed

Testers from the Holloman High Speed Test Track, in conjunction with members of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office, Lockheed Martin, Martin Baker, and BAE Systems, successfully...

INSIDER: Automotive

Army to Consider Electric Vehicles, Alternative Fuel Options

Commercial-led advancements in electric vehicle technology have pushed the Army Futures and Concepts Center to take a hard look at the capability and find ways to integrate it...

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

Study Uses AI to Estimate Unexploded Bombs from Vietnam War

Researchers have used artificial intelligence to detect Vietnam War-era bomb craters in Cambodia from satellite images – with the hope that it can help find unexploded bombs....

INSIDER: Defense

First Restartable Rocket Motor

Los Alamos researchers developed the first-ever restartable motor for solid rockets. They demonstrated restarting the motor at least six times in succession. All other solid rocket motors in use are a...

INSIDER: Materials

NASA Develops Unique Materials for Next Generation Aircraft

As NASA looks to the future of flight, the agency is investing in technologies aimed at changing the aviation industry as we know it. These developments vary from basic...

INSIDER: Aerospace

Airbus Reveals Blended Wing Aircraft Demonstrator

Airbus has revealed MAVERIC (Model Aircraft for Validation and Experimentation of Robust Innovative Controls), its “blended wing body” scale model technological demonstrator. At 2...

INSIDER: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Quantum Effect Triggers Unusual Material Expansion

You know how you leave space in a water bottle before you pop it in the freezer—to accommodate the fact that water expands as it freezes? Most metal parts in airplanes face the...

INSIDER: Software

Predicting In-Flight Air Density for More Accurate Landing

Knowing the air density outside a spacecraft vehicle can have a substantial effect on its angle of descent and ability to hit a specific landing spot. A new onboard algorithm...

INSIDER: Defense

Air Force Gunsmith Shop Creates Rifle for Aircrew

The Air Force Gunsmith Shop – part of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Armament Directorate – recently completed delivery of a new rifle for aircrew in most ejection...

INSIDER: Test & Measurement

Hypersonic Glide Vehicle Successfully Tested

A flight test of the joint Army-Navy hypersonic glide vehicle across the Pacific was a success thanks to a dedicated team who managed complexity and change, officials said. A joint team of...

INSIDER: Imaging

Rheinmetall to Supply Laser Light Module to Swiss Army

Rheinmetall has signed a contract with Switzerland’s Federal Office for Defence Procurement (Armasuisse) to supply VarioRay LLM laser light modules to the Swiss Army. Under the...

INSIDER: Aerospace

System Identifies, Tracks, and Captures Enemy Drones

Sandia National Laboratories robotics experts are working on a way to intercept enemy unmanned aircraft systems mid-flight. The government and defense industry have been exploring ways...

INSIDER: Aerospace

Crashing Into Safe Autonomous Flight

NASA’s Safeguard uses geo-fencing technology to create no-fly zones for any equipped UAV to assure it only operates in approved airspace. It can also be used to establish flight ceilings to ensure a...

INSIDER: Photonics/Optics

Breaking the Temperature Barrier in Aerospace Materials Testing

University of Illinois researchers have demonstrated a new method for testing microscopic aeronautical materials at ultra-high temperatures. The test combines two commonly...

INSIDER: Wearables

Wearable Device Camouflages Its Wearer Regardless of the Weather

Researchers at the University of California San Diego developed a wearable technology that can hide its wearer from heat-detecting sensors such as night vision goggles,...

INSIDER: Materials

Machine Learning Accelerates High-Performance Materials Development

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and its partners rely on timely development and deployment of diverse materials to support a variety of national security...

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Sky Devils Provide Critical Link to Soldiers

New Jersey Army National Guard soldiers train daily to operate the RQ-7B Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle for surveillance, targeting and communications relay.

INSIDER: Test & Measurement

NASA Tests Radiation Vest for Deep Space Missions

As NASA leads the way for human exploration at the Moon and beyond, space radiation is one of the biggest hazards crews face. NASA is testing the AstroRad radiation protection vest on...

INSIDER: Propulsion

Fuel-Efficient Engine for Cheaper, Lighter Spacecraft

Ending NASA’s Space Shuttle into orbit required more than 3.5 million pounds of fuel, which is about 15 times heavier than a blue whale. But a new type of engine — called a...

INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Sensor Tests Moon Landing Technology

GPS is used every day to navigate on Earth. As NASA prepares to land humans on the Moon by 2024, new laser-based technology will safely and precisely navigate astronauts to their destination.

INSIDER: Aerospace

Bio-Inspired Wing Design for Small Drones

Brown University researchers have developed a new wing design for small drones that could make them far more stable and efficient. The wing replaces the smooth contour found on the leading edges...

INSIDER: Software

Streamlining Jet Engine Design

Argonne National Lab scientists developed a numerical modeling tool that helps researchers better understand Rotating Detonation Engines that could one day propel the next generation of airplanes and...

INSIDER: Defense

NRL Researchers’ Golden Touch Enhances Quantum Technology

Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory discovered a new platform for quantum technologies by suspending two-dimensional (2-D) crystals over pores in a slab of gold....

INSIDER: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Army Leverages New Alliance for 3-D Printing Goals

Top university and industry researchers met recently at Carnegie Mellon University to forge a collaboration designed to improve on-demand 3-D printing. As part of a newly formed Research...

INSIDER: Materials

Researchers Develop Innovative Tools to Accelerate Composites Certification

In partnership with industry, a team of Air Force Research Laboratory/Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) personnel are developing the capability to...

INSIDER: Communications

Changing the Face of UAV Communications

The increase in unmanned aircraft (UA) traffic is leading to an increase in communications disruptions because too many vehicles are trying to use the same limited number of frequencies.

INSIDER: Materials

Understanding Condensation Leads to Better De-icing Materials

Water repellency is needed for surfaces to shed condensation buildup. New research by the University of Illinois and North Carolina State University shows that the necessity...