Aerospace

GaN Breaks Barriers

The increasing demand for higher data rates in telecommunications and higher resolution in industrial systems is pushing the frequency of operation higher for the electronics that support them. Many of these systems...

Test System Ensures Flawless Performance of Military RF Devices

Communication on the battlefield is a life-or-death matter. You can't take chances with RF devices or power units malfunctioning or failing. A soldier's life may depend on...

Using Sintered Fiber Metal Composites for Aircraft Acoustic Attenuation

Sintered fiber metal composites are used in aircraft as an acoustic media within environmental ducting, inlet and exhaust systems. The material can be engineered to meet...

Sensitivity Simulation of Compressed Sensing Based Electronic Warfare Receiver Using Orthogonal Matching Pursuit Algorithm

Electronic Intelligence Receiver (ELINT) is an important component in electronic warfare (EW) and layer sensing. The...

The Impact of Video Compression on Remote Cardiac Pulse Measurement Using Imaging Photoplethysmography

Remote measurement of physiological signals has a number of advantages over traditional contact methods. It allows the measurement of...

Subjective Mapping of Dust-Emission Sources by Using MODIS Imagery

Dust storms (5 to 100 km across) often originate from multiple dust-emission sources (1 to 10 km across). Remote-sensing-based dust-source identification is a challenge. A...

Custom Data Logger for Real-Time Remote Field Data Collections

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), CHL, FRF, had a need for a remote real-time data collection system to control instruments and log and communicate data from five...

Initial Validation of Ballistic Shock Accelerometers

Method 522.2 of MIL-STD-810G CN1 defines ballistic shock as “a high-level shock that generally results from the impact of projectiles or ordnance on armored combat vehicles”. Typical...

Sound-Off: With High-Speed Data, How Important is Signal Integrity?

Modern avionics are highly dependent on reliable connectivity — and reliable interconnection systems. As data rates inevitably improve to address greater military...

Strong and Stretchable “Super Steel”

In aerospace applications of materials, increasing strength often leads to a decrease in ductility. Engineers have developed a Super Steel that addresses this strength-ductility tradeoff. In...

Air Traffic Management Tool Wins NASA Software of the Year

When planes get caught in traffic, pilots have to keep flying until the backup clears and their runways become available for landing. This means that air traffic controllers must...

Green Aerospace Test Uses No Explosives

Sandia National Laboratories has successfully demonstrated a new, more environmentally friendly method to test a rocket part to ensure its avionics can withstand the shock from stage separation...

Researchers Print the Unprintable: Kapton

Kapton, a material used in electronics and aerospace applications, has only been available in sheet form. Researchers from Virginia Tech have found a way to 3D-print a polymer with Kapton's...

NASA and Industry Take Next Step Toward X-Plane

Four companies were awarded contracts to come up with five configurations on paper that met very specific operational criteria for NASA’s next commercial X-plane aircraft.

New Products: September 2017 Aerospace & Defense Technology

Measurement Software

Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence (North Kingstown, RI) has launched PC-DMIS 2017 R2, the latest edition of their popular measurement software. This...

Radiation Tolerant “Smart Backplanes” for Spacecraft Avionics

In recent years there has been a trend towards the wider use of COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) equipment in space missions. This trend has been mainly driven by the...

On-Orbit Satellite Refueling Flow Measurement

Over 7000 satellites have been placed in Earth-orbit since the beginning of the space age. 3000 are currently in orbit, of which 1000 are active, making our near space neighborhood a...

NASA Miniaturizes Century-Old Radio Sounder Technology

A century-old technology that scientists use to probe the ionosphere — the important atmospheric layer that can interfere with the transmission of radio waves — is getting...

Eliminating Electrical Arcing in Satellite Systems

In 1995, Boeing Satellite Systems introduced a new family of communication satellite buses, with bodies that contain power, control, and propulsion systems. They used a high-voltage bus...

Using Heat Pipes to Cool Embedded Computers

Heat pipes are a well-known thermal management solution used in computing applications. Nearly all laptop computers contain some number of heat pipes to effectively remove heat from heat generating...

Developing an Airborne Optical Systems Testbed (AOSTB)

The United States shares 5,525 miles of land border with Canada, and 1,989 miles with Mexico. Monitoring these borders, which is the responsibility of U.S. Customs and Border Protection...

Electronically Dimmable Aircraft Windows

That was the challenge posed to Gentex by Boeing. Window shades typically do the job on an airplane, but they’re cumbersome to operate, expensive to maintain, and do little to reflect the...

Optical Method Detects Weak Spots in Jet Engine Coatings

Researchers have demonstrated, for the first time, that an optical analysis method can reveal weak areas in ceramic thermal barrier coatings that protect jet engine turbines from...

NASA Tests Could Lead to FAA Integration of UAVs

NASA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System, or UAS in the NAS, project is attracting international attention as increasingly complex flight tests take...

Airborne Sense-and-Avoid Radar for UAVs

Widespread use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) within the National Airspace System is limited because of regulatory restrictions on their access to shared airspace. The Airborne Sense and Avoid...

Rising Temps Could Limit Aircraft Takeoffs

Rising temperatures due to global warming will make it harder for many aircraft around the world to take off in coming decades, says a new study by Columbia University. As air warms, it spreads...

New Products: August 2017 Aerospace & Defense Technology

Rugged Data Recorders

DTS’ (Seal Beach, CA) ultra-small SLICE MICRO and NANO data recorders are rugged and designed to embed directly in the test article – even small...

Using System Simulation to Manage Increasing Thermal Loads on Aircraft Fuel Systems

Today’s modern military fighter jets are like “a flying thermos bottle” according to Steve Iden, AFRL Invent Program Manager ^[1]. Many...