Tag: Glenn Research Center

NASA Small Business Funding Enables Aircraft Inspection by Drone

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3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A Boeing 777-300ER aircraft is being inspected by one of Near Earth Autonomy’s drones Feb. 2, 2024, at an Emirates Airlines facility in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Near Earth Autonomy A small business called Near Earth Autonomy developed a time-saving solution using drones for pre-flight checks of commercial airliners through a NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and a partnership with The Boeing Company. Before commercial airliners are deemed safe to fly before each trip, a pre-flight inspection…

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Program Manager at NASA Glenn Earns AIAA Sustained Service Award 

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1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Christopher Pestak Credit: NASA  Christopher Pestak, program manager of the Glenn Engineering and Research Support (GEARS) contract at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, has received the 2025 Sustained Service Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). This award recognizes AIAA members who have given their time, dedication, and efforts in service to AIAA, the aerospace community, and the engineering profession.   Pestak oversees and coordinates the efforts of 350 contractor employees performing a wide range of scientific,…

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NASA Plane Supported Innovative Microgravity Research in ‘90s

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NASA Lewis Research Center’s DC-9 commences one of its microgravity-producing parabolas in the fall of 1994. It was the center’s largest aircraft since the B-29 Superfortress in the 1940s. Credit: NASA/Quentin Schwinn A bell rings and a strobe light flashes as a pilot pulls the nose of the DC-9 aircraft up sharply. The blood quickly drains from researchers’ heads as they are pulled to the cabin floor by a force twice that of normal gravity. Once the acceleration slows to the desired level, and the NASA aircraft crests over its…

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From Houston to the Moon: Johnson’s Thermal Vacuum Chamber Tests Lunar Solar Technology 

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Imagine designing technology that can survive on the Moon for up to a decade, providing a continuous energy supply. NASA selected three companies to develop such systems, aimed at providing a power source at the Moon’s South Pole for Artemis missions.  Three companies were awarded contracts in 2022 with plans to test their self-sustaining solar arrays at the Johnson Space Center’s Space Environment Simulation Laboratory (SESL) in Houston, specifically in Chamber A in building 32. The prototypes tested to date have undergone rigorous evaluations to ensure the technology can withstand…

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NASA Engineer Carries Indigenous Roots into New Aviation Era

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5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Abigail Reigner, a systems engineer at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, supports the agency’s research in electrified aircraft propulsion to enable more sustainable air travel. Behind her is a 25% scale model of NASA’s SUbsonic Single Aft eNgine (SUSAN) Electrofan aircraft concept used to test and demonstrate hybrid electric propulsion systems for emission reductions and performance boosts in future commercial aircraft. Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna Growing up outside of Philadelphia, Abigail Reigner spent most of her childhood miles away…

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NASA to Embrace Commercial Sector, Fly Out Legacy Relay Fleet 

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4 Min Read NASA to Embrace Commercial Sector, Fly Out Legacy Relay Fleet  An artist's concept of commercial and NASA space relays. Credits: NASA/Morgan Johnson NASA is one step closer on its transition to using commercially owned and operated satellite communications services to provide future near-Earth space missions with increased service coverage, availability, and accelerated science and data delivery.      As of Friday, Nov. 8, the agency’s legacy TDRS (Tracking and Data Relay Satellite) system, as part of the Near Space Network, will support only existing missions while new missions will…

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Dr. Rickey Shyne Named Crain’s Notable Black Leader 

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1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Dr. Rickey Shyne is responsible for leading a staff of approximately 1,100 engineers and scientists. Credit: NASA Dr. Rickey J. Shyne, director of Research and Engineering at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, has been named one of Crain’s Cleveland Business’ 2024 Notable Black Leaders.   Shyne is responsible for leading a staff of approximately 1,100 engineers and scientists, and managing research and development in propulsion, communications, power, and materials and structures for extreme environments in support of the agency’s missions.…

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Pioneering NASA Astronaut Health Tech Thwarts Heart Failure

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3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Dr. Rainee Simons (right) and Dr. Félix Miranda work together to create technology supporting heart health at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Credit: NASA Prioritizing health is important on Earth, and it’s even more important in space. Exploring beyond the Earth’s surface exposes humans to conditions that can impact blood pressure, bone density, immune health, and much more. With this in mind, two NASA inventors joined forces 20 years ago to create a way to someday monitor astronaut…

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