Tag: Glenn Research Center

Cleveland School Students Learn About STEM Careers  

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1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Cleveland Metropolitan School District high school students learned about how a robotic dog named “Astro” serves as the eyes and ears for NASA employees conducting inspections in noisy facilities. Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna  NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland opened its doors to Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) students to explore various Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers.     NASA Glenn’s Office of STEM Engagement invited high school students onsite to explore center facilities and talk to NASA experts during…

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NASA Noise Prediction Tool Supports Users in Air Taxi Industry

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1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The results from a NASA software tool called OVERFLOW, used to model the flow of air around aircraft, are shown in this image. NASA Several air taxi companies are using a NASA-developed computer software tool to predict aircraft noise and aerodynamic performance. This tool allows manufacturers working in fields related to NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility mission to see early in the aircraft development process how design elements like propellors or wings would perform. This saves the industry time and…

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Tech Today: Suspended Solar Panels See the Light

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2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is an example of a concentrated solar power plant, which works by having hundreds of reflective panels heating up a central tower. The problem of keeping sunlight directed at the receiver throughout the day brought Jim Clair to request NASA’s help in validating the suspended design now used in Skysun solar power systems. Credit: Cliff Ho/U.S. Department of Energy In the 80 years since the shocking collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in…

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NASA Awards Spaceflight Development, Operations Contract

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NASA has selected Sierra Lobo Inc. of Fremont, Ohio, to support spaceflight hardware design, development, testing, and operations at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.  The Space Flight Systems Development and Operations Contract III is a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract featuring a cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity provision with a maximum potential value of approximately $282.1 million. The 90-day phase-in period is anticipated to begin on Tuesday, Feb. 27, followed by a three-year base period and two two-year option periods. The systems development and operations contract encompasses the development and delivery of technology…

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Flame Burns Out on NASA’s Long-Running Spacecraft Fire Experiment

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3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A sample of fabric burns inside an uncrewed Cygnus cargo craft during a previous Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiment investigation, Saffire-IV. Credit: NASA NASA recently concluded the final mission of its Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiment, or Saffire, putting a blazing end to an eight-year series of investigations that provided insights into fire’s behavior in space. The final experiment, Saffire-VI, launched to the International Space Station in August 2023 and concluded its mission on Jan. 9, when the Northrop Grumman Cygnus…

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First Look: Spaceplane Stacked and Shaken at NASA Test Facility

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2 Min Read First Look: Spaceplane Stacked and Shaken at NASA Test Facility Nose-up and bathed in soft blue lights, Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane and its Shooting Star cargo module cast dramatic shadows onto the walls of NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, as members of the media got their first glimpse of the towering 55-foot-tall stack on Feb. 1. The spaceplane and its cargo module are undergoing testing at the facility to prepare for the extreme environment of space. To view this video please enable JavaScript,…

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NASA Tests New Spacecraft Propellant Gauge on Lunar Lander

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3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander for the company’s first Commercial Lunar Payload Services delivery is positioned before being encapsulated inside its launch fairing. The Nova-C lander will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than mid-February. Credit: Intuitive Machines It’s easy to measure fuel in tanks on Earth, where gravity pulls the liquid to the bottom. But in space, the game changes. Quantifying fuel that’s floating around inside a spacecraft’s tank isn’t…

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NASA’s Fission Surface Power Project Energizes Lunar Exploration

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A concept image of NASA’s Fission Surface Power Project. Credit: NASA NASA is wrapping up the initial phase of its Fission Surface Power Project, which focused on developing concept designs for a small, electricity-generating nuclear fission reactor that could be used during a future demonstration on the Moon and to inform future designs for Mars. NASA awarded three $5 million contracts in 2022, tasking each commercial partner with developing an initial design that included the reactor; its power conversion, heat…

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NASA, Sierra Space Invite Media to See Spaceplane for Cargo Missions

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NASA and Sierra Space team members move the Dream Chaser spaceplane into NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Credits: Sierra Space/Shay Saldana As part of NASA’s efforts to expand commercial resupply in low Earth orbit, media are invited to view Sierra Space’s uncrewed commercial spaceplane ahead of its first demonstration flight for the agency to the International Space Station in 2024. The Dream Chaser event is scheduled to begin at 10:15 a.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 1, at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. For the first…

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