Tag: Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Awards $1.5 Million at Watts on the Moon Challenge Finale

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Team H.E.L.P.S. (High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution) from The University of California, Santa Barbara won the $1 million grand prize in NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. Their team developed a low-mass, high efficiency cable and featured energy storage batteries on both ends of their power transmission and energy storage system. Credit: NASA/GRC/Sara Lowthian-Hanna NASA has awarded a total of $1.5 million to two U.S. teams for their novel technology solutions addressing energy distribution, management, and storage as part of the agency’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. The innovations from…

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The Marshall Star for September 18, 2024

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18 Min Read The Marshall Star for September 18, 2024 Marshall Welcomes NASA Chief Scientist for Climate, Science Town Hall NASA Chief Scientist and Senior Climate Advisor Kate Calvin, center left, joins team members at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center for a Climate and Science Town Hall on Sept. 17 in Activities Building 4316. Calvin took part in a question-and-answer session during her visit that was live streamed agencywide. Joining her in the session were, from left, Rahul Ramachandran, research scientist and senior data science strategist for the Science…

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NASA’s Lunar Challenge Participants to Showcase Innovations During Awards

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The Sun rises above the Flight Research Building at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Credit: NASA Editor’s note: This media advisory was updated Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, with a correct phone number for the media contact at NASA’s Glenn Research Center. NASA‘s Watts on the Moon Challenge, designed to advance the nation’s lunar exploration goals under the Artemis campaign by challenging United States innovators to develop breakthrough power transmission and energy storage technologies that could enable long-duration Moon missions, concludes on Friday, Sept. 20, at the Great Lakes Science…

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Printed Engines Propel the Next Industrial Revolution

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2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A laser powder directed energy deposition (LP-DED) 3D printer at RPM Innovations’ facility additively manufactures a large-scale aerospike rocket engine nozzle from one of Elementum 3D’s specialized, 3D-printable aluminum alloys. RPM Innovations Inc. In the fall of 2023, NASA hot fire tested an aluminum 3D printed rocket engine nozzle. Aluminum is not typically used for 3D printing because the process causes it to crack, and its low melting point makes it a challenging material for rocket engines. Yet the…

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The Marshall Star for September 11, 2024

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22 Min Read The Marshall Star for September 11, 2024 Starship Super Heavy Breezes Through Wind Tunnel Testing NASA and its industry partners continue to make progress toward Artemis III and beyond, the first crewed lunar landing missions under the agency’s Artemis campaign. SpaceX, the commercial Human Landing System (HLS) provider for Artemis III and Artemis IV, recently tested a 1.2% scale model of the Super Heavy rocket, or booster, in the transonic Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel at NASA’s Ames Research Center. The Super Heavy rocket will launch the Starship human landing…

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Starship Super Heavy Breezes Through Wind Tunnel Testing at NASA Ames

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A 1.2% scale model of the Super Heavy rocket that will launch the Starship human landing system to the Moon for future crewed Artemis missions was recently tested at NASA’s Ames Research Center’s transonic wind tunnel, providing valuable information on vehicle stability when re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. NASA Four grid fins on the Super Heavy rocket help stabilize and control the rocket as it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere after launching Starship to a lunar trajectory. Engineers tested the effects of various aerodynamic conditions on several grid fin configurations during wind tunnel testing.…

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New Hardware for Future Artemis Moon Missions Arrive at NASA Kennedy

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On the left, the Canopee transport carrier containing the European Service Module for NASA’s Artemis III mission arrives at Port Canaveral in Florida, on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, before completing the last leg of its journey to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout via truck. On the right, NASA’s Pegasus barge, carrying several pieces of hardware for Artemis II, III, and IV arrives at NASA Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. Credit: NASA From across the Atlantic Ocean and…

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The Marshall Star for September 4, 2024

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23 Min Read The Marshall Star for September 4, 2024 Rocket Hardware for Future Artemis Flights Moved to Barge for Delivery to Kennedy NASA is making strides with the Artemis campaign as key components for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket continue to make their way to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Teams with NASA and Boeing loaded the core stage boat-tail for Artemis III and the core stage engine section for Artemis IV onto the agency’s Pegasus barge at Michoud Assembly Facility on Aug. 28. The core stage engine section of the SLS (Space Launch…

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25 Years Strong: NASA’s Student Launch Competition Accepting 2025 Proposals

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s Student Launch, a STEM competition, officially kicks off its 25th anniversary with the 2025 handbook. By Wayne Smith NASA’s Student Launch competition kicks off its 25th year with the release of the 2025 handbook, detailing how teams can submit proposals by Wednesday, Sept. 11, for the event scheduled next spring near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Student Launch is an annual competition challenging middle school, high school, and college students to design, build, test, and…

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The Marshall Star for August 28, 2024

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27 Min Read The Marshall Star for August 28, 2024 Marshall Leadership Updates Team Members on Culture, Strategy By Wayne Smith Leadership from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center highlighted a successful summer before looking ahead to the center’s culture and strategy during an all-hands meeting Aug. 27 in Building 4316. Marshall Director Joseph Pelfrey recapped milestone events of the past few months, including new hardware for the Artemis II test flight. The launch vehicle stage adapter for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket was rolled out Aug. 21 at Marshall…

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