Aerospace

NASA has announced the elimination of its chief scientist position and the closure of several internal offices, including the Office of Technology Policy and Strategy and the agency’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) branch. According to Reuters, the move, which affects at least 23 employees, is part of a broader reorganization aligned with federal…

[Last updated on March 19, 2025] The R&D layoff trend shows no signs of slowing as we move through March, with significant cuts announced across pharmaceuticals, automotive, tech hardware, and AI startups. March has been especially challenging for European automakers, with Porsche AG announcing one of the largest cuts so far this year (3,900 workers).…

In 1926, British aerodynamicist Hermann Glauert introduced an equation that shaped a century of wind turbine development — a third-order polynomial that determines the optimum axial induction factor. Yet, at Penn State nearly one hundred years later, Divya Tyagi, an engineering student revisited and improved this classical result by deriving missing analytical approaches for rotor…

Could a new telescope unearth cosmic recipes for life? Can a cell patch rescue fading eyesight? And what’s with bubbles “galloping” in a lab? This week’s research roundup probes the surprising frontiers of astronomy, medicine, archaeology, and more — raising as many questions as it answers. Read on for highlights that challenge familiar assumptions and…

As NASA prepares to launch SPHEREx, another groundbreaking mission led by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is set to hitch a ride. The Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere, or PUNCH, mission consists of four small, suitcase-sized spacecraft designed and built by SwRI. While SPHEREx embarks on a quest to map the universe and…

NASA is poised to embark on an ambitious mission by launching the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer, better known as SPHEREx. This high-tech space telescope is designed to conduct an unprecedented sky survey, offering a comprehensive look into the universe’s evolution and the potential for life beyond…

SpaceX’s satellite internet system, Starlink, just scored a major win with the FAA. The mission? Deploy 4,000 terminals over the next 12 to 18 months to upgrade the agency’s IT networks. This rollout—part of the FAA’s “TDM X” program—goes beyond enhancing network capacity. By integrating Starlink’s phased array antennas and laser-linked satellite mesh into remote…

The Boeing X‑37B Orbital Test Vehicle—a highly secretive, unmanned and reusable spaceplane from the United States Space Force—made an appearance today in an official photo circulating on social media. This image, captured via an onboard camera typically used for vehicle health monitoring during its seventh mission (OTV‑7), offers a glimpse of Earth from the X‑37B’s…

When cell phones first became ubiquitous, they allowed people to call from previously inconceivable places — the park, the swimming pool, the car, and everywhere else — but calling on the Moon? That remained firmly in the realm of sci-fi fantasy… until now. Because while you were busy doomscrolling, something truly astronomical was happening. Nokia…

A substantial fire disrupted operations at SPS Technologies’ manufacturing facility in Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 17, 2025. SPS, a notable producer of aerospace fasteners—including Space Shuttle components—employs high-temperature forging, fine metal powder milling, and chemical electroplating to craft superalloy-based products. These hazardous-material processes had faced prior EPA citations for waste management lapses.…

As wildfire threats grow globally, NASA is tapping decades of aeronautics and Earth science expertise to support firefighters. Through its FireSense project — part of the Wildland Fires program — the agency is testing unmanned aerial systems (UAS) that gather real-time weather data over fire-prone areas. A recent field campaign in Missoula, Montana, demonstrated the…

[Blue Origin][/caption> Blue Origin‘s announcement of a 10% workforce reduction is not an isolated incident, but the latest sign of a significant belt-tightening across the aerospace sector. Joining companies like Boeing, Airbus, and Pratt & Whitney which have recently announced cuts, Blue Origin’s layoffs reflect a broader industry-wide push for efficiency as space companies race…

NASA and DARPA have unveiled plans to test a novel nuclear thermal rocket engine—a technology capable of tripling propulsion efficiency compared to conventional chemical rockets. The project, dubbed DRACO, hinges on recent advances in nuclear fuel, with General Atomics reporting significant progress in testing fuel elements capable of withstanding the extreme conditions of an Nuclear…

NASA missions with limited mass and power budgets have long demanded innovative communication systems. In response, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) developed Frontier Radio, which first flew in 2012 on the twin Van Allen Probes. This compact, radiation-tolerant radio became a critical component on several near- and deep-space missions, including Parker Solar Probe,…

Galaxy clusters rank among the most significant known structures in the Universe. Current models suggest they form when clumps of dark matter pull galaxies together, merging smaller groups into vast clusters containing hundreds or even thousands of galaxies. One such group is the Antlia Cluster (Abell S636), located roughly 130 million light-years away in the…

The Electric Propulsion Club (EPC) at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) recently showcased its experimental gridded ion thruster, STARGATE, at the 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Milan, Italy. The group, comprised of undergraduate students, presented its proprietary plasma production technology for small satellite propulsion in low Earth and geostationary orbits. To provide…

A paper published in Gravitational and Space Research reveals insights from research sponsored by the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory on transport phenomena. Transport phenomena are fundamental physical processes involving momentum, energy, and mass transfer. They describe how heat and matter move through their surroundings, such as how heat radiates from a stove or how a…

The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) and the U.S. National Science Foundation’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) have announced a new collaboration to advance the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) into space. This next-generation effort, called the Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) mission, aims to improve black hole imaging by combining ground-based radio…

The State Department has announced that the United States and China have amended and extended their bilateral Science and Technology Agreement (STA) for five years. Initially signed in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter and Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, the deal was designed to foster cooperation in agriculture, energy, space, health, and the environment. U.S. officials…

Northwestern University has joined the international consortium constructing the Giant Magellan Telescope, a $2.54 billion observatory poised to become one of the world’s most powerful astronomical instruments. The consortium now includes 15 leading research institutions from the United States, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Israel, South Korea, and Taiwan. Northwestern brings expertise in astrophysics and artificial intelligence…

Dozens of ambitious scientific investigations — including projects aiming to improve cancer detection, advance treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, and enhance respiratory therapy — have safely returned to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS). The nearly 50 experiments, sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory, were transported back on SpaceX’s 31st Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission…

In many respects, 2024 was a year of building upon the foundations laid by previous technological and scientific advances. While AI continued to evolve at a rapid clip, progress was in many ways more incremental than last year when GPT-4 redefined expectations for genAI. But AI continues to make definable improvements across a range of…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending October 25, 2024, closed at 3962.81 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index was down -1.49% (or -60.14 basis points). Seven RDWI members gained value last week from 0.27% (Toyota) to 5.88% (General Motors). Eighteen RDWI members lost value the previous week from -0.27%…

Argonne National Laboratory has developed a new technology that could significantly impact the aviation industry and the environment by turning waste streams into cost-competitive sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This novel invention, dubbed “membrane-assisted anaerobic digestion” (MAAD), converts high-strength organic wastewater from sources like breweries and dairy farms into volatile fatty acids, which can be further…

An analysis of 45 years of R&D 100 Awards reveals a clear leader: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), with more than two hundred winning products. National labs dominate the top ranks, demonstrating the staying power of consistent government investment in R&D. All of the top 10 organizations since 2010 are federally-backed entities. ORNL Frequently featured…