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Defense

Testing Large–Scale Vehicle–Borne Improvised Explosive Devices

In July of 2016, a refrigerator truck packed with explosives detonated next to a crowded apartment block in Baghdad’s Karrada neighborhood. The blast killed 323 people and...

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Defense

Army Scientists Discover Power in Urine

Scientists at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory observed an unexpected result when combining urine with a newly engineered nano-powder based on aluminum. It instantly releases hydrogen from the urine...

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Sensors/Data Acquisition

Putting Smart Weapons to The Test

In the old days, a slingshot, BB gun, rifle or cannon was only as smart as the marksman taking aim. Now, many weapons are guided to their targets with the precision of infrared sensors and lasers. The...

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Software

Simulation Results Could Help Quiet Jet Noise

Argonne National Laboratory engineers are working to create high-fidelity computer simulations to determine how jet turbulence produces noise. Working on Argonne’s supercomputer Mira, the team is applying computational fluid dynamics to capture the physics of the turbulence that is making the noise.

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Aerospace

NASA Tests Multi-Material 3D-Printed Rocket Engine Part

NASA engineers tested a 3D-printed rocket engine prototype part made of two different metal alloys via an advanced manufacturing process. The part was low-pressure, hot-fire-tested...

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Energy

Airline Industry Could Soar on Sugarcane Fuel

Plants Engineered to Replace Oil in Sugarcane and Sweet Sorghum (PETROSS), funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E), has developed sugarcane that produces oil, called...

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Materials

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 addition...

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Aerospace

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...

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Test & Measurement

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 during...

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Green Design & Manufacturing

Army 3-D Prints a Building

The Construction Engineering Research Laboratory in Champaign, Illinois, has successfully three-dimensionally printed a 512 square-foot concrete structure. The structure, called a barracks hut or B-Hut, was...

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Electronics & Computers

Experimental Box Could Track Nuclear Activity by Rogue Nations

Researchers at the Virginia Tech College of Science are carrying out a research project at Dominion Power’s North Anna Nuclear Generating Station in Virginia that could lead...

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Defense

Energized Fabrics Could Keep Soldiers Warm in Frigid Climates

Soldiering in arctic conditions is tough. Protective clothing can be heavy and cause overheating and sweating upon exertion. And hands and feet can grow numb despite wearing such...

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Aerospace

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.

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Aerospace

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 high...

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Unmanned Systems

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...

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Test & Measurement

Researchers Test Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

As an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) rocketed into the night sky, a team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers...

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Materials

New Form of Carbon Is Hard as a Rock, But Elastic Like Rubber

A team of scientists has developed a form of ultra-strong, lightweight carbon that is also elastic and electrically conductive. A material with such a unique combination of...

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Defense

Army Discovers New Energy Source

Army scientists and engineers recently made a groundbreaking discovery – an aluminum nanomaterial they designed produces high amounts of energy when it comes in contact with water, or with any liquid...

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Robotics, Automation & Control

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...

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Propulsion

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 out,...

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Sensors/Data Acquisition

Army to Test-Fire Tactical Missile System

Field artillery soldiers will soon be ready to test-fire the modernized Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Bravo Battery, 2nd Battalion, 20th Field...

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Sensors/Data Acquisition

Researchers Achieve Breakthrough in Nuclear Threat Detection Science

Taking inspiration from an unusual source, a Sandia National Laboratories team has dramatically improved the science of scintillators — objects that detect nuclear...

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Materials

Batteries That “Drink” Seawater Could Power Long-Range UUVs

The long range of airborne drones helps them perform critical tasks in the skies. Now MIT spinout Open Water Power (OWP) aims to greatly improve the range of unpiloted...

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Aerospace

Reconfigurable Radio Tracks Flights Worldwide

When Malaysia Air Flight 370 disappeared somewhere over the Indian Ocean in 2014, it had flown far beyond radar range. Under a new space-based air tracking system, no plane would ever be off the...

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Aerospace

Flight Deck “Ouija Boards” Go Digital

To make the jobs of aircraft handlers easier, the Navy developed the Deployable Ship Integration Multi-touch System (DSIMS), a mobile software package that features a digital touchscreen image of a...

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Aerospace

NASA Flight-Tests Flexible, Twistable Wing Flaps

NASA has conducted a series of flights investigating the benefits of twistable, flexible wing flaps to improve flight efficiency. The Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE II) flights...

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Software

Eye Tracking Technology Improves Imposter Detection Training

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) screens nearly one million people every day and secures and manages 328 ports of entry all over the country, including in remote areas....

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Photonics/Optics

Robot’s Speed-of-Light Communication Could Protect You From Danger

Cornell University researchers are developing a system to enable teams of robots to share information as they move around, and if necessary, interpret what they see. This...

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Photonics/Optics

Heads-up Display Improves Soldiers’ Situational Awareness

A novel technology called "Tactical Augmented Reality," or TAR, is now helping soldiers precisely locate their positions, as well as the locations of friends and foes. It even...

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