Tag: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

NRL Power-beaming Demonstrated on International Space Station

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NASA astronaut Jessica Meir demonstrates how the LEctenna™, a light-emitting rectifying antenna constructed by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, converts electromagnetic waves into electric current on the International Space Station. Similar technology could be used on the Earth’s surface to convert electromagnetic waves beamed from space-based solar arrays. (Credit: NASA)

WASHINGTON (NRL PR) — International Space Station astronaut Jessica Meir completed the first U.S. Naval Research Laboratory power-beaming demonstration in orbit February 12, 2020, using relatively simple components suitable for STEM activities.

Meir showed how NRL’s LEctenna™, a light-emitting rectifying antenna, converted a wireless network signal, similar to home networks, into electric power. While the current generated and light emitted was a small amount, the setup proved the concept in space.

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NRL Conducts First Test of Solar Power Satellite Hardware in Orbit

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Image of the Photovoltaic Radio-frequency Antenna Module (PRAM) with a 12-inch ruler for scale. The hardware is the first orbital experiment designed to convert sunlight for microwave power transmission for solar power satellites. (Image Courtesy of U.S. Naval Research Laboratory)

WASHINGTON (NRL PR) – U.S. Naval Research Laboratory engineers launched PRAM, the Photovoltaic Radio-frequency Antenna Module, aboard an Air Force X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle on May 17 as part of a comprehensive investigation into prospective terrestrial use of solar energy captured in space.

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Next X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle to Carry 2 NASA Experiments

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X-37B after landing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. (Credit: USAF)

WASHINGTON (AFNS) — The Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, in partnership with the U.S. Space Force, is scheduled to launch the sixth mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-6) on May 16 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

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NRL Camera Aboard NASA Spacecraft Confirms Asteroid Phenomenon

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An image from the Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR), a U.S. Naval Research Laboratory-built camera, displays the dust trail of asteroid 3200 Phaethon near the Sun on Nov. 5, 2018. The trail is visible for the first time in the region where the white dots are omitted. 3200 Phaethon’s orbit intersects Earth’s orbit every year, and results in the Geminid Meteor shower. (Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Brendan Gallagher and Guillermo Stenborg)

WASHINGTON (NRL PR) – A U.S. Naval Research Laboratory-built camera mounted on the NASA Parker Solar Probe revealed an asteroid dust trail that has eluded astronomers for decades.

Karl Battams, a computational scientist in NRL’s Space Science Division, discussed the results from the camera called Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR) on Dec. 11 during a NASA press conference.

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USAF Space and Missile Systems Center Payloads Arrive at Space Station

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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (SMSC PR) — The U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center and its mission partners successfully delivered the Aerospace Rogue Alpha/Beta CubeSats and Space Test Program Satellite-4 (STPSat-4) to the International Space Station.

The mission, designated NG-12, started with the on-time launch of an upgraded Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Antares 230+ rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A Nov. 2 at 9:59 a.m. EDT from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

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Building in Space: Government and Industry Meet to Discuss In-Space Assembly

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WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — Orbiting 250 miles above Earth’s surface is a large example of in-space assembly: the International Space Station. Modules, trusses, solar arrays and instruments were flown to space and assembled by astronauts during spacewalks and using space-controlled robotics.

On Nov. 6, NASA, along with the U.S. Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office — its principal partners in the Science & Technology Partnership Forum — hosted more than 50 industry members at NASA Headquarters in Washington for an open discussion on in-space assembly technology and projects. Representatives from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory involved in in-space assembly projects also attended.

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Advanced Robotic Arm Gets a Workout

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HAMPTON, Va. (NASA PR) — A new robotic arm for assembling spacecraft and exploration platforms in space flexed its muscle in a successful ground demonstration Jan. 19.

The device, called the Tension Actuated in Space MANipulator (TALISMAN) was tested in the Structures and Materials Test Laboratory at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

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Cygnus Carries NanoRacks Payloads to Space Station

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WALLOPS ISLAND, Va., November 12, 2017 (Orbital ATK PR) – Early this morning, the Orbital ATK CRS-8 (OA-8) launch carried another historic NanoRacks mission to the International Space Station (ISS). With a completely full NanoRacks External Cygnus Deployer (ENRCSD), a virtual reality camera, and educational research, this mission marks over 600 NanoRacks payloads delivered to the ISS since 2009.

This mission is enabling a unique virtual reality opportunity with National Geographic’s VUZE camera. Integrated and launched via NanoRacks, VUZE will allow for the recording of the new National Geographic series “One Strange Rock,” in which the astronaut crew will record a series of virtual reality pieces for incorporation into a larger documentary about natural history and the solar system. This is National Geographic’s first time launching with NanoRacks.

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ISS U.S. National Lab Payloads Prepped for Orbital ATK CRS-8 Launch

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SS John Glenn near the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL., November 2, 2017 (CASIS) – The Orbital ATK Cygnus vehicle is slated to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) no earlier than November 11, 2017 from Wallops Flight Facility.

The Cygnus spacecraft will carry ISS National Laboratory payloads to conduct research across a variety of areas aimed at improving life on Earth. In addition to the diverse research launching to the ISS National Lab, multiple payloads focused on enabling future research missions will be part of the CRS-8 manifest. Thus far in 2017, the ISS National Lab has sponsored more than 100 separate experiments that have reached the station.

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NASA Works With Other Agencies for In-Space Assembly Development

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NASA Office of the Chief Technologist team members, including Acting Chief Technologist Douglas Terrier (center), Acting Deputy Chief Technologist Vicki Crisp (left) and Strategic Parternships Lead Erica Rodgers (right) listen as Naval Research Laboratory Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites Program Lead Roboticist Glen Henshaw gives a presentation about in-space development capabilities. (Credit: Naval Research Laboratory)

WASHINGTON, DC (NASA PR) — A robot stretches its limbs and systematically climbs across a tubular structure, using the truss’s crossbars as handholds; one limb after another, it reaches and grabs the next handhold while releasing the ones behind it. Pulling itself along, it inspects the structure it just assembled in space.

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