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Air Force photograph by A1C Erin OíShea Defense

U.S. Forces display military might at Farnborough

Air Force photograph by A1C Erin O’Shea Capt. Tom Meyers discusses the F-15E Strike Eagle’s capabilities with spectators July 17, 2014, at the Farnborough International Airshow in England. Public access was granted for spectators to ask questions and observe the aircraft up-close with pilots and aircrew members. Meyers is a 494th Fighter Squadron F-15E instructor…

lm-kmax Business

Lockheed Martin’s unmanned cargo helicopter team returns from deployment

After lifting more than 4.5 million pounds of cargo and conducting thousands of delivery missions for the U.S. Marine Corps, the Lockheed Martin and Kaman Aerospace Corporation K-MAX cargo unmanned aircraft system has returned to the United States following a nearly three-year deployment in Afghanistan. In 2011, K-MAX became the first unmanned helicopter to deliver…

Air Force photograph by A1C Thomas Spangler Defense

Sun sets on Red Flag 14-3

Air Force photograph by A1C Thomas Spangler The sun sets behind a row of F-16 Fighting Falcons during Red Flag 14-3, July 16, 2014, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Red Flag provides a series of intense air-to-air combat scenarios for aircrew and ground personnel, which will in turn increase their combat readiness and effectiveness…

Image courtesy of U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Space

Satellite study reveals parched U.S. West using up underground water

A new study by NASA and University of California, Irvine, scientists finds more than 75 percent of the water loss in the drought-stricken Colorado River Basin since late 2004 came from underground resources.

Air Force photograph by SSgt. Siuta B. Ika Defense

AOC integral to Red Flag 14-3 operations

Air Force photograph by SSgt. Siuta B. Ika Members of the Air and Space Operations Center work during Red Flag 14-3 operations July 22, 2014, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Armed with personnel from intelligence and communications backgrounds, AOC members, who each have a specific task to fill in distinct cells ranging from combat…

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Defense

Army scientists research new technologies for rapid, accurate detection capabilities

Posted  July 8, 2013

Trafalgar Scientific photograph The U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., evaluated the 3M Clean Trace Surface ATP technology, which met the criteria scientists were looking for: simple, compact and cost-efficient. The device tests for the presence of adenosine triphosphate, which can indicate the presence of a biological agent. First responders…

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Defense

P-8A Poseidon fires Harpoon, hits mark

Posted  July 8, 2013

After approximately six minutes of flight time, one of NAVAIR’s test aircraft successfully launched a Harpoon missile during a live fire event June 24 in California at the Navy’s Point Mugu Sea Test Range and scored a direct hit on a Low Cost Modular Target.

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Business

EaglePicher Technologies awarded lithium ion battery contract from Orbital Sciences Corporation

Posted  July 8, 2013

EaglePicher Technologies, LLC has been selected by Orbital Sciences Corporation to provide lithium ion batteries to support the ICESat-2 Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite based on Orbitalís LEOStar-3 design. The lithium ion batteries designed by EaglePicher for ICESat-2 incorporate many of the design features that have been successfully utilized by Orbital in 13 of…

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Space

NASA Tests Game Changing Composite Cryogenic Fuel Tank

Posted  July 8, 2013

NASA recently completed a major space technology development milestone by successfully testing a pressurized, large cryogenic propellant tank made of composite materials. The composite tank will enable the next generation of rockets and spacecraft needed for space exploration. Cryogenic propellants are gasses chilled to subfreezing temperatures and condensed to form highly combustible liquids, providing high-energy…

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Business

Northrop Grumman moves new B-2 satellite communications concept to high ground

Posted  July 8, 2013

Northrop Grumman has taken another significant step to reduce the risks and costs associated with producing an extremely high frequency satellite communications system for the U.S. Air Force's B-2 stealth bomber.

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Aerojet Rocketdyne welcomes senior vice president

Posted  July 8, 2013

Aerojet Rocketdyne announced July 8 that Paul Meyer will join the company as senior vice president, Advanced Programs & Business Development. This newly-created organization encompasses Advanced Programs, Advanced Technology and Business Development for all of Aerojet Rocketdyne. In his role, Meyer will serve as a key partner to the president, responsible for leading the continued…

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Interceptor test failure is setback for National Missile Defense program

Posted  July 8, 2013

Photograph by Peter W. Merlin The GBI missile leaves the silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Like a belated Independence Day skyrocket, a Ground-Based Interceptor missile roared from its silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on the morning of July 5 as part of an integrated exercise and test of the Ground-based Midcourse…

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Space

Long-running NASA/CNES ocean satellite takes final bow

Posted  July 8, 2013

The curtain has come down on a superstar of the satellite oceanography world that played the “Great Blue Way” of the world’s ocean for 11 1/2 years. The successful joint NASA and Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales Jason-1 ocean altimetry satellite was decommissioned this week following the loss of its last remaining transmitter. Launched Dec. 7,…

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Defense

Air Force leaders stand behind civilians during tough furlough times

Posted  July 8, 2013

Acting Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III send the following furlough message to the airmen of the United States Air Force: As you all know, Department of Defense civilian furloughs begin this week. With few exceptions, our civilian airmen face involuntary furlough one…

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Business

Boeing celebrates delivery of Hainan Airlines’ first 787 Dreamliner

Posted  July 8, 2013

Boeing and Hainan Airlines July 4 celebrated the delivery of the airline's first 787 Dreamliner. The delivery is the first of 10 787s for Hainan Airlines.

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NASA Image of the Day

 

NASA's Webb Sunshield Stacks Up to Test!

 
The Sunshield on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is the largest part of the observatory—five layers of thin membrane that must unfurl reliably in space to precise tolerances. Last week, for the first time, engineers stacked and unfurled a full-sized test unit of the Sunshield and it worked perfectly. The Sunshield is about the length of a tennis court, and will be folded up like an umbrella around the Webb telescope’s mirrors and instruments during launch. Once it reaches its orbit, the Webb telescope will receive a command from Earth to unfold, and separate the Sunshield's five layers into their precisely stacked arrangement with its kite-like shape. The Sunshield test unit was stacked and expanded at a cleanroom in the Northrop Grumman facility in Redondo Beach, California. The Sunshield separates the observatory into a warm sun-facing side and a cold side where the sunshine is blocked from interfering with the sensitive infrared instruments. The infrared instruments need to be kept very cold (under 50 K or -370 degrees F) to operate.   The Sunshield protects these sensitive instruments with an effective sun protection factor or SPF of 1,000,000 (suntan lotion generally has an SPF of 8-50). In addition to providing a cold environment, the Sunshield provides a thermally stable environment. This stability is essential to maintaining proper alignment of the primary mirror segments as the telescope changes its orientation to the sun. The James Webb Space Telescope is the successor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. It will be the most powerful space telescope ever built. Webb is an international project led by NASA with its partners, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. For more information about the Webb telescope, visit:  www.jwst.nasa.gov or www.nasa.gov/webb For more information on the Webb Sunshield, visit:  http://jwst.nasa.gov/sunshield.html Photo Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn Rob Gutro NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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