NASA technology (49)

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Supersonic Noise

NASA – The Twin Rectangular Jet model, installed on the Nozzle Acoustic Test Rig in the Aeroacoustic Propulsion Laboratory at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, is being tested to determine the acoustic impact of engine configurations on low sonic boom aircraft for the High Speed Project of the Fundamental Aeronautics Program.

The High Speed Project is a multi-center effort to develop and test the technologies of a new generation of aircraft that can fly at supersonic speeds. Glenn’s research involves predicting the airport noise of these novel aircraft by examining innovative airframes and propulsion integration that are different from the conventional tube-and-wing aircraft observed at commercial airports.

Inside the aeroacoustic dome, this generic, low-fidelity aircraft engine exhaust model features twin rectangular nozzles. Researchers are investigating the impact of having the propulsive exhaust come from the slot nozzles atop the aircraft. Testing the proposed components of these high- speed aircraft will help manufacturers meet the noise standards required around the nation’s airports.

Image Credit: NASA/Bridget R. Caswell

Space Construction (12)

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SPACE WATCH (history) · Shuttle and Station · 360° Virtual Tour

View from Space Shuttle Atlantis
NASA – STS110-E-5918 (17 April 2002) — This is one a series of digital still images of the International Space Station (ISS) recorded by the STS-110 crew members on board the Space Shuttle Atlantis following the undocking of the two spacecraft some 247 statute miles above the North Atlantic. Atlantis pulled away from the complex at 1:31 p.m. (CDT). After more than a week of joint operations between the shuttle and station crews, astronaut Stephen N. Frick, pilot, backed Atlantis away to a distance of about 400 feet in front of the station, where he began a 1 1/4 lap flyaround of the ISS, newly equipped with the 27,000 pound S0 (S-zero) truss, visible in this series of images. S0 is the first segment of a truss structure which will ultimately expand the station to the length of a football field.

View from Space Shuttle Endeavour
STS111-373-001 (15 June 2002) — Backdropped by the blackness of space and a blue and white Earth, the International Space Station (ISS) is now separated from the Space Shuttle Endeavour following the undocking of the two spacecraft over western Kazakhstan. Endeavour pulled away from the complex at 9:32 a.m. (CDT) on June 15, 2002.

View from Space Shuttle Endeavour
STS111-708-057 (15 June 2002) — Backdropped by the blackness of space, this close-up view of the International Space Station (ISS) was photographed by a crewmember on board the Space Shuttle Endeavour following the undocking of the two spacecraft over western Kazakhstan. Endeavour pulled away from the complex at 9:32 a.m. (CDT) on June 15, 2002. The S0 (S-zero) Truss with the newly added Mobile Base System (MBS) is visible center frame.

View from Space Shuttle Endeavour
STS111-708-093 (15 June 2002) — Backdropped by a blue and white Earth, the International Space Station (ISS) is now separated from the Space Shuttle Endeavour following the undocking of the two spacecraft over western Kazakhstan. Endeavour pulled away from the complex at 9:32 a.m. (CDT) on June 15, 2002.

Galactic Views (83)

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SPACE WATCH

Black Hole-Powered Jets Plow Into Galaxy

NASA – This composite image of a galaxy illustrates how the intense gravity of a supermassive black hole can be tapped to generate immense power. The image contains X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue), optical light obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope (gold) and radio waves from the NSF’s Very Large Array (pink).

This multi-wavelength view shows 4C+29.30, a galaxy located some 850 million light years from Earth. The radio emission comes from two jets of particles that are speeding at millions of miles per hour away from a supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy. The estimated mass of the black hole is about 100 million times the mass of our Sun. The ends of the jets show larger areas of radio emission located outside the galaxy.

The X-ray data show a different aspect of this galaxy, tracing the location of hot gas. The bright X-rays in the center of the image mark a pool of million-degree gas around the black hole. Some of this material may eventually be consumed by the black hole, and the magnetized, whirlpool of gas near the black hole could in turn, trigger more output to the radio jet.

Most of the low-energy X-rays from the vicinity of the black hole are absorbed by dust and gas, probably in the shape of a giant doughnut around the black hole. This doughnut, or torus blocks all the optical light produced near the black hole, so astronomers refer to this type of source as a hidden or buried black hole. The optical light seen in the image is from the stars in the galaxy.

Views from the Solar System (130)

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Repairing the Station in Orbit

NASA – Expedition 35 Flight Engineers Chris Cassidy (pictured) and Tom Marshburn (out of frame) completed a spacewalk at 2:14 p.m. EDT May 11, 2013 to inspect and replace a pump controller box on the International Space Station’s far port truss (P6) leaking ammonia coolant. The two NASA astronauts began the 5-hour, 30-minute spacewalk at 8:44 a.m.

A leak of ammonia coolant from the area near or at the location of a Pump and Flow Control Subassembly was detected on Thursday, May 9, prompting engineers and flight controllers to begin plans to support the spacewalk. The device contains the mechanical systems that drive the cooling functions for the port truss.

Views from the Solar System (129)

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Expedition 35 Landing

NASA – The Soyuz TMA-07M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 35 Commander Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), NASA Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn and Russian Flight Engineer Roman Romanenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Tuesday, May 14, 2013. Hadfield, Marshburn and Romanenko returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 34 and 35 crews.

Image Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi