General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems announced today that it has expanded its space systems infrastructure with the addition of a 7,500 ft2 Class 10,000 / ISO 7 cleanroom facility in San Diego, CA that will enable high-volume Optical Communication Terminal (OCT) production. The multifaceted facility can facilitate fabrication of up to 300 OCTs per year.
Optical Clean Room Industry Articles
NASA, Boeing to Move Starliner to Production Facility for Propulsion System Evaluation
NASA and Boeing have decided to postpone the launch of Orbital Flight Test-2 to the International Space Station as teams continue work on the CST-100 Starliner propulsion system.
General Dynamics Mission Systems Opens New UUV Manufacturing and Assembly Center of Excellence
In a ceremony today at General Dynamics Mission Systems’ Taunton facility, company officials as well as representatives from the U.S. Navy formally opened the General Dynamics Mission Systems Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) Manufacturing and Assembly Center of Excellence.
Relaxor Ferroelectrics Materials’ Mechanical & Electrical Properties Excite Researchers
Relaxor ferroelectrics, which are often lead-based. These materials have mechanical and electrical properties that are useful in applications such as sonar and ultrasound. The more scientists understand about the internal structure of relaxor ferroelectrics, the better materials we can develop for these and other applications.
Inside the Cleanroom of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope will observe primarily the infrared light from faint and very distant objects. In order to be able to detect those faint heat signals, the telescope itself must be kept extremely cold. To protect the telescope from external sources of light and heat (like the Sun, Earth, and Moon) as well as from heat emitted by the observatory itself
Polymers That Are Controlled By Light Can Switch Between Sturdy & Soft
MIT researchers have designed a polymer material that can change its structure in response to light, converting from a rigid substance to a softer one that can heal itself when damaged.
Gold Nanoparticles Could Improve Solar Energy Storage
gold nanoparticles, coated with a semiconductor, can produce hydrogen from water over four times more efficiently than other methods – opening the door to improved storage of solar energy and other advances that could boost renewable energy use and combat climate change, according to Rutgers University–New Brunswick researchers.
Neutrino Distant Cosmic Source Identified
Neutrinos, Italian for “little neutral ones,” are often described as “ghost particles,” for their extremely weak interactions with ordinary matter. Indeed, billions of neutrinos stream through our fingernails every second, without ruffling so much as a molecule of matter. And yet, on Sept. 22, 2017, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, based at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, detected a neutrino in signals picked up by its detectors buried deep in the Antarctic ice. Researchers there quickly sent out alerts to ground- and space-based telescopes in hopes of finding the neutrino’s cosmic source.
X-Ray Experiment Confirms Theoretical Model for Making New Materials
X-Ray Experiment – Over the last decade, scientists have used supercomputers and advanced simulation software to predict hundreds of new materials with exciting properties for next-generation energy technologies. Now they need to figure out how to make them. To predict the best recipe for making a material, they first need a better understanding of how it forms, including all the intermediate phases it goes through along the way – some of which may be useful in their own right.
Next Generation Data Storage Technology Made Possible by Light
Using light for next generation data storage technology Tiny, nano-sized crystals of salt encoded with data using...
Neural Circuits Controlled By Sound Waves
In the maze of our brains, there are various pathways by which neural signals travel. These pathways can go awry in patients with neurological and psychiatric diseases and disorders, including epilepsy, Parkinson’s, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Researchers have developed new therapeutic strategies to more precisely target neural pathways involved in these conditions, but they often require surgery.
Manipulating single atoms with an electron beam
An electron beam with sub-atomic precision, allowing scientists to directly see each atom in two-dimensional materials like graphene, and also to target single atoms with the beam. Each electron has a tiny chance of scattering back from a nucleus, giving it a kick in the opposite direction.