Spaceflight Insider

News Archive / Tagged: Glenn Research Center

  • NASA Glenn experiments shedding new light on Venus’ shrouded surface

    Michael ColeSeptember 4th, 2017

    CLEVELAND, Ohio — A special NASA test chamber apparatus is helping scientists explore the mysteries of Venus right here on Earth. The chamber is located at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. It is hoped that this new vessel will help prepare the space agency for missions to extreme worlds. 

  • Advanced Electric Propulsion System successfully tested at NASA’s Glenn Research Center

    Jason RhianJuly 8th, 2017

    A new propulsion system, funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate, underwent a series of tests at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Ohio. The tests were conducted on a Power Processing Unit, or "PPU", for an Advanced Electric Propulsion System that is hoped could be used on either NASA's deep space missions or by the space agency's commercial partners.

  • NASA Glenn researchers develop electronics for longer Venus surface missions

    Michael ColeFebruary 15th, 2017

    GLENN RESEARCH CENTER, Ohio — Venus is our closest planetary neighbor. However, its mean surface temperature is at a horrendous 863 °F (462 °C) with a crushing atmospheric pressure 90 times that of Earth; consequently, the operating lifespan of any spacecraft visiting its surface has been very short. The work of a group of scientists at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, may change all that.

  • Orion service module completes testing at NASA’s Plum Brook Station

    Michael ColeJanuary 23rd, 2017

    SANDUSKY, Ohio — The European-built Orion service module is progressing successfully through its campaign of testing in preparation for EM-1, scheduled for late 2018. Engineers and technicians at NASA's Plum Brook Station testing facility in Sandusky, Ohio, carried out an exhaustive series of tests on the service module test article throughout 2016.

  • NASA Glenn developing new instruments to search for life on Mars

    Michael ColeDecember 11th, 2016

    A new suite of instruments is currently under development through a joint effort between the NASA Glenn Research Center and the University of Michigan. It is called MAHRS; as its name suggests, the instruments are designed to investigate areas where water is present – in this case, the wet brine environments in the shallow subsurface of Mars.

  • Orion mission update for October 2016

    Mackenzie KaneNovember 4th, 2016

    The idea of a humans setting foot on Mars within the next 15 years has never seemed more possible. Elon Musk and SpaceX have revealed their plan to make humans a "multiplanetary species" by the 2020s. This set the stage for scientists and engineers to continue to develop the technologies needed to get to the Red Planet. The Orion spacecraft is one of them.

  • NASA Glenn to oversee construction of Universal Stage Adapter for SLS

    Michael ColeAugust 28th, 2016

    CLEVELAND, Ohio — Officials at NASA's Glenn Research Center announced last week their plan to oversee the construction of the Universal Stage Adapter (USA), an important component of the Space Launch System (SLS). The USA's primary function will be to connect the Orion crewed spacecraft to the SLS launch vehicle.

  • Orion Service Module getting world’s hardest shake-up at NASA’s Plum Brook Station

    Michael ColeJuly 21st, 2016

    SANDUSKY, Ohio — NASA's Orion service module is getting a serious shake-up, thanks to the engineers and technicians at NASA's Plum Brook Station testing facility in Sandusky, Ohio. The service module is currently undergoing a series of vibration tests atop the facility's new vibration table.

  • NASA awards grant to Arkansas company to develop silicon-carbide circuit technology

    Michael ColeJuly 9th, 2016

    GLENN RESEARCH CENTER, Ohio — NASA awarded a grant to Ozark Integrated Circuits Inc. for the fabrication process of special circuits that could survive for thousands of hours in extremely high-temperature conditions, such as those that exist on the surface of Venus.

  • Suni Williams details Commercial Crew Program progress during visit to NASA’s Plum Brook Station

    Michael ColeJune 20th, 2016

    NASA Commercial Crew Astronaut Suni Williams was the special guest speaker last week at an Open House Event held at NASA's Plum Brook Station testing facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Plum Brook Station is the sister facility of the NASA Glenn Research Center in nearby Cleveland. During her visit, Williams provided an update on NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

  • NASA officials, astronauts outline NASA’s crewed Mars efforts at NASA Glenn event

    Michael ColeMay 30th, 2016

    CLEVELAND, Ohio — Visitors from large and small technology-based businesses and organizations were treated to a first-hand update on NASA's effort to put humans on Mars during NASA Glenn Technology Day at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, last Tuesday.

  • Students’ Moon rover replica arrives at Armstrong Air & Space Museum

    Michael ColeMay 8th, 2016

    WAPAKONETA, Ohio — A group of engineering students from Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio, arrived last week at the Armstrong Air & Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio. While lots of people their age spend time with their heads under the hoods of hot rods, hoping to become fast and furious, this group drove up to the front door of the museum, at the dizzying speed of 10 miles per hour, in an Apollo Lunar Rover – a replica they built themselves.

  • NASA Glenn dedicates display of historic Shuttle-Centaur booster

    Michael ColeMay 8th, 2016

    GLENN RESEARCH CENTER, Ohio — A historic piece of NASA space hardware officially came home to the agency's Glenn Research Center on Friday, May 6, where a special ceremony was held to dedicate their newly completed Shuttle/Centaur G-Prime Upper Stage Rocket display.

  • Aerojet Rocketdyne’s $67M contract with NASA set to develop new SEP system

    Michael ColeApril 30th, 2016

    NASA announced last week their selection of Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc., of Redmond, Washington, to develop a newly advanced electric propulsion system. The new system is the next step in NASA's Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) project, which is developing new technologies to expand the range and capabilities of future science and exploration missions.

  • Keeping fit in space a real workout for NASA human research teams

    Michael ColeApril 24th, 2016

    British astronaut Tim Peake will be joining other runners of the 2016 London Marathon when he runs it from 250 miles (402 km) high on the International Space Station (ISS). Peake trained for the marathon for months on Earth as he prepared for ISS Expeditions 46/47, and he has continued to train in space since his arrival at the station Dec. 15 of last year.