Tech Briefs

Subscribe to this RSS Feed

A microwave plasma reactor was developed for the recovery of hydrogen contained within waste methane produced by Carbon Dioxide Reduction Assembly (CRA), which reclaims oxygen from carbon dioxide. NASA can incorporate the innovation into flight hardware systems for deployment in support of future long-duration exploration objectives.
Read More >>

A proposed plant-growth system takes advantage of the highly diffuse reflective surfaces on the interior of a sphere, hemisphere, or other nearly enclosed structure that is coated with highly reflective materials. This type of surface and structure uniformly mixes discrete light sources to produce highly uniform illumination.
Read More >>

Most wind farms consist of horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs), but an alternative paradigm for wind energy extraction is found in vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) designs. A single spatially-isolated VAWT has a significantly lower power coefficient.
Read More >>

In recent years, better stabilizer formulations for ethylene vinyl-acetate have been developed, giving more confidence in the long-term stability of PV packaging materials. Because of this, some manufacturers have stopped using Ce-doped glass. National Renewable Energy Laboratory researchers studied Ce-free glass.
Read More >>

An activated metal treatment system (AMTS) removes and destroys polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) found in painted structures or within the binding or caulking material on structures. It may be applied using a “paint-on and wipe-off” process that leaves the structure PCB-free and virtually unaltered in physical form.
Read More >>

A water membrane evaporator (WME) has been conceived and tested at Johnson Space Center as an alternative to the contamination-sensitive and corrosion-prone evaporators currently used for dissipating heat from space vehicles.
Read More >>

A shielded radiator integrated within a solar concentrator was developed by Lockheed Martin Space Systems for applications that require protection from high ambient temperatures with little convective heat transfer. The innovation uses a reflective surface to deflect ambient thermal radiation, shielding the radiator.
Read More >>