Sept. 15, 2020 AFRL Technology traveling to Mars The Red Planet, Mars, will soon be receiving more visitors when NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover accompanied by its flight companion, a 4-pound Mars Helicopter named Ingenuity, touches down in February 2021.
Sept. 8, 2020 Air Force Research Laboratory tracks Sporadic E Researchers at Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in New Mexico, have discovered a new way to track and characterize a phenomenon called “Sporadic E” naturally occurring in the upper atmosphere, where large structures of dense plasma form.
Sept. 3, 2020 AFRL announces two new space flight experiments The Director of the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate, Col. Eric Felt, announced that the two winning concepts are Precise and CHPS, or the Cislunar Highway Patrol System.
Aug. 31, 2020 AFRL NM STEM Academy “HOPES- Mission to Mars” is going virtual The Air Force Research Laboratory New Mexico STEM Academy will be hosting its second virtual “Mission to Mars” for 5th grade students. Students are invited to participate in five months of activities, centered on planning a simulated manned-mission to Mars.
Aug. 26, 2020 AFRL and University of Alaska Fairbanks sign strategic education partnership agreement The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Directed Energy and Space Vehicles Directorates in Albuquerque, New Mexico and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) are pleased to announce they have signed a five-year Education Partnership Agreement (EPA) that will enable scientific collaboration
July 30, 2020 Air Force Research Laboratory’s Navigation Technology Satellite - 3 Spacecraft Passes Critical Design Review The Navigation Technology Satellite – 3 (NTS-3) spacecraft passed Critical Design Review (CDR) on June 25, a major milestone, allowing L3Harris, the prime contractor for the spacecraft, to proceed into fabrication, demonstration, and test.
July 10, 2020 AFRL Summer scholars go virtual The Air Force Research Laboratory summer internship program for students left the terrestrial realm for the extra-terrestrial this year. The program serves students ranging from high school to a doctoral pursuit.
July 9, 2020 60 years of laser technology and a legacy of development In May 2020, the world celebrated the 60th anniversary of the first laser demonstration and the beginning of the immense field of laser technology. To mark that occasion, I sat down with Lt. Col. Jim Mayo (USAF Ret.) for a look back at his life’s work in the field of laser optics, and the progress
July 6, 2020 AFRL collaborates in break-through solar power development The Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in maturing a technology for fabricating high-efficiency solar cells in a high-throughput, low-cost manner via a technology called
June 2, 2020 AFRL rolls-out new rapid contract award tool for space technology research The Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate here is using a rapid acquisition capability called Space Technology Advanced Research (STAR) that accelerates contract award times.