Browse Topic: Microgravity

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SAE TOMORROW TODAY: Launching Human Space Travel with a Luxury Balloon1349801/23/2025
Imagine a six-hour journey to outer space that includes a world-class meal, cocktail service, Wi-Fi, and unprecedented views of Earth. This experience could soon become reality. Space Perspective, the world's first carbon-neutral spaceflight experience company, is commercializing space travel with Spaceship Neptune, a pressurized capsule propelled by a giant SpaceBalloon(TM). The experience is designed to be gentle and accessible with no rockets, weightlessness, heavy g-forces, or training required. Alongside world-class meal and cocktail service, space travelers will also enjoy views through the largest windows ever flown to space, Wi-Fi, and a proper restroom. To learn more, we sat down with Taber MacCallum, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Space Perspective, to discuss the technical development of the SpaceBalloon(TM) and how the company is unlocking the market for space travel in a new and innovative way. We'd love to hear from you. Share your comments, questions and ideas for
Hineman, Marcie
Podcast
Zero-Gravity Body Posture Influences Acupressure Massage ChairTBMG-3817812/01/2020
Spinoff is NASA’s annual publication featuring successfully commercialized NASA technology. This commercialization has contributed to the development of products and services in the fields of health and medicine, consumer goods, transportation, public safety, computer technology, and environmental resources.
Magazine Article
Nanocardboard Aircraft with No Moving PartsTBMG-3780910/01/2020
Researchers have created tiny aircraft — each weighing about as much as a fruit fly — that have no moving parts. These flyers are made of plates of nanocardboard and levitate when bright light is shone on them. As one side of the plate heats up, the temperature differential gets air circulating through its hollow structure and shooting out of the corrugated channels that give it its name, thrusting it off the ground.
Magazine Article
Lunar Surface Manipulation SystemTBMG-3491208/01/2019
NASA's Langley Research Center offers a novel lifting and precision positioning device with hybrid functional characteristics of both crane-type lifting devices and robotic manipulators. The design of the Lunar Surface Manipulation System (LSMS) allows for fine positioning with complete control over both translation and rotation of the payload. In addition, the design permits several other operations using a wide variety of special-purpose tools — such as a bucket, pallet forks, grappling devices, sensor, and visualization packages — and dexterous robotic arms that can be quickly added to the tip.
Magazine Article
Additive Manufacturing Facility for Utilization Primarily in Microgravity EnvironmentsTBMG-2815201/01/2018
The purpose of this innovation is to create the ability to manufacture off Earth, primarily in a microgravity environment. This additive manufacturing facility (AMF) will have the capability to build tools, parts, experimental hardware, and upgrade hardware while primarily being utilized in microgravity environments.
Magazine Article
Robotic Gripper Cleans Up Space DebrisTBMG-2773110/01/2017
Large amounts of existing space debris pose a threat to satellites, space vehicles, and astronauts aboard those vehicles. However, cleaning up the debris is problematic. For example, suction cups don't work in a vacuum, and traditional sticky substances like tape are largely useless because the chemicals they rely on can't withstand extreme temperature swings.
Magazine Article
Q&A: NASA's Dr. James Thorpe Develops Instrumentation for Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA)TBMG-2758909/18/2017
Gravitational waves from colliding black holes were first observed by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) instruments in 2015. Building on these efforts on the ground, an international group of scientists is working to develop a space-based gravitational wave observatory called the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). Dr. Thorpe developed instrumentation used on LISA.
Magazine Article
3D Biomimetic PlatformTBMG-2636102/01/2017
NASA's Langley Research Center has developed a method and apparatus to be used for cell culture that combines the effects of microgravity and low-dose radiation. The technology has been developed to simulate the effects of microgravity and chronic radiation exposure to cell culture experiments conducted on the International Space Station (ISS).
Magazine Article
Robust, High-Temperature Containment Cartridges for MicrogravityTBMG-2386102/01/2016
Robust, high-temperature containment cartridges are needed for processing materials science experiments in microgravity. In general, the refractory metals (Nb, Ta, Mo, W, Re) possess the chemical inertness and high melting temperatures desired. Of these materials, niobium and tantalum alloys have been the materials of choice due to their low ductile to brittle transition temperatures, which allow deep-draw forming into cylindrical shapes. The high cost of tantalum and niobium, along with the desire for cartridges resistant to molten zinc and usable to 1,500 °C, demonstrates the need for alternative cartridge materials. Two candidate materials are molybdenum and tungsten alloys. Both have high melting temperatures and cost an order of magnitude less than tantalum and niobium.
Magazine Article
Plasma Treatments to Assist Fluid Manipulation in MicrogravityTBMG-2368001/01/2016
A recent innovation has made manipulation of hazardous laboratory reagents in microgravity easier, thus enabling even more scientific research to be performed on the International Space Station (ISS). Prior to this innovation, moving fluids from container to container was performed only under conditions of redundant and physically separate layers of containment. This design paradigm restricts access to — and direct manipulation of — fluids in microgravity conditions.
Magazine Article
Advanced-Capabilities Medical Suction DeviceTBMG-2348412/01/2015
NASA has long recognized the difficulty in providing emergency medical care to astronauts in space. Many aspects of space travel make medical care inherently difficult, and sufficient storage space for medical equipment severely limits the ability to carry a full complement of diagnostic and therapeutic equipment onboard. The Microgravity Compatible Medical Suction Device (MCMSD) enables aspiration and containment of bodily fluids and vomitus, while preventing the transmission of infectious agents.
Magazine Article
Advanced-Capabilities Medical Suction DeviceTBMG-2243007/01/2015
NASA has long recognized the difficulty in providing emergency medical care to astronauts in space. Many aspects of space travel make medical care inherently difficult, and sufficient storage space for medical equipment severely limits the ability to carry a full complement of diagnostic and therapeutic equipment onboard. The Microgravity Compatible Medical Suction Device (MCMSD) enables aspiration and containment of bodily fluids and vomitus, while preventing the transmission of infectious agents.
Magazine Article
CRP Aptamers to Bone-Specific Alkaline Phosphatase (BAP)TBMG-2201805/01/2015
In order to detect and quantify bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP) in a human biological sample, a binding agent (molecule) that specifically recognizes BAP in a sample is typically required. This binding agent can then be used in numerous assays/instruments to enable the detection and quantification of BAP.
Magazine Article
Micro-Accelerometers Monitor Equipment HealthTBMG-2066910/01/2014
Objects that orbit the Earth, such as the International Space Station (ISS), provide a unique environment called zero-g, or more correctly, microgravity. All objects in orbit are pulled by Earth’s gravity, but they achieve the lack of gravity when they move at just the right speed (in the case of the ISS, around 17,500 miles per hour) so that the curve of their fall matches the curve of the Earth. The result is a perpetual freefall, creating weightlessness.
Magazine Article
Long-Life, Hydrophilic, Antimicrobial Coating for Condensing Heat ExchangersTBMG-1937504/01/2014
Future manned spacecraft and lunar or Mars outposts will need a condensing heat exchanger (CHX) to control humidity in the cabin atmosphere. Condensing surfaces must be hydrophilic to control condensate flow and ensure efficient operation in zero gravity, and biocidal to prevent growth of microbes and formation of biofilms on condensing surfaces. Coatings must be extremely stable, adhere to the condensing surface, and maintain hydro philic and biocidal properties for many years.
Magazine Article
Microgravity Storage Vessels and Conveying- Line Feeders for Cohesive RegolithTBMG-1696408/01/2013
Under microgravity, the usual methods of placing granular solids into, or extracting them from, containers or storage vessels will not function. Alternative methods are required to provide a motive force to move the material. New configurations for microgravity regolith storage vessels that do not resemble terrestrial silos, hoppers, or tanks are proposed. The microgravity-compatible bulk-material storage vessels and exitfeed configurations are designed to reliably empty and feed cohesive material to transfer vessels or conveying ducts or lines without gravity. A controllable motive force drives the cohesive material to the exit opening(s), and provides a reliable means to empty storage vessels and/or to feed microgravity conveying lines. The proposed designs will function equally well in vacuum, or inside of pressurized enclosures.
Magazine Article
Robotic Ankle for Omnidirectional Rock AnchorsTBMG-1613204/01/2013
Future robotic exploration of near- Earth asteroids and the vertical and inverted rock walls of lava caves and cliff faces on Mars and other planetary bodies would require a method of gripping their rocky surfaces to allow mobility without gravitational assistance. In order to successfully navigate this terrain and drill for samples, the grippers must be able to produce anchoring forces in excess of 100 N. Additionally, the grippers must be able to support the inertial forces of a moving robot, as well gravitational forces for demonstrations on Earth. One possible solution would be to use microspine arrays to anchor to rock surfaces and provide the necessary load-bearing abilities for robotic exploration of asteroids.
Magazine Article
Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot ExcavatorTBMG-1547101/01/2013
The Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) excavator robot is a teleoperated mobility platform with a space regolith excavation capability. This more compact, lightweight design (
Magazine Article
Wideband Single-Crystal Transducer for Bone CharacterizationTBMG-1528612/01/2012
The microgravity conditions of space travel result in unique physiological demands on the human body. In particular, the absence of the continual mechanical stresses on the skeletal system that are present on Earth cause the bones to decalcify. Trabecular structure decreases in thickness and increases in spacing, resulting in decreased bone strength and increased risk of injury. Thus, monitoring bone health is a high priority for long-term space travel. A single probe covering all frequency bands of interest would be ideal for such measurements, and this would also minimize storage space and eliminate the complexity of integrating multiple probes.
Magazine Article
Developing Physiologic Models for Emergency Medical Procedures Under MicrogravityTBMG-1510911/01/2012
Several technological enhancements have been made to METI’s commercial Emergency Care Simulator (ECS) with regard to how microgravity affects human physiology. The ECS uses both a softwareonly lung simulation, and an integrated mannequin lung that uses a physical lung bag for creating chest excursions, and a digital simulation of lung mechanics and gas exchange. METI’s patient simulators incorporate models of human physiology that simulate lung and chest wall mechanics, as well as pulmonary gas exchange.
Magazine Article
Wideband Single-Crystal Transducer for Bone CharacterizationTBMG-1485010/01/2012
The microgravity conditions of space travel result in unique physiological demands on the human body. In particular, the absence of the continual mechanical stresses on the skeletal system that are present on Earth cause the bones to decalcify. Trabecular structure decreases in thickness and increases in spacing, resulting in decreased bone strength and increased risk of injury. Thus, monitoring bone health is a high priority for long-term space travel. A single probe covering all frequency bands of interest would be ideal for such measurements, and this would also minimize storage space and eliminate the complexity of integrating multiple probes.
Magazine Article
ISS Experiment Studies Flames and Fire Suppression in SpaceTBMG-1492910/01/2012
A combustion experiment jointly designed by scientists and engineers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center (Cleveland, OH) and the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) is currently in operation onboard the International Space Station (ISS). The Burning and Suppression of Solids (BASS) experiment will bridge the gap among normal-gravity material flammability screening tests, short-time ground-based microgravity tests, and actual zero-gravity spacecraft conditions. The basic applied hypothesis is that in certain conditions, a material in zero-gravity will be more flammable than it is in normal gravity.
Magazine Article
SE-FITTBMG-1469209/01/2012
The mathematical theory of capillary surfaces has developed steadily over the centuries, but it was not until the last few decades that new technologies have put a more urgent demand on a substantially more qualitative and quantitative understanding of phenomena relating to capillarity in general. So far, the new theory development successfully predicts the behavior of capillary surfaces for special cases. However, an efficient quantitative mathematical prediction of capillary phenomena related to the shape and stability of geometrically complex equilibrium capillary surfaces remains a significant challenge. As one of many numerical tools, the opensource Surface Evolver (SE) algorithm has played an important role over the last two decades. The current effort was undertaken to provide a front-end to enhance the accessibility of SE for the purposes of design and analysis. Like SE, the new code is open-source and will remain under development for the foreseeable future.
Magazine Article
Developing Physiologic Models for Emergency Medical Procedures Under MicrogravityTBMG-1461709/01/2012
Several technological enhancements have been made to METI’s commercial Emergency Care Simulator (ECS) with regard to how microgravity affects human physiology. The ECS uses both a software only lung simulation, and an integrated mannequin lung that uses a physical lung bag for creating chest excursions, and a digital simulation of lung mechanics and gas exchange. METI’s patient simulators incorporate models of human physiology that simulate lung and chest wall mechanics, as well as pulmonary gas exchange.
Magazine Article
Microgravity Passive Phase SeparatorTBMG-1389506/01/2012
A new invention disclosure discusses a structure and process for separating gas from liquids in microgravity. The Microgravity Passive Phase Separator consists of two concentric, pleated, woven stainless-steel screens (25-μm nominal pore) with an axial inlet, and an annular outlet between both screens (see figure). Water enters at one end of the center screen at high velocity, eventually passing through the inner screen and out through the annular exit. As gas is introduced into the flow stream, the drag force exerted on the bubble pushes it downstream until flow stagnation or until it reaches an equilibrium point between the surface tension holding bubble to the screen and the drag force.
Magazine Article
Magnetic Interface for Segmented Mirror AssemblyTBMG-1279302/01/2012
Newly developed magnetic devices are used to create an interface between adjacent mirror segments so that once assembled, aligned, and phased, the multiple segments will behave functionally equivalent to a monolithic aperture mirror. One embodiment might be a kinematic interface that is reversible so that any number of segments can be pre-assembled, aligned, and phased to facilitate fabrication operations, and then disassembled and reassembled, aligned, and phased in space for operation.
Magazine Article
Magnetic Interface for Segmented Mirror AssemblyTBMG-TB-01279301/24/2012
Newly developed magnetic devices are used to create an interface between adjacent mirror segments so that once assembled, aligned, and phased, the multiple segments will behave functionally equivalent to a monolithic aperture mirror. One embodiment might be a kinematic interface that is reversible so that any number of segments can be pre-assembled, aligned, and phased to facilitate fabrication operations, and then disassembled and reassembled, aligned, and phased in space for operation.
Magazine Article
YouTube and NASA Want Student ExperimentsTBMG-1196510/28/2011
NASA has partnered with Space Adventures to support the YouTube Space Lab competition that invites students to envision and design their own experiment with the ultimate prize -- flying it on the International Space Station.
Magazine Article
A Zero-Gravity Cup for Drinking Beverages in MicrogravityTBMG-1136910/01/2011
To date, the method for astronauts to drink liquids in microgravity or weightless environments is to suck the liquid from a bag or pouch through a straw. A new beverage cup works in microgravity and allows astronauts to drink liquids from a cup in a manner consistent with that on Earth.
Magazine Article
Balance Tools Used for Return-to-Duty Assessment and RehabilitationTBMG-1104209/01/2011
Dizziness and balance issues are the most frequently reported symptoms following exposure to an improvised explosive device.
Magazine Article
Active Response Gravity Offload SystemTBMG-1085509/01/2011
The Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) provides the ability to simulate with one system the gravity effect of planets, moons, comets, asteroids, and microgravity, where the gravity is less than Earth’s gravity. The system works by providing a constant force offload through an overhead hoist system and horizontal motion through a rail and trolley system. The facility covers a 20- by 40-ft (≈6.1- by 12.2-m) horizontal area with 15 ft (≈4.6 m) of lifting vertical range.
Magazine Article
Balance Tools Used for Return-to-Duty Assessment and RehabilitationTBMG-TB-01104209/01/2011
Dizziness and balance issues are the most frequently reported symptoms following exposure to an improvised explosive device.
Magazine Article
Active Response Gravity Offload SystemTBMG-TB-01085508/23/2011
The Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) provides the ability to simulate with one system the gravity effect of planets, moons, comets, asteroids, and microgravity, where the gravity is less than Earth’s gravity. The system works by providing a constant force offload through an overhead hoist system and horizontal motion through a rail and trolley system. The facility covers a 20- by 40-ft (≈6.1- by 12.2-m) horizontal area with 15 ft (≈4.6 m) of lifting vertical range.
Magazine Article
Vibration Isolation and Stabilization System for Spacecraft Exercise Treadmill DevicesTBMG-1014906/01/2011
A novel, passive system has been developed for isolating an exercise treadmill device from a spacecraft in a zero-G environment. The Treadmill 2 Vibration Isolation and Stabilization System (T2-VIS) mechanically isolates the exercise treadmill from the spacecraft/space station, thereby eliminating the detrimental effect that high impact loads generated during walking/running would have on the spacecraft structure and sensitive microgravity science experiments. This design uses a second-stage spring, in series with the first stage, to achieve an order of magnitude higher exercise-frequency isolation than conventional systems have done, while maintaining desirable low-frequency stability performance. This novel isolator design, in conjunction with appropriately configured treadmill platform inertia properties, has been shown (by on-orbit zero-G testing onboard the International Space Station) to deliver exceedingly high levels of isolation/stability performance.This work was done by Ian
Magazine Article
A Miniaturized Video System for Monitoring Drosophila BehaviorTBMG-960404/01/2011
Long-term spaceflight may induce a variety of harmful effects in astronauts, resulting in altered motor and cognitive behavior. The stresses experienced by humans in space — most significantly weightlessness (microgravity) and cosmic radiation — are difficult to accurately simulate on Earth. In fact, prolonged and concomitant exposure to microgravity and cosmic radiation can only be studied in space.
Magazine Article
Water Tank With Capillary Air/Liquid SeparationTBMG-849209/01/2010
A bladderless water tank (see figure) has been developed that contains capillary devices that allow it to be filled and emptied, as needed, in microgravity. When filled with water, the tank shields human occupants of a spacecraft against cosmic radiation. A membrane that is permeable by air but is hydrophobic (neither wettable nor permeable by liquid water) covers one inside surface of the tank. Grooves between the surface and the membrane allow air to flow through vent holes in the surface as the tank is filled or drained. A margin of wettable surface surrounds the edges of the membrane, and all the other inside tank surfaces are also wettable. A fill/drain port is located in one corner of the tank and is covered with a hydrophilic membrane.
Magazine Article
Maglev Facility for Simulating Variable GravityTBMG-849709/01/2010
An improved magnetic levitation apparatus (“Maglev Facility”) has been built for use in experiments in which there are requirements to impose variable gravity (including zero gravity) in order to assess the effects of gravity or the absence thereof on physical and physiological processes. The apparatus is expected to be especially useful for experiments on the effects of gravity on convection, boiling, and heat transfer in fluids and for experiments on mice to gain understanding of bone loss induced in human astronauts by prolonged exposure to reduced gravity in space flight.
Magazine Article
Miniature Piezoelectric Macro-Mass BalanceTBMG-849009/01/2010
Mass balances usually use a strain gauge that requires an impedance measurement and is susceptible to noise and thermal drift. A piezoelectric balance can be used to measure mass directly by monitoring the voltage developed across the piezoelectric balance, which is linear with weight or it can be used in resonance to produce a frequency change proportional to the mass change (see figure). The piezoelectric actuator/balance is swept in frequency through its fundamental resonance. If a small mass is added to the balance, the resonance frequency shifts down in proportion to the mass. By monitoring the frequency shift, the mass can be determined.
Magazine Article
‘Contact’ in Space Leads to New LensesTBMG-838709/01/2010
While gravity has its advantages in keeping us balanced and grounded here on Earth, scientists often find that they are at a disadvantage when trying to conduct research under its powerful, pulling influence. In these instances, the scientists prefer performing their studies in the weightless atmosphere of microgravity, where gravity is greatly reduced and solids, liquids, and gases behave differently.
Magazine Article
Miniature Piezoelectric Macro-Mass BalanceTBMG-TB-00849009/01/2010
This system can be used to verify the mass of multiple samples in pharmaceutical and food-processing applications. Mass balances usually use a strain gauge that requires an impedance measurement and is susceptible to noise and thermal drift. A piezoelectric balance can be used to measure mass directly by monitoring the voltage developed across the piezoelectric balance, which is linear with weight or it can be used in resonance to produce a frequency change proportional to the mass change (see figure). The piezoelectric actuator/balance is swept in frequency through its fundamental resonance. If a small mass is added to the balance, the resonance frequency shifts down in proportion to the mass. By monitoring the frequency shift, the mass can be determined.
Magazine Article
Controlling Robotics Precisely With Haptic TechnologyTBMG-927808/01/2010
Robots are capable of very precise motion, but must be guided with precision in order to fulfill their potential. Consider the task of guiding a robotic surgeon’s arm to suture a wound or insert a catheter. A human surgeon, with all his or her knowledge and experience, is required to practice where to probe, cut, or sew before he or she can develop the necessary skills to make a clean suture with the right degree of tension at the right depth or an incision of the right depth. In contrast, a robotic surgeon’s arm can move more consistently and accurately than that of the best human surgeon.
Magazine Article
Radio-Frequency Tank Eigenmode Sensor for Propellant Quantity GaugingTBMG-815107/01/2010
Although there are several methods for determining liquid level in a tank, there are no proven methods to quickly gauge the amount of propellant in a tank while it is in low gravity or under low-settling thrust conditions where propellant sloshing is an issue. Having the ability to quickly and accurately gauge propellant tanks in low-gravity is an enabling technology that would allow a spacecraft crew or mission control to always know the amount of propellant onboard, thus increasing the chances for a successful mission.
Magazine Article
NASA Bioreactors Advance Disease TreatmentsTBMG-786905/01/2010
The International Space Station (ISS) is falling. This is no threat to the astronauts onboard, however, because falling is part of the ISS staying in orbit.
Magazine Article
A Transportable Gravity Gradiometer Based on Atom Interferometr yTBMG-793205/01/2010
A transportable atom interferometer-based gravity gradiometer has been developed at JPL to carry out measurements of Earth’s gravity field at ever finer spatial resolutions, and to facilitate high-resolution monitoring of temporal variations in the gravity field from ground- and flight-based platforms. Existing satellite-based gravity missions such as CHAMP and GRACE measure the gravity field via precise monitoring of the motion of the satellites; i.e. the satellites themselves function as test masses. JPL’s quantum gravity gradiometer employs a quantum phase measurement technique, similar to that employed in atomic clocks, made possible by recent advances in laser cooling and manipulation of atoms. This measurement technique is based on atom-wave interferometry, and individual laser-cooled atoms are used as drag-free test masses.
Magazine Article
Medical Devices Assess, Treat Balance DisordersTBMG-786605/01/2010
You may have heard the phrase “as difficult as walking and chewing gum” as a joking way of referring to something that is not difficult at all. Just walking, however, is not all that simple – physiologically speaking. Even standing upright is an undertaking requiring the complex cooperation of multiple motor and sensory systems including vision, the inner ear, somatosensation (sensation from the skin), and proprioception (the sense of the body’s parts in relation to each other). The compromised performance of any of these elements can lead to a balance disorder, which in some form affects nearly half of Americans at least once in their lifetimes, from the elderly, to those with neurological or vestibular (inner ear) dysfunction, to athletes with musculoskeletal injuries, to astronauts returning from space.
Magazine Article
Magnetic Separator Enhances Treatment PossibilitiesTBMG-755603/01/2010
Since the earliest missions in space, NASA specialists have performed experiments in low gravity. Protein crystal growth, cell and tissue cultures, and separation technologies such as electrophoresis and magnetophoresis have been studied.
Magazine Article
A Constant-Force Resistive Exercise UnitTBMG-659901/01/2010
A constant-force resistive exercise unit (CFREU) has been invented for use in both normal gravitational and microgravitational environments. In comparison with a typical conventional exercise machine, this CFREU weighs less and is less bulky: Whereas weight plates and associated bulky supporting structures are used to generate resistive forces in typical conventional exercise machines, they are not used in this CFREU. Instead, resistive forces are generated in this CFREU by relatively compact, lightweight mechanisms based on constant-torque springs wound on drums. Each such mechanism is contained in a module, denoted a resistive pack, that includes a shaft for making a torque connection to a cable drum. During a stroke of resistive exercise, the cable is withdrawn from the cable drum against the torque exerted by the resistance pack.
Magazine Article
On-Demand Urine AnalyzerTBMG-660301/01/2010
A lab-on-a-chip was developed that is capable of extracting biochemical indicators from urine samples and generating their surface-enhanced Raman spectra (SERS) so that the indicators can be quantified and identified. The development was motivated by the need to monitor and assess the effects of extended weightlessness, which include space motion sickness and loss of bone and muscle mass. The results may lead to developments of effective exercise programs and drug regimes that would maintain astronaut health.
Magazine Article
Sphere-To-Cone Mating – New Solution to Improve Brake Tube Connector Sealing Robustness2009-01-302410/11/2009
Recently invented solutions (Canadian Patent 2593305 and United States Patent Applications 20090015008 and 20070194567) incorporate sphere-to-cone type of the interaction between sealing surfaces in a brake tube connector. An interaction of sphere-to-cone type has numerous advantages over one with a cone-to-cone type which is currently utilized in conventional automotive brake tube connectors. Incorporation of a sphere-to-cone interaction between the sealing surfaces dramatically improves connector's sealing robustness. Sphere-to-cone based connectors are resilient to the tube and seat axes misalignment. Correspondingly, sphere-to-cone based connectors have less variation of the securing torque and virtually no propensity to locked misalignment occurrence. The article analyzes another fundamental advantage of a sphere-to-cone mating over the conventional cone-to-cone one. The analysis reveals that sphere-to-cone type of interaction demonstrates approximately one order of magnitude (10
Pliassounov, Stanislav I.
Journal Article
Gary Martin, Director, New Ventures & Communications Directorate, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CATBMG-581110/01/2009
Gary Martin began his career with NASA in the Microgravity Sciences and Applications Division in 1990 where he served as Branch Chief for Advanced Programs from 1992 – 1994 and Deputy Director from 1994 – 1996. In 2002 he was named NASA’s first – and as it turned out, only – space architect. Martin currently heads up the New Ventures & Communications Directorate at Ames.
Magazine Article
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