 a better understanding of the human impact of the atmosphere. CALIPSO data are available via Langley's Atmospheric Sciences Data Center.
CALIPSO is collaboration between NASA and the French Space Agency, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales.
Exposing Materials to Space
Space is a harsh environment containing ultraviolet radiation and atomic oxygen. These extreme conditions can have damaging effects on spacecraft materials.
The Material International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) managed by Langley has tested hundreds of material samples engineered to better understand the Sun's radiation, extreme temperatures and other elements.
In 2008, two suitcase sized, Passive Experiment Cases containing various materials from spacecraft coatings to solar cell technologies will be mounted to the International Space Station (ISS), and exposed to Space.
After orbiting 220 miles above the Earth, NASA scientists in 2007 began examining how the retrieved materials endured the starkness of space to improve materials used for future space missions as well as consumer products.
New Airplane Shape Takes to the Skies
A remotely piloted prototype that was tested at NASA Langley could be the shape of airplanes to come.
Image to right: The X-48B scale model being tested in the Langley Full-Scale Wind Tunnel. Credit: NASA
The X-48B Blended Wing Body (BWB) looks more like a flying wing than a traditional tube and wing aircraft.
Engineers tested the eight and a half percent scale model in the Langley Full Scale Tunnel, before it started flight tests at the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
The X-48B is part of a joint research effort between NASA, Boeing and the Air Force Research Laboratory. Langley engineers are studying advanced blended wing body designs, because they offer better fuel efficiency and payload capacity and produce less noise.
Langley Astronaut Delivers Columbus Laboratory to the International Space Station
Former Langley researcher Leland Melvin took his structures and materials expertise to space as a member of the STS-122 crew aboard space shuttle Atlantis.
Image to right: Astronaut Leland Melvin in training gear. Credit: NASA
> STS-122 Mission Page
Melvin operated the 58-foot robotic arm on Atlantis that delivered the 22-foot-long, 13-ton Columbus Laboratory to the International Space Station.
The procedure took about 2 1/2 hours and will include carrying as astronaut on the arm during a spacewalk. The manuever's timing and distance are exact, and the movements are calibrated in minutes and centimeters.
While at Langley, Melvin was part of the Non-Destructive Evaluation Sciences Branch.
Langley Takes Invention of Year Honors
A Langley device that can act like muscle and nerves for a wide range of aerospace and down-to-earth applications was recently named the 2006 NASA Government Invention of the Year.
Macro-Fiber Composite can be attached to a structure to bend it, reduce vibrations and monitor force with the application of electrical voltage. The device is primarily used in industrial and research applications for vibration monitoring and dampening.
In addition to improved helicopter rotor blades performance, NASA uses include vibration monitoring of support structures near the space shuttle pads during launches.
Non-aerospace applications being evaluated include suppressing vibration in performance sporting equipment such as skis, force and pressure sensing for industrial equipment, and sound generation and noise cancellation in commercial grade appliances.
Record Number of Patents Awarded Langley
Langley researchers received 10 patents in 2007 covering such areas as aircraft wing design, various sensors, and spacecraft materials.
Leading the Agency with the most number of patents awarded over the past decade, Langley has received more than 200 patents between 1997 - 2007 for various inventions and technology breakthroughs.
As a result, people are benefiting daily from NASA inventions and technologies from monitors that alert persons of an unattended object or person, sensors that report atmos