Japan's HTV-2 robotic cargo ship is seen just before astronauts grapple it on Jan. 27, 2011. The spacecraft is one of several robotic cargo ships that ferry supplies to the International Space Station. CREDIT: NASA

Japan's HTV-2 cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station on Jan. 27, 2011. On March 30, it reentered the atmosphere, with the Reentry Breakup Recorder (REBR) onboard to gather reentry data during the descent. Credit: NASA

Innovation Highlights

The Aerospace Corporation is involved in working on some of the most cutting-edge innovations in the national security space community. Click on the links on this page to read articles about the results of some of the corporation’s recent research work.

Aerospace Prints Rocket Motors in 3-D

Jerry Fuller, a senior research associate, holds a helical star grain, printed in acrylic with a 3-D printer. (Photo: Elisa Haber)

Aerospace’s Jerry Fuller employs rapid prototyping, a form of 3-D printing, to develop efficient fuel grains for hybrid rockets. More »

Labs Develop New Bonding Experience

Dr. Hyun Kim uses X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to determine the surface chemistry of a material before and after treatment. (Photo by Eric Hamburg)

Aerospace scientists have developed a new method for treating the surface of composite materials, allowing for more effective adhesive bonding. More »

Aerospace Scientists Work With Single Layer of Carbon Atoms

Gouri Radhakrishnan uses chemical vapor deposition to grow graphene. Photo by Eric Hamburg

A trio of Aerospace scientists has developed highly successful methods for growing graphene, characterizing it, and applying it toward reducing the weight of space batteries. More »

Aerospace Instruments Onboard Radiation Belt Storm Probes

Aerospace-developed instruments will play a central role in the two-year NASA mission to study the Van Allen radiation belts around Earth. Called the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission, the space segment consists of two identical spacecraft, launched by an Atlas 401 rocket from Cape Canaveral on Aug. 30. Each spacecraft carries the same complement [...] More »

Invention Allows Shorter Rocket Engine Bursts

Aerospace senior scientist Brian Brady has received a U.S. patent on a device that allows rocket engines to provide smaller pulses of thrust and to use more kinds of fuels. The patent, No. 7,958,719 B2, is titled “Noncircular Transient Fluid Fuel Injector Control Channels.” According to Brady, rocket engines are designed to operate within a [...] More »