Browse Resources by Year

Light Rays Create Microchips Faster

The technology used to produce the telescope mirrors for ESA’s XMM-Newton X-ray observatory is being extended to the production of smaller, faster, and cheaper computer microchips. An Italian company, Media Lario Technologies, has developed technology that uses extreme ultraviolet rays to create semiconductor circuits that operate 100 times faster.

Satellites Take Toll on Europe’s Roads

Satellite navigation also is being used to replace current highway toll systems and create a more intelligent transportation system that would enable the assessment of fees based on road use and other factors relevant to traffic and infrastructure management.

Fuel-efficient Flights Optimized Courtesy of GPS

Boeing announced in October 2010 the introduction of a new subscription-based service, derived from a NASA software platform, to increase fuel efficiency, reduce emissions, and reduce flight times. This service, known as Direct-To, is scheduled for availability in early 2011.

The Green WAAS

Satellite technology is being used to improve the efficiency, safety, security, and environmental impact of air travel. In the United States, the Next Generation Air Transportation System, better known as NextGen, is being developed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and industry partners.

Less Stress with Smarter Bolts

Technology designed to ensure proper operation of rovers exploring Mars is helping improve manufacturing on Earth. When deploying a vehicle to explore space and other planets, it is critical that bolts are properly tightened to ensure reliable operation.

Seeing Clearly with High Quality Glass

Using systems and technologies developed for the Hubble telescope and the Columbus laboratory module of the ISS, Kentec, an Italian company, designed a machine vision system that improves the reliability of glass manufacturing operations.

Guarantee of Authenticity: Precision Glass Tagging

A new laser technology, designed to create precise lenses and mirrors for space telescopes, is able to inscribe numbers inside glass without damaging it. The laser operates in a manner similar to lasers used in laser eye correction, by beaming energy through the surface of the glass to make changes within.

How Many Cars In a Parking Lot?

Location-based imagery data increasingly provides business and market intelligence to companies. This service combines satellite-based location data with geographic information systems. Satellite surveillance technology is now also being used in the financial sector.

Odor-fighting Space Underwear

In October 2010, Toray Industries, a Japanese textile company, and J-Space, a company licensed to market JAXA technologies, announced plans to develop sportswear out of material originally designed for use in astronaut clothing.

Keeping an Ion Explosive and Chemical Agents

Technology designed to detect life on Mars has been developed into a portable device that can detect explosives and chemical agents. The technology is based on ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), a fast and sensitive method for separating and identifying gaseous molecules.