2010
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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),…