Spacecraft Research News
2010
NASA Office of the Chief Technologist features SSDS projects
13 Jul 10 In a presentation at an industry forum, the NASA Office of the Chief Technologist cited a Cornell Space Systems Design Studio project as an example of a former NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts grant recipient that has progressed to technology demonstration programs. More about the OCT Industry Forum.
Cornell SSDS Team Selected for Reduced-Gravity Flight Testing
18 May 10 NASA selected 17 technology demonstration projects for reduced-gravity aircraft flights to demonstrate whether emerging technologies can perform as expected in the reduced-gravity environment of the moon and Mars, or the zero-gravity environment of Earth orbit. View the complete list of selected projects.
Cornell attends first-ever 'Chip Satellite Conference'
18 Feb10 Cornell's Space Systems Design Studio was pleased to actively participate in the first-ever conference dedicated to 'Chip Satellites', which was hosted by Brown University. The Cornell team presented research on the mission opportunities afforded by small spacecraft and unveiled their current prototype.
New Scientist: Smart dust could give early warning of space storms
05 Feb10 Mason Peck, a mechanical engineer at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and his colleague Justin Atchison have designed a 1-centimetre-square spacecraft that is 25 micrometres thick and weighs under 7.5 milligrams. The craft is modelled on the dust particles that orbit the sun and are propelled by the photons streaming out from the sun.
2009
- Cornell Chronicle: Students test their touchless attraction technology in near-zero gravity flight
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27 Oct 09 A team of Cornell researchers led by Mason Peck, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, recently tested their work on the mysterious physical phenomenon of flux pinning aboard a near-zero gravity aircraft.
- Flux-Pinned Spacecraft Among 21 Tech Projects NASA Selects for Reduced-Gravity Flight Testing
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18 May 09 NASA has selected the Flux-Pinned Spacecraft project for microgravity flight testing under the Facilitated Access to the Space Environment for Technology Development and Training (FAST) program.
- Dr. Mason Peck to speak in the NYS Space Series at MOST
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16 Apr 09 Mason Peck, professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering from Cornell University will speak on Exploring the Solar System with Penny-Sized Spacecraft as part of the NYS Space Series at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology in Syracuse, NY.
2008
- New Scientist: Gyroscopic space robot avoids negative reactions
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7 Aug 08 Researchers at the Space System Design Studio at Cornell University, New York, have successfully tested a prototype on a microgravity "vomit comet" flight that simulates a space environment.
- Discovery News: Tiny Space Engine Powered by Earth's Magnetic Field
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5 Jun 08 An experimental satellite propulsion system that uses the Earth's magnetic field instead of chemical propellants could make satellite missions more affordable.
2007
- Popular Science: Mmmm, Space Chips
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6 Aug 07 The next generation of robotic space explorers could be smaller than a dime–and cost about that much, too. Mason Peck, an engineer at Cornell University, envisions thousands of miniature spacecraft drifting to different planets, powered only by Earth's magnetic field.
- New Scientist: Spacecraft may surf the solar system on magnetic fields
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13 Mar 07 Future spacecraft may surf the magnetic fields of Earth and other planets, taking previously unfeasible routes around the solar system, according to a proposal funded by NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts.
- Space Travel: Cornell To Study Planetary Magnetic Fields Propulsion Research Under NASA Grant
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28 Feb 07 Dr. Mason Peck from the Cornell University College of Engineering received a NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase I $75,000 award to study an innovative idea for altering spacecraft orbits in future missions.
2006
- Air and Space: Starship on a Chip
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1 Nov 06 Mason Peck, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Cornell University, ... would harness the Lorentz forces that drive charged particles in magnetic fields, and which physicists use to whip bits of atoms to hellacious speeds in giant particle accelerators on Earth.
- Press Release: Planetary Magnetic Fields Can Propel Future Spacecraft Missions?
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20 Oct 06 Dr. Mason Peck from the Cornell University College of Engineering received a NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase I $75,000 award to study an innovative idea for altering spacecraft orbits in future missions.
2005
- Professor Mason Peck to address AIAA 3rd Region 1 Conference November 5
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23 Sep 05 Professor Mason Peck has been invited to address the 3rd AIAA Region 1 Conference. He will speak about Cornell’s CUSat nanosatellite project, a two–year effort to design build and launch a pair of in-orbit inspection satellites.
- Peck Receives Grant from NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts
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8 Jul 05 Professor Mason Peck has received one of the small number of grants awarded this year by NIAC for revolutionary aeronautics and space concepts that could dramatically impact how NASA develops and conducts its missions.
2004
- Cornell MAE Welcomes New Faculty
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1 Aug 04 MAE welcomes Brian Kirby and Mason Peck to the department.
