The company's solar sail propulsion is helping investigate possible destinations in space, extending human deep space exploration.
With the help of NeXolve's solar sails and deployable metallic booms, a miniaturized spacecraft is bringing humanity one step closer to deep space exploration beyond the Earth's moon. Known as the Near Earth Asteroid Scout (NEA Scout), the spacecraft will launch with Artemis 1, ready to carry out its maiden voyage to explore near-Earth asteroids as potential destinations for humans.
This small craft, known as a CubeSat, was developed under NASA'S Advanced Exploration Systems Program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
CubeSats show immense promise for space-based science and exploration, engineering support and relay communications, and Earth observation. Their compact build, about the size of a shoebox, allows them to quickly be propelled by NeXolve's solar sail, which measures 925ft2 (86 m2).
“Solar Sails offer a propellant-less in-space propulsion option that is very efficient and enabling as a delivery mechanism for inter-planetary and interstellar science mission payloads,” said Jim Moore, NeXolve President and CEO. “Through significant collaboration with NASA MSFC, NeXolve has developed and demonstrated the capability to design solar sails, produce solar sail material, and then fabricate, package, and test large solar sails using their unique mechanisms and processes.”
Designed and developed by NeXolve, the 86m2 monolithic solar sail is made from CP1 film with a reflective coating. Stainless steel alloy booms, another NeXolve product, deploy these mirror-like sails that then use reflected particles of light radiating from the sun to generate thrust.
“Solar Sails harness and reflect the Sun’s energy to produce a low but continuous acceleration in space. Over the long term, the continuous acceleration results in high velocity that enables deep space science missions. Solar sail missions can also be coupled with innovative sun swing-by trajectories to benefit from even more free energy,” said Jim Pearson, aerospace products director.
Huntsville, Alabama-based NeXolve Holding Co. LLC provides high-performance materials and hardware to commercial and government customers worldwide. Since its founding, the company has worked closely with NASA, DoD, and commercial companies to manufacture and design aerospace products and high-performance polymer materials for electronics, display, and aerospace applications.
Discuss the best ways to recruit and retain employees.
About the presentation In the ever-changing landscape of workforce development, companies need to implement best practices in their attraction and retention strategies to become an employer of choice. We’ll discuss all the generations comprising the current workforce and how we need to leverage their key characteristics, implement new learning, develop programs aligning with the way different generations learn, and rethink policies with the goal not only attract, but also retain these generations.
Meet your presenter Denise Ball is a workforce development specialist for Tooling U-SME. She served as a practitioner of best-in-class learning and development techniques for the manufacturing industry for more than 25 years. Her extensive background in workforce development includes hands-on experience in manufacturing as she assisted her family in running a small machine shop for several years. For the past 10 years, she’s guided the implementation of workforce education and skills training into corporations across the globe to help develop their employees with success, as well as facilitated workshops on best practices and various webinars. She resides in Ohio.
About the company Tooling U-SME delivers versatile, competency-based learning and development solutions to the manufacturing community. Tooling U-SME partners with customers to build high performers who help their companies drive quality, profitability, productivity, innovation, and employee satisfaction. Working directly with hundreds of high schools, communities, technical colleges, and universities, Tooling U-SME is able to help prepare the next-generation workforce by providing industry-driven curriculum.
Continues global expansion with engineering hub to support company’s 6th generation aircraft development program.
Mountain View, California-based Wisk Aero, an advanced air mobility (AAM) company and developer of an all-electric, self-flyingair taxi in the U.S., is continuing its global expansion with the launch of a new engineering hub in Montreal, Canada. The hub will be dedicated to the ongoing development of its 6th generation aircraft (to be revealed later this year).
Wisk is launching the new hub with existing Montreal-based personnel and intends to grow this presence to approximately 30 employees by the end of the year. Wisk has been experiencing rapid growth, driven by a tremendous increase in interest for its mission and technology. The company’s new Montreal hub is part of a broader effort to further expand its global team of industry-leading talent around the world.
“We are excited about the launch of our new Montreal hub,” said Sebastien Vigneron, senior vice president of engineering and programs. “Canada’s forward-looking approach to aviation and interest in AAM, combined with its pool of experienced aerospace talent, make it an ideal location for Wisk as we expand our global footprint. This expansion highlights the increasing global interest in our mission to bring safe, everyday flight to everyone, and we look forward to continuing that mission with support from our new Montreal-based hub.”
The announcement of the new Montreal hub follows Wisk’s recent expansion into Australia. In addition to Montreal and its headquarters and facilities around the San Francisco Bay Area, Wisk now has a presence in Atlanta (Georgia), New Zealand, and Australia.
Wisk is an independent company backed by The Boeing Co. and Kitty Hawk Corp. With over a decade of experience and more than 1,550 test flights, Wisk is on a journey to deliver safe, autonomous, all-electric, everyday flight.
How to choose the right metrology system.
About the presentation There are a multitude of considerations when choosing the right metrology system, such as an optical comparator or a multi-sensor vision system. Following some straight-forward guidelines for selecting a system will serve machinists and quality control (QC) inspectors well. It’ll also help avoid making costly procurement mistakes. Primary factors include examining budget, application requirements such as accuracy and speed, facility environment, QC data collection objectivity vs subjectivity, and user skill. It’s also important to review the capabilities of the metrology system's software suite and how its features complement the user's application requirements. Automation solutions should also be a consideration, as automation is increasingly being deployed to improve productivity and throughput, such as capturing discrete points on a part's profile to be built into the inspection process as programmable steps.
Meet your presenter Greg Maisch has been with The L.S. Starrett Co. for six years. He is an engineering manager and has an education in mechanical engineering. Prior to that, Maisch was an enlisted Marine.
About the company The L.S. Starrett Co., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of industrial, professional, and consumer products worldwide. The vast portfolio of more than 5,000 products can be grouped in the categories of precision measuring tools, saws, metrology equipment, precision ground stock, granite, job-site and shop tools. Starrett markets its products through distributors to companies in the metalworking automotive, aviation, marine, and farm industries, as well as do-it-yourselfers and tradesmen.
Agreement expected to solidify Texas’ leadership role in global manufacturing economy.
The Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) and The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a framework for increasing collaboration to expand the aerospace defense manufacturing community in Texas.
UTA holds the cooperative agreement for Texas with the National Institution of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP), which provides the funding for the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC), the MEP affiliate in Texas. TMAC connects manufacturers with technology, operations opportunities, and solutions needed to compete in the global marketplace.
TEES powers a public-private research collaborative called the Secure America Institute (SAI). This institute converges industry, government, and academia to integrate advancements in U.S. manufacturing resilience particularly within the U.S. defense industrial base.
“Working with our strategic partners at TMAC will enhance the development of the aerospace defense manufacturing community through the application of advanced technology and workforce training,” said Scott Terry, SAI director of community and small business initiatives. “By infusing smart manufacturing tools and processes into the manufacturing industrial base, we can solidify Texas’ leadership role in the global manufacturing economy.”
SAI and TMAC are both working to empower the Texas manufacturing industrial base by introducing and implementing advanced manufacturing technologies and workforce training. This will help improve overall throughput, quality and delivery lead time for Texas manufacturers, which, in turn, improves their profitability and sustainability.
“TMAC will work with TEES to become an integral partner in driving the development of advanced manufacturing technology and workforce training for the aerospace and defense industrial base across the state,” said Rodney Reddic, TMAC interim executive director. “The partnership with TEES will allow TMAC to reach additional manufacturers across the state through the many workshops and seminars sponsored jointly. TMAC will provide boots on the ground field staff support for the delivery of advanced manufacturing technology services, cybersecurity services and workforce training.”
Through this agreement, SAI and TMAC will promote and host events for advanced manufacturing technology and workforce training across the state of Texas focused on the aerospace manufacturing community. The agency will also partner with various entities, including K-12 schools, colleges, universities, and industry partners to drive the development of advanced manufacturing technology workforce training to help create the aerospace industrial base workforce of the future.
TEES is an active member of Manufacturing USA through key positions in America Makes, Advanced Robotics Manufacturing, BioFabUSA, Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute, the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals, and the Rapid Advancement in Process Intensification Deployment Institute.