TEXTILES.ORG
Success in smart textiles —now and in the future
October 9th, 2015
IFAI’s market research manager Jeff Rasmussen says that the worldwide smart fabrics market is growing at an annual rate of about 18 percent from about $984 million in 2011 to a projected $1.9 billion in 2015. Rasmussen spoke on “Current Developments in the Smart and Interactive Fabrics Market” Oct. 7 at IFAI’s Advanced Textiles Conference […]
NASA seeks students’ ideas for inflatable heat shield technology
October 1st, 2015
NASA has launched its Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge, offering students the chance to participate in the agency’s journey to Mars. NASA’s Game Changing Development Program (GCD), managed by the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C., and the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) are seeking innovative ideas for generating lift using […]
IFAI’s 2015 Advanced Textiles Conference begins Oct. 6
August 7th, 2015
Testing information gets special attention at this year’s IFAI Expo. IFAI’s 2015 Advanced Textiles Conference begins Oct. 6 at 8:30 a.m. and includes a full day of programming, keynote luncheon and networking reception. NASA’s Evelyne Orndoff speaks at the opening session about “NASA’s Wish List.” Over the four-day IFAI Expo event, an more than 25 speakers […]
What to wear to Mars
July 24th, 2015
For human space missions beyond low-Earth orbit the logistical burden is at least twice as great compared to missions in low-Earth orbit. Take, for instance, a trip to Mars, which is being planned by NASA to occur sometime in the 2030s. For this type of long duration mission there will be limited or no resupply […]
Space technologies, sportswear benefits
June 19th, 2015
The Space industry has captured the human imagination and impacted design—and our culture—since the beginning of the last century. Not all depictions have been realistic. In Fritz Lang’s 1929 silent film The Girl in the Moon, astronauts are depicted wearing knitted cardigans for their journey! In reality mobility and working outside the spaceship necessitated […]
Mesh “lasso” rounds up data in space
February 6th, 2015
If space is the final frontier, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) just sent a mechanical cowboy into orbit around the earth to round up data about the planet’s soil moisture. NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite has three main parts: radar, a radiometer and the largest rotating mesh antenna ever deployed in […]
Testing of NASA’s next prototype spacesuit begins in November
July 9th, 2014
Work on human space exploration may appear to have settled into the background, but it has not gone away. In fact, NASA recently completed a spacesuit design challenge as part of the development of the next generation of spacesuits. After the public cast 233,431 total votes, the "Technology" option won NASA's Z-2 Spacesuit design challenge […]