Vincenti’s research laid the foundation for many advances in aeronautics, including supersonic flight and spacecraft reentry. He also co-founded the interdisciplinary Stanford Program in Science, Technology and Society.
Stanford physicists are helping develop a device that turns frozen, falling atoms into an exquisitely sensitive gravitational wave detector that could provide a new glimpse into the most energetic and oldest events in the universe.
An “out there” theory inspired the development of the Dark Matter Radio, a device that could explain the mysterious matter that makes up 85 percent of the mass of our universe.
From chasing toxic clouds to developing rocket fuels for Mars, Brian Cantwell shares stories of his time working on space exploration technologies – starting with an internship with the Apollo program.
Stanford has played a leading role in compiling Fermi’s gamma-ray bursts catalogs ever since the space observatory launched nearly 11 years ago. More than 120 authors contributed to the effort.
Analysis from halfway through the Gemini Planet Imager’s planetary survey hints that our solar system may have rare qualities which could possibly be related to the habitability of Earth.
A swarm of 105 tiny satellites the size of computer chips, costing under $100 each, recently launched into Earth’s orbit. Stanford scientist Zac Manchester, who dreamed up the ChipSats, said they pave the way for cheaper and easier space exploration.
With some Stanford-led upgrades, the gravitational wave detector LIGO is back online after a year of work. It’s now more sensitive than ever to spacetime ripples and will be joined by other detectors around the world.
Thomas Kane, who revolutionized how scientists study forces and motion and whose research helped spacecraft and astronauts orient properly in space, died at age 94.
Inspired by early explorers and science fiction, researchers at the Space Environment and Satellite Systems lab are trying to understand how we could use space’s challenging environment to our advantage.
Understanding the underlying principles behind flight at extreme speeds could help propel people across the globe more quickly or to distant planets, according to Javier Urzay.
Stanford researchers are developing an AI-powered navigation system to direct spaceborne ‘tow trucks’ designed to restart or remove derelict satellites circling aimlessly in graveyard orbits.
SLAC scientists find a new way to explain how a black hole’s plasma jets boost particles to the highest energies observed in the universe. The results could also prove useful for fusion and accelerator research on Earth.
Hubbard was right next to mission control for the landing of InSight on Mars. Here’s what he thinks about NASA’s latest deep-space triumph and the special satellites that accompanied it.
California is embarking on an effort to launch its own satellites to study pollutants – an approach many Stanford researchers have taken advantage of to better understand our changing planet.
The LSST cryostat, now fully assembled, will keep the camera’s image sensors continuously cooled to minus 150 degrees Fahrenheit for crisp, high-sensitivity views of the night skies.
Discoveries of complex molecules and a liquid water lake, a birthday for one rover and concern for another have brought Mars a lot of attention this summer. Here’s what the first Mars program director, Scott Hubbard, has to say about all the recent excitement.
Two of the most powerful telescopes in the world worked together to find the faintest millisecond pulsar ever discovered. The collaboration between the Fermi Large Area Telescope and China’s FAST radio telescope was spearheaded by Stanford physicist Peter Michelson.
Satellite data from thousands of high seas fishing vessels over four years illuminate global fishing’s scope and pattern and hold promise for improving ocean management across the planet.
Von Russel Eshleman, professor emeritus of electrical engineering, developed methods of studying distant planets with radio waves and oversaw experiments between the Stanford Dish and Pioneer space probes.
The professor emeritus of aeronautics and astronautics helped design the device that successfully tested Einstein’s theory of relativity and launched Stanford’s Aerospace Robotics Lab.
As anyone anticipating an eclipse knows, one way to dim a star is to block it with something else – a moon, perhaps. Or in the case of distant stars whose light masks orbiting exoplanets, a shade-throwing satellite might do.
After 12 years observing black holes at the center of an amalgam of ancient galaxies, a multi-institution team, including Stanford’s Roger Romani, may have recorded the smallest-ever movement of an object across the sky.
Space robots that are traveling through space, hauling debris and exploring distant asteroids, may hold the technological key to problems facing drones and autonomous cars here on Earth.
A new major in aeronautics and astronautics also includes electives to ensure that non-majors can work with UAVs, satellites, autonomous systems, and other flight technologies.
