NASA NASA Vibrates Inflatable Space Structure NASA engineers have successfully completed vibration tests on an experimental, lightweight inflatable structure that one day might lead to optical, solar power or propulsion uses in space. The lightweight material could be packed deflated to make them cheaper to launch and then inflated in space. Potential applications for the structure include a communications antenna, a solar energy collector, a concentrator for a solar powered rock engine or a telescope mirror. This was the sixth inflatable structure tested by Marshall in an effort to test, model, analyze and develop applications for thin film structures. Various NDT computerized radiography filmless solutions will be offered.
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