ACCA First Flight

The Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft made its first test flight June 2 from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif. The ACCA is proof of concept technology demonstrator for advanced composite manufacturing processes in a full-scale, certified aircraft. It was developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory and Lockheed Martin. (NASA Dryden Flight Research Center photo/Carla Thomas)

ACCA takes flight for the first time

The Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft made its first test flight June 2 from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif. The ACCA is proof of concept technology demonstrator for advanced composite manufacturing processes in a full-scale, certified aircraft. It was developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory and Lockheed Martin. (Lockheed Martin photo/Denny Lombard)

JSHS #3

Female high school students edged out their male counterparts at the 47th National Junior Sciences Humanities and Symposium (JSHS), a four-day science research competition sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the Army Research Office (ARO), and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) held at the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA). Of the six first-place winners, four girls took home the top prize in their respective research categories. (U.S. Air Force photo/USAFA)

JSHS #2

Faculty at the U.S. Air Force Academy Space Physics and Atmospheric Research Center demonstrate the equipment used in their lab to a small group of students as part of the 47th National Junior Sciences Humanities and Symposium held in Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Air Force photo/LeAndrea White)

Team helps put tactical satellite in orbit

An Air Force Minotaur I rocket launches into orbirt carrying the Air Force Research Laboratory's TacSat-3 satellite, NASA's PharmaSat microsatellite and NASA's CubeSat Technology Demonstration May 19 from Wallops Flight Facility, Va. (Courtesy photo)

Air Force Funds New Generation of Energy Efficient UAVs

With AFOSR funding, a team from the University of Michigan is working on a project to integrate solar power cheaply and easily into the base materials used to build UAVs. The team is pictured above posing around a customized reel-to-reel coating apparatus they developed for making large quantities of fiber-based energy conversion devices. (Center) Max Shtein, an assistant professor working on optoelectronic materials and devices, thin-film processing (Left to Right) Kevin Pipe, an assistant professor working on thermal phenomena in materials and devices; Brendan O'Connor, a graduate student working on organic solar cells on fibers; Abhishek Yadav, a graduate student working on thermoelectric devices on fibers; and Steven Morris, a graduate student working on reel-to-reel deposition of films and devices on fibers. (Photo Credit: University of Michigan)