Breakthroughs in Testing Solid-Fuel Ramjets Advance Research
By Jameson Crabtree, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Corporate Communications | Jan. 28, 2026
Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory are developing the next generation of solid-fuel ramjet (SFRJ) propulsion, addressing one of the field’s most persistent challenges: understanding and predicting what happens inside an operating combustor
Naval Research Lab Space Station Study Reveals Key Challenges and Opportunities for Microbial Biomanufacturing in Space
By Jameson Crabtree, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Corporate Communications | Jan. 26, 2026
Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have completed a spaceflight biology investigation aboard the International Space Station (ISS) that reveals how microgravity fundamentally alters microbial metabolism, limiting the efficiency of biological manufacturing processes critical to future long-duration space missions. The findings were recently published in the journal npj Microgravity.
Naval Research Laboratory Engineer Receives Prestigious Department of the Navy Award
By Nicholas E. M. Pasquini, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Corporate Communications | Dec. 12, 2025
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Engineer Shannon McGarry, Ph.D., received the Department of the Navy (DON) 2025 G. Dennis White Early Career Human Systems Integration (HSI) Practitioner Award for contributions and unwavering commitment embodying the essential qualities critical to the advancement of the HSI discipline, ensuring the safety and effectiveness of systems delivered to our warfighters.
NRL’s Satellite Operations Service is Ready for the Space Force Enterprise
By Nicholas E. M. Pasquini, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Corporate Communications | Dec. 9, 2025
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Spacecraft Engineering Department recently developed the Transmit/Receive Enterprise (TREx) service with sponsorship from the Space Development Agency, Space Rapid Capabilities Office, and Space Systems Command to provide software development and mission operations for sponsoring organizations across the space community.
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Develops Anatomically Accurate Rat Brain Phantom for Traumatic Brain Injury Research
By Jameson Crabtree | Dec. 8, 2025
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), in collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), have developed the first anatomically accurate rat brain phantom capable of measuring traumatic brain injury (TBI) impacts in real time.
The breakthrough model replicates the mechanical properties of brain tissue while embedding a piezoelectric sensor that converts impact forces directly into measurable electrical signals, offering unprecedented insight into how blast waves and impacts propagate through the brain.