NRL News

NRL Achieves 65-Year Milestone in Space Satellite Exploration
March 17, 2023 — The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory conducted the first American satellite program, named Project Vanguard, between 1955 and 1959, becoming the prototype for much of what developed as the U.S. space program. On March 17, 1958, the Vanguard I satellite was launched into Earth orbit. Vanguard I was the first solar-powered satellite, enabling it to... MORE

NRL to Launch First In-Space Laser Power Beaming Experiment
March 14, 2023 — The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory is set to launch the Space Wireless Energy Laser Link (SWELL) to demonstrate laser power beaming in space as part of the scheduled U.S. Department of Defense Space Test Program (STP) H9 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) March 15. SWELL is one of several experiments that will launch aboard the SpaceX... MORE

Christopher Depuma, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory electronics engineer, conducts a functional test of the laser power beaming link on Space Wireless Energy Laser Link (SWELL) at Washington, D.C. April 3, 2022. SWELL will launch aboard the DoD Space Test Program-H9 payload (STP-H9) to the International Space Station in January 2023, where it will then be powered on and operate for one to two years. SWELL will be the first on-orbit demonstrations of Laser Power Beaming. (U.S. Navy photo by Jonathan Sunderman)

COVID-19 Guidance
February 23, 2023 — NRL Visitor COVID-19 Vaccination & Mask ProceduresOfficial Visitors are non-DOD individuals seeking access, one time or recurring, in association with performance of official DOD business (e.g., to attend a meeting) but do not have credentialed recurring access (CRA). Personnel who may need to access a building for any other purpose (e.g.,... MORE

As Climate Shifts, U.S. Navy Focuses on Bolstering Arctic Ocean Operations
February 22, 2023 — First in a two-part series on how the Navy and its partners are working to improve Arctic operations as the sea ice melts due to warming temperatures. The Arctic is the next frontier for U.S. military operations, where the physical environment poses a major threat to achieving strategic dominance, managing assets and ensuring freedom of the seas. The importance of the Arctic will only increase each year as the decline of the perennial sea ice continues and the ice edge shifts. It is imperative to strengthen the ability to operate there in order to gain a strategic advantage. Effective operations will hinge on reliable environmental intelligence in a region where conditions can be severe. The U.S. most recently updated its strategy for the Arctic region last October with a new 10-year scope that seeks a peaceful, stable, prosperous and cooperative Arctic at the same time acknowledging strategic competition with Russia and China. Ongoing efforts include investing in technology that detects and tracks potential threats and improves our own capabilities to maneuver in the region. This is not a simple task due to the dominant role that Russia has in the Arctic, as well as the growing concern for China’s desire to be an influential nation there... MORE

First in a two-part series on how the Navy and its partners are working to improve Arctic operations as the sea ice melts due to warming temperatures.

The Arctic is the next frontier for U.S. military operations, where the physical environment poses a major threat to achieving strategic dominance, managing assets and ensuring freedom of the seas.

The importance of the Arctic will only increase each year as the decline of the perennial sea ice continues and the ice edge shifts. It is imperative to strengthen the ability to operate there in order to gain a strategic advantage. Effective operations will hinge on reliable environmental intelligence in a region where conditions can be severe.

New Quantum Capabilities for Naval Warfare Centers
January 10, 2023 — The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and all 14 Naval Warfare Centers signed a memorandum of understanding Dec. 2 with the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Information Directorate to establish a conduit for exchange of technical expertise and the exploration of co-projects with a focus on creating useful quantum computing capabilities for... MORE

Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary
January 9, 2023 — The Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research, or LASR, and personnel from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory celebrated the facility’s 10 years of service to NRL, December 5-6. Signe Redfield, Ph.D., Director, Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research, kicked off the two day event opening with an in-depth presentation of the laboratory’s... MORE

Inspired by the pectoral fins of reef fish, particularly the bird wrasse, researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have integrated artificial pectoral fins into a man-portable, autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) known as the Wrasse-inspired Agile Near-shore Deformable-fin Automaton, or WANDA. Much of the development and testing of the WANDA platforms takes place in NRL’s Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research (LASR) — a multi-environment facility that can emulate tropical, desert, and littoral conditions on-site. Four side-mounted fins, two forward and two aft, provide all the propulsion and control necessary for the vehicle. WANDA can perform low-speed maneuvers including forward and vertical translation, turn-in-place rotation, and station keeping in the presence of waves. (U.S. Naval Research Laboratory – Jamie Hartman) RELEASED

NRL CIRCE Satellites Delivered, Set for Historic 2022 UK Launch
November 17, 2022 — The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory oversaw the delivery and preparation for launch of its twin 6U CubeSat satellites on Oct. 15 at Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay in the United Kingdom (U.K.). CIRCE is a joint NRL-United Kingdom Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) experiment designed to measure the Earth’s ionosphere and particle radiation environment from a circular orbit at 555 km (344 miles) altitude in a lead/trail formation 300-500 km (186-310 miles) apart in the same orbit plane... MORE

Coordinated Ionospheric Reconstruction CubeSat Experiment (CIRCE)

NRL Engineers Ready Innovative Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) Payload for Launch
November 9, 2022 — Engineers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) Naval Center for Space Technology (NCST) recently completed robotic payload component level testing for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) program... MORE

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