Alexei Klimenko

Wish you could get advice on project risk from someone who has truly 'seen it all'? Attend our June session with Drew Slaton of Los Alamos National Labs. 🔎 Sign up: https://bit.ly/3V5MJYp Thanks to Carahsoft for making this session possible. #PartnerKonnect #ProjectRisk

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In Oct 2022, Alameda Applied Sciences Corporation (AASC) sold its patented Metal Plasma Thruster (MPT) business to Benchmark Space Systems (BSS), while continuing its development for NASA under SBIR contracts. AASC and Benchmark have now agreed to a new business framework in which Benchmark will continue marketing and sales of the MPT via a non-exclusive license, while AASC will continue its development and sales of the MPT to increase MPT performance, allowing it to address a growing market in Low Earth (LEO) and Very Low Earth (VLEO) orbits. AASC and Benchmark will also develop a Hybrid thruster configuration, where Benchmark's chemical propulsion systems are combined with the MPT, to offer satellite operators a unique capability for rapid collision avoidance combined with the MPT’s small impulse bits, for highly precise attitude control and fine positioning. The chemical and electric propulsion units will share a common avionics platform to provide plug-and-play mobility to satellite operators.  Ryan McDevitt, Benchmark CEO said that the new business relationship allows Benchmark to focus on its primary chemical propulsion product line while benefiting from AASC's sole focus on electric propulsion. Mahadevan Krishnan, President of AASC, welcomed the new arrangement and said he looks forward to serving customers in the burgeoning market for CubeSats and Small Satellites in LEO and VLEO. Together, BSS and AASC aim to provide a unique Hybrid (chemical/electric) mobility capability to satellites.

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A new report from the Mitchell Institute argues that #digitalengineering can accelerate fielding new weapons systems faster than traditional acquisition reform. Participants can work concurrently by using #digitalmethods, design, development, testing, and production, reducing delays. This shift is critical for the U.S. to match the rapid pace of adversaries like #China. Adopting digital methods has shown tangible benefits, including reduced rework rates and manufacturing times, as evidenced by Northrop Grumman's experience. The #DoD is working on converting the acquisition community's mindset to embrace these new methods, with younger employees driving the change. The report recommends incentivizing comprehensive digital engineering, investing in workforce training, promoting open standards, and modernizing IT infrastructures. These steps are essential to maintain #strategicpositioning against competitors and ensure the U.S. military can quickly develop and field advanced systems. https://lnkd.in/gYcNEJrC #DigitalEngineering #AcquisitionReform #MitchellInstitute #NorthropGrumman #DoD #StrategicPositioning #ConcurrentDesign #WorkforceTraining #OpenStandards #ITInfrastructure #RapidFielding #MilitaryInnovation

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Advanced Power for Extreme Space Exploration! Consider submitting an abstract to this special session we are putting together at the AIAA SciTech 2025 Conference. Go to aiaa.org/SciTech to submit your abstract, and select “Other Topics in Aerospace Power Systems."

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Potential Applications of Quantum Computing at Los Alamos National Laboratory https://lnkd.in/eJMptmvx The emergence of quantum computing technology over the last decade indicates the potential for a transformational impact in the study of quantum mechanical systems. It is natural to presume that such computing technologies would be valuable to large scientific institutions, such as United States national laboratories. However, detailed descriptions of what these institutions would like to use these computers for are limited. To help provide some initial insights into this topic, this report develops detailed use cases of how quantum computing technology could be utilized to enhance a variety of quantum physics research activities at Los Alamos National Laboratory, including quantum magnetic materials, high-temperature superconductivity and nuclear astrophysics simulations. The report discusses how current high-performance computers are used for scientific discovery today and develops detailed descriptions of the types of quantum physics simulations that Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists would like to conduct, if a sufficient computing technology became available. While the report strives to highlight the breadth of potential application areas for quantum computation, this investigation has also indicated that many more use cases exist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, which could be documented in similar detail with sufficient time and effort.

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THE DISCLOSURE #CTPcraft's CTP Gravitic Propulsion Systems are based on #postquantum science principles and engage/interact with two additional Fundamental Forces that are not presently accounted for via the Standard Model. This is the #UFOtruth. #UAPs #CTPEnergy is the answer behind the #UFO/#UAP question/phenomena. (https://lnkd.in/eTkDEmpA) #newscience #postquantum #UFOs #Disclosure #space #spaceeconomy #newspace #newspaceeconomy #newspacetech

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An excellent article in the MIT Technology Review about Ali Kazemian and his teams research into the development of waterless, sulfur-based lunar and Martian concretes. We are proud at NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center to be working with Ali and enhancing the technology maturation of this process/material. Ali and his team recently helped us install the capability to 3D print our first ever sulfur concrete in the MSFC Additive Construction lab (picture in attached article). Looking forward to continued working together to develop technologies for a sustained human presence on the Moon and Mars!

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SpaceX Raptor 3 schematic: The oxygen preburner has been revised and its location updated for clarity and efficiency. Fluid colors have been changed to enhance visibility and distinguishability. The methane (CH4) autogen flowpath has been corrected to resolve previous inaccuracies. Specification numbers have been updated and corrected. More labels and iconography have been added to highlight smaller features, improving the diagram's detail. The powerhead regen channels, as far as current knowledge allows, have been included in the diagram. Helium spinstart has been replaced with nitrogen for starting the engine. Flow paths between the powerhead have been cleaned up to improve legibility. Discrepancies and Uncertainties: The exact source of the CH4 autogen remains unclear. It could either come from the outlet of the methane powerhead autogen through the hot gas manifold or directly from the valve assembly on the transfer tube from the lower regen manifold to the top of the LOX powerhead. Unfortunately, due to the lack of clear photos of this engine section, the precise origin cannot be confirmed. The type of ignitors used for the preburners is unknown. Traditional torch ignitors seem unlikely due to the engine's operation, yet the presence of Gox/CH4 inlets on the common umbilical suggests some form of ignition system requiring these gases. The number of turbines on each powerhead is not definitively known. Evidence from debris suggests there might be two turbines per powerhead, indicated by the size of the turboshaft coupling, but this has not been confirmed. The starting point of the CH4 powerhead regen is ambiguous. It might connect directly to the chamber regen loop or start at the end of the transfer tube as shown in the diagram. The exact conditions of methane post-regeneration through the nozzle and chamber are not fully known, but it is theorized to remain sufficiently "cool" for use in regenerative cooling. Image Credit: TheSpaceEngineer

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You are invited to submit an abstract for the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM) 2025 Annual Conference, to be held June 2-5, 2025 in Milwaukee, WI, USA. Abstracts due October 9, 2024. Please consider submitting an abstract to our Time-Dependent Materials Technical Division Track: Our division focuses on understanding the mechanical behavior of materials and structures whose mechanical properties evolve over time or change with the loading rate, such as, but not limited to polymers and other soft matter including gels, biological tissues, biomimetic materials, metals, composites, foams, granular media, fluids and glasses. Experimental, theoretical and modeling efforts aimed at characterizing the time-dependent constitutive response and underlying molecular mechanisms are welcome. When submitting your abstract for a specific session, please enter the session organizer's name and/or a few keywords relating to the session to help our abstract reviewers place your talk correctly. I am co-organizing Session 3 on Damage, Fatigue and Durability: Potential topics: Multiaxial loading fatigue, cyclic plasticity, fatigue life prediction, creep-fatigue interactions, micromechanisms of damage and fracture, damage evolution and the Remaining useful life (RUL), environmental effects, and non-destructive evaluation. There are many other sessions/topics to consider also! Would love to see you in June in Milwaukee! https://sem.org/annual #SocietyExpMech hashtag #ExperimentalMechanics

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It’s a big day for quantum in the US. A multi partner collaboration between the Dept of Defence including OUSD(R&E), DARPA, and the Air Force, the Dept of Energy and State of Illinois announced major steps in cohering a national strategy. There’s a proving ground in Illinois announced by Governor Pritzker https://lnkd.in/eWts2EF2 And a new initiative at DARPA https://lnkd.in/e-hBHveC To really test quantum computing and prevent technical surprise.

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Los Alamos National Laboratory, the birthplace of the atomic bomb, is once again rapidly expanding to supply the nation with nuclear weapons. The site was built in secret during the Second World War—J. Robert Oppenheimer directed the lab there as part of the Manhattan Project. In recent years, Los Alamos has been essential to a sweeping 1.7-trillion-dollar update of the country’s nuclear arsenal, which comes as China expands its atomic-weapons program and Russia assumes a newly confrontational stance. The U.S. government has nearly 5,000 nuclear warheads, close to 2,000 of which are deployed inside submarines, bombs, and intercontinental ballistic missiles. It also has thousands of plutonium pits—the fissionable cores of those warheads—in storage. But the plutonium in the stockpile is aging. Despite statements from groups such as the Union of Concerned Scientists, which argue that the arsenal remains sufficiently deadly to serve as deterrence, the government insists that it needs new warheads. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gB5nkTuV

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The One Interview Mistake to Avoid and Space Force Awards Contract to Virtualitics If you want to ace your next interview, one industry leader says to avoid this mistake. And Virtualitics lands a key Space Force contract. https://lnkd.in/gCB6gsGv

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Pushing A Probe To Alpha Centauri Using A Relativistic Electron Beam Getting a spacecraft to another star is a monumental challenge. However, that doesn’t stop people from working on it. https://lnkd.in/g6aua5Qx

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Right on Shawn Barnes! With regard to DoD, USSF, and IC aspirations related to commercial space, actions > (voluminous) words. Vision without resources and implementation is hallucination. Investors will run out of patience, companies will disappear, talent will dissipate, and innovative technologies will whither and die - along with our marginal advantage over our adversaries. “Ruthlessly implement” indeed!

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ORNL, Sierra Space create novel C/SiC TPS for reusable space vehicles CMC tiles will be used on the Sierra Space DC100 Dream Chaser spaceplane carrying critical supplies and science experiments to and from NASA’s ISS..............Researchers with the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL, Oak Ridge, Tenn., U.S.) and Sierra Space Corp. (Louisville, Colo., U.S.) have developed a novel carbon fiber-reinforced silicon-carbide (C/SiC) ceramic matrix composite (CMC) thermal protection system (TPS) for reusable commercial spacecraft.  https://lnkd.in/gy6mgJxu

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The discovery of altermagnetism in materials like manganese telluride (MnTe) offers significant potential for defense applications due to its unique magnetic properties. Key implications include: - Superior Sensor Technologies: Altermagnetic materials can enhance magnetic sensors, improving the detection of submarines and stealth technologies through precise manipulation at the nanoscale. - Next-Gen Communication Systems: These materials promise high-speed, energy-efficient communication, crucial for military operations where security and reliability are essential. - Resistance to Interference: Altermagnets are resilient against external magnetic fields, making them ideal in environments with electromagnetic interference, thereby increasing the reliability of defense systems. - Advancements in Spintronics and Quantum Computing: Altermagnetism can spur advancements in spintronic devices, aiding military cryptography and secure communications. - Increased Energy Efficiency: Their energy efficiency can extend operational periods for military electronics, reducing the need for frequent recharging. - Versatile Applications: Altermagnets can adapt to various conduction types, making them suitable for next-gen military technologies in nanoelectronics and neuromorphic computing

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How would today's Autonomous Flight Termination systems (AFTS) from SpaceX, Blue Origin, ULA, etc. handle a scenario like this? With manned missions we draw the Instantaneous Impacts Points/Lines a bit wider to allow enough time for crew notification, if possible, but the Launch Abort Systems will protect the crew as exemplified in that New Shepard capsule separation a couple of years back. Now from a Public Safety perspective keeping the knowledge and accuracy requirement for the first 2000 ft of flight as tight as it currently is ensures minimum potential damage from a wildly veered off course rocket for whatever reason and enough stoppage distance for the safety ordnance to null as much as possible (powered flight vs physics such as momentum and gravity assisted) the forward motion of the rocket, thus ensuring no harm comes to those on the ground either in a Launch Control Center (LCC) or adjacent viewing areas to these rocket launches that always amaze our kids and us.

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