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New NanoRacks' Software Platform Speeds Space Customer Payloads to International Space Station

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

A new software platform designed to ease the passage of payloads from earth to space was announced today at the AAS Space Station Research and Development Conference by NanoRacks, LLC, the leading company for space utilization. Payload TrackerTM is the first ever user-friendly tool that is specifically designed to allow customers, government officials, launch providers and others to track individual payloads through the myriad NASA safety and procedural requirements involved in launching customer project to the International Space Station.

"One of the complexities at NanoRacks as well as for everyone involved is tracking a payload once it enters the NASA system," explained Michael Johnson, NanoRacks' chief technology officer. "Payload TrackerTM was created to track step by step each of the NASA requirements, allowing all team members to immediately know the status of a given payload, where it is in the system, what modifications are required and the expected time to the next step." NanoRacks is proud of the average of nine months to launch for their customers projects and see the Payload TrackerTM as allowing this pace to be maintained and even improved upon as the backlog grows larger and more diverse.

Payload Tracker was created by the Space Software Company specifically under license to NanoRacks. Explained Chief Developer Y K Addepally "we have enjoyed working closely with NanoRacks to understand the NASA requirements. The result is an extremely robust tool that will give peace of mind and accountability through any launch provider system, whether NASA, suborbital or any space mission." Now ready for beta testing, the Payload TrackerTM will be utilized by NanoRacks and also will be available under license for use by third parties. "The era of space utilization has arrived," adds Johnson, "and a tool like Payload TrackerTM will make the process more efficient and customer- friendly. We are hopeful that everyone involved in payload integration will make use of their own custom-adapted Payload Tracker."

Use of the Program allows all the team members to know, for example, when a stem cell payload has cleared the NASA safety review phase 2 with or without required modifications. The NanoRacks team member responsible for phase 3 safety will have all the necessary information immediately. No review meetings at every stage, no crossed messages. And the owner of the payload is kept automatically informed of the status at every step. Explained Addepally, "Payload Tracker brings all the stake holders of a customer's payload together onto a single platform to manage information and exchange data for each and every step in the safety and integration process. And that's good for the overall mission."

The Platform is expected to be operational by September of 2012. Preview at http://www.payloadtracker.com.

or further information please contract Rich Pournelle at rpournelle@nanoracks.com NanoRacks LLC is the leading company for utilization of the space environment. We launched in 2009 to provide quality hardware and services for the U.S. National Laboratory onboard the International Space Station. The company operates its own research platforms onboard the U.S. National Laboratory which can house plug and play payloads using the CubeSat form factor, both inside the space station and external now as well. In the first year of operations the NanoRacks team flew over 35 payloads and currently enjoy a customer pipeline of over 60 payloads including domestic and international educational institutions, research organizations and government organizations. In the suborbital market, we are delighted that Virgin Galactic has chosen NanoRacks to design, fabricate and install research racks on the SpaceShipTwo. Visit us at http://www.nanoracks.com and follow us at @nanoracks.

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New NanoRacks' Software Platform Speeds Space Customer Payloads to International Space Station

Space Station Experiment Simulates Earth's Magma

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

Outer space seems an unlikely place to study movement beneath the Earth's surface, but an experiment that was performed on the International Space Station is helping scientists do just that.

Geoflow II, a simulation of magma movement in Earth's mantle, is helping scientists study how heat and pressure influence the behavior of molten rock, in an experiment that couldn't have been duplicated on Earth.

"The biggest problem on Earth is the gravitational acceleration. On the ISS, we have micro-gravity conditions," Florian Zaussinger, of Brandenburg University of Technology at Cottbus in Germany, explained.

The readings produced by a series of simulations in the Fluid Science Laboratory aboard the ISS are being studied by scientists on Earth. [Graphic: The International Space Station Inside and Out]

"The Earth's mantle is a very complex fluid," Zaussinger told SPACE.com by email. "We know more about the sun's interior than about our own mantle."

A tiny planet in space

The Geoflow II payload included two concentric spheres that rotated, one inside the other, with silicone oil between them to simulate the mantle. The inner sphere, which represented the Earth's core, was warmer than the "crust" sphere. As the two rotated, scientists on Earth monitored the motion of the oil caused by variations in temperature and pressure.

At the same time, a high-voltage electric field created a controlled artificial gravity for the spheres, directing it toward the common center of the spheres, as gravity on a planet would function.

The space station doesn't mimic the zero-gravity conditions of space, but it comes close. Zaussinger described the conditions as "unique and not possible in this way on Earth."

The mantle starts at 22 miles (35 kilometers) beneath the surface and can descend as deep as 1,800 miles (3,000 km). Drills have descended barely 8 miles (12 km), so scientists rely on models and calculations to understand how the mantle behaves.

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Space Station Experiment Simulates Earth's Magma

Curiosity Flight Path Slightly Adjusted By NASA

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

June 27, 2012

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com

NASA made some slight adjustments to its Mars Science Laboratorys flight path on Tuesday, ensuring its rover makes an accurate landing to the Martian site.

The one-ton rover is expected to arrive at the Red Planet on August 5, 2012, after venturing through space towards Mars since its November 26, 2011 launch.

The landing will mark the beginning of the rovers two-year prime mission to investigate whether Mars ever offered an environment favorable for microbial life.

The latest flight path adjustment is the third, and smallest, since its launch. NASA engineers burned the spacecrafts thrusters for just 40 seconds.

Spacecraft data and doppler-effect changes in radio signal from MSL indicate the maneuver was successful, according to NASA.

The maneuver adjusted the rovers location where it will enter Mars atmosphere by about 125 miles, and advances the time of entry by about 70 seconds.

This puts us closer to our entry target, so if any further maneuvers are needed, I expect them to be small, JPLs Tomas Martin-Mur, the missions navigation team chief, said in a statement.

NASA said there could be up to three additional trajectory correction maneuvers during the final eight days of flight.

Preview: 3-D Space Shuttle Movie Will Bring the Launch Pad to Your Living Room

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

If you missed the final launch of the Space Shuttle, or the first private spacecraft rendezvous with the International Space Station, fear not. A new documentary to be released late this year promises you a fiery, 3-D, launch-pad view of these historic flights.

A preview (above) of the film, Space Shuttle & The New Pioneers, was unveiled at the SETICON II conference June 22 in Santa Clara, California. The film chronicles the final days of the Space Shuttle program, from inside NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

But since executive producer David Knight felt he couldnt end the movie by saying 12,000 people were laid off, the film also follows the beginnings of the private space flight boom, as companies likeSpaceX blast up to orbit.

The movies makers are crowdsourcing some of theirfunding through the website Kickstarteruntil June 30. The film, planned for limited theatrical release, will be availableon 3-D Blu-ray, as well as 2-D high-definition DVD, and will be provided for free to educational institutions, in the hopes of exciting kids about science and technology. Wired talked with Knight at SETICON about the film and the future of manned spaceflight.

Wired: Why did you decide to make this movie?

David Knight: When we started, it was a notion that somebody ought to cover the last missions of the space shuttle program. There had been many, many documentaries that tell you what the space shuttle is and about the astronauts and the crews, but nobody was covering the end of the space shuttle program and why it was ending. It wasnt a simple answer, like Congress forgot the money. And what comes after it? It turns out a plethora of things are coming after it that arent just what SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is doing.

Early in the process I found myself standing underneath the Shuttle Discovery with Charles Bolden, the head of NASA, and I realized that there couldnt be a more important mission than getting young people excited about science and technology.

Wired: How did you first get involved in the spaceflight scene?

Knight:Back in 2003, I was visiting my parents and my brother had brought a stack of magazines. There was a copy of Wired, and on the cover was this crazy bug-eyed looking machine a thing called SpaceShipOne, developed by the famous aircraft designer Burt Rutan. Burt Rutan was building this using financing from the co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen. And they were going to compete for the $10 million AnsariX Prize.

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Preview: 3-D Space Shuttle Movie Will Bring the Launch Pad to Your Living Room

Kennedy Space Center's 50th Anniversary Celebration Includes Nod to the Past and Look to the Future

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, July 1 with a program that includes NASA officials discussing the historic spaceport and the dynamic transformation underway to support the next generation of space exploration.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120518/NY09986-a ) (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120518/NY09986LOGO-b )

Beginning the program at 2 p.m. Sunday is the panel discussion, "Kennedy Space Center: Past, Present and Future," at the Astronaut Encounter Theater. The select NASA panel is scheduled to include Carol Scott of the Program Control and Integration Office within the Commercial Crew Program, and Stu McClung of the Orion Crew/Service Module Office.

Scott will discuss how the Commercial Crew Program is facilitating commercial vehicle development and certification to enable the safe transportation of NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station and other low-Earth orbit destinations. McClung will talk about the Orion spacecraft being developed to carry astronauts farther into the solar system than ever before. On July 2, NASA is marking the arrival at Kennedy Space Center of the first space-bound Orion spacecraft.

At 3 p.m. Sunday at the visitor complex's NASA Central area, the 65-member Orlando Concert Band will present a musical salute to Kennedy Space Center with patriotic music and marches. Associate Music Director Aaron Lefkowitz will lead the band in such selections as "Armed Forces Salute," "Apollo 13," "America the Beautiful," and "The Stars and Stripes Forever."

Completing the program is Scott Bolton, principal investigator for NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter, who will take visitors on a visual journey of recent scientific discoveries made as a result of exploration of the solar system. The presentation begins at 4:30 p.m. at Exploration Space.

The 50th anniversary programming is complimentary to guests with paid admission.

"This is a great occasion for everyone who loves John F. Kennedy Space Center," said Bill Moore, chief operating officer of the visitor complex. "For 50 years, Kennedy has been the gateway to space, carrying astronauts into space aboard rockets and space shuttles, launching space exploration devices and constructing the International Space Station.

"We're celebrating the many historic achievements of the space program over the last 50 years which visitors can experience here like nowhere else plus the exciting things going on today to prepare Kennedy Space Center for commercial space flight and the Orion deep-space program," Moore said.

On July 1, 1962, the space center was officially acknowledged as an operating spaceflight center under the name Launch Operations Center. The name was later changed to John F. Kennedy Space Center in honor of the president and his vision of Americans visiting the moon.

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Kennedy Space Center's 50th Anniversary Celebration Includes Nod to the Past and Look to the Future

Northrop Grumman-Built Sunshield on James Webb Space Telescope Meets Fabrication and Test Milestones

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

The preflight test layers of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope sunshield are meeting expected performance targets during tests by engineers at Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC). The company is under contract to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., for the design and development of Webb's sunshield, telescope and spacecraft.

One of the most important test milestones was successfully met for template layer five of the tennis-court-sized sunshield that keeps the telescope cold so it can image faint infrared light. Using a laser tracking instrument and a laser radar unit, engineers carefully measured the 3-D shape of the tensioned test layer in two different orientations: face up and rotated 180 degrees so it was face down. They then compared the measurements to an analytical model that predicted how the ultra-thin material will behave in an environment close to zero gravity.

"The as-built and measured membrane was within .36 inches Root-Mean-Squared of the 3-D shape the model predicted, over an area as large as a tennis court, which is remarkable," explained Jim Flynn, Webb sunshield manager, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. "Our teammate, ManTech International, has done an outstanding job in sunshield fabrication and test. This result validates our ability to manufacture the sunshield layers to meet extremely demanding performance standards."

The sunshield membrane layers, each as thin as a human hair, are made of Kapton, a tough, high-performance plastic coated with a reflective metal. On-orbit the observatory will be pointed so that the sun, Earth and moon are always on one side, with the sunshield acting as an umbrella to shade the telescope (the mirrors and instruments) from the heat of the sun and warm spacecraft electronics. The sunshield passively cools the telescope to a temperature of -375 degrees F, which is needed to prevent the observatory's own heat from "blinding" its infrared sensing instruments.

Template layer five is the coldest layer, has the most curved shape and is closest to Webb's 21 ft. diameter primary mirror. Each sunshield layer has a slightly different 3-D shape, much like the petals of a flower. Each layer will be individually shape-tested to verify its performance on orbit. Shape testing is also under way for two of four template sunshield covers. These covers are coated with silicon to reduce launch and ascent temperatures and protect the folded sunshield layers when they are stowed in the Ariane 5 rocket. Engineers are using the template or test layers to validate processes and performance before fabricating the flight sunshield layers.

Qualification testing was also completed on the gearmotors or actuators that drive the mechanisms that unfurl the sunshield layers while Webb travels to its orbit nearly 1 million miles from Earth. These gearmotors are subjected to tough tests to simulate the effects of extreme temperature changes, vibrations, operating loads and performance over the life of the unit. There are six motors: two drive the sunshield mid-boom telescoping tubes that unfurl the sunshield horizontally out into space; two drive the spooler that opens the two shells that hold the folded layers; and two are used to create the tension that holds the layers in place. Successful completion of qualification testing for the gearmotors demonstrates the engineering design and allows flight hardware manufacturing to proceed.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's next-generation space observatory and successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. Webb will be the most powerful space telescope ever built, observing the most distant objects in the universe, providing images of the first galaxies ever formed and studying planets around distant stars. The Webb telescope is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

For more information about the Webb telescope, visit: http://www.jwst.nasa.gov.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com for more information.

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Northrop Grumman-Built Sunshield on James Webb Space Telescope Meets Fabrication and Test Milestones

Northrop Grumman-Built Sunshield on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Meets Fabrication and Test Milestones, Makes …

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

REDONDO BEACH, Calif., June 27, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The preflight test layers of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope sunshield are meeting expected performance targets during tests by engineers at Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC). The company is under contract to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., for the design and development of Webb's sunshield, telescope and spacecraft.

For more information about the Webb telescope, visit: http://www.jwst.nasa.gov.

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Northrop Grumman-Built Sunshield on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Meets Fabrication and Test Milestones, Makes ...

Adventures in microgravity: Students experiment in simulated space-flight conditions

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

ASU Dust Devil research team members (left to right) Pye Pye Zaw, Emily McBryan and Dani Hoots hold on during a flight of a modified jet that simulates space flight by creating low-gravity conditions. The team participated in a NASA flight program that provided students opportunities to perform scientific experiments requiring microgravity conditions. Photo by: Courtesy of NASA

Six Arizona State University students spent a week in June conducting airborne research in low gravity under the guidance of scientists and engineers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Theyre members of the ASU Dust Devils, one of 14 teams of students from universities throughout the United States selected from among more than 60 teams that applied to do experiments as part of NASAs Reduced Gravity Educational Flight Program.

Each of the teams projects required performing experiments in low gravity or microgravity conditions. The work was done during flights in a modified Boeing 727-200 jet used to train astronauts that is capable of creating microgravity conditions. The aircraft is sometimes called the Weightless Wonder.

Microgravity is the extremely weak gravitational force that is experienced, for example, by people in a spacecraft orbiting the Earth, enabling them to become virtually weightless and to float inside a spacecraft.

Students from the University of Southern California, Yale University, Purdue University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Virginia Polytechnic University and the University of Washington were on some of the other teams conducting the microgravity research.

From dust to solar systems

In flights over the Gulf of Mexico, the Dust Devils were looking at dust electrification and coagulation how dust particles clump together and bond in low-gravity environments.

Understanding the ways in which dust particles stick together could be important in revealing the fundamental process that allows solar systems and planets to form, says Dust Devils member Amy Kaczmarowski, who graduated in the spring with a degree in aerospace engineering from ASUs Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.

The team varied the size and composition of dust particles placed inside 12 vacuum chambers containing different combinations of particles of three materials silica, aluminum and a material believed to be similar to dust on the surface of Mars.

Sox on a roll

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

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Sox on a roll

Santorum Heads Back to Iowa to Say 'Thank You'

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

Guess who’s headed back to Iowa? Rick Santorum , the belated winner of this year’s Iowa caucuses, will be traveling back to the Hawkeye State next month to thank the voters who vaulted him to the top of the GOP primaries. Santorum will host two...

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Santorum Heads Back to Iowa to Say 'Thank You'

Toledo Red Cross volunteer heads to FL for Debby relief

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

TOLEDO, OH (Toledo News Now) Relief from Debby is on the way to Florida, all the way from the Glass City. A local Red Cross volunteer is gearing up to head out and help.

The Red Cross is deploying more than200 volunteers from around the country to help people ravished by tropical storm Debby. Frances Amison is the only person from Toledo heading down to help.

Amison will spend two weeks in Tampa serving as a staff services volunteer. She will find shelter, transportation, and make sure the needs of other volunteers areaddressed.

Tropical storm Debby has been pounding Florida for the past four days. Officials from the Red Cross said they are proud to send one of their own to give comfort and support during such a tough time.

"I'm very proud in the sense, that we're always able to send people from Toledo, Ohio, and northwest Ohio to do these things.But, by the same token, this is what we do. We continuously send volunteers out throughout the nation in response and doing things like this. We've responded for a long, long time, and we will continue to respond," said Gary Loboschefski with the American Red Cross.

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Toledo Red Cross volunteer heads to FL for Debby relief

NASA Images 7: NASA at Work – Video

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

27-06-2012 12:10 This video shows how space-derived technology is being used to benefit people on Earth. Released March 1988.

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NASA Images 7: NASA at Work - Video

NASA Images 16: NASA at Work – Video

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

27-06-2012 12:25 The video describes NASA technology that is in everyday use. Released May 1988.

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NASA Images 16: NASA at Work - Video

NASA Images 10: NASA at Work – Video

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

27-06-2012 13:34 Electric propulsion engine research from the 1960's is reviewed. Also, a 1987 look at exploring Mars. Released March 1988.

NASA Invites Social Media Fans to Behind the Scenes Look at Mars Mission

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

What do Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian and the Mars Curiosity rover have in common? Each is a Twitter celeb with its respective fan base. While Kardashian tweets missives such as "Loving my Belle Noel ankle bracelets," Curiosity informs followers of its own fashion accoutrements, such as "There's a camera on my underside that takes pics of the descent to landing site." Now followers of the ...

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NASA Invites Social Media Fans to Behind the Scenes Look at Mars Mission

Nasa cancels plan to use Utapao

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

SEAC4RS

The Nation June 28, 2012 2:14 pm

"On June 26, 2012, NASA cancelled the SEAC4RS mission, which was scheduled to begin in August 2012, due to the absence of necessary approvals by regional authorities in the timeframe necessary to support the mission's planned deployment and scientific observation window," the Nasa website announced.

Nasa's twitter site has also announced the cancellation, saying: "We have, unfortunately, had to call off this airborne science mission planned for Southeast Asia this year."

The Thai government has declined to approve Nasa's request to use Utapao and will first hold a parliamentary debate on the issue. However, the parliament will convene the next meeting on August 1, which would be too late for the Nasa to start the mission as scheduled.

The SEAC4RS or the Southeast Asia Composition, Cloud, Climate Coupling Regional Study was initially planned to be NASAs most complex and ambitious airborne science campaign of the year.

Had the plans been approved by the Thai government, the SEAC4RS would take to the field in August. The campaign was led by Brian Toon, chair of the University of Colorado's Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.

Dr Toon is a veteran of NASA airborne campaigns, including flights to study the Antarctic ozone hole and the atmospheric effects of volcanic eruptions.

Parliament President Somsak Kiartsuranon said the planned parliamentary debate on Nasa's request would be cancelled now that Nasa would no longer use Utapao.

Informed by reporters of Nasa's announcement, Somsak said he was sorry that Nasa had cancelled the project.

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Nasa cancels plan to use Utapao

NASA cancels climate study project in Thailand

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

The United States says it will not be able to carry out a major climate study this year because Thailand has delayed a decision on whether to grant the U.S. space agency permission to use a key naval air base.

NASA previews Mars Rover landing with joined up social event

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

Summary: NASA is hosting a multi center social media event across its centers in the US to preview the landing of the Mars Science Curiosity Rover on August 6th.

Credit: NASA

NASA is hosting a multi centre social media event for US citizens across its centres to preview the landing of the Mars Science Curiosity Rover on August 6th.

The event is designed to increase awareness of the landing, create buzz across social channels and to get more people interested in NASA through various social platforms.

If you follow one of NASAs social media accounts you can register for selection at one of the locations. NASA has a presence on Twitter: @MarsCuriosity, @NASA and @NASASocial, Facebook: MarsCuriosity and NASA or Google+: NASA.

If you are selected, you will be able to meet other social media NASA fans and learn about the Mars Science Laboratory mission and the respective NASA field centre.

If you do not get selected, you will still be able to follow the event via Facebook and Google+ posts and by following the hashtag #NASASocial.

The social event may also be streamed by the Jet Propulsion Lab:

Events will be held simultaneously at six NASA field centers, including:

Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.; Glenn Research Center in Cleveland Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tx. Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

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NASA previews Mars Rover landing with joined up social event

NASA Cancels Climate Study in Thailand

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

NASA's request to use Thailand's U-Tapao air base as the project's operations center has faced opposition from critics who say it could be a cover for military purposes. The base is located in Chonburi province, 190 kilometers (118 miles) southeast of Bangkok.

"It is too early to say at this time whether resources will be available to revisit the project next year," U.S. Embassy spokesman Walter Braunohler told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The project, called the "Southeast Asia Composition, Cloud, Climate Coupling Regional Study," was to use satellites, aircraft and ground missions to study how air circulation during the monsoon affects the climate and air quality in South and Southeast Asia.

Thai scientists involved in the project were skeptical that NASA would pursue its mission in Thailand next year.

"It's a great loss for Thailand to lose a vital opportunity to learn what we should know about regional climate, including floods, drought and other catastrophes," said Serm Janjai, a physics professor at Thailand's Silpakorn University involved in the project. "But what is more important is it has destroyed confidence in Thailand among the international science community. Someone has to take responsibility for this failure."

NASA said it canceled the mission Tuesday "due to the absence of necessary approvals by regional authorities in the time frame necessary to support the mission's planned deployment and scientific observation window," according to the project's website.

Thailand's Cabinet had agreed Tuesday to have lawmakers debate the issue before deciding on whether to grant permission for the project. However, Parliament does not reconvene until Aug. 1 a month after NASA's deadline for a decision.

U-Tapao was a major base for U.S. bombing missions during the Vietnam War, and some critics have charged that the NASA project is a threat to Thai sovereignty and that it might also anger China. The U.S. military has continued to use the base for refueling and as a staging area for humanitarian relief operations, including those conducted after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Myanmar's 2008 Cyclone Nargis.

The NASA project would have studied carbon emissions in the region in August and September, when regional monsoons could carry wildfire smoke from Indonesia and Malaysia north to countries such as Thailand.

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NASA Cancels Climate Study in Thailand

Frost & Sullivan: Technological Developments Offer Growth Opportunities for Microscope Market, Despite Saturation in …

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Danzig

Spending on life sciences and nanotechnology will lead to sustained industry growth

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- The need to overcome long sales cycles and the saturation of the light microscope segment represent some of the key industry challenges today within the global microscope market. Leaders in this market are overcoming this challenge by offering software-defined architectures with better statistical analysis performance capabilities that acquire a higher quality of data. Software applications are giving end-users different ways to improve complexity in sample data analysis.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.measurement.frost.com( http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/svcg.pag/AESI )), Analysis of the Microscopes Market, finds that the global microscope markets earned revenues of $3.18 billion in 2011 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.0 percent during the forecasted period between 2012 and 2018.

If you are interested in more information on this research, please send an email to Jeannette Garcia, Corporate Communications, at jeannette.garcia@frost.com( mailto:jeannette.garcia@frost.com ), with your full name, company name, job title, telephone number, company email address, company website, city, state and country.

Although the growth of the market is focused on advanced research microscopes and complex digital imaging systems, there is a large and saturated market for light microscopes with high longevity to serve traditional applications and educational use. The light microscopes longevity and saturation thus restrains growth of the market.

"The market has reached a highly saturated growth phase," said Senior Research Analyst Mariano Kimbara. "There is minimal capacity for alternative techniques in this segment within the long-term."

Nevertheless, microscope manufacturers are constantly driven to increase the performance capabilities of their products, acquire data and add new features for image processing to meet demands in emerging applications such as nanotechnology.

"A main driving factor driving demand for microscopes is the development of nanotechnology and increasing spending in life sciences," said Kimbara. "There has been a significant rise in funds allocated for characterization and synthesis of nanomaterials research."

For example, there have been significant technological advancements in the field of nanolithography. These include the analysis of nanometer structures in a wide range of dimensions related to dip pen nanolithography, electron beam direct or ultraviolet lithography, thereby creating significant demand for microscopes.

Analysis of the Microscopes Market is part of the Measurement & Instrumentation Growth Partnership Services program, which also includes research in the following markets: General Purpose Test & Equipment and Modular Instruments for Test & Measurement. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

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Frost & Sullivan: Technological Developments Offer Growth Opportunities for Microscope Market, Despite Saturation in ...

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