What is NTRS?
The NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) is an online repository containing over 4.3 million aerospace-related citations, full-text online documents, images, and videos created or funded by NASA. The types of information included are conference papers, journal articles, meeting papers, patents, research reports, images, movies, and technical videos. This vast collection of scientific and technical information (STI) is an invaluable resource for researchers, engineers, scientists, and anyone interested in space exploration and aeronautics.
The origins of the NTRS date back to the early days of aviation research. In 1915, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was established to conduct aeronautical research. From 1915 to 1958, NACA published over 133,000 technical reports detailing their research findings. When NASA was created in 1958, it took over NACA’s facilities, employees and research. NASA continued publishing its own technical reports, adding to the existing NACA collection. In 1994, NASA began scanning these technical documents for electronic dissemination via the NTRS. Today, the NTRS integrates both the NACA (1915-1958) and NASA (1958-present) collections into one searchable online database.
Content
The NTRS contains technical reports on virtually every aspect of aerospace science and technology. Major subject areas include aeronautics, astronautics, chemistry, engineering, geosciences, life sciences, mathematical and computer sciences, physics, social sciences, space sciences, and general sciences. Researchers can find reports on aerodynamics, aerospace medicine, astronomy, atmospheric science, materials science, propulsion, structures, guidance and control systems, and much more.
There are several types of technical reports in the NTRS:
- Technical Publications (TP) – Formal NASA publications including program and project reports.
- Technical Memorandums (TM) – Reports on scientific and technical findings by NASA and contractors.
- Contractor Reports (CR) – Research reports published by NASA contractors.
- Conference Publications (CP) – Papers from scientific and technical conferences.
- Technical Videos (TV) – Science and engineering videos.
- Patents (PAT) – NASA patented inventions.
In addition to technical reports, the NTRS contains images, videos, mission documentation, lessons learned, and historical materials from past NASA programs. Special collections highlight specific topic areas such as the Apollo lunar missions, NASA X-planes, and NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate reports.
Usage
The NTRS offers several ways to search the repository. Users can perform a basic keyword search across citations, abstracts and full-text. Advanced options allow searching by report type, author, date, center of publication, subject category and other filters. Boolean operators and phrase searching help refine queries. Search results display citations, abstracts, and links to download full-text PDFs where available.
Registered users affiliated with NASA can access additional content not available to the public. The complete STI collection contains over 4.3 million metadata records and over 500,000 full-text documents. NASA civil servants, contractors and grantees with a NASA Agency User Identity (AUID) and Launchpad password can authenticate to access restricted content.
Summary
The NTRS provides open access to NASA’s vast collection of aerospace STI. By maintaining this repository, NASA disseminates knowledge, expands opportunities, and advances space exploration and aeronautics research. For students, educators, researchers and anyone interested in aerospace science and technology, the NTRS is an indispensable resource.
