Aviation/Space

Life on Mars to become a reality in 2023 according to Dutch firm

"A few months before he died, Carl Sagan recorded a message of hope to would-be Mars explorers, telling them: 'Whatever the reason you’re on Mars is, I’m glad you’re there. And I wish I was with you.' On Monday, 17 years after the pioneering astronomer set out his hopeful vision of the future in 1996, a company from the Netherlands is proposing to turn Sagan’s dreams of reaching Mars into reality. The company, Mars One, plans to send four astronauts on a trip to the Red Planet to set up a human colony in 2023. But there are a couple of serious snags." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLife on Mars to become a reality in 2023 according to Dutch firm

Swiss solar-powered plane to make first cross-US flight

"An innovative solar-powered aircraft is set to launch Friday from California on a flight across the United States, the first of its kind aiming to showcase what is possible without fossil fuels. The experimental Solar Impulse plane -- with the wingspan of a Boeing 747 but the weight of a small car -- bears 12,000 solar cells. By day, the cells power the plane's electric motors while also charging batteries, so the plane, unlike other solar aircraft, can keep flying all night. The project was launched more than a decade ago, after inveterate adventurer Bertrand Piccard, 54, nearly ran out of fuel on his historic non-stop round-the-world balloon flight." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSwiss solar-powered plane to make first cross-US flight

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo makes first powered flight

"The spaceplane being developed by UK billionaire Sir Richard Branson has made its first powered flight. The vehicle was dropped from a carrier aircraft high above California's Mojave Desert and ignited its rocket engine to go supersonic for a few seconds. Sir Richard's intention is to use the spaceship to carry fare-paying passengers on short pleasure rides above the Earth's atmosphere. His company Virgin Galactic has already taken hundreds of deposits." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVirgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo makes first powered flight

Privatization Is the Best Response to FAA Deliberately Inconveniencing Air Passengers

"The sequester cuts about $637 million from the FAA, which is less than 4% of its $15.9 billion 2012 budget, and it limits the agency to what it spent in 2010. The White House decided to translate this 4% cut that it has the legal discretion to avoid into a 10% cut for air traffic controllers. Though controllers will be furloughed for one of every 10 working days, four of every 10 flights won’t arrive on time. ... To run smoothly and efficiently, our ATC system should be given independence from the government. We should privatize the system, as Canada has done very successfully. Unlike the U.S. system, Nav Canada is self-supporting and not subsidized." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrivatization Is the Best Response to FAA Deliberately Inconveniencing Air Passengers

JFK passenger detained by TSA after talking about ‘bomb’ sandwich

"Airport officials detained a traveler who mentioned an explosive device at JFK — only to discover he was actually talking about food referred to as The Bomb, TSA sources said. Jason Michael Cruz, 29, was on an escalator in Terminal 7 Thursday when a TSA officer overheard him tell a friend he 'had the wrong kind of bomb' just after 1 p.m. Officials ushered Cruz and his friend, Matthew Okumoto, to a holding area, where they learned the pair was talking about a sandwich called The Bomb, airport officials said. TSA officers held the pair until airport cops arrived, causing Cruz to miss his Los Angeles-bound flight." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJFK passenger detained by TSA after talking about ‘bomb’ sandwich

Sun Storm Forecast: Tiny Chance of Havoc

"It was the biggest geomagnetic storm in recorded history. The Sun hurled billions of tons of electrons and protons whizzing toward Earth, and when those particles slammed into the planet’s magnetic field they created spectacular auroras of red, green and purple in the night skies — along with powerful currents of electricity that flowed out of the ground into the wires, overloading the circuits. Scientists say it is impossible to predict when the next monster solar storm will erupt and whether Earth will lie in its path. What they do know is that with more sunspots come more storms, and this fall the Sun is set to reach the crest of its 11-year sunspot cycle." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSun Storm Forecast: Tiny Chance of Havoc

Ecuador announces plans to launch first two satellites into space

"Ecuador will launch its first satellite into space from China in two weeks, President Rafael Correa announced Saturday. 'It’s not a satellite bought in another country, it’s a satellite made in Ecuador,' Correa said proudly during his weekly address of the homegrown engineering team. The 'Pegaso' (pegasus) nanosatellite will be launched from China aboard an unmanned rocket at 0513 GMT on April 26. Measuring just 10 by 10 by 75 centimeters (four by four by 30 inches), and weighing 1.2 kilograms (2.6 pounds), Pegaso will beam live video images back to Earth from an onboard camera. The Ecuadoran Space Agency plans a second satellite launch in July." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEcuador announces plans to launch first two satellites into space

Swiss Space Systems aims for low-cost satellite service

"A new Swiss-based company said Thursday it would offer low-cost satellite launches which it claims could be a quarter of current market rates. Swiss Space Systems-S3 said its goal was to offer launches for 10 million Swiss francs (8.1 million euros, $10.5 million) using unmanned suborbital spaceplanes that could carry satellites weighing up to 250 kilos (550 pounds). The company said it planned to open such a spaceport by 2015 at the Payerne airfield in western Switzerland, which has already been used by the Solar Pulse sun-powered aircraft of Swiss astronaut Bertrand Piccard." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSwiss Space Systems aims for low-cost satellite service

Swiss solar-power plane set for trans-US flight

"The experimental Solar Impulse plane, which has made several trips since its maiden flight in 2009, will take off on May 1st on a transcontinental tour split in five stages. 'We are ready to do this flight across America,' said Solar Impulse co-founder Andre Borschberg during a press conference at a hangar in Mountain View, near San Francisco. A non-stop flight would take approximately three days travelling at the aircraft's cruising speed of around 43 miles (70 kilometres) per hour. 'We have limited ourselves to fly a duration maximum of 24 hours,' said Borschberg, who will share the piloting duties with Solar Impulse president Bertrand Piccard." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSwiss solar-power plane set for trans-US flight

Is Virgin Galactic ready for powered flight?

"SpaceShipTwo (SS2) performed a 10.8-minute glide flight April 12 in the skies above the Mojave Air and Space Port in California, the second such flight in as many weeks. This flight was distinguished by a 'cold flow' test of the SS2′s propulsion system, where nitrous oxide flowed through the rocket engine and out the nozzle, creating a distinctive contrail. 'As well as providing further qualifying evidence that the rocket system is flight ready, the test also provided a stunning spectacle due to the oxidizer contrail and for the first time gave a taste of what SpaceShipTwo will look like as it powers to space,' Virgin Galactic noted in a statement." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs Virgin Galactic ready for powered flight?