Military & Aerospace
Clock Oscillator Offers Ultra Low Phase Noise
May 22, 2012 11:26 am | Products | CommentsCrystek Corporation’s Ultra-Low Phase Noise CCHD-950 Series HCMOS Clock Oscillator pushes the phase noise performance benchmark with a -168 dBc/Hz noise floor (100 MHz model).
Sensors monitor vibration for a variety of commercial applications
May 19, 2012 11:06 am | Products | CommentsSeries 961/960-TX sensors from Columbia Research Labs are designed specifically to monitor vibration generated by military and commercial helicopter engines, transmissions, and airframes. The model 961, single axis, and each sensor in the Model 960-TX, triaxial, feature
Commercial rocket will fly to the space station
May 18, 2012 9:19 am | by MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer | News | CommentsFor the first time, a private company will launch a rocket to the International Space Station, sending it on a grocery run this weekend that could be the shape of things to come for America's space program. If this unmanned flight and others like it succeed, commercial spacecraft could be ferrying astronauts to the orbiting outpost within five years.
‘The Rocket Man’ greets the ‘Rocket Men’
May 17, 2012 11:21 am | News | CommentsContinuing the celebration of André Kuipers’ music in space, British rock legend Sir Elton John sent a special message to ESA, André and the crew of the ISS on the 40th anniversary of his classic song ‘Rocket Man’. The accompanying video was recorded during Sir Elton’s Million Dollar Piano Show in Las Vegas, on 17 April, 40 years to the day after his single Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long Long Time) was released around the world.
Liquid-level reed sensors ideal for industrial and home applications
May 17, 2012 8:52 am | Products | CommentsMEDER electronic offers a complete line of liquid level reed sensors, ideal for use in laboratory fluid systems, automotive fluid sensing, aerospace and marine fuel level sensors, as well as a myriad of industrial uses, electrical equipment, and home appliances. MEDER recently launched a product training module on Digikey.com to help users make the best use of liquid level sensors.
Three-man Soyuz crew departs for space station
May 15, 2012 9:13 am | by PETER LEONARD, Associated Press | News | CommentsA three-man crew blasted off from a space center in southern Kazakhstan Tuesday morning on board a Russian-made Soyuz craft for a four-and-half-month stay at the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Joseph Acaba and Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin set off from the Baikonur facility as scheduled at 9:01 a.m. local time (0301 GMT).
Shuttle rocket-builder vying for NASA space taxi work
May 10, 2012 12:45 pm | by Irene Klotz, Reuters | News | CommentsTwo of NASA's prime contractors are teaming with Europe's Astrium to develop a commercial space taxi built from shuttle heritage booster rockets and a prototype NASA spaceship originally designed as an alternative to the deep-space Orion capsule, the companies announced on Wednesday.
U.S. downs test missile with new interceptor
May 10, 2012 12:42 pm | by Jim Wolf, Reuters | News | CommentsU.S. forces said they had destroyed a target in the first successful test of the Navy's newest anti-missile interceptor, designed to protect allies from attacks by countries like North Korea and Iran. A target ballistic missile was downed near Hawaii late on Wednesday by the latest Raytheon Co-built Standard Missile-3 interceptor, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency (MDA) said.
U.S. military embraces robots with greater autonomy
May 9, 2012 12:31 pm | by David Alexander, Reuters | News | CommentsThe unattended steering wheel on the 15-ton military truck jerked sharply back and forth as the vehicle's huge tires bounced down a rain-scarred ravine through mounds of mine rubble on a rugged hillside near Pittsburgh. Oshkosh Corp engineer Noah Zych, perched in the driver's seat, kept his hands in his lap and away from the gyrating wheel as the vehicle reached the bottom of the slope and slammed into a puddle, coating the windshield in a blinding sheet of mud.
"Made in space" coming soon to a product near you
May 4, 2012 1:01 pm | by Chris Wickham, Reuters | News | CommentsThe European Space Agency is hatching plans for a branding campaign aimed at making people more aware of the benefits of spending their hard-earned taxes on the International Space Station (ISS). The list of products and technologies that have their roots in space research is long...
Lockheed wins contract to run U.S. cyber crime lab
May 4, 2012 9:02 am | News | CommentsLockheed Martin Corp on Thursday said it had won a contract worth up to $454 million to support the Pentagon's Cyber Crime Center, a government facility that investigates the growing number of attacks on U.S. government networks. Lockheed beat out General Dynamics Corp, which previously ran the center, to win the contract in January, but the award was held up by a protest filed with the General Accountability Office.
Yoga for jets: why planemakers prefer bent wingtips
May 3, 2012 9:03 am | by Kyle Peterson and Tim Hepher, Reuters | News | CommentsThere are, so the industry saying goes, only three secrets in the commercial airplane business: the selling price, the production cost and the shape of the wing. Boeing and Airbus are testing that proverb to the limits as they squeeze improvements out of the wings of their most popular jets to make them more aerodynamic...
500-Watt AC-DC supplies feature high efficiency, low weight for use in harsh environments
May 2, 2012 10:40 am | Products | CommentsIn order to meet customer demand for higher power output and greater reliability in a compact, lightweight design able to handle harsh environmental conditions, Abbott Technologies has added a new 500-Watt AC-DC model to its highly successful power supply product line.
Follow online: International Space Station symposium in Berlin
May 1, 2012 2:09 pm | News | CommentsSenior scientists and heads of the five International Space Station partners will present ground-breaking research and discuss future projects in Berlin on 2–4 May. Follow the first International Space Station symposium live on the web through its dedicated website.
Icy Alpine caves setting for Mars mission tests
May 1, 2012 1:59 pm | News | CommentsScientists were out of this world on Tuesday about tests in icy Alpine caves of the technology needed for a mission to Mars one day. "We have learned an infinite amount in the past three days," project leader Gernot Groemer from the Austrian Space Forum said of the 11-nation field test in the Dachstein region near Salzburg.
Space shuttle Enterprise lands in New York atop jet
April 27, 2012 2:05 pm | by Thomas Zambito, Reuters | News | CommentsThe space shuttle Enterprise flew to New York from Washington on Friday piggybacked atop a Boeing 747, making a dramatic flight along the Hudson River past the Statue of Liberty to the delight of observers. En route to John F. Kennedy International Airport, the retired shuttle flew at low altitude along the river, giving residents of New York and New Jersey an extraordinary view of the craft.
First Mars Express gravity results plot volcanic history
April 27, 2012 1:25 pm | News | CommentsFive years of Mars Express gravity mapping data are providing unique insights into what lies beneath the Red Planet’s largest volcanoes. The results show that the lava grew denser over time and that the thickness of the planet's rigid outer layers varies across the Tharsis region.
China's space know-how said threat to U.S., Taiwan
April 27, 2012 11:43 am | by Jim Wolf, Reuters | News | CommentsChina's growing capabilities in space could undercut any U.S. military response if Beijing resorted to force to bring self-ruled Taiwan into its fold, a study released Friday by a congressionally mandated U.S. commission said.
Losing the space race ex post facto
April 26, 2012 11:27 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsThe United States is conceding the space race...43 years after winning it. The Space Shuttle's ignominious retirement closes the door on an engineering marvel and an American institution. And the public didn’t bat an eyelash. How did we get to this point? How did space travel become blasé?
Army tactical communication network organization reflects on its rich history
April 24, 2012 3:54 pm | by Project Manager Warfighter Information Network-Tactical, www.army.mil | News | CommentsAs the parent organization of Project Manager Warfighter Information Network-Tactical celebrates its 25th anniversary this month, PM WIN-T reflects back on its own history, with roots in early satellite development that date back more than 60 years.
SpaceX delays its trip to space station
April 24, 2012 12:39 pm | by Irene Klotz, Reuters | News | CommentsSpace Exploration Technologies, a privately held firm founded and run by entrepreneur Elon Musk, is delaying its trial cargo run to the International Space Station, Musk announced Monday. "Am pushing launch back approximately a week to do more testing on Dragon docking code. New date pending coordination with NASA," Musk said in a Twitter post.
17-micron thermal sensor with standard serial link simplifies IR camera designs
April 24, 2012 9:22 am | Products | CommentsULIS announces today the launch of Pico384E, a new 17-micron pixel size thermal sensor with I2C, the standard Inter-Integrated Circuit link used in many of today’s electronic devices. I2C makes IR sensors compatible with the large-scale production processes used in visible cameras.
ATCA chassis offers 50% more computing density, AC power
April 20, 2012 9:59 am | Products | CommentsPixus Technologies has introduced a new 6U AdvancedTCA (ATCA) SlotSaver Shelf that gains 2 slots of payload card usage, along with AC power. The density, full redundancy, and versatile power configuration is well suited for telecom, military/aerospace, and high-end networking/computing applications.
VCO operates from 2558 MHz to 2575 MHz
April 10, 2012 10:58 am | Products | CommentsCrystek's CVCO55CC-2558-2575 VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) operates from 2558 MHz to 2575 MHz with a control voltage range of 0.3 V to 4.7 V. This VCO features a typical phase noise of -120 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz offset and has
Earth, this is Space Station, do you hear me?
April 10, 2012 10:48 am | News | CommentsAre you following Andre Kuipers' mission through his blog, Twitter or Flickr? Astronauts are sharing the privilege of being in space with the people back at home via social media. Communication with space stations has not always been so easy.
