Military & Aerospace
Satellite imagery of Typhoon Prapiroon over Japan
October 16, 2012 1:01 pm | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsTyphoon Prapiroon has been meandering in the western North Pacific Ocean over the weekend of Oct. 13 and 14, and NASA's TRMM satellite was able to identify where the strongest rainfall was occurring in the storm. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite passed directly above...
High-brightness LED backlights intended for sunlight readable displays
October 15, 2012 9:51 am | Product Releases | CommentsGlobal Lighting Technologies (GLT) has introduced new high-brightness backlight solutions for high-efficiency sunlight-readable displays. GLT can design and build the new high brightness light guides in different sizes – e.g., 5-, 7-, 9- and 12-inch diagonal – to fit the customer’s requirements.
NASA's Mars rover finds rock with Earth-like chemistry
October 12, 2012 8:43 am | by Irene Klotz, Reuters | News | CommentsWhen scientists selected a rock to test the Mars rover Curiosity's laser, they expected it to contain the same minerals as rocks found elsewhere on the Red Planet, but learned instead it was more similar to a rock found on Earth. The rock was chemically more akin to an unusual type of rock found on oceanic islands
From space to the LA streets: Shuttle's last trip
October 12, 2012 8:41 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThink launching a space shuttle is hard? Try moving it through a metropolis.Early Friday, shuttle Endeavour begins a 12-mile journey from the Los Angeles International Airport to the California Science Center where it will be the centerpiece of a new exhibit.To prepare for the two-day move, an army of workers cut down hundreds of trees,
SpaceX rocket glitch puts satellite in wrong orbit
October 11, 2012 10:31 am | by Irene Klotz, Reuters | News | CommentsA prototype communications satellite flying as a secondary payload aboard a Space Exploration Technologies Falcon 9 rocket was sent into the wrong orbit because of a problem during launch Sunday evening, officials said Tuesday. One of the nine Merlin engines powering the Falcon 9 rocket shut down early...
What to look for in relays for space applications
October 11, 2012 9:34 am | by Karl Kitts, Engineering Director, High Performance Relays, TE Connectivity | Articles | CommentsWhen NASA’s Curiosity rover made a perfect landing in Gale Crater of Mars, it was 150 million miles from the nearest repairman. Every component has to operate reliably to support the vehicle’s expected operation life of 98 weeks—or one Martian year. Specifying a relay for space obviously involves finding a compact, lightweight device that meets electrical needs.
Improving nanometer-scale manufacturing with infrared spectroscopy
October 11, 2012 9:03 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsOne of the key achievements of the nanotechnology era is the development of manufacturing technologies that can fabricate nanostructures formed from multiple materials. Such nanometer-scale integration of composite materials has enabled innovations in electronic devices, solar cells, and medical diagnostics.
ONR looks to lighten the load for Marines
October 11, 2012 9:00 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsMarking a return to its high-mobility, high-tempo expeditionary roots, the Marine Corps is focused on the need to "Lighten the Load" for the warfighter—and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) is putting heavy effort into innovative new technologies that will help. The Corps-wide vision goes
Astronomers discover unimaginably large diamond in space
October 11, 2012 8:58 am | by Chris Wickham, Reuters | News | CommentsAstronomers have discovered a planet twice the size of Earth made largely out of diamond which is orbiting a star that is visible with the naked eye.The rocky planet, called '55 Cancri e', orbits a sun-like star 40 light years away in the constellation of Cancer and is moving so fast that a year there lasts a mere 18 hours.
What equipment do you need to skydive from 120,000 feet?
October 11, 2012 8:54 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsBy this point, you’ve probably heard that Felix Baumgartner is planning to skydive from 120,000 feet above the earth. For the record, that’s about 23 miles from solid ground. The jump was originally supposed to happen on October 9, but because of 14 mph wind speeds—they needed speeds of less than 2 mph to jump safely
Laser pointer identifies dangerous chemicals in real-time
October 10, 2012 12:02 pm | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsBy using an ordinary green laser pointer, the kind commonly found in offices and college lecture halls, an Israeli research team has developed a new and highly portable Raman spectrometer that can detect extremely minute traces of hazardous chemicals in real time...
The evolution of product design tools
October 9, 2012 4:58 pm | by Engineering.com | Videos | CommentsProduct concept design tools have come a long way from hand sketches. Even proper drafting rules made a big difference, and so have computer design tools. Now designers are using social media to bring consumer interaction into the concept stage of product design.
October 2012: Intelligent Systems
October 9, 2012 11:57 am | Digital Editions | CommentsIn the October issue of ECN, Technical Editor Jason Lomberg pontificates about the Navy’s controversial “Great Green Fleet” initiative, Executive Editor discusses smart cars receiving a higher education, and our contributors write about intelligent systems.
Skydiver's supersonic jump on weather hold
October 9, 2012 8:36 am | by JERI CLAUSING Associated Press | News | CommentsPlans for extreme athlete and skydiver Felix Baumgartner to make a death-defying, 23-mile free fall into the southeastern New Mexico desert were on hold Tuesday morning due to winds, but his team was still hoping the weather would clear after sunrise in time to make the jump.
NASA to upgrade vital communications link
October 8, 2012 12:56 pm | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsTechnicians and engineers are completing final system checks and spacecraft inspections on the first of NASA's third-generation Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS). Boeing Space Systems will ship TDRS-K from its satellite assembly facility in El Segundo, Calif., to Cape Canaveral, Fla., in November.
What’s the worst that could happen? RF communication disasters
October 8, 2012 11:07 am | by Michael Clonts, Product Manager, RT Logic | Articles | CommentsThe morning of December 4, 2011 began normally for the team of Air Force technicians. As they settled into their shift flying unmanned aircraft over Afghanistan, perhaps they chatted casually and swapped stories from the weekend. Very soon, however, their conversations were interrupted by shrill alarm sirens blaring from their control monitors.
SpaceX rocket blasts off for space station
October 8, 2012 8:58 am | by Irene Klotz, Reuters | News | CommentsAn unmanned, privately owned Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo capsule blasted off from Cape Canaveral on Sunday on a mission to restore a U.S. supply line to the International Space Station after the retirement of the space shuttle.
Lost in migration: Earth's magnetic field overdue a flip
October 5, 2012 12:53 pm | by Chris Wickham, Reuters | News | CommentsThe discovery by NASA rover Curiosity of evidence that water once flowed on Mars - the most Earth-like planet in the solar system - should intensify interest in what the future could hold for mankind. The only thing stopping Earth having a lifeless environment like Mars is the magnetic field that shields us from deadly solar radiation...
Scientists tune into blue whale songs with defense technology
October 5, 2012 12:50 pm | News | CommentsAustralian scientists are using military technology for locating submarines to track rare blue whales hundreds of kilometers away by eavesdropping on their distinctive songs. Blue whales can communicate with each other over an entire ocean basin by emitting low frequency sounds, or deep songs.
Uppsala researchers looking for life outside our solar system
October 5, 2012 12:28 pm | by EurekAlert! | News | CommentsAstronomers at Uppsala University in Sweden will receive a grant of more than SEK 23 million from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation to search and analyse atmospheres surrounding earth-like exoplanets. Ultimately these researchers hope to find traces of life on these planets.
Far, far beyond wrist radios
October 5, 2012 8:41 am | by Eurekalert! | News | CommentsTo believe that technologies once dreamed of in science fiction novels, television shows, and comic strips may one day be a reality, or that real-world technologies might make the fantastic devices of fiction obsolete, you'd need to be either an optimist…or a futurist in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)'s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T).
Robert Christy, Manhattan Project physicist, dies
October 5, 2012 8:38 am | by SHAYA TAYEFE MOHAJER Associated Press | News | CommentsRobert F. Christy, a former California Institute of Technology professor who helped design the trigger mechanism for the atomic bombs used in World War II, died Wednesday. He was 96. Christy died of natural causes at his home in Pasadena, surrounded by his family, according to Caltech spokeswoman Deborah Williams-Hedges.
Protection against counterfeit product issues for military programs
October 3, 2012 3:22 pm | by Michael Sarpa, e2v | Articles | CommentsCounterfeit material in the semiconductor supply chain is increasingly problematic for the military and aerospace community. With the immense costs and significant program delays inherent in a system redesign, military program managers search high and low for parts to meet the original specification requirements...
Earth is singing like a whale, says NASA - Hear it now
October 3, 2012 3:04 pm | by Chris Taylor | News | CommentsNeed some soothing sounds to put your Wednesday blues in perspective? We’ve got you covered. Grab your headphones and check out this hot new MP3 track from NASA, currently the number one hit across the universe: That’s the sound of the Earth “singing,” as recorded by the awesomely-named Storm Probe mission
Unmanned aerial vehicles define and challenge new interconnect requirements
October 3, 2012 12:21 pm | by Stephen Johnson, Hypertronics Corporation, www.hypertronics.com | Articles | CommentsIn recent years, unmanned vehicles, be they the Predator Drones that we watch on the evening news letting loose with pinpoint-precision Hellfire Missiles that take out enemy targets from high above the earth, a bomb-detecting/disposal ground vehicle that keeps soldiers and law enforcement people out of harm's way...
