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Posts tagged "Flight"
michaelvthesecond: Saturn V Rocket Launching in 1968.  [Image:NASA/JPL/Caltech]

michaelvthesecond:

Saturn V Rocket Launching in 1968. 

[Image:NASA/JPL/Caltech]

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michaelveetheii:

Saturn’s Moon Mimas. Flyby photos taken by Cassini spacecraft.

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ikenbot: SpaceX Launches Private Capsule on Historic Trip to Space Station CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A private space capsule called Dragon soared into the predawn sky Tuesday, riding a pillar of flame like its beastly namesake on a history-making trip to the International Space Station. The unmanned capsule, built by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), is the first non-governmental spacecraft to launch to the space station, ushering in a new era of partnership between the public and private spaceflight programs. “I think this is an example of American entrepreneurship at its best,” said Alan Lindenmoyer, manager of NASA’s commercial crew and cargo program, in a briefing before the launch. About 100 VIP guests were on hand to witness the launch, NASA officials said.

ikenbot:

SpaceX Launches Private Capsule on Historic Trip to Space Station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A private space capsule called Dragon soared into the predawn sky Tuesday, riding a pillar of flame like its beastly namesake on a history-making trip to the International Space Station.

The unmanned capsule, built by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), is the first non-governmental spacecraft to launch to the space station, ushering in a new era of partnership between the public and private spaceflight programs.

“I think this is an example of American entrepreneurship at its best,” said Alan Lindenmoyer, manager of NASA’s commercial crew and cargo program, in a briefing before the launch. About 100 VIP guests were on hand to witness the launch, NASA officials said.

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ikenbot: Private Space Taxi Builders Ponder Future Beyond NASA Image: Dragon and Falcon 9 Second Stage, post Second Stage Separation Credit: NASA Side Note: I think spaceflight companies ought to take SpaceX as a shining example of where their heads ought to be in commercial space flights. It’d be smarter to go about it this way and look for funding outside of NASA considering our government’s space agency does not get as much support or budget raises compared to other organizations and defense budget in the U.S. Looking for outside help, commercializing a large portion of space exploration and incorporating a lot of research into the preparation and actual flights seems more feasible when you consider the severe lack of funding in NASA. The private spaceflight company SpaceX is poised to launch a robotic capsule toward the International Space Station Saturday (May 19) on a test flight that, if successful, could be a watershed moment for the commercial space industry. But while SpaceX has a NASA contract to provide cargo deliveries to the space station, the company and other private spaceship developers are looking to a future beyond NASA funding. The Hawthorne, Calif.-based SpaceX is one of several aerospace firms who are competing for NASA funding under the third and final phase of NASA’s commercial crew development program. Proposals for this stage of the competition, called Commercial Crew integrated Capability(CCiCap), require companies to present a complete launch system — rocket and vehicle — for consideration. SpaceX intends to use a version of its current cargo ship, the robotic Dragon capsule,to fly up to seven passengers to the International Space Station and other destinations in low-Earth orbit. The spacecraft will launch atop the company’s own Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Private spaceships of tomorrow SpaceX isn’t alone in the private spaceship game. The company is facing some stiff competition from other aerospace firms, including Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corp. NASA is expected to announce at least two recipients for CCiCap funding awards in August. Some of the contenders have said they intend to forge ahead with the development of their spacecraft regardless of whether they receive NASA funding or not. Continue..

ikenbot:

Private Space Taxi Builders Ponder Future Beyond NASA

Image: Dragon and Falcon 9 Second Stage, post Second Stage Separation Credit: NASA

Side Note: I think spaceflight companies ought to take SpaceX as a shining example of where their heads ought to be in commercial space flights. It’d be smarter to go about it this way and look for funding outside of NASA considering our government’s space agency does not get as much support or budget raises compared to other organizations and defense budget in the U.S. Looking for outside help, commercializing a large portion of space exploration and incorporating a lot of research into the preparation and actual flights seems more feasible when you consider the severe lack of funding in NASA.

The private spaceflight company SpaceX is poised to launch a robotic capsule toward the International Space Station Saturday (May 19) on a test flight that, if successful, could be a watershed moment for the commercial space industry.

But while SpaceX has a NASA contract to provide cargo deliveries to the space station, the company and other private spaceship developers are looking to a future beyond NASA funding.

The Hawthorne, Calif.-based SpaceX is one of several aerospace firms who are competing for NASA funding under the third and final phase of NASA’s commercial crew development program. Proposals for this stage of the competition, called Commercial Crew integrated Capability(CCiCap), require companies to present a complete launch system — rocket and vehicle — for consideration.

SpaceX intends to use a version of its current cargo ship, the robotic Dragon capsule,to fly up to seven passengers to the International Space Station and other destinations in low-Earth orbit. The spacecraft will launch atop the company’s own Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Private spaceships of tomorrow

SpaceX isn’t alone in the private spaceship game. The company is facing some stiff competition from other aerospace firms, including Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corp. NASA is expected to announce at least two recipients for CCiCap funding awards in August.

Some of the contenders have said they intend to forge ahead with the development of their spacecraft regardless of whether they receive NASA funding or not.

Continue..

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dailyfossil:

Quetzalcoatlus - the largest pterosaur 

When: Late Cretaceous (68-65 million years ago)

Where: North America

What: Quetzalcoatlus is a gigantic pterosaur. Just how gigantic it was has been the subject of some debate, as no 100% complete specimen has been found. While the first estimates put its wingspan at up to 50 feet (16 meters) this has been reduced to 36 feet (11 meters) in the latest studies. The reason for this disparity is due to allometry - the physical properties of bones require that as an animal gets larger its skeletal structure is not just that of a smaller animal made larger. Thus the wing bones of Quetzalcoatlus were relatively thicker than that of a smaller species, and while this was taken into account in the first estimates, it took a better understanding of pterosaur evolution in general for a refined estimate to be generated. 

This large size brings with it another debate: could Quetzalcoatlus fly? The answer is yes, this pterosaur sailed over prehistoric Texas. A big mystery was how Quetzalcoatlus could take off, and recent work by functional morphologists has provided a solution to this puzzle. Pterosaurs differed from all other flying vertebrates in that they retained the majority of the digits on their hand outside of the wing itself; this not only allowed these fingers to be used to manipulate their environment, but was critical for terrestrial locomotion. Quetzalcoatlus was quadrupedal on the ground, like all other pterosaurs, but it had a specially developed system of ligaments and tendons in its wrist joint that allowed it to ‘spring’ up and take flight.  This can be seen in this video.  

Another, more minor, debate is what did Quetzalcoatlus eat? Most pterosaurs are closely associated with large bodies of water and have a fish based diet - but all Quetzalcoatlus remains have been found hundres of miles from ancient shorelines. This, combined with morphology of the skull, has lead to the conclusion that these giants instead fed on smaller vertebrate that they would capture with their large beaks, such as the baby sauropod not having a good day in one of the reconstructions above. 

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jtotheizzoe:

Next stop on our Amazing Journeys: Did you ever wish, like me, that you could explore our planet from above? I think it’s kinda sad that no one will ever get to journey from Earth inside the Space Shuttle ever again.

This is what it would have been like to sit in the cockpit.

Step inside the flight deck of the shuttle Discovery and click through for an interactive 360 degree tour.

What will the flight deck of tomorrow’s spacecraft look like?

(images by 360VR.com)

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The DARPA Falcon HTV-2 Hypersonic Aircraft [Prototype]

Stil in its early forms: DARPA’s Falcon HTV-2 hypersonic aircraft launches today, does New York to LA in 12 minutes

Credit: DARPA

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After Record-Making Flight, The Jetpack Will Soon Be on Sale James Bond fans rejoice, for it looks like your fantasy of reenacting the spiffy exits the famed spy detective would execute is now in technology’s hand, and on the market for a price-tag of $100,000 In May, inventor Glenn Martin—along with fire-rescue officers and crews on board a pair of chase helicopters—watched as his jetpack flew for nine minutes and 43 seconds, soaring 3,500 feet into the New Zealand sky. Had the machine been holding a live person instead of a 150-pound dummy, it would have smashed the record for the longest and highest jetpack flight ever. Every other such device in history has managed to be airborne for, at most, only a minute or two. But Martin was out to do more than set records with his demonstration. He wanted to prove that his design was safe enough to become the first commercial jetpack—one anyone could buy and fly.

After Record-Making Flight, The Jetpack Will Soon Be on Sale

James Bond fans rejoice, for it looks like your fantasy of reenacting the spiffy exits the famed spy detective would execute is now in technology’s hand, and on the market for a price-tag of $100,000

In May, inventor Glenn Martin—along with fire-rescue officers and crews on board a pair of chase helicopters—watched as his jetpack flew for nine minutes and 43 seconds, soaring 3,500 feet into the New Zealand sky. Had the machine been holding a live person instead of a 150-pound dummy, it would have smashed the record for the longest and highest jetpack flight ever. Every other such device in history has managed to be airborne for, at most, only a minute or two. But Martin was out to do more than set records with his demonstration. He wanted to prove that his design was safe enough to become the first commercial jetpack—one anyone could buy and fly.

(via ikenbot)

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