Barriers to UAVs in US airspace
Washington DC (SPX) Jun 09, 2014 -
While civil aviation is on the threshold of potentially revolutionary changes with the emergence of increasingly autonomous unmanned aircraft, these new systems pose serious questions about how they will be safely and efficiently integrated into the existing civil aviation structure, says a new report from the National Research Council.
The report identifies key barriers and provides a res ...
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DARPA Z-Man Program Demonstrates Human Climbing Like Geckos
Washington DC (SPX) Jun 09, 2014 -
DARPA's Z-Man program has demonstrated the first known human climbing of a glass wall using climbing devices inspired by geckos. The historic ascent involved a 218-pound climber ascending and descending 25 feet of glass, while also carrying an additional 50-pound load in one trial, with no climbing equipment other than a pair of hand-held, gecko-inspired paddles.
The novel polymer microstr ...
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New evidence supporting moon formation via collision of 2 planets
Oxford, UK (SPX) Jun 09, 2014 -
A new series of measurements of oxygen isotopes provides increasing evidence that the Moon formed from the collision of the Earth with another large, planet-sized astronomical body, around 4.5 billion years ago. This work will be published in Science* on 6th June, and will be presented to the Goldschmidt geochemistry conference in California on 11th June.
Most planetary scientists believe ...
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Russian Carrier Rockets to Send Six Satellites into Orbit
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Jun 09, 2014 -
Russia is preparing to launch a group of Soyuz-ST carrier rockets of various payloads from the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Kourou space center in French Guiana in June and July of this year, according a RIA Novosti source in the Russian space agency.
"The cluster launch of a Soyuz-ST, with a Fregat-MT upper stage, and four scientific satellites is set for July 10. Another Russian Soyuz-S ...
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Next ATV transferred to Final Assembly Building at Kourou
Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) Jun 09, 2014 -
Arianespace has taken delivery of the Ariane 5 for its launch of Europe's fifth Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) following the heavy-lift workhorse's roll-out from the Spaceport's Launcher Integration Building to its Final Assembly Building in French Guiana.
This transfer from industrial prime contractor Airbus Defence and Space to Arianespace followed completion of the Ariane 5's initial ...
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Orion Ready To Feel The Heat
Kennedy Space Center FL (SPX) Jun 09, 2014 -
NASA and Lockheed Martin engineers have installed the largest heat shield ever constructed on the crew module of the agency's Orion spacecraft. The work marks a major milestone on the path toward the spacecraft's first launch in December.
"It is extremely exciting to see the heat shield in place, ready to do its job," said Mark Geyer, Orion Program manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center in ...
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US may lose 'star wars' to Russia
Moscow (Voice of Russia) Jun 03, 2014 -
Cooperation with private firms will benefit the US space industry but cannot replace cooperation with Russia. Washington risks seeing its space projects hit hard if it abandons cooperation with Moscow, Bloomberg says.
NASA has been actively promoting commercial projects to develop new-generation space rockets, supply vehicles and spaceships capable of carrying astronauts to low-Earth orbit ...
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