Engineers build world's smallest, fastest nanomotor
Austin TX (SPX) May 22, 2014 -
Researchers at the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin have built the smallest, fastest and longest-running tiny synthetic motor to date. The team's nanomotor is an important step toward developing miniature machines that could one day move through the body to administer insulin for diabetics when needed, or target and treat cancer cells without harming good cells ...
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The U.S. Navy has contracted Harris Corporation for next-gen radios
Melbourne, Fla. (UPI) May 22, 2013 -
Harris Corporation reports it will begin delivering its Falcon III Multi-channel Manpack tactical radio to the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command this fall.
Delivery of the system comes under an initial order for the next-generation system, which Harris calls the smallest, lightest and most capable two-channel manpack radio available on the market.
"The new Harris Multi-channel M ...
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Greensmith to integrate 4 battery types in 2014 for over 23mW of storage
Rockville MD (SPX) May 22, 2014 -
Greensmith has announced it is on track to successfully integrate an additional 4 new battery types in 2014, bringing the company's total since inception to 12 using its battery-agnostic technology platform, now in its fourth generation.
With over 23mW of energy storage capacity to be deployed in 2014, Greensmith continues its rapid growth by serving an expanding list of strategic customer ...
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New lithium battery created in Japan
Washington DC (SPX) May 22, 2014 -
The long life of lithium ion batteries makes them the rechargeable of choice for everything from implantable medical devices to wearable consumer electronics. But lithium ion batteries rely on liquid chemistries involving lithium salts dissolved in organic solvents, creating flame risks that would be avoided if the cells were completely solid-state.
Now a team of researchers at Tohoku Univ ...
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Water caged in buckyballs
Washington DC (SPX) May 22, 2014 -
In a new paper in the Journal of Chemical Physics, produced by AIP Publishing, a research team in the United Kingdom and the United States describes how water molecules "caged" in fullerene spheres ("buckyballs") are providing a deeper insight into spin isomers - varieties of a molecule that differ in their nuclear spin. The results of this work may one day help enhance the analytical and diagn ...
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Real-time flight tracking possible, not expensive: Airbus official
Berlin (XNA) May 23, 2014 -
Real time tracking of commercial flight is possible and the cost is not high, an official from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus said on Tuesday. "The technical capabilities are there right now and not very expensive," said John Leahy, Airbus chief operating officer (customers) in a press conference at the opening day of Berlin Air Show 2014.
He said since the accident of Air France 44 ...
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New N. Korea complex for possible ICBM launch: US think-tank
Seoul (AFP) May 21, 2014 -
North Korea is building a new complex at its main rocket launch site, possibly for training and launches of road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles, a US think-tank said.
Satellite imagery from May 10 suggests the North is conducting a number of important construction projects at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station on its western coast, the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins Unive ...
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Forum Highlights Future of Research aboard the International Space Station
Houston TX (SPX) May 23, 2014 -
To highlight the direction for life and physical sciences aboard the International Space Station, a panel of experts gathered this week for the Destination Station: International Space Station Science Forum. This forum, the first in a new series of public discussions dedicated to research aboard the station, emphasized current and future microgravity research that will prepare astronauts for lon ...
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Blowing in the (Stellar) Wind
Rehovot, Israel (SPX) May 23, 2014 -
When a supernova - the explosion of a distant star - was discovered last year, astrophysicists, with the help of telescopes around the globe, rushed to observe the fireworks. In its dramatic dying flares, this star - a rare type over 10 times the mass of our sun - can tell us something about the life of these fascinating cosmic bodies, as well as helping paint the picture of how all the heavier ...
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The Making of NASA's Global Selfie: 100+ Countries, Thousands of Photos
Greenbelt MD (SPX) May 23, 2014 -
On Earth Day this year, NASA asked people all around the world a simple question - "Where are you on Earth Right Now?" We asked people to answer the question on social media, with a selfie. The goal was to use each picture as a pixel in the creation of a "Global Selfie" - a mosaic image that would look like Earth appeared from space on Earth Day.
This week NASA released the finished produc ...
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Fully qualified Flash Memory optimizes Satellite Data Storage
Paris, France (SPX) May 23, 2014 -
The flash memory Solid-State Recorder (SSR) products of Airbus Defense and Space have passed all NASA space qualification test requirements successfully. In addition, the company's flash-based SSR has exceeded 20 months of operation in orbit onboard SPOT 6, the first commercial satellite to deploy this technology.
The Electronics Business Line of Airbus Defense and Space is the only compan ...
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New tide gauge uses GPS signals to measure sea level change
Gothenburg, Sweden (SPX) May 23, 2014 -
A new way of measuring sea level using satellite navigation system signals, for instance GPS, has been implemented by scientists at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. Sea level and its variation can easily be monitored using existing coastal GPS stations, the scientists have shown.
Measuring sea level is an increasingly important part of climate research, and a rising mean sea le ...
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A star cluster in the wake of Carina
Munich, Germany (SPX) May 23, 2014 -
NGC 3590 is a small open cluster of stars around 7500 light-years from Earth, in the constellation of Carina (The Keel). It is a gathering of dozens of stars loosely bound together by gravity and is roughly 35 million years old.
This cluster is not just pretty; it is very useful to astronomers. By studying this particular cluster - and others nearby - astronomers can explore the properties ...
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Veggie Plant Growth System Activated on International Space Station
Kennedy Space Center FL (SPX) May 23, 2014 -
If you plant it, will it grow-in microgravity on the International Space Station? Expedition 39 crew members soon will find out using a plant growth system called "Veggie" that was developed by Orbital Technologies Corp. (ORBITEC) in Madison, Wisconsin, and tested at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The first fresh food production system, along with the Veg-01 experiment, were deliv ...
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Land-based variant of Aegis tested
Washington (UPI) May 21, 2013 -
Components of the Aegis Ashore anti-ballistic missile system have successfully undergone a first flight test, according to the Department of Defense.
In the test Tuesday at a facility in Hawaii a simulated ballistic missile target was acquired, tracked, and engaged by the weapon system, which fired a Standard Missile-3 from a vertical launch system.
The primary purpose of the tes ...
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Thales, Alcatel-Lucent in partnership talks
Paris (UPI) May 22, 2013 -
Thales is negotiating with Alcatel-Lucent over a possible takeover of Alcatel-Lucent's cyber-security services and communications security business.
Thales said the exclusive negotiation is part of "a strategic partnership to provide end-to-end solutions for securing networks."
"With this strategic partnership, Thales strengthens its position in cyber-security and consolidates i ...
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First broadband wireless connection ... to the moon
San Jose CA (SPX) May 23, 2014 -
If future generations were to live and work on the moon or on a distant asteroid, they would probably want a broadband connection to communicate with home bases back on Earth. They may even want to watch their favorite Earth-based TV show.
That may now be possible thanks to a team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory who, working with NAS ...
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Atlas 5 rocket powers clandestine satellite launch
Cape Canaveral, Fla. (UPI) May 22, 2013 -
Private space company United Launch Alliance launched its Atlas 5 rocket Thursday morning, carrying with it one of the United States' newest spy satellites - the company's latest mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.
The rocket successfully blasted off at just after 9 a.m. EST, taking flight from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It's the fourth successful mis ...
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Astronomers identify signature of Earth-eating stars
Nashville TN (SPX) May 23, 2014 -
Some Sun-like stars are 'Earth-eaters.' During their development they ingest large amounts of the rocky material from which 'terrestrial' planets like Earth, Mars and Venus are made. Trey Mack, a graduate student in astronomy at Vanderbilt University, has developed a model that estimates the effect that such a diet has on a star's chemical composition and has used it to analyze a pair of twin st ...
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Engineers Test NASA's SLS Booster Forward Skirt to the Limits
Huntsville AL (SPX) May 23, 2014 -
A critical connection between NASA's new rocket and its twin solid rocket boosters that will help it get to space proved it could withstand millions of pounds of launch stress during a series of ground tests that ended May 20.
The booster forward skirt, which houses the electronics responsible for igniting, steering and jettisoning the two five-segment boosters and carries most of the forc ...
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