While the world is tied up in the mystery of what happened to Malaysian Air Flight 370, testers at Edwards AFB in south central California and at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland are hard at work developing the ultimate tool for solving such a mystery, the Northrop Grumman built MQ-4C Triton.
     |
SpaceX just put a date on when private space travel becomes a seemingly everyday affair: October 7th. That’s when the company and NASA expect to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station delivering the first of a dozen cargo loads to the International Space Station through the unmanned Dragon spacecraft. While we’re not expecting any trouble — SpaceX has done this before — there’s a chance for a rescheduled launch on October 8th if there are any minor setbacks. The flights won’t achieve the cachet of government-funded runs with human beings onboard, but we’re sure the company doesn’t mind when it’s taking steps towards democratizing spaceflight… and pocketing $1.6 billion in the process.
Filed under: Transportation, Science
SpaceX to start International Space Station cargo runs on October 7th, kick off routine private spaceflight originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 08:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | 
Space.com | Email this | Comments
Top aerospace and defense company Tupolev is developing a new stealth plane that will replace Russia’s mighty but aging nuclear strategic bomber fleet. Called the PAK-DA bomber, it will enter service in the mid-2020s, just in time to face the USAF’s new stealth strategic nuclear bombers. But that’s inoffensive compared to what’s coming next. More »
Combat is a grizzly business, and despite the best efforts of medical evacuation crews, it’s not always feasible to send rescue teams into the fray. The US Army is seeking to address this with “autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)” (read: drones) for dropping off medical supplies and picking up injured troops. In its latest request for research and development proposals, the Army calls not for new tools, but for the repurposing of current aircraft to do the job. Preferred candidates in the already unmanned class include the A160 Hummingbird and the K-MAX, while one of the suggestions for remote-control modification is the infamous Black Hawk. Makes the AR.Drone seem a little wimpy, doesn’t it?
Filed under: Robots, Transportation
Army seeking proposals for casualty-carrying UAVs originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Aug 2012 14:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
Wired | US Army | Email this | Comments
BAE Systems’ ASTRAEA isn’t a new concept — the company’s been playing up its unmanned potential for quite some time now — but it’s all seeming entirely less pie-in-the-sky now that the Farnborough Airshow has kicked off. Typically, UAVs are thought to be smaller, drone-type apparatuses; these things are typically used in military exercises where remote gunfire or reconnaissance is required. Clearly, it’s about time someone asked the obvious: “Why?” Lambert Dopping-Hepenstal, Engineering Director Systems and Strategy, Military Air and Information at BAE and ASTRAEA Program Director recently spoke at the aforesaid event, noting that this particular aircraft could “open up a new market.” He continued: “Current search and rescue aircraft are limited by human endurance, however with a UAV there’s no reason why they can’t stay up for weeks.” Sadly, he also affirmed that there aren’t any plans to ship actual humans up in the air without a pilot onboard, but if you’re rich and mettlesome enough to pull it off yourself… well, be sure to send us the video. Also, Godspeed.
Filed under: Transportation
BAE Systems speaks about unmanned ASTRAEA: no reason it can’t stay in air ‘for weeks’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 Jul 2012 01:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink T3 | BAE Systems | Email this | Comments
With all this talk about unmanned drones, it was only a matter of time before a couple of interesting projects would surface. Check out FishPi, an unmanned water vessel which will run a cheap Raspberry Pi computer to try and cross the Atlantic Ocean. Will it succeed?
Its creator, Greg Holloway thinks that FishPi will succeed. It’s currently in the proof-of-concept phase. The autonomous, slightly robotic, drone will also feature a 130 W solar panel that will power it. GPS and a servo controller board helps it guide through squalls. There’s a compass, motor and camera, which can capture video as well.
The prototype version measures 20″ in length, and wards off the elements thanks to a plastic sandwich container. I think that the final build will need to be a bit more refined than that, but if they ultimately set a whole bunch of these off on an Atlantic journey, then odds are that one of them might just make it.
[via Ubergizmo]
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
