News tagged with flight system

DARPA releases video of HTV-2 hypersonic glider flight

An unmanned glider streaks over the Pacific Ocean at 20 times the speed of sound in a video released Thursday by a U.S. defense research agency experimenting with technology that could give the military the ...

Technology / Engineering

created Aug 25, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (24) | comments 66

Self-assembling vehicles take flight (w/ Video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers in Switzerland are developing miniature vehicles that can self-assemble and then take off vertically and fly as a stable array.

Technology / Engineering

created Jun 09, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (20) | comments 11 | with audio podcast report

Jeff Bezos' spaceship fails during test flight

An unmanned spacecraft bankrolled by Amazon.com Inc. CEO Jeff Bezos failed during a recent test flight.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Sep 03, 2011 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (18) | comments 31

Stealth unmanned combat vehicle makes first flight

Looking like something straight from a 1950’s science fiction magazine, the stealthy Phantom Ray unmanned airborne system (UAS) successfully completed its first flight on April 27, 2011 at NASA’s ...

Technology / Engineering

created May 04, 2011 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (13) | comments 41 | with audio podcast

Commercial space deliveries 'within months': NASA

The US space agency NASA said Monday it expects commercial operators will deliver cargo to space within months, stressing that private missions were crucial to its future human activities.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Oct 03, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (8) | comments 1

Faster Than The Speed Of Sound: New Control System Has What It Takes To Guide Experimental Aircraft

(PhysOrg.com) -- When a jet is flying faster than the speed of sound, one small mistake can tear it apart. And when the jet is so experimental that it must fly unmanned, only a computer control system can ...

Technology / Engineering

created Apr 29, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (8) | comments 3

X-37B robotic space plane aims for Thursday launch

(AP) -- The military is poised to launch an unmanned winged spacecraft resembling a miniature space shuttle Thursday and it probably won't be a one-time shot.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Apr 21, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 7

Hydrogen-Powered Ion Tiger Sets 26-hour Flight Endurance Record

The Naval Research Laboratory's Ion Tiger, a hydrogen-powered fuel cell unmanned air vehicle (UAV), has flown 26 hours and 1 minute carrying a 5-pound payload, setting another unofficial flight endurance record ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Nov 30, 2009 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (7) | comments 2

Ion Tiger fuel cell unmanned air vehicle completes 23-hour flight

The Naval Research Laboratory's Ion Tiger, a hydrogen-powered fuel cell unmanned air vehicle (UAV), has flown 23 hours and 17 minutes, setting an unofficial flight endurance record for a fuel-cell powered ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Oct 13, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (7) | comments 2

SpaceX capsule completes first tests before ISS docking

The Dragon space capsule, which has launched a new era of commercial spaceflight, completed its first tests before its scheduled docking at the International Space Station, NASA said Wednesday.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created May 23, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (6) | comments 1

Russia blames scientists for rocket crashes

Russia's chief prosecutor on Tuesday blamed a recent spate of disasters threatening the future of the International Space Station (ISS) on negligence by the country's underpaid rocket scientists.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Oct 18, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 16

O, Pioneers! (part 2): The derelicts of space

Before the Pioneer 11 spacecraft could venture beyond our solar system, it had to pass through the rings of Saturn. At the time, the rings were not well characterized and some thought the spacecraft could ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Mar 06, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (5) | comments 0

Boston airport testing radar to avoid avian accidents

Airports have grappled with the issue of sharing the sky with members of the avian family for decades. Most recently, US Airways Flight 1549 was forced to make a water landing in the Hudson River off of New ...

Technology / Engineering

created Jul 14, 2009 | popularity 3.1 / 5 (7) | comments 0 weblog

NASA Launches New Technology: An Inflatable Heat Shield

A successful NASA flight test Monday demonstrated how a spacecraft returning to Earth can use an inflatable heat shield to slow and protect itself as it enters the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Aug 17, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (5) | comments 0

NASA Tests Unique Jumbo Jet with Opening in Side; Plane's Airborne Telescope Will Be Used to Study Cosmos

(PhysOrg.com) -- A NASA jumbo jet that will help scientists unlock the origins of the universe with infrared observations reached a milestone Friday when doors covering the plane's telescope were fully opened ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 21, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 3