Using diamonds to recharge civilian drones in flight

A small lab-grown diamond measuring a few millimeters per side could one day enable civilian drones to be recharged in mid-flight through a laser. Thanks to the diamond, the laser beam can remain strong enough over a long ...

Rocket motor for Ariane 6 and Vega-C is cast for testing

The first full-scale model of the rocket motor that will propel Ariane 6 and Vega-C into orbit has been cast and filled with inert propellant for testing at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

Image: T6 ion thruster firing

The eerie blue exhaust trail of an ion thruster during a test firing. A quartet of these highly efficient T6 thrusters is being installed on ESA's BepiColombo spacecraft to Mercury at ESA's ESTEC Test Centre in Noordwijk, ...

Silencing noisy ship propellers

Finnish engineering firm, Wärtsilä, has successfully collaborated with marine engineering researchers at City University London to identify the specific design parameters creating the risk of 'singing propellers'.

NASA team demonstrates loading of Swedish 'green' propellant

A NASA team has successfully demonstrated the handling and loading of a new-fangled, Swedish-developed "green propellant" that smells like glass cleaner, looks like chardonnay, but has proven powerful enough to propel a satellite.

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