Sunday 29 September 2013

Cygnus docks with International Space Station



Orbital Science Corporation’s unmanned Cygnus cargo ship has successfully docked with the International Space Station. The spacecraft made its rendezvous with the station at at 8:44 AM EDT on Sunday, a week behind schedule and 11 days after launching from NASA’s Wallops Island facility. The delay was due to a software malfunction and the need to make way for the docking of a manned Soyuz spacecraft on September 25... Continue Reading Cygnus docks with International Space Station

Section: Space

Tags: Cygnus, International Space Station, NASA, Orbital Sciences Corporation, Spacecraft

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Thursday 19 September 2013

Scramspace flight ends in failure



The University of Queensland’s Scramspace hypersonic experiment ended in failure today as the unmanned spacecraft plummeted into the North Sea off the coast of Norway. After a successful launch atop a rocket from the Andøya Rocket Range at 3 PM CEDT, Scramspace failed to reach the required altitude to begin the hypersonic flight experiment... Continue Reading Scramspace flight ends in failure

Section: Space

Tags: Launch, Norway, Scramjet, Spacecraft, University of Queensland

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First Swarm satellite heads to launch site



The first of three satellites designed to undertake a comprehensive study the Earth’s magnetic field left Munich airport on Tuesday aboard an Ilyushin-76 transport aircraft bound for Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. This first Swarm satellite will be followed by two identical craft and more than 60 tons of support equipment before all three are launched into polar orbit in November... Continue Reading First Swarm satellite heads to launch site

Section: Space

Tags: Astrium, ESA, Launch, Satellite

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Wednesday 18 September 2013

Cygnus heads for the International Space Station



Commercial space flight took another step forward today as NASA and Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Virginia launched Orbital's Cygnus spacecraft for a rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS). The unmanned cargo ship lifted off at 10:58 AM EDT atop an Orbital Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia and is intended as a demonstration flight of the Cygnus to show its suitability for delivering supplies to the ISS... Continue Reading Cygnus heads for the International Space Station

Section: Space

Tags: Cygnus, International Space Station, NASA, Orbital Sciences Corporation, Spacecraft

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Monday 16 September 2013

Rubbish removal satellite to be launched from an A300 jetliner



Back in the 1970s, there was a short-lived sitcom called Quark about an outer space rubbish collector. What was played for laughs back then may soon be a reality with the announcement that Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Swiss Space Systems (S3) have formed a partnership to launch the CleanSpace One satellite into orbit to collect space debris using a launch system that promises to be cheaper than using conventional techniques... Continue Reading Rubbish removal satellite to be launched from an A300 jetliner

Section: Space

Tags: EPFL, S3, Satellite, Space Junk, Space Travel

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Ford packs tech inside the new S-MAX Concept



Ford Europe has unveiled a car that may one day be able to tell if you’re having a heart attack at the wheel and call for help. Recently rolled out in Cologne, the company's S-Max Concept is said to combine a new style language with a new suite of interactive technologies, that do everything from parking the car entirely under its own control to monitoring the driver’s heartbeat. .. Continue Reading Ford packs tech inside the new S-MAX Concept

Section: Automotive

Tags: Concept Cars, Ford, Health, Heart Rate Monitor

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Sunday 15 September 2013

521 bhp Bentley Continental GT V8 S makes debut



They say that a Rolls Royce is for being driven in, but a Bentley is for driving. Seemingly intent on proving this true, Bentley has unveiled the Continental GT V8 S: a luxury grand tourer that comes in a coupe and convertible versions and puts the accent squarely on performance by virtue of its twin-turbocharged, 521 bhp (388 kW) V8... Continue Reading 521 bhp Bentley Continental GT V8 S makes debut

Section: Automotive

Tags: Bentley, Continental, Frankfurt Motor Show 2013

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Friday 13 September 2013

In conversation with Scramspace director Russell Boyce



The University of Queensland’s (UQ) Scramspace project hopes to launch its unmanned scramjet vehicle from a test range in Norway early next week. We caught up with Scramspace Director and Chair for Hypersonics at UQ, Professor Russell Boyce, who is in Norway for the test, to talk about Scramspace, the test flight, and the future of scramjet technology... Continue Reading In conversation with Scramspace director Russell Boyce

Section: Space

Tags: Australia, Hypersonic, Interview, Scramjet, University of Queensland

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Thursday 12 September 2013

It's official: Voyager 1 has left the Solar System



After a journey of 36 years, NASA has announced that the Voyager 1 space probe officially left the Solar System on August 25, 2012. Based on new analysis of data sent by by the unmanned spacecraft, the space agency has declared that it is now in the first manmade object to travel into interstellar space, 12 billion miles (19 billion km) from the Sun. .. Continue Reading It's official: Voyager 1 has left the Solar System

Section: Space

Tags: NASA, Solar System, Spacecraft, Voyager

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Wednesday 11 September 2013

NASA loses contact with Deep Impact probe



Launched in 2005, the Deep Impact unmanned spacecraft has had a long career makingflybys of various comets, but NASA says that mission control lost communications with the probe on August 8 and has been unable to restore the link... Continue Reading NASA loses contact with Deep Impact probe

Section: Space

Tags: Comets, Deep Impact, NASA, Spacecraft

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ZA architects designs buildings for Mars



Setting up house up house is always a pain and when that house is on Mars, it’s a logistical nightmare. To make things a bit easier, Dmitry Zhuikov, Arina Ageeva, and Krassimir Krastev of ZA Architects in Germany have come up with a concept architecture for future Mars colonies, built underground by robots before the colonists arrive... Continue Reading ZA architects designs buildings for Mars

Section: Space

Tags: Architects, Concept Architecture, Mars, Robots

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Tuesday 10 September 2013

Artificial muscles could allow robots to lift 80 times their own weight


It's a classic science fiction scene: an android is injured and its human-like exterior is laid bare to reveal the metallic gears and cables of its true mechanical nature. The future is, unsurprisingly, not likely to match this scenario our ability to mimic biology with innovations like artificial muscles improves. The latest breakthrough in this field comes from the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Engineering where researchers have developed a “robotic” muscle that extends like real muscle tissue to five times its original length, has the potential to lift 80 times its own weight and holds out the promise of smaller, stronger robots capable of more refined movements... Continue Reading Artificial muscles could allow robots to lift 80 times their own weight

Section: Robotics

Tags: Android, Artificial Muscles, Biomimicry, Muscle, National University of Singapore,Robotics

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Jaguar takes the wraps off the C-X17


After hinting at its new C-X17 concept, Jaguar has finally taken the lid off of its first sports crossover concept vehicle at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. This is not only the first vehicle of its kind to be designed by Jaguar, but it also acts as a demonstration of a new architecture that will be common in future Jaguar models as the company seeks to expand into new markets... Continue Reading Jaguar takes the wraps off the C-X17

Section: Automotive

Tags: 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, Concept Cars, Crossover, Jaguar, Luxury

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Monday 9 September 2013

Scramspace scramjet arrives in Norway for test flight


A revolutionary jet engine capable of operating at eight times the speed of sound has arrived in Norway. Designed and built in Brisbane, Australia by the University of Queensland (UQ), the Scramspace is a hypersonic scramjet that will be fired by rocket in the Arctic Circle, where it will very briefly fly fast enough to travel from London to Australia in two hours. It’s part of a project to develop hypersonic technology that may one day be used to put payloads into orbit at a much lower cost than is possible today... Continue Reading Scramspace scramjet arrives in Norway for test flight

Section: Space

Tags: Australia, Hypersonic, Spacecraft

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Sunday 8 September 2013

LADEE probe heads Moonward despite early malfunction


On Friday, NASA made a historic launch that sent an unmanned probe to the Moon to study something you could be forgiven for thinking doesn't exist: the Moon's atmosphere. At 11:27 PM EDT, the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) lifted off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia atop a US Air Force Minotaur V launch vehicle provided by Orbital Sciences Corp. The unmanned probe is now on a 30-day journey to the Moon, where it will study the all but non-existent atmosphere of the satellite... Continue Reading LADEE probe heads Moonward despite early malfunction

Section: Space

Tags: LADEE, Launch, Moon, NASA, Spacecraft

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Friday 6 September 2013

Fraunhofer studies probe impacts to deflect asteroids


There are hundreds of near-Earth asteroids hurtling through space that are a potential danger to our planet. One way of dealing with the problem is to deflect them with a space probe deliberately set on a collision course. To see how effective such a collision would be, Frank Schäfer of the Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institut, EMI in Freiburg, Germany is looking at what asteroids are made of and how this affects a deflection impact... Continue Reading Fraunhofer studies probe impacts to deflect asteroids

Section: Space

Tags: Asteroid, Fraunhofer, Impact

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SpaceShipTwo sets new altitude, speed record


Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo (SS2) broke its own speed and altitude records on Thursday as it successfully completed its second rocket-powered, supersonic flight. At 8:00 AM PDT, SS2 took off slung beneath the WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) carrier aircraft from Virgin Galactic’s Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California. According to the company, the tourism spacecraft went through its full technical mission profile in a single flight for the first time, including the deployment of its “feathering” re-entry mechanism at high altitude. .. Continue Reading SpaceShipTwo sets new altitude, speed record

Section: Space

Tags: Record-breaking, Rocket, Sir Richard Branson, Spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo, Tourism,Virgin Galactic

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Thursday 5 September 2013

Kirobo robot speaks from the ISS


In space, no one can hear you scream, but they can hear a little robot speaking greetings in Japanese. Toyota announced today that a robot spoke from space for the first time. On August 21, the communications robot, Kirobo, sent greetings back to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS). Kirobo said, in translation, “On August 21, 2013, a robot took one small step toward a brighter future for all.” .. Continue Reading Kirobo robot speaks from the ISS

Section: Space

Tags: International Space Station, Japan, JAXA, Robots, Toyota

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Wednesday 4 September 2013

Audi Sport Quattro Concept to debut at Frankfurt Motor Show


Audi will commemorate the 30th anniversary of its Sport Quattro by unveiling the Audi Sport Quattro Concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show this month. With an emphasis on lightweight construction, the plug-in hybrid-concept combines a four-liter, twin-turbo V8 with a 110 kW electric motor to achieve acceleration of 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 305 km/h (189 mph). .. Continue Reading Audi Sport Quattro Concept to debut at Frankfurt Motor Show

Section: Automotive

Tags: Audi, Concept Cars, Frankfurt Motor Show 2013, Hybrid

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Nymi wristband uses your heartbeat as a password


If someone says that they want to steal your heart, be careful. They may be trying to get into your computer files. The Toronto-based biometrics company Bionym wants to replace old-fashioned passwords with Nymi; a bracelet that uses the wearer’s heartbeat in place of passwords. According to the developers, the system delivers a secure and convenient means of identification that also provides the potential to control devices using gestures... Continue Reading Nymi wristband uses your heartbeat as a password

Section: Wearable Electronics

Tags: Biometrics, Bluetooth, Computers, Gesture Control, Heart, Motion sensor, Security

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Monday 2 September 2013

Lely Astronaut A4 milking robot lets cows milk themselves


If cow milking recalls a bucolic image of a farmer strolling out to the barn with a bucket and stool, then the 21st century will be a disappointment to those raised on James Herriot stories. A case in point is the Astronaut 4 from Dutch agricultural firm Lely. With this robotic milker, the farmer needn't come any closer to the action than a readout on a smartphone, leaving the cows to get on with the milking themselves... Continue Reading Lely Astronaut A4 milking robot lets cows milk themselves

Section: Good Thinking

Tags: Agriculture, Food, Robotic

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Sunday 1 September 2013

Jaguar to reveal C-X17 Concept in Frankfurt


Teaser images are, well, a bit of a tease and Jaguar is definitely teasing today with this image of its C-X17 Concept – a study design set to be unveiled on September 9 at the Frankfurt Motor Show... Continue Reading Jaguar to reveal C-X17 Concept in Frankfurt

Section: Automotive

Tags: Frankfurt Motor Show 2013, Jaguar

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Software brings eye contact to Skype, with a little help from Kinect


Skype has been around for ten years now. Once a science fiction dream, the video calling service has 300 million users making two billion minutes of video calls a day. The only problem is, most of them can't look each other in the eye. Claudia Kuster, a doctoral student at the Computer Graphics Laboratory ETH Zurich, and her team are developing a way to bring eye contact to Skype and similar video services with software that alters the caller's on-screen image to give the illusion that they’re looking straight at the camera... Continue Reading Software brings eye contact to Skype, with a little help from Kinect

Section: Telecommunications

Tags: Computers, ETH Zurich, Kinect, Skype, Smartphones, Software, Tablet

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