Through a collaborative research effort, an Army researcher has made a novel contribution to cloud security and the management of cyberspace risks. According to U.S. Army Research Laboratory electronics engineer Dr. Charles Kamhoua, technology has been the cause of many changes. Among the changes made are to our language. “No longer does the word “cloud”…
BepiColombo: Two Orbiters Head to Mercury
Known since antiquity, Mercury has not yet delivered all its secrets. The international mission BepiColombo, scheduled to launch in the coming days, will study the planet’s surface and compare its magnetic field with that of the Earth. Apart from Earth, Mercury is the only terrestrial planet with its own magnetic field, and yet it has only…
DARPA Seeks Proposals for Third OFFSET Swarm Sprint, Awards Contracts for Second
DARPA’s OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET) envisions swarms of 250 collaborative autonomous systems providing critical insights to small ground military units in urban areas where vertical structures, tight spaces, and limited sight lines constrain communications and mobility. DARPA is soliciting proposals for its third swarm sprint, which will focus on the topics of human-swarm teaming and swarm tactics. Swarm sprints…
Startup Plans to Launch Small Satellites from Virginia Coast
A California-based startup said Wednesday that it will rocket small satellites into orbit from Virginia, an endeavor that reflects increasing demand from companies and governments alike to monitor ships, crops and the weather from space. Rocket Lab said it will build its launch pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on the Eastern Shore. It’s located…
Mission Control Ready for Mercury
Teams responsible for flying the bold BepiColombo mission to Mercury today completed the last major step in preparation for Saturday’s liftoff—the final pre-launch ‘dress rehearsal’ at ESA’s ESOC control centre in Darmstadt, Germany. Experts from mission operations, flight dynamics, ground stations and software systems, together with representatives from science and management teams, and the manufacturer,…
New line of high-temp, aerospace-rated Ethernet cable assemblies from L-Com
L-com Global Connectivity has released a new line of high-temperature-rated Ethernet cables specifically designed for aerospace and demanding high-temperature environment applications. These new cable assemblies feature special FEP jackets that are rated for a wide temperature range of –55° to 150°C as well as double cable shielding with both 100% foil and 85% braid shields […]
Lube nozzles oil the wheels of aviation gearboxes
Gearboxes used in aviation and other similar demanding applications are very specially designed, held to tight tolerances, and require precise and reliable lubrication. This is in contrast to how gearboxes in heavier, more industrial applications tend to be immersed in lubricant without the need for targeted lubrication. The delivery of precise, highly accurate and in…
Update on Opportunity Rover After Martian Dust Storm
Updated at 2:15 p.m. PDT on Oct. 11, 2018 One month since increasing their commanding frequency, engineers have yet to hear from NASA’s Opportunity rover. NASA hasn’t set any deadlines for the mission but will be briefed later this month on the progress and prospects for the recovery campaign being carried out at the agency’s Jet…
‘Bricks in the Loop’ Provides Cyber Airmen an Innovative, Low-Cost Training Option
As the cyber realm evolves, effects from cyberattacks are moving from the digital world to the physical one. Just three years ago, nearly 225,000 energy customers in Ukraine woke to a powerless city after regional electrical companies were hacked and shut down by malicious Russian cyber actors. Earlier this year, the city of Atlanta had…
Installing Life Support the Hands-Free Way
Last week saw the installation of ESA’s next-generation life-support system on the International Space Station. The new facility recycles carbon dioxide in the air into water that can then be converted into oxygen reducing supplies sent from Earth by half. Installing the life support rack in NASA’s Destiny laboratory is no easy task as the…
Fully Integrated Point-of-Load Converter Modules for Space Applications
Teledyne e2v HiRel Electronics, part of the Teledyne Defense Electronics Group, announced new, integrated module capabilities for demanding space and satcom applications. This ‘plug and play’ option has no external passive components, and is the newest product innovation from e2v HiRel’s rapidly expanding microelectronics operations. The new designs are embedded in the TD5 Series, a family of…
New Infrared Telescope First to Monitor Entire Northern Sky
A new infrared telescope designed and built by astronomers at ANU and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the US will be the first of its kind to monitor the entire northern sky in search of new cosmic events. The agile robotic telescope, called Gattini-IR, will scan the northern sky once every night, from…
Satellite Subsystem Design Simplified for Sensing Applications
Renesas Electronics Corporation announced the ISL70591SEH and ISL70592SEH radiation-hardened precision current sources designed to provide current excitation to the more than 300 resistive sensors that monitor the health of a satellite’s subsystems. The two new Renesas devices are the first current source ICs in its line of space products, and are ideally suited for telemetry, tracking & command, attitude &…
Mars Virtual Reality Software Wins NASA Award
A mixed-reality software that allows scientists and engineers to virtually walk on Mars recently received NASA’s 2018 Software of the Year Award. OnSight uses imagery from NASA’s Curiosity rover to create an immersive 3D terrain model, allowing users to wander the actual dunes and valleys explored by the robot. The goal of the software, a…
Environmental Defense Fund Develops Methane-Hunting Satellite
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a U.S.-based nonprofit environmental advocacy group, intends to launch a new satellite designed to measure methane emissions worldwide. The spacecraft, named MethaneSAT, could offer a substantial help for countries and companies in combating global warming. MethaneSAT project was unveiled by EDF President Fred Krupp on April 11, 2018. He presented the plan…
Opening Communication Lines Between Propulsion and Airflow Poses New Questions
On the runway to more fuel-efficient aircraft, one alternative propulsion scheme being explored is an array of electrically powered ducted fans. The fans are distributed across the wing span or integrated into the wing. Researchers at the University of Illinois gained new understanding in how the fans and especially their precise placement on the aircraft…
New Telescope Almost Doubles Known Number of Mysterious ‘Fast Radio Bursts’
Australian researchers using a CSIRO radio telescope in Western Australia have nearly doubled the known number of ‘fast radio bursts’ — powerful flashes of radio waves from deep space. The team’s discoveries include the closest and brightest fast radio bursts ever detected. Their findings were reported today in the journal Nature. Fast radio bursts come from…
Salt, Sweat and Gears
Military vehicles endure extreme conditions during their lifetime. How can the steering systems of these vehicles take on temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius, without resulting in high torque steering? Here, Emma Cygan, Design and Development Engineer at military steering system manufacturer, Pailton Engineering explains how environmental testing can alleviate these potential challenges.…
New Tech to Ease F-35A Flight Line Maintenance
Maintainers on Hill Air Force Base’s flight line are beginning to utilize new high-tech, hand-held tablets to work on the F-35A Lightning II, the United States’ most advanced multi-role fighter aircraft. “I am passionate about my job and I want to do it well. These tablets are going to help me do that,” said Staff…
New Nanosatellite Energy Solution Increases Reliability and Efficiency, at Reduced Cost
Between the late 1990s and 2012, around 10 small satellites were launched annually; the next six-year forecast is for over 3 000. The European space sector has a chance to gain a prime global position, helped by the right energy storage system. The small-satellite (nanosatellites) sector is growing, driven by increased miniaturisation, standardisation and reducing…
NASA’s Terra Satellite Celebrates 100,000 Orbits
More than 400 miles above Earth, a satellite the size of a school bus is earning its frequent flyer miles. On Oct. 6, NASA’s Terra completed 100,000 orbits around Earth. Terra joins a handful of satellites to mark this orbital milestone, including the International Space Station, Earth’s Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS), Landsat 5 and Landsat…
Engineering Update #279: Parcelcopter Takes To Tanzanian Skies
Welcome to this week’s Engineering Update! In this episode we talk about a jumping robot that increases its precision, soldiers wearing exoskeletons have slower reactions, and a parcelcopter takes to Tanzanian skies. Head over to the Engineering Update gallery to watch even more exciting video content. To stay up to date on the latest engineering news, be sure…
RPI Rotary Table Enables Aerospace Manufacturer to Save Inspection Time
RPI UK, a specialist developer and manufacturer of precision positioning devices for high accuracy rotary and angular inspection systems, has supplied Wenzel’s Bulgarian distributer with a QuadSlimLine rotary table. This will be integrated into a Wenzel CMM machine to enable a European aerospace giant to measure aero engine disks, saving up to 40 percent in inspection…
3D printed sacrificial tooling speeds production for aerospace part developer
Italian industrial composite structure manufacturer, Plyform, is leveraging Stratasys FDM additive manufacturing to enhance its production capability for the aerospace industry through 3D printed sacrificial tooling. The 3D printed sacrificial tools are used to produce composite parts for helicopters, and in some cases, working with its customers to 3D print flight-ready aircraft parts using Stratasys’ […]
Army Researchers’ Technique Locates Robots, Soldiers in GPS-Challenged Areas
Scientists at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory have developed a novel algorithm that enables localization of humans and robots in areas where GPS is unavailable. According to ARL researchers Gunjan Verma and Dr. Fikadu Dagefu, the Army needs to be able to localize agents operating in physically complex, unknown and infrastructure-poor environments. “This capability is…