Seventy-two years ago today, Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France to liberate a German-occupied Western Europe. Over 9,000 allied troops were killed or wounded during the invasion, but by the end of the battle, the Allies had regained their foothold in Europe, a critical move that turned the tide of the Second World…
Afghanistan, India Inaugurate Major Dam
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a multi-million-dollar dam in western Afghanistan on Saturday that will bring power and irrigation to vast tracts of the war-torn country. The Afghan-India Friendship Dam in Herat province, which borders Iran, was built with Indian aid at a cost of $300 million and was…
A Method to Image Black Holes
Researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and Harvard University have developed a new algorithm that could help astronomers produce the first image of a black hole. The algorithm would stitch together data collected from radio telescopes scattered around the globe, under the auspices of an international collaboration called the Event Horizon Telescope.…
Moon Plays Lead Role in New Astronomical Technique
A University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) professor and astrophysicist has detected the first high-energy astrophysical source from the moon. The detection was part of a proof-of-principle effort to verify a new paradigm: using an instrument in lunar orbit and the unique characteristics of the moon for nuclear astrophysics observations. The relative simplicity of this…
Elon Musk Talks Plan For People on Mars In 9 Years, Concerns With Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Elon Musk is no ordinary guy. In fact, he’s the complete opposite. From his ties with Tesla, to being the original doodler of transport concept Hyperloop, Musk is a man of ground-breaking “things.” It seems as if there is nothing that Musk can’t do, which is why his plan to put people on Mars in…
Fireball Lights Pre-Dawn Sky over Arizona
This feature was updated at 9:00 p.m. EDT to reflect new data on the size, mass and kinetic energy of the fireball. For a few seconds early Thursday, night turned into day as an extremely bright fireball lit the pre-dawn sky over much of Arizona, blinding all-sky meteor cameras as far away as western New…
NASA Announces Coverage, Media Activities for Juno Mission Arrival at Jupiter
This Fourth of July, NASA’s solar-powered Juno spacecraft will arrive at Jupiter after an almost five-year journey. News briefings, photo opportunities and other media events will be held at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, and air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website. In the evening of July 4, Juno will…
OSIRIS-REx Arrives at Kennedy for Launch Processing
The spacecraft that will perform NASA’s Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security — Regolith Explorer mission, known as OSIRIS-REx, arrived at Kennedy Space Center from Buckley Air Force Base near Denver on May 20 aboard an Air Force C-17 at the Shuttle Landing Facility. OSIRIS-Rex, which came out of the shipping container May 21, will…
The Next Sound-Barrier-Busting Passenger Jet Could Be Quietly Supersonic
The Concorde was the first and last supersonic jet in passenger service. But that claim comes with a caveat. The plane could accelerate above the speed of sound only over the ocean. The prospect of noisy sonic booms caused by the plane crossing the sound barrier forced pilots to hold back the throttle above towns…
Fifty Years of Moon Dust: Surveyor 1 was a Pathfinder for Apollo
Before humans could take their first steps on the moon, that mysterious and forbidding surface had to be reconnoitered by robots. When President John Kennedy set a goal of landing astronauts on the lunar surface in 1961, little was known of that world, beyond what could be gleaned from observations by telescopes. We knew it…
SpaceX’s 4th Recovered Rocket Arrives Leaning On Barge
Call it the Leaning Tower of SpaceX. SpaceX’s fourth recovered rocket returned to shore Thursday, leaning to one side but still standing tall on its ocean-landing platform. The first-stage booster pushed the limits during the landing last Friday. Its speed was close to the design maximum for the rocket and the support system for its legs.…
Flash of Light, Loud Boom Over Phoenix Skies Likely a Meteor
An expert in meteorites says a bright flashing light and loud boom over the skies in metro Phoenix looks like a single meteor burning up as it entered the Earth’s atmosphere at thousands of miles per hour. Radar footage shows that meteorites — black rocks ranging in size from a pea to a grapefruit — may have fallen…
Cosmic Curveball: Is the Universe Expanding Even Faster?
Astronomers thought they had a handle on how the universe ticks, but the cosmos may be toying with them. A team of astronomers has calculated that the universe seems to be expanding faster than what scientists previously figured. If the new research is right, then science’s basic understanding of what’s been happening to the universe…
Thunderbirds Pilot Unharmed After Graduation Crash
An Air Force Thunderbirds plane crashed after an Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs which President Barack Obama was attending, according to reports from the Associated Press and other sources. The pilot ejected from the aircraft and walked away unharmed, a Peterson Air Force Base representative told the Denver Post. Related Read: Navy Blue…
3D printing helps drivers of Ford trucks see better
A key aspect of vehicle safety involves the front and rear car lights, which must be transparent and visible from a distance. What role can 3D printing play…
Engineering Newswire 191: Anti-UAV System Disables Drones 6 Miles Away
Today on Engineering Newswire, we’re riding around on a super smart bike, chatting with the latest home robot, and beaming down pesky drones. ‘Unstealable’ Smart Bike Some of you may be familiar with the pain and annoyance of having your bike stolen. Thankfully, Dutch manufacturer VanMoof understands your pain, and has developed a smart solution.…
IBM, Cisco Team Up to Bring AI to the IoT
Looks like the Internet of Things (IoT) is about to get smarter. IBM and Cisco on Thursday signed a deal to integrate IBM’s Watson IoT technology into Cisco’s cloud architecture. According to the agreement, the new solution will combine the artificial intelligence and business analytics of IBM’s Watson IoT platform with Cisco’s edge routers and…
SpaceX Chief Elon Musk Predicts People on Mars in 9 Years
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says if things go according to plan people will be on Mars just nine years from now. During an interview Wednesday at the Code Conference in southern California, Musk said that “we should be able to launch people in 2024, with arrival in 2025.” Musk also says he plans to go…
A Look at Some of the World’s Longest Railway Tunnels
Capping a mammoth 17-year, $12 billion project, Switzerland has built the world’s longest railway tunnel: The Gotthard Base Tunnel. Here’s a look at it and others among the longest railway tunnels in the world. GOTTHARD BASE TUNNEL, Switzerland The inauguration of the 57-kilometer (35.4-mile) Gotthard Base Tunnel through the Alps and central Switzerland drew the…
Quantum Satellite Device Tests Tech for Global Quantum Network
You can’t sign up for the quantum internet just yet, but researchers have reported a major experimental milestone towards building a global quantum network — and it’s happening in space. With a network that carries information in the quantum properties of single particles, you can create secure keys for secret messaging and potentially connect powerful…
Photo of the Day: The Little Fox and the Giant Stars
Situated 8,000 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula — Latin for “little fox” — the region in the image is known as Vulpecula OB1. It is a “stellar association” in which a batch of truly giant “OB” stars is being born. O and B stars are the largest stars that can form. The giant stars…
Panama Canal’s New, Expanded Locks at ‘Full Operability’
The Panama Canal’s new set of expanded locks are working at full capacity and ready to receive their first ships, the consortium that designed and built them said Wednesday. Grupo Unidos por el Canal SA said in a statement that the locks were “brought to full operability” Tuesday and the system “works to perfection.” The…
3D printing for when you have no time
Management and customers always want you to develop products faster. The automotive industry, for example, continues to tighten product development timelines and compress design time in the supplier…
Easier 3D scanning, easier connection with 3D printing
Artec 3D, a developer and manufacturer of professional 3D hardware and software, announced the release of Artec Studio 11. Designed for use with Artec’s professional handheld 3D scanners…
FirstNet Bids Are In, Now the Evaluations Begin
Open since January, FirstNet’s Request for Proposals (RFP) for the buildout of a nationwide network for first responders closed yesterday afternoon. Representatives for FirstNet declined to say how many bids were received or who submitted those bids, but said FirstNet was “excited to have met this major RFP milestone.” FirstNet said it will now enter…