The Pentagon Wants Drone 'Swarms' to Support Infantry

martes, 24 de octubre de 2017

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/9kqw3e/the-pentagon-wants-drone-swarms-to-support-infantry

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Mexican Interjet Wants Joint Venture With Russia to Produce SSJ100 Spare Parts



The second largest operator of Russia's SSJ100 airliners has expressed hope for a joint venture with the plane's manufacturer after signing a document on further development cooperation between the two companies. Continue reading https://sputniknews.com/business/201710231058456539-interjet-wants-venture-ssj100-production/

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Boeing, Singapore Airlines Announce Order for 39 Airplanes

  • Deal includes 20 777-9s and 19 787-10 Dreamliners
  • Ceremony in the presence of President Trump and Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong

WASHINGTON, Oct. 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Singapore Airlines (SIA) today formally announced a deal for 20 777-9s and 19 787-10s, during a ceremony at the White House.

The order, previously attributed to an unidentified customer, is worth $13.8 billion at current list prices. The value of this sales transaction will sustain thousands of U.S. suppliers and more than 70,000 direct and indirect U.S. jobs during the delivery period of this contract. The airline also has options for 12 additional aircraft, six of each aircraft type.

The signing ceremony, witnessed by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, included Singapore Airlines' CEO Goh Choon Phong and Boeing Commercial Airplanes' President & CEO Kevin McAllister. Peter Seah, Singapore Airlines' Chairman, and Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president, Asia Pacific & India Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes and other members of the airline and Boeing also were in attendance.

"SIA has been a Boeing customer for many decades and we are pleased to have finalised this major order for widebody aircraft, which will enable us to continue operating a modern and fuel-efficient fleet," said Goh. "These new aircraft will also provide the SIA Group with new growth opportunities, allowing us to expand our network and offer even more travel options for our customers."

Singapore Airlines has more than 50 777s in service and is the launch customer of the 787-10, which is set to deliver in the first half of 2018. With a prior order for 30 787-10s, the airline now has 49 on order, making it the largest customer for this type. A long-range airplane that's efficient at any stage length, the 787-10 will serve the airline's medium-range operations while partnering with the 777-9 for the carrier's long-haul routes. Its subsidiaries SilkAir, Scoot and SIA Cargo also operate Boeing airplanes with the 737 MAX 8 and 737-800, 787-8 and 787-9 Dreamliners and 747-400 Freighter types in service, respectively.

"Boeing and Singapore Airlines have been strong partners since the airline's first operations 70 years ago and we are thrilled to finalise their purchase of 20 777Xs and 19 additional 787-10 Dreamliners," said McAllister. "Singapore Airlines' order is a testament to the market-leading capabilities of Boeing's widebody airplanes and we look forward to delivering the very first 787-10 to them next year."

With more than 1,280 orders from 70 customers worldwide, the 787 Dreamliner family offers three modern and efficient airplanes that are optimized for markets ranging from 200 seats to over 350 seats. To date, more than 600 787s have entered commercial service. They have flown nearly 200 million people on more than 560 unique routes - including 156 new nonstop routes – while saving an estimated 19 billion pounds of fuel.

The 787-10, the largest family member, adds seats and cargo capacity while offering 25 percent better fuel efficiency per seat and lower emissions than the airplanes it will replace. The combination of capability, reliability and efficiency has attracted carriers from around the world, including Asia where the 787-10 will be able to connect all points within Asia at lower seat costs than any other twin-aisle airplane, with the flexibility to also link to Europe, Africa and Oceania.

The 777X, builds on the passenger-preferred and market-leading 777, and will be the largest and most-efficient twin-engine jet in the world, with the latest innovative technologies, including the most advanced, fuel-efficient commercial engine ever. Opening new growth opportunities for airlines, the 777-9 will have the lowest operating cost per seat of any commercial airplane. The 777-9 seats 400-425 passengers with a range of 7,600 nautical miles (14,075 km) and is the only twin-engine available of its size.

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[Science Journal] FLUID MECHANICS The turbulent cascade in five dimensions

To the naked eye, turbulent flows exhibit whirls of many different sizes. To each size, or scale,
corresponds a fraction of the total energy resulting from a cascade in five dimensions: scale,
time, and three-dimensional space. Understanding this process is critical to strategies for
modeling geophysical and industrial flows. Continue reading: science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/357/6353/782.full.pdf

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KC-390 returns to base early after stall test [feedly]

Crew on an Embraer KC-390 requested an early return to base after the aircraft lost significant altitude during a stall test earlier this month.
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/kc-390-returns-to-base-early-after-stall-test-442426/

 -- via my feedly newsfeed

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Navy sceptical of RAND aircraft carrier suggestions | THAAD handed over to USFK | Egypt to discuss Rafales, covettes, and human rights with France [feedly]

Navy sceptical of RAND aircraft carrier suggestions | THAAD handed over to USFK | Egypt to discuss Rafales, covettes, and human rights with France
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/navy-sceptical-of-rand-aircraft-carrier-suggestions-thaad-handed-over-to-usfk-egypt-to-discuss-rafales-covettes-and-human-rights-with-france-2-038217/

 -- via my feedly newsfeed

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Project Loon's internet balloons fire up over Puerto Rico [feedly]

When Hurricanes Maria and Irma tore through Puerto Rico last month, Alphabet's X lab was quick to answer the call, gaining approval to launch its Project Loon balloons over the storm-ravaged island to provide residents with emergency internet service. Following a successful launch, the balloons have now been switched on and are already providing hard hit parts of the population with connectivity.

.. Continue Reading Project Loon's internet balloons fire up over Puerto Rico
https://newatlas.com/project-loon-balloons-puerto-rico/51854/

 -- via my feedly newsfeed

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NASA's ion thruster for Mars mission breaks records

PR

ANN ARBOR—An advanced space engine in the running to propel humans to Mars has broken the records for operating current, power and thrust for a device of its kind, known as a Hall thruster.

The development of the thruster was led by Alec Gallimore, University of Michigan professor of aerospace engineering and the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering.

Hall thrusters offer exceptionally efficient plasma-based spacecraft propulsion by accelerating small amounts of propellant very quickly using electric and magnetic fields. They can achieve top speeds with a tiny fraction of the fuel required in a chemical rocket.

"Mars missions are just on the horizon, and we already know that Hall thrusters work well in space," Gallimore said. "They can be optimized either for carrying equipment with minimal energy and propellant over the course of a year or so, or for speed—carrying the crew to Mars much more quickly."

The challenge is to make them larger and more powerful. The X3, a Hall thruster designed by researchers at U-M, NASA and the U.S. Air Force, shattered the previous thrust record set by a Hall thruster, coming in at 5.4 newtons of force compared with 3.3 newtons. The improvement in thrust is especially important for crewed mission—it means faster acceleration and shorter travel times. The X3 also more than doubled the operating current record (250 amperes vs. 112 amperes) and ran at a slightly higher power (102 kilowatts vs. 98 kilowatts).



The X3 is one of three prototype "Mars engines" to be turned into a full propulsion system with funding from NASA. Scott Hall, a doctoral student in aerospace engineering at U-M, carried out the tests at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, along with Hani Kamhawi, a NASA Glenn research scientist who has been heavily involved in the development of the X3. The experiments were the culmination of more than five years of building, testing and improving the thruster.

NASA Glenn, which specializes in solar electric propulsion, is currently home to the only vacuum chamber in the U.S. that can handle the X3 thruster. The thruster produces so much exhaust that vacuum pumps at other chambers can't keep up. Then, xenon that has been shot out the back of the engine can drift back into the plasma plume, muddying the results. But as of January 2018, an upgrade of the vacuum chamber in Gallimore's lab will enable X3 testing right at U-M.

For now, the X3 team snagged a test window from late July through August this year, starting with four weeks to set up the thrust stand, mount the thruster and connect the thruster with xenon and electrical power supplies. Hall had built a custom thrust stand to bear the X3's 500-pound weight and withstand its force, as existing stands would collapse under it. Throughout the process, Hall and Kamhawi were supported by NASA researchers, engineers and technicians.

"The big moment is when you close the door and pump down the chamber," Hall said.

After the 20 hours of pumping to achieve a space-like vacuum, Hall and Kamhawi spent 12-hour days testing the X3.

Even small breakages feel like big problems when it takes days to gradually bring air back into the chamber, get in to make the repair and pump the air back out again. But in spite of the challenges, Hall and Kamhawi brought the X3 up to its record-breaking power, current and thrust over the 25 days of testing.

Looking ahead, the X3 will at last be integrated with the power supplies under development by Aerojet Rocketdyne, a rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer and lead on the propulsion system grant from NASA. In spring 2018, Hall expects to be back at NASA Glenn running a 100-hour test of the X3 with Aerojet Rocketdyne's power processing system.

The project is funded through NASA's Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnership, which supports not just propulsion systems but also habitat systems and in-space manufacturing.

Gallimore is also the Richard F. and Eleanor A. Towner Professor, an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and a professor of applied physics. Kamhawi is also Hall's NASA mentor as part of the NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship. The $1 million upgrade of the test facility in Gallimore's lab is funded in part by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, with additional support from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and U-M.
More information:

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TECNAM STRENGTHENS ITS PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND WITH CORPORATE SUBSIDIARY



TECNAM Aircraft s.r.l. of Capua, Italy, is proud to announce that it has newly established a corporate presence in Australia. The company’s worldwide Sales Director, Mr Walter Da Costa, made the announcement today, saying that it will be managed by its Australian Sales Team.

“After many years of successful operation, and with a brand-new product line to be offered in General Aviation, TECNAM has decided to confirm its presence in Australia and to sell and support its products directly”, Mr Da Costa said.

The company has prepared its marketing strategy, which will be in two parts. The first is its long-established and highly respected 600kg MTOW Light Sport Aircraft product line, which can be registered in the Recreational Aviation Australia area or VH with CASA. TECNAM will spearhead this entry into the market with its high-performing P2008 model, which has great looks, an impressive history of durability and is the ideal aircraft for all types of operations from personal flying to training.

Mr Da Costa said that management of the Light Sport Aircraft fleet, along with the management and supply of all spare parts, will be carried out by Mr Bruce Stark, a long-term representative of TECNAM products in Australia.

TECNAM is also announcing its entry into the certified Australian General Aviation market with the introduction of three new models. The P2006T is an outstanding light twin aircraft operating Rotax engines and it provides an ideal platform for Twin IFR training, as well as personal twin-engine transport. In addition, the company is offering a Special Mission Platform (SMP), which will be highly suitable for customs and police operations, fire management and border protection, capable of carrying top levels of surveillance equipment in its specially prepared structure.

TECNAM will also introduce the P2012 Traveller, a twin-engine, eleven-seat, Lycoming-powered commuter aircraft that will be very effective in the service of Australian requirements for rapid, economical, intermediate-range operations which have regional passenger loadings.

The P2010 will be managed by Mr Allan Bligh, who is one of Australia’s most respected aircraft sales representatives, together with his long-term associate, Mr Spencer Ferrier of Sydney.

“We are really proud to commence our corporate presence in Australia with such a strong and capable sales team,” Mr Da Costa said. “The introduction of our heavier aircraft in the VH category will make a strong mark in Australian aviation and we look forward to serving the Australian travelling public with our well-proven, advanced design, economical fleet.”

“The future of any successful company is ‘relentless innovation’ of the product and the business plan. In the 17 years I have been associated with TECNAM Italy, this has been the culture of the company and its staff. I look forward to being part of the new team in the Australian and New Zealand”. Said Bruce Stark

As the late Professor Luigi Pascale, co-founder of the company with his brother, has said so often: “Designing and building aeroplanes is not just a job, it is an extension of our passion for flying.”

TECNAM has been constructing aircraft for more than 70 years, starting with its first design, the P48, in 1948. Since then the company, based in Capua, Italy, has grown to be the world’s second-largest General Aviation aircraft manufacturer. Its dedication to reliability, quality manufacture, innovation and ruggedness is proudly based upon its motto, “Our customers are our friends”.

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Boeing’s Machinists and robots start building first 777X, but challenges remain | The Seattle Times

Boeing has started production of its next new airplane, the 777X, scheduled to fly in 2019 and enter service in 2020. An executive on Monday called it "a change in the history of how we manufacture" — but the change is proving difficult.


https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/boeings-machinists-and-robots-start-building-first-777x-but-challenges-remain/

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