Showing posts with label spacecraft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spacecraft. Show all posts
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Saturday, May 05, 2018
Terminator Times #44
Drones:
The Trump administration has relaxed the rules on exporting armed UAVs.
DARPA wants new ideas for autonomous drone swarms.
DARPA awarded Dynetics the contract for its Gremlins demo. It appears the drones will be reeled in by a C-130. This could greatly improve drone ops.
DARPA is training UAVs to dogfight.
The US Army is considering the prospects for UAVs.
A USAF Global Hawk has been operating in the Black Sea, observing Crimea.
The USMC wants a jack of all trades drone for their MUX, but seemingly wants EW & ISR first.
The USMC may replace all its 120mm mortars with suicide drones.
The US Navy is emphasizing speed of development and deployment over price for the MQ-25A. What are the strengths and weaknesses for each contractor for the US Navy's MQ-25A tanker competition? Boeing has revealed more details of its T-1 entrant and given the first full view of the funky inlet on top. Boeing has selected Rolls Royce for the engine for its Stingray entrant. The Boeing MQ-25A has been giving insights on how to handle the aircraft on a carrier. Lockheed released a video of their not quite yet existing entrant as well. Lockheed is pitching a stealthy version of their entrant for the future. Lockheed has stated it could have a flying prototype within a year of the contract award. General Atomics demoed a method for controlling its proposed drone on the deck in a manner similar to a Wii. The Navy is pushing forward with the Cat 5 drone.
The US Navy is starting IOC testing for the Fire Scout.
The FireScout needs more space on the LCS classes than is available.
The US Navy's MQ-4C is entering IOC testing and has drawn a lot of international interest.
The Triton will be deployed to Guam by year's end.
Azerbaijan showed off its Harop suicide drone and its Hermes 900.
Britian COULD send its troubled Watchkeeper drones to war.
China and Russia are jointly developing a UAV that can be launched from a BM-30 MRLS.
China is interested in carrier based UAVs.
The Czechs are developing a VTOL drone.
Meet the European MALE RPAS or EuroMALE.
Germany got approval from the US State Department to buy up to $2.5 billion worth of American drones, the MQ-4C Triton.
Germany will soon sign the lease contract for the Heron TPs.
India seems to have been cleared for purchase of American Guardian drones.
An Israeli drone crashed in southern Lebanon.
Israel says an Iranian drone it shotdown was explosively armed and intended to attack Israel.
Netherlands is buying the Black Hornet microUAV.
Poland has purchased Blackjack UAVs.
Portugal wants an ISTAR drone capability.
Russia has been jamming small American drones in Syria.
The Russian Korsar UAV will participate in the May 9th parade.
Russia is testing its VRT300 VTOL UAV.
Russia is delivering Orlan-10s to the MOD.
The Swiss Army is seeking a recon drone.
Taiwan has a quad copter with an assault rifle and grenade launcher.
A Turkish Anka drone was intercepted by a Greek F-16.
Turkey now has six Anka-S drones.
Turkey is offering the Anka UAV to Southeast Asian countries.
Ukraine has developed a loitering munition.
Ukraine has also developed a VTOL variant of its PD-1 UAV.
Houthi rebels in Yemen have increased the use of suicide drones.
AeroVironment teamed a SwitchBlade loitering munition (suicide drone) with a Puma UAV.
AeroVironment will be testing a new UAV by middle of 2018.
Aeryon has unveiled a new UAV.
Bell will demonstrate its autonomous POD cargo delivery drone for the US military..
British Aerospace unveiled its PHASA-35 solar powered UAV.
Elbit completed its acquisition of Universal Avionics.
Insitu has an ITAR free version of its ScanEagle3.
Korean Air and Deftech plan on collaborating on UAVs.
Kratos has opened an aerial target facility in Australia.
Textron unveiled its thrust vectoring X5-55 drone.
Unmanned Ground Vehicles:
Multiple vendors are competing for a US Army contract for the CRSi ground bot.
The US Army and Brits have been testing UGV breachers (and drones) in Germany.
RE2 is offering a drop in upgrade kit for the USAF to convert construction equipment to being unmanned.
US Army Secretary rode in a self driving truck.
The US Navy is looking at testing the walking capability of its MERLIN robot by mid year.
Russia will have its UGVs participate in the May 9th military parade for the first time.
Endeavor Robotics is offering a clean sheet design for the US Army.
Unmanned Surface Vehicles:
The British are looking into collision avoidance for USVs.
The US Navy's call for USVs has sparked a rush by contractors.
Oops! Aquabotix's SwarmDiver is a USV, not UUV. Needs a better, more accurate name.
Unmanned Underwater Vehicles:
The Canadians are investing in development of fuel cells for UUVs.
Mecha:
A Japanese engineer built an Gundam style mecha...hm.
Spacecraft:
The US Navy Research Lab is looking at launching the first robotic satellite repair system.
3d Printing:
The AFRL & HRL are looking at 3d printing for hypersonics tech.
An Orbital ATK (Northrop) hypersonic warhead was in large part 3d printed.
US Navy's NAVAIR expects to approve something around 1,000 3d printed parts by year's end.
The US Army is 3d printing materials for soft robots.
A company is using 3d printers to print explosives...for the US Navy.
The USMC is embracing 3d printers for replacement parts.
Software Bots:
Google employees have signed a petition to the CEO to end AI work for the Pentagon.
The EFF is against Google working with the Pentagon on AI.
The US Navy is starting IOC testing for the Fire Scout.
The FireScout needs more space on the LCS classes than is available.
The US Navy's MQ-4C is entering IOC testing and has drawn a lot of international interest.
The Triton will be deployed to Guam by year's end.
Azerbaijan showed off its Harop suicide drone and its Hermes 900.
Britian COULD send its troubled Watchkeeper drones to war.
China and Russia are jointly developing a UAV that can be launched from a BM-30 MRLS.
China is interested in carrier based UAVs.
The Czechs are developing a VTOL drone.
Meet the European MALE RPAS or EuroMALE.
Germany got approval from the US State Department to buy up to $2.5 billion worth of American drones, the MQ-4C Triton.
Germany will soon sign the lease contract for the Heron TPs.
India seems to have been cleared for purchase of American Guardian drones.
An Israeli drone crashed in southern Lebanon.
Israel says an Iranian drone it shotdown was explosively armed and intended to attack Israel.
Netherlands is buying the Black Hornet microUAV.
Poland has purchased Blackjack UAVs.
Portugal wants an ISTAR drone capability.
Russia has been jamming small American drones in Syria.
The Russian Korsar UAV will participate in the May 9th parade.
Russia is testing its VRT300 VTOL UAV.
Russia is delivering Orlan-10s to the MOD.
The Swiss Army is seeking a recon drone.
Taiwan has a quad copter with an assault rifle and grenade launcher.
A Turkish Anka drone was intercepted by a Greek F-16.
Turkey now has six Anka-S drones.
Turkey is offering the Anka UAV to Southeast Asian countries.
Ukraine has developed a loitering munition.
Ukraine has also developed a VTOL variant of its PD-1 UAV.
Houthi rebels in Yemen have increased the use of suicide drones.
AeroVironment teamed a SwitchBlade loitering munition (suicide drone) with a Puma UAV.
AeroVironment will be testing a new UAV by middle of 2018.
Aeryon has unveiled a new UAV.
Bell will demonstrate its autonomous POD cargo delivery drone for the US military..
British Aerospace unveiled its PHASA-35 solar powered UAV.
Elbit completed its acquisition of Universal Avionics.
Insitu has an ITAR free version of its ScanEagle3.
Korean Air and Deftech plan on collaborating on UAVs.
Kratos has opened an aerial target facility in Australia.
Textron unveiled its thrust vectoring X5-55 drone.
Unmanned Ground Vehicles:
Multiple vendors are competing for a US Army contract for the CRSi ground bot.
The US Army and Brits have been testing UGV breachers (and drones) in Germany.
RE2 is offering a drop in upgrade kit for the USAF to convert construction equipment to being unmanned.
US Army Secretary rode in a self driving truck.
The US Navy is looking at testing the walking capability of its MERLIN robot by mid year.
Russia will have its UGVs participate in the May 9th military parade for the first time.
Endeavor Robotics is offering a clean sheet design for the US Army.
Unmanned Surface Vehicles:
The British are looking into collision avoidance for USVs.
The US Navy's call for USVs has sparked a rush by contractors.
Oops! Aquabotix's SwarmDiver is a USV, not UUV. Needs a better, more accurate name.
Unmanned Underwater Vehicles:
The Canadians are investing in development of fuel cells for UUVs.
Mecha:
A Japanese engineer built an Gundam style mecha...hm.
Spacecraft:
The US Navy Research Lab is looking at launching the first robotic satellite repair system.
3d Printing:
The AFRL & HRL are looking at 3d printing for hypersonics tech.
An Orbital ATK (Northrop) hypersonic warhead was in large part 3d printed.
US Navy's NAVAIR expects to approve something around 1,000 3d printed parts by year's end.
The US Army is 3d printing materials for soft robots.
A company is using 3d printers to print explosives...for the US Navy.
The USMC is embracing 3d printers for replacement parts.
Software Bots:
Google employees have signed a petition to the CEO to end AI work for the Pentagon.
The EFF is against Google working with the Pentagon on AI.
The Pentagon and US intel agencies have set up a joint AI office.
British Army chiefs went to Silicon Valley.
The US Army developed software bots to see faces in IR.
Some are calling for regulating AI before it becomes a cyber arms race. oops! too late!
The US military's "AI" Maven is already being used to hunt terrorists in the Middle East.
META:
How the US Army sees robopocalypticized warfare.
The Russian Chief of Staff talks the future of warfare.
West Point made a comic about robopocalyptic warfare between the US and Russia.
AI researchers are calling for a boycott of KAIST, a Korean university, for creating a center for studying and creating autonomous weapons.
Should AI researchers kill people?
Legal scholars and software developers are revolting against automated weapons.
If the UN outlaws automated weapons, will anyone actually pay attention?
The US military sees AI as a transformative technology for war.
The US Army sees war in the future as being fought with both physical and software bots.
The USAF sees AI being used in future wars.
What is the future of drone warfare?
The USMC & US Navy are testing unmanned systems to learn the problems with integration.
The US Army is testing its robopocalyptic toolkit.
Australia is stating American allies need to develop their own robotic fighters, not just buy American.
The US Army Battlelab is considering the robopocalypse.
The Russian Chief of Staff talks the future of warfare.
West Point made a comic about robopocalyptic warfare between the US and Russia.
AI researchers are calling for a boycott of KAIST, a Korean university, for creating a center for studying and creating autonomous weapons.
Should AI researchers kill people?
Legal scholars and software developers are revolting against automated weapons.
If the UN outlaws automated weapons, will anyone actually pay attention?
The US military sees AI as a transformative technology for war.
The US Army sees war in the future as being fought with both physical and software bots.
The USAF sees AI being used in future wars.
What is the future of drone warfare?
The USMC & US Navy are testing unmanned systems to learn the problems with integration.
The US Army is testing its robopocalyptic toolkit.
Australia is stating American allies need to develop their own robotic fighters, not just buy American.
The US Army Battlelab is considering the robopocalypse.
Monday, April 16, 2018
The Russian Gov Issued a Contract for a Nuclear Space Tug
The Russian government has issued a contract to RSC Energia to develop a new class of rockets for lunar exploration and the contract documents indicate that a nuclear-powered space tug will be develop as well.
link.
Monday, May 02, 2016
China Developing Reusable Spacecraft & Launch Vehicles
Spurred on by developments in the United States, China says it is working on reusable human spacecraft and launch vehicles.
link.
Wednesday, December 02, 2015
NASA to Begin Testing European Service Module for Orion
NASA is nearly ready to begin testing of a core component of the Orion spacecraft. A structural test version of the European Service Module has arrived in the United States and will soon undergo a series of tests at NASA’s Glenn Research Center’s Space Power Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, to validate the service module’s design ahead of the EM-1 mission in 2018.
link.
Monday, November 30, 2015
How to Build a Reusable Solar Sail for Mars
Mass breakdown model of solar-photon sail shuttle: The case for Mars
Authors:
Vulpetti et al
Abstract:
The main aim of this paper is to set up a many-parameter model of mass breakdown to be applied to a reusable Earth–Mars–Earth solar-photon sail shuttle, and analyze the system behavior in two sub-problems: (1) the zero-payload shuttle, and (2) given the sailcraft sail loading and the gross payload mass, find the sail area of the shuttle. The solution to the subproblem-1 is of technological and programmatic importance. The general analysis of subproblem-2 is presented as a function of the sail side length, system mass, sail loading and thickness. In addition to the behaviors of the main system masses, useful information for future work on the sailcraft trajectory optimization is obtained via (a) a detailed mass model for the descent/ascent Martian Excursion Module, and (b) the fifty–fifty solution to the sailcraft sail loading breakdown equation. Of considerable importance is the evaluation of the minimum altitude for the rendezvous between the ascent rocket vehicle and the solar-photon sail propulsion module, a task performed via the Mars Climate Database 2014–2015. The analysis shows that such altitude is 300 km; below it, the atmospheric drag prevails over the solar-radiation thrust. By this value, an example of excursion module of 1500 kg in total mass is built, and the sailcraft sail loading and the return payload are calculated. Finally, the concept of launch opportunity-wide for a shuttle driven by solar-photon sail is introduced. The previous fifty–fifty solution may be a good initial guess for the trajectory optimization of this type of shuttle.
Friday, October 09, 2015
China Considering More Massive Spacecraft for Deep Space Missions
China is eyeing a next-generation human space transportation system to carry taikonauts to future space stations and to conduct missions to the moon, Mars and asteroids, according to a report on a Chinese space blog.
A feasibility study proposes a conical spacecraft similar to the American Orion and Apollo capsules capable of carrying between two and six crew members. The capsule would be attached to service modules of different sizes similar to the ones used for Apollo missions.
The baseline spacecraft would weigh 14 tons, with a 20 metric ton version featuring a longer service module. The vehicles would be used to support near-Earth, asteroid, lunar and Mars missions. The study eyes reusing the return capsules.
The new spacecraft would be launched aboard Long March 5 and Long March 7 rockets due to their increased weights.
link.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Forces Which Effect Very Flexible Solar Sails
Dynamics of highly-flexible solar sail subjected to various forces
Authors:
Liu et al
Abstract:
Solar sail is a novel spacecraft and has the potential applications in the near future. The large amplitude vibration should be considered because it is characterized by its huge and lightweight structure. In this paper, the supporting beam of solar sail is regarded as the most important structure and used to model the sailcraft as it accounts for most of the mechanical energies when it is in deformed configuration, also as the Euler beam can model the bending motion dominant sailcraft when it experiences attitude motions. The structural dynamics of solar sail supporting beam with geometric nonlinearity undergoing the forces generated by solar radiation pressure, sliding masses and control vanes are presented. The axial and transverse vibration equations with the properties of strong coupling, nonlinearity and time-varying coefficient matrices are obtained by using Lagrange equation method after calculating the related energies and works. The vibration equations are transformed into nonlinear algebraic equations utilizing implicit unconditionally stable Newmark-β algorithm for each time step. The nonlinear algebraic equations are solved by Newton-iterative algorithm. We compute and analyze the linear and nonlinear vibration responses affected by the mass and velocity of the sliding mass, the angular velocity of the force generated by control vane in detail. The computational results indicate that the mass and velocity of sliding mass affect the vibration responses (including the vibration frequency), but the angular velocity of the force generated by control vane hardly affects the vibration responses. Moreover, the linear and nonlinear vibrations are distinct obviously by comparing the linear and nonlinear responses. It is demonstrated that the geometric nonlinearity of the highly-flexible structure should be considered for performing vibration analysis exactly, and the vibration responses excited by the prescribed motion of the attitude control actuators should be analyzed carefully.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
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