Aerospace & Defence

Virgin Galactic has unveiled its newly completed SpaceShipTwo. The rollout ceremony was attended by Sir Richard Branson and his family, Virgin Galactic’s Future Astronauts, and partners. Professor Stephen Hawking named the new vehicle Virgin Spaceship (VSS) Unity via a recorded speech and said, “I would be very proud to fly on this spaceship.”

Researchers from the University of Southampton have designed innovative membrane wings which have been inspired by the flight of bats. This could potentialy open the door for next-gen Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) that offer improved aerodynamic properties, can fly over longer distances and are more economical to run.

Verotec has developed a custom 280mm long 6U VME64x extender card for a leading embedded systems company to facilitate testing and debugging of their cards used in a ruggedised military application. The custom extender provides an interface between the standard DIN41612 connectors used in the VME64x-based test system and the high density 160-way female connectors used to connect to the board under test.

Developing humanoid robotic technology to perform difficult tasks in aircraft manufacturing facilities is the goal of a four-year joint research project, which is being conducted by the Joint Robotics Laboratory (CNRS/AIST)1 and Airbus Group. It will officially be launched on 12th February 2016 at the French Embassy in Tokyo2.

Microsemi Corporation has announced the opening of its Aviation Centre of Excellence in Ennis, Ireland. The 1,900 square-foot research and development facility will support the design, development and manufacturing of Microsemi’s new product line of high reliability aviation Intelligent Power Solutions (IPS).

The aerospace, defence and security markets are especially discerning when procuring electronic solutions from vendors. This is understandable as the mission-critical nature of the products used in these applications means that there is no room for error and that quality is paramount. “OEMs operating in these markets require full traceability and the most rigorous quality standards,” says Chas Shale, Business Manager for cable assembl...

Commercial low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites are about to witness tremendous economic growth. Last year, hardly a month passed without the announcement of another satellite constellation designed to support Earth observation or broadband communication. Compared to those in more distant orbits, LEO satellites offer shorter orbiting periods and multiple daily flyovers thanks to their close proximity to Earth. This opens the door to an intriguing mar...

Via EDRS-A and EDRS-C communication relay satellites, the SpaceDataHighway will be able to transfer information (images, video, data collected by sensors) from Earth observation satellites, UAVs and surveillance aircraft, or even from a space station such as the ISS.

A team from NOAA and Raytheon successfully demonstrated recent advancements of the Coyote Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) while completing a mid-flight launch from the NOAA P-3 Hurricane Hunter aircraft on January 7th. The successful flight verified new technology designed to improve Coyote’s ability to collect vital weather data to improve hurricane forecasts.

ODU AMC is a range of advanced miniature connectors designed for harsh environments. Used extensively in soldier communications systems that require significant weight and space reduction, such as: tactical radios, portable computers, navigation and surveillance systems, night vision, digital scopes, UAVs and airborne vehicles.