Aerospace & Defence
Laser technique identifies the makeup of space debris
Aerospace engineers from MIT have developed a laser sensing technique that can decipher not only where but what kind of space junk may be passing overhead. For example, the technique, called laser polarimetry, may be used to discern whether a piece of debris is bare metal or covered with paint. The difference, the engineers say, could help determine an object’s mass, momentum, and potential for destruction.
Developing an electrodeless spacecraft propulsion engine
Researchers from Tohoku University have been trying to find out how the plasma flow is influenced by its environment via laboratory experiments. And in doing so, have made headway on research towards creating an electrodeless plasma thruster used to propel spacecraft. The universe is made up of plasma - a gas so hot that its particles are electrically charged. This makes it easily influenced by magnetic fields and forces, which can lead to c...
Measuring the magnetic fields on the hottest planets
It is now possible to measure the magnetic field strengths of the hottest planets in the galaxy, new research has shown. Studying a class of planets known as 'hot Jupiters', experts from Newcastle University, UK, have shown the planets' magnetic field is responsible for the unusual behaviour of the atmospheric winds which move around it. Instead of moving in an eastward direction as has always been assumed, new observations have shown the winds v...
COTSWORKS named new distributor for Gore's aircraft applications
W. L. Gore & Associates has announced that COTSWORKS has been recently named an authorised distributor and value-added reseller of GORE Aerospace Fibre Optic Cables for civil and military aircraft applications in Europe and North America.
Altair supports Spanish start-up company
Altair is supporting PLD Space (#NewSpace), via its local Spanish 'HyperWorks Start-up Programme' with HyperWorks software licences and engineering expertise. PLD Space is a European rocket company developing a family of reusable micro launchers to provide suborbital and orbital launch services for small satellites and payloads.
LED indicators include night vision goggles version
The STR502 range of NVIS compatible, 8mm, rear-mount LED indicators from Oxley is now available at distributor Aerco. Designed to meet the growing customer demand for high-specification, rear mounted panel lamps, the LED indicators range is protected to IP68 and has been designed with a configuration option to meet the MIL-STD-3009 NVIS (Night Vision Imaging System) standard.
NASA simulates space radiation on Earth
In each life a little rain must fall, but in space, one of the biggest risks to astronauts’ health is radiation 'rain'. NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) is simulating space radiation on Earth following upgrades to the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory. These upgrades help researchers on Earth learn more about the effects of ionising space radiation, to hel...
Window improves the view on orbiting laboratory
One of the busiest work stations on the International Space Station got a major upgrade recently, and it already has saved dozens of hours on a variety of experiments for crew members aboard the orbiting laboratory. The Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) is a sealed and enclosed work area installed in the U.S. Destiny lab on the space station, and is about the size of a 70-gallon fish tank.
We live in a void, literally speaking
The Milky Way and its immediate neighborhood are in the boondocks. In a 2013 observational study, University of Wisconsin–Madison astronomer Amy Barger and her then-student Ryan Keenan showed that our galaxy, in the context of the large-scale structure of the universe, resides in an enormous void — a region of space containing far fewer galaxies, stars and planets than expected.
LIGO detects gravitational waves for third time
The collision of a pair of colossal, stellar-mass black holes has made itself heard, nearly 3 billion light years away, through a cosmic microphone on Earth. On Jan. 4, the Laser Interferometry Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) picked up a barely perceptible signal that scientists quickly determined to be a gravitational wave — a ripple of energy passing through the curvature of spacetime. The event, published in Physical Review Le...