martes, 28 de abril de 2015



http://www.popsci.com/air-force-space-plane-gets-science-fiction-engine




The Air Force’s secret robot space plane is going to try out a new engine. TheX-37B has so far spent a total of 1367 days tooling around in Earth’s orbit, doing classified things. Yesterday, the Air Force Research Lab announced that on its fourth flight, the X-37B will come with a new fuel-efficient engine for maneuvering in space.

Hall thrusters were developed first by the Soviet Union during the 1960s, as a way for satellites to correct their course while in orbit. Apparently the engines were so effective the United States didn’t believe they were real at first. Now, Hall thrusters are commonly used on satellites and deep-space probes. They’re a kind of ion engine, which means the Air Force’s secret space robot will soon have an engine similar to that used by Darth Vader in his specialty Twin Ion Engine (TIE) Fighter.

World Ex-Nasa man to plant one billion trees a year using drones

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/exnasa-man-to-plant-one-billion-trees-a-year-using-drones-10160588.html

BioCarbon Engineering wants to use drones to seed up to one billion trees a year


"The only way we're going to take on these age-old problems is with techniques that weren't available to us before," CEO and former Nasa-engineer Lauren Fletcher said. "By using this approach we can meet the scale of the problem out there."

Navy tests software for automated carrier landing capability

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Navy_tests_software_for_automated_carrier_landing_capability_999.html

The U.S. Navy has field tested an automated landing software system for carrier-borne F/A-18 and E/A-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft.

The software tested at sea aboard the USS George H.W. Bush is called MAGIC CARPET, an acronym for Maritime Augmented Guidance with Integrated Controls for Carrier Approach and Recovery Precision Enabling Technologies.

Russia’s Irkut reports net profit down significantly in 2014 [feedly]

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AtwDailyNews/~3/zE0N7NuajKk/russia-s-irkut-reports-net-profit-down-significantly-2014

Russia's Irkut Corp. has reported a 2014 net income of RUB72.27 million ($1.88 million at the 38.4 $/RUB rate), down 16 times from RUB1.17 billion in the year-ago period.

Norwegian eyes UK, Spanish AOCs [feedly]

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AtwDailyNews/~3/93NzT2Z7slQ/norwegian-eyes-uk-spanish-aocs

Low-cost carrier Norwegian is seeking a UK air operator's certificate (AOC) as it continues to expand its route network. It is also reportedly seeking a Spanish AOC.

British Airways, Iberia switch allegiance to ELFAA [feedly]

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AtwDailyNews/~3/vsV1cVifiGU/british-airways-iberia-switch-allegiance-elfaa

The European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA) has accepted International Airlines Group (IAG) carriers British Airways, Iberia and Iberia Express as members, effective immediately.

Pay-to-fly schemes for young pilots must stop

https://www.eurocockpit.be/stories/20150428/pay-to-fly-schemes-for-young-pilots-must-stop

When young pilots have to pay an airline for flying its aircraft and passengers, something is seriously wrong. This is why the European Cockpit Association strongly denounces this unacceptable – but rapidly growing – phenomenon, practiced by airlines and intermediary agencies in Europe, and calls upon EU decision-makers to ban such “Pay-to-fly” (P2F) schemes. These schemes – also called “self-sponsored line training” – require newly trained pilots to buy a package of flight hours to gain flight experience. Usually, these flight hours are part of the ‘type rating’ – a standard in-house training course on a specific type of aircraft – which is part of every pilot’s professional career.