jueves, 10 de diciembre de 2020
Airbus successfully qualifies Europe´s first five metre deployable reflector for radar satellites
Airbus has successfully qualified Europe´s first five metre deployable antenna reflector. The 70 kilogram deployable reflector will help enable higher resolution from a radar instrument for Earth observation. With its exceptionally lightweight design, its stiffness and high robustness, the semi-rigid reflector technology offers significant advantages compared to classic mesh reflectors.
With its large diameter, the reflector would not fit in any rocket fairing, so it must be compactly stowed. After the fairing is released, the reflector will unfold like a flower – from 1.6 to five metres. The unfurlable parabolic reflector concept enables Airbus to enter the market of cost effective and small radar missions or constellations.
After successful completion of the intensive deployment and environmental tests, the qualification model has now been delivered to the customer for further tests on the satellite system level. The flight unit will be delivered in 2021 and is currently scheduled for launch for the export customer in 2022.
Airbus quantum computing challenge helps advance sustainable flight
press release
Airbus has concluded its global Quantum Computing Challenge (AQCC) announcing the winning team of the competition. Machine Learning Reply - a leading systems integration and digital services company from Italy - won the challenge with their solution to optimise aircraft loading.
Airlines try to make the best use of an aircraft’s payload capability to maximise revenue, optimise fuel burn and lower overall operating costs. However, their scope for optimisation can be limited by a number of operational constraints.
By creating an algorithm for optimal aircraft cargo loading configurations, taking these operational constraints -payload, centre of gravity, size and shape of the fuselage- into account, the winners of the competition proved that optimisation problems can be mathematically modelled and solved through quantum computing.
“The Quantum Computing Challenge is testament to Airbus' belief in the power of the collective, to fully harness and apply quantum computing technology to solve complex optimization challenges facing our industry today," said Grazia Vittadini, Chief Technology Officer, Airbus. "By looking at how emerging technologies can be used to improve aircraft performance and boost innovation, we are addressing the advanced flight physics problems that will redefine how the aircraft of tomorrow are built and flown, and ultimately shape industry, markets and customer experiences for the better."
The winners are set to start working with Airbus experts, as early as January 2021, to test and benchmark their solution in order to assess how the mastering of complex calculations can tangibly impact airlines, enabling them, as predicted, to benefit from maximised loading capabilities.
With operations being made more efficient, the overall number of required transportation flights could be reduced, having a positive impact on CO2 emissions, thereby contributing to Airbus’ ambition for sustainable flight.
The AQCC was launched in January 2019, to drive innovation across the full aircraft life-cycle. By developing strong partnerships with the global quantum community, Airbus is taking science out of the lab and into industry, by applying newly-available computing capabilities to real-life industrial cases.
For more information on quantum computing and the AQCC: https://www.airbus.com/innovation/industry-4-0/quantum-technologies.html
Dassault Aviation Rolls Out Falcon 6X, New Standard in Long-Range, Ultra Widebody Segment
press release
The final assembly team at Dassault Aviation in Bordeaux-Merignac (France) opened the doors of Charles Lindbergh Hall today to show the world the company’s newest and most advanced aircraft, theFalcon 6X.
“Today’s rollout is a significant achievement. I am very pleased to present the addition of an all-new aircraft design within the Falcon family, the ultra widebody Falcon 6X,” said Dassault Aviation ChairmanEric Trappier. “The challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic required exceptional perseverance and cooperation on the part of Dassault and its partner companies.”
Though circumstances forced the company to stage a “virtual” unveiling, the event had global reach. Customers and operators from all over the world logged on to see the aircraft make its first public appearance. But despite the novelty of the setting, the live-streamed world premiere was a great success, attracting a record number of visitors. Viewers can watch a replay of the event at www.Falcon6XRollout.com.
“The Falcon 6X represents a major step forward for large-cabin business jet operators,” continued Trappier. “Its award-winning cabin — the tallest and widest in business aviation — provides levels of spaciousness, comfort, productivity and safety that will set a new benchmark in the long-range segment.”
The rollout paves the way for completion of the ground test program and the extensive systems checks that must be performed before the first flight, which is scheduled to occur early next year.
In recent months, Pratt & Whitney Canada completed ground and flight tests of the aircraft’s PW812D engine, clearing the path to first flight of the 6X.
With a 5,500 nm (10,186 km) range and top speed of Mach .90, the Falcon 6X can connect passengers to major business centers far and wide. It can fly from London to Hong Kong or from Los Angeles to Moscow nonstop. The Falcon 6X can also perform safe approaches as low as only 109 knots, slower than other business jets. This allows the 6X, like other Falcons, to safely access small airports equipped with ultra-short and hard-to-reach runways.
About Dassault Aviation
Dassault Aviation is a leading aerospace company with a presence in over 90 countries across five continents. It produces the Rafale fighter jet as well as the complete line of Falcons. The company employs a workforce of over 11,000 and has assembly and production plants in both France and the United States and service facilities around the globe. Since the rollout of the first Falcon 20 in 1963, over 2,500 Falcon jets have been delivered. Dassault offers a range of six business jets from the twin-engine 3,350 nm large-cabin Falcon 2000S to its flagship, the tri-engine 6,450 nm ultra-long range Falcon 8X and the new ultra-widebody cabin Falcon 6X.
About Dassault Falcon Jet
Dassault Falcon Jet Corp., is a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Dassault Aviation, France. Dassault Falcon Jet markets and supports the Falcon family of business jets throughout North America and South America.
Boeing’s Autonomous MQ-25 Completes First Test Flight with Aerial Refueling Store
press release
- Ongoing flights allow for development of software components and testing of the aerial refueling hardware MQ-25 will use operationally
Boeing [NYSE: BA] and the U.S. Navy have for the first time flown the MQ-25 T1 test asset with an aerial refueling store (ARS), a significant milestone informing development of the unmanned aerial refueler.
The successful 2.5-hour flight with the Cobham ARS – the same ARS currently used by F/A-18s for air-to-air refueling – was designed to test the aircraft’s aerodynamics with the ARS mounted under the wing. The flight was conducted by Boeing test pilots operating from a ground control station at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Ill.
“Having a test asset flying with an ARS gets us one big step closer in our evaluation of how MQ-25 will fulfill its primary mission in the fleet – aerial refueling,” said Capt. Chad Reed, the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation program manager. “T1 will continue to yield valuable early insights as we begin flying with F/A-18s and conduct deck handling testing aboard a carrier.”
Future flights will continue to test the aerodynamics of the aircraft and the ARS at various points of the flight envelope, eventually progressing to extension and retraction of the hose and drogue used for refueling.
“To see T1 fly with the hardware and software that makes MQ-25 an aerial refueler this early in the program is a visible reminder of the capability we’re bringing to the carrier deck,” said Dave Bujold, Boeing’s MQ-25 program director. “We’re ensuring the ARS and the software operating it will be ready to help MQ-25 extend the range of the carrier air wing.”
The Boeing-owned T1 test asset is a predecessor to the engineering development model aircraft being produced under a 2018 contract award. T1 is being used for early learning and discovery, laying the foundation for moving rapidly into development and test of the MQ-25. Following its first flight last year, T1 accumulated approximately 30 hours in the air before the planned modification to install the ARS.
Earlier this year the Navy exercised an option for three additional MQ-25 air vehicles, bringing the total aircraft Boeing is initially producing to seven. The Navy intends to procure more than 70 aircraft, which will assume the tanking role currently performed by F/A-18s, allowing for better use of the combat strike fighters.
CT reinforces its presence in the naval sector with the acquisition of Mer Forte
CT reinforces its presence in the naval sector with the acquisition of Mer Forte, a naval engineering company and distributor of Dassault Systèmes software
· Mer Forte's naval architects experience in the sector will complement the activity of CT, leader in naval engineering and design services in Spain and France.
· The CT group, Value Added Reseller (VAR) and Platinum Partner of Dassault Systèmes products in Spain, enters a new stage becoming VAR for the Marine & Offshore French industry.
The CT group has taken a great qualitative leap in its international expansion by acquiring Mer Forte, a French naval engineering & architecture company created by Michel DESJOYEAUX and Denis JUHEL with more than 10 years of experience in the naval & competition sectors. These capabilities compliment CT's, reinforcing its position as a market leader, where its more than 200 engineers specialized in naval engineering develop all types of civil and military vessels.
CT covers the entire life cycle of a vessel, from conception to final delivery to the customer, and manages the digital transformation of its clients by integrating PLM solutions. The CT group is a Platinum partner and Value Added Reseller (VAR) in Spain of Dassault Systèmes products, which they have distributed for 30 years, particularly software such as CATIA, ENOVIA, SIMULIA and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.
With this acquisition, CT reinforces its presence in France and continues to advance in the mission with which it was founded in 1988: to offer innovative technological solutions that help its clients to be more efficient and competitive. More than 30 years later, CT is the largest Spanish-owned business group dedicated to engineering services and a leader in technological innovation, with 1,800 engineers. "We are very proud to welcome Michel, Denis and the rest of the team to the CT family, and are excited about the expertise and capabilities they bring to our French and international projects. Their philosophy, focused on innovation and process optimization, fits perfectly with CT", says Jesús Prieto, president and founder of the CT Group.