Aerospace & Defense News - Technology

AirGuide Business, March 31, 2008

Mar 31, 2008

Entrepreneurs of the new commercial space age hope to start test flights in 2010 of a practical four-engine rocket ship that would take travelers on Mach 2 thrill rides up to 200,000 feet. Coming two months after British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic unveiled a model of SpaceShip Two, a six-passenger vehicle that could begin flight tests this year, last week's announcement by Xcor Aerospace suggests that real competition is nearing in the infant industry of space tourist. The designs of Xcor's Lynx rocket, which also has the interest of the U.S. Air Force, were shown off last week by the Mojave, Calif.-based company, which has spent nine years developing rocket engines. Fueled by liquid oxygen and kerosene, the two-seat ship - a bit more slender than a small executive jet - is intended to operate like an airliner, making up to four flights a day, while using runways for takeoffs and landings like a normal airplane. CEO Jeff Greason withheld specifics of costs and technical details at a news conference but said he was certain investors would finance construction of the Lynx, which he estimated would cost ''south of $10 million,'' not including previous development costs. Mar 29, 2008

Increasingly autonomous, gun-toting robots developed for warfare could easily fall into the hands of terrorists and may one day unleash a robot arms race, a top expert on artificial intelligence told AFP." They pose a threat to humanity," said University of Sheffield professor Noel Sharkey ahead of a keynote address Wednesday before Britain's Royal United Services Institute. Intelligent machines deployed on battlefields around the world -- from mobile grenade launchers to rocket-firing drones -- can already identify and lock onto targets without human help. Mar 27, 2008

Japanese scientists and origami masters hope to launch a paper airplane from space and learn from its trip back to Takuo Toda, head of Japan Origami Airplane Association, folds a space shuttle-shaped paper plane. It's no joke. A prototype passed a durability test in a wind tunnel last month, Japan's space agency adopted it Wednesday for feasibility studies, and a well-known astronaut is interested in participating.A successful flight from space by an origami plane could have far-reaching implications for the design of re-entry vehicles or space probes for upper atmospheric exploration, said project leader Shinji Suzuki, a professor at Tokyo University's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.Suzuki said he was skeptical a decade ago when he first discussed with experts the idea of sending into space a craft made in the tradition of Japan's ancient art of paper folding. Mar 27, 2008

A practical four-engine rocket ship that will take people on Mach 2 thrill rides up to 200,000 feet and which also has the interest of the Air Force. The design of the Lynx rocket was shown off Wednesday by Xcor Aerospace, a Mojave, Calif.-based company that has spent nine years developing rocket engines.Fueled by liquid oxygen and kerosene, the two-seat ship - a bit more slender than a small executive jet - is intended to operate like an airliner, making up to four flights a day while using runways for takeoffs and landings like a normal airplane.CEO Jeff Greason withheld specifics of costs and technical details at a news conference but said he was certain investors will finance construction of the Lynx, which he estimated from will cost "south of $10 million," not including previous development costs. Xcor has been in talks with companies that may operate Lynx spacecraft for space tourism, Greason said without naming them. Mar 26, 2008

Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin beat out Boeing Co. to win a $766.2 million Pentagon contract to design and build a radio system connecting aircraft, ships and ground stations militarywide.The deal, announced late Friday, could lead to the installation of tens of thousands of radios and ultimately be worth billions to the company. The award is a key piece of the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS), a major Defense Department program to replace much of the military[sup.1]s existing radio equipment with radios that will let Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine troops communicate. The new system will be able to transmit video and other data and as well as conversations. Mar 28, 2008

Mercury Computer

Mercury Computer Systems, a leading provider of specialized, high- performance computing solutions for HPC and embedded computing markets, was recently awarded a number of design wins for defense and commercial applications. These engagements, two of which are described below, represent the growing need for high-speed computation, in both passive and hazardous environments, and demonstrate why leading primes and OEMs continue to turn to Mercury to solve their most complex computing challenges."Mercury is uniquely qualified to address the demands of today's computationally intensive applications, as our breadth and depth of expertise in designing and building sensor computing systems is unmatched in the industry," said Didier Thibaud, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Advanced Computing Solutions for Mercury Computer Systems. "As we continue to refine and accelerate our product development and professional services in this area, we're expanding our served market base with new business opportunities that tap into our new VXS and VPX platforms, as well as our mainstay RACE (R) technology, robust SBC portfolio, RF and mixed-signal technologies, and commercial network-ready AdvancedTCA and MicroTCA offerings -- all of which provide an open platform for technology insertion and migration." Mar 26, 2008