All articles by Dan Thisdell – Page 19
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Vega on track to meet volume targets as ESA lines up run of 10 launches for 2015-18
The European Space Agency’s newest rocket, Vega, is set for a busy launch schedule, with 10 flights planned over three years from late 2015. These flights, together with Vega’s first five launches – including the February 2012 maiden flight and a May 2013 launch that put Vega’s first commercial payload ...
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International Space Station celebrates 15-year anniversary
The International Space Station celebrated its birthday on 20 November, 15 years after Russia launched the first module, Zarya.
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As bees see it, landings are easy
Sometimes, the best way forward is to begin with a statement of the obvious. Consider this: “Landing is a challenging aspect of flight because, to land safely, speed must be decreased to a value close to zero at touchdown.” No aviator would dispute that, possibly excepting carrier pilots accustomed ...
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NewsAriane 6 rocket clears next programme hurdle
Europe’s next-generation Ariane 6 launcher has passed its preliminary requirements review, paving the way for completion of a first design analysis cycle by the end of February.
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3D design going to the cloud
Dassault Systemes, the software house behind the aerospace industry-standard CATIA computer-aided design tools, is promising a new era of digital design collaboration and product lifestyle management from January 2014, when its full suite of 3D applications will be available on the cloud.
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NewsSierra Nevada still in a Dream despite crash landing
America’s dream of getting astronauts to space and home again without having to suffer the embarrassment of sending them to Kazakhstan for a Russian Soyuz flight has taken an uncertain step forward. The drop-test of a US-built spaceplane concept appears to have validated its airworthiness, but its maker – Sierra ...
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Strong Q3 lifts Saab's aeronautics business
Saab’s aeronautics business posted a strong third quarter to end-September, with sales rising 11% to SEK 4.87 billion ($765 million) on higher Gripen E fighter development activity, while operating profit (EBIT) gained 51% to SEK 354 million owing to “efficient project execution” and lower amortisations.
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NewsEADS hints at "harsh" cuts to Cassidian
EADS boss Tom Enders has hinted at “harsh measures” – including job cuts – at the Airbus parent’s defence division, amid a planned reorganisation.
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Austria opts for Tracker mini-UAS from Cassidian
Austria’s armed forces have ordered six Tracker mini-unmanned air systems from EADS Cassidian subsidiary Survey Copter.
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Electronics concerns delay Gaia launch
European Space Agency engineers have identified a potential fault with the GAIA spacecraft, and are delaying its 20 November launch to make repairs before kicking off the mission to map the Milky Way.
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Alcoa set to be heavy player in Russian titanium
Many aerospace companies are trying to make a big noise in titanium these days, but workers at Alcoa’s parts fabrication plant at Samara, in southeastern Russia, had best tighten up their ear protectors. From 2016, their 75,000-ton forging press – until recently the world’s biggest – will be going to ...
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Artificial insect eye may open path to sense-and-avoid UAVs
While they cannot match the resolution that humans and other vertebrates get from our single-lens eyes, the multi-lens compound eyes carried by insects are much better at providing a panoramic view with very fast image processing in a small package.
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Mars cars need to be self-drivers
Field trials in what may be Earth’s most Mars-like terrain have flagged up some of the challenges that the European Space Agency scientists will face when their 2018 ExoMars mission puts a rover on the Red Planet – and software being developed for the project may also help develop fully ...
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For Finmeccanica, top-line wins are near-term focus
In the wake of the 4 October agreement to sell off its non-core power generation business, AgustaWestland and Alenia Aermacchi parent Finmeccanica has declared that its key short-term focus is to win major aircraft procurement deals.
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NewsFlying low or sailing high, Airbus keeps a toe in the water
“We are designing a boat that is as much an aeroplane as it is a boat,” says Paul Larsen. And, when it comes to airflow and extreme performance, few are as knowledgeable as the holder of the outright world sailing speed record: an eye-popping 65.42kt (121km/h) over 500m.
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Aluminium demand continues strong growth: Alcoa
Alcoa is holding to its full-year forecast of 9-10% growth in global aerospace demand for aluminium, as third-quarter performance pulled the US metal producer back into the black despite falling prices.
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ESA set to Swarm over magnetic field
The European Space Agency is in the countdown phase to one of the highlights of its scientific year: the launch of its three-spacecraft Swarm mission to study the Earth’s magnetic field in unprecedented detail.
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Surrey Satellite pushes smaller-lighter-cheaper principle down to 50kg
Small satellites pioneer Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) used last month’s International Astronautical Congress in Beijing to launch its latest bid to slash manufacturing and launch costs with a new platform of just 50kg – half the mass of the platforms that have for a decade made up its successful Disaster ...
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NewsVINCI engine tests lift Ariane upgrade programme
Snecma is claiming a “complete success” on its first two test of its reignitable Vinci cryogenic upper stage engine under development for the European Space Agency’s Ariane 5 Midlife Evolution (ME) and all-new Ariane 6 launchers.
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NewsHELITECH: FastFin looks for European lift
Bell tail fin modifications house BLR made its European debut at Helitech, just weeks after bagging EASA approval for the “FastFin” tail rotor efficiency enhancement package, which it claims gives most users a 10-50% boost in hover payload capacity.