News – Page 3 – Leonardo Times

18May

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Astronomy and planetary sciences, News, Space flight

Mercury’s transit

A celestial event that will occur merely 14 times throughout the entire 21st century; it is now time for Mercury’s transit in front of our Sun. From the Earth’s perspective, only the transits of Mercury & Venus can be viewed. On May 9th 2016, Mercury could be seen as a minuscule black dot sailing in front of the Sun’s magnificent inferno. Centuries ago, it was the observation and analysis of the transit of Mercury (and Venus) that led astronomers to estimate astronomical distances. This was done by making use of the parallax effect. Astronomers would observe the transits from different geographical locations on Earth and precisely record the start and end of the transit. Thereby, the first estimates of the distance from the Earth to the Sun (1 AU) and other celestial bodies were...

15Sep

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Aviation, News, Propulsion

Solar Impulse 2: New record

Solar Impulse 2 set a new world record for the furthest flight for an aircraft, simply powered by the sun. As a first piece of its trip around the world the Solar Impulse 2 took off in Abu Dhabi and landed twelve hours later in Muscat, Oman. With this the Swiss project has completed its very first objective; it has proven that it works. Since the aircraft is extremely slow, the world trip will have various stops. The biggest challenge for the aircraft and the pilots (Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschbeg) will have to overcome is the trip over the Pacific Ocean, which is expected to be a 5 days non-stop flight. During these stops the team will be able to maintain the aircraft, rest and promote clean technologies, such as the Solar Impulse 2.

15Feb

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

News, Space engineering, Space flight

ATV-5: The Last of its Kind

A trail of fire in the night sky marked the end of ESA’s ATV program. On February 15, 2015 the last ATV, ATV-5 undocked from the International Space Station and started deorbiting. Loaded with waste from the ISS it made its way back towards the atmosphere, where it burned out over the Pacific Ocean. This was the last ATV made by ESA. It marks the end of a space program, which was already conceived in 1987 to serve for an international Space Station, when UssR’s MIR station was shut down. Five successful ATV missions (originally Ariane Transfer Vehicle) have made its way to space since the first launch in 2008. Its legacy however remains as the experience and technology will be used for further space missions such as NASA’s Orion capsules.

11Feb

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

News, Space engineering, Space flight

IXV Test: Success!

The Americans did it with the space shuttle. Now we did it with the IXV. On February 11, 2015 a Vega rocket brought the first IXV (Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle) to space, where it deorbited and reentered the atmosphere. Starting at hypersonic speeds the IXV slowed down to supersonic speeds, after which it glided through the atmosphere. It was controlled by a pair of flaperon-like tails. Later it deployed parachutes, to slow down further, for a safe landing in the Pacific Ocean. Currently the used IXV module is being transferred to ESTEC in the Netherlands to be analyzed. This first success was only the start of potentially a new generation space shuttle.