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OPS-SAT: breaking the flight heritage paradox

7Oct

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Space

OPS-SAT: breaking the flight heritage paradox

How the first ESA CubeSat enables in-orbit demonstration of spacecraft software Author: Tuomas Simula, Leonardo Times Editor An artist’s impression of OPS-SAT in orbit OPS-SAT, the first CubeSat mission of the European Space Agency, was designed to break the “has not flown, will never fly” cycle that often obstructs advances in space technology. It is a powerful orbital laboratory that allows experimentation of spacecraft control systems. We interviewed members of the OPS-SAT team to learn about the possibilities it creates for the in-flight testing of space software. Space technology is often considered the cutting edge of technology, but, in reality, it tends to advance slowly. Especially the larger and more complicated space missions often rely on technology that is d...

7Oct

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Aviation

Stairway to Heaven

Interview with Sean Fisher on his ladder plane Author: Roosa Joensuu, Leonardo Times Editor Sean Fisher is an artist with a background in engineering and recently graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven with a Master of Arts. Sean started building airplane parts out of molten ladders for his graduation project and is now slowly collecting material and casting parts with the support of the community he has built around ladders - “The Ladder Research Observatory”. The project entitled ‘My Second Plane’ dives into pataphysics – the science of imaginary solutions. Q: What exactly is pataphysical engineering? SF: I came up with the term pataphysical engineering when I did some research for my thesis. I discovered James Donohue, who attached an iMac G3 as a fairing to his bike t...

7Oct

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Space

Per Severance ad Astra

NASA’s Perseverance mission reaches adolescence on the red planet Authors: Juan Pablo Avila, Leonardo Times Editor, and Topias Pulkkinen, Editor-in-chief The Perseverance Rover enjoys taking the occasional selfie Since the project’s announcement, NASA’s Perseverance mission has long intrigued Mars enthusiasts around the world. The mission certainly hasn’t been cheap on both the minds of the scientists and engineers or the US taxpayers. Yet, the mission is on course to demonstrate feats of engineering critical for planetary exploration. NASA’S LATEST MISSION TO MARS As you may recall, Perseverance launched on July 30, 2020, and landed on Mars on February 18, 2021, as part of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission. Perseverance comes as the successor to Curiosity, a rover that landed on M...

6Oct

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Aviation

Heroes of the Sky

Shedding some light on the stories of extraordinary individuals Authors: Muhammad Arham Elahi, James Perry, Leonardo Times Editors Few have the nerves to stay composed in such life-threatening situations as some pilots encounter. Here we explore a few cases of exceptional individuals who demonstrated incredible skill under immense pressure. Gimli Glider BACKGROUND Air Canada Flight 143, a brand new Boeing 767 was flying from Montreal to Edmonton on 23, July, 1983 with 69 people on board. The brand-new plane was in tip-top condition except for a small error in the fuel quantity indication system (FQIS). The pilots received instructions to ensure sufficient fuel board by performing a dripstick test. They took a reading from a tube installed in the wing (given in centimete...

6Oct

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Space

Wake Up, Little Susie

ArianeGroup’s ambitious new spacecraft proposal reawakens Europe’s vision of independent human spaceflight. Author: Danny Tjokrosetio, Leonardo Times Editor Concept art of Susie performing a soft landing. The year is 2031. Looming above the palm trees of Kourou, a gleaming Ariane 6 stands poised and ready for liftoff. The scene is familiar to the Guiana Space Center, save for an unusual vehicle mounted on top of the rocket. A new dawn in space exploration is about to begin. It is clear that the world is seeing a revolution in innovation like never before - rapid technological changes are also reiterated in the activities of spacefaring nations. Europe’s response to adapt to these changes in the space sector is the proposal of a new kind of spacecraft whose essence lies in reus...

6Oct

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Space

ResAErch #3

Space Guidance in the Age of Need Author: Topias Pulkkinen, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Jian Guo is a long-time associate professor and researcher at the Faculty’s Space Department Space systems engineering is a broad field with many of its uses expecting a sharp increase in demand over the coming decades. The risks posed by space debris are being re-evaluated, and resources are targeted to aid the field’s development at an accelerating rate. In this 3rd ‘ResAErch’ article, we interviewed Jian Guo, an associate professor in the space department, working in space systems engineering with a specialization in Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) and autonomy. He has worked on numerous research papers in space systems engineering, collaborating with a broad range of scientists and engin...

14Jun

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Astronomy and planetary sciences, Space engineering

From Apollo to Artemis

50 years after the final Apollo landing, we started another era of lunar exploration Author: Danny Tjokrosetio, James Perry, Leonardo Times Editors Artist’s rendering of a lunar EVA as part of the Artemis program "As we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came, and, God willing, we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.” Gene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17, spoke the last words on the Moon 50 years ago [1]. We are returning - this time to stay. Tension and excitement built around the Kennedy Space Center as hundreds of thousands of people gathered to watch a momentous rocket launch. Plumes beneath a skyscraper-sized structure ignited the night sky. The colossus rose above the ground, trailed by blazes so bright, it appeared as if a celestial bein...

AeroDelft : mission, vision and progress

13Jun

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Aviation

AeroDelft : mission, vision and progress

Interview with Aerodelft Managers of year ‘21 and ‘22 Author: Chaitanya Dongre, Kamalesh S. Ganapathy, Leonardo Times Editors AeroDelft team members 2022-23 AeroDelft was founded on the principle of rethinking the way we propel our aircraft. They strive to prove and promote liquid hydrogen as an alternative to conventional fuels in aviation. We interviewed Rahiq Ullah, the Team manager of AeroDelft ‘21/22, and Wouter van Der Linden, the Team manager of AeroDelft ‘22/23. The interview was focused on their experiences, progress and goals. Q. Everyone has heard or read about Project Phoenix. As the current manager, how do you look at this project? What are some of the fundamentals that you believe can be achieved by this project? Wouter: We intend to build a liquid hydro...

13Jun

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Uncategorized

The Modern Wings of Daedalus

The past and present of personal aerial mobility devices bridging sci-fi and reality. Author: Ruth Euniki, Editor, and Naomi Lijesen, Final Editor From James Bond to Tony Stark, superheroes often adorn this futuristic and far-fetched-feeling technology. But after a century of dreaming up designs, there are companies with practically perfect designs that show the impressive capabilities of jetpacks today. FROM BACKPACKS AND ROCKETS TO BOOTS AND WINGS It is not seldom that ingenious inventions are born from the simplest of questions. In this case: what will happen if you strap a rocket to your backpack and fire it up? It might seem like a thought one would have as a child when they are late for school, but it is also what made the Russian inventor Alexander Andreev come up w...

22Apr

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Astronomy and planetary sciences, Featured, Space flight

What’s happening in the ISS

Three interesting research projects in space explained Author: Lisanne Vermaas, Editor Leonardo Times The International Space Station is the biggest laboratory in space, and has continuously housed astronauts for more than twenty years. More than 3,000 research investigations have been performed in its microgravity environment on board the station [1]. What interesting research has been done, and what results has it produced? ISS AS A LABORATORY The first segment of the ISS, The Zarya Control Module was launched in 1998 [1]. It was the first step in a long-lasting collaboration between 5 space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan) and CSA (Canada). It took a total of 40 missions to assemble the station as we know it today and still,...