Author: LeonardoTimes

From Apollo to Artemis
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
Uncategorized

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...
The Modern Wings of Daedalus
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...
What’s happening in the ISS
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,...
Higher, Faster, Further
Aviation, Featured

Higher, Faster, Further

The history of Aéro-Club de France Authors: Marcos Talocchi and Tuomas Simula, Editors Leonardo Times The 14-bis of Santos-Dumont in flight. The Aéro-Club de France was one of the first aeronautical associations in the world, having been founded over a hundred years ago. We explore its history and contributions to aviation, while diving deeper into the life of one of its founding members. CREATION OF THE CLUB Near the end of the 19th century, there were first hints of aviation becoming a feasible means of transport. The first powered and controllable airships were developed, and the first heavier-than-air flights were done using gliders. In Paris, a collective of inventors, industrialists and early aviation enthusiasts saw the need for an organization developing and promoti...
Starship’s Story
Featured, Space flight

Starship’s Story

The development of a highway to Mars Authors: Marcos Talocchi and Lisanne Vermaas, Editors Leonardo Times Render of Starship in orbit during stage separation. The future of spaceflight is, in short, defined by one word: sustainability. And what other way to achieve it other than leaving single use launchers in the past and embrace reusable rockets? This is what SpaceX proposes with Starship, the first 100% reusable space launcher. Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or SpaceX in short, was founded by Elon Musk in 2002. His plans to colonize Mars in order to make mankind a multiplanetary species stems from even before SpaceX was founded. After generating his initial capital as co-founder of PayPal, Musk joined the board of the Mars Society and announced Mars Oasis: A pr...
Amelia: A Look Back at the Pioneering Aviator.
Aviation

Amelia: A Look Back at the Pioneering Aviator.

Author : Katharina Ertman, Editor Leonardo Times On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart, in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe, disappeared mysteriously into the expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Somewhere en route from Lae, Papua New Guinea, and Howland Island, she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, lost communications with those on the ground. The circumstances surrounding her disappearance have been the subject of years of speculation and fruitless efforts to determine Earhart and Noonan’s fate. Numerous theories, from sensational rumors, claiming Earhart was a spy for the US government or even she was working for the Japanese government, to more technical speculation, such as the crash-and-sink theory or that she landed on a different island, continue to fuel curiosity. However, the stor...
B-52 Re-engine program
Aviation, Manufacturing, News, Operations, Propulsion

B-52 Re-engine program

The iconic Cold-war era Boeing B-52H Stratofortress bomber is getting its 1960s-vintage Pratt & Whitney TF33-103 engines replaced by more-efficient commercial replacements. The re-engine program will keep the colossal aircraft operational until 2050 and meet the high-power demands for next-generation weapons, a fire control radar, and other electrical systems. The B-52 is the most combat capable bomber in the U.S. inventory with 76 units completely operational. Due to its high mission-capable rate, large payload, long range, persistence and ability to employ both nuclear and conventional precision standoff weapons. The B-52s has eight engines in four pods, two under each wing. the Air Force overhauls each TF33 every 6,000 flight hours, as a rule, a process that costs $2 million per ...
Boeing shows UAV which can Refuel Fighter Jets in Mid-Air
Aviation, Manufacturing, Uncategorized

Boeing shows UAV which can Refuel Fighter Jets in Mid-Air

Past Tuesday, Boeing Phantom Works, Boeing's secretive design department, announced a new Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Its function is to refuel jets mid-air in order to enlarge the range of combat aircraft of the US Navy. One picture was presented of Boeings MQ-25, showing a slightly blended wing-fuselage design, probably to contain as much fuel as possible. Its V-tail stands out as well suggested to satisfy with the little space available on a carrier deck. While engines are being tested right now, flight testing will be done early 2018.   Boeing’s MQ-25 design is their submission for a competition from the U.S. Navy to design a UAV which can refuel fighter jets in mid-air, in particular, to refuel the F/A-18 Super Hornet and F-35,  which are already used in the U.S. ...
NASA finds a Solar System similar to our own
Astronomy and planetary sciences, News

NASA finds a Solar System similar to our own

Kepler Space Telescope launched by NASA in 2009 to find Earth-sized planets orbiting other sun-like stars has recently discovered a new planet orbiting the Kepler-90 star. This brings the number of planets around the star to eight, the same as the number of planets in our solar system. The star and the system in which the new planet is located is about 2,545 light years away from our planet. There could be more planets in the system which have not yet been spotted. The discovery came as a result of a team effort from NASA and Google Artificial Intelligence. A machine learning algorithm trained to look for signals that might belong to planets played a part in the discovery of the new planet known as Kepler0-90i. Paul Hertz, the director of the  Astrophysics Division of NASA, says  “By ap...