News – Page 2 – Leonardo Times

25Mar

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Aviation, News, Operations

Maiden flight 787-10 scheduled

Boeing has announced the date of the 787-10 Dreamliner maiden flight to be March 31st. Its public roll-out on February 17th took place at its exclusive building site in North Charleston, South Carolina. The event was celebrated by thousands of employees along with U.S. President Donald Trump and the Governor of South Carolina. https://twitter.com/BoeingAirplanes/status/844595295367385090 As of February 2017 over 1200 orders have been placed for the entire 787 family, of which 149 for the 787-10 variant. Its prime customers include Singapore Airlines and Etihad Airways, both having ordered 30 aircraft. First delivery is planned for 2018. Boeing shall be broadcasting the first flight of the newest member of the 787 family, subject to weather and other factors, live online here.

22Mar

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Astronomy and planetary sciences, News, Space flight

NASA’s EO-1 Retires After 17 Years

Earth Observing-1 (EO-1), one of NASA’s pathfinder Earth satellites, was launched back in 2000 as part of their New Millennium Program. Its original mission was designed to last one year and it was designed to operate for about 1.5 times that duration. Seventeen years later, we can safely say that it has far exceeded expectations. Now EO-1 is finally set to retire on March 30, 2017. Some of its achievements include being the first to map active lava flows, track re-growth in the Amazon and measure a methane leak at a facility from space. During its operation, more than 1500 papers were published based on EO-1 research. Fig. Methane emissions detected by EO-1’s Hyperion (Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov) Two of the instruments on board the EO-1 that made this possible are the Adva...

19Mar

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Aviation, News, Operations

Endless runways: The future?

If you think that everything you can think of has already been invented, you are wrong. Recently BBC News posted a film [1] presenting the idea of circular runways. The Endless Runway is a project run by the NLR in the Netherlands. The principle of The Endless Runway is that aircraft take-off and land on a circular runway. The circular runway will allow aircraft to take-off in any direction and land in any direction, making it possible for the aircraft to always land and take-off in the most desirable direction with respect to the wind: headwind. The possibility for aircraft to land and take-off without experiencing crosswind at all times is not the only advantage to the concept of circular runways. In low wind conditions, it would be possible to shorten the landing and take-off intervals....

5Jul

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Astronomy and planetary sciences, News, Space flight

“Juno, welcome to Jupiter”

After 2.7 billion kilometers and almost 5 years, Juno successfully entered Jupiter's orbit in the early hours of today morning. Subsequent to NASA's Galileo mission (1995), Juno is only the second to have accomplished this feat. While in orbit, the Juno mission aims to better understand the gas giant in the following 20 months of its science phase. Juno also happens to be the fastest ever craft built by humans, travelling at speeds of over 260,000 kilometers per hour (74 km/s). To arrive at Jupiter, Juno took an elliptical heliocentric orbit through the Solar System involving an Earth fly-by two years after launch. This fly-by provided Juno with a further boost of around 3.9 km/s, enabling Juno to reach Jupiter in just under 5 years. "Juno, welcome to Jupiter" were the words heard throu...

Airbus Pushes Towards High-Speed Compound Helicopter

6Jun

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Aviation, News, Operations, Propulsion

Airbus Pushes Towards High-Speed Compound Helicopter

Helicopters are fantastic. They can easily access remote areas, and are capable of vertical takeoff and landing. However, what they seem to be lacking is speed when in forward flight. A few aerospace companies have taken to combining the VTOL capabilities of rotary aircraft, with the the forward speed that turboprop airplanes offer. Although there are many challenges, one of the biggest is keeping the price down . Three years after ending flight tests of its X3 high-speed demonstrator, Airbus Helicopters has been putting the final touches on a new compound helicopter design that could pave the way for a high-speed rotary-wing aircraft product in the 2020s. The company has completed wind-tunnel tests on the compound helicopter architecture, developed as part of the company’s contribution...

30May

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Aviation, News, Operations

Embraer’s E190-E2 Takes to the Skies

Last week, Embraer’s E190-E2 took to the skies several months ahead of the internal schedule, making it the only new airplane program in recent history to be significantly ahead. The E2 is Embraer’s entry into the next phase of the E-Jet development being powered by Pratt & Whitney's GTF engines. A gearbox located within the shaft of the engine permits the compressor to run at a different regime than the fan. Conventional turbofans have both components attached to each other, and hence, running at the same velocity. The GTF engine allows for them to be dissociated and operate at their optimal speeds. Consequently, the turbofan consumes 15% less fuel, pollutes less, and is 75% quieter. In addition to its propulsion system, the airplane has new wings, a new empennage, enclosed main gear,...

27May

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

News, Space engineering, Space flight

Galileo 13 & 14 Launched and In Orbit

Galileo 13 & 14 have successfully been delivered into space, via a good old Soyuz 3-stager. The Galileo program is ESA’s 24-satellite constellation aimed at delivering a global satellite positioning system to Europe. The program started as a response to the Selective Availability (SA) of the Global Positioning System (GPS), meaning that the Unites States, who control the GPS network, can reduce the accuracy and precision of their positioning system selectively. Although SA was abolished in 2000, the European Union wanted a neutral platform that would be available to anyone, with improved precision and reliability. This week’s launch marks an important milestone, as half of the satellites needed for the system to be complete are placed in orbit. The service wi...

25May

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

News, Space engineering, Space flight

NASA’s Space Balloon is Ready For Deployment

In a 4-hour process that will broadcast live from the ISS on the morning on May 26th, NASA’s astronauts will begin to deploy the ‘BEAM’. Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, is essentially an inflatable room. It is designed such that it takes up less room to be transported and can then expand to 5 times its original size when inflated. Roughly the size of a small bedroom, this module will be accessible from the ISS’s Tranquility module. Inflatable rooms are thought to play a key role in future space missions to Mars & beyond. The ISS astronauts are first scheduled to enter the module on the 2nd of June 2016. However, they will not stay inside for extended periods of time as BEAM’s viability has to be analyzed first. BEAM is planned to stay deployed at the IS...

Boeing signs $11.3B contract with VietJet Air

23May

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Aviation, News, Operations

Boeing signs $11.3B contract with VietJet Air

Just as the speculations were getting heated about Boeing’s stocks falling in value, the American multinational corporation signed an $11.3B contract with VietJet. The Vietnamese budget airline VietJet Air is looking for a replacement for its aging fleet, mostly comprised of refurbished old Airbus A320 variants. They are also awaiting 85 more deliveries from Airbus, altogether leading to a diverse fleet. Boeing 737 Max 200 was the aircraft of choice for VietJet, with a single-class configuration that seats up to 200 passengers, these birds (100 of them, to be precise) will provide a solid fleet for the low-cost operations. The contract was signed during President Obama’s visit to Hanoi, Vietnam, and the deliveries are expected to roll in from 2019, up until 2023. The Max 20...

20May

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Aerodynamics and wind energy, Aviation, News

A Floating Wind Farm

With a focus shifting towards global sustainability, more effort is being put into improving the efficiency of renewable energy technologies. Wind energy is a predominant area of interest and now it takes on a new twist. In July 2015, we published an article on the different ways to make a wind turbine float. Many pilot projects have been conducted to test which ones were the most effective. Statoil was the first company to makes significant strides in the area, and now that they have refined their design, a new project is about to set sail. The Hywind Park has recently been approved to develop the world’s first, and largest, floating wind farm. The ocean off the coast of Scotland will soon be welcoming five floating six-megawatt turbines, anchored 24-35km from la...