First Chinese Man-powered Airplane

Having impressed all with their economy and automotive industry, now Chinese are venturing into the field of human powered aircrafts. Mao Yiquing, the owner of the famous F3A model factory has contrived his own 103.6 lbs (47kg) aircraft with a wingspan of 89.9 ft. The test voyage took the plane to a distance of 413.8 feet at 8.53 feet off the ground, in around 19 seconds of flight time.

Stereo Vision for 3D Mapping and Navigation

Four decades ago, Apollo astronauts landed on the moon and captured 3D images of the lunar surface. Astrobotic will return to the moon and not only generate 3D imagery, but also produce high-definition 3D video. This media is used for driving, exploration, science, and to convey a rich, remote experience.




Red Rover is equipped with two stereo cameras that extract 3D structure and create maps of the moon. The rover uses these maps to plan a safe path around obstacles, such as rocks or craters. The locations of these obstacles are detected by measuring the disparity between the obstacle’s position in the left and right stereo images. Human eyes detect the position of objects and perceive depth in much the same way. If only one camera were used for navigation, precise positions of obstacles relative to the rover would be very difficult to determine.

Additionally, scientists and the public alike can move through these 3D maps to experience what it would be like to walk on the moon. Soon all of mankind can take that “one small step” and walk in Neil Armstrong’s footprints.

An example 3D anaglyph made from NASA Mars rover navigation images. The yellow lines illustrate the disparity between matching objects from each stereo photo. The greater the disparity, the closer the object is to the rover.

Evaluating Lander Structure Concepts

 A lunar mission requires a stiff and strong structure to support the spacecraft during launch. Stiffness is essential to preclude coupling with the launch vehicle, which could impact launch performance. Strength is essential to survive shaking and acceleration at launch, which produce a g-force of 6.

The total spacecraft mass is 2,500kg (5,500lbs) at launch, with the majority, 1,700kg (3,750lbs), being the fuel contained in four spherical tanks. The structures team generated several lander structure concepts to provide load paths from these tanks to the round launch vehicle adapter at the base of each design.

 Structural analysis was performed in ANSYS on each configuration to determine stiffness through natural frequency analysis and strength through random vibration analysis. Results were plotted in a weighted matrix along with rankings for mass, manufacturability, and volume available for payload. Each feature was ranked 1-5, with 5 being the highest score. The analysis concluded that the two-segment radial bulkhead was the best design.

Future Missions

After collecting valuable engineering and science data at the Apollo 11 site, Astrobotic’s next missions will send rovers to scout the lunar polar sites of most interest to NASA and other space agencies. The Moon’s poles offer two valuable resources – persistent sunlight and the possibility of water and other volatiles trapped .


New data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show that polar volatiles also exist in partially shadowed regions outside of crater floors. These deposits are covered by an insulating layer of dry soil that keeps the heat from occasional sunlit periods from sublimating the ices below. Astrobotic has completed a NASA contract to design an excavator to remove the covering layer. Because operations in partially shadowed regions can be done with solar power at certain times, they will be less expensive than working in permanently dark crater floors that may require costly and hard-to-commercially-license nuclear systems.

Water and other volatiles can be transformed into propellant to refuel spacecraft for their return to Earth — at least doubling the productivity or halving the cost of human lunar expeditions.

Astrobotic’s rovers will collect detailed maps of the terrain and soil characteristics at the poles, as well as data on how various components (wheels, motor seals, anti-dust coatings) perform. This advance knowledge will greatly reduce the risks and uncertainties faced by space agency planners and aerospace corporations around the world. They will be able to design human outposts, pressurized human rovers and other machinery for the actual conditions at the poles.

Another top goal will be to confirm that polar locations with near-constant sunlight exist. This is a primary reason that space agencies plan their future outposts for the poles. The equatorial regions visited by the six Apollo missions experience 14 days of sunlight followed by 14 days of extremely cold night when solar cells don’t generate power. Surviving that two-week night requires storing a great deal of power, or the complications of bringing nuclear power generators. (The Apollo missions arrived just after local dawn, and blasted off for Earth a few days later, well before the extreme heat of noontime; none attempted to survive the night.)

The Sun clocks around the horizon at the lunar poles. The Moon has a very slight axial tilt compared to the 23-degree axial tilt of the Earth; therefore the Moon’s polar regions do not experience the months of winter darkness that Earth’s polar regions do. Maps compiled by orbital missions indicate that parts of the Shackleton Crater rim at the Moon’s south pole, for example, have persistent sunlight, with periods of only two to three days when local terrain casts shadows over a location. Storing enough energy to last a two-day eclipse is far easier than girding for a two-week eclipse at the Moon’s equator. Selecting a polar location for persistent solar energy is similar to selecting a plant site in a state with cheap electrical power.

Future Astrobotic missions then will prospect for water and other volatiles. Finding the richest deposits would be a tremendous boon to space agency planners – water can be used both for life support and for generating rocket propellant for the return trip to Earth.

SpaceX Sets Launch Date For World’s Most Powerful Rocket

SpaceX promised something big, and it’s now delivered. The company today revealed its plans for the Falcon Heavy, which promises to be the “world’s most powerful rocket.” Just how powerful is that? SpaceX says the 22-story rocket will be able to carry satellites or spacecraft weighing over 53 metric tons (or 117,000 pounds) into low earth orbit, which is nearly twice what the Space Shuttle is able to carry. What’s more, this isn’t just a far off promise. SpaceX says the rocket will be “ready” sometime next year, and the first test flight is planned for 2013. The rocket’s sheer size isn’t it’s only selling point, though — it also promises to drastically reduce the cost of sending things into space, with each launch expected to cost “only” $100 million. Head on past the break for a taste of what’s in store.

Falx Air Hybrid Tilt-Rotor Chopper

Falx Air Ltd., a company based out of North Staffordshire UK, is the first of its kind to incorporate the best of technology and skills in its Vertical Take off and Landing platforms. Having an experience of nine years tucked neatly under their belt, Falx has been able to devise a chopper platform that will ensure maximum efficiency and fuel utilization for the craft. Of course, the latest aircraft designs have been created by coupling up the efficiency with the battery backup, technology and the most amazing electric motor.

Avro Canada VZ-9V Avrocar

The Avro Canada VZ-9V Avrocar was a flying saucer in the true sense of the word. It used three turbojets to turn a central impeller which kept it airborne by providing downward thrust, it used a vane and shutter system to manouver the aircraft by venting thrust in any direction desired.

It was capable of carrying two crew seated in separate cockpits on either side, facing forward. Total diameter of the Avrocar was 18 feet. The Avrocar was first proposed in the early 1950′s by the Avro company to the Canadian government. Later the United States government showed a great deal of interest and ploughed alot of money into the project. But it proved to be unstable at heights over about 8 feet and although it appeared in a few different forms the plug was finally pulled in 1961.

AvA 299 DROP Heliboarding Concept By Timon Sager

A helicopter ride sure sends an adrenaline rush and is fun in its own way. Timon Sager has designed a Heliconcept that comes specializes for Heliboarding christened as the AvA 299 DROP. The most important part of a helicopter is its rotors that are wedged on the top. But the rotors of the DROP are special, as they are coaxial. The concentric shafts come with a pair of helicopter rotors that have been placed one above the other.




The rotors spin opposite to each other but their axis of rotation is similar. This not only makes the helicopter efficient but compact as well. On the contrary, the presence of two rotors pulls the height of the helicopter a little. Normally what happens is because of a tail rotor power is wasted that otherwise would have been aptly used to provide lift and thrust.



The presence of a coaxial design ensures that no power is wasted. The same engine when clubbed with a coaxial design injects all the power for a better lift and thrust. The DROP, a Heliboarding concept, will make sure the ride is more efficient and packed with power.

NASA’s Space Plain X-34

The space plane was a project that NASA didn’t put too much effort into because at that time it was realized that expendable machines were much cheaper to build and maintain. But things apparently will go in a different direction because they just announced the X-34 a model that manufacturers hope will return safe to Earth once the outer space mission will end.

It was designed at Orbital Sciences and it was presented to the public back in 1999. At that time its mission was simple: launch into orbit, release some devices and turn back home safe. But in 2001 after some comprehensive analysis they realized that the project will be too expensive to build.

Their new approach will go towards the Virgin Galactic space program in which the company simply boosts a spacecraft towards the orbit. They will try to combine this revolutionary thinking with the old X-34 model.

It’s about time they try something different because technology has advanced greatly and for sure there are the means to make this a dream come true. And who knows maybe one day there will be even some places on that airplane for you and me.