David Akin of the University of Maryland has a 53 page presentation that looks at the economics of reusable rockets. The primary cost drivers are refurbishment and mission operations costs. Refurbishment costs after each launch need to be ideally be kept below 3% of the vehicle cost but definitely at 6% or less for significant …
Superconductors.ORG herein reports the discovery of a new material that exhibits record superconductivity above 95 Celsius (203F, 368K). Its chemical formula is Sn5Sb5Ba2MnCu11O22+. This copper-oxide ceramic stands out among the 20 room-temperature superconductors discovered so far. Being non-toxic and non-brittle, it is RoHS compliant as well as more durable than previous formulations. A Meissner transition …
Exoscientist Robert Clark has calculated a two stage three core Spacex rocket with the proposed Spacex methane fueled Rocket Engine would enable 536 tons of payload in a single launch. Each core has 5 raptor engines for a total of 15 raptor engines. A June 2014 talk by Tom Mueller, the head of rocket engine …
Dana Andrews looks at a minimum transit speed of 2 percent of the speed of light (fifty years per light year) for an interstellar generation ship. This makes for transit times in the neighborhood of hundreds of years, depending on destination. A key requirement is the ability to decelerate and rendezvous with the destination planet …
Tesla boss Elon Musk told CNN Money that the self-driving car — or “autopilot,” is just months away from retail. Autonomous cars will definitely be a reality. A Tesla car next year will probably be 90 percent capable of autopilot. Like, so 90 percent of your miles can be on auto. For sure highway travel. …
Paul March is one of the NASA researchers who did the work on the EMdrive, Q drive and Woodward Mach effect propulsion. Paul has some comments about how they did not make a simple thermal error in discussion at Talk Polywell. Most of the observed forces in the Eagleworks Lab frustum devices were prompt with …
Scotia Bank of Canada has a 14 page currency forecast which looks at most major and minor currencies into 2015 by quarter. Here is a copy of the Scotiabank 2012 currency forecast The US Dollar (USD) is in high demand, outperforming most major peer currencies around the world. Convergence of solid macroeconomic developments and bullish …
SpaceX delivered another commercial communications satellite to orbit early Sunday, completing its second launch in just over a month for Hong Kong-based AsiaSat. SpaceX confirmed the rocket deployed its payload as planned 32 minutes into the flight, earning the Falcon 9 a 12th successful flight in as many tries since 2010. Because the launch was …
Project Dragonfly is a feasibility study for an interstellar mission, conducted by small, distributed spacecraft, propelled primarily by laser sails. The spacecraft shall be capable of reaching the target star system within a century and be able to decelerate. We believe that such a mission can be conducted with technology available by 2024-2034 as well …
Google’s health and antiaging startup, Calico, is teaming up with biotechnology drugmaker AbbVie in a $500 million joint venture that will try to develop new ways to treat cancer and other diseases such as Alzheimer’s. AbbVie and Calico announced a novel R and D collaboration intended to help the two companies discover, develop and bring …
As revolutionary as GPS has been, however, it has its limitations. GPS signals cannot be received underground or underwater and can be significantly degraded or unavailable during solar storms. More worrisome is that adversaries can jam signals. GPS continues to be vital, but its limitations in some environments could make it an Achilles’ heel if …