Nasa Starts Work on Super Quiet Supersonic Jet

American space agency Nasa has finally given nod to development of new age breed of supersonic jets inquest to win over the sky. NASA has started development for so called low boom supersonic jets which will be much better on every scale against the traditional supersonic jets. These jets are aimed to be quieter, safer as well as greener than the current form of air transportations.

NASA supersonic jet plane is currently under development through the X Plane programme. It should be noted that Nasa’s X Plane programme was established way back in 1940’s with the goal of creating new age jets for the future. However over the years this program was left to eat dust due to the shortage of funds. Nasa has finally found a partner in name of Aviation Horizons which will be funding the development of supersonic jets till 2017.

Nasa aims to bring greener jets

Aviation Horizons has made it clear to the Nasa that they are looking forward to development of greener supersonic jets which doesn’t cause too much strain on the fossil fuels for power. These jets will feature reduced fuel usage, emissions along with revolutionary innovation basically in the aircraft design which can also reduce the noise emission to a great extent.

Nasa is working towards bringing a new age in supersonic jets

The current form of air travesl are not only a huge guzzler of natural resources in order to derive power but also happens to great noise emitter. Nasa’s X Plane programme is almost seventy years old and during this Nasa has performed huge number of test which has push forwarded its understanding and technological expertise in the arena of supersonic jets development. It all started seventy ago when Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier and opened a new world of opportunities to the super-aircraft development.

Charles Bolden one of the Nasa administrator has stated that they are looking forward to continue the legacy of the X Plane by carefully working towards the development of first of its kind quieter supersonic jets. Hopefully these will find their way into the aviation industry and one day it will cater the needs of millions of people flying worldwide.

The biggest problem faced by the engineers is to reduce the sound emission along with the fuel emission is a challenging task for the Nasa. New age supersonic jets will likely to have a ‘sonic heatbeat’ rather than the booming sounds.

Nasa pioneering commercial space flights with experimentation

The development of new supersonic jets is among the some of the great experiments undertaken by Nasa to improve the aviation industry. Nasa has even unveiled an unique one of kind ten engine drone which has the design ala helicopter. Nasa is also experimenting with various kind of wing shapes in order to improve the fuel usage ratio along with coming with an option of removing wide wings on the aircrafts. In order to open the space for commercial flights it is necessary to decrease the weight which will ensure faster flight with reduced use of fuel.

New Virgin Galactic Space Plane Unveiled

Virgin Galactic `Back on Track’ to take Tourist in Space

Online News had been informed by Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire tycoon, that he was of the belief that Virgin Galactic is `back on track’ in the race to take the tourists in space. Branson had been speaking during the unveiling of Virgin’s latest SpaceShipTwo in Mojave Desert in California. It is said that the six-seater vehicle would be replacing the earlier SpaceShipTwo that had broken up high in October 2014, over the same desert.

On investigation, it was observed that the pilot Michael Alsbury had organized a braking mechanism earlier resulting in the failure of the vehicle. Mr Alsbury had died in the crash and his co-pilot PeteSiebold had been injured badly. Virgin Galactic states that it expects to `democratise space’ by taking fee-paying passengers on momentary trips to the edge of space.

However it tends to face competition from competitors in its efforts of developing a `commercial space line’. Sir Richard informed Sky New at the unveiling that `all of us have tears in our eyes today. Eighteen months back was a difficult day to say the least for everybody picked themselves up and got straight back to work the next day, creating this beautiful spaceship and now we are back on track again. There is so much that can be achieved to the benefit of earth by exploring space’.

New Vehicle Virgin Spaceship Christened `Unity’

The naming ceremony for the new vehicle Virgin Spaceship – VSS, was performed with his one year old granddaughter Eva-Deia with a bottle of milk and was christened Unity. The spaceship tends to feature an image of the eye of physicist Stephen Hawking.

Hawking in an audio message had stated that Sir Richard had offered him a seat aboard one of the first flights in orbit. He further added that since that day he had never changed his mind and that if he was able to go and Richard would still take him, he would be very proud to fly on this spaceship. He had been an enthusiastic supporter of human space flight for long, making this huge human achievement more accessible and the first private astronauts would be pioneers.

Branson had stated according to a company press release, that the beautiful new spaceship VSS Unity seems to be the embodiment of his goal and a great testament to what can be achieved when true teamwork, great skill with deep pride are mingled with a common purpose.

Ferry Passengers up to 50 Miles above Earth’s Surface

Recently the company had informed that due to the fatal crash, the new spaceship would not blast off and head straight to space, anytime soon and faces a wide testing period. When the craft has been totally checked, Virgin Galactic intends to utilise it in ferrying passengers up to 50 miles above Earth’s surface, a height which the company states would qualify them as bona fide space tourists.

To book a seat, hundreds of people have already paid $250,000 with Virgin Galactic including stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Lady Gaga and Brad Pitt who have joined the list. The first flights had been scheduled for 2009; however the end of 2017 seems to be the earliest probable date.

The testing of the SpaceShipTwo would now be stepped up though the company seems to be uncooperative in setting the deadlines. It has stated that the lessons have been learned from what had occurred to the earlier craft. Sir Richard had commented that they have been working on it for the last 10 years and that they would not give up till they have achieved their dream.

After SpaceX Sticks its Landing, Elon Musk Talks about a City on Mars

Elon Musk Space Company did everything right this time to successfully launch a rocket in the space and bring it back to the earth. It seems like SpaceX is riding on the success of the Star Wars: Force Awakens, pun intended. It should be noted that last time SpaceX launched a rocket it blew up like a fireball which left Elon Musk red faced.

SpaceX writes a new chapter in space history

This time rocket has a flawless launch then it reappeared in the hemisphere and quietly settled down on the landing pas at Cape Canaveral. It was the first time that rocket has been able to successfully land after delivering the required devices in the orbit. This rocket even created the sonic boom, which was a deafening sound to be heard across the station. This speed sound was created when rocket started travelling through the air than the speed of sound.

Features of the iconic SpaceX rocket

SpaceX rocket, which created a sensation in the space exploration towers some 15 stories tall. A number of people and agencies in the space community have appreciated the SpaceX achievement in shooting a rocket into the space and bringing its back on the earth. It will help in commercializing space with such rockets, which can be used again and again with better precision and control.

Incidentally, the ability recover and reuse the first stage of rockets is the most expensive part as it houses the engines. This feature will certainly help in dramatically lowering the cost of the space travel and it will help in making the space travel much more accessible. Elon Musk went say that it will be much like having an aircraft, which can be used many while other aircraft can only be used once.

SpaceX rocket key to lowering costs of space travel and rocket development

The savings brought by the reusing the rockets in upcoming will help in lowering both the space travel costs along with lowering the cost of building rockets. The Falcon 9 rocket which was used by SpaceX costs around $60 million to build and the fuel costs around $200,000. Given the fact it can be reused again the cost of building a new rocket is simply taken out of the equation.

Musk has revealed its main aim of colonizing the Mars and the successful launch & landing of Flacon 9 shows that the same technology can be used to build powerful rocket in upcoming future. Elon Musk was hopeful that with more advancement and better use of technology he will be able to build a city on Mars someday.

Currently SpaceX is focusing on perfecting the landings and other aspect of the rockets. Along with Boeing, SpaceX happened to have contract with NASA to launch astronauts to the International Space Station. The first flight for this purpose is expected to take place in 2017 and it will mark the first time when US has launched astronauts into the space from the American soil.

Blue Origin’s Surprise Rocket Launch and Safe Landing

Blue Origin Launched Un-crewed Rocket in Space & Back on Earth

The Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has announced that his rocket company Blue Origin has launched an un-crewed rocket to the edge of the space prior to landing it back on Earth. The rocket had performed a surprising and a historic rocket launch and landing from their facility in Van Horn, Texas. A video had revealed how the launch vehicle had reached the edge of space before it returned back to Earth in a controlled landing.

In a statement, Bezos had mentioned that `rockets have always been expendable but not anymore. Safely tucked away at their launch site in west Texas is the rarest of beast, a used rocket. Blue Origin’s reusable New Shepard space vehicle had flown a flawless mission, soaring to 329,839 feet and returned through 119-mph high altitude crosswinds making a gentle controlled landing just four and a half feet from the centre of the pad.

Fuel reuse is a game changer and we can’t wait to fuel up and fly again’. The launch vehicle and the firm’s New Shepard capsule had reached an altitude of around 100 kilometres before separating. It had deployed its parachutes, drifting to the rocket while the rocket utilised controlled firings to descend before deploying its landing leg for a successful return.

Reusable Rockets – Important Development for Space Travel

The rocket had travelled significantly, to a height which was officially beyond the boundary space of 100 kilometres high known as the Karman line, making it the first rocket to land successfully after journeying to space.

This is the second surprise test of Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule and launch vehicle, this year after a launch in April and due to loss of hydraulic pressure it meant that Blue Origin would not recover the rocket for that flight.

This competition has placed the firm in direct competition with SpaceX that had conducted successful ground landings from altitude of 1 kilometre and is now making efforts in landing its Falcon 9 rocket on barges in the sea once they tend to deliver cargo to the International Space Station. Reusable rockets have been viewed as an important development for space travel and it is said that reusable rockets could be bringing down the cost of space flight with the provision of new opportunities.

Blue Origin – Opened Important Space Tourism Avenues

Presently all rockets are expendable which means that new one need to be built for every launch. SpaceX and Blue Origin are making attempt to develop reusable rockets so that the same equipment could be utilised again and again thereby decreasing the cost of going to space. This has opened up important space tourism avenues for Blue Origin.

As for SpaceX, they are more dedicated in getting humans and equipment in orbit. So far, Blue Origin has launched its capsules without a crew, however in the video of the launch, it shows a reproduction of what paying passengers would one day tend to enjoy. The vehicle tends to carry six people who would enjoy four minutes of weightlessness and sight of the Earth from space. Bezos comments that they `are building Blue Origin to seed an enduring human presence in space in order to move beyond this blue planet which is the origin of all that we know’.