Archive For June, 2014
India successfully test-fired its first indigenously-developed air-to-air missile Astra from a Su-30 combat aircraft over a firing range in the western sector. “The indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile ‘ASTRA’ was successfully test fired by the Air Force from a naval range in the western sector meeting all the mission objectives,” a DRDO […]
In a world first, British Airways is planning to use garbage to power its flights in an ambitious project which aims to convert municipal waste into 50,000 metric tonnes of jet fuel per year. The project will attempt to convert trash into a drop-in fuel for air-planes by 2017. While the world’s first factory to […]
An EU-funded research project called Solar Jet has produced the world’s first ‘solar’ jet fuel from water and carbon dioxide. Researchers have successfully demonstrated the entire production chain for renewable kerosene using concentrated light as a high temperature energy source. The project is still at an experimental stage and just a glassful of jet fuel […]
A new facility on which missile warheads can be propelled at supersonic speeds has been inaugurated at the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), Chandigarh. The Rail Track Rocket Sled (RTRS) Penta Rail Supersonic Track comprises five precision-aligned rails, each four-km long; specially designed rocket motors; aerodynamic sleds; and advanced instrumentation. It allows the simulation of […]
The commercial cargo ship Dragon returned to Earth from the International Space Station, Bringing back nearly 2 tons of science experiments and old equipment for NASA. SpaceX’s Dragon splashed into the Pacific, just five hours after leaving the orbiting lab. “Welcome home, Dragon!” the California-based company said via Twitter. After a one-month visit, the SpaceX […]
Russia is ready to continue deliveries for the Indian naval aviation, if it receives a request from the Indian side, the head of Russia’s biggest helicopter building company, Helicopters of Russia, said. “As for the Vikramaditya aircraft carrier, this will undoubtedly be a decision by the Indian side. The holding company (Helicopters of Russia) will […]
Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked the State Governments and helicopter operators to strictly comply with Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) related to helipads. DGCA joint director general, Mr Lalit Gupta, said the need for frequently used helipads was felt during Uttarakhand disaster, which increased manifold due to seasonal religious pilgrimage. Last […]
The Indian Air Force’s Su-30MKIs and the French Rafale fighters will come together for a ten-day air exercise called the ‘Garuda-5′, aimed at training the pilots and crew of Indian and French fighters in air superiority operation in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur airbase from June 3. The French composition for the Garuda- 5 will include four Rafale […]
In a world first, scientists claim to have used sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to make ‘green’ jet fuel. A European consortium with the participation of ETH Zurich has experimentally demonstrated the first ever production of jet fuel via a thermo chemical process using concentrated solar energy. The key component of the production process of […]
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are getting the chance to test out their gardening skills, with ‘plant pillows’. NASA announced they would be including “plant pillows” in Space X-3′s Dragon capsule, which will allow astronauts to grow their own fresh vegetables, writes Daily Digest News. “Veggie will provide a new resource for U.S. astronauts […]