io9: aerospace

Farewell, Sweet Space Shuttle Endeavour

Annalee Newitz — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:17:40 PST

The space shuttle Endeavour hitched a ride on the back of NASA's special Shuttle Carrier Aircraft today, crossing the country to its normal hangar in Florida. Endeavour is the youngest of the five space shuttles built, and it is due to be decommissioned in 2010 along with its two remaining siblings, Discovery and Atlantis.

Reporting on a stop the shuttle made in El Paso, the El Paso Times says:

Depending on the weather along the route, the shuttle will arrive at Cape Canaveral either Thursday or Friday.
Endeavour landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California Nov. 30 after a 16-day mission at the International Space Station. The space shuttle had to land in California due to bad weather in Florida. The cross-country ferry is expected to cost more than $1.8 million.

Space Shuttle Endeavour Stops on Cross-Country Flight [via El Paso Times]

AP Photo by Ric Francis.

Fighter Jet Crashes in American Suburb

Annalee Newitz — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 15:00:59 PST

Like a scary replay of a scene from Donnie Darko, an F-18 fighter jet on a training mission crashed in a suburb of the California city of San Diego this afternoon. Though two houses are on fire, so far there are no reports of anyone being injured except the pilot, who parachuted out of the jet after ejecting as the plane went down (UPDATE: BBC lists three dead). We've got video of the crash site below.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing the jet "spiraling" before it landed.

[via BBC and Reuters]

An Aviation Show That Will Warp Your Brain

Annalee Newitz — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:14:53 PST

This crazy shot of aeronautics insanity with multi-colored exhaust smoke was just one of the many weird sights last week in Guangdong Province, China, during the 7th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition. Check out the planes up close, and see what the experience did to one extreme fan.

This airshow fan had planes on the brain - literally. Not only does he have awesome eye bling, but he actually stuck acupuncture needles into his forehead topped with planes. That's devotion for you.

Photos via China Photos/Getty Images.

Real-Life Rocket Man Takes Flight Over English Channel

Nisha Gopalan — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:00:00 PDT

The best part of any superhuman story is when our fledgling hero, having recently discovered his or her powers, totally has fun with them. Think of Iron Man tinkering with his ever-evolving Mark suit, or Spider-Man figuring out how to web-sling. This morning, in the crystalline blue heavens, Swiss airline pilot Yves Rossy felt a similar rush when he strapped only a jet-powered wing to his back and navigated his bad-ass self in the air from France to England.

Crossing the 22-mile English Channel in a mere 13 minutes, the 48-year-old Rossy is said to have simply moved his head and back to steer the gizmo—made of eight-foot carbon-composite wings and kerosene-fuelled jet turbines—and landed by parachute. Wearing only a heat-resistant suit and helmet, he was moving at upwards of 125 mph. Remarked the sky captain, who took a similar, if shorter, joy ride above the Alps four months ago:

I was under tension. But fear? The day I fear, I don’t go.

If you’d like to watch the record-making flight in action, MSNBC has handily provided some footage, with a Matt Lauer play-by-play at no extra charge. (Alternately, you can turn down the volume and space-out to William Shatner’s vintage cover of Elton John’s “Rocket Man.”) Next up for the real-life Rocket Man: soaring above Arizona’s Grand Canyon. Talk about flying like an eagle.

Photo courtesy of ducaduca.

Autonomous "Flying Saucers" to Aid Military in Battle

Annalee Newitz — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:27:53 PDT

Small, autonomous "flying saucers" are going to become the next big thing in recon and surveillance on the battlefield — at least, if British firm GFS has anything to do with it. GFS (which stands, charmingly, for "Geoff's Flying Saucers") has prototyped its new model of flying saucer (pictured), called the Fenstar 50, which has an internal combustion engine and works by blowing air over its curved top. The fast airflow above the craft reduces air pressure, and allows normal air pressure beneath to push the craft up.

Similar craft have been manufactured in the U.S., such as Honeywell's Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) — though the MAV achieves flight via fans that push the craft up, rather than reducing air pressure above so it can rise. The idea behind these craft is that a military base or unit in the field could use them to scout locations or aid in rescue missions. A flying saucer could float over an area that's been attacked, and feed images back to soldiers who want to find out if there are any survivors. Already, emergency responders in the U.S. have used devices like these for rescuing people in collapsed buildings.

According to The Register:

The Fenstar 50 will be the first GFS saucer to use an internal combustion engine. Previous craft have been electrically powered, and have suffered from very short endurance. The current [state of the art] electric saucer . . . can normally stay up for just two and a half minutes. The new Fenstar 50 is expected to manage up to an hour, carrying a payload of 5kg - a quarter of its all-up weight. GFS aims to keep the total weight under 20kg.

Yes, I want one please. And I want a space inside so my kittens can fly in it.

Brit Firm to Demo Serious Flying Robo-Saucer [The Register]

For Just $285,000, You Can Have Your Jetpack

Annalee Newitz — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:43:34 PDT

Known as Fusion Man, he's the Swiss Eval Knieval of the air, and yesterday he plunged to earth 7500 feet from an airplane at over 180 miles an hour, buoyed only by four jets strapped to his back. But in reality, he's just a pilot named Yves Rossi who built the jet wings himself — to the tune of about $258,000 dollars. (He had a little help from sponsors.) Want to see it in full video action?

Here's a video of the flight, with dreamy background music provided by our sister site Gizmodo. I would have done something a little more death metal, but actually the pop works OK too. Says The Register about the commercial potential of this jetpack:

Rossy's backpack jetwings won't be hitting the shops soon, though. The only controls or instruments are a throttle and an audible altimeter - the wing is steered using the body, and given his long history of crackups this plainly isn't easy even for Rossy. A flameproof suit is necessary to avoid leg burns from the jet exhaust, too. The only way of launching is to jump from a (great) height. Landing is by folding the wings and parachuting down - yet more skills to be mastered. (The latest wing has its own landing chute which deploys if it has to be jettisoned, which should ease the future development path somewhat).
The main application would seem to be stunts like yesterday's - or perhaps for certain highly unusual/barmy special-forces missions. Spelco, a military parachute company in Germany, is working on its "Gryphon" backpack deltaplane - an easier to operate, low-radar-signature, long-ranging version of Rossy's concept.

Next, Rossy claims, he'll zoom 22 miles across the English Channel. Top image by Stephanie Thomet, via The Register.

Swiss birdman in Alpine backpack [The Register]

Japan Shoots Down Space Missile

Annalee Newitz — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 07:30:16 PST

Giant rockets fought in space yesterday when the Japanese military shot down a mid-range ballistic missile using this Standard Missile 3 (SM-3). The ballistic missile was zooming along 100 miles above the Pacific Ocean. Japan is the first US ally to attempt these kinds of space war moves, and they did it from a US Navy missile range off the coast of Kauai. Check out more fire and a Japanese military boat in photos after the jump.

Here's the boat that launched the interceptor SM-3. Very groovy and World War II.
And here's the missile going up into space.
AP Photo/Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, HO.