When the Spruce Goose was still just a twinkle in Howard Hughes’ eye, Russia was quietly constructing the largest propeller-powered plane to ever leave the ground. More »
from Gizmodo
From Engadget: Happy Biiiirthday Mr USAF X-37B Robot Space Plane
The X-37B was only meant to stay up in space for a gestational nine months, but a full year has now passed since launch and the US Air Force apparently has little interest in bringing its baby home. On the contrary: according to Space.com, the plan is to send up another unmanned space plane to keep the X-37B company on its [CLASSIFIED] missions. Whatever it’s getting up to in that airless playground, it must be doing something right. Air Force Lt. Col. Tom McIntyre says the craft is “setting the standard for a reusable space plane and, on this one-year orbital milestone, has returned great value on the experimental investment.” Which is a fine way of saying [STILL CLASSIFIED].
from Engadget
From DailyTech Main News Feed: NASA Works with Rovio to Launch “Angry Birds Space” Game
Angry Birds Space will be released March 22 for PC, Mac, iOS and Android
From NPR Morning Edition: ‘Space Chronicles’: Why Exploring Space Still Matters
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson says that space exploration is a key to transforming our economy and will play a crucial role in American success in the years to come. It “transforms the culture into one that values science and technology, and that’s the culture that innovates,” he says.
from Morning Edition
From Gizmodo: Breakthrough Quadcopter Does Previously Impossible Acrobatics
Looking at their latest invention, Mark Cutler and Jonathan P. Howe will get an awesome job at some military aerospace company. They have created a quadrotor drone with variable-pitch, something that didn’t exist before in these kind of machines. Not they can do some crazy acrobatics. More »
from Gizmodo
From Gizmodo: John Glenn Orbited the Earth 50 Years Ago Today
From Popular Science – New Technology, Science News, The Future Now: New Law Opens Civilian American Skies to UAVs, Starting In Just 90 Days
More Drones are Coming to U.S. Airspace U.S. Department of Homeland Security
First responders will be cleared to operate small drones in U.S. airspace in just three monthsJust a week after Congress finally passed an FAA spending bill requiring the aviation regulator to expedite the integration of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into the national airspace, President Obama has already signed it into law. What does that mean? The bill requires full integration of UAS into the national regulatory framework by Sept. 30, 2015, but you’ll start seeing drones in the sky sooner than that. Small UAS (under 55 pounds) must be cleared to fly by mid-2014. And emergency first responders will be able to pilot very small UAS (4.4 pounds or less) within just 90 days.
from Popular Science – New Technology, Science News, The Future Now