Archive | May 31, 2012 | Armed with Science

Into Thin, Thin Air – The Kittinger Story

Filed under Featured, Videos by jtozer on May 31, 2012 at 7:47 am {one comment}

Joe Kittinger, a retired Air Force colonel, talks about his 1960 jump from a balloon 19 miles up and how it benefited research in the early years of the space race.

Joe Kittinger, the retired Air Force colonel who set the record for the world’s highest parachute jump, is working to help Felix Baumgartner and Red Bull’s Stratos Project, set a new record at 120,000 feet.

Video provided by the Pentagon Channel

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“I Was A One-Sided Person”

Filed under STEM, Technology, Videos by jtozer on May 30, 2012 at 7:47 am {no comments}

VA researchers join forces at the Manhattan VAMC to help a Veteran who lost his arm 40 years ago. The Gen-3 DEKA Arm System was developed for the Department of Defense which collaborated with VA Research on a VA-funded optimization study to incorporate design feedback from thirty-five volunteer amputees. The goal is to produce the world’s most advanced prosthetic arm system to help improve the lives of veterans and service members.

For more information, go to www.research.va.gov

Got A Pirate Problem? There’s Even an App For That

Filed under STEM, Technology by jtozer on May 29, 2012 at 7:56 am {no comments}

Arr, matey.

The Department of Defense will begin funding an Office of Naval Research (ONR) – sponsored project aimed at developing Web applications to help multinational navies police the world’s oceans, officials announced.

Pirates, ye be warned!

I don't know how effective this technology will be if you're...you know...fighting 18th century pirates. Capture of the Pirate, Blackbeard, 1718 depicting the battle between Blackbeard the Pirate and Lieutenant Maynard in Ocracoke Bay (Painted by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, 1920)

The International Collaborative Development for Enhanced Maritime Domain Awareness (ICODE MDA) was one of 14 projects selected by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics to receive $1 million awards beginning this fall through the Coalition Warfare Program, which funds international collaborative research efforts.

The ICODE MDA project is a research alliance between ONR and Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific). ONR is partnering with scientists in Chile to build widgets, or Web-based applications, for use by sailors and maritime operators to analyze data and other information to combat pirates, drug smugglers, arms traffickers, illegal fishermen and other nefarious groups.

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Upgrades for the B-52

Filed under Featured, STEM by jtozer on May 28, 2012 at 7:08 am {no comments}

Lt.Gen. Jim Kowalski operates the Combat Network Communications Technology program on board a B-52H Stratofortress test bomber May 2, 2012, at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. (U.S. Air Force photo/Jet Fabara)

During a recent visit to Edwards AFB, Calif., the commander of Air Force Global Strike Command spent time with B-52 Combined Test Force officials to preview the combat capability enhancements made to the B-52H Stratofortress.

Modernizing and sustaining the nation’s long range strike aviation capability is a top priority for the command, Lt. Gen. Jim Kowalski said, who recently noted the B-52 has served and delivered decisive effects in many recent U.S. conflicts to include Operation Iraqi Freedom.

We’re celebrating this year as the Year of the B-52, marking both the 50th anniversary of the last delivery of a B-52H to Minot AFB, N.D., and the 60th anniversary of the first test flight of the YB-52, he said.

He attributed the reliability and combat capability of the dual-role bomber to the talented maintenance personnel, outstanding depot support and the Air Force’s continued investment in the airframe.

The B-52H is a dual-capable aircraft designed to carry a variety of weapons in support of a range of military operations. It has been projected for a number of upgrades that have already been made to the two B-52H test aircraft at Edwards AFB.

These upgrades are integral to ensuring the B-52H is both effective and able to fully integrate with other services, as envisioned in the Air Sea Battle concept, according to command officials.

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A Spiral Galaxy in Hydra

Filed under Space by jtozer on May 27, 2012 at 7:10 am {one comment}

This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows NGC 4980, a spiral galaxy in the southern constellation of Hydra. The shape of NGC 4980 appears slightly deformed, something which is often a sign of recent tidal interactions with another galaxy. In this galaxy’s case, however, this appears not to be the case as there are no other galaxies in its immediate vicinity.

The image was produced as part of a research program into the nature of galactic bulges, the bright, dense, elliptical centers of galaxies. Classical bulges are relatively disordered, with stars orbiting the galactic center in all directions. In contrast, in galaxies with so-called pseudobulges, or disc-type bulges, the movement of the spiral arms is preserved right to the center of the galaxy.

Although the spiral structure is relatively subtle in this image, scientists have shown that NGC 4980 has a disc-type bulge, and its rotating spiral structure extends to the very center of the galaxy.

A galaxies’ bright arms are the location of new star formation in spiral galaxies, and NGC 4980 is no exception. The galaxy’s arms are traced out by blue pockets of extremely hot newborn stars are visible across much of its disc. This sets it apart from the reddish galaxies visible in the background, which are distant elliptical galaxies made up of much older, and hence redder, stars.

This image is composed of exposures taken in visible and infrared light by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. The image is approximately 3.3 by 1.5 arcminutes in size.

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ONR Researcher Tapped for Role in National Materials Genome Initiative

Filed under Earth Sciences by jtozer on May 26, 2012 at 7:31 am {one comment}

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has selected an Office of Naval Research (ONR) director to serve as co-deputy chair of an interagency subcommittee tasked with speeding the advancement of new materials.

Dr. Julie Christodoulou, division director of naval materials in ONR’s Sea Warfare and Weapons department, became one of three co-deputy chairs of the National Science and Technology Council’s Subcommittee for the Materials Genome Initiative. The subcommittee is supporting the Materials Genome Initiative for Global Competitiveness (MGI), part of President Obama’s plan to accelerate the standard decades-long process to discover, mature and manufacture new materials.

Just as the Human Genome Project rejuvenated and spurred the growth of biological sciences by decoding the fundamental building blocks of human genetics, MGI is a national effort to build a materials innovation infrastructure that will accelerate the discovery and incorporation of materials in half the time and at a reduced cost of traditional approaches.

It took nearly 40 years for lithium-ion batteries to go from material discovery and development to mass market consumption.

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Here Comes the BOOM

Filed under Featured, STEM, Videos by jtozer on May 25, 2012 at 7:09 am {no comments}

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. Navy sailors aboard the USS LAKE ERIE (CG 70) successfully conducted a flight test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system, resulting in the first intercept of a short-range ballistic missile target over the Pacific Ocean by the Navy’s newest Missile Defense interceptor, the Standard Missile — 3 (SM-3) Block 1B.

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Jet Engines Eat Cereal and Crayons (No, really)

Filed under Physical Sciences, Technology by jtozer on May 24, 2012 at 7:28 am {no comments}

Water forms an interesting cyclonic twist as it is intentionally sucked into the test engine of a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport aircraft during the VIPR project engine health monitoring tests conducted by NASA Dryden. The water was contained on a special platform built by NASA Dryden's Fabrication Branch for the tests. (NASA / Tony Landis)

It might not surprise you to find cereal and crayons beneath your sofa cushions, especially if you are a parent with young children.

But what if you found them in a jet engine?

If you’re a NASA engineer, you might declare success in a test of new aircraft engine health monitoring technology designed to provide early warning of engine problems, including the destructive effect of volcanic ash.

NASA’s Aviation Safety Program is developing technology for improved sensors to help spot changes in vibration, speed, temperature and emissions which are symptomatic of engine glitches.

These advanced sensors could alert ground crews to problems that can be eliminated with preventive maintenance before becoming serious safety concerns.

Ultimately, the sensors could alert pilots to the presence of destructive volcanic ash particles too small for the eyes to see, giving more time for evasive action to prevent engine damage in flight.
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