Testing
A recently launched research project involving researchers at Bristol University and UK aerospace company Cobham is attempting to solve the problem of entirely autonomous aerial refuelling. The project is actually one facet of the wider ASTRAEA (Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation and Assessment) programme, which aims to open up
Propulsion
Moller International, Inc. has awarded Space Science Corporation (SSC) a distributorship with exclusive rights in New Mexico following the completion of a market survey at the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight (ISPCS). "Space Sciences Corporation is a young aggressive firm and their approach to business holds many
Testing
Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Multi Sensor Detect Sense and Avoid (MSDSA) programme successfully completed its first airborne demonstration using a prototype, x-band radar sensor. This new Sense And Avoid (SAA) sensor repeatedly detected and tracked airborne intruders resulting in over 60 seconds of avoidance time. “The MSDSA sensor incorporates our
Testing
World Surveillance Group Inc. has announced that that free flight testing and customer demonstrations of the Argus One will take place at the US Department of Energy Nevada Test Site ("N2S2") in early December 2011. These flight tests and demonstrations at N2S2 are being sponsored by the US
Research
A team of seven students from the Terrassa School of Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering (ETSEIAT) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. BarcelonaTech (UPC) have developed the technology for flying the Solar Endeavour UPC, Spain's first photovoltaic-powered plane built by students. The project's main goal was to
Commercial
NASA's Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment, or ATTREX, will conduct this research over the Pacific Ocean from three locations in 2013 and 2014. A consortium of scientists are in the early stages of preparation for a multi-year airborne science campaign to study the humidity and chemical composition of air
Testing
The US Navy has announced that it will add an aerial refuelling capability to at least one of the two X-47 prototypes sometime in 2014. The decision to add refueling software and equipment was published on the federal government’s business opportunity website Limited by a human being’s endurance,
Testing
Northrop Grumman posted this video of the first "cruise" flight of the US Navy's X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System demonstration aircraft. During this flight, conducted Sept. 30, 2011 flight, the aircraft's landing gear was raised and lowered for the first time, a key milestone
Testing
AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems has announced that the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, UAS Test Directorate has established and demonstrated a dedicated Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System for test and evaluation purposes."Our Marine Corps customers have utilized Shadow systems in operational areas including Afghanistan and Iraq for
Testing
The Center for Remote Integration in Montana hosted a flight demonstration of the Sandstorm UAS on a remote airstrip south of Columbia Falls on Tuesday. This was the second flight demonstration of the aircraft, after that in Oklahoma in August. About 45 people were on hand to witness the flight,
Propulsion
At the end of October 2011, Thomas Senkel of e-volo made the first manned flight with an e-powered multicopter at an airstrip in the southwest of Germany. The flight lasted one minute and 30 seconds, after which the constructor and test pilot stated: "The flight characteristics are good natured.
Testing
Turkish Aerospace Industries' (TAI) has announced that its Anka prototype completed its fifth flight on 22 October, "marking the beginning of the envelope expansion process". This will demonstrate the aircraft's performance at various altitudes, speeds and weights. First flown on 30 December 2010, the Anka