Oct
12
     
Space clown comes back to Earth
Posted (Marianne) in Blog Articles on October-12-2009

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The first clown in space landed safely on Earth on Sunday, capping a mission to spread awareness about water conservation.

Guy Laliberte, a Canadian billionaire, founder of the circus troupe Cirque du Soleil with a NASA astronaut and Russian cosmonaut, touches down on the steppes of Kazakhstan at 12:32 am ET after an eleven day space jaunt. He rode in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft along with two professional spacefliers returning from six-month stays abroad the International Space Station.

The trio closed the hatches between their Soyuz TMA-14 and the orbiting laboratory at 6:06 p.m. ET and undocked at 9:07 p.m. ET after saying farewell to their crewmates still onboard the station.

Laliberte wore his trademark clown nose as he hugged the station resident goodbye – and was also seen wearing it after he was helped out of the Soyuz capsule in Kazakhstan.

Visit Warplanes.com to know more about the promos for Halloween 2009

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Oct
09
     
Airmen provide intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance
Posted (Nina) in Blog Articles on October-9-2009

Leaders at every level need battlefield information, and because of Airmen with the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron … now they know.

With their RQ-4 Global Hawk and U-2 aircraft, the Airmen excel at providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for everyone from combatant commanders to troops on the ground.

Both the U-2 and Global Hawk, deployed from Beale Air Force Base, Calif., have a plethora of sensors, but each aircraft is used in different ways. The U-2 flies above 70,000 feet so it’s able to record both signals and still imagery intelligence over a larger area. But because the Global Hawk doesn’t have an onboard pilot, it can stay overhead longer than the typical ten hour U-2 sorties.

“Global Hawks and U-2s complement each other,” Colonel Stallings explained. “For example, if a U-2 pilot finds four different hot spots that need monitoring, they can reach out to other assets, like Global Hawks, to provide ISR needs. A U-2 is more capable, but a Global Hawk can remain on station after a U-2 has to turn back.”

The Global Hawk pilots in theater are responsible for the takeoff and landing; operators back at Beale actually give it commands during most of its mission. Keeping the bulk of Global Hawk operations stateside means a smaller footprint at their deployed location, Maj. Scott Zeller said.

“Having some RQ-4 pilots in theater is a safety net to make sure launches and recoveries go smoothly,” said Major Zeller, a Denver native. “Once the aircraft is in the air, we hand-off operations to the pilots back at Beale and they can fly it for the next 20 hours from there.”

Unmanned aerial systems provide “an amazing capability” for coalition forces, Major Zeller said. Those capabilities will only get better in the future. The squadron is currently preparing for the newest version of the aircraft, which boasts a larger wingspan and upgraded sensors.

“The Global Hawk is the future of the high-altitude ISR mission,” said New Jersey native Maj. Andrew McVicker, the 99th ERS director of operations. “But in the interim, nothing compares to what the U-2 can do. The most impressive thing about our community is that we’ve been flying the U-2 for more than 50 years and it’s just as important today as ever — it’s the stalwart of the battlefield.

“Either way, ISR keeps commanders in the know,” Major McVicker said, “and knowing is half the battle.”
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Oct
08
     
Edwards AFB detachment stands up to test F-35 JSF
Posted (Nina) in Blog Articles on October-8-2009

Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center officials here stood up Det. 1 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Oct. 2 to lead the operational test and evaluation of the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter.

Det. 1 will bring an additional 581 personnel to Edwards AFB for joint strike fighter initial operational test and evaluation.

“AFOTEC Det. 1 will conduct operational test and evaluation on the JSF with three services and two international partners,” said Maj. Gen. Stephen T. Sargeant, the AFOTEC commander. “The F-35 joint strike fighter will deliver joint and coalition multirole capabilities. AFOTEC will serve as the lead operational test agency for this the multi-service and multi-national initial operational test and evaluation, and we are already conducting operational assessments.”

According to General Sargeant, “The stand-up of this detachment is in line with our role to be in the right place at the right time to provide the right information to senior acquisition decision makers and the warfighter. AFOTEC is actively supporting the chief of staff of the Air Force goal of acquisition excellence by continuing to improve acquisition processes and skills.”

The F-35 is projected to be operationally capable by 2013.

“We are getting involved early in this program because we believe this approach to testing influences a program in a relevant, operational, and testable manner,” General Sargeant said. “Early influence allows us to maintain an operational focus to ensure our combatant commanders have the right tools to win today’s and tomorrow’s battles.”
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Oct
08
     
Xombie Rocket Launches
Posted (Marianne) in Blog Articles on October-8-2009

Masten Space Systems’ Xombie rockets has prevailed in its second attempt to for a $150,000 rocket prize from NASA. The first attempt ended at the halfway point of the required round trip due to an engine leak, but today the rocket went the full distance.

To qualify for the $150,000 prize, the alcohol-fueled rocket had to takeoff from a starting pad in California’s Mojave Desert, rise up to a height of more than 50 meter, hover for at least 90 seconds and then land on another pad for refueling. All that was done – and the Xombie retracted its steps through the air and back to the starting point.

David Masten himself voiced in a statement:

“The Xombie’s flights have established Masten Space Systems as a serious competitor. This is not just good for Masten, but good news for the commercial spaceflight industry. It shows that we have grown to the point that many teams now have the skills to build and fly successful rockets.”

The point of the exercise is not to produce an actual moon lander but to push technologies that could be used in future suborbital or orbital spacecraft.

Visit Warplanes.com for more NASA Spacecraft and Orbiters
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