New Technology Update: February 2016

Saturday, 27 February 2016

VSS Unity: The World's First Commercial Spacecraft

The new VSS (Virgin Space Ship) Unity was unveiled by Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic this month at the Mojave Air & Space Port in California. Named by the legendary physicist Stephen Hawking, the spaceship will be the first commercial spacecraft for space tourism.

The launch of VSS Unity “SpaceShipTwo” marks a turning point for Virgin Galactic, which faced heavy criticism after the loss of their first version of SpaceShipTwo in 2014 which crashed over the Mojave Desert during a test flight.

After more than three years of construction, the company said it has made many updates to the craft; the most important being the feather inhibitor (a critical component of its re-entry system). It is a replacement for the one that crashed in 2014, killing a test pilot.

VSS Unity is equipped to carry 2 pilots and 6 passengers into space in a suborbital trajectory, giving the passengers several minutes of zero gravity. More than 700 people have signed up to fly on Virgin Galactic even though the company requires $250,000 up front for a seat.

In order to return to Earth, SpaceShipTwo employs a unique “feathering” system. By rotating its wings, the spacecraft can increase drag it experiences and slow its descent back to the ground; the design is based on its predecessor SpaceShipOne.

Just like SpaceShipOne which was released at a high altitude by a plane “WhiteKnightOne” and completed the rest of the trip into space, SpaceShipTwo will be carried by Virgin’s twin-fuselage airplane “WhiteKnightTwo” to an altitude of 45,000 feet which will then separates from plane and ignites its rocket motor to complete the rest of the voyage.

Virgin Galactic's system is entirely dependent on the skill of its pilots. "The pilots are controlling what the vehicle does at any stage," Mackay said. "It's all dependent on the pilot." He said this strategy was pursed by the company for simplicity: "The responsibility is high. But the reason that we've done it in the first place is to keep everything as simple as possible. The rationale is if you have a simple system, it's less likely to fail, and is therefore inherently safer."

Now that the spaceship is ready to be tested as a complete vehicle, the team will start integrated ground vehicle testing followed by flight tests in Mojave and ground and air exercises at its future home in Spaceport America, New Mexico.

Friday, 19 February 2016

Huawei MediaPad M2 10 Specifications & Possible Price In Nigeria

       Huawei MediaPad M2 10 is a new 10.1 inches, slim design Android tablet that offers a Full HD+ display with stylus support, reliable-looking snappers, an octa-core processor and Harman Kardon speakers.

       You can buy Huawei Tablets & Phones at:
              Konga.com by clicking here

Huawei MediaPad M2 10 features a slim body of 7.35 millimetres, tapering to just 5 millimetres at its thinnest point. It’s body is incredible, featuring a case with a metallic unibody featuring non-conducive vacuum coating with sand-blasted metal finish.

Its massive screen has a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, translating into a pixel density of about 224 ppi. The tablet also supports stylus use which makes writing and drawing on it to be a lot easier.

Huawei MediaPad M2 10 features incredible dual cameras; the rear is a 13 megapixel sensor, while the front-facing camera is a 5 megapixel sensor which will give you an amazing selfie. The tablet will be available in 16 GB and 64 GB storage variants, which can be expanded with up to 128 GB using the microSD card slot.

Huawei MediaPad M2 10 runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop OS, overlaid with its maker’s Emotion UI 3.1 user interface, for smooth usage. It will come with Huawei’s own octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 930 processor. Its robust CPU is paired with 2 GB or 3 GB of RAM and an ARM Mali-T628 MP4 GPU.

The tablet features four Harman Kardon speakers to produce incredible sound, two of Harman Kardon speakers handles treble while the other two is for the bass. Sound quality is enhanced by a dedicated amplifier with SWS 2.0 Surround Sound and Clari-fi Audio Restoration.

Huawei MediaPad M2 10 is not yet available in Nigeria, but when available, its price is expected to range from N69,500 to N110,000 depending on your location in Nigeria.

Huawei MediaPad M2 10 Specification Here are a few specification of the Huawei MediaPad M2 10:
General Features

Platform: Android 5.1 Lollipop
Processor: Quad-core 2GHz ARM Cortex-A53e, Quad-core 1.5Ghz ARM Cortex-A53
GPU: ARM Mali-T628 MP4 + i3
Memory: 2GB RAM or 3GB RAM
Colours: Gold, Silver
Dimension: 172.75 x 239.8 x 7.35 mm
Weight: 500 g
SIM Type: Micro-SIM
SIM Count: Single-SIM

Display

Display: 10.1-inch Touchscreen, 1920 x 1200 pixels, Multi-touch

Camera

Rear Camera: 13 MP Camera, 1080p HD Video
Rear Camera Features: Geo-tagging, autofocus, HDR, Panorama, scene mode
Front Camera: 5 MP Camera

Storage

Built-in Storage: 16GB Storage
Memory Card Support: Up to 64GB

Network Support

2G GSM: Yes (4G LTE models)
2G CDMA 1X: No
3G WCDMA: Yes (4G LTE models)
3G CDMA EVDO: No
4G LTE: Yes (4G LTE models)

Internet & Connectivity

GPRS: Yes (4G LTE models)
EDGE: Yes (4G LTE models)
3G/WCDMA/HSPA: Yes (4G LTE models)
HSPA+: Yes (4G LTE models)
CDMA EVDO: No
4G LTE: Yes (4G LTE models)
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual band
Wi-Fi Hotspot: Yes
Bluetooth: Yes, Bluetooth 4.0
HDMI Port: Yes
Infrared Blaster: No
USB Port: Yes, microUSB 2.0, USB Host

Messaging

SMS/MMS: Yes
Instant Messaging: Yes
Push Emails: Yes

Entertainment

Music Player: Yes, mp3, WAV, FLAC, eACC+
Video Player: Yes, MPEG4, H.263, H.264, XviD
FM Radio: No
Loudspeaker: Yes
3.5mm Jack: Yes

Navigation

Navigation: Yes, GPS
Maps: Yes

Sensors & Control

Digital Compass: Yes
Accelerometer: Yes
Light Sensor: Yes
Barometer: No
Pedometer: No
Gyroscope: Yes
Fingerprint Scanner: Yes
Iris Scanner: No
Voice Control: Yes

Battery

Battery: 6660 mAh Li-Polymer Battery (Non-Removable)

Other Features

Video Streaming: Yes
Traditional Voice Calls: No
Wireless Charging: No
Digital TV: No
Water Resistant: No
Dust Resistant: No
Image Editor: Yes
Video Editor: Yes
Document Viewer: Yes
Document Editor: Yes

Sunday, 14 February 2016

NASA Seeks Satellite Maker for Series of CubeSat Technology Missions

       In a unique invitation to develop a new satellite platform, NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology Program (SSTP) is requesting proposals from industry to provide small spacecraft for its Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator (PTD) missions that will include government-furnished technology payloads for a series of flight demonstrations.

       NASA plans to award a contract for a six-unit (6U) CubeSat, with options for up to four additional CubeSats of the same basic design. The Pathfinder technology demonstration missions, enabled by this procurement, are expected to demonstrate several new propulsion systems, advanced control systems for precision pointing, and communications systems that will greatly increase data transmission for future missions.

       “NASA wants to promote the development of the commercial small spacecraft industry,” said Andrew Petro, program executive for SSTP at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We are seeking a spacecraft bus that will meet our needs while avoiding over-specification so that the vendor can propose a spacecraft that might also meet the needs of a broader market.”

       A 6U CubeSat measures 4 inches by 8 inches by 12 inches and has a mass of approximately 25 pounds. This Pathfinder CubeSat bus is required to provide at least 45 watts of power and allocate at least one-third of its volume for the technology payload. The proposed satellite is expected to be based on mature subsystems and require little, or preferably no new development, allowing for low cost, rapid delivery, and reasonably low technical risk.

       NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley will lead the project in collaboration with NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. NASA expects the spacecraft and technology vendors to be partners in the mission operations.

       “The team is excited to solicit proposals for a basic small satellite bus design that will be adaptable for use on a series of low-cost missions for NASA, and possibly for other customers,” said John Marmie, project manager at Ames. “The satellites will be used to demonstrate and characterize novel small satellite payloads in low-Earth orbit.”

       This procurement is a departure from the approach in which NASA and others typically develop a new satellite platform for each technology demonstration or science mission. The procurement of multiple Pathfinder CubeSats will potentially enable a rapid cadence of technology demonstrations to advance the capabilities for CubeSats and other small spacecraft to support a wide variety of science, exploration and commercial space missions.

       “This is a new opportunity for the private sector to participate with NASA in demonstrating some of the technologies recently selected in our Tipping Point solicitation as well as some technologies coming out of the Small Business Innovation Research program" said Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

       Ames issued the request for proposals and manages SSTP within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. Proposals are due by March 30, 2016 and an award is anticipated by June 2016. The request for proposals can be found online at: https://www.fbo.gov/spg/NASA/ARC/OPDC20220/NNA16574335R/listing.html

       For more information about the Small Spacecraft Technology Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/smallsats

-end-

Kimberly Williams
kimberly.k.williams@nasa.gov
Ames Research Center
650-604-2457

This post was originally published at NASA.gov

Friday, 12 February 2016

EHang 184 AAV: The World's First Passenger Drone

EHang 184 AAV (Autonomous Aerial Vehicle) is the first passenger-carrying drone unveiled at the CES 2016 trade fair in Las Vegas, U.S.A. The electric aircraft with interior and exterior lighting, air conditioning, a 4G internet connection, gull-wing doors and so on was built by the Chinese UAV company EHang.

The Ehang 184 AAV is a 440 lb, eight-rotor aircraft which is able to lift a single person 500 metres into the air and fly them to any point on Google Maps, avoiding objects automatically and safely handling take-off and landing (as long as it can be reached within the 23 minutes battery limit).

Passengers who ride inside the EHang 184 AAV won’t need a pilot’s license since the drone will be totally automated, i.e. passengers will only input a destination and have no control during the flight. If any components malfunction or disconnect, the aircraft will immediately land in the nearest possible area to ensure safety.

The idea behind the EHang 184 AAV is that users will simply get in, power it up, select their destination using a 12-inch touch-screen tablet display, then press the "take-off" button. The drone's automated flight systems will take over from there, managing tasks such as communication with air traffic control and other aircraft, obstacle avoidance, and of course navigation.

Ehang adds that in the event of your drone experiencing problems, human pilots housed in custom built "command centres" will be able to take over and guide you to safety. Of course, it would have to build such centres first.

The aircraft features a 14.4 kWh battery pack will can be fully charged for four hours in trickle mode or two hours in fast-charge. The full charged battery is sufficient to keep one passenger airborne for up to 23 minutes at sea level. It weighs 200 kg (440 lb) and can carry up to 120 kg (264 lb), it has a maximum speed of 100 km/h (62 mph) and can reach a maximum altitude of 3,499 m (11,480 ft).

EHang 184 AAV price is yet to be known but it may likely to fall between US $200,000 and $300,000. Countries where the EHang 184 AAV will be available is also yet to be known due to the different regulations and agencies of different countries because the aircraft represents an entirely new category of technology, but the company is working closely with government agencies across the planet to develop and regulate the future of this transportation.

Samsung Galaxy A9 Specifications & Possible Price In Nigeria

       Samsung Galaxy A9 is a recently-unveiled smart phone packing a humongous Full HD display, an octa-core Qualcomm processor, enormous battery and a fingerprint scanner and other interesting features.

       You can buy Samsung Phones at:
              Konga.com by clicking here

Sporting an all-aluminium design with the thickness of about 7.4 millimetres, its 6-inch Super AMOLED display features slightly curved 2.5D glass and Full HD resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. Samsung Galaxy A9 has a fingerprint sensor nestled in its home button.

Samsung Galaxy A9 features incredible dual cameras; the rear is a 13 megapixel sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS) on the rear for high quality shots. The front-facing camera is a 8 megapixel sensor which will give you an amazing selfie.

Samsung Galaxy A9 has onboard storage of 32 GB which can be expanded by another 128 GB using a microSD card. The device will run on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop operating system which will be accompanied by a massive 4000mAh battery that should deliver around one and a half day in talk time.

With an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor (previously known as Snapdragon 620), the CPU delivers speeds of up to 1.8 GHz and receives support from 3 GB of RAM and an Adreno 510 graphics processor.

Samsung Galaxy A9 is not yet available in Nigeria, but when available, its price is expected to range from N80,000 to N100,000 depending on your location in Nigeria.

Samsung Galaxy A9 Specification
Here are a few specification of the Samsung Galaxy A9 Phablet:
General Features

Platform: Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop)
Processor: Octa-core Processor, 1.2GHz Quad Core & 1.8GHz Quad-core (Snapdragon 652)
GPU: Adreno 510
Memory: 3GB RAM
Colours: Pearl White, Midnight Black, Champagne Gold, Pink
Dimension: 161.7 x 80.9 x 7.4 mm
Weight: 200 g
SIM Type: Nano SIM
SIM Count: Dual SIM, dual stand-by