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The Crew Dragon spacecraft built by SpaceX is the first American made spacecraft to complete a space mission in over a decade. During an August 4 press conference, astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley stated that they were pleased with the Crew Dragon Spacecraft's performance. The two astronauts praised SpaceX and NASA's commercial crew program for their work in the development of the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The Crew Dragon spacecraft built by SpaceX is the first American made spacecraft to complete a space mission in over a decade. The Crew Dragon spacecraft completed a mission carrying the two astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) and back, which lasted a little over two months. "I personally expected there to be more, certainly not issues with the vehicle, but some challenges or some things that were maybe not quite what we expected," Hurley [vendor_logo_first] said, based on his experience flying on space shuttle missions. "The mission went just like the simulators. Honestly, from start to finish, all the way, there were no surprises." Hurley stated an example during reentry when he expected the spacecraft's altitude control to deviate from the plan due to the denser lower atmosphere shortly before parachute deployment. "I fully expected that to happen, and it did not," he said. "The vehicle was rock solid." Behnken was more descriptive of the reentry into the atmosphere and painted a more vivid picture. "Once we descended a little bit into the atmosphere, Dragon really came alive," he said, firing thrusters to maintain the proper attitude during reentry. The initial plan for the Demo-2 mission was for a short test flight, wherein the astronauts would spend a few days at the ISS. However, for two months, NASA extended the mission so that Hurley and Behnken could help support station operations at the ISS as there were only three astronauts present on board. According to Hurley, the extended mission had an added benefit of testing the spacecraft thoroughly. "As we descended through the atmosphere, the thrusters were firing almost  See also:  Top Aerospace Manufacturing Companies ...Read more

The waste heat from the exhaust gases can be utilized to heat and generate steam, which can be used for heating cargo area, accommodation, fuel oil, and all With industries embracing a greener environment, the shipping industry has also started supporting the drive for a greener marine environment. With the help of advanced technologies, it has helped this industry to guarantee that new ships make as less pollution as possible. Creating ships these days have become a hard task as it has to meet the present environmental rules and regulations. Here are twelve ways new technologies can utilize to reach the goal of creating a green ship. [vendor_logo_first] Improved Pump and Cooling Water System: Having an improved cooling water system of pipes, coolers, and pumps will help reduce the resistance to flow, which will save up to 20 percent of the ship's electric power and fuel consumption up to 1.5 percent. Exhaust Gas Recirculation: Exhaust gas recirculation from the engine cylinder reduces NOx emissions with scavenge air, lowering the combustion chamber's temperature. This lessens the NOx up to 80 percent. LNG Fuel for Auxiliary engine: Ships' primary source of power is the auxiliary engines, and these machines run onboard vessels continuously. LNG is the most environmentally friendly fuel, and it helps lessen air pollution substantially from ships. Sulphur Scrubber System: Using an exhaust gas scrubber system can reduce the sulfur or SOx emission from the exhaust in ships. It washes out the sulfur from the engine's exhaust gas, which helps in eliminating the SOx up to 98 percent with other harmful particles. No Ballast System: IMO's (International Maritime Organization) ballast water convention emphasizes on decreasing the movement of sediments and micro-organisms from one territory to another through ballast of ships. To avoid such conditions, the plans for making "No Ballast Ships" is under development, which could significantly prevent it. Water in Fuel: Adding water in fuel before its injection into the combustion chamber can decrease the temperature inside the cylinder liner, reducing the NOx to 35-35 percent. Advanced Rudder and Propeller System: A well-designed propeller and a simplified rudder system can decrease fuel consumption by 4 percent and less emission. This advancement has been created to lower fuel consumption and enhance the speed of the vessel. Speed Nozzle: Speed nozzles are usually used in small supply vessels and tugs to power the ships. With new design features of merchant vessels, it can enhance the ship's propulsion performance and save energy up to 5 percent. Sandwich Plate System (SPS): Sandwich plate system (SPS) composts two metal plates by bonding with the polyurethane elastomer core. This helps prevent the use of steel that needs extra stiffening, making the structure lightweight and less susceptible to corrosion. SPS has qualities that are superior in-service performance and decreased through life maintenance, which can help in the green ship recycling process. LNG Fuel for Propulsion: Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) reduces air pollution from ships and, when combined with diesel oil, leads to improved engine performance and fuel saving. Hull Paint: Hull paint can increase the fuel and consumption and emissions of a ship. Therefore, applying the right paint at the right hull area can decrease the frictional resistance of the ship, which helps save fuel by 3-8 percent. See Also:  Top Naval Tech Consulting/Services Companies ...Read more

Lars Hoffman, senior vice president for global launch services at Rocket Lab, said the company has continued to see keen interest in its launch services, even amid the pandemic Rocket Lab has increased the payload capacity of its Electron launch vehicle thanks to improvements in the batteries used in the rocket. Rocket Lab previously promoted a payload capacity of 150 kilograms to a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) and 225 kilograms to lower orbits. The vehicle can now place 200 kilograms into SSO and 300 kilograms in lower orbits. "Electron remains right-sized for the smallsat market, and releasing additional performance is about providing our customers with even more flexibility on the same proven vehicle they have come to rely on," Peter Beck, chief executive of Rocket Lab, said. Rocket Lab credited the increased payload capacity to advances in battery technology. The rocket uses batteries to power electric pumps instead of conventional turbopumps for its Rutherford engines. With the batteries' improved performance, it would reduce the mass of the batteries' needs, which would translate into increased payload capacity. Rocket Lab plans to resume Electron launches this month. "We'll be rolling out here and flying in the next 10 or 12 days," Beck said. The company hasn't disclosed the customer for that mission, but Beck said it would do so soon. "We've really not seen a slowdown in demand. In fact, what we've seen is that customers who were scheduled to launch on other launch providers, who are affected by that launch provider being delayed, have turned to us to see if we could manifest them in the short term," he said. "We're anxious to get back to normal launch operations." See Also:  Top Aviation Technology Solution Companies ...Read more