Lifeboat Foundation

Like many Musk announcements, this one is filled with unknowns.

Fu Qiang examines flight simulator cockpit parts at Wright Brothers Science and Technology Development Co., Ltd. in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, Dec. 14, 2018. If it were not for a common infatuation with flight simulation, chances are that Liu Zhongliang, Fu Qiang and Zhou Zhiyuan, who had once led three entirely distinct careers, might never come across one another, let alone team up and approach an aviation dream. The aviation enthusiast trio launched their hardware developing team in 2009. From the very first electronic circuit, to today’s flight simulator cockpits, the core spirit of autonomous design prevailed throughout the course of their venture. In 2014, Liu, Fu and Zhou left Zhengzhou in central China and relocated to Harbin. They were joined by Ge Jun, another aviation enthusiast, entering a business fast track as the four registered their company, named after the Wright Brothers. The prototype of a scale 1:1 Boeing 737–800 cockpit procedure trainer took shape in the same year. And in the year to come, the simulator cockpit was put to standardized production. The company’s products have obtained recognitions at various levels. In November 2016, a refined model of their cockpit procedure trainer obtained technical certification from the China Academy of Civil Aviation Science and Technology, one of the country’s top research institutes in the field. Later, another flight simulator cockpit prototype received Boeing authorizations. One aspiration of the team is to apply for higher-level technical certifications for their simulator cockpits, and become a viable contributor to the Chinese jetliner industry. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

Amazing bicycle reaches speeds above 85MPH using only human power.

Science fiction has promised us a whole lot of technology that it’s rudely failed to deliver—jetpacks, flying cars, teleportation. The most useful one might be the robot companion, à la Rosie from The Jetsons, a machine that watches over the home.

It seemed like 2018 was going to be the year when robots made a big leap in that direction. Two machines in particular surfaced to much fanfare: Kuri, an adorable R2D2 analog that can follow you around and take pictures of your dinner parties, and Jibo, a desktop robot with a screen for a face that works a bit like Alexa, only it can dance.

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Virgin Galactic just brought human spaceflight back to American soil after a seven-year hiatus, and other private companies are poised to make some giant leaps of their own.

Virgin’s VSS Unity suborbital spaceliner soared to a maximum altitude of 51.4 miles (82.7 kilometers) during a rocket-powered test flight over California’s Mojave Desert yesterday (Dec. 13).

The milestone marked the first U.S.-based crewed trip to the final frontier since NASA grounded its space shuttle fleet in July 2011. And it was the first spaceflight ever by a private vehicle designed to carry commercial passengers. (By one measure, anyway: Though many people place the boundary of outer space 62 miles, or 100 km, up at the “Karman Line,” the U.S. Air Force awards astronaut wings to personnel who reach an altitude of 50 miles, or 80 km.) [In Photos: Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo Unity Soars to Space].

Continue reading “Virgin Galactic’s Historic Space Trip Heralds a Coming Age of New US Human Spaceflight Leaps” »

Unilever, the multinational consumer goods manufacturer, uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to help with recruiting and onboarding of new employees. The algorithms help to sift through CVs and even conduct and analyze video interviews.

Grand Duchy already offers free trains and buses to young people.

The latest test flight by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic successfully rocketed to the edge of space and back.

The firm’s SpaceShipTwo passenger rocket ship reached a height of 82.7km, beyond the altitude at which US agencies have awarded astronaut wings.

It marked the plane’s fourth test flight and followed earlier setbacks in the firm’s space programme.

Payloads on the flight will collect valuable data to improve technologies for future exploration missions. This flight will be specifically be used to study how dust disperses in microgravity. Understanding dust dynamics can help abate the damage that is caused by particles contaminating hardware and habitats. Swoop in: https://go.nasa.gov/2Gr79YT