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NASA Aeronautics Budget Proposes Return Of X-Planes (phys.org)

Posted by BeauHD on from the NASA-budget dept.

If President Obama's recently released federal budget request is approved for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2016, next year will be the first in a bold 10-year plan by NASA Aeronautics to achieve huge goals in reducing fuel use, emissions, and noise by the way aircraft are designed, and the way they operate in the air and on the ground.

One exciting piece of this 10-year plan is New Aviation Horizons -- an ambitious undertaking by NASA to design, build and fly a variety of flight demonstration vehicles, or "X-planes." The demos included advancements in lightweight composite materials that are needed to create revolutionary aircraft structures, an advanced fan design to improve propulsion and reduce noise in jet engines, designs to reduce noise from wing flaps and landing gear, shape-changing wing flaps, and even coating to prevent bug residue buildup on wings.

6 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. Beware of hacked ISOs if you downloaded Linux Mint by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Beware of hacked ISOs if you downloaded Linux Mint on February 20th, 2016!

    #####

    "I'm sorry I have to come with bad news.[1]

    We were exposed to an intrusion today. It was brief and it shouldn't impact many people, but if it impacts you, it's very important you read the information below.

    What happened?

    Hackers made a modified Linux Mint ISO, with a backdoor in it, and managed to hack our website to point to it.

    Does this affect you?

    As far as we know, the only compromised edition was Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon edition.

    If you downloaded another release or another edition, this does not affect you. If you downloaded via torrents or via a direct HTTP link, this doesn't affect you either.

    Finally, the situation happened today, so it should only impact people who downloaded this edition on February 20th.

    How to check if your ISO is compromised?"

    Continued @: http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2...

    [1] Written by Clem on Sunday, February 21st, 2016 @ 1:44 am

    #####

    https://news.ycombinator.com/i...

    https://www.reddit.com/r/linux...

    https://lwn.net/Articles/67661...

    https://twitter.com/Linux_Mint...

  2. About time by hyades1 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    For far too long, the US Congress has whored itself out to aerospace corporations that have paid more attention to making sure some part of their grossly-overpriced new plane was built in every district in the country than building a plane that actually worked stretched the limits of what was possible.

    Is there anything in the air today that can compare to the X-15 or the Blackbird? What has the US accomplished in the last 50 years that can even touch those accomplishments? And when was the last time an astronaut went further into space than anybody with a half-assed camera and a cheap pair of binoculars can photograph?

    --
    I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
    1. Re:About time by Richard_at_work · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Well, the X-15 was an experimental aircraft, the capabilities of which we understand enough today to not need to repeat - our current technological limit that is being tested is air breathing hypersonic aircraft, not rocket propelled hypersonic aircraft. Rocket propelled hypersonics are a "solved problem", so why do we need to keep spending money there?

      The SR-71 can be equaled or exceeded by several countries today, but the reality is that it was a costly aircraft that was superseded by satellites and the aircraft it was intended to replace (the U-2). If a mission requirement for the SR-71 was ever to come around again, a new aircraft will be built - and as it stands, feasability studies are being undertaken into a hypersonic SR-72... The SR-71 simply outlived its usefulness, and the world moved on.

      Unless you are suggesting the US government should be spending money on useless, ego boosting, prestige projects rather than actually advancing technology across a broader range of areas, what do you suggest should be being done?

    2. Re:About time by tarpitcod · · Score: 2

      There is no publicly acknowledged air-vehicle with the flight envelope of either the X-15 or the SR-71 in routine operation. Period. There are other platforms that can perform SOME of the operational capabilities of the Blackbird.

      I agree 100% on the air-breathing, hypersonic air-breathing being hard - but if we had continued working on air-vehicles like the X-7 "Flying stove pipe" who knows where we would be now.

      I'm not quite sure what you mean by "ego projects". Many projects that critics would throw those terms at gave us useful everyday technologies. The X-15 was an early example of fly-by-wire. High temperature ceramics and plastics have many uses too.

      I myself wouldn't call the Blackbird and OXCART an ego related exercise at all. The entire aim was to provide a survivable rapidly re-targettable (faster than spy birds) recon platform. Knowing what the other guy has is valuable. It's especially valuable if that guy detonated the largest hydrogen-bomb ever in the atmosphere and has an ideology based around crushing you and your allies.

      I'd end by saying there is no acknowledged replacement for OXCART. The black budget is big. Secrets can be kept. If there's a successor to OXCART that's fine by me. I hope they keep it secret too, and I hope it provides intelligence that could allow the deployment of assets to dissuade any potential parties from rolling tanks into countries -"To save their ethnic countrymen" possibly triggering a wider conflict with potentially horrendous consequences.

      Frankly I wish relations were better with Russia, but that's another story/post.

  3. Re:Private sector by 50000BTU_barbecue · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The "private sector" will be the first at the trough of public funds, believe it.

    --
    Mostly random stuff.
  4. Progress by sjbe · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is there anything in the air today that can compare to the X-15 or the Blackbird?

    Sure. On what specific basis are you comparing? Speed? Stealth? Utility? Efficiency? Avionics? Reliability? I'd be happy to provide you examples in any specific category you care to mention. We retired the Blackbird because we've exceeded what it could do in most ways. The X15 was an experiment and we've long since had the capability to exceed what it can do in literally every respect. What is the point of duplicating it today? Sure they were cool and cutting edge for their time but that time was a loooong time ago.

    Furthermore remember that some of the most advanced stuff is still classified. We didn't know much about the SR71 for much of its early operational history. Stuff like the B2 and F117 were almost complete surprises when they were unveiled. Quite likely there is some pretty nifty classified stuff the US military is working on that we know little/nothing about.

    What has the US accomplished in the last 50 years that can even touch those accomplishments?

    Plenty! Just off the top of my head: Stealth, hypersonic aircraft, drones, private spacecraft, engine efficiency/power, avionics, GPS, the list goes on and on and on. If you think we haven't exceeded the SR-71 or the X15 then you haven't been paying attention. Just because we aren't making drop-in replacements for vehicles whose service life is complete doesn't mean we aren't progressing.

    And when was the last time an astronaut went further into space than anybody with a half-assed camera and a cheap pair of binoculars can photograph?

    1972 but you knew that. Unclear what that has to do with experimental aircraft.