Right Science Technology and Health

October 6th, 2010

It’s a Bird! It’s a Manta Ray! It’s the NASA X-48B Blended Wing Body Skyray!

For plane watchers, the skies above Edwards Air Force Base is always a great place to see the most advanced aircraft in the world. Locals may begin seeing an odd, manta ray shaped aircraft again. NASA has resumed test flights of the X48B blended wing body (BWB) test plane. For almost 3 years, the unmanned X-48B, nicknamed the Skyray, flew 80 flights testing it’s radical design. After a major overhaul and upgrade, the X-48B is back in the skies again!

nasa x48b
NASA’s X-48B Skyray tests blended wing body flight over the California desert. Image Source – NASA.gov

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September 10th, 2010

Solar Impulse Plane to make more flights in Switzerland

Solar Impulse Plane to make more flights in Switzerland

The Solar Impulse plane has already set a new record in beating a 24-hour solar-powered flight. This week, the team announced plans for three longer flights across Switzerland. The ultimate goal for the Solar Impulse HB-SIA is to fly around the world on only the power of sunlight. They expect to begin transoceanic flights by 2013 and the non-stop global flight by 2014.

Solar Impulse's Chief Executive Officer and pilot Andre Borschberg flies in the solar-powered HB-SIA prototype airplane during its first successful night flight attempt at Payerne airport July 8, 2010. The aircraft took off July 7 at 06:51 am and reached an altitude of 8,700 meters (28,543 feet) by the end of the day. It then slowly descent to 1,500 meters (4,921 feet) and flew during the night on the batteries, charged during the day by 12,000 solar cells, which powered the four electric motors. It landed July 8 at 09.00 am (GMT+2) for a flight time of 26 hours and 9 minutes, setting the longest and highest flight ever made by a solar plane. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (SWITZERLAND - Tags: TRANSPORT SCI TECH ENVIRONMENT IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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