Category Archives: Technology

Airbus Unveils Thor – Fully 3D Printed Test UAV

sander ThorWhen it comes to nurturing and promoting advancements in 3D printing technology, very few companies have taken the initiative that the European airline manufacturer Airbus has. The aerospace manufacturer started fully immersing itself into the world of additive manufacturing back around 2014, when they equipped their A350 airliner with a titanium 3D printed cabin bracket, and also utilized the first 3D printed spare part on an aircraft being used by Air Transnat. Continue reading

Bomb-Sniffing Drone Technology

An animation of drone technology used to detect explosives is shown on a computer screen in the office of Jerry Kulcinski, emeritus professor of nuclear engineering and director of the Fusion Technology Lab.

An animation of drone technology used to detect explosives is shown on a computer screen in the office of Jerry Kulcinski, emeritus professor of nuclear engineering and director of the Fusion Technology Lab.

Drones may soon have the capability to save thousands of lives each year by detecting terrorists’ improvised explosive devices and active land mines from long-ago wars thanks to innovative technology developed at UW-Madison. Continue reading

DARPA XS-1 Program Enters Phase 2

XS-1_Artist_Concept_Collagev2-619x316In an era of declining budgets and adversaries’ evolving capabilities, quick, affordable and routine access to space is increasingly critical for both national and economic security. Current satellite launch systems, however, require scheduling years in advance for an extremely limited inventory of available slots. Moreover, launches often cost hundreds of millions of dollars each, due in large part to the massive amounts of dedicated infrastructure and large number of personnel required. DARPA created its Experimental Spaceplane (XS-1) program to help overcome these challenges and create a new paradigm for more routine, responsive and affordable space operations, reducing the time to get capabilities to space.

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