Category: Technology

From Orbit to Ordinary: 10 Earthly Applications of Space Technology

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date January 23, 2024
No Comments on From Orbit to Ordinary: 10 Earthly Applications of Space Technology

Space Shuttle Discovery was first launched on August 30, 1984

Space exploration and programs, often seen as lofty pursuits aimed at the stars, have a profound and often overlooked impact on our daily lives. While debates continue about prioritizing earthly concerns over cosmic exploration, it’s enlightening to recognize that many innovations we rely on daily are direct results of space research. From the solar cells powering homes to the satellite navigation guiding our journeys, space technology has silently woven itself into the fabric of our everyday existence, transforming and enhancing our world in unanticipated ways.

Aviation Technology Transportation

NASA and Lockheed Martin unveil X-59: The Dawn of Supersonic Flight without Sonic Boom

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date January 14, 2024
No Comments on NASA and Lockheed Martin unveil X-59: The Dawn of Supersonic Flight without Sonic Boom

Lockheed Martin X-59 Quesst — At dawn in Palmdale, California, the X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft, a key element of NASA's Quesst mission, stands poised at Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works. This mission is pivotal in redefining supersonic flight over land by significantly reducing the impact of sonic booms. Image source: NASA

NASA, in collaboration with Lockheed Martin, has officially introduced the X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft, a groundbreaking venture poised to redefine air travel. As the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission [see notes 1], the X-59 is designed to address one of the primary challenges to supersonic flight over land – making sonic booms quieter. This unique experimental airplane aims to gather crucial data that could lead to a new era of faster-than-sound commercial flights. This concept has intrigued and challenged aviation experts for decades.

Moon Landing Computer Science Software Space Exploration Technology

Apollo Guidance Computer [1965 TV Program]

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date October 7, 2023
No Comments on Apollo Guidance Computer [1965 TV Program]

Apollo Guidance Computer: Ramon Alonso (right) with John Fitch. — John Fitch speaks with Ramon Alonso (right), the Assistant Director of the Instrumentation Laboratory, about the Apollo guidance and navigation system's operations.

This 1965 MIT Science Reporter television program serves as a remarkable time capsule, capturing a pivotal moment in the history of space exploration and computer technology. Presented by MIT in association with WGBH-TV Boston and produced for NASA, the program provides an in-depth look at the Apollo guidance computer and navigation equipment, a technological marvel weighing less than 60 pounds (27 kg) but tasked with guiding astronauts to the Moon and back.

Hosted by MIT reporter John Fitch, the program features key scientists and engineers including Eldon Hall, Ramon Alonzo, and Albert Hopkins from the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, as well as Jack Poundstone from Raytheon’s Space Division. Together, they delve into the intricate complexities and monumental challenges of the project, from spacecraft trajectory control to computer construction and onboard telescope operation.

Technology Artificial Intelligence Computer Science Moon Landing Robotics Space Exploration

The future as envisioned in 1967: The year 1999

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date August 5, 2023
No Comments on The future as envisioned in 1967: The year 1999

Year 1999 as envisioned in 1967 — In an image deeply steeped in the undertones of tradition and patriarchy, a woman is captured in the act of perusing meal options on a computer screen. Her role, a silent testament to society's longstanding conventions, reveals that even in a world of futuristic technology, her domain remains confined to the kitchen and the duties of housework. There's a palpable irony in the juxtaposition: the cutting-edge digital interface set against the backdrop of a regressive vision of womanhood. Instead of breaking free from the chains of conventional gender roles, she remains tethered to the time-honored expectations of preparing meals, managing the household, and attending to the minutiae of daily life. The image underscores the limitations that patriarchal constructs place on women, highlighting that even as the world advances technologically, prevailing gender biases and societal norms can remain distressingly unchanged.

In 1967, as space-age fantasies ignited imaginations across the globe, the then Philco-Ford, now Ford Motor Company, attempted to capture the future’s heart and soul in a brief cinematic journey. The film titled “1999 AD” catapulted its audience three decades into the future, offering a tantalizing glimpse of everyday life for a quintessential American family, the Shores. Viewing this projection of the future now, the film emerges as a treasure trove of intriguing insights – a harmonious blend of eerily accurate predictions and glaring blind spots, seasoned with the unmistakable charm of the 1960s.

Communication Technology

The first cell phone call was performed on April 3, 1973

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date April 3, 2023
No Comments on The first cell phone call was performed on April 3, 1973

The first cell phone call was made by Martin Cooper in 1973 — The first cell phone call was made by Martin Cooper, a researcher at Motorola, on April 3, 1973. Cooper was working on developing the first handheld mobile phone, which he called the DynaTAC. The phone was large and bulky, weighing about 2.5 pounds, and it had a battery life of only about 20 minutes of talk time.

The first cell phone call was made by Martin Cooper (born December 26, 1928), a researcher at Motorola, on April 3, 1973. Cooper was working on developing the first handheld mobile phone, which he called the DynaTAC. The phone was large and bulky, weighing about 2.5 pounds, and it had a battery life of only about 20 minutes of talk time.

Energy Technology

An Innovative Medium-Voltage DC Circuit Breaker for Renewable Power Grids

Post author By Scientia
Post date October 13, 2022
1 Comment on An Innovative Medium-Voltage DC Circuit Breaker for Renewable Power Grids

Modern technologies in transport and energy - An Innovative Circuit Breaker — Image: "Modern technologies in transport and energy" on Deposit Photos

An essential step towards a carbon-neutral future could be reached through dispersed power grids, featuring networks of local-scale renewable energy and battery storage plants. To prevent these power grids from damaging themselves and their surroundings when electrical faults arise, they must be integrated with “circuit breakers”, which temporarily interrupt the current flowing through them.

However, currently available circuit breakers cannot handle the medium-voltage direct currents best suited for these grids. Through an innovative new circuit breaker design, Steve Schmalz and his colleagues at Eaton Corporation, the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Virginia Tech, and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), hope that this challenge will soon be overcome.

Environment Energy Technology

Are All-Electric Homes Feasible in the Near Future?

Post author By Evelyn Long
Post date September 25, 2022
No Comments on Are All-Electric Homes Feasible in the Near Future?

Electric vehicles are having a moment in the sun thanks to significant pushes to invest in the performance and energy efficiency of EVs. While electrifying our lifestyles isn’t perfectly clean energy, it significantly reduces our carbon footprint by lessening our nonrenewable energy consumption.

This leads many to ask – can we electrify our homes while we electrify our cars? With home construction thriving and 67% of homebuyers preferring energy efficiency as their top purchasing criterion, one constructive method of keeping costs down is going electric.

But what is an all-electric home, and are they feasible?

Computer Science Technology This Day in Science, Technology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration History

The first “actual” computer bug was found on September 9, 1947

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date September 9, 2022
No Comments on The first “actual” computer bug was found on September 9, 1947

On September 9, 1947, a team of computer scientists and engineers operating Harward University’s Mark II electromechanical computer started getting an error. They traced the error and found a moth trapped in a relay. The moth was carefully removed and taped to the logbook with a note saying “first actual case of bug being found”. Urban legend says this was the first case of a computer bug, but it’s not true.

Computer Science Technology This Day in Science, Technology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration History

IBM PC (Personal Computer) was released on August 12, 1981

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date August 12, 2022
No Comments on IBM PC (Personal Computer) was released on August 12, 1981

IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC)

On August 12, 1981, the Personal Computer, (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) was released. This machine (and its descendants) started the PC revolution. It was a very small machine that could not only process information faster than those millions-of-dollars huge computers of the 1960s but also hook up to the home TV set, process text and store more words than a huge cookbook, all for a price tag of less than $1,600.

Unsurprisingly, it suddenly shook the personal computer market. The specifications of the IBM PC became one of the most popular computer design standards in the world. Even today, The majority of modern personal computers (PCs) are distant descendants of the IBM PC.

Space Exploration Computer Science Technology This Day in Science, Technology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration History

The first E-mail from Space was sent on August 9, 1991

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date August 9, 2022
No Comments on The first E-mail from Space was sent on August 9, 1991

Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-43 launch, August 2, 1991

On August 9, 1991, two STS-43 astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Shannon W. Lucid and James C. Adamson sent the first e-mail from space. The astronauts used an Apple Macintosh portable computer and AppleLink, a popular service for Mac and Apple IIGS users before the commercialization of the Internet, offered from 1986 to 1994.

The recipient of the first e-mail from space was addressed to fellow NASA astronaut Marsha S. Ivins at Johnson Space Center. The message text read:

“Hello Earth! Greetings from the STS-43 Crew. This is the first AppleLink from space. Having a GREAT time, wish you were here,…send cryo and RCS! Hasta la vista, baby,…we’ll be back!”