Not Tax Time yet. Not Spring Break Time yet. Not Superbowl Time yet. Not March Madness yet. So, what time is it? It’s New Years Resolution Time!!!! Let me digress…. Last month, I had some dental work done. Every time I go to my dentist, I am impressed that he shares with me some recent […]
Not Tax Time yet. Not Spring Break Time yet. Not Superbowl Time yet. Not March Madness yet.
So, what time is it?
It’s New Years Resolution Time!!!!
Let me digress…. Last month, I had some dental work done. Every time I go to my dentist, I am impressed that he shares with me some recent discovery in the dental field, or he has invested in some new piece of equipment that has revolutionized dentistry. My dentist recognizes the value of keeping current in his chosen field, and as a consequence, he has many happy clients, like me.
So, what is your New Years Resolution going to be this year? I would like to suggest that you chose something which is attainable. By doing so, you will have a greater chance of success, and you will feel better about yourself.
Here are some examples of what I am talking about.
Bad Resolution: I am going to run a Marathon in 2025
Better Resolution: I am going to run two 5Ks in 2025.
Bad Resolution: I am going to become a Millionaire
Better Resolution: I am going to increase my IRA contribution by 4%
Bad Resolution: I am going to get a PHD so that my boss will respect me more.
Better Resolution: I am going to enroll in some Short Course Training with ATI, so that my boss will respect me more.
That’s right, Taking Short Courses with ATI is a way to keep current in your field, advance your career, gain the respect of your management, and do all of it with minimal disruption to your personal life.
I encourage everyone to go to the ATI homepage at www.aticourses.com and check out the large selection of courses that we are already offering, or that we could consider offering if there is a demand. If you see a course you like on our upcoming schedule, go ahead and register. If you see a course in our catalogue which is not currently scheduled, call us and tell us you are interested in that course. We have both virtual offerings, and in-person offerings.
ATI is here to help you with your Technical Training needs, and we wish all of our students, and prospective students, a safe and happy holiday, and a prosperous 2025.
Although the term “Systems Engineering” dates back to the 1940s, and the concept was practiced even earlier than that, there seems to be a growing emphasis on System Engineering, perhaps because Systems have become more complex in recent times. During my early years of training and practice as an electrical engineer decades ago, I do […]
Although the term “Systems Engineering” dates back to the 1940s, and the concept was practiced even earlier than that, there seems to be a growing emphasis on System Engineering, perhaps because Systems have become more complex in recent times. During my early years of training and practice as an electrical engineer decades ago, I do not recall hearing or learning much about Systems Engineering, but it seems to have gotten much more well-deserved attention since then. Feel free to argue these points if you wish, but this has been my observation.
So, what can go wrong if Systems Engineering principles are ignored? What could possibly go wrong if you have multiple engineers concentrating on their own aspect of the overall design, and no one paying attention to the overall system? We can only imagine. The cost of hiring a Systems Engineer may be a small addition to your budget, but it will be far outweighed by your cost savings in the end.
One of the best descriptions of Systems Engineering that I have
seen is from INCOSE ( International Council on Systems Engineering ). It says “Systems engineers are at the heart of creating successful new
systems. They are responsible for the system concept, architecture, and design.
They analyze and manage complexity and risk. They decide how to measure whether
the deployed system actually works as intended. They are responsible for a
myriad of other facets of system creation. Systems engineering is the
discipline that makes their success possible – their tools, techniques,
methods, knowledge, standards, principles, and concepts. The launch of
successful systems can invariably be traced to innovative and effective systems
engineering.”
So, how can today’s busy and overworked engineer learn more about Systems Engineering? Or, even if you think you already know everything about Systems Engineering, how can you refresh your knowledge so it is more relevant to the workplace of 2025?
Applied Technology Institute has exactly what you are looking for. ATI offers a full line of Systems Engineering courses, from introductory level, to advanced level. Some of these courses are on our upcoming schedule, and some are not. If you like a course that is on our schedule, just register using our website. If you would like us to offer a course that is not currently on our schedule, give us a call, and we will see what we can do for you.
We all remember the #1 Rule for Fight Club; “You do not talk about Fight Club”. It turns out Space Wars have a #1 Rule too. Continue reading to learn what it is. The author of this blog spent a portion of his career working for the Submarine Security Program, sponsored by the Chief Of […]
We all remember the #1 Rule for Fight Club; “You do not talk about Fight Club”. It turns out Space Wars have a #1 Rule too. Continue reading to learn what it is.
The author of this blog spent a portion of his career working for the Submarine Security Program, sponsored by the Chief Of Naval Operations. The mission of the Security Program is to ensure that the US Strategic Nuclear Submarine Force is equipped to operate in a way that ensures their safety and survivability in peacetime, so that they stand ready to perform their mission if and when called upon to do so. It is vital that SSBNs are in constant readiness to perform their mission when called upon. This is the basic principal of strategic deterrence at sea.
An upcoming Lecture Series being offered by ATI is called “How To Fight And Win Space Wars”.
As an individual who concentrated on Sea Wars, I had never given much thought to Space Wars, but it is noteworthy that Sea Wars and Space Wars have much in common.
Paul Szymanski, the presenter of the upcoming ATI Lecture Series, authored a paper titled “How To Fight and Win the Coming Space War”. Mr. Szymanski has 50 years’ experience in space war policy, doctrine, strategy, simulations, surveillance, survivability, threat assessment, long-range strategic planning, and command and control. In his paper, he discusses what he believes are the Top 40 Rules to Fight and Win a Space War. His #1 Rule sounded oddly familiar to myself when I read it.
Paul claims that the #1 rule of winning a Space War is to ensure that the assets which will be used during a Space War are safe, secure, and survivable during the peacetime period which precedes the Space War. Again, if the satellites or weapons which will be instrumental during a space war are vulnerable or destroyed before the war begins, the outcome of the war will not be a good one for the US.
ATI encourages everyone to hear what Paul has to teach us about the upcoming Space Wars. Paul will be presenting a free half-hour webinar titled “How To Fight And Win Space Wars” on November 22. Based on student response to this Webinar, ATI will be offering other Space Wars Lectures by Paul in the coming months.
This free webinar is a great way to introduce yourself to both the instructor and the topic at no cost. Feel free to attend the webinar even if you have no plan to attend future lectures; maybe you will learn something, and maybe Paul will change your mind about future lectures.
To learn more, and to register for the upcoming free Space Wars lecture, please visit here.
To learn more about other upcoming offerings at ATI, please visit www.aticourses.com .
As time marches on, technology is becoming more advanced, and advances in Antenna and Arrays are no exception. One of the many advances in Antennas has been miniaturization. Many of the devices today that rely on Antenna could not have even been imagined until Antenna miniaturization was developed. In the 1960s, scientists thought they had […]
As time marches on, technology is becoming more advanced, and advances in Antenna and Arrays are no exception. One of the many advances in Antennas has been miniaturization. Many of the devices today that rely on Antenna could not have even been imagined until Antenna miniaturization was developed.
In the 1960s, scientists thought they had pushed the limits of antenna miniaturization when they invented the Television glasses. These glasses needed a TV antenna to receive the TV signal, but they simply attached rabbit ears to the glasses; ingenious. Surely, the gentlemen in this picture must have thought that life could not get much better than to be able to watch television with glasses.
On the fictional front during the same era, who could forget “My Favorite Martian”? Uncle Martin could only communicate with Mars if he raised the antenna that came out of this head. Being caught with his antenna raised provide a lot of material for the writers; imagine how dry the show would have been if miniaturization had permitted Uncle Martin to fully hide his antenna at all times.
But miniaturization is a reality now, and many of the devices that we use every day take advantage of this technology. Our cell phones contain miniature embedded antenna, and those antennae seem to get better every time a new phone is introduced. In addition to cell phones, many wearable devices use embedded miniature antenna. In addition to wrist watches that connect to the internet, there are many medical devices which can be worn on or in the human body that need to send and receive information via a miniature antenna. If you think about it, you probably have many devices that have an embedded miniature antenna.
Antenna technology is something that all engineers need to be familiar with, as it impacts so many aspects of so many devices and systems. Perhaps its time to brush up on your understanding of Antenna and Array Fundamentals. ATI is here to help. Consider taking the upcoming ATI short-course Antenna and Array Fundamentals. This three-day course teaches the basics of antenna and antenna array theory. Fundamental concepts such as beam patterns, radiation resistance, polarization, gain/directivity, aperture size, reciprocity, and matching techniques are presented. Different types of antennas such as dipole, loop, patch, horn, dish, and helical antennas are discussed and compared and contrasted from a performance and applications standpoint.
To learn more about the ATI short course Antenna and Array Fundamentals, and to Register interest in attending, please visit this site, which can also be found on the ATI homepage at www.aticourses.com . Don’t delay in registering for this class, as it is coming up quickly, and seats are filling. We hope to see you there.
Since there has been some incredible space exploration news in the last several days, it only seems fitting that I should remind all my readers that we should still be fascinated by advances in ocean science too. The advances we are making in Space are wonderful, but we must simultaneously explore the oceans which are […]
Since there has been some incredible space exploration news in the last several days, it only seems fitting that I should remind all my readers that we should still be fascinated by advances in ocean science too. The advances we are making in Space are wonderful, but we must simultaneously explore the oceans which are much closer to us, and also contain resources which stand to benefit mankind.
Consider taking the ATI course Applied Physical Oceanography.
This two-day course covers the physical (emphasis on physics) concepts and some of the mathematical background of this exciting field of oceanography. It is designed as a primer for the professional who wants to learn more about the broad field of physical oceanography. There will be a strong emphasis on understanding the basic ocean processes. The course begins with a description of how the ocean system works and the basic governing equations. Other topics range from fundamental small waves to planetary-scale ocean currents, as well as some of the instruments employed to measure them, e.g., Satellite Altimetry. Additional subjects include boundary layers, waves, tides, Ekman flow, and the Gulf Stream. Also studied will be the ocean processes that impact our climate such as El Niño and the Thermohaline Conveyor Belt. It concludes with some research in tide measurements and a discussion of the ‘smaller’ seas, such as the Arctic Ocean!
To learn more about this course, and the Instructor, and to Register, please go here. Don’t waste any time though, this course is right around the corner, and filling up quickly.
So, where is the best place to see the April 8 solar eclipse? Most people will think about the swath that streaks across the map of the US, and some may even travel to be inside of that swath. This is certainly a great place to see the eclipse in its totality, but this is […]
So, where is the best place to see the April 8 solar eclipse? Most people will think about the swath that streaks across the map of the US, and some may even travel to be inside of that swath. This is certainly a great place to see the eclipse in its totality, but this is a very self-centric way of thinking. Some of the great views generated by the eclipse may not be seen from within that swath, and they may not even seen in real time by a person. How could that be?
I am looking forward to seeing the eclipse videos that are going to be recorded by orbitting satellites far above the earth. I find it fascinating to see the moons shadow streak across the US, far faster than any jet could fly.
And, astronauts onboard the ISS will get a good view of the eclipse too. They may only be able to briefly view a partial eclipse from their ISS viewing ports, but they will get to see the shadow of the moon streak across the US in real-time.
So, when you watch the eclipse on Monday, April 8, think about all the other people that are watching it at the same time, and think about the fact that some of those people may not be standing on soil like you are. Also, think about all the animals suddenly thrust into darkness, and how confused they must be. And, by all means, make sure you protect your eyes during eclipse viewing. Remember, eye protection is needed except for the time you may be viewing the eclipse in is totality.
As an early professional, right out of college and new to my first real job in 1980, I was under the impression that I would spend my entire career simply demonstrating the skills that I had learned in college. After all, you go to college to learn everything, and then you spend the next 50 […]
As an early professional, right out of college and new to my first real job in 1980, I was under the impression that I would spend my entire career simply demonstrating the skills that I had learned in college. After all, you go to college to learn everything, and then you spend the next 50 years simply using that knowledge set, right? Now retired and wiser after a career, I realize that I was very wrong. College merely gives you some basic initial building blocks and teaches you how to think, but it is up to YOU to continue your technical training, and your on-the-job training, throughout your career. College coursework is important, but it is a very small piece of your career coursework.
Ongoing lifelong learning is necessary for two reasons.
First, technology changes, and you need to stay current. ATI is positioned to keep you current with ongoing technical training. A full listing of our courses can be found at www.aticourses.com
Second, your roles and responsibilities will change over the course of your professional lifetime, and as your roles will change, your skills must change too. While many recent grads and new-hires never think about it, early professionals will eventually become leaders, bosses, and managers. Consequently, a new skill set will be required, and those skills were likely not have been taught to you in your undergraduate college program. ATI is here to help. We are offering a new course called Business Essentials for Scientists and Engineers.
This five-day course is comprised of 5 one-day modules which teach Scientist and Engineers the soft skills associated with your profession. You will learn Project Management Skills, Business Basics, and Publishing Strategies. While you may get some of this material in your on-the-job training, this course will provide the materials from noted experts in a complete and concise manner. This course is a must for people who are interested in more than just the pure technical aspects of their job.
Day 1 – Business Management for Scientists and Engineers
Day 2 – Project Management Essentials
Day 3 – Accelerating Team Performance
Day 4 – Presentation Skills, Virtual and In-Person
Day 5 – Publishing your Research
You can find additional information on this ATI course here. You will also find additional information including dates and instructor biographies for each module. You can also register for this class at this site. Registering for only particular modules is an option.
A good way to learn more about this course is to attend the upcoming one-hour free webinar where the instructors for each module will tell you more about their courses. Feel free to attend the free session, even if you are not currently planning to take the course. Perhaps we will change your mind. You can register for the free session here. While there, you can also register for the full course.
We hope you will give this exciting new opportunity a chance.
In light of the current news story about the lost submarine “Titan”, it seemed like this old ATI blog post may be of renewed interest. It is important to note that the lost submarine “Titan” is a small private submarine, and not a US Navy submarine. So, unfortunately, the rescue vessel discussed below would not […]
In light of the current news story about the lost submarine “Titan”, it seemed like this old ATI blog post may be of renewed interest. It is important to note that the lost submarine “Titan” is a small private submarine, and not a US Navy submarine. So, unfortunately, the rescue vessel discussed below would not be much help to Titan which is probably not designed to couple with the US Navy Rescue Vehicle. Additionally, if Titan lays on the bottom with the Titanic, that would be beyond the depth at which the US Navy Rescue Vehicle is designed to operate. The Rescue Command has done a lot of work on localization of downed submarines, and may be called upon to help locate “Titan.” It is good at this time to remember that there are many smart and dedicated people who have worked on, and continue to work on, rescuing submarines in distress.
So, without further introduction, the blog read as follows.
Submarine accidents which result in the submarine careening to the sea bottom are spectacular in Hollywood movies and video games, but they do not happen often in real life. In fact, for the U.S., we have not lost a submarine to the depths since 1968 when USS Scorpion was lost with 99 souls due ( most likely) to an inadvertent activation of a battery or a torpedo. Prior to that, in 1963, USS Thresher was lost with 129 souls due to ( most likely ) a piping failure during a deep dive. Due to actions taken as a result of lessons learned from those two mishaps, the U.S. has not had a major submarine loss since then. The safety record for U.S. Navy Submarines since 1968 has been remarkable, and the envy of other countries.
Yeah, but what if?
To be prudent, the U.S. must assume that there will be submarine accidents in the future, even if they are not U.S. submarines. For this reason, the U.S. continues to maintain a force dedicated to the rescue of downed submarines. Undersea Rescue Command (URC) is the U.S. Navy’s official command for the rescue of sailors during a submarine casualty anywhere in the world. If you would like to learn more about this command, you can read about it here.
The blog author has had some personal experience working with the Undersea Rescue Command, and all comments that follow are the authors personal opinions, and not an official opinion of the U.S. Navy or Applied Technology Institute. In case you missed that, please go back and read it again.
Two significant issues that confront the Undersea Rescue Command are funding and localization.
The funding issue arises from the fact that our submarines are so safe, and our safety record is so good, there is a hesitance to pay too much attention ( and funding ) to an organization which may not ever be called into service. Unfortunately, there is not much the technical community can do about that; it will have to fall upon the Public Relations Office at U.S. Navy.
Localization, however, is a problem which the technical community can help solve. When a submarine goes to the bottom, the Undersea Rescue Command jumps into action, and reports to the vicinity of the accident very quickly. Unfortunately, the Undersea Rescue Command cannot start their rescue mission until the precise location of the sunken submarine is known, and that is often a difficult problem. Until the submarine is located, the rescue can not actually begin. Often, in exercises, or in other countries, by the time the submarine is located, it has become a recovery mission rather than a rescue mission.
So, how can we simplify the task of locating a downed submarine? Some of the answer lies in the concept of operations, or things that a distressed submarine can do to facilitate the search for them. Some of the answer lies in advances in sonars and sonar signal processing. And the rest of the answer lies in innovative new ideas, for example, using AUVs or UUVs to find distressed submarines ( cool idea ). By the way, ATI offers courses in all of these areas; you can read more about those courses at www.aticourses.com.
As I said earlier, the author has had the pleasure of working with the Undersea Rescue Command several years ago, and was very impressed with the hard work and dedication exhibited by all members of their team. The following picture shows me and the rest of the JHU/APL Team that worked with the URC. We are posing inside of the Pressurized Rescue Module which travels to the distressed submarine to perform the rescue. Although no one would ever want to experience being on a submarine in distress, they should feel encouraged that a team as dedicated and qualified as URC is on the job.
We can only pray, and hope for the best for the 5 souls currently onboard “Titan”
Who is going to the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs next week? It should be a wonderful opportunity to learn and network in the Space Technology arena. Applied Technology Institute (ATI) is a known leader in Technical Training for Scientists and Engineers, and is attending the conference for two important reasons. First, we are looking […]
Who is going to the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs next week?
It should be a wonderful opportunity to learn and network in the Space Technology arena.
Applied Technology Institute (ATI) is a known leader in Technical Training for Scientists and Engineers, and is attending the conference for two important reasons.
First, we are looking for Companies who may want to start using ATI to satisfy their Technical Training needs.
Second, we are looking for individuals who may want to join the ATI team, to teach courses for us.
We will be walking around and meeting people, but we also welcome the opportunity to email with you prior to the conference, and schedule a meeting over coffee while at the conference, so we can learn a little more about each other.
Ok, I admit it. When I heard that ATI was offering a course called “Explosives Technology & Modeling”, my mind immediately went to wartime uses of Explosives for offensive operations. I thought about bombs being dropped on cities, or on buildings, and all the resulting damage and anguish. It was a fairly depressing thought. But, […]
Ok, I admit it. When I heard that ATI was offering a course called “Explosives Technology & Modeling”, my mind immediately went to wartime uses of Explosives for offensive operations. I thought about bombs being dropped on cities, or on buildings, and all the resulting damage and anguish. It was a fairly depressing thought.
But, as I was gathering my thoughts to write this blog and promote this course, I realized that I was totally dismissing other beneficial uses of explosives.
Explosives can be used for fragmentation of rock for construction work. Fragmentation of rock during quarry operations is another beneficial use for explosives. And let’s not forget how instrumental explosives can be for the safe and efficient demolition of buildings. There are many uses of explosives that go far beyond wartime destructive uses. Having said that, it is also true that they are instrumental in fighting wars too.
Explosive Technology and Modeling is a three-day course designed for scientists, engineers and managers interested in the current state of explosives and blast waves. After an introduction to combustion chemistry and shock waves, the current explosive technology is described. Computational and analytical tools are demonstrated for calculating blast wave and fragment parameters.
I am sure this course will be blast. Don’t delay in registering for this class, because it is coming up very soon in April.
To learn more about this course and register, or to see what other courses are availalbe at ATI, you can go here.
Applied Technology Institute is looking to hire short-course instructors for courses in Satellite Communications, Space, Defense, Radar, Sonar/Acoustics, Signal Processing, and Systems Engineering. ATI needs instructors for some existing courses to deepen our bench, but in other cases, our instructor is no longer available to teach, and we need to replace him/her. So, if there […]
Applied Technology Institute is looking to hire short-course instructors for courses in Satellite Communications, Space, Defense, Radar, Sonar/Acoustics, Signal Processing, and Systems Engineering.
ATI needs instructors for some existing courses to deepen our bench, but in other cases, our instructor is no longer available to teach, and we need to replace him/her. So, if there is any course in our catalog you can teach, or if there is a course you can teach which is not yet in our catalog, we want to talk to you about joining our team.
If you would like to learn more about teaching opportunities at ATI, we would be happy to send you a more detailed job description, or we would be happy to speak with you.
Please express your interest to bob@aticourses.com, or call Bob at 410-428-9919.
Anyone who reads the news knows that Ransomware attacks have become very popular among hackers, and very unpopular among victims. In a Ransomware attack, the hacker penetrates your system and encrypts all of your files. So, you still have all your data; you simply have no way to access that data. You may just as […]
Anyone who reads the news knows that Ransomware attacks have become very popular among hackers, and very unpopular among victims.
In a Ransomware attack, the hacker penetrates your system and encrypts all of your files. So, you still have all your data; you simply have no way to access that data. You may just as well not even have your data. The hacker is looking for a ransom, and will only provide the encryption key if you pay him the money he demands. As seen in graphic below from “Information is Beautiful”, these attacks slowed down in 2018 and 2019, but are once again popular in 2020 and 2021.
Unfortunately, when dealing with ransomware hackers, you run the risk that he will take your money and not provide the key. Additionally, you run the risk that he will provide a key that works, but will repenetrate your system and demand a new ransom in the future. For the sake of your business, it is best to not get attacked in this manner. That’s easy to say, but how do you do that?
Protecting against Ransomware attacks is just one of the many things you will learn at an upcoming ATI course Cybersecurity Foundations in November 2022. This three-day course provides an overview of cybersecurity principles and mechanisms and highlights the challenges of protecting computing systems from determined adversaries. The course provides an understanding of the foundational elements of information security. It also gives the student an awareness of the current threat environment and architectures, mechanisms and technologies used to contain constrain, and control adversarial actions.
Take a look at the course description here, and if it looks like a course you may be interested in, please register for the class at that same site.
And, as always, if you want to see the full set of courses offered at ATI, please visit us at www.aticourses.com.
I watched an amazing movie from 1998 last night. Saving Private Ryan was an action-packed World War 2 thriller with lots of blood and gore caused by gunfire, grenades, mortars, bombs, and countless other kinetic weapons. Many other excellent World War 2 movies, Dunkirk for example, also show a myriad of kinetic weapons and kinetic […]
I watched an amazing movie from 1998 last night. Saving Private Ryan was an action-packed World War 2 thriller with lots of blood and gore caused by gunfire, grenades, mortars, bombs, and countless other kinetic weapons. Many other excellent World War 2 movies, Dunkirk for example, also show a myriad of kinetic weapons and kinetic kills with all the associated blood and guts. During that War however, there was another form of warfare happening, but that other form of warfare does not lend itself to good memorable scenes in movies. Unlike kinetic warfare, electronic warfare is any action that uses the EM spectrum for military purposes, either to protect one’s own spectrum ( Electronic Protection), or to exploit the adversary’s spectrum (Electronic Attack.) Said another way, Electronic Attack involves exploiting the airwaves, and finding ways to electronically interfere with enemies ability to communicate with people or weapons on the battlefield. Electronic Protection involves making sure that the adversary does not have the ability to exploit the airwaves, and electronically interfere with your ability to communicate with people or weapons on the battlefield.
Electronic Warfare may result in less direct bloodshed, but it is a very powerful way of fighting that can ultimately indirectly support decisive kinetic warfare. As technology has progressed since World War 2, and as battlefield tactics have changed over time too, Electronic Warfare has become, and will continue to become an even more effective and important force multiplier. And, Hollywood has noticed. Many more modern movies that depict more current wars now focus more on the technology that supports the firepower. Having said that, Hollywood still recognizes the importance of good old-fashioned blood and gore, so they have not abandoned those scenes altogether.
Since Electronic Protection and Electronic Attack are becoming more important, you may want to consider taking the upcoming ATI course on this subject. You can learn more about this course, and register to attend at
There are so many applications of Acoustics in every day life. In fact, scientists are coming up with new applications every day. Many people think of the most popular applications of Acoustics like Ranging and Imaging. If you think the only applications of Acoustics are Sonar and Ultra Sound Imaging, you would be so wrong. […]
There are so many applications of Acoustics in every day life. In fact, scientists are coming up with new applications every day. Many people think of the most popular applications of Acoustics like Ranging and Imaging. If you think the only applications of Acoustics are Sonar and Ultra Sound Imaging, you would be so wrong.
For example, China has discovered that they can use Acoustics to help them deal with the effects of Global Warming. In order to increase their water supply during drought periods, China has discovered that by aiming low frequency sound waves at clouds, they can stimulate that cloud into dropping rainfall when it otherwise would not have done so.
As another example, China has also discovered a more efficient way to limit the number of plastic fibers that get come out of washing machines and get released into the drain. This was required because conventional filters on washing machines do not catch the tiny fibers that can be so destructive to the marine ecosystem. By using Acoustic filters that produce a type of forcefield in the water, all the fibers can be collected.
Going forward, finding new and important applications for Acoustics is ripe for technical innovation.
To learn more about applications of Acoustics, consider taking the upcoming ATI course Acoustic Fundamentals, Measurements, and Applications.
This four-day course is intended for engineers and other technical personnel and managers who have a work-related need to understand basic acoustics concepts and how to measure and analyze sound. This is an introductory course and participants need not have any prior knowledge of sound or vibration. Each topic is illustrated by relevant applications, in-class demonstrations, and worked-out numerical examples. The instructor for this course reaches out to all registered students prior to the class to learn about their interests so he can tailor the course to meet their needs. The upcoming offering of this course is Guaranteed-To-Run.
You can learn more about this course, and register to attend at
ATI is pleased to announce a new series of free virtual short courses starting in January 2021, led by industry leaders and some of your favorite instructors. These 1-hour sessions, from 12:30pm to 1:30pm ET, will be delivered live and you will have an opportunity to ask the instructors questions at the end of the […]
ATI is pleased to announce a new series of free virtual short courses starting in January 2021, led by industry leaders and some of your favorite instructors. These 1-hour sessions, from 12:30pm to 1:30pm ET, will be delivered live and you will have an opportunity to ask the instructors questions at the end of the session. Each short session includes an important take way from one of our full courses that can be implemented on your project. Keep visiting aticourses.com as we schedule more.
January 8th
CSEP preparation – January 8, 2021 – FREE short session – Virtual Live Webinar
With the network news overflowing with stories from around the world regarding the Corona-virus (COVID-19) Applied Technology Institute is concerned for its students and instructors. From the CDC briefing February 26, 2020 “Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in this country. It’s not so much a question of if this will happen anymore […]
With the network news overflowing with stories from around
the world regarding the Corona-virus (COVID-19) Applied Technology Institute is
concerned for its students and instructors. From the CDC briefing February 26,
2020 “Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in this
country. It’s not so much a question of
if this will happen anymore but rather more a question of exactly when this
will happen”
The Prime Minister of Japan has just ordered all schools closed for a month starting March 2nd, schools in Italy are also closed for an undetermined amount of time, other countries are also looking at following these recommendations. Airlines and hotels are changing cancellation policy’s and cruise ships are being blocked from docking at ports around the world. We are also seeing quarantines.
With many students who travel from around the US and other countries to attend our training and education courses, ATI understands that this whole situation can be overwhelming and that disruptions will occur. And that’s why we are putting in place simple solutions so that you can still get the training that you want and need.
We have been meeting and working to go over what ATI courses would look like if travel is suspended and students and our instructors cannot travel to the course locations. We are ready to continue to offer the best training in the industry on a platform where courses will be held as a webinar so that students and instructors can still participate.
ATI’s commitment to training and education within the space industry has years and years of history, making sure that the courses we offer are done with the best instructors in the industry and the topics are what hot in the industry now! We continue that commitment even when things around us get a bit crazy. Please visit our web site and register, knowing that ATI is there for you.
CBS and many other news outlets and technical publications reported that two neutron stars, one exceeding the mass of the sun by 1.6 times, collided with a smaller, but a still, significant star, collided “producing a so-called “kilonova” explosion that seeded the local environment with a flood of heavy elements ranging from gold and platinum to uranium and beyond, […]
In an article published by The National interest in Oct. 2017, Dave Majumdar cites that, “As rival powers rise to challenge the United States, the Pentagon is faced with the problem of how to face down a spectrum of challenges that range from nuclear deterrence to high-end conventional wars to the low-end counterinsurgency fights.” How will […]
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jonathan Kluck, Commander of the 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment (1–68 Armor), 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team (3rd ABCT), 4th Infantry Division (4th ID), prepares to dismount his M1A2 Abrams tank after a Combined Arms Live Fire at the 7th Army Training Command’s Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, July 31, 2017. (U.S. Army photo by Visual Information Specialist Gertrud Zach)
In an article published by The National interest in Oct. 2017, Dave Majumdar cites that, “As rival powers rise to challenge the United States, the Pentagon is faced with the problem of how to face down a spectrum of challenges that range from nuclear deterrence to high-end conventional wars to the low-end counterinsurgency fights.” How will the Pentagon address all three at the same time? Secretary of Defense, John Mattis, defines it as the Pentagon;s “Problem Statement.” Speaking to an audience at the Association of the U.S. Army Exposition on Oct. 9th, Mattis indicated that “the Defense Department is taking a three-pronged approach to the problem.”
To read more about this approach, visit: http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-us-military-needs-be-ready-wage-3-very-different-types-22666
The Applied Technology Institute (ATI Courses) offers many short courses on the topics of Radar, Missiles, and Defense, including the following upcoming open enrollments:
Breaking Defense reports that “Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley, has ordered a review of service’s longstanding shortfalls in electronic warfare, officers told me in an exclusive interview. The ultimate goal: give commanders from platoon to corps the ability to shut down enemy radio and radar as readily as they now call in airstrikes and […]
Breaking Defense reports that “Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley, has ordered a review of service’s longstanding shortfalls in electronic warfare, officers told me in an exclusive interview. The ultimate goal: give commanders from platoon to corps the ability to shut down enemy radio and radar as readily as they now call in airstrikes and artillery. It’s a critical part of the Army’s plan to hit future enemies from all possible angles at once, a concept called Multi-Domain Battle.”
Col. Mark Dotson noted that an already apparent issue is the problem that the Army’s current plan to rebuild EW “focuses on combat brigades and neglects higher-level formations, like divisions and corps.”
Col. Chris Walls, a cyber/EW expert on the Army staff, notes that the Army wishes to do the same with the invisible artillery of electronic and cyber warfare that it did, since World War II, “when [they had] mortars, artillery, rockets, attack aviation if I had it, all firing at the target at the same time… to force them to face multiple dilemmas simultaneously.”
ATI offers a variety of EW and EW-related courses, some of which are offered at the end of September 2017. These include:
ELINT Interception and Analysis
September 11–14 2017 in Dayton, OH
Rockets and Launch Vehicles: Selection and Design
September 18–21 2017 in Columbia, MD
C4ISR Requirements, Principles, and Systems
September 19–21 2017 in Columbia, MD
Electronic Warfare Against the New Threat Environment
November 13–16 in Columbia, MD
Radar Systems Fundamentals
November 14–16 in Columbia, MD
Here’s A Power Boost For all the women in our lives who need a power boost of encouragement, this Girl Power Album Playlist is for you! It’s for smart and courageous young ladies like my nieces (Ivy & Eden) and my daughters (Alice & Quinn). It also goes for the ladies like Jim’s daughter Julie. […]
Here’s A Power Boost
For all the women in our lives who need a power boost of encouragement, this Girl Power Album Playlist is for you!
It’s for smart and courageous young ladies like my nieces (Ivy & Eden) and my daughters (Alice & Quinn). It also goes for the ladies like Jim’s daughter Julie. Julie and my nieces are breaking down barriers in traditionally masculine fields. Julie is now a practicing law for the VA in Washington, DC. Ivy and Eden are enrolled in honors pharmaceutical and law programs where girls are outnumbered four to one (as they often are in science, technology, engineering, and math). Alice & Quinn are too young to demonstrate their intellectual prowess, but nevertheless, every day they demonstrate that they are gritty as well as pretty.
This is a list of the top 10 Girl Power Albums in alphabetical order.
Pick your favorite top 3 and guess what 3 National Public Radio selected as the greatest albums. The answers are below, but pick you favorite first. You can email it to ati@aticourses.com. We will post your votes.
Amy Winehouse Back To Black (Island, 2006)Aretha Franklin I Never Loved a Man The Way I Love You (Atlantic, 1967)Beyoncé Lemonade (Parkwood/Columbia, 2016)Carole King
Tapestry(Ode, 1971)
Janis Joplin Pearl (Columbia, 1971)Joni Mitchell Blue (Reprise, 1971) Lauryn Hill The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Ruffhouse/Columbia, 1998) Missy Elliott Supa Dupa Fly (The Goldmind/Elektra, 1997)Nina SimoneI Put A Spell on You (Philips, 1965)Patti Smith Horses (Arista, 1975)
Lastly, this female empowerment playlist is a shout-out to women like my mother and sister-in-law who have assumed care giving roles. Unless you’ve walked in those shoes or witnessed the work that goes into such care taking, it’s hard to truly appreciate the investment of time, resources, and emotional energy.
Why not make a custom album list to encourage the special women in your life — or yourself — to keep being brave, strong, and fighting
Processed with VSCO with p5 preset
the good fight?
10. Carole King
Tapestry(Ode, 1971)
With Tapestry,Carole King cemented her place as one of the key architects of 20th-century popular music. Here, she fully claims the spotlight, not only as a top-notch composer, but as a deeply soulful lyricist and singer.
9. Amy Winehouse
Back To Black (Island, 2006)
The late ’00s saw an explosive, cross-genre revival of retro-sounding soul music that continues to shape the pop landscape to this day. Arguably, that trend’s catalyst was Amy Winehouse‘s earth-shaking final album.
8. Janis Joplin
Pearl(Columbia, 1971)
One of rock’s most misunderstood artists, Janis Joplinwas often portrayed as victim, a dysfunctional mess who only fronted a band, who didn’t have the power to call the shots. Until Pearl. In 1971, with Monterey Pop, Woodstock, and Festival Express behind her, the vision of blues, rock and soul coming together with a band that could follow her was realized. It was her high point, and tragically, she didn’t live to see it. Janis had put the band together — saying “it’s my band, it’s finally my band” — and approved all the songs. (It was unusual at the time for a female artist to actually have that control, the very reason we need this list.)
7. Patti Smith
Horses(Arista, 1975)
The very nature of Patti Smith‘s debut album Horsesrails against what many other “best of” albums are celebrated for — broad appeal, sonically pleasing aesthetics and hits. Horses is confrontational, defiant and completely unafraid of the ugly.
6. Beyoncé
Lemonade(Parkwood/Columbia, 2016)
One of the most recent projects to be part of our new canon, Lemonade is a masterful excursion through terrains at once visually fantastical and emotionally all too real, exploring shattered trust in a broken relationship; the singular pain borne by the mothers of men like Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Michael Brown; the battering down of black women throughout history; the scars of all of these kinds of trauma; white-hot rage and hopeful, though not blind, reconciliation.
5. Missy Elliott
Supa Dupa Fly(The Goldmind/Elektra, 1997)
This album dismantled the hip-hop boy’s club. For the first time in history a woman rapped, sang, wrote and produced every song on a major rap release. Within the first sounds that we hear, Missy Elliott invites you to become engulfed with the undeniable Virginia-based funk, a region that’s equally Southern and Eastern, through aquatic synth sounds paired with earthy drum patterns.
4. Aretha Franklin
I Never Loved a Man The Way I Love You (Atlantic, 1967)
In the universe of popular music, this album exploded like a brand new sun. It took Aretha Franklin eleven songs to shift the canon of AM radio away from the realm of girlish glee to the cataclysms of womanly love. I Never Loved a Man connected with black and white audiences and became the biggest commercial success of her building career.
3. Nina Simone
I Put A Spell on You (Philips, 1965)
Nina Simone knew her own power. Not only did she cover the song “I Put A Spell on You,” but she also used it as the title of her autobiography. The song, originally released in 1956 by Jay Hawkins, cemented his “Screamin” moniker. But in Simone’s hands, it became something more, a kind of simmering sorcery.
2. Lauryn Hill
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Ruffhouse/Columbia, 1998)
The Fugees struck gold in the late 1990s with albums like The Score, a feat that also made their resident wordsmith, Lauryn Hill, a household name. But when Hill went out on her own two years later and dropped her debut, the neo-soul masterpiece The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, she schooled everyone all over again in new and necessary ways.
1. Joni Mitchell
Blue (Reprise, 1971)
After nearly fifty years, Blue remains the clearest and most animated musical map to the new world that women traced, sometimes invisibly, within their daily lives in the aftermath of the utopian, dream-crushing 1960s. It is a record full of love songs, of sad songs; but more than that, it is a compendium of reasonable demands that too many men in too many women’s lives heard, in 1971, as pipe dreams or outrageous follies.
List of top in count-down order.
Two years ago on July 14, 2015, the New Horizon spacecraft reached Pluto. To celebrate this anniversary NASA released a Pluto flyby video. Using actual New Horizons data and digital elevation models of Pluto and its largest moon Charon, mission scientists have created flyover movies that offer spectacular new perspectives of the many unusual features […]
Two years ago on July 14, 2015, the New Horizon spacecraft reached Pluto. To celebrate this anniversary NASA released a Pluto flyby video.
Using actual New Horizons data and digital elevation models of Pluto and its largest moon Charon, mission scientists have created flyover movies that offer spectacular new perspectives of the many unusual features that were discovered and which have reshaped our views of the Pluto system – from a vantage point even closer than the spacecraft itself.
This dramatic Pluto flyover begins over the highlands to the southwest of the great expanse of nitrogen ice plain informally named Sputnik Planitia. The viewer first passes over the western margin of Sputnik, where it borders the dark, cratered terrain of Cthulhu Macula, with the blocky mountain ranges located within the plains seen on the right. The tour moves north past the rugged and fractured highlands of Voyager Terra and then turns southward over Pioneer Terra — which exhibits deep and wide pits — before concluding over the bladed terrain of Tartarus Dorsa in the far east of the encounter hemisphere.
Digital mapping and rendering were performed by Paul Schenk and John Blackwell of the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston.
Background
New Horizons is a space probe launched by NASA on 19 January 2006, to the dwarf planetPluto and on an escape trajectory from the Sun. It is the first man-made spacecraft to go to Pluto. Its flight took eight years. It arrived at the Pluto–Charon system on July 14, 2015. It flew near Pluto and took photographs and measurements while it passed. At about 1 kilobit per second, it took 15 months to transmit them back to Earth.
The New Horizons spacecraft
The primary mission of New Horizons is to study Pluto and its system of moons. The secondary mission is to study any objects in the Kuiper Belt if something became available for a flyby.
The space probe set the record for the fastest man-made object ever launched, with the Earth-relative speed of about 16.26 km/s, although, arguably, the Helios probes got a faster Sun-relative speed. It used a gravity assist from Jupiter to get its high speeds without having to burn as much monopropellant (weak rocket fuel) as needed to fly directly to Pluto.
ATI instructors who helped plan, develop and engineer the New Horizons Mission. These include the following engineers and scientists, with their bios and links to their related ATI courses.
1. Dr. Alan Stern https://aticourses.com/planetary_science.htm
Dr. Alan Stern is a planetary scientist, space program executive, aerospace consultant, and author. In 2010, he was elected to be the President and CEO of The Golden Spike Company, a commercial space corporation planning human lunar expeditions. Additionally, since 2009, he has been an Associate Vice President at the Southwest Research Institute, and since 2008 has had his own aerospace consulting practice.
Dr. Stern is the Principal Investigator (PI) of NASA’s $720M New Horizon’s Pluto-Kuiper Belt mission, the largest PI-led space mission ever launched by NASA. New Horizons launched in 2006 and is arriving July 14, 2015. Dr. Stern is also the PI of two instruments aboard New Horizons, the Alice UV spectrometer and the Ralph Visible Imager/IR Spectrometer.
2. Eric Hoffman
https://aticourses.com/effective_design_reviews.htmhttps://aticourses.com/spacecraft_quality.htmhttps://aticourses.com/satellite_rf_communications.htm
Eric Hoffman has designed space-borne communications and navigation equipment and performed systems engineering on many APL satellites and communications systems. He has authored over 60 papers and holds 8 patents in these fields. Mr. Hoffman was involved in the proposal (as well as several prior Pluto mission concepts). He chaired the major system level design reviews (and now teaches the course� Effective Design Reviews). He was Space Department Chief Engineer during the concept, design, fabrication, and test of New Horizons. His still actively consulting in the field. He is an Associate Fellow of the AIAA and coauthor of the leading textbook Fundamentals of Space Systems
3. Chris DeBoy
https://aticourses.com/Satellite_Communications_Design_Engineering.htm
Chris DeBoy leads the RF Engineering Group in the Space Department at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and is a member of APL’s Principal Professional Staff. He has over 20 years of experience in satellite communications, from systems engineering (he is the lead RF communications engineer for the New Horizons Mission to Pluto) to flight hardware design for both Low-Earth orbit and deep-space missions. He holds a BSEE from Virginia Tech, a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins, and teaches the satellite communications course for the Johns Hopkins University.
4. Dr. Mark E. Pittelkau
http://www.aticourses.com/attitude_determination.htm
Dr. Pittelkau was previously with the Applied Physics Laboratory, Orbital Sciences Corporation, CTA Space Systems (now Orbital), and Swales Aerospace. His experience in satellite systems covers all phases of design and operation, including conceptual design, implementation, and testing of attitude control systems, attitude and orbit determination, and attitude sensor alignment and calibration, control-structure interaction analysis, stability and jitter analysis, and post-launch support. His current interests are precision attitude determination, attitude sensor calibration, orbit determination, and optimization of attitude maneuvers. Dr. Pittelkau earned the B.S. and Ph. D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University and the M.S. degree in EE from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
5. Douglas Mehoke
http://www.aticourses.com/spacecraft_thermal_control.htm
Douglas Mehoke is the Assistant Group Supervisor and Technology Manager for the Mechanical System Group in the Space Department at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. He has worked in the field of spacecraft and instrument thermal design for 30 years, and has a wide background in the fields of heat transfer and fluid mechanics. He has been the lead thermal engineer on a variety spacecraft and scientific instruments, including MSX, CONTOUR, and New Horizons. He is presently the Technical Lead for the development of the Solar Probe Plus Thermal Protection System. He was the original thermal engineer for New Horizons, the mechanical system engineer, and is currently the spacecraft damage lead for the flyby Hazard Team. Other JHU/APL are currently teaching the Spacecraft Thermal Control course.
6. Steven Gemeny
http://www.aticourses.com/ground_systems_design.htm
Steve Gemeny is a Principal Program Engineer and a former Senior Member of the Professional Staff at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, where he served as Ground Station Lead for the TIMED mission to explore Earth’s atmosphere and Lead Ground System Engineer on the New Horizons mission to explore Pluto by 2020. Mr. Gemeny is an experienced professional in the field of Ground Station and Ground System design in both the commercial world and on NASA Science missions with a wealth of practical knowledge spanning nearly three decades. Mr. Gemeny delivers his experiences and knowledge to his ATIcourses’ students with an informative and entertaining presentation style. Mr Gemeny is Director Business Development at Syntonics LLC, working in RF over fiber product enhancement, new application development for RF over fiber technology, oversight of advanced DOD SBIR/STTR research and development activities related to wireless sensors and software defined antennas.
7. John Penn
http://www.aticourses.com/fundamentals_of_RF_engineering.html
John Penn is currently the Team Lead for RFIC Design at Army Research Labs. Previously, he was a full-time engineer at the Applied Physics Laboratory for 26 years where he contributed to the New Horizons Mission. He joined the Army Research Laboratory in 2008. Since 1989, he has been a part-time professor at Johns Hopkins University where he teaches RF & Microwaves I & II, MMIC Design, and RFIC Design. He received a B.E.E. from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1980, an M.S. (EE) from Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in 1982, and a second M.S. (CS) from JHU in 1988.
8. Timothy Cole
https://aticourses.com/space_based_lasers.htmhttps://aticourses.com/Tactical_Intelligence_Surveillance_Reconnaissance_System_Engineering.htmhttps://aticourses.com/Wireless_Sensor_Networking.htm
Timothy Cole is a leading authority with 30 years of experience exclusively working in electro-optical systems as a system and design engineer. While at Applied Physics Laboratory for 21 years, Tim was awarded the NASA Achievement Award in connection with the design, development, and operation of the Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) Laser Radar and was also the initial technical lead for the New Horizons LOng-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI instrument). He has presented technical papers addressing space-based laser altimetry all over the US and Europe. His industry experience has been focused on the systems engineering and analysis associated development of optical detectors, wireless ad hoc remote sensing, exoatmospheric sensor design and now leads ICESat-2 ATLAS altimeter calibration effort.
9. Robert Moore
http://www.aticourses.com/satellite_rf_communications.htm
Robert C. Moore worked in the Electronic Systems Group at the JHU/APL Space Department since 1965 and is now a consultant. He designed embedded microprocessor systems for space applications. He led the design and testing efforts for the New Horizons spacecraft autonomy subsystem. Mr. Moore holds four U.S. patents. He teaches for ATIcourses and the command-telemetry-data processing segment of “Space Systems” at the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering.
10. Jay Jenkins
http://www.aticourses.com/spacecraft_solar_arrays.htm
Jay Jenkins is a Systems Engineer in the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA and an Associate Fellow of the AIAA. His 24-year aerospace career provided many years of experience in design, analysis, and test of aerospace power systems, solar arrays, and batteries. His career has afforded him opportunities for hands-on fabrication and testing, concurrent with his design responsibilities. He was recognized as a winner of the ASME International George Westinghouse Silver Medal for his development of the first solar arrays beyond Mars’ orbit and the first solar arrays to orbit the planet, Mercury. He was recognized with two Best Paper Awards in the area of Aerospace Power Systems.
To celebrate this anniversary, Michael Dunn of Electronic Design News’ (EDN’s), has compiled a number of blogs on Canada’s technological past and present with a focus on engineers, technologies, institutions, and facilities. Many are informative and fascinating, such as the time in 1978 when a Soviet satellite, with a nuclear reactor still on board, burned […]
To celebrate this anniversary, Michael Dunn of Electronic Design News’ (EDN’s), has compiled a number of blogs on Canada’s technological past and present with a focus on engineers, technologies, institutions, and facilities. Many are informative and fascinating, such as the time in 1978 when a Soviet satellite, with a nuclear reactor still on board, burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Northwest Canada.
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/benchtalk/4458561/Happy-150th-Canada–The-Institutions
The Applied Technology Institute (ATI) has taught a number of space-related courses at the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and defense-related courses for Armed Forces Canada and Canada’s Defense, Research, and Development.
On May 23rd, the Qatari News Agency (QNA) was hacked, initiating a political fallout. It is believed, by the U.S. intelligence community, that Russia may have been responsible. The hack centered around the creation and broadcast of a fake video that wrongly indicated Qatar leader’s allegiance with movements such as Hamas and Hezbollah, establishing a narrative across […]
On May 23rd, the Qatari News Agency (QNA) was hacked, initiating a political fallout. It is believed, by the U.S. intelligence community, that Russia may have been responsible. The hack centered around the creation and broadcast of a fake video that wrongly indicated Qatar leader’s allegiance with movements such as Hamas and Hezbollah, establishing a narrative across the Middle East.
The Applied Technology Institute (ATI) offers a Cyber Leader Course (CLC), which provides cyber leaders with the information they need to understand the Cyber Security landscape. The course exercises provide an opportunity to understand how an attacker gains access and moves around a network. Cyber leaders learn that once an attacker gains access to a network, they can change information, such as web pages, user accounts, passwords and log files.
Applied Technology Institute (ATI Courses) offers a variety of courses on Radar, Missiles & Defense. The news below would be of interest to our readers. The U.S. Navy successfully conducted a flight test March 15 with the AN/SPY-6(V) Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) off the west coast of Hawaii, Naval Sea Systems Command announced in […]
An Arleigh Burke class destroyer
Applied Technology Institute (ATI Courses) offers a variety of courses on Radar, Missiles & Defense. The news below would be of interest to our readers.
The U.S. Navy successfully conducted a flight test March 15 with the AN/SPY-6(V) Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) off the west coast of Hawaii, Naval Sea Systems Command announced in a March 30 release.
During a flight test designated Vigilant Hunter, the AN/SPY-6(V) AMDR searched for, detected and maintained track on a short-range ballistic missile target launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Kauai. This is the first in a series of ballistic missile defense flight tests planned for the AN/SPY-6(V) AMDR.
Read more here.
GOVERNMENT authorities are investigating Facebook’s massive drone Aquila after it crash landed. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTBS) launched a probe into the inaugural flight of Facebook’s drone which the social networking giant hopes will be able to bring internet to remote parts of the world. Following the flight, Facebook said in a statement: “We […]
https://youtube.com/watch?v=eOez_Hk80TI
GOVERNMENT authorities are investigating Facebook’s massive drone Aquila after it crash landed.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTBS) launched a probe into the inaugural flight of Facebook’s drone which the social networking giant hopes will be able to bring internet to remote parts of the world.
Following the flight, Facebook said in a statement: “We were happy with the successful first test flight and were able to verify several performance models and components including aerodynamics, batteries, control systems and crew training, with no major unexpected results.”
However it has now emerged that the inaugural flight, which took place in July, was not without incident.
Peter Knudson, a NTSB spokesman, has today confirmed that when flying over Arizona in the United States the drone suffered “substantial” damage in a crash.
No one was harmed in the incident, and there was no damage on the ground.
Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg said in July: “We gathered lots of data about our models and the aircraft structure – and after two years of development, it was emotional to see Aquila actually get off the ground.
“But as big as this milestone is, we still have a lot of work to do.
“Eventually, our goal is to have a fleet of Aquilas flying together at 60,000 feet, communicating with each other with lasers and staying aloft for months at a time – something that’s never been done before.
“To get there, we need to solve some difficult engineering challenges.”
The crash could prove to be a setback for Facebook’s Internet.org plan, which hopes to bring extensive internet access to under-served areas of the world such as parts of Africa, India and the Middle East.
