Mentor Blogs

A new, non-lethal microwave weapon is causing a great deal of excitement in the military and aerospace (mil/aero) community. Military officials the world over have been asking for new, non-lethal options, such as directed-energy deterrents, with which to counter irregular, or non-traditional and asymmetric, warfare tactics, especially in urban environments with large civilian populations. The U.S. Air … Read More

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Look, up in the air. It’s a microwave missile. It’s a smart bomb. Actually, it’s CHAMP, the Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project, and it’s arguably the hottest directed-energy innovation in the military and aerospace (mil/aero) market today. Government and industry—including the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Boeing Phantom Works, Raytheon’s Ktech subsidiary, … Read More

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On 17 December 2012 at 5:28 p.m. and 5:29 p.m. Eastern Time, NASA JPL scientists in California will set the twin probes Ebb and Flow on a shallow angle collision course with the rim of an impact crater on the moon. At the time of the impact, the chosen crash site will be shrouded in darkness; yet, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will be on location to photograph the impact site before and after the … Read More

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Engineers and Scientists at NASA JPL in California are again making headlines in the military/aerospace (mil/aero) community. Aerospace engineers and enthusiasts the world over are talking about NASA’s plan to crash Ebb and Flow, two spacecraft on a moon-mapping mission throughout 2012, into the moon’s surface. Not since the Curiosity rover landed on Mars has the mil/aero industry been so focused on … Read More

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What does a longtime space agency do with lunar research satellites when they have run out of fuel? If you’re the space geeks at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in Pasadena, California, you do something unforgettable: You crash them into moon! Ebb and Flow are appliance-sized probes (or spacecraft) in NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) … Read More

Military, Milaero, Mentor, Delta II, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Aerospace, Ebb, Geek, GRAIL, electrical, JPL, Design Automation, Lockheed Martin, Discovery Program, Engineer, Embedded Systems, Flow, nasa, The Boeing Company

The military/aerospace (mil/aero) industry is obsessed with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) this month. The FAA is occupied with the safe integration of UAVs in public airspace. The Pentagon is buzzing about the first recorded attack on a military drone in the airspace over the Persian Gulf. The public is growing more concerned and vocal about UAVs as they relate to privacy. Unmanned aircraft systems … Read More

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Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, are the topic of much conversation in the military/aerospace (mil/aero) community; much of the talk centers on UAVs in airspace, in fact. This month, the Pentagon confirmed that an Iranian attack aircraft fired on an unarmed U.S. drone on the morning of Nov. 1, 2012. Iranian leaders and lawmakers do not deny firing on the unmanned aircraft. The point of contention, … Read More

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Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), now commonly referred to as remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) or remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) by federal agencies, standards bodies, and military organizations worldwide, are again the hottest topic of discussion in the military/aerospace (mil/aero) community. What has the industry, and the greater public, buzzing? The prospect of sitting in a window seat … Read More

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Following a flight on the back of a modified Boeing 747 aircraft to LAX and traversing Los Angeles roads, the historic NASA Space Shuttle Endeavour is on temporary display in the Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion California Science Center, also called the California ScienCenter, in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California. The California Science Museum is in the process of building … Read More

Hardware, Geek, Mentor, Military, electrical, nasa, Software, Aerospace, Warfighters, Mentor Graphics, Endeavour, Mentor.com, Engineer, Mil-Aero, Electronic, Milaero, Embedded Systems

Three out of four decommissioned NASA space shuttle orbiters have found new homes at museums in the United States. Endeavour, built as a replacement for Space Shuttle Challenger, recently arrived at its new home in Los Angeles, and the world was watching. This geek was impressed and moved by the thousands of people who shared in Endeavour’s journey, logging its path in real time (and even sharing photos) … Read More

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Marking the end of an era, Space Shuttle Endeavor—the fifth and final NASA space shuttle constructed—arrived at Los Angeles Airport (LAX) on September 21, 2012 to begin its journey on the streets of LA to its final resting place at the California Science Center. NASA offered up three of its four decommissioned space shuttles as donations to museums; many museums competed for the honor of displaying … Read More

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After 25 missions to outer space and 4,671 orbits around planet Earth, Space Shuttle Endeavour has completed its final voyage, dubbed mission number 26. Mission 26 entailed Endeavour’s move from its previous home in Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) 2 at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), headquartered in Merritt Island, Florida, to its final resting place at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, … Read More

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If you enter into discussions with anyone in the military/aerospace (mil/aero) community, you’ll likely hear “sequestration” more than once. Conversations among defense professionals today invariably touch on the topic, some even escalate into heated, impromptu debates. Reactions and predictions on the topic of sequestration vary wildly among mil/aero professionals. At a recent event in Washington, … Read More

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“By NASA’s tally, the United States, the former Soviet Union, Russia, the European Space Agency, China, and Japan have tried to reach Mars 43 times. Of those attempted flybys, orbits, and landings, fewer than one third succeeded,” writes Marc Kaufman, journalist and author, in USA Today. “Only six missions to the surface of Mars have successfully landed, sent home data, and completed their tasks. “What … Read More

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NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover is the biggest, most expensive, and most technologically advanced planetary expedition ever attempted. At the same time, Curiosity’s entry, descent, and landing (EDL) was, without a doubt, the most ambitious. The EDL phase started when the spacecraft reached the Martian atmosphere, at a distance of roughly 125 kilometers or 78 miles above the surface, … Read More

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