Mentor Blogs

Just as an avalanche of events occurred this month related to the Boeing Dreamliner 787, with one issue after another rearing its ugly head, a seeming chain reaction of investigations has also resulted. Boeing, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Federal Aviation Administration, Japan’s Transport Ministry and Civil Aviation Bureau launched investigations; and, the European Aviation Safety … Read More

JTM, Japan Airlines, Geek, Aerospace, All Nippon Airways, GS Yuasa Corp, Hardware, JAL, 787, electrical, Boeing, Electronic, ANA, Engineer, APU, FAA, EASA, Dreamliner, Electric, NTSB, Li-ion, Milaero, Military, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Mentor, Mentor Graphics, Lithium Ion, Logan Airport

What can only be described as a series of unfortunate events (to borrow from Lemony Snicket) with prompted organizations dedicated to safety to launch investigations into the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s safety and potential for additional problems, as well as to ground 787s until its safety is proven. While some problems are expected in the release of new design into service the quick succession of these … Read More

Li-ion, JTM, Geek, Aerospace, All Nippon Airways, Hardware, JAL, Japan Airlines, 787, electrical, Boeing, Electronic, ANA, Engineer, APU, FAA, EASA, Dreamliner, Electric, Lithium Ion, Military, NTSB, Mil-Aero, Milaero, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com, Logan Airport, Mentor

When we last left off, the auxiliary power unit (APU) of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner parked at Boston’s Logan Airport had caught fire, purportedly melting a Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery module. It would not be the last of the commercial airliner’s—or even Japan Airlines’—problems, however. The very next day (Jan. 8), in fact, a second Japan Airlines (JAL) 787 suffered a fuel leak, and its flight out of … Read More

Mentor, Logan Airport, JAL, Aerospace, All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Li-ion, Lithium Ion, 787, Electronic, Boeing, Engineer, Geek, ANA, Hardware, APU, Electric, Dreamliner, electrical, Mentor Graphics, Narita International Airport, Milaero, Military, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero

Aerospace professionals the world over are focused on three little words: Lithium ion batteries. Even the collective interest of the defense community (more on that later) is piqued about potential power problems. Alliteration aside, Boeing’s 787 battery has captured the attention of aerospace geeks, government agencies, and the traveling public. In case you haven’t heard about the latest trouble with … Read More

Massport Fire Rescue, Japan Airlines, Engineer, Aerospace, APU, Geek, Hardware, JAL, 787, Dreamliner, Boeing, Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Electric, electrical, auxiliary power unit, Electronic, Boston Fire Department, Design Automation, Mentor, Military, Mil-Aero, Milaero, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com

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

Hardware, Geek, Kirtland Air Force Base, The Dark Knight Rises, AFRL, Milaero, Boeing, Military, Raytheon’s Ktech subsidiary, Aerospace, Sandia National Laboratories, Mentor, Directed Energy Directorate, Mentor Graphics, EMP, Mentor.com, Boeing Phantom Works, Mil-Aero, Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project

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

Hardware, Geek, Kirtland Air Force Base, The Dark Knight Rises, AFRL, Milaero, Boeing, Military, Raytheon’s Ktech subsidiary, Aerospace, Sandia National Laboratories, Mentor, Directed Energy Directorate, Mentor Graphics, EMP, Mentor.com, Boeing Phantom Works, Mil-Aero, Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project

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

JPL, Hardware, Lunar, nasa, Moon, Ebb, Mentor Graphics, electrical, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Aerospace, Milaero, Lunar Prospector, Flow, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Geek, Maria Zuber, Electronic, Mentor, Engineer

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

JPL, Hardware, Lunar, Crash, Milaero, Ebb, Moon, nasa, Aerospace, Software, Mentor, GRAIL, Mentor Graphics, gravity, Mentor.com, Flow, Mil-Aero, Geek

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

unmanned, UAV, Military, AeroVironment Qube, Aviation Week, police, RPA, RPAS, Aerospace, Drones, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com, Engineer, Mil-Aero, COTS, Milaero, DraganFlyer X6, Hardware, Geek, Mentor, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, vertical takeoff and landing, VTOL

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

UAV, Sukhoi SU-25 Frogfoot, MQ-1, COTS, Drones, Predator, RPA, RPAS, Aerospace, General Atomics, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Hardware, Milaero, Engineer, Military, Geek, Mentor, Iran, Mentor Graphics, unmanned, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

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

unmanned, UAV, Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, COTS, NAS, RPA, RPAS, Aerospace, FAA, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Geek, Milaero, Military, Engineer, Mentor, Hardware, Mentor Graphics, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

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

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

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

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

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

Mentor, Kennedy Space Center, Mentor Graphics, Technology, OV-105, Columbia, Rockwell Automation, Rockwell Collins, Aerospace, Space Shuttle, Mil-Aero, Geek, Milaero, Hardware, Military, Endeavour, nasa, Engineer