Mentor Blogs

The aerospace industry has a way of keeping an even keel, even in the most trying economic times. When government funding for spacecraft waned, commercial investment soared. When commercial aviation and business aviation sectors suffered significant losses, the military sector posted gains and kept the market afloat. The aerospace industry is alive and well. It appears to have weathered the storm and, … Read More

nasa, SLS, heavy-lift vehicle, Space Launch System

This geek loves the modern space race, as it is being called by many. I speak of the resurgence of interest in rockets, spacecraft, and virtually all things space-related. I enjoy all facets of it—whether private, public, international, or domestic. I love it all, as my fellow geeks likely already know. The recent decommissioning of the U.S. Space Shuttle program, after many decades of successful service, … Read More

Space Launch System, SLS, Mil-Aero, Asteroid, Electric, Milaero, Military, nasa, Aerospace, Embedded Systems, Mars. Moon, Mentor, Engineer, Mentor Graphics, electrical, Mentor.com, Electronic, LEO, Geek, Low Earth Orbit, Space Race, Space Shuttle, U.S. Space Shuttle program

The aerospace industry was born more than 100 years ago, when the internal combustion engine was joined to the balloon and the glider, reads a NASA Web page. “America’s contribution to it is vast, ranging from the first airplane and the first modern rocket to the latest in avionics.” Is the U.S. the losing its status on the world stage as a leader in aerospace innovation? On the state level, … Read More

Mentor.com, Mentor Graphics, Mil-Aero, Boeing, Aerospace, Gov. Chris Gregoire, Milaero, Military, Mentor, Electronic, nasa, Geek, Ray Conner

When the Space Shuttle retires as scheduled in June, NASA will be dependent on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS). Based on a recent $753 million contract NASA awarded to the Russian Federal Space Agency, these outsourced services cost U.S. taxpayers roughly $63 million per seat. It’s doubtless a hefty price tag, but NASA lacks U.S.-based … Read More

Aerospace, nasa, Virgin Galactic, Soyuz, Milaero, Geek, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, ISS, Elon Musk, rad-hard, spacex, Mentor, Boeing, Russian Federal Space Agency, Space Shuttle, Mentor Graphics

Decades ago, the United States and the Soviet Union were in competition, battling for superiority in the space race and demonstrating scientific prowess, technological capabilities, and power. Now fodder for the history books, the space race bred myriad advancements through competition; today, in a time of budget cuts, the U.S. is paying Russia for help when it comes to human spaceflight. NASA officials … Read More

Military, Milaero, nasa, Charles Bolden, Geek, Aerospace, Obama, Mentor.com, Russian Federal Space Agency, Mil-Aero, Mentor, Soyuz, Mentor Graphics

This geek is in love with the developing private space flight industry. If you haven’t been an avid follower, my previous blogs on the President’s 2012 Budget Request for NASA and the latest announcements from X Prize, SpaceX, and Virgin Galactic can get you up to speed. It is terribly exciting to witness technological advancements stemming from private investment, commercial successes pioneering research … Read More

nasa, Military, Obama, Geek, US, Mentor, Virgin Galactic, x prize, Aerospace, Russia, Mil-Aero, Space Race, Milaero, spacex, Mentor Graphics, U.S.S.R., Mentor.com

The President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2012, if approved, will revert NASA’s spending to 2010 levels overall. This geek wonders if, as federal funds for space exploration shrink, commercial investment in space innovations will grow. If the previous couple years are any indication, the private space race is likely to heat up and reach new heights (hopefully low Earth orbit, most often referred … Read More

Milaero, Mil-Aero, Military, Aerospace, Geek, Add new tag, Mentor Graphics, nasa, Sir Richard Charles Branson, Mentor.com, LEO, spacex, Mentor, Virgin Galactic

The Obama administration has announced its 2012 budget request; and, if approved, it will reduce spending for NASA in the next fiscal year to $18.7 billion, the same amount the agency gained in 2010 and roughly $300 million less than NASA received in the 2011 budget request. “The times today are very difficult fiscally, and we’re going to live within a budget,” says NASA administrator … Read More

Mentor Graphics, Mentor, Mentor.com, Barrack Obama, Obama, President, budget, Aerospace, Mil-Aero, International Space Station, Milaero, ISS, Military, Charles Bolden, nasa, Geek

Google Lunar X Prize The roster of competitors is set for the Google Lunar X Prize, a multimillion-dollar race to land a homemade robot on the moon. Twenty-nine privately funded teams have thrown their hats in the ring, contest organizers announced Feb. 17. The teams represent 17 nations spanning four continents, and the competitors range from non-profits to university consortia to billion-dollar … Read More

Mentor.com, Mentor Graphics, Mil-Aero, Earth, Geek, Aerospace, Lunar, Milaero, Military, Mentor, Google, nasa, Google Lunar X prize, x prize

It’s not that I was suspicious. I have no axe to grind against Toyota and was pleased to read that after a 10-month study, NASA and NHTSA engineers found no electronic flaws in Toyota vehicles capable of causing unintended acceleration. But I was curious to know how they did it – how they examined and tested mechanical and electronic components and what tools they used to analyze some 280,000 lines … Read More

unintende acceleration, Toyota, electromagnetic radiation, event data recorders, brake override systems, nasa, NHTSA, Goddard Space Flight Center, keyless ignition

The President’s budget request for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in fiscal year 2011, released 1 Feb. 2010, added $6 billion over five years. The $6 billion increase was accompanied by instructions as to how the money should be invested, which was hotly criticized at the time. Looking back nearly a year later, it’s evident that the additional funding has been a boon … Read More

Military, Milaero, Mentor, Computer, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Aerospace, Geek, DoD, George W. Bush, Hardware, Constellation, Mars, COTS, Embedded Systems, Electronic, Engineer, Moon, spacex, Virgin Galactic, nasa, Obama

It’s no secret that the economic downturn is prevailing far longer than financial and economic pundits even predicted; layoffs in the mil/aero industry, like various other markets, continue. Companies are doing more with less, and requiring employees to multitask more than ever before. It is not uncommon today to find a single employee today handling the same responsibilities and workload of two or … Read More

Engineer, Geek, nasa, CAE, Mentor.com, CFD. computational fluid dynamics, Mil-Aero, Milaero, Aerospace, Military, MCAD, Design Automation, MCAM, Mentor, Computer, Mentor Graphics

Part 1 explored Boeing and Space Adventures’ new memorandum outlining a partnership to further increase the growing industry of commercial space flight. Part 2 aims to answer some pressing questions: What is Space Adventures’ background? Who is funding the effort? When is the Boeing Crew Space Transport-100 (CST-100) scheduled to be completed? And who are the players involved in this competitive game … Read More

Mentor.com, Mentor Graphics, Mil-Aero, Boeing, Space Adventures, commercial spaceflight, Space Shuttle, spacex, Aerospace, Virgin Galactic, Milaero, International Space Station, Military, Mentor, nasa, CST-100, Scaled Composites, Geek

With NASA’s Space Shuttle program coming to an end, the private space transportation industry is heating up. Many players are making plans to provide out-of-this-world service in the not too distant future. As I have discussed in previous blogs, a growing number of companies (such as SpaceX and Scaled Composites) and private incentive programs (such as Ansari X Prize) have been encouraging the privately … Read More

Space Adventures, Scaled Composites, Mil-Aero, Ansari X Prize, Milaero, nasa, Richard Branson, Aerospace, commercial spaceflight, Low Earth Orbit, Mentor, CST-100, Mentor Graphics, Boeing, Mentor.com, Brewster Shaw, Hardware, Geek, LEO, spacex, Virgin Galactic, x prize

According to a recent article in USA Today, at least 41 children have died so far this year in the U.S. because absent-minded parents or caregivers left them in cars in hot weather. NHTSA warns that a car’s windows act like a greenhouse, trapping sunlight and heat. It says cars parked in direct sunlight can reach internal temperatures up to 131° - 172° F when outside temperatures are 80° – 100° F. … Read More

baby seat sensor, Janette Fennell, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, NHTSA, USA Today, Kids and Cars, nasa