The Dawn Mission to Vesta and Ceres

March 20, 2015All Posts, Spacecraft and MissionsCeres, Dawn spacecraft, NASA, Vesta, xenon ion propulsionDrummer

Peter Lobner

The Dawn spacecraft is the only spaceship built to orbit two extraterrestrial bodies; the large asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres, both of which are in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. You can see that Vesta and Ceres are quite small in comparison to Earth’s moon.

Source: NASA

Dawn spacecraft showing ion propulsion engine firing:

Source: NASA

Dawn’s mission was enabled by an advanced solar-electric xenon ion propulsion system. You can read more about the propulsion system and Dawn’s instrumentation at the following NASA link:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dawn/spacecraft/

Launched in September 2007, Dawn made a gravity-assist flyby of Mars before reaching Vesta in July 2011 and remaining in orbit for about 14 months.

View of Vesta from Dawn

Vesta. Source: NASA

From the collected data, NASA created a 360 degree view of Vesta, which you can see at the following link:

http://dawnblog.jpl.nasa.gov/2014/05/23/vesta360/

Using its ion propulsion system, Dawn departed Vesta in September 2012 and headed for it’s rendezvous with Ceres, arriving in orbit on 6 March 2015. You can read about the orbital insertion and see a 360 degree view of Ceres at the following link:

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-blogs/marc-rayman/20150306-dawn-journal-ceres-orbit-insertion.html

View of Ceres from Dawn, showing two bright spots of unknown origin.

Ceres. Source: NASA

Dawn’s initial orbit was at an altitude of 8,400 miles above Ceres. Over the next month, Dawn is using it’s ion propulsion system to spiral down to a “survey orbit” 2,700 miles above Ceres. After the survey is complete, the ion propulsion system will be used again to spiral down gradually to a 910 mile “high-altitude mapping orbit”. Late in 2015, the spacecraft will descend again until it reaches a “low altitude mapping orbit” at an altitude of 230 miles. Because of the very low thrust of the ion propulsion engines, the transitions between orbits takes a long time (several weeks). You can read the details about the in-orbit management of the spacecraft at the following link:

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-blogs/marc-rayman/20140430-dawn-journal-explaining-orbit-insertion.html

Scalability of 3-D Printing (additive manufacturing)

March 20, 2015All Posts, Engineering, Manufacturing, Medical3-D printed house, 3-D printed skin, 3-D printing, additive manufacturing, James Dyson Award, PrintAlive, University of Toronto, Wake Forest School of MedicineDrummer

Peter Lobner

We are only now starting to see the very broad implications of 3-D printing technology in many disciplines, some of which would not be considered as traditional “manufacturing” activities. Since the “ink” can be almost anything, and the scalability of the technology is vast, the potential applications are much broader than the early applications conceived so far.

Here are a couple of examples that illustrate the scalability of 3-D printing technology and show how the computer system driving the printer adds a layer of intelligence needed to manufacture remarkable products.

Where do you see applications for this technology?

Medical application: Treating burn victims

In Feb 2015, Wake Forest School of Medicine announced that it had designed, built and tested a printer capable of printing skin cells directly onto burn wounds. The “ink” is actually different kinds of skin cells. A scanner is used to determine wound size and depth. Different kinds of skin cells are found at different depths. With this data, a computer guides the printer as it applies layers of the correct type of cells to cover the wound. Read the story at the following link:

http://www.wakehealth.edu/Research/WFIRM/Research/Military-Applications/Printing-Skin-Cells-On-Burn-Wounds.htm

Another approach for treating burn victims was announced in 2014 by the University of Toronto. Their solution is called the “PrintAlive” 3-D bioprinter, which is capable of manufacturing continuous layers of tissue – including hair follicles, sweat glands and other human skin complexities – onto a hydrogel that can be used in place of conventional skin grafts. Read the story at the following link:

http://www.gizmag.com/printalive-biopronter-skin-grafts-burns/34057/

The students who developed the PrintAlive machine were the Canadian winners of the 2014 James Dyson Award, that is intended to that celebrate, encourage and inspire the next generation of design engineers.

Construction application: Building a house

This is a really large-scale application of 3-D printing technology that also requires a stock of certain parts that are more easily emplaced where needed rather than printing them in place (i.e., windows, doors, floors and ceilings). Additive manufacturing could be used to separately produce most of these emplaced items.

Read the article and see the 6 min video of the construction process at the following link:

http://gadgets.ndtv.com/laptops/news/new-giant-3d-printer-can-build-a-house-in-24-hours-470564?utm_source=howtogeek&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

The World’s Oldest dot.com Address is 30 Years Old

March 18, 2015All Posts, Computer Technology, Information TechnologyCERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research, hypertext, oldest dot.com address, Robert Cailliau, Symbolics, Tim Berners-Lee, world wide webDrummer

Peter Lobner

We’ve come a long way since the first Internet dot-com address, symbolics.com, was registered on 15 March 1985 by Massachusetts-based computer company Symbolics, which was one of the original makers of computer workstations. The Lisp computer language that Symbolics developed eventually faded in popularity. Symbolics filed for bankruptcy in 1993, but the company and its symbolics.com website continue to exist today. Read more at the following link:

http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/13/technology/symbolics-com-oldest-dot-com/

It wasn’t until 1989 that the basis for the world-wide web was created by British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee in a proposal that originally was meant to create a more effective communication system at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Berners-Lee and Belgian computer scientist Robert Cailliau proposed in 1990 to use hypertext “to link and access information of various kinds as a web of nodes in which the user can browse at will.” Berners-Lee built and tested the first website around 20 December 1990 and reported about the project on the newsgroup alt.hypertext on 7 August 1991.

You can read more about Berners-Lee’s first website, and several other early web sites, at the following link:

http://money.cnn.com/gallery/technology/innovation/2014/03/09/website-pioneers/index.html

Efficiency in Electricity Generation

March 17, 2015All Posts, Power Generating Technology - Alternate, Power Generating Technology - Fossil, Power Generating Technology - Nuclearelectrical generation efficiency, EURELECTRIC, Siemens, Union of the Electricity Industry, VGB PowerTechDrummer

Peter Lobner

On 9 March 2015, Siemens announced that it had achieved a generation efficiency record at the Cengiz Enerji Samsun combined-cycle gas turbine power plant in Turkey. With an installed capacity of 600 MWe, this plant achieves a net efficiency of almost 61%. This makes Cengiz Enerji Samsun the most efficient fossil-fired 50 Hz power plant in 2015, not only in Turkey, but in the world.

You can read more at the following link:

http://www.globalenergyworld.com/news/15838/Siemens_Achieves_Record_Efficiency_With_The_Samsun_H-class_Power_Plant.htm

If you wonder how this level of generation efficiency compares to other types of electric power generators, then I recommend that you read the July 2003 report, “Efficiency in Electric Power Generation,” drafted by Union of the Electricity Industry – EURELECTRIC (Brussels, Belgium) and VGB PowerTech (Essen, Germany).

While this report is 12 years old, I think it remains one of the best single sources of comparative efficiency information on a very wide range of generator types. You can download a pdf version of this report by doing an Internet search for:

Efficiency in electricity generation – Eurelectric

The link you need should be at or near the top of your search results.

One of the key results presented in this report is a chart showing comparative efficiencies. The new Cengiz Enerji Samsun power plant raises the bar a few percentage points for “Large gas fired CCGT power plant”.

5 July 2016 update: New record for fossil plant efficiency

On 17 June 2016, General Electric (GE) and Électricité de France (EDF) began operating the first ever combined-cycle power plant equipped with GE’s 9HA large gas turbine. GE advertises the 9HA as the “world’s largest and most efficient heavy duty gas turbine”. There are two models, 9HA.01 and 9HA.02 that have claimed simple cycle outputs and net efficiencies of 397 MWe @ 41.5% net efficiency, and 510 MWe @ 41.8% net efficiency, respectively. In a combined cycle application, the power outputs and efficiencies increase substantially. GE claims the 9HA.01 delivers 592 MWe @ 61.6% net efficiency, while the 9HA.02 delivers 755 MWe @ 61.8% net efficiency. You can download a GE specification sheet on the 9HA at the following link:

https://powergen.gepower.com/content/dam/gepower-pgdp/global/en_US/documents/product/gas%20turbines/Fact%20Sheet/9ha-fact-sheet-oct15.pdf

With regard to the new 605 MWe combined cycle 9HA.01 power plant at Bouchain, France, GE announced that this plant has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s most efficient combined-cycle power plant, with a demonstrated net efficiency of 62.22% (better than advertised by GE). You can read the GE announcement at the following link:

https://powergen.gepower.com/about/insights/bouchain-grand-opening.html

The New Horizons Mission to Pluto

March 14, 2015All Posts, Astronomy, Spacecraft and MissionsCharon, Kuiper Belt, Kuiper Belt Objects, NASA, New Horizons spacecraft, Pluto, radioisotope thermoelectric generator, RTGDrummer

Peter Lobner

The New Horizons spacecraft is scheduled for a flyby of Pluto and its five known moons on July 14, 2015. Launched in January 2006, New Horizons has gone through 18 “hibernation” cycles enroute to Pluto. It came out of its last hibernation cycle on December 6, 2014. New Horizons electrical systems are powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) that produces electricity from the heat of decaying Plutonium 238. Propulsion is by means of hydrazine thrusters.

New Horizons spacecraft. Source: NASA

You can find details on the design of the New Horizons spacecraft at the following link:

http://www.boulder.swri.edu/pkb/ssr/ssr-fountain.pdf

New Horizons trajectory from Earth included a gravity-assist from Jupiter.

Source: NASA

Here’s a New Horizons photo of Jupiter during it’s 2007 flyby:

Source: NASA

Pluto and moon Charon viewed from New Horizons in January 2015:

Source: NASA

You can see an interesting NASA time-lapse “video” sequence of Charon circling Pluto at the following link:

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/watch-pluto-dance-its-moon-new-horizons-video-n175456

As noted in that article, Charon’s mass is roughly a tenth of Pluto’s, which gives it enough gravitational pull to have a noticeable effect on Pluto’s position.

You can follow details on the New Horizons mission on the following NASA website:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/main/#.VQR9wykUyOJ

After the Pluto encounter, New Horizons will continue on to visit one or more objects in the Kuiper Belt, which circles our solar system beyond the orbit of Pluto. The Hubble space telescope has been used to search for potential Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs).

Fueling Innovation and Discovery: The Mathematical Sciences in the 21st Century

March 14, 2015All Posts, Mathematicsmathematical sciences, National Academies PressDrummer

Peter Lobner

National Academies Press (NAP) describes this new draft publication as follows, “This publication, ‘Fueling Innovation and Discovery: The Mathematical Sciences in the 21st Century’, ……. is based on the committee’s identification of recent advances in the mathematical sciences or advances enabled by mathematical sciences research, drawn from the committee’s assessment of the vitality of the discipline. This report is geared toward general readers who would like to know more about ongoing advances in the mathematical sciences and how these advances are changing our understanding of the world, creating new technologies, and transforming industries.”

If you have set up your own MyNAP account as I described in my 14 March 2015 posting, you can download the subject NAP report for free at the following link:

http://www.nap.edu/catalog/13373/fueling-innovation-and-discovery-the-mathematical-sciences-in-the-21st?utm_source=NAP+Newsletter&utm_campaign=fe4b40ab52-Super_Pi_Day_2015_03_14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_96101de015-fe4b40ab52-102552401&mc_cid=fe4b40ab52&mc_eid=6d8a28e836

National Academies Press (NAP)

March 14, 2015All Posts, Document and Data SourcesInstitute of Medicine, National Academies Press, National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, National Research CouncilDrummer

Peter Lobner

The National Academies Press (NAP) was created by the National Academy of Sciences to publish the reports of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council, all operating under a charter granted by the Congress of the United States. The NAP publishes more than 200 books a year on a wide range of topics in science, engineering, and medicine, providing authoritative information on important matters in science and health policy. NAP offers more than 5,000 titles in PDF format. All of these PDFs can be downloaded for free by the chapter or the entire book.

If you do not already have a NAP account (free), then you can do this easily by clicking on the following link:

http://www.nap.edu/content/about-the-national-academies-press

At this site, you will see a “Help” column on the right side of the page. Under the heading “Using NAP.edu”, select “MyNAP”. On this new page, follow the instructions under “Getting Started” and register for your account. Once you have an account, you’ll be able to select and download the NAP pdf documents you find interesting. You also should receive periodic e-mails announcing the availability of new NAP publications.

I hope you’ll find NAP to be a valuable resource.

History of the DOE National Laboratories

March 11, 2015All Posts, Engineering, Nuclear Arms & Arms Control, Physics, Power Generating Technology - NuclearDepartment of Energy, DOE, national laboratories, Office of Scientific & Technical Information, OSTIDrummer

Peter Lobner

Many at SAIC worked at or for one or more DOE national laboratories at some point in their careers. The following link to the DOE Office of Scientific & Technical Information (OSTI) web site provides links to other web sites with historical information on the various national labs.

http://www.osti.gov/accomplishments/nuggets/historynatlabs.html

For example, on this OSTI web page, you can select the Idaho National Laboratory link, and a pop-up menu will display the available documents. If you select, “Proving the Principle: A History of the Idaho Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, 1949 – 1999,” this will take you to an INL web site that includes a 25 chapter history + a 2000 – 2010 addendum, all organized for chapter-by-chapter web access.

I hope you find some something of interest via the OSTI website.

Solar Impulse 2 Designed for Around-the-World Flight on Solar Power

March 10, 2015Aeronautical, All Postsaround-the-world flight, Solar Impulse 2, solar powered airplaneDrummer

Peter Lobner

Switzerland’s Solar Impulse 2 (Si2) is designed to fly around the world on solar power. Its wing span of 236 ft. is greater than the wing span of a Boeing 747. The high aspect ratio wing maximizes aerodynamic efficiency. Power is generated by more than 17,000 high-efficiency solar cells, with a daily generation capacity of up to 340 kWh. In comparison, my home solar electric system can generate 22 kWh on a good day.

Built with carbon fiber structures, Si2 weighs only 5,070 lb., but a bit more than 1/4 of that is for the batteries.

Graphic source: info.solarimpulse.com

Check out the Solar Impulse 2 website for detailed information on how this remarkable airplane was designed and constructed to meet the challenges of its mission.

http://info.solarimpulse.com/en/our-adventure/building-a-solar-airplane/#.VP8NUCkUyOI