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Vega Launch – Europe’s Newest Satellite Launcher

February 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment
 
Tomorrow, 13th February 2012 will see the launch of Europe’s newest satellite launch vehicle, Vega, from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Spaceport at Kourou, weather permitting. This first test flight Vega launch will carry 9 payloads – seven Cubesat satellites plus two Italian Space Agency satellites.

The video above provides an extremely interesting overview of the Vega programme. The project is controlled and managed from ESA’s ESRIN Centre for Earth Observation at Frascati, just south of Rome. An idyllic location, given it is at the heart of some of Italy’s finest vineyards. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Launch Sites, Launch Vehicles, Organisations

Radar Wars

February 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Radar Wars

Radar Wars

Not my usual sort of post, but this just had to be shared.

Believe me, this could well be true. I could recount some similar, real situations – but then they’d have to shoot me!

Attribution: I always like to acknowledge, reference and attribute things which I put into posts, if possible. On researching this I couldn’t track down the original source but I did find this: http://www.snopes.com/horrors/techno/radar.asp. It’s well worth a read as there are a lot of solid technical facts therein.

Filed Under: Missiles, Organisations

Young Australian of the Year – Marita Cheng, Engineering Visionary

January 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Marita Cheng - Engineering Visionary

Young Australian of the Year 2012, Marita Cheng - an Engineering Visionary

The prime minister of Australia has just announced the “Australian of the Year” awards on the eve of Australia Day, 26th January. The Young Australian of the Year 2012 is Marita Cheng, who has been hailed as an engineering visionary.

GO ENGINEERS! GO WOMEN ENGINEERS! NATION BUILDERS!

Here’s an extract from the website of the Australian of the Year Awards 2012. More comprehensive information can be found on their website.

While still a university student, Marita Cheng has demonstrated vision and leadership well beyond her years and is dedicated to encouraging young women to become interested in a career in engineering. The daughter of Chinese parents, Marita was born and raised in far north Queensland and now studies at the University of Melbourne. She founded Robogals Global in 2008, as a response to the traditionally low levels of participation by women in engineering and technology. Robogals uses fun and educational activities to teach schoolgirls about engineering and the difference that engineers make to our lives. Already Robogals has run robotics workshops for 3,000 girls across 80 schools in Australia and now has 17 chapters across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. [Read more…]

Filed Under: People, Places