PEAR's Resin Beats FAA Standard
01/21/99 PEAR Industries' new polether resin, designed for use in aircraft insulation, exceeds FAA safety standards by a factor of 2 to 1. Space Industry Summary
01/21/99 This excellent article from Scientific American provides a concise summary of the current space industry, mentioning most of the new players in the launch business. Composites play a key role in most of the new vehicles.
Around the World
12/22/98 A brief description of the teams currently attempting to circumnavigate the Earth in a balloon. The team leaving from Albuquerque will be flying in a carbon and Kevlar capsule. Roton Pictures
12/11/98 Rotary Rocket accepted delivery of the two largest structures for the Roton ATV. The picture shows the fairing and the forebody/LOX tank. New High Altitude UAV
11/24/98 NASA's latest UAV, the Centurion, lifted off from Edwards AFB on Thursday for its Maiden flight. The Centurion will eventually be outfitted with solar cells and fly to 100,000 feet. Dow-UT Builds F-22 Fairing
11/17/98 Dow-UT is building carbon composite fairings for the F-22 advanced tactical fighter. The fairing is 47% lighter and 55% cheaper than the titanium part it replaces. Submillimeter Astronomy
11/11/98 The world's most accurate telescope, capable of making observations at submillimeter wavelengths, owes its accuracy to satellite calibration and a carbon composite support structure. Best of What's New
11/13/98 Popular Science issued its "Best of What's New" awards for 1998. Composite aircraft dominate the Aviation & Aerospace category. Composites and other advanced materials play a part in several of the Auto Tech and Recreation awards. Kistler Back On Track?
01/27/99 Financing and export license problems have forced Kistler to delay its program, including manufacture of the vehicle composite structures. It looks like some of those problems may be resolved soon. Taurus Ready to Launch
10/01/98 The next Taurus launch is schedules for 3AM PDT on Friday. Not really composites news, but I designed several of the composite structures on the vehicle. Home Built
09/30/98 Dennis Martin's adventures in building his own airplane. HALO-Proteus Agreement
09/28/98 Wyman-Gordan and Angel Technologies have signed an agreement covering the use of the HALO-Proteus aircraft for wireless communications. HALO-Proteus Description
09/23/98 ABC News provides a somewhat more detailed description of the HALO-Proteus program. Inaugural HALO-Proteus Flight
09/22/98 Today marked the first flight of the HALO-Proteus aircraft, built by Scaled Composites for Angel Technologies. HALO-Proteus will be used to provide wireless services to metropolitan areas. Alliant GEMs
09/14/98 Boeing has selected Alliant to build the strap-on GEMs, or Graphite Epoxy Motors, for the Delta IV. Morrow Jet
09/01/98 Ray Morrow, best known for his snowboards, is teaming with Burt Rutan to build a six passenger, production version of the Boomerang light aircraft. New Raytheon Jet
09/01/98 Based on lessons learned from the Starship program, Raytheon Aircraft recetnly rolled out the new, all-composite Premier 1 business jet. Inflatable Space Station
08/24/98 NASA is considering an inflatable structure for the Space Station's main habitation module. The walls would consist of several layers of engineering fabrics and other materials, including Kevlar and Nextel. Delta 3 Debut
08/24/98 The Delta 3 is ready for its maiden flight from the Cape (hurricanes permitting). One of the upgrades over the Delta 2 is a larger composite fairing. Record Confirmed
08/18/98 The Pathfinder solar-powered UAV reached an altitude of 80,400 feet during its last flight, beating the previous altitude record (which it held) by 9000 feet. Pathfinder Record
08/10/98 The solar-powered Pathfinder UAV reached an altitude of more than 80,000 feet, breaking its previous record of 71,500 feet. If confirmed, this will be a new record for a prop-driven plane. Related story. Rotary Rocket
07/31/98 A detailed description of the Roton launch vehicle. The vehicle includes an unlined, graphite/epoxy tank for liquid oxygen, developed by Scaled Composites. Radiation Shielding
07/21/98 One of the challenges facing manned spaceflight is shielding astronauts from radiation. Composites are actually a good shield for certain types of particles. Space Station Assembly
04/03/98 The first system rack has been installed in the US laboratory module of the ISS. The rack weighs 1200 lbs and its exterior is a graphite composite. Composite Aircraft Crashes
03/23/98 Were composites implicated in two high-profile crashes last year? See my related story on the F-117A crash.
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