NASA's X-48 aircraft test flights promise a 'green airliner' for the future

We may have found roman concrete’s secret strengthening ingredient, Vietnamese motorcycle builder reveals a slick ray fish-inspired two-wheeler. Oct 09, 2021 # Greetings! Did it ever come to your attention that while modern housing has a lifespan of less than a couple of decades, there seems to be an abundance of millennia-old Roman-era structures just lying around? Now we have a clue as to why that is. Also in today's issue; we talk about NASA's sustainable flight initiatives and its futuristic airplanes. We will discuss NASA's prior testing of the manta-shaped X-49 and its more recent iteration of Hybrid Wing Body (HWB) aircraft design, the X-59. After that, we'll bring you the love-child of motorcycle design and sci-fi with the ray fish-inspired Bandit9. This is The Blueprint. Keep going. SCIENCE [NASA's X-48 Aircraft Test Flights Promise a 'Green Airliner' For the Future]( [NASA's X-48]( Between 2007 and 2013, NASA worked on a manta-shaped aircraft. After 122 flights with two model variations, it all came to a halt with the final test on April 9, 2013. But lest you think that the project is forgotten about, [we ensure you, it is not](. Designed by The Boeing Co. and built by UK-based Cranfield Aerospace Limited, the X-48 tested by NASA was a demonstrator for a future Hybrid Wing Body (HWB) aircraft design derived from concept studies carried out at NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation project, which aims to develop aircraft designs for 20 years from now. The specs: With a wingspan of just over 20 feet (6 meters), the latest iteration X-48C weighed only 500 pounds (226 kg) thanks to advanced lightweight composite materials. It can reach about 140 mph (225 km/h) and soar up to 10,000 ft (3,048 m). Is this all? Of course not. Recently the space agency released a timelapse footage of the construction of [its 'quiet' supersonic jet, X-59](. Thanks to its nose cone design, the sonic booms that we have come to accept as unbearably violent don't have to be that loud. Much like the X-48, the X-59 is also designed with less fuel consumption and emissions in mind. [Read More]( INNOVATION [Vietnamese Motorcycle Builder Reveals a Slick Ray Fish-Inspired Two-Wheeler]( [Ray Fish-Inspired Motorcycle]( Vietnamese custom motorcycle builder Bandit9 [unveiled its new Supermarine motorcycle]( and it looks straight out of a sci-fi movie. The novel motorcycle offers an otherworldly sci-fi aesthetic thanks in large part to a ray fish-inspired chassis. Why is it unique? The machine stands out thanks to its above-mentioned chassis made out of 7075 aluminum, which Bandit9 points out is typically used in missiles and other defense applications. Buyers have the choice to cover the chassis in an ABS plastic or lighter-weight [carbon fiber body]( to reduce weight, allowing for a little extra speed. What are its specs? It boasts a liquid-cooled, 8-valve, SOHC, 900cc Triumph Twin engine, which can also be upgraded to 1,200 cc. The 900cc version reaches a top speed of 193 km/h (120 mph), while the 1,200cc version can go up to 210 km/h (130 mph). The bike weighs approximately 216 kg (476 lb) in its base configuration and 190 kg (419 lb) if it's upgraded. When can you purchase it? Bandit9 has offered no specifics on the pricing for the Supermarine though it says first deliveries are expected to take place as soon as December. [Read More]( SCIENCE [We May Have Found Roman Concrete's Secret Strengthening Ingredient]( [This 2,050-year-old Roman tomb holds the answers]( Modern concrete is not very resilient. It tends to crack and crumble in a few decades in a process known as spalling. However, Roman concrete doesn't seem to be suffering from the same problem, even though it was invented way before modern materials science. A [new study from MIT]( about a 2,050-year-old Roman tomb has uncovered some interesting information about the nature of this sturdy concrete. Setting their eyes on the microstructure of The Tomb of Cecilia Metella and Castrum Caetani, the team identified the use of volcanic aggregate and the curious way concrete has interacted with the rain and the groundwater over the years. Understanding this formation process and emulating it with modern technology can unlock new ways to create durable and sustainable materials for the future. The new findings point to the utilization of leucite, a potassium-rich mineral that loses its potassium through dissolution which leads to a remodeling and reorganizing of the interfaces between volcanic aggregates and cementitious binding matrix, [making it stronger over time](. QUOTE OF THE DAY “ Necessity is the mistress and guide of nature. Necessity is the theme and inventress of nature, her curb, and her eternal law. ” Leonardo da Vinci, from the Original Manuscripts (1883), Vol. 2, 285 [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [How the World’s First Floating Hotel Ended Up Abandoned in North Korea]( [How the World’s First Floating Hotel Ended Up Abandoned in North Korea]( AND ANOTHER THING... - Google reports blocking Russian government [phishing emails targeting 14,000 users](. (WIRED) - Twitch blames its massive data leak on [a server configuration error](. (BBC) - Following years of disagreement, the OECD has finally reached a consensus on a global minimum corporate tax rate: 15 percent. Experts think it will have significant ramifications on countries that have [emphasized low tax rates to attract major companies](. - General Dynamics is building a new class of robotic combat vehicles. You can’t run, and [hiding is futile](. - In light of the recent attention garnered by the right-to-repair movement, leaked Apple training videos show how it [undermines third-party repair](. (WIRED) - Additionally, in light of its recent approval of right-to-repair, Microsoft shareholders think it [should be expanded even more](. - Physicists suggest that [the future has already happened](. (BBC) Prepared by Loukia Papadopoulos and Utku Kucukduner Enjoy reading? Don't forget to forward to a friend! Was this email forwarded to you? [Subscribe]( [About Us]( | [Advertise]( | [Contact Us]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( You are receiving this email because you have subscribed to our newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( to manage your newsletter subscriptions. © Copyright 2021 | The Blueprint is by Interesting Engineering, Inc. 201 Spear Street, Suite 1100 San Francisco, CA 94105 | All Rights Reserved [Interesting Engineering]