We've all heard the viability of biofuels for land transportation and sea, but when it comes to jet fuel, that's another story. Virgin Atlantic set out to prove that the idea of biofueled jumbo jets are plausible and flew a four jet-engine aircraft from London to Amsterdam to make a point. More details at the full story.

Rafi Yoeli, founder of Urban Aeronautics and had once worked for Boeing and Israeli Aerospace Industries, is currently building a new type of battlefield ambulance able to rescue wounded soldiers where land vehicles and bulky helicopters can't get to.

Dubbed the "Mule," the vehicle Yoeli has designed is sort of what you'll get if you cross a sled with a hovercraft. Light and fast, these little critters land and take off vertically, making it ideal and strategic for its purpose: search and rescue amidst the chaos and danger of a full on battle.

Each Mule can carry two persons at a time and is controlled by air flow instead of being entirely dependent on surfaces. It requires no driver and can speed up to 100 mph without passengers. It has been raised that a patient being transported with proper medical care while on the vehicle would be dangerous, but it was pointed out that there might be no other alternative, especially if the patient is in critical condition.

Janina Frankel-Yoeli, Rafi Yoeli's wife and marketing director, says that there might be some psychological factors that might affect the Mule's task. "The problem is overcoming the natural fear of entering a vehicle without a pilot," he added, but both civilian and military outfits in the US and other countries have already shown interest.

Image by Peter Bollinger.

It looks cool, and if it works, it'd be a boon to the environment as well. Needless to say, a lot of hopes are riding on Boeing's new blended-wing aircraft: the X-48B.

With the blended wing aircraft system , the fuselage and wings are combined onto one frame, taking away the need for a tail, as well as reducing drag and fuel consumption. This fuel-saving design could reduce fuel consumption by 30% and even allow for different types of military and commercial uses.

While conventional uses for the aircraft are far from feasible at the moment, it could be used as a fuel tanker and commercial airplane in as little as 20 years' time. Hopefully, this current test flight will pass with flying colors and get us all one step closer to a more fuel-efficient airspace.

Here's one for the paranoid jetsetter: Boeing has a patent pending in Canada for a new anti-terrorist system that they believe will help improve the survivability of passengers and crew in the event of a terrorist takeover. The device takes the form of a  "uninterruptible" auto-pilot system, that once turned one, automatically locks the  controls and redirects the plane to the closest runway, ensuring that hijackers can't use the plane for other purposes.

The device, running on an independent power source to prevent tampering, activates either at the flick of a switch by either the pilot or co-pilot, by pressure sensors on the door reading forced cabin entry, or by ground control in the event the first two fail.

"There is a need in the industry for a technique that conclusively prevents unauthorized persons from gaining access to the controls of the vehicle and therefore threatening the safety of the passengers onboard the vehicle, and/or other people in the path of travel of the vehicle, thereby decreasing the amount of destruction individuals onboard the vehicle would be capable of causing," said Boeing regarding this device.

No details on how the system works yet, though a recent issuance of a $1.9 million U.S. Federal Aviation Administration contract to Raytheon for an Advanced Route Evaluation System does give clues as to how Boeing plans to program the new system with regards to landing spots. With that said and done, we're wondering what sort of protection they're offering for the pilots, as the system assumes that both pilot and co-pilot are incapable of flying the plane.

Boeing's Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) program has just taken off, literally. After successful ground-based firing tests were carried out with their experimental ATL in Albuquerque, N.M. last month, Boeing's loaded the ATL's equipment into a modified C-130H Hercules, where it was flown off for targetting tests at the White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The tests began this October 10, and are expected to end by fall within the year.

Boeing's using a low-power solid-state laser (like the diode-based Blu-Ray in the PS3, only MUCH bigger) for the targetting tests instead of the actual chemical-based ATL, and will be firing it from a rotating  turret under the said aircraft. Actual airborne tests with the ATL are expected this 2007, as part of the Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD).

"ATL will transform the battlefield by giving the warfighter a speed-of-light, precision engagement capability that will reduce collateral damage dramatically," said Pat Shanahan, Boeing Missile Defense Systems VP.

The ATL's part of an ongoing missile defense program that uses laser weapons as a means of shooting down enemy missiles and artillery shells, instead of resorting to Anti-missiles like the Patriot, which cost in the hundred-thousands per shot, while weapons like the ATL are estimated at "only" tens of thousands of dollars per pop.

Aside from them anti-aircraft role, Boeing envisions their ATL to be a next-generation gunship - an air vehicle providing troops with pinpoint-accurate fire support capable of adjusting its power for things as simple as blowing out car tires, to detonating fuel dumps.

Some of you out there might recognize the test vehicle, the C130H Hercules. It's currently got a gun platform in the service called the AC130 Spectre (MGS3 fans will remember this), which carries a mix of support weapons ranging from 20-mm vulcans to a 105-mm howitzer.

Ever since Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first controlled and powered, heavier-than-air-flight on December 1903, society has continued to harness the powers and capabilities of aviation. Some have said that the safest way to travel is via plane- that statement has loss a lot of credibility after the 9/11 attacks, but still, no one can deny the fact that air travel has already etched its mark in our history and society.

But has it ever occurred to you as to where planes wither? Unlike cars which you can sell in some auto shops, when a commercial plane has reached its maximum life span (30 years), it must be discarded and declared not fit for use anymore. Some old airplanes are being dumped at far-off airfields or thrown in the seas. These practice of airplane disposal is unacceptable as they contain toxic materials that would give more headaches to our already vulnerable Mother Nature.

With these dumping practices increasing, Boeing has established the Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association (Afra)- a union of recycling companies with two airports Evergreen Air Centre in Arizona and Chatearoux in France. Aircraft recycling is still in its infancy so things are still a bit unorganized. Old planes are dismantled and recycled - some usable parts are up for re-sale, metals are re-used. Old aircrafts made of carbon fiber undergo a different, more complicated recycling process.

Here is where the Milled Carbon factory enters the picture. John Davidson, who runs the factory and also a founding member of Afra, shares that carbon fiber is recycled through a 20-minute process. The end product could even be re-used for planes.

Davidson, along with Afra stalwarts believe that they are close to becoming the pioneer in cutting edge recycling technology. But Airbus also has a similar program dubbed as Pamela or Process for Advanced Management of End of Life Aircraft. Airplane recycling may not be at its peak yet, but one thing's for sure, tons of money are invested in research for the best way to recycle 'em. After all those years of flying people from one continent to another, these old planes surely deserve a decent end.

“NASA’s current acquisition strategy for the CEV places the project at risk of significant cost overruns, schedule delays, and performance shortfalls because it commits the government to a long-term product development effort before establishing a sound business case,” writes the Government Accountability Office (GAO) of NASA's plan to award the CEV prime contract to either Lockheed Martin or Northrop Grumman-Boeing by August 31. Yet despite these warnings, NASA still decided to proceed with readying, developing, and producing the Space Shuttle-replacement.

Here is what NASA spokesman Michael Braukus has to say about GAO's report (entitled “NASA: Long-Term Commitment to and Investment in Space Exploration Program Requires More Knowledge,”): “We do not concur with GAO’s recommendation that the NASA administrator modify the CEV acquisition strategy. The agency’s business approach is consistent with the GAO’s recommendation and NASA is confident that its acquisition strategy and plans for selecting a CEV prime contractor are based on a sound business case and are in the government’s best interest.”

GAO, however, thinks otherwise. The agency noted that NASA is acting prematurely, pushing a CEV procurement even before developing a sound business case like well-defined requirements, preliminary design, mature technology, and firm cost estimates. GAO's worries do not end there. They are also questioning NASA's financial ability to return to the Moon by 2020.

NASA has been warned. If they choose to move forward with the CEV acquisition let us just hope that, contrary to GAO's predictions, their decision will reap good results.

At 6:15 p.m. EDT, Delta II took flight off Launch Launch Complex 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. It carried into orbit an experimental payload for the joint U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), U.S. Air Force and U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) team.

Micro-Satellite Technology Experiment (MiTEx) is a joint project of DARPA, the Air Force and the Navy. It is basically an experimental payload that will aid to identify, integrate, test and evaluate small satellite technologies.

"Today's mission was a great team effort, involving talented people from DARPA, the Air Force, the launch range, The Aerospace Corporation and our suppliers, as well as the professionals on the Delta program," said Dan Collins, vice president of Boeing Launch Systems. "The team faced many challenges, but maintained its focus on quality and teamwork throughout the mission."

Have a blow-by-blow account of this historic launch by heading over to the read link just below this article. The launch also marked the 250th Aerojet-supported Delta launch.

Excerpt from Space.com:

1845 GMT (2:45 p.m. EDT)

The launch team members have been polled to ensure all console stations are manned and ready to resume the countdown as planned at the end of this hold. No issues were reported. Clocks will start ticking again at 2:54 p.m. EDT as the Terminal Countdown begins.

1834 GMT (2:34 p.m. EDT)

Now 40 minutes through this scheduled hour-long hold in the countdown. Readiness polling of the launch team is coming up shortly.

1754 GMT (1:54 p.m. EDT)

T-minus 150 minutes and holding. Clocks are entering a planned 60-minute built-in hold in the countdown. Holds are scheduled into the count to give workers a chance to catch up on any activities that may be running behind.

Over the next hour, all launch team members and management officials will be seated at their consoles. A series of polls will be conducted to verify everyone is ready to enter Terminal Count at end of the built-in hold.

Liftoff of the Delta 2 rocket remains scheduled for 5:34 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The Space Shuttle is set to retire by 2010 and NASA is seeking a CEV to pass the Space Shuttle's baton to. Two teams, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman/Boeing, are up for the picking. Both have already submitted their respective proposals and are tight-lipped about it.

"We’re clearly in a competition. I don’t feel it’s the right time to be coming out with a lot of details about how we plan to tackle the job," said Doug Young, Vice President and CEV Program Manager at Northrop Grumman.

As expected both teams are claiming that they are what NASA is looking for and are not afraid to let their competition have some dose of trash (or space) talking.

"We think we are offering NASA a really good team," said Art Stephenson, Sector Vice President, Space Exploration Systems, Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems. "Our proposal is focused on what’s the best answer for the taxpayer and for NASA." While on the other camp, John Karas, Vice President of Space Exploration for Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company declares, "Everything except the shape [of CEV] is brand new. It’s not your daddy’s Oldsmobile."

NASA keeps mum about the issue by saying that they are currently evaluating proposals and plan to down select and award the Phase 2 contract in the August/Spetember time frame. "All other information is competition sensitive and will not be provided at this time," said Michael Braukus, a NASA Headquarters spokesman.

Not content with terrestrial bloodshed and violence, mankind presses on boldy to continue its wars where no wars have been fought before.

In yet another multi-million dollar coup for defense contractors, the Pentagon has endorsed plans that may lead to U.S. missile "defense" systems in outer space. It light of recent history, it should come as no surprise that the governments of Russia and China are not pleased at the prospect.

The idea is to create what the Pentagon calls a "test bed." It would start with only one or two missiles designed to intercept ICBMs carrying nukes, or possibly chemical or biological weapons. Kenneth Trieg, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, states "I'm supportive of creating a test bed...then we'll see what we do with it afterwards."

At a time of huge tax breaks for weathy investors that have drained the U.S. public treasury into private corporate accounts, the Missile Defense Agency is seeking $45 million in seed money to begin development starting in October of 2007. Corporations standing to profit from the spread of warfare into outer space include Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.