Important Innovations

Astronomers Spot 4 "Edge-Brightened Discs" in Deep Space Source:  Image of Deep Space Space:  What's Up There? Four mystery objects have been spotted by astronomers in deep space.  The global team of astronomers say they've never seen anything like these objects before.  Astronomers from the Royal College of Canada and Queens University, along with a team in Australia, discovered the objects using massive radio telescopes.  They describe them as "edge-brightened discs", two are relatively close together and space objects "never probed before."  These are incredible discoveries delivered by highly advanced, massive telescope technologies. Deep Space Mystery  This discovery is one of the biggest mysteries in the universe.  Astronomers are asking:  What Are They?  According to the team that discovered them:  "We speculate they may be spherical shock waves from an extra-galactic event or a remnant from a radio galaxy viewed end-

Internet for Everyone, Everywhere Source:  OneWeb OneWeb The United Kingdom and an Indian telecom giant are going into the satellite business together.  The British government and Bharti Enterprises have bought OneWeb satellite company for $1 billion. The company was founded by US entrepreneur Greg Wyler with the purpose of providing internet everywhere to everyone with 648 low Earth satellites in orbit. Rolling the Space Dice This is a new lease on life for OneWeb and a gamble with potentially big payouts for the UK and Bharti.  OneWeb was purchased out of bankruptcy by the UK and Bharti within the past week.  OneWeb filed for backruptcy late in March 2020 after its biggest financial backer SoftBank refused to provide anymore funding.  At the time of the filing, OneWeb had 74 satellites in orbit. UK Mission and Goals The UK is looking to add positioning technology to new satellites in order to beef up the American GPS system it uses.  It's also replacing bandwid

007 James Bond's Car of Choice Source:  Aston Martin - DBX Debut DBX Looking for a big business turnaround, British luxury carmaker Aston Martin rolled out its first, luxury sports utility vehicle (SUV) off the assembly line today.  The brand is famous as James Bond 007's car of choice.  The DBX SUV is priced at $189,000. Financial Drivers The company has been experiencing disappointing sales since 2018.  The financial distress has been compounded this year by the COVID-19 pandemic.  To cope, Aston Martin has cut jobs and changed top management.  Since its IPO in 2018, the company's share prices has dropped 90%.  Aston Martin says it is in need of funding.  It's financials are blinking red. DBX The company is hoping that the DBX will drive them into a more profitable era.  Deliveries of the SUV start later this month.  The company says it has more than 2,000 orders for the vehicle.  Incoming CEO Tobias Moers, from Mercedes, is counting on the DBX to b

Zero Emissions Aircraft Source:  ZeroAvia's hydrogen powered electric plane Carbon Free, Sustainable Flying ZeroAvia, headquartered in Hollister, CA, is building aircraft powered by hydrogen fuel cells.  It recently flew a modified aircraft with a 350 horsepower powertrain, driven by hydrogen fuel cells.  The US company is part of the UK's HyFlyer initiative which is targeted at moving electric aircraft away from batteries toward fuel cells. Hydrogen Flights ZeroAvia argues that hydrogen fuel cells are highly effective and efficient for electric planes.  They are far lighter and less volatile than batteries.  In fact the ignition point for hydrogen is much higher than for jet fuel or lithium-ion batteries.  Because hydrogen is so light, it tends to disperse rather than collect.  Most importantly an electric powertrain powered by hydrogen fuel cells is twice as efficient as an internal combustion engine. Hydrogen's Future The current drag on the use of hydroge

"List of Top, New Environmental Innovations" - Edward Kane Source:  Kindle and Amazon  amazon.com/author/ekane Technology Fighting Climate Change For a limited time through Friday July 10, Amazon is offering free copies of journalist Edward Kane's 5-star rated book "List of Top New Environmental Innovations".  It contains the best new innovations and technologies in the fight against Climate Change.  To get your free copy, go to  ASIN: B07MNJL5J1   I co-authored the book with Ed.

World's First Solar Powered Rail Road Source:  Indian Railway India's Green Experiment This is unique green innovation from India.  A large solar power plant has been built in Bina, India to directly feed solar powered energy to overhead power lines to power electric locomotives.  This is a major project of the Piush Goyaled Indian Railways.  The project is considered a world first. Testing Phase This is a joint project of Indian Railways and Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited.  It's a 1.7 megawatt solar power plant.  According to the companies, the plant can "produce 25 lakh of energy yearly and save an amount of Rs 1.37 crore for Indian Railways every year."  They are now testing the technology. 3 Gigawatt Solar Plant The plan is to install a 3 gigawatt solar power plant within a few years, after completing tests on their 1.7 megawatt solar plant system.  According to the Indian Railway Ministry, the power plant's feeding directly to the railway&

NASA's Ingenuity On Duty February 2021 Sourcee:  NASA Ingenuity Paired with Rover Perseverance The world's first Mars helicopter - NASA's Ingenuity - will start operations in Mars' Jezero Crater in February 2021.  It will be ferried there by NASA's Perseverance Rover.  This is the first ever helicopter that will be flying in another world.  It was developed by NASA along with Lockheed Martin and it's small, weighing just 4 pounds. The duo are expected to be launched from Cape Canaveral, FL aboard a rocket to Mars by NASA between July 30 and August 15, 2020.  It's a great new mission of rocket science. Delicate Maneuverings Once established on Mars, the Perseverance-Ingenuity travel maneuvers next February will be delicate.  Ingenuity will be attached horizontally under Perseverance for the February 18th landing at Jezero Crater on Mars.  The landing clearance is tight.  For 2 months, they'll stay together and hunt for a flat, unobstructed