Ad Astra Rocket Co. has developed an ion rocket that could shorten the trip to Mars to 39 days.
Aside from simply being a snazzy rocket you could use to fly to Mars, the technology also has a provincial Bostonian angle. Ad Astra is based in Texas, but its CEO, Franklin Chang-Diaz, is an MIT alum and former astronaut whose daughter, state senator Sonia Chang Diaz, defeated her scandal-plagued predecessor, Dianne Wilkerson, in last fall’s election.
MIT researcher Oleg Batishchev, whose Mini-Helicon Plasma Thruster is based on the elder Chang-Diaz’ technology, called the Ad Astra rocket a Ferrari, while his plasma thruster, intended for steering satellites, is an ecnomical hybrid.
To demonstrate his thruster ’s simplicity, Bathshchev and his team made a version of his rocket out of a Coke bottle and a Coke can. After the jump, watch video of the bottle/can rocket. (more…)
The two-year-old clean tech firm founded and backed by Flagship Ventures managing partner Noubar Afeyan emerged from stealth mode Monday, announcing it is working on a large-scale test of its Helioculture technology, which uses the genetically engineered cells to produce fuels with the sun, wastewater and carbon dioxide.
Landing a Series B “will allow us to bring a product to market,” Kayton said. What that product is has been a subject of much speculation, and Kayton would not reveal any details other than to say “we are in an alpha stage.”
Verizon Communications Inc. said it would 8,000 more positions by the end of the year as the company continues to be stung by a slowdown in corporate accounts. (more…)
Raytheon is developing a version of its Active Denial System that can be fired from helicopters, according to New Scientist. The magazine reports the Air Force plans to increase the budget for the pain-inducing microwave-based weapon from $2 million to $10 million a year.
“The transmitting antenna on the current system is 2 metres across, produces a single beam of similar width and is steered mechanically, making it cumbersome. At the heart of the new weapon will be a compact airborne antenna, which will be steered electronically and be capable of generating multiple beams, each of which can be aimed while on the move.”
In March, Raytheon project manager John Finkenauer told me the defense contractor was developing a version of the system small enough for a soldier to use in the field.
After the jump, watch 60 Minutes’ report on the ADS from June 2008. (more…)
Children’s Hospital helps out some mice who have had heart attacks, the former Diaphorm develops a new helmet for marines and Vistaprint gets bad news two times in today’s NewsFlash Roundup.
The treatment could help heart attack victims or children with congenital heart defects, according to the hospital. In the July 24 issue of the journal Cell, the researchers show an injection of the growth factor neuregulin1 (NRG1) into an animal who has had a heart attack can stimulate heart muscle growth.
Defense contractor Ceradyne Inc. reports its Salem, N.H.-based unit has been awarded Marine Corps contracts worth approximately $1.2 million for new test helmets using advanced materials.
New Jersey-based ColorQuick LLC has filed a lawsuit alleging Vistaprint and OfficeMax Inc. (NYSE: OMX) have been illegally using a patented process for fast printing. Meanwhile, Citron Research issued a negative report on the company Tuesday, suggesting VistaPrint could lose 44 percent of its net income – the portion it derives from referral partnerships with third-party websites — as the U.S. Senate begins an inquiry into such online referral programs. (more…)
Boston Scientific’s way up, VC deals are way down, and Epix is down and out in today’s NewsFlash roundup. Also, News editor Rodney Brown drops by Draper Lab’s Apollo 11 anniversary party.
The Natick-based manufacturer of medical devices had revenue of $2.07 billion in the second quarter of this year, up slightly from $2.02 billion in the second quarter of 2008. Net income increased to $158 million from $98 million a year earlier.
The Lexington-based company’s officials said that the company was unable to raise enough money or enter into a partnership in time and that it has entered into an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors. The purpose of the Assignment is to conclude the company’s operations and provide for an orderly liquidation of its assets.
Numbers reported this morning by the NVCA and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP were considerably less optimistic, showing $3.7 million invested over 612 deals. While Dow Jones analysts predicted a “rebound” in the venture investing sector, the NVCA says figures for the full year will most likely reflect a setback to 1996 and 1997 levels of $11 billion to $14 billion. (more…)
The MIT Media Lab’s Joost Bonsen saysRobonauts, rather than astronauts, will do the heavy lifting as humans make more advances into space.
In the spring, I reported on Cambridge-based Energid, which is developing the software to control the Robonaut, and to simulate robotic moon landings, for NASA. After the jump, watch video of the company’s Robonaut-operating software. (more…)
So far, there’s not a lot happening on the site, other than the countdown to launch. Starting at 9:32 this morning — 40 years to the minute from the launch — you can follow the events of the launch on the site and at threetwitterfeeds. Aside from dinner with the president, so far the tweets aren’t much more exciting than the tweets of anybody else who may or may not be pretending to visit the moon:
Preparation for first lunar landing still on schedule.
3:54 PM Jun 27th from web
Apollo Program director just approved color TV coverage of our flight.
11:38 AM Jun 13th from web
Still stuffed from last night.
9:34 AM Jun 11th from web
Dining at White House tonight with crew from Apollo 10. And the President.
9:34 AM Jun 11th from web
Neil, Buzz and Mike are ready to go the Moon.
9:34 AM Jun 11th from web
T-Minus 36 days 22 hours to launch.
9:00 AM Jun 9th from web
Robots stuck behind moats — and my three-year-old nephews — will be excited about a grappling hook designed by Tokyo Institute of Technology roboticist exhibited at the Conference on Field and Service Robotics at MIT. Technology Review takes a look at the superhero-inspired tech:
Hirose says he was inspired by Batman’s grappling hook and the way Spiderman stays in constant motion using a repetitive tether-and-swing action.
After modeling several different designs he settled on a pneumatic hook with a controlled launching winch and a braking spool to avoid tangling the rope. Once launched, the hook rotates because of its center of gravity and grips whatever’s beneath it.
Hirose has tested prototypes on the wheeled Helios-VI robot, and plans to let a robot use two or three of the grappling systems to work its way up over rough terrain by continually launching.
The “fence” will use sensors and S-band radars to track small objects in low earth orbit for situational awareness in space. The first radar system is expected to be delivered in 2015.
DirectoryM Inc.’s 12 founding employees have ponied up another $2 million to expand the online database centralization startup globally — after buying it out from its investors in March 2007 for $6 million.
GreenRay develops solar AC modules with fewer parts and simplified installation as a means of lowering cost. The funding will be applied to the manufacturing, distribution and commercial launch of GreenRay’s solar AC module.
Drug maker Oscient Pharmaceuticals Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday, along with its wholly owned subsidiary, Guardian II Acquisition Corp. At the same time, Oscient is selling one of its two drugs, Factive, for more than $5 million.
California mobile advertising firm Nexage Inc. said it closed a first round of funding with $4 million and will move its headquarters from Fremont to Boston.
Nexage said the funding came from Wellesley-based GrandBanks Capital and BlackBerry Partners Fund of Canada.
Delfigo Corp., a Boston developer of authentication software, announced Tuesday the launch of its first product, DSGateway, and the signing of Children’s Hospital Boston as its first customer. (more…)
Children’s Hospital helps out some mice who have had heart attacks, the former Diaphorm develops a new helmet for marines and Vistaprint gets bad news two times in today’s NewsFlash Roundup. 
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