Sunday, May 5, 2013

Boeing demonstrator breaks hypersonic flight record

WASHINGTON | Sat May 4, 2013 10:01am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Boeing Co's X-51A Waverider made history this week when it achieved the longest hypersonic flight by a jet-fuel powered aircraft, flying for 3-1/2 minutes at five times the speed of sound, the U.S. Air Force said on Friday.

The last of four unmanned experimental military aircraft built by Boeing flew for at a top speed of Mach 5.1 over the Pacific Ocean on May 1, the Air Force said. The total flight covered 230 nautical miles in just over six minutes before the hypersonic cruiser plunged into the ocean.

"It was a full mission success," said Charlie Brink, who runs the X-51A program for the Air Force Research Laboratory Aerospace Systems Directorate.

The Air Force said it was the longest of the four X-51A test flights and the longest air-breathing hypersonic flight ever. The technology opens the door to future practical uses for hypersonic jet-fueled aircraft.

A hypersonic aircraft developed by NASA used hydrogen as a fuel to fly briefly at even higher speeds in 2004, but it would take a giant fuel tank to fly for longer periods.

"All we have learned from the X-51A Waverider will serve as the bedrock for future hypersonics research and ultimately the practical application of hypersonic flight," Brink said.

A video released by the Air Force showed the Waverider dropping down from under the left wing of a B-52 bomber at an altitude of about 50,000 feet and then accelerating away at great speed, leaving behind a long vapor trail.

The cruiser accelerated to March 4.8 in about 26 seconds, powered by a solid rocket booster built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a unit of United Technologies. After separating from the booster, the cruiser's scramjet engine lit and accelerated the vehicle to Mach 5.1 at 60,000 feet.

The vehicle continued to send back data to the control station at Edwards Air Force Base in California until it made a controlled dive into the Pacific Ocean.

"This demonstration of a practical hypersonic scramjet engine is a historic achievement that has been years in the making," said Darryl Davis, president of Boeing Phantom Works, the company's advanced research and prototyping arm.

"This test proves the technology has matured to the point that it opens the door to practical applications, such as advanced defense systems and more cost-effective access to space," Davis said.

The first of the four X-51A vehicles flew in May 2010, hitting nearly Mach 5 for nearly two and a half minutes.

The nearly wingless X-51 was made using mostly standard aerospace materials such as aluminum, steel and titanium, although some carbon composites were used in the fins. For heat protection, the vehicle used insulation tiles similar to those used on board the NASA Space Shuttle orbiters.

The Air Force said the four X-51As were built to demonstrate the new technology, not as a prototype for a new weapon system. The program is aimed at paving the way to future hypersonic weapons, hypersonic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and future access to space, it said.

Since scramjets are able to burn atmospheric oxygen, they can be made lighter than conventional rockets, which may allow satellites to be launched into orbit more efficiently and cheaply.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Additional reporting by Don Pessin; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/scienceNews/~3/UhPFS3MMXlc/story01.htm

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Saturday, May 4, 2013

Outgoing Alibaba CEO Ma says he's 'old' for Web

(AP) ? Alibaba founder Jack Ma, the billionaire who has run the Chinese e-commerce giant since 1999, says he's getting "a bit old" for the Internet.

That's what the outgoing chief executive told a charitable event in Santa Monica Thursday as he pledged $5 million toward a China-based fund that supports environmental conservation projects outside China.

"I'm young for new things but I'm a bit old for the Internet," the 48-year-old said.

Ma's gift doubles the amount raised for the China Global Conservation Fund, an offshoot of the Arlington, Va.-based organization, The Nature Conservancy.

Ma steps down as CEO from Alibaba Group on May 10, ahead of a widely expected initial public offering of stock that could create a windfall for Yahoo Inc., which owns nearly a quarter of the company.

Ma said that he prepared for his retirement for the last nine years and is looking forward to working on philanthropic causes such as environmental conservation.

He said he was inspired to act after visiting his home in China six years ago. A lake he nearly drowned in as a boy had mostly dried up. He also spoke to a farmer who used chemicals on produce that he wouldn't feed his family. "I know something is wrong," Ma said.

Ma will chair the Chinese board overseeing the fund once he steps down as CEO.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-05-03-AP-US-Jack-Ma-Retirement/id-7fce9cc92da04897bc58e71cf1153ae7

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Friday, May 3, 2013

Migrants to Obama: Don't deport Mama

MEXICO CITY (AP) ? Beneath the slogan "Obama, don't deport my Mama," dozens of migrant families deported from the U.S. despite having children born there rallied outside the U.S. Embassy before President Barack Obama's arrival Thursday, demanding passage of a U.S. immigration law they say is vital to keeping families together.

Vladimir Mejia Franco, 12, held a hand-lettered sign that said "Obama, Stop Deportations." The American citizen born in St. Louis was 4 when his parents were deported in 2005. The family later split up after his father legally returned to the United States and started another family there. Vladimir lives in Mexico with his mother, Veronica Mejia Franco, 32, formerly a housekeeper at a St. Louis hotel who says she has a hard time finding work in the western Mexican state of Michoacan.

Echoing the march's slogan, Mejia Franco said "that's exactly what happened to us."

"He says that when he grows up he wants to go back, but he doesn't know English or anything," Mejia Franco said of her son. "He wants to go now, to learn English, but he doesn't want to leave me behind."

Similarly, immigration advocates in the U.S. have been angered by record numbers of deportations under Obama, which they say is splitting up families.

A group of eight U.S. senators ? four Democrats and four Republicans ? have crafted an immigration bill that Obama says meets his basic criteria of making the border more secure, targeting employers who hire people who are in the U.S. illegally, providing an opportunity for them to become citizens and improving legal immigration.

At a news conference later on with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Obama said he was "optimistic about us getting this done because it's the right thing to do."

___

In welcoming Obama on his first visit to Latin America since winning re-election, Pena Nieto invoked the words President John F. Kennedy spoke to his Mexican counterpart, Adolfo Lopez Mateos, who is a historical hero to Pena Nieto and was the subject of his college thesis.

Kennedy spoke in 1962 at the National Palace, which also was the setting for a joint news conference Thursday with Obama and Pena Nieto.

"Geography has made us neighbors, tradition has made us friends," Pena Nieto said in Spanish.

He added that neither neighbor should allow any separation in what nature has united.

___

One member of the U.S. delegation proved more popular than Obama among Mexicans: his heavily armored limousine, nicknamed "La Bestia," or "The Beast."

Since the country's drug violence began to escalate in 2006, so has interest in bullet-proof vehicles. So the Beast, with its long wheelbase, extra-thick doors and huge tires, was a natural hit.

Its arrival in Mexico, several days before Obama, was greeted with front-page newspaper stories and graphics of its many security features.

A photo of the Cadillac getting filled with fuel at a city gas station ran on the front page of Reforma, one of Mexico's largest dailies. Live TV news coverage of the American president's arrival in Mexico City's centuries-old main plaza was marked by news anchors reporting its every move: "There's the Beast! The Beast is entering!" they exclaimed.

___

Associated Press writers Jim Kuhnhenn and Katherine Corcoran contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/migrants-obama-dont-deport-mama-004354664.html

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Parental Guidance: Iron Man 3 and The Guilt Trip

Parental Guidance: Iron Man 3 and The Guilt Trip - Rotten Tomatoes News ? Columns ? Parental Guidance ? Parental Guidance: Iron Man 3 and The Guilt Trip

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We give you what you need to know about the family-friendliness of this week's new releases.

This week in family filmgoing, we've got an action-packed superhero adventure (Iron Man 3) and a tale of mother-son bonding (The Guilt Trip). Read on to find out what's appropriate for family viewing.

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Chemical pesticides burn in Calif. wildfire

May 1 (Reuters) - Post position for Saturday's 139th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs after Wednesday's draw (listed as barrier, HORSE, jockey, trainer) 1. BLACK ONYX, Joe Bravo, Kelly Breen 2. OXBOW, Gary Stevens, D. Wayne Lukas 3. REVOLUTIONARY, Calvin Borel, Todd Pletcher 4. GOLDEN SOUL, Robby Albarado, Dallas Stewart 5. NORMANDY INVASION, Javier Castellano, Chad Brown 6. MYLUTE, Rosie Napravnik, Tom Amoss 7. GIANT FINISH, Jose Espinoza, Tony Dutrow 8. GOLDENCENTS, Kevin Krigger, Doug O'Neill 9. OVERANALYZE, Rafael Bejarano, Todd Pletcher 10. PALACE MALICE, Mike Smith, Todd Pletcher 11. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chemical-pesticides-burn-calif-wildfire-002649409.html

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There's Already a Google Glass App That Let's You Take Photos With a Wink

Last week we reported that the ability to control Google Glass with the wink of an eye was a very real possibility. Now, an enterprising chap by the name of Mike DiGiovanni has made that a reality.

Read more...

    


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/17TNgCWjafw/theres-already-a-google-glass-app-that-lets-you-take-486869013

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Thursday, May 2, 2013

Canada's economy picks up speed in February

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's economy grew faster than expected in February, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday, and it revised upward the growth estimate for January, citing strength in potash mining, oil and gas and manufacturing.

Gross domestic product by industry expanded 0.3 percent in the month, compared with market forecasts for 0.2 percent growth. Statscan said the economy grew 0.3 percent in January, up from 0.2 percent initially estimated.

Compared with February 2012, gross domestic product expanded 1.7 percent.

The biggest lift came from mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction, which expanded 2.2 percent thanks to a significant increase in output from potash mines, increased oil production and support activities in the energy sector.

The hard-hit manufacturing sector continued to recover with 0.8 percent growth and construction gained 0.2 percent.

Overall, goods-producing industries grew 0.9 percent.

Services, by contrast, eked out a mere 0.1 percent gain as the end of a labor dispute in professional hockey continued to boost the arts and entertainment sector, offsetting a downturn in wholesale trade.

(Reporting by Louise Egan and Alex Paterson; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/canadas-economy-picks-speed-february-124747709.html

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