Important Innovations Collection

   D A ILY INNOVATION BRIEF                 By Journalists Edward Kane & Maryanne Kane PEUGEOT'S INCEPTION CONCEPT: FUTURE OF DRIVING                                                       Source:  Peugeot For Peugeot, the Inception concept, just unveiled in London, showcases the simpler, more refined design approach that will be showcased in its new models starting in 2025 But the EV showcases a lot more:  the future of driving surrounded by brand new, futuristic technologies, including: Charging by induction, which is wireless charging by driving over an electrified pad Next-G intelligent cockpit Steering by wire that eliminates the traditional steering wheel Dashboard replaced by "Hypersquare" control with digital electric touch controls and tablet screen replacing...

GM & Lockheed Martin's Lunar Rover Source:  GM, Lockheed, NASA One Big Moonshot For automotive giant GM and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, their new partnership to develop a commercial lunar rover is one big Moonshot.  Their prototype looks a bit like a toy but this is not fun and games.  They intend to deliver their Lunar Mobility Vehicles (LMV) to customers by 2025.  The electric moon vehicle could prove to be an important part of NASA's Artemis Mission that will bring astronauts back to the Moon this decade, 50 years after the Apollo mission. A Big Commitment With or Without Government Funding Lockheed and GM intend to build the Moon vehicles with or without government funding.  There is no guarantee that they will win the NASA bidding process and be awarded a contract for use of the vehicle during the Artemis mission, set to launch in 2025.  The companies say they are building the LMV 100% for industrial use. They anticipate accelerating demand fo...

Lockheed Martin is Developing a Real-World SR-72 Darkstar                          Source: Top Gun Maverick & Lockheed Martin The World's Fastest Aircraft The blockbuster movie "Top Gun: Maverick" has two top stars:  Tom Cruise as test pilot Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and Darkster, the fictional hypersonic aircraft SR-72.  Darkstar was created and designed by the world-famous aviation design group, Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works, which created the U-2 spy plane, F-22 Raptor, Nighthawk Stealth fighter and more. Now, it turns out that Darkstar is more than a work of fiction. The Skunk Works team is currently working on a real-life version of the SR-72 that is virtually identical to the movie version.  And it may take flight in 2025. The SR-71 Darkstar is based on Lockheed Martin's SR-71, which is a high altitude, long range strategic intelligence aircraft, operated by the US Air Force a...

NASA Is Gaining Altitude on its X-59 SST with Lockheed Martin                                  Source:  NASA & Lockheed Martin How Could It Impact Passenger Travel? NASA and partner Lockheed Martin are on the threshold of creating a next-generation supersonic jet.  The SST under development is nicknamed the "Son of Concorde".  It's also dubbed the X-59 QueSST. It is on a development trajectory to cut air travel times in half.  For instance, a flight from New York City to London would take just 3 hours.  The impact of the X-59 could be huge, initially,  for anyone doing long distance flying from coast to coast in the US and also from the US to Europe.  And that is just the beginning. If this very promising aviation technology comes to full fruition, the impact on cutting flight times would be global. New Concorde The X-59 is designed to minimize sonic...

Supersonic Plane Faster Than the Speed of Sound                                                  Source:  NASA Could be Dawn of Global Supersonic Passenger Travel NASA and Lockheed Martin have designed what could be the supersonic jet of the future - the X-59 QueSST, meaning quiet supersonic technology.  The needle-nosed, ultra thin aircraft breaks the sound barrier without releasing sonic booms.   It has been designed to minimize shock waves down to the sound of a car door slamming down the street.  The minimal sound is critical for SST flights to resume  over land in the US.  Because of sonic booms, the FAA banned commercial SST flights over the US in 1973. A New Design of Aerodynamic Elegance According to NASA and Lockheed, they went back to the basics of aerodynamics to design an aircraft that flies faster...

Bezos' Blue Origin Wins DARPA/Pentagon Contract for Nuclear Spacecraft                                             Source:  Blue Origin                                              Source:  DARPA Nuclear Powered Spacecraft Nuclear Powered Trips to Space Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' aerospace company Blue Origin has won a US Department of Defense contract to design a nuclear powered spacecraft.  The $2.5 million contract was awarded by the Pentagon's DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) as part of its DRACO program (Designated Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations).  Lockheed Martin and General Atomics were awarded similar contracts for the DRACO program. Nuclear Thermal Propulsion The DARPA progra...