Important Innovations Collection

Japanese Automaker Investing $45 B in R&D                             Sources:  Honda. Space image NASA Focus:  Robots, Rockets & Flying Taxis Honda is expanding into new forms of mobility and significantly increasing its R&D spending on 3, highly innovative and disruptive business lines: robots, rockets and flying taxis or eVTOLS.  The Japanese based auto giant is investing $45 billion in R&D money over the next 6 years.  Interestingly, Honda as a mobility company sees the 3 areas as an extension of and synergistic with its primary business of making cars.  They say that the research and development efforts could lead to a greatly advanced electric vehicle platform, among other new technologies.  Honda's strategy is to create prototype robots, rockets and eVTOLs to determine if the products are viable for successful commercial market development. ...

Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit  Air Launch System Source:  Virgin Orbit's  747 with rocket under its wing Close to Commercial Launches - Aiming for Summer's End Virgin Orbit, Richard Branson's second space company, expects to perform its first commercial satellite launch from a modified 747 aircraft by the end of this summer.  The company just successfully completed a test on the modified 747 over the Mojave Desert.  It dropped a fake rocket from tens of thousands of feet.  The 747 is named Cosmic Girl.  It carries the company's LaunchOne Rocket under its wing. Cosmic Girl's Differentiator There are a lot of key players in the commercial space launch industry including Elon Musk's Space X and Rocket Lab.  What differentiates Virgin Orbit is that it is an air launch, not a ground based, launch system like Space X and Rocket Lab. Air Born Rocket Launches Virgin Orbit fires off a rocket from the 747 to launch satellites, which the compa...

Germany Spearheads Reusable Rocket Concept Source:  DLR Model  FALcon Project Six international European Union partners are working on project FALcon.  Germany's space agency DLR is leading the way.  They've begun a space vehicle reusability study.  The plan is to catch rockets in flight and tow them back to earth by a separate aircraft so that they can be reused. Winged Boosters The reusable rocket concept includes a winged first stage booster.  The booster would be caught while in descent by an aircraft that trails the rocket after liftoff.  The aircraft would tow the winged booster toward a landing area.  The booster would then be released by the aircraft to glide to the ground and be available for another space mission. 2028 This is a 3 year study that just got underway.  The European Union has provided initial funding of $3 million.  The team hopes to have the system at the Technology Readiness Level by 2028....