Four NASA projects, an electric car produced by Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors, and the pressure suit worn by Felix Baumgartner during his record skydiving jump have all made Popular Science‘s Best of What’s New 2012 list.
The following project were recognized in the Aerospace category:
The Tesla Model S sedan won the Grand Prize in the Auto category. The magazine described the electric vehicle in a press release:
The Tesla Model S sets the standard by which all future electronic vehicles will be measured. It is faster than any other street-legal electric vehicle, with a motor that generates a peak 416 horsepower. The family-size sedan can dart from 0 to 60 in 4.4 seconds and has a top speed of 130 mph. The Tesla Model S can also drive farther on a charge than any other electric car—up to 300 miles on the optional 85-kilowatt-hour battery.
Tesla’s sedan also captured Motor Trend’s Car of the Year honors this week.
A NASA press release about PhoneSat, in which a smart phone was used to power a satellite, follows after the break.
It seems as though skydiving daredevil Felix Baumgartner not only has a distinct dislike for Mars exploration but also for Greek truck drivers who get in his way:
Supersonic skydiver Felix Baumgartner has been found guilty of punching a Greek lorry driver in the face in a road rage incident in his home town of Salzburg, Austria two years ago.
Baumgartner, who last month broke the world record altitude for a parachute jump in the Red Bull Stratos project, had appealed against the conviction for assault but a three-judge appeals panel today upheld the verdict.
Baumgartner, 43, was fined 1,500 euros but escaped jail for the assault on September 30, 2010.
The victim, named only as Dimitrios P, 38, for legal reasons, told Austrian media that the punch came ‘out of the blue’ and left ‘blood everywhere’.
Will Whitehorn gives a pat on the back to Richard Branson as he greets Virgin Galactic ticketholders during the Oshkosh air show in 2009.
By Douglas Messier Parabolic Arc Managing Editor
Eight years after launching the SpaceShipTwo program, Virgin Group Founder Richard Branson is beginning to sound a bit impatient with progress even as the first powered tests of the 8-person space plane appear imminent. The Associated Pressreports from Warsaw, Poland:
He says it will be at least another 12 or 18 months before the Virgin Galactic venture can offer paid space travel to adventurers….
Asked about Virgin Galactic, Branson said he has “stopped counting” days to the launch because it gets delayed “to the next year, to the next year.”
Felix Baumgartner will attempt to set a new skydiving record on Tuesday morning by jumping from 120,000 feet. If successful, he will break the record of 102,800 feet set by U.S. Air Force Colonel Joseph Kittinger in 1960. The Red Bull Stratos mission is set to begin at 8:30 a.m. EDT (5:30 a.m. PDT) from Roswell, N.M. if weather permits. Baumgartner will ascend in a pressurized capsule attached to a balloon.
ROSWELL, N.M. (Red Bull Stratos PR) – The final countdown for Felix Baumgartner’s history making jump from the edge of space began on Monday after the Red Bull Stratos Technical Project Director Art Thompson declared the repaired space capsule is fit and all systems are go.
The tentative launch date for Baumgartner’s attempt to jump from an altitude of 36,576 meters has now been set for October 8, ending a period of uncertainty for the team and, for Baumgartner, the agony of waiting. The Austrian extreme sport athlete had to endure delays due to the repairs but is now delighted that the countdown is on for his attempt to become the first person to break the sound barrier in freefall and set four other world records in the process.
Video Caption: Felix Baumgartner completed a second test dive from a balloon hoisted capsule. He reached 536 mph in the freefall. His objective is to break the speed of sound on his next dive from 120,000 feet.
A balloon carrying Felix Baumgartner over the skies of Roswell, NM. (Credit: Red Bull Stratos)
Felix Baumgartner landed safely yesterday after jumping from 96,640ft (29,455m) at a top speed of 536mph (863kph) over Roswell, N.M. This was Baumgartner’s second test dive before he tries to set a new dive record this Fall under the Red Bull Stratos project.
Video Caption: On March 15, 2012, Austria’s Felix Baumgartner jumped out of a space capsule from an altitude of approximately 71,580 feet as the Red Bull Stratos project moved forward into the manned flight stage in New Mexico. The 42-year-old rode the space capsule attached to a giant helium balloon above the so-called “Armstrong Line.” The goal of the Red Bull Stratos project is to see Baumgartner attempt a record-breaking freefall from 120,000 feet this summer where he’ll potentially become the first man to go supersonic without the support of a vehicle.
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