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Air Force photograph by A1C Erin OíShea Defense

U.S. Forces display military might at Farnborough

Air Force photograph by A1C Erin O’Shea Capt. Tom Meyers discusses the F-15E Strike Eagle’s capabilities with spectators July 17, 2014, at the Farnborough International Airshow in England. Public access was granted for spectators to ask questions and observe the aircraft up-close with pilots and aircrew members. Meyers is a 494th Fighter Squadron F-15E instructor…

lm-kmax Business

Lockheed Martin’s unmanned cargo helicopter team returns from deployment

After lifting more than 4.5 million pounds of cargo and conducting thousands of delivery missions for the U.S. Marine Corps, the Lockheed Martin and Kaman Aerospace Corporation K-MAX cargo unmanned aircraft system has returned to the United States following a nearly three-year deployment in Afghanistan. In 2011, K-MAX became the first unmanned helicopter to deliver…

Air Force photograph by A1C Thomas Spangler Defense

Sun sets on Red Flag 14-3

Air Force photograph by A1C Thomas Spangler The sun sets behind a row of F-16 Fighting Falcons during Red Flag 14-3, July 16, 2014, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Red Flag provides a series of intense air-to-air combat scenarios for aircrew and ground personnel, which will in turn increase their combat readiness and effectiveness…

Image courtesy of U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Space

Satellite study reveals parched U.S. West using up underground water

A new study by NASA and University of California, Irvine, scientists finds more than 75 percent of the water loss in the drought-stricken Colorado River Basin since late 2004 came from underground resources.

Air Force photograph by SSgt. Siuta B. Ika Defense

AOC integral to Red Flag 14-3 operations

Air Force photograph by SSgt. Siuta B. Ika Members of the Air and Space Operations Center work during Red Flag 14-3 operations July 22, 2014, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Armed with personnel from intelligence and communications backgrounds, AOC members, who each have a specific task to fill in distinct cells ranging from combat…

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Veterans

‘I’m a monster’: U.S. veterans feel ‘alone’ in guilt

Posted  February 25, 2013

A veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, former U.S. Marine Capt. Timothy Kudo thinks of himself as a killer – and he carries the guilt every day. “I can’t forgive myself,” he says. “And the people who can forgive me are dead.” With American troops at war for more than a decade, there’s…

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darpa-aircraft
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Tech

DARPA Experimental Aircraft Program to develop next generation of vertical flight

Posted  February 25, 2013

One of the greatest challenges of the past half century for aerodynamics engineers has been how to increase the top speeds of aircraft that take off and land vertically without compromising the aircraft’s lift to power in hover or its efficiency during long-range flight. The versatility of helicopters and other vertical take-off and landing aircraft…

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Defense

Africa Command deploys 100 service members to Niger

Posted  February 25, 2013

President Barack Obama notified congressional leaders Feb. 22 that the last of 100 U.S. military specialists have deployed to Niger to support intelligence efforts in the region. The move is done with Niger’s full consent and cooperation and the troops – mostly Air Force specialists – are working out of Niamey, officials said. Forty troops…

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Business

Boeing, Israel Aerospace Industries’ Arrow 3 interceptor successfully completes first flight test

Posted  February 25, 2013

The new Arrow 3 interceptor, which Boeing and Israel Aerospace Industries are co-developing to enhance Israel’s ballistic missile defense, Feb. 25 successfully completed its first flight test. Arrow 3 is the next-generation interceptor for the Arrow Weapon System jointly developed by Israel and the United States. It can be launched earlier and engage threats at…

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Space

Aerojet’s AJ26 engines ignite successful Antares(TM) stage test hot fire

Posted  February 25, 2013

Aerojet, a GenCorp company, announced that its dual AJ26 main engine system successfully powered today’s Antares(TM) Stage 1 Hot Fire test conducted by Orbital Sciences Corporation at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport located at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the eastern shore of Virginia. The 29-second test enabled engineers to validate flight configuration checkout of the…

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Veterans

Boehner says U.S. veterans’ claims system is broken

Posted  February 25, 2013

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said the system for handling veterans’ disability claims is broken and he wants the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs to explain what is being done to fix it. Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, said in a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki this week that the…

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In the news...

Lawmakers seek end to draft registration

Posted  February 25, 2013

Two lawmakers are waging a little-noticed campaign to abolish the Selective Service System, the independent federal agency that manages draft registration. Reps. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., say the millions of dollars the agency spends each year preparing for the possibility of a military draft is a waste of money. They say…

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Air Force photograph by Scott M. Ash
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Defense

Air Force secretary discusses sequestration impacts at AFA

Posted  February 25, 2013

Air Force photograph by Scott M. Ash Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley delivers his keynote speech on the State of the Air Force during the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium & Technology Exhibition in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 22, 2013. In his remarks, Donley talked about the service’s need to balance the size…

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Business

MC-130J Commando II heads to Cannon AFB

Posted  February 25, 2013

Lockheed Martin photograph by Todd McQueen Lockheed Martin delivered an MC-130J Commando II to Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., Feb, 22. Aircraft 5714 is the 15th of 27 MC-130Js to be assigned to the Air Force Special Operations Command since initial contract award in 2008. The Commando II supports such missions as in-flight refueling, infiltration/exfiltration,…

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Veterans

POW recalls ‘hidden treasure’ in lessons learned

Posted  February 25, 2013

Courtesy photograph Retired Col. Lee Ellis, a prisoner of war who spent five and a half years in the “Hanoi Hilton” during the Vietnam War, spoke at the Air Force Academy’s National Character and Leadership Symposium Feb. 21-22, 2013. A prisoner of war held in the “Hanoi Hilton” for five and a half years shared…

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NASA Image of the Day

 

NASA's Webb Sunshield Stacks Up to Test!

 
The Sunshield on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is the largest part of the observatory—five layers of thin membrane that must unfurl reliably in space to precise tolerances. Last week, for the first time, engineers stacked and unfurled a full-sized test unit of the Sunshield and it worked perfectly. The Sunshield is about the length of a tennis court, and will be folded up like an umbrella around the Webb telescope’s mirrors and instruments during launch. Once it reaches its orbit, the Webb telescope will receive a command from Earth to unfold, and separate the Sunshield's five layers into their precisely stacked arrangement with its kite-like shape. The Sunshield test unit was stacked and expanded at a cleanroom in the Northrop Grumman facility in Redondo Beach, California. The Sunshield separates the observatory into a warm sun-facing side and a cold side where the sunshine is blocked from interfering with the sensitive infrared instruments. The infrared instruments need to be kept very cold (under 50 K or -370 degrees F) to operate.   The Sunshield protects these sensitive instruments with an effective sun protection factor or SPF of 1,000,000 (suntan lotion generally has an SPF of 8-50). In addition to providing a cold environment, the Sunshield provides a thermally stable environment. This stability is essential to maintaining proper alignment of the primary mirror segments as the telescope changes its orientation to the sun. The James Webb Space Telescope is the successor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. It will be the most powerful space telescope ever built. Webb is an international project led by NASA with its partners, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. For more information about the Webb telescope, visit:  www.jwst.nasa.gov or www.nasa.gov/webb For more information on the Webb Sunshield, visit:  http://jwst.nasa.gov/sunshield.html Photo Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn Rob Gutro NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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