Important Innovations

  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 developmen...

  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 developmen...

China is in the Reusable Rocket Race Chinese Startup LinkSpace Successfully Tests Reusable Rocket A global race to get a big piece of what's expected to be a highly lucrative boom in satellite launches is on.  China is pushing for a big part of the business by developing reusable rockets that enable cheaper satellite launches.  Chinese startup LinkSpace successfully tested a reusable rocket today and expects to launch in 2020.  Elon Musk's SpaceX has been leading the way in recoverable, reusable rockets since 2017 and companies in China, the US, Russia and Europe are trying to follow suit.  For a great news blog on this, go to Important Innovations Collection: China's In the Reusable Rocket Race : Future of Cheap Satellite Launches Source:  LinkSpace Chinese Startup LinkSpace For the third time in five months, Chinese startup L...

NASA Leases the Start-Up Space Source:  Relativity Space Odyssey to Mars Relativity is a Los Angeles based, venture capital backed rocket maker.  It just leased 220,000 sq. feet of space at a NASA facility in Mississippi to 3D print low cost rockets to launch small payload satellites into orbit. Money for Mars One of the company's big goals is to manufacture rockets on Mars.  CEO Tim Ellis, who was an executive at Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin, says that is the first priority for space colonization. The company hopes to generate cash by using the Terran 1 rockets that it will 3D print in Mississippi to launch small satellites.  It will use the cash to develop a team of machine learning robots that can manufacture and assemble its Terran 1 rockets on Mars with no human help. Rocket Maker in Orbit The giant 3D printers on the ground in Mississippi can produce a rocket in under 60 days.  The Terran 1 is expected to launch in 2020 and will cost...

Germany Leads International R&D on Reusable Rockets Source:  DLR Model of Reusable Rocket System FALcon - Catching Rockets in Flight An international consortium from six European Union countries have just launched R&D for reusable space rockets. The program is called FALcon. The effort is being spearheaded by Germany's space agency DLR.  The system includes a chase aircraft that follows the rocket after liftoff and catches rocket stages on descent.  The plane tows the booster to a landing area and releases it so it can glide to earth.  The project starts with a three year study.  For a great news blog on this, go to Important Innovations Collection: Catching Rockets in Flight : Germany Spearheads Reusable Rocket Concept Source:  DLR Model  FALcon Project Six international European Union partners are worki...