Comments on: September 18, 2025 Quick space links

By: Jeff Wright

Jeff Wright — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 21:13:01 +0000

I always try to look for bleeding edge stories–while still respecting the past.

By: Blair Ivey

Blair Ivey — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 07:49:25 +0000

@Jeff Wright re: turbines

Thanks for the link.

By: Jeff Wright

Jeff Wright — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 19:21:20 +0000

That would be nice. It might make more sense to deploy an airship in space, and use ion drive to push it to Venus so it could slow down and become the High Altitude Venus Operational Concept (HAVOC) concept.

Turbines may be about to get better:
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-09-clever-device-drastically-vibration-rotating.html

An EPFL Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering has developed a device that significantly dampens the flow-induced vibration caused by rotating parts, such as those in boat propellers, turbines and hydraulic pumps. His device can be produced with a 3D printer and has recently been patented.It’s a classic case of beginner’s luck. Thomas Berger had just started his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at EPFL’s School of Engineering when he made his now-patented discovery, which is published in Scientific Reports. Today, investors are taking an interest in his promising technology. The next step will be to test the gyroid under more complicated conditions, such as those inside turbines.

From:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-11199-0

By: john hare

john hare — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 23:15:30 +0000

I remember JP Aerospace at Space Access conferences a couple of decades back. The eventual propulsion that would allow slow acceleration to LEO was a topic of interest.

By: Jeff Wright

Jeff Wright — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 22:17:15 +0000

Friction stir unbound
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-09-fixturing-friction-technique-barriers.html

Friction stir tools have been attached to robotic arms in the past, but they always required a separate anvil. Self-fixturing friction stir, however, uses an attachment for a robotic arm that includes both the friction stir tool and a miniature backing plate. If the old approach was an arm holding a pencil, the new approach is an arm holding both a pencil and a clipboard.

“Once this is perfected, there will be no fixturing, no anvil, and no force transmitted into the assembly line,” Blocher said. “The only job of the robot will be to hold the friction stir attachment in place and to maintain the correct position.”

“After that, the researchers will package self-fixturing friction stir into a more ergonomic, “industry-hardened” form so that the technology can be applied on real-world assembly lines.”