Presentation: February 2018

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Date of presentation: 12 Feb 2018 (not 100% certain)
Subject: Juno Mission - Update
Description: For February's presentation, Jeff talked about the Juno Mission (exploration of Jupiter).  The bulk of the presentation was a series of high-resolution images captured by the Juno spacecraft during its 8th, 9th, and 10th passes around Jupiter.  These images largely spoke for themselves and required only minimal explanation.

Presentation: June 2016

This month's AE presenter: David

Date of presentation: 27-June-2016

Subject: The Stratolaunch Aircraft

Description: The Stratolaunch is a dual-fuselage, 6-engined aircraft designed to carry spacecraft to high altitudes for an aerial launch. It is under construction with a planned first-flight in late 2016. The all-composite aircraft's conceptual design was by Burt Rutan, and the intial project funding came from Paul Allen. When complete, it will be the largest aircraft (by wingspan) to ever fly. Engines and flight controls came from two Boeing 747's. It will be capable of launching spacecraft up to 500,000lb in weight. Potential spacecraft include the Dream Chaser IIS resupply ship.

Aerospace Minute by David

On 14 March, David talked about the new Virgin Galactic spacecraft, the Unity.  This spacecraft replaces the spacecraft that crashed in 2014. The spacecraft's wings are hinged to rotate into a feathered position. This allows the wings to create drag and prevent high heat on re-entry, yet not produce lift until it is needed. In 2014, the wings came unlocked, causing the fatal crash. The hinge mechanism has now been redesigned, and the new spacecraft is ready for testing. The spacecraft it piloted manually vs. through automation for simplicity and reliability. Tickets will cost approximately $250K for a flight. No word yet on the a date for the first flight.  Source for this AE Minute came from CNN  news.