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New waste disposal technology on the International Space Station

13.08.2022

NASA has successfully piloted a new waste disposal technology aboard the International Space Station (ISS) developed by Nanoracks, a Texas-based space equipment company.

Typically, ISS astronauts spend months collecting garbage and storing it at the station, waiting for the Cygnus cargo ship to arrive. Cygnus is a spacecraft designed to transport supplies to the space station.

After delivering supplies, the astronauts load bags of garbage onto the ship. When a spacecraft deorbits, it burns up completely upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

The new concept developed by Nanoracks uses a specially designed waste container contained in the ISS commercial airlock module, the Bishop Airlock. Station crew members can fill it with approximately 270 kg of waste. After that, the container is separated from the module and, like Cygnus, completely burns out during entry into the Earth's atmosphere. This method is better because the astronauts do not have to wait for the cargo spacecraft to arrive to dispose of the waste.

During the successful first test, the container contained about 78 kilograms of debris, including polystyrene foam, packaging materials, cargo carrying bags, dirty crew clothes, hygiene products and used stationery.

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Quietest Aircraft Motor 23.06.2023

Scientists from Whisper Aero presented at the aviation forum of the American Institute of Aeronautics a model of the Whisper Jet electric aircraft engine, which, according to the developers, is the quietest among all similar devices.

According to the creators of the project, their electric motor is 20% more efficient and 100 times quieter than aircraft electric motors on the market. During the event, they demonstrated the results of comparative measurements of the noise level of their Whisper Jet engine with the best analogues (in their opinion). Engine tests were carried out under the same conditions: at night with the same level of background noise. At a distance of 61 meters, with 30 dBA of background noise, Whisper Aero's prototype electric motor with 6-inch propellers is almost inaudible. At the same time, at a distance of 100 meters, the layout developed a thrust equal to 34,7 N, which corresponded to the indicators of other participants in the experiment.

According to the results of noise level measurements, Whisper Jet showed the best result - 34,1 dBA. Other designs, including Schubeler duct solutions (44,9 and 52,1 dBA) and Aeronaut CAMcarbon open props (49,4 and 58,7 dBA), were significantly noisier. At the same time, the developers themselves stated that their product is 100-500 times quieter than channel propellers and 100-1000 times quieter than open propellers.

The lower noise level in the Whisper Jet prototype aircraft motor is achieved by using a large number of blades mounted along the rim, as opposed to traditional motors with 3-5 blades. Thanks to this, the engineers managed to shift the fan frequency beyond 16 kHz, which makes the layout almost imperceptible to human hearing.

In addition, Whisper Aero said the multi-blade design of their engine does not lose efficiency as rpm is reduced. They claim an efficiency of 92%. The secret of success is quite simple: in other engines, part of the energy is spent on creating "junk" noise, while in the Whisper Jet this energy is used for additional thrust.

The startup plans to sell engines and licenses, but is not going to produce aircraft. At the same time, the company is working on the development of its prototype 10-seat electric aircraft with silent engines, the mock-up of which was demonstrated at the aviation forum for all interested. This type of aircraft will be able to cover a distance of 322 kilometers at a maximum speed of 463 kilometers per hour.

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