Sikorsky unofficially broke the helicopter speed record on Monday as the X2 technology demonstrator reached 225kt (417km/h) during a 1h flight test. However, because there was no official observer on the flight, the official record set by the Westland Lynx in 1986 still stands in the Federation Aeronautique International (FAI)'s books until Sikorsky conducts the flight with an official observer present from the National Aeronautic Association. Although the X2 is now unofficially the world's fastest helicopter, Sikorsky's goal is to raise the speed limit by at least 25kt within two months.
(Image Credit: Sikorsky)
Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Fyodor Yurchikhin and Mikhail Kornienko concluded a six-hour, 42-minute spacewalk Tuesday at 6:53 a.m. EDT. The pair began the spacewalk, the first of two planned, at 12:11 a.m. The cosmonauts outfitted the new Rassvet module for a Kurs automated rendezvous system capability for future dockings of Russian vehicles arriving at the station to link up to Rassvet. They also routed and mated Command and Data Handling cables on the Zvezda and Zarya modules. (Image Credit: NASA)
Debris from a satellite destroyed in 2007 by a Chinese missile is in the vicinity of the International Space Station and astronauts are prepared to take cover if required, a Russian official said Friday. The unnamed official described the flight path of the debris as 'dangerous' and said it was already too late to carry out a maneuver to divert the station from the debris. If needed, the astronauts would be instructed to enter the Soyuz spacecraft at the station.
(Image Credit: NASA)
An ultra-light unmanned aircraft powered by solar energy and designed for military surveillance and other uses remained in the air a record 14 days and 21 minutes, after taking off from the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground. The British-based company, QinetiQ, said its 74-foot long Zephyr, weighing just 110 pounds, is considered the world's first truly eternal plane, capable of providing a low-cost, persistent surveillance capability over months rather than days. The company is awaiting FAI (World Air Sports) official confirmation of the world records. (Image Credit: QinetiQ)
