JANUARY 2018 | MANE AEROSPACE, DEFENCE & SPACE | 15
The facility is located at Qintetiq’s headquarters in Farnborough. The new facility houses the UK’s only Reflective Hazard Assessment Tool (RHAT). It is designed to examine and record how laser energy is reflected from different surfaces. The facility will be the test base for technology associated with high energy lasers, for private commercial applications and the military. The building also houses a clean room and soon an area where customers can see full scale testing of high-energy lasers.
MBDA will be leading thew first project being undertaken at Dragonworks. The assembly and testing of laser directed energy weapons (LDEW), components for the project are due to arrive in early 2018 with outdoor trails planned for later in the year.
Dragonworks facility will put the UK at the forefront of laser weapons development
NASA reinvents the wheel to conquer mars terrain
Exploration requires mobility. And whether you’re on Earth or as far away as the Moon or Mars, you need good tires to get your vehicle from one place to another. NASA has introduced a new wheel design that is nearly indestructible. Made of woven-mesh metal, it remembers the ideal shape and is able to immediately spring back after. The impressive wheel are able to bear around 10 times the weight of previous wheels. they are able to fully function between temperatures of -202 and 194 degrees Fahrenheit. They have a better grip on Mars rocky and sandy terrain. Finally the wheel allow vehicles to climb slops about 23% steeper. This invention is said to excel research about the planet.
JANUARY 2018 | MANE AEROSPACE, DEFENCE & SPACE | 15