#power electronics test systems

[nasa]

Athletes Go for the Gold with NASA Spinoffs

NASA technology tends to find its way into the sporting world more often than you’d expect. Fitness is important to the space program because astronauts must undergo the extreme g-forces of getting into space and endure the long-term effects of weightlessness on the human body. The agency’s engineering expertise also means that items like shoes and swimsuits can be improved with NASA know-how.

As the 2024 Olympics are in full swing in Paris, here are some of the many NASA-derived technologies that have helped competitive athletes train for the games and made sure they’re properly equipped to win.

The LZR Racer reduces skin friction drag by covering more skin than traditional swimsuits. Multiple pieces of the water-resistant and extremely lightweight LZR Pulse fabric connect at ultrasonically welded seams and incorporate extremely low-profile zippers to keep viscous drag to a minimum.

Swimsuits That Don’t Drag

When the swimsuit manufacturer Speedo wanted its LZR Racer suit to have as little drag as possible, the company turned to the experts at Langley Research Center to test its materials and design. The end result was that the new suit reduced drag by 24 percent compared to the prior generation of Speedo racing suit and broke 13 world records in 2008. While the original LZR Racer is no longer used in competition due to the advantage it gave wearers, its legacy lives on in derivatives still produced to this day.

Trilion Quality Systems worked with NASA’s Glenn Research Center to adapt existing stereo photogrammetry software to work with high-speed cameras. Now the company sells the package widely, and it is used to analyze stress and strain in everything from knee implants to running shoes and more.

High-Speed Cameras for High-Speed Shoes

After space shuttle Columbia, investigators needed to see how materials reacted during recreation tests with high-speed cameras, which involved working with industry to create a system that could analyze footage filmed at 30,000 frames per second. Engineers at Adidas used this system to analyze the behavior of Olympic marathoners' feet as they hit the ground and adjusted the design of the company’s high-performance footwear based on these observations.

Martial artist Barry French holds an Impax Body Shield while former European middle-weight kickboxing champion Daryl Tyler delivers an explosive jump side kick; the force of the impact is registered precisely and shown on the display panel of the electronic box French is wearing on his belt.

One-Thousandth-of-an-Inch Punch

In the 1980s, Olympic martial artists needed a way to measure the impact of their strikes to improve training for competition. Impulse Technology reached out to Glenn Research Center to create the Impax sensor, an ultra-thin film sensor which creates a small amount of voltage when struck. The more force applied, the more voltage it generates, enabling a computerized display to show how powerful a punch or kick was.

Astronaut Sunita Williams poses while using the Interim Resistive Exercise Device on the ISS. The cylinders at the base of each side house the SpiraFlex FlexPacks that inventor Paul Francis honed under NASA contracts. They would go on to power the Bowflex Revolution and other commercial exercise equipment.

Weight Training Without the Weight

Astronauts spending long periods of time in space needed a way to maintain muscle mass without the effect of gravity, but lifting free weights doesn’t work when you’re practically weightless. An exercise machine that uses elastic resistance to provide the same benefits as weightlifting went to the space station in the year 2000. That resistance technology was commercialized into the Bowflex Revolution home exercise equipment shortly afterwards.

Want to learn more about technologies made for space and used on Earth? Check out NASA Spinoff to find products and services that wouldn’t exist without space exploration.   

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[reasonsforhope]

"Seventh graders at Thurgood Marshall Middle School in Rockford, Illinois are learning about STEM — but they’re also learning about real-world challenges.

The students have taken on a new project: assembling “solar suitcases” to help bring electricity to schools in Uganda’s Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement, which is home to 270,000 South Sudanese refugees.

It’s an initiative led by We Share Solar, a nonprofit that provides science and technology learning projects for students that then go on to benefit other students in low-income areas of the world. 

The project introduces middle schoolers to fundamental electrical concepts, like positive and negative charges, voltage, amps, and wiring, ultimately producing a 12-volt DC solar power system that will be distributed among the refugee community.

“We’ve learned many things like positives and negatives, amps, volts, all that stuff, and how to wire stuff together,” Pratham Mehta, one of the Thurgood Marshall students, told WIFR News. 

“We’re taking all this stuff for granted, and other countries don’t have all this stuff, like electricity.”

The suitcases will bring electricity to 40 schools in the refugee settlement, which provide education to over 12,000 students. They are designed to be easily transported (thus the suitcase design), which makes them ideal for off-grid locations, like a refugee camp.

The panels in the suitcase collect sunlight and harness the energy in a built-in battery. It can then provide power to up to five light bulbs for 50 to 60 hours a week. Depending on the capacity of the system, it can also help power small electronics like phones or radios.

For people in the Bidi Bidi settlement — one of the largest refugee settlements in the world — this kind of power can make an enormous impact.

In fact, We Share Solar has deployed over 1,000 suitcases to “energy-scarce locations�� across the world, with more than 500,000 students and teachers benefitting from the power they provide.

“The We Share Solar education program serves youth twice,” Hal Aronson, co-founder of the organization, said, “first as an educational experience for American youth and second as a renewable power and lighting system for youth in parts of the world that lack electricity.”

Along with connecting students to learning opportunities, the organization ensures each device is tested by a professional to ensure it is built to withstand energy demands. Then, the suitcases are installed by trained partners in destination countries, and students and teachers alike learn about the new clean energy technologies they have implemented.

At the start of the 2024 school year, the We Share Solar program was implemented in 13 Illinois schools, training educators in the curriculum and setting up the project across the state.

“This is just the beginning,” a Facebook post from We Share Solar states. “These passionate teachers will now guide their students in building solar cases, providing a hands-on STEM experience with real-world impact.”

-via GoodGoodGood, January 16, 2025

[twinsimming]

Utilities Mod by Twinsimming 💡💧

This mod adds optional power and water utilities for players looking for some added challenge in their gameplay.

This is a script mod that can be placed in your Packages folder. It was built and tested on 1.69 but should work fine on 1.67.

New Objects

Power Box

- Price: §0 - Category: Misc. Electronics/Misc. Appliances - Includes 3 original swatches + 1 recolorable option (3 channels) - Poly Count: 274

Water Pipes

- Price: §0 - Category: Misc. Plumbing - Includes 3 original swatches + 1 recolorable option (3 channels) - Poly Count: 1065

Utilities

The Power Box controls power and the Water Pipes control water (self explanatory :p). Both utility objects are free in buy mode in the Misc. Electronics tab and Misc. Plumbing tab, respectively.

Once placed down on your lot, you can enable one or both utilities. When the utilities are enabled, power and/or water will be cut off to certain objects on your lot until you "Turn On" the Power Box and/or Water Pipes.

While the utilities are on, your sims will be charged between §1 - §3 simoleons for every 10 minutes they use an object that requires a utility, with the charge varying based on the size of the object. The total cost will be added to your next household bill.

If you want to opt out of the utilities system, just use the “Disable Power Utility” and “Disable Water Utility” interactions available on the utility objects.

The utilities system only applies to the active household.

A full list of all of the objects affected by the Power Box and Water Pipes utilities and their usage costs can be found on the mod download page.

Utility Costs and Usage

To check how much you've spent on utilities during the current billing cycle (between when you pay your bills and the next bill payment), click on the "Check Utility Usage" interaction on either utility.

To see your full utilities breakdown, use the new "Check Utility Costs" interaction on the computer.

Also included in the full utilities breakdown is a Green Energy Rebate total.

This total calculates how much money a lot saves by using the Solar Panels and Wind Turbines from the Sims 3 Store and factors that into the total utilities cost.

The full utilities breakdown also shows up when your sim pays their bills.

Lack of Funds

If your household funds fall below the usage cost of a utility, that utility will be shut off and cannot be turned back on until your funds are sufficient.

Bill Delinquency

If you’re late on paying your bills, your utilities will get shut off. Both utilities will be shut off when your bills are two days old.

Tuning

All of the tunable values can be found on the mod download page under the header “Tuning”.

Script Namespace

If you want to turn another object into a power or water utility, open your desired object in s3pe and replace the current script name with the following:

Sims3.Gameplay.Objects.Twinsimming.Utilities.PowerBox

Sims3.Gameplay.Objects.Twinsimming.Utilities.Water Pipes

Conflicts & Known Issues

These are new scripted objects so there shouldn’t be any conflicts.

Credits

EA/Maxis for The Sims 3 and The Sims 4, Visual Studio 2019, Sims4Studio, Blender, Milkshape, TSRW, ILSpy, s3pe, Notepad++, and Gimp.

Thank You

Thank you to gamefreak130, @zoeoe-sims, @greenplumbboblover, and @echoweaver!

If you like my work, please consider tipping me on Ko-fi 💙

Download @ ModTheSims

[amphitriteswife]

Teacher (and subjects) head cannons!:

(I’m from the netherlands and the school here has a different grading system. Also collage and highschool are one thing. So highschool is 4,5 or 6 years depending on which grade you get on tests and stuff in elementary so please bear with me)

Poseidon:

You would think that he would teach biology but you would be wrong. He would teach Physics or some high level math.

The type to not let anyone in after the bell rings

Doesn’t care if you end up dead in the class you will not go to the bathroom during his lesson

Stands by the door to make sure you put it in those phone pockets thingy

Gives the most homework out of all the teachers

Wears formal clothes, always. Suits, blazer, slacks ect.

You will never catch him on a bad hair day

If he catches you cheating on a test, you can say goodbye to that grade because he will give you a zero.

He does sometimes turn a blind eye if you’re on the brink of not passing and don’t choose his subject. (You do need to be on the brink. So not like a 3 or sum)

Hates electronics so he just wants everyone to use a paper and the book. No laptops.

Only talkes to some teachers like Hades and Thor

Students think he’s either the worst or just eye candy

Has won the the contest of best man titties by students

People actually ended up crying in his class and he didn’t give a damn

Sends people out 2 minutes before the time and doesn’t care if they beg.

If you have him as a substitute you can start praying because you’ll miss your regular teacher

Types with one finger if he’s on his phone (rare sight)

Checks homework. As in not just looking but actually reading your calculations.

He sometimes even grades your homework or puts them for bonuses

He sometimes reads if it’s work time and he finishes his lecture

Got drunk one time during school dance and started breakdancing. Hades was supportive and filmed it.

Hades

Teaches history

Is well with his colleagues and is well liked by students

He’s not strict with phones but please don’t use them in his class

You sometimes do work. He mostly explains and writes notes on the white board for you to write down

Is very, very passionate about certain topics. His favorites would be the world wars and the greek/ roman empire.

Is that type of teacher that you could tell anything. School, home, hobbies. He won’t mind and he’s equally interested.

Has a mentor class every year and he helps them a lot.

His class is very popular and lots of people choose his subject, so popular that people who don’t take it sometimes ask if they can stay and also follow it for fun

Almost never gives homework

He makes planners, notes, power points. Anything that may help his students.

He even lets the class watch films so that they understand it better, he usually choses for oversimplified if he needs to explain the word wars

You can eat in his class as long as you keep it clean and don’t throw stuff

Smells like rituals. Flowers. Very addictive and good. Sniff

Is present at the school dance and school parties. He helps with carrying and making sure the students don’t do stupid stuff

He doesn’t even need to discuss about his students’ grades because all his students do good in his class

Is rated to have the biggest dick by the students.

Also wears formal clothes. So like a suit, but if he crosses his legs you can see that he wears funky socks. Like a bright purple with colorful cupcakes on it or a bright blue with yellow ducks on it.

Gives extra lessons if you don’t understand.

You know how when someone asks teachers about their life? If you do that he gets so happy and explains a lot

Shows pictures of Melinoe and Zagreus from when they were babies.

He brought a 4 year old melinoe with him one time and the class played with her. If she was not playing with the students she was probably in her father’s lap.

He also shows pictures of Persephone. Every time he talks about her you can hear the love in his voice. (I’m Persephone reincarnated)

Hermes

Teaches music ofcourse

You would think that music was easy but it really isn’t. You need to able to read music notes. You get 2 tests, playing and theory.

Helps well if you need assistance with your instruments

Gives surprise tests to see if you actually did the homework

He loves and i mean looooveeees gossip

He doesn’t say much but listens when a student says something about another teacher

Handles the school musical

You actually need to put effort if you want to pass

Doesn’t take away your phone if he sees you with it. Just stares from behind on it until you notice.

doesn’t sent people out of the class, just gives them extra homework

He never, ever stops smiling. The class is being too loud? He’ll sit in his chair and simply drink his tea while glaring with a smile.

Some students find him scary because of how polite he is, because they can feel that underlying anger.

Knows how to make a student’s life miserable if they make his class unbearable.

You threw paper at him and made the class disruptive? Boom 4 chapters done by the next lesson and all the texts should be 4 times written. In cursive

He is usually seen with the principal (Zeus)

Buddha

Geography teacher

Why? Because he often travels for different kind of reasons.

Eating is allowed, as well as chewing gun

Is great with the students and most people just choose his subject because he’s chill

Doesn’t prepare lessons. He just talks and the students get it

If he does have a powerpoint he promotes his insta, tiktok and his snap

Loves to know about different cultures

Had a diss battle in his class once and almost got into trouble

Called someone emo

If you eat in his class prepare to share.

Asks people if they can bring him coffee from the teachers’ room

You cannot tell me that dawg didn’t pull up in Jordans

Is also present at the school dance and actually bribes the dg for some songs

Doesn’t really care if you skip his class. He either doesn’t care or doesn’t notice.

He too has a mentor class. He has private talks and doesn’t mind if you tell him his problems and genuinely tries to help

Doesn’t give homework unless it’s necessary.

Beelzebub

Creepy Science teacher

Got called emo by Buddha

Doesn’t hesitate to threaten students

He never cares if you don’t show up, but he will rat you out because funny

Has been detected to smile when he does weird stuff. Like cutting things open

Is always in his lab and he’s the only one who can enter with a key

Someone made a sticker of his face and the whole school used it, again he doesn’t care

Had like those weird pots with stuff in it

Doesn’t allow anyone to touch them. He does demonstrate stuff if you ask nicely

Let’s you go early but it’s not in a nice way. He’ll only do it because he doesn’t want to teach anymore for the day

Doesn’t even go to lunch, he just remains in his lab

He only goes to halloween parties

Cyberbullies people. Teachers and students included

Runs the anti *insert school* accounts

Will not care if the school burns down. He hates everyone and everything. Except Hades, because he’s cool

Doesn’t care if you eat or drink. (He may or may not have put something in it for his experiments)

‘Students are like little monsters’ is his motto. He’ll treat them like it too

If you fail his tests he’ll sometimes give you one to retake

Thank ya’ll for reading :p

I’m gonna make a part 2. I think. Maybe some with the human fighters

[covid-safer-hotties]

1 in 5 People Could Have Long COVID - Published Nov 8, 2024

By Dennis Thompson

FRIDAY, Nov. 8, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- More than 1 in 5 Americans likely suffer from long COVID, a new AI-assisted review has found.

The analysis suggests that nearly 23% of U.S. adults experience the symptoms of long COVID, according to results published Nov. 8 in the journal Med.

That’s much higher than the 7% prevalence of long COVID that’s been suggested by other studies, researchers said.

“Questions about the true burden of long COVID -- questions that have thus far remained elusive -- now seem more within reach,” said senior researcher Hossein Estiri, head of AI research at Mass General Brigham in Boston.

For the study, researchers developed an AI tool that can sift through mounds of electronic health records looking for the frequently subtle symptoms related to long COVID.

These symptoms can occur in a wide range of body systems, and include fatigue, chronic cough, heart problems and “brain fog.” They typically develop weeks or months after a person shakes off their initial COVID-19 infection.

“Our AI tool could turn a foggy diagnostic process into something sharp and focused, giving clinicians the power to make sense of a challenging condition,” Estiri said in a Mass General news release.

The AI specifically looks for symptoms that can’t be explained by a person’s medical history, have persisted for two months or longer and occur following a COVID infection, researchers said.

For example, the AI can detect if shortness of breath might be explained by pre-existing heart failure or asthma, rather than long COVID.

“Physicians are often faced with having to wade through a tangled web of symptoms and medical histories, unsure of which threads to pull, while balancing busy caseloads. Having a tool powered by AI that can methodically do it for them could be a game-changer,” said lead researcher Dr. Alaleh Azhir, an internal medicine resident at Brigham and Women’s.

Based on these parameters, the AI estimated that nearly 23% of Americans likely have long COVID, a figure that researchers argue aligns more closely with national trends.

The researchers plan to release the AI publicly on open access, so doctors and health care systems can employ and test it.

Study Link : www.cell.com/med/fulltext/S2666-6340(24)00407-0?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2666634024004070%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

[usafphantom2]

Blackbird pilot recalls the mission where a Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat fired a missile at his SR-71

Soviet MiG-25 pilot tells why Foxbats were not able to fire a single missile at SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3 spy planes

The Soviet MiG-25

The “holy grail” of the soviet air defense system: shooting down a Blackbird

Missile fired at an SR-71

MiG-25 at risk of being shot down by its missile

What happened to the missile fired by the MiG-25 at the SR-71?

The Soviet MiG-25

The Soviet MiG-25 (NATO code-name “Foxbat”) was a high-speed interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft. The aircraft entered service in 1970 and has a top speed of Mach 2.83, powerful radar, and could carry up to four air-to-air missiles.

The MiG-25’s capabilities were not discovered until 1976 when Viktor Belenko, a Soviet MiG-25 pilot, defected to Japan. Subsequent analysis revealed a simple-yet-functional design with vacuum-tube electronics, two massive turbojet engines, and sparing use of advanced materials such as titanium.

CLICK HERE to see The Aviation Geek Club contributor Linda Sheffield’s T-shirt designs! Linda has a personal relationship with the SR-71 because her father Butch Sheffield flew the Blackbird from test flight in 1965 until 1973. Butch’s Granddaughter’s Lisa Burroughs and Susan Miller are graphic designers. They designed most of the merchandise that is for sale on Threadless. A percentage of the profits go to Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base. This nonprofit charity is personal to the Sheffield family because they are raising money to house SR-71, #955. This was the first Blackbird that Butch Sheffield flew on Oct. 4, 1965.

A capable interceptor, the MiG-25 was widely exported by the Soviet Union. This aircraft could outrun any fighter in the air, and indeed any military aircraft other than the SR-71 Blackbird.

Loaded with two R-40 missiles (NATO reporting name AA-6 ‘Acrid’), the Foxbat could reach 78,000 feet, but with its full complement of four missiles, it was limited to 68,900 feet. By contrast the Habu flew at cruise speeds above Mach 3 at over 80,000 feet.

The “holy grail” of the soviet air defense system: shooting down a Blackbird

Nevertheless, once an SR-71 Blackbird flown by Col. Darrel Cobb was fired on by a MiG-25, as Cobb himself recalls in this interview given to his son Chris;

Col. Cobb’s SR-71 Blackbird fired on by a MiG-25.

‘Operational missions.

‘First let me assure you; we never broke President Eisenhower’s promise to cease overflying the Soviet Union. We remained over international water – 12 mi offshore.

‘All of my operational flying was from Kadena, Okinawa. Area of interest was Vietnam; Korea; Vladivostok, USSR; China. Later, we flew transatlantic & return from Seymour Johnson, NC supporting the Israel Arab war. After I left the program, the SR flew from Mildenhall, England & Bodo, Norway.

‘We already touched on missions against Vietnam & the only night mission.

‘Today let’s cover “north missions.”

This print is available in multiple sizes from AircraftProfilePrints.com – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS. Dawn at 80.000ft – SR-71 Blackbird

‘Take off, refuel & head into the Sea of Japan; between Japan & south Korea. Accelerated to operational speed – 3.20. Head directly at Vladivostok. headquarters of USSR air defense; and test/r & d of new radar & intercept development. 2200 mph guaranteed to light up all the radar & intercept systems they had.

‘A MiG-25 interceptor squadron was based just outside of Vladivostok. The “holy grail” of the soviet air defense system was to shoot down an SR-71.

‘Turn north up the Sea of Japan & make a U-turn back down the USSR coast (12 mi offshore) with ELINT & SIGINT recorders going full bore. Photo cameras looking oblique into the USSR, updating the interceptor air order of battle. Head south east till past Vladivostok then turn slightly left then right to cross Korea at the DMZ. Photo cameras updating N. Korea force readiness to resume hostilities against S. Korea.

Missile fired at an SR-71

‘Continue down the yellow sea coast of China. All sensors evaluating China’s threat to Taiwan. Turn left- decel & land at Kadena. I flew this profile several times during the 4 years I flew ops missions. One of these got very, very thrilling. Southbound, passing Vladivostok, Reg (my RSO) announced;

‘”We’ve got a fighter locked on – it’s gotta be a MiG-25″

‘”Our DEF [Defensive Electronic Gear, DEF. It Provided ground-to-air and air-to-air missile protection. Still Classified. Def systems were labeled DEF A,B,C,E and G. Later modifications to the DEF Systems resulted in DEF A2, C2, H and M systems. Nearing retirement of the SR-71, a programmable DEF labeled A2C could defeat all known threats to the Blackbirds] is blanketing all beautifully.”

‘”Oops – he just fired – – we’ve got a missile locked on”

‘”Our def has shifted to its missile magic”

‘”There – lock’s broken. Missile’s back in search”

‘”That’s weird – sounds like the missile’s locked on – but not locked on us”

‘”He’s gone – coming up on the “s” turn to the DMZ.”’

Fast forward to late 1976 Col. Cobb retired from the Air Force.

MiG-25 at risk of being shot down by its missile

Cobb continues;

‘I’m retired! Learning that retirement means no days off; no vacation; no holidays; big pay cut.

‘I find the aircraft TV channel & history channel. Lots & lots of SR-71 films. I avidly watch at every opportunity. In my den, glued to the TV & today’s SR-71 show, & who do I see comparing the MiG-25 with the SR-71??

‘You’re right – – Lt Victor Belenko!

‘He was totally gobsmacked; his MiG-25 burned up the engines getting to Mach 3 yet the SR’s cruise speed was greater than 3.0.

‘Belenko is the one who said that the Holy Grail of soviet air defense was to shoot down an SR.

‘He told of how they would pre-position ahead of the SR’s radar track and had to zoom up to get a lock on & fire their missile.

‘Belenko stressed how quickly & precisely they had to perform because the window of opportunity was so very short.

‘Their target was traveling at 3600 ft/sec. Faster than a speeding bullet.

‘He described in detail how precise the post firing breakaway had to be executed to avoid getting shot down by their own missile; talking as though they found this out the “hard way.”’

Cobb Concludes;

‘Man talk about intense attention – – I’m quickly mentally replaying that tape from the inter-phone – –

‘”We’ve got a fighter locked on – it’s gotta be a Mig-25″

‘”Our DEF is blanketing all beautifully.”

‘”Oops – he just fired – – we’ve got a missile locked on”

‘”Our def has shifted to its missile magic”

‘”There – lock’s broken. Missile’s back in search.

‘”That’s weird – sounds like the missile’s locked on – but not locked on us.”’

What happened to the missile fired by the MiG-25 at the SR-71?

What happened to the missile fired by the MiG-25? Could it have locked onto the Foxbat itself? Could the SR-71 DEF have deceived it? We’ll never know.

However, we can assume that given that SR-71 had a cruise speed faster than the top speed of the MiG-25’s Acrid missiles, the Blackbird simply outran the AA-6. There was no chance a Foxbat could conduct a tail-chase interception of an SR-71 (the MiG-25 couldn’t carry out a head-on intercept of a Blackbird too: in fact, the Foxbat’s radar and fire control system was not sophisticated enough to solve the problems of a head-on intercept at closing speeds that would exceed Mach 5).

Be sure to check out Linda Sheffield Miller (Col Richard (Butch) Sheffield’s daughter, Col. Sheffield was an SR-71 Reconnaissance Systems Officer) Twitter X Page Habubrats SR-71, Instagram Page SR71Habubrats and Facebook Page Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Habubrats for awesome Blackbird’s photos and stories.

@Habubrats71 via X

[ihaznoclue]

Could I request Grace, Nicole, and Belle with a s/o who can manipulate electronics?

Pairings -> Grace Howard, Nicole Demara, Belle x Reader

Warnings -> None

Note -> Reader can manipulate electronics

Genre -> Fluff

GRACE HOWARD

She is mostly fascinated by your power of manipulating the power of electronics

She is willing to know more about your power

You have the ability to literally control, hack, rewrite, power down, control even erase yourself from any cameras that have caught you

You can do many things that causes Grace to become more interested in you even more

Grace loves it when you use your power for good

You can even use your power for little missions

Even so Grace loves to test out your power sometimes to see how much you can do

We all know grace loves to work with machinery and technology

Sometimes you cause her machinery to turn off by simply hacking into his system if the machine causes to freak out

But on little missions like trying to get information

You can easily get the data and hack into the system even if you are not there

You can hack into the cameras to let Grace or anyone else pass by the cameras without getting caught

You can even rewrite information to misinformation

Grace is so glad she has a very amazing and genius of a soulmate

NICOLE DEMARA

Nicole is very intrigued by your suddenly power over electronics/technology

Its no wonder why you haven't been caught yet while going mission yourself

You can do anything to wipe out anything that Nicole is willing to get rid of

Even sometimes when she gets caught with something you are always willing to wipe that out as well so she doesn't get caught herself

Sometimes you'll have to tell her to be careful on mission if she doesn't want to get caught

You can also literally hack into her phone if you wanted to

But you don't want to upset her so you stop doing it but its quite funny to see her reaction when she notices its just you who is doing it

She is also surprised that you can help Billy as well since he is kind of technology like

So whenever something is happening to him or has a damaged virus

You are always there willing to help a friend in need

Nicole asks you that if you can hack into the bank system but you always tell her no and that's against the law

You are using your thing for good not to steal

But you are always willing to give something to her in return

Maybe you do it though

Just to make her happy

BELLE

Belle is kind of the same

Shes the proxy along side with her brother Wise

She literally helps people through her bangboo and entire screen

She literally sees everything

But when she knows about your power to manipulate technology

She is already geeking over about it and she is always asking questions to learn more about your power

She now knows you can control and literally do anything to machines, computers, electronics, cameras, phones anything that is titled electronic

Belle asks you if you want her on commissions sometimes and you always are happy to help her if she seems to have trouble about something

Maybe you sometimes hack into stuff that she isn't able to

turning off cameras for the people you are helping, helping her bangboo

Anything to help Belle

And she appreciates you for that

[cherthegoddess]

Myth- Ghost in the Tower

Summary:  When eerie glitches and a mysterious death disrupt the Avengers’ peace, they discover a supernatural threat lurking in the compound. With no experience in handling ghosts, they call on Y/N, a renowned hunter known as "The Myth," to help confront the danger. 

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Mutant! Reader Bucky Barnes x Mutant! Reader

Join the taglist here

Word Count: 1.2k

Warnings: Death Ghost Barely any Dean and in this one This was written with a black reader in mind, but anyone can read it.

A/N: This is the first part there will be more interaction with Dean, Bucky and Y/n coming soon but I wanted to put something out! Please enjoy! If you would like to request any one shots for this series please do!

Main Masterlist l Series Masterlist

Ghost in the Tower

Bucky, Steve and Sam were finally having a quiet morning in the compound. Though rare, it was very much appreciated by the three. The smooth voice of Marvin Gaye played through the room while the three ate their breakfast. “You see this here boys? This is a classic. Nobody’s touching Marvin Gaye!” Sam exclaims to the two. Bucky and Sam couldn’t help but agree. Ever since they met Sam, he’d been trying to introduce the two to new things that weren’t from the 40’s, some things were a miss, but when it came to music, Sam never gave them a bad artist. As the next song came on, it started to slightly glitch, something that never really happened. “Friday, you alright?” Bucky called to her but no response came. Then suddenly Run Rabbit Run! started to play in a deep voice over the speakers. “Sam, this song came out in the 30’s we know this one.” Sam shakes his head in fear. “This isn’t me.” The boys all look at each other. Suddenly the electronics start to move and turn on. A loud shriek exits out of Sam’s mouth. “Oh, hell no!” It then all stops as if nothing has ever happened and Marivn Gaye makes his return once again. “Something isn’t right. I think we should go talk to Stark about this.” Steve says slightly creeped out. “Friday?” Bucky tested to see if the AI was back online. “Yes, Sergeant Barnes?” They collectively sigh. “Can you call Stark in the kitchen?” Friday confirms letting the three know that he would be there in five. 

“What can I do for you three?” Stark asks when he enters. “I think something may be wrong with Friday.” Steve starts. Tony’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean? She’s been working perfectly fine for me? You sure old folks just don’t know how to work these new gadgets.” Bucky’s eyes roll. “Nah man, somethings definitely up. She started playing creepy ass music and all the electronic stuff just started glitching!” Sam is still clearly freaked out by what just happened. “That doesn’t sound right. Let’s check right now. Friday, run a diagnostic test.” Tony calls out to her. “Running tests.” Friday takes a moment before speaking again. “Systems are running steadily. There seems to be no issues.” Tony crosses his arms. As if on cue, all the lights power off and there’s a scream that comes from an nearing hallway. Tony, Steve and Bucky all run towards the noise. “I’m too black for this.” Sam sighs fear evident in his voice. He goes to follow them weary. 

Bucky isn’t quite sure what he was expecting when he reached the person who screamed, but a body wasn’t on the top of his list. Especially with the way that the poor girl was looking as if she was alive sitting at a desk, but it was clear by her slit throat and unmoving eyes, she wasn’t. The person who screamed stood crying on the side of the office staring at her unmoving boss. When Sam finally entered the room he almost gagged, looking away quickly. They all wished the lights that just recently came back on were off again. Steve goes over to the woman who is crying to console her and hopefully get some answers. “Hey, breathe with me. What’s your name?” The girl breathes for a second, her tears calming down a bit. “Lana,” She whispers out. “Can you tell me what happened here?” She nods tears exiting her eyes once more. “I went to go check on Sophie since the lights have been acting super weird all day in the office and then it was super cold all of a sudden, but then I found her like this-” Her voice cracks and she starts crying again. Tony is oddly quiet and Bucky stares at him. “What are you thinking, Stark? Did someone infiltrate us?” Tony shakes his head. “I think we have a ghost.” Tony groans. “Ghosts? Come on, Tony. Ghosts aren’t real.” Bucky says. “Friday, if you’re working, call Fury and tell him we need him ASAP in the conference room. We’re going to need his help. He might have a contact for this. Also can you get someone in here to help us with this unfortunate situation.” She luckily responds. Tony focuses back on the other three. “Ghosts are real. They aren’t the only supernatural thing that’s out there either. Fury knows all about it.”

Bucky sits in shock with Steve and Sam in the conference room as Fury confirms what Tony said was all true. Ghosts, Demons, Angels and things he’s never even heard of exist right under everyone's noses. “Wait so why aren’t we doing anything about this? This is a big deal, Fury. Someone should be on this.” Steve asks. “People are on this, Captain. All over the world there are people’s whose job it is to hunt these creatures down. We deal with the aliens and people, they deal with the rest. And lucky for us, I have someone who works on this type of situation. I’ll give her a call.” The boys look at each other. “Her?” Bucky asks. “Yes, you may have heard of her. She’s known as The Myth.” A blush sweeps over Bucky’s cheeks, remembering the first time they met. He was waiting to see her again. They had been texting a bit here and there but they still had yet to meet up again. He hated that this was the circumstances they had to meet, but he was looking forward to her entrance.

When Y/n got the call from Fury, she was also enjoying her day. She was sitting comfortably at a diner right outside of Chicago, her favorite city. It was her first off day in a couple of months. She had been hunting to clean up for the past few months and she was looking forward to her week off. Now she’s looking at his name across her phone screen. She groans before swiping and answering. “Yes, Fury. You’re interrupting my vacation.” She says taking a bite of one of her fries. “We need you down here.” Fury says in a serious tone. “Another cleaning-” He cuts her off quickly. “No, I think we may have a situation that is under your other jurisdiction.” Y/n sits up straighter. “You’re lying. If you miss me, Nick, you can just say that, you don’t have to make up a supernatural being just to see me.” Fury groans. “Y/n, I’m serious. I think we have a ghost. And it’s already killed one person. Tell me where you are and I’ll send a quadjet.” Y/n calls a waitress over, to get a to-go box, after telling Nick where she is. The waitress goes and gets one. “I need to bring in some others if that's okay. These ghosts aren’t my strong suit. They’re the best in the business.” Y/n warns. “Whatever you need, we just need this problem gone and no more lives lost” Nick responds. “Nick you better be glad I love you like a father because you’re really ruining my week off.” Y/n could hear the eye roll in his voice. “Thank you and I’ll see you in 2 hours.” Y/n hangs up with Fury before quickly dialing another number. “Hey, Dean? How’d you like to meet the Avengers?”

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[carionto]

How to beat Deathworlders

I don't know what I want to write and it's a little frustrating. So, to fix that, I'm just gonna throw this at me - Giant Ant Planet

The first call to arms Humanity has declared. They mobilize with unseen speed and precision seven of their mightiest Dreadnoughts, hundreds of transports, and amass fifty thousand soldiers, fully armed and trained on the target.

They are headed to a world Humans scouted as having great potential for life to flourish. How correct they were.

In orbit above the planet Chromathium-2-4, the station Truncated Crescent Ellipses was tasked with conducting experiments to test the viability of Human-digestible flora and fauna living on Chromatoff (as the scientists began to call it for short).

When the fleet arrived, the final message from the station turned out to be true - it had crash landed on the surface. From the chaos of the recordings they received, there was a containment breach and the systems were under attack by some unknown electronic waves and incomprehensible code. A hostile act, but by who?

This was two weeks ago. Whoever it was, they would know the wrath of Humanity. Once we find your traces, there will be no hiding for long.

Preliminary scans show the station was dead and only local creatures and plants appeared, in greater density than elsewhere, but no matter. Just some animals.

The first unmanned craft landed and began exploring the wreckage. All of the digital systems were fried, not a hint of power remained anywhere. Attempts to manually power anything up proved fruitless - the data had been replaced with pure garbage code. Then, the drone vanished underground and went silent. Connection failure.

Orbital sights showed nothing, all frequencies were monitored and were free of unaccounted signals. The next group of drones descended and shortly after touchdown they too were seemingly devoured by the ground, all power and electronic signals cut.

A deep scan showed the same dense biological activity, but looking closer at the data it was like a carpet just below the actual surface layer. And for whatever reason the pulse couldn't penetrate below a few meters. Scanning areas further from the crash revealed a much more detailed and sparsely populated map going down the expected three kilometers.

For the third attempt they kept several drones above the landed ones at different altitudes. The moment the drones on the ground were vanished again, a sudden signal struck the ones floating up to seventy meters above and cut them off as well, but didn't seem to reach any beyond that. The visual was not as detailed as they'd like, but it was enough - the tips of large pincers and antennae and beady eyes. Ants.

The fleet maintained a perimeter around the entire system just in case, and spent half a day consulting professionals and former colleagues of the deceased scientists to get a better understanding of the current situation.

Two experiments the team had worked on before and supposedly continued when relocated to the new station stood out - metabolic acceleration, and unassisted neural interfacing via modified brain waves. Far from the wildest here, such as the self-relocating giant sequoia, but ones that offered a plausible explanation.

Ants serve a variety of critical functions in the maintenance of an ecosystem, so naturally they are a part of most late stage terraforming efforts.

Here, however, something went wrong and they evolved alongside technology at an intimate level. Perhaps deliberately made to do so.

They are spreading fast too. Twelve hours ago the "carpet" of underground ants was roughly two square kilometers. Now it was close to three and a half. In mere weeks they may spread across the entire continent, perhaps make it across (or below?) the seas somehow and ravenously consume all life on this planet before succumbing to extinction themselves.

This world is bountiful. Also, we're here already. Hmm...

Eh, may as well. Plenty of us have seen Starship Troopers and only joined to hopefully one day shoot at alien bugs. Guess these are more like home grown critters, but whatever.

With that brazen attitude (and a quick orbital bombardment) the troop ships landed, well, were forced to crash land the final few meters, but whatever electromagnetic warfare these ants were throwing our way didn't account for reinforced alloy armor and hand-held rail guns. Their sharp pincers, acid throwers, and thick carapaces did however.

Actually, fucking hell, they move real fast underground. Uhh...

This isn't looking so good in retrospect. Did they add cockroach DNA in these bastards too? Some of them literally don't care about losing their head, what the fuck!?

Okay, holy shit, abort mission! Good thing we still install regular ignition engines as an added redundancy to the military ships. Not very fast or efficient, but screw you, burn beneath the thrusters. BURN!

*deep breath*

Okay. So. We lost 831 soldiers, and 4625 are injured. And the ant casualties don't matter cuz they're ants. Super mutant ants. Who are going to take over the world if we don't nuke them. Which might not work anyway because HUMAN scientists made them.

Hoisted by our own petard or something.

Right, let's just chalk it up as a... military exercise gone wrong and quarantine the planet. Wait, make that the whole system.

...so this is what it must've felt like to lose the Emu War...

[ikroah]

I have reached the breaking point, the point of no return, it’s very clear to see a fool like me will never, ever learn. I have reached the breaking point, I hear the drums of doom, I’m gonna flip my wig in one great big atomic boom! —“The Breaking Point,” Bobby Darin (1966)

It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin’ #27 - Ring-a-Ding-Ding VI

Collaborative Issue! Guest Artist: @sas-afras

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Read IKROAH on Archive of Our Own

Notes / Transcript:

Notes

Huge thanks to Monty over at @sas-afras for getting this one done! I handled the original layout and lettering, but the rest was all them. Layouts like this can seem simple and easy because of how straight-forward and repetitive they are, but when all you've got are a dozen and one reaction shots, every single one of those reaction shots needs to be as perfect as you can get them. And Monty did a hell of a job. Especially on the coloring! Monty, if you're reading this, you're a hell of a good colorist (on top of everything else). Thanks again!

Another note about this issue is that it, along with the previous one, were some of the most difficult to write in this whole damn comic so far. I really hate repeating in-game dialogue verbatim without good reason, but there's really not much else I could do here. It's a very necessary part of the story that is also literally a part in the game where your character is fixed in place listening to a monologue. I took some liberties, did some punch-up, not just for its own sake but to really drive home what I find most interesting and vital here about Mr. House as a character.

Anyway, Agnes is in trouble. And there's only one issue left in Volume 2! The next one closes out this arc of the story, at long last. Stay tuned.

Transcript

INT. LUCKY 38 BASEMENT. From an observation deck of sorts, AGNES SANDS watches several SECURITRON robots position themselves in a testing area, containing several sandbags, dummies, and makeshift fortifications. A voice booms from an unseen speaker.

MR. HOUSE: You're well familiar with my Securitron police force. But have you ever wondered: what exactly makes them the marquee option in perimeter security and pacification?

AGNES glances in the direction of the voice, uncomfortable.

MR. HOUSE: Well to start, the reinforced titanium alloy housing of each unit, which protects its electronic core, easily deflects small arms and shrapnel.

MR. HOUSE: As for its offensive capabilities, its X-25 gatling laser—produced to spec by Glastinghouse, Inc.—is deadly against soft targets at medium range.

SFX: BZZTZZTZZTZZTZZT

AGNES recoils as a red glow washes over her from the testing area.

MR. HOUSE: And then for close-range suppression or crowd control, the Securitron is also armed with a 9mm sub-machinegun.

SFX: DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA

AGNES shuts her eyes, wincing from the crack of gunfire.

MR. HOUSE: These features have been sufficient for keeping the peace within Vegas, but with the NCR and Legion closing in on Hoover Dam, and sizing up my city like a piece of prize cake, more than ever we need to be prepared for, well...external conflict. Policing is one thing, but when geopolitical powers are involved, my Securitrons can only pose so much of a threat.

MR. HOUSE: That is...if they're forced to rely exclusively on their secondary weapons--as they have been, all this time!

AGNES looks upward, surprised.

MR. HOUSE: Remember, the Great War interrupted a pivotal moment for RobCo's work. Consequently, all extant Securitrons have been stuck, running on a mere Mark I operating system—the first production version of the OS—which has simply lacked the software drivers for the use of their primary weapons all this time!

AGNES looks around, as if HOUSE were in the room somewhere and she could find him, in a panic.

MR. HOUSE: The platinum chip, you see, was never just a token. At a time when industrial espionage ran rampant, it was minted as a high capacity, proprietary, and uniquely irreplicable data storage device. In a way, it's more like a computer chip. And now—with the data from the platinum chip finally installed onto my nextwork—it's time for a very crucial software update. Behold: the new Mark II Securitrons!

AGNES gawks downward at the testing area, eyes wide. Oh no.

MR. HOUSE: Their newly accessible M-235 Missile Launcher gives them the ability to engage ground and air targets at significantly longer ranges...

SFX: PSSSSSHHH KTHOOM THOOM THOOM THOOM

AGNES flinches, covering her face for protecting, and screams as explosions rip apart the testing area below.

MR. HOUSE: ...and their rapid-fire G-28 grenade launching system, another part of the Mark II, makes them much more powerful in close-range engagements as well.

SFX: THMP THMP THMP KRRSSH KRAKTK KABOOM

AGNES, nearly frozen, watches the bombardment with horror.

MR. HOUSE: It also includes rewritten drivers for the Securitrons' auto-repair systems—although always sophisticated, the new optimizations render them inexhaustible in even the most protracted and attritious of engagements. Altogether, the Mark II upgrade confers a 235% total increase in combat effectiveness per unit—and it's all because of you!

AGNES lowers her arm slowly, jaw slack, mortified.

MR. HOUSE: Vegas finally has an army—worthy to protect not just the city itself, but the best interests of all of mankind, at home and abroad. Which is to say: this simple display of might remains a mere teaser for what I can, and what I will, accomplish, in an illustrious new epoch.

AGNES sinks further into a paralytic terror.

MR. HOUSE: What we will accomplish, Agnes—should you accept my offer, of employment. Ah—but I digress. I'm certain that you've had a long day. You can rejoin Miss Cassidy in the presidential suite for the night, if you'd like to, as they say, "sleep on it."

MR. In fact...say for as long as you'd like. However long you may need, to think everything over. And you'll be very well provided for in the meantime, consider it a taste of what could be...should you make the right choice before you.

MR. HOUSE: That reminds me—I've already sent Victor to collect your belongings from the Vault 22 Hotel, so no need to exhaust yourself further by making that trip on your own, hm? There's much about your future to consider, Agnes—and I would like you to think of it as our future.

AGNES stares straight ahead with a deadened expression.

The testing area in the basement has been reduced to smithereens. Fires rage on the rubble of obliterated structures, gnarled steel, and collapsed walkways. The dummies have been dismembered entirely.

MR. HOUSE: ...Goodness, what a mass. With friends like these, I sure wouldn't envy my enemies.

MR. HOUSE: Wouldn't you agree?

[theramseyloft]

What’s your opinion on pigeon racing and flying? Do you think it benefits the health or tractability of a breed or could it ever be done in modest ways without the large aspects of neglect?

Ooh, this is a tough one.

Racing, in particular, is not exclusively for entertainment.

Just like riding horses or running sled dogs isn't.

The races that earn the biggest pot, for example? Supply breeding stock to the parts of the world that still exist where they are depended upon as messengers, and having them or not is still a matter of life and death.

Hell, if anything ever happened to our current means of electronic communication, Racing Homers are very literally the best possible alternative to fall back on, historically tried and tested.

And because their ability to navigate is central to meeting that need, training tosses and actual races are genuine necessities that cannot be replaced by any other means.

So I can't, in good conscience, say that the breed or practice should die out.

That said, GPS trackers are much smaller, cheaper to make, and easier to come by, though I don't know what kind of power they would need to transmit in real time, or if the addition of that would make it too heavy to carry.

If a GPS capable of real time transmission could be made small and light enough for a racing homer to carry without effecting their flight speed, I would love to see them used in tosses and races so that races could be monitored and birds who stop flying either very suddenly during the day or longer than it takes to wait out a night can be recovered.

A volunteer team of spectators would be ideal for that.

I can see some potential down sides to this, like people tracking the birds specifically to take pot shots at them, or trying to find a way to intercept and steal some, but a healthy racing homer's base speed is 60mph, with some sprinting lines clocked at up to 100.

And unless they physically can't, they do not stop until they get back!

The average person isn't going to be able to trap or catch that bird unless something is seriously wrong.

And having the on-the-move flight data in real time would be valuable to racers both for the data itself and as a means to draw spectators.

There isn't an aviary on the planet big enough for the length of sustained flight from which the musculature of the Performing breeds has developed, but we have ways to artificially enhance the immune system: Vaccines.

Natural immune systems develop over generations of survival.

Pathogens adapt to their host by becoming less lethal over time.

No host? No spread. Pathogen population dies out, and that strain becomes a dead end.

Hosts adapt to their pathogens over time by developing more and more aggressive immune responses with each exposure.

Vaccines work by presenting the immune system with the means to identify a pathogen without the damage to the host that would usually happen while the body is trying to organize the response to take it out.

We have vaccines for Paramyxovirus and Paratyphoid. There is an inoculation for Pox.

It would be amazing to have a full vaccine for Pox, not to mention Adenovirus, Circovirus, avian flu, and ornithosis, or if it were possible to vaccinate against protozoa like coccidia and trich.

Honestly, the improvement of medicine is a matter of time and funds.

In the mean time, all we can do is our best to selectively breed hosts with strong immune responses to the pathogens we don't have vaccines for yet.

[dangerousthingobservation]

RARE USAF Convair F-106 Delta Dart Fighter Interceptor Patch Cold War Century

RARE USAF Convair F-106 Delta Dart Fighter Interceptor Patch Cold War Century. This patch is an exact copy of the one Convair awarded to its test pilots and USAF pilots early in the F-106 program. The F-106 all-weather delta wing interceptor was developed from the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger. RARE, beautifully detailed 4" Convair F-106 Delta Dart patch. This patch is an exact copy of the one Convair awarded to its test pilots and USAF pilots early in the F-106 program.  I have yet to see an original for sale and it would certainly cost you hundreds of dollars if you were to find one.  Convair also produced an F-102 version of this patch which is a near mirror copy except for the name obviously and the relatively small differences between the two planes such as the exhaust, intakes, etc.  I also have the F-102 version in my eBay store.   The F-106 all-weather delta wing interceptor was developed from the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger. Originally designated F-102B, it was redesignated F-106 because it had extensive structural changes and a more powerful engine. The first F-106A flew on December 26, 1956, and deliveries to the Air Force began in July 1959. Production ended in late 1960 after 277 F-106As and 63 F-106Bs had been built. The F-106 used a Hughes MA-1 electronic guidance and fire control system. After takeoff, the MA-1 could be given control of the aircraft to fly it to the proper altitude and attack position where it could then fire the Genie and/or Falcon missiles, break off the attack run and return the aircraft to the vicinity of its base. The pilot would take control back for the landing (USAF Museum Fact Sheet).  It was the last of the Century Series fighters unless you count North American's F-107.

[swiftthecardinal]

signas ramble

Signas units have very long, branching retractable antennae that extend from the back of the neck, easily extending their height from 9 feet to 13 feet, if not more. Designed for both sending and receiving data from the advanced transmission system the Stellaris line is renowned for, acting as a literal middleman to amplify, clarify and encrypt communications data. Metadata such as the sender's serial code, location, electronic signature and other information such as time of sending, data type and format is kept intact though some parts can be deleted upon request. Similar data about the Signas and their part in the process is also included in the packet.

However, consciously sent data is not the only sort they process. Lots of general status information is constantly resolved and transmitted so the rest of the hivemind can be aware of how they're doing, often opting to send their current thoughts and feelings. A stellaris squad is no mere group but a unique constellation of minds, sharing each fragment of information and curious thought between all of them, potent attachments both electronically and emotionally forged even in their testing phases, an eternal tandem of one signal after another. One could never guess the constantly oscillating information superhighway from their stoic, professional exteriors. And the Signas is the one who ultimately facilitates all of this, processing power far more useful than just strategising.

[usafphantom2]

Introducing F-21: The Latest 4th Generation Fighter Plane from Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin F-21

Taking its game forward, Lockheed Martin has proposed an improved version of the popular F-16 at Aero India 2019 called the F-21 and claims it will be the most advanced, 4th generation Fighter Aircraft in the world.

Lockheed Martin had earlier offered its F-16 has claimed that the F-21 will be specifically configured for the Indian Air Force and will strengthen India’s path to an advanced airpower future.

An option for new production, the F-21 will have a slew of the latest state of the art technological advancements and improvements that include a new radar system, stealth detection capabilities, and electronics design that add a lot of value to the already iconic aircraft.

F-21 will be based on a proven platform, with a new branding

TATA-Lockheed Martin F-21

“The F-21 is different, inside and out,” said Vivek Lall, vice president of Strategy and Business Development for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

Lockheed Martin has long said it plans to shift its F-16 production lines to India in cooperation with Tata. It has gone so far as to suggest it could establish an F-16 production line in the country regardless of whether it wins the MRCA deal or not.

For years, Lockheed Martin has been lobbying India for MMRCA contract in excess of 100 fighter jets. India traditionally bought its defence technology from and Russia, but recently, it has been buying American military technology, including the P-8 Poseidon and AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.

Now that there is a difficult competition between Lockheed Martin’s F-16, Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the Swedish Gripen, French Rafale, European Eurofighter Typhoon, and Russian MiG-35. Lockheed Martin had to increase the stakes.

F-21 will be nimble, carry decent ordnance, and have lower costs to maintain

Weapon Systems of Lockheed Martin F-21

The F-21 will incorporate an upgraded mission computer, a state of the art avionics and includes multi-function displays. With a Central, Pedestal Display will help improve the crew’s situational awareness through Real-Time processing of the flight data.

In addition, the F-21 will also come with an upgradable display generator, a link-16 data link, HF/UHH/VHF multiple frequency radio communication support as well as IFF (identification friend or foe) enhancements.

The three original computers will be replaced with a single modular mission computer which provides far higher computing power to the avionics and weapons systems in addition to providing accurate targeting, air to air strike performances and information capabilities.

According to Lockheed Martin, the F-21 will be capable of providing affordable and scalable advanced combat capabilities through its Active Electronically Scanned Array radar. The Central Pedestal Display also provides a high-resolution display with colour maps, zoom functionality and Night vision systems, thereby helping to keep the aircraft in an enhanced state of Battle Awareness.

The Aircraft will also be capable of integration with the FLIR laser system and navigation as well as reconnaissance pods. The F-21 is also upgraded with state of the art threat warning systems, jammers, electronic countermeasure equipment pods and chaff and infrared flare dispensers to take care of complex and varied battlefield situations.

What will be the future of F-21?

As of now, the F-21 is just a concept. The F-21 will be tailor-made to meet the requirements of the Indian Airforce and will be a 4.5+ generation fighter if the company wins the estimated $18-billion order for the 115 planes.

Officially known as the “Fighting Falcon” commonly known as the Viper by pilots and crew, The F-16 is one of the most renowned and battle-tested supersonic fighter aircraft in the world. This single engine, multirole aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin (formerly General Dynamics), was developed originally for the United States Air Force and is now regarded as the most successful all-weather multirole fighter aircraft.

Entering into production almost four decades back in 1976, more than 4500 F-16 aircraft have been built and although no more bought by the United States Air Force, improved versions are being built for various export customers.

@defenseaviation.com

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

First steps taken toward developing interstellar lightsails

The idea of traveling through interstellar space using spacecraft propelled by ultrathin sails may sound like the stuff of sci-fi novels. But in fact, a program started in 2016 by Stephen Hawking and Yuri Milner, known as the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative, has been exploring the idea. The concept is to use lasers to propel miniature space probes attached to "lightsails" to reach ultrafast speeds and eventually our nearest star system, Alpha Centauri.

Caltech is leading the worldwide community working toward achieving this audacious goal.

"The lightsail will travel faster than any previous spacecraft, with potential to eventually open interstellar distances to direct spacecraft exploration that are now only accessible by remote observation," explains Harry Atwater, the Otis Booth Leadership Chair of the Division of Engineering and Applied Science and the Howard Hughes Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science at Caltech.

Now, Atwater and his colleagues at Caltech have developed a platform for characterizing the ultrathin membranes that could one day be used to make these lightsails. Their test platform includes a way to measure the force that lasers exert on the sails and that will be used to send the spacecraft hurtling through space. The team's experiments mark the first step in moving from theoretical proposals and designs of lightsails to actual observations and measurements of the key concepts and potential materials.

"There are numerous challenges involved in developing a membrane that could ultimately be used as lightsail. It needs to withstand heat, hold its shape under pressure, and ride stably along the axis of a laser beam," Atwater says. "But before we can begin building such a sail, we need to understand how the materials respond to radiation pressure from lasers. We wanted to know if we could determine the force being exerted on a membrane just by measuring its movements. It turns out we can."

A paper describing the work appears in the journal Nature Photonics. The lead authors of the paper are postdoctoral scholar in applied physics Lior Michaeli and graduate student in applied physics Ramon Gao, both of Caltech.

The goal is to characterize the behavior of a freely moving lightsail. But as a first step, to begin studying the materials and propulsive forces in the lab, the team created a miniature lightsail that is tethered at the corners within a larger membrane.

The researchers used equipment in the Kavli Nanoscience Institute at Caltech and a technique called electron beam lithography to carefully pattern a membrane of silicon nitride just 50 nanometers thick, creating something that looks like a microscopic trampoline.

The mini trampoline, a square just 40 microns wide and 40 microns long, is suspended at the corners by silicon nitride springs. Then the team hit the membrane with argon laser light at a visible wavelength. The goal was to measure the radiation pressure that the miniature lightsail experienced by measuring the trampoline's motions as it moved up and down.

But the picture from a physics perspective changes when the sail is tethered, says co-lead author Michaeli: "In this case, the dynamics become quite complex."

The sail acts as a mechanical resonator, vibrating like a trampoline when hit by light. A key challenge is that these vibrations are mainly driven by heat from the laser beam, which can mask the direct effect of radiation pressure. Michaeli says the team turned this challenge into an advantage, noting, "We not only avoided the unwanted heating effects but also used what we learned about the device's behavior to create a new way to measure light's force."

The new method lets the device act additionally as a power meter to measure both the force and power of the laser beam.

"The device represents a small lightsail, but a big part of our work was devising and realizing a scheme to precisely measure motion induced by long-range optical forces," says co-lead author Gao.

To do that, the team built what is called a common-path interferometer. In general, motion can be detected by the interference of two laser beams, where one hits the vibrating sample and the other traces a rigid location. However, in a common-path interferometer, because the two beams have traveled nearly the same path, they have encountered the same sources of environmental noise, such as equipment operating nearby or even people talking, and those signals get eliminated. All that remains is the very small signal from the motion of the sample.

The engineers integrated the interferometer into the microscope they used to study the miniature sail and housed the device within a custom-made vacuum chamber. They were then able to measure motions of the sail as small as picometers (trillionths of a meter) as well as its mechanical stiffness—that is, how much the springs deformed when the sail was pushed by the laser's radiation pressure.

Since the researchers know that a lightsail in space would not always remain perpendicular to a laser source on Earth, they next angled the laser beam to mimic this and again measured the force with which the laser pushed the mini sail.

Importantly, the researchers accounted for the laser beam spreading out at an angle and therefore missing the sample in some areas by calibrating their results to the laser power measured by the device itself. Yet, the force under those circumstances was lower than expected. In the paper, the researchers hypothesize that some of the beam, when directed at an angle, hits the edge of the sail, causing a portion of the light to get scattered and sent in other directions.

Looking forward, the team hopes to use nanoscience and metamaterials—materials carefully engineered at that tiny scale to have desirable properties—to help control the side-to-side motion and rotation of a miniature lightsail.

"The goal then would be to see if we can use these nanostructured surfaces to—for example—impart a restoring force or torque to a lightsail," says Gao. "If a lightsail were to move or rotate out of the laser beam, we would like it to move or rotate back on its own."

The researchers note that they can measure side-to-side motion and rotation with the platform described in the paper.

"This is an important stepping stone toward observing optical forces and torques designed to let a freely accelerating lightsail ride the laser beam," says Gao.

TOP IMAGE: From interstellar lightsails to laboratory-based lightsail platforms. Credit: Nature Photonics (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41566-024-01605-w

LOWER IMAGE: Multiphysics platform for radiation pressure characterization in optomechanics. Credit: Nature Photonics (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41566-024-01605-w

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OC Introductions - The Starfinder Crew

In order:

Captain Andy Henderson, Co-Pilot of Starfinder One - a seasoned pilot who's been with Mercury for over fifteen years, he's assigned to One's maiden flight alongside Sheridan as he's been one of the craft's many test pilots over the years and is one of the most experienced officers they have, and his skills help to keep the ship in the air long enough for repairs to be carried out after its' sabotaged. In one universe this is by International Rescue and Henderson stays with Mercury for some time - in another, it's by the superb engineering team, and both he and Sheridan are commended for their brave actions, but the experience persuades him to take a step back from active duty, though still very much involved in the Starfinder Programme.

Elen Harper, Chief Engineer of Starfinder One/Four - very highly skilled engineer who was headhunted by Mercury almost a decade ago and who has been part of the space programme from the word go. She knows every inch of the main and back-up components of the ship and she is key to both rescues as she's able to work out how to get every extra second in the little time they have. No nonsense and able to command a room, very few people dare cross her, and she is furious over the sabotage of One, vowing to make sure no one ever gets a chance again.

Marianna di Muro, Crew Member of Starfinder One/Captain of Starfinder Four - as a crewmember she's bright, bubbly, and somehow even more enthusastic than Sheridan, delighted to be working on the ship and thrilled over the opportunity to get others interested in space travel. But she's highly capable in any emergency and able to pilot One if the principal pilots are incapacitated in some way, with a degree in physics and chemistry. As Captain she's much more serious, very much aware of the dangers of the experiemental core powering their ship, and quickly orders the crew to their respective jobs after the meteor strike.

Ashton McDonald, Secondary Engineer on Starfinder One/Communications Officer on Starfinder Four - in both ‘verses has a tendency to be underestimated by people outside of Mercury because of his youthful appearance, but he’s a highly qualified mechanical engineer with a specialisation in communications, and though somewhat gruff with people has a heart of gold underneath. In the early years of the Starfinder Programme his communication skills didn’t get called on much as there were plenty of others able to cover it just as well, but on Four he’s the person in charge of electronics, and while the others race to stabilise the power core he works with Elen to set up a makeshift comms system.

Marcus Valence, Junior Engineer on Starfinder One/Secondary Engineer on Starfinder - very serious even when there isn’t an active emergency going on and is highly dedicated to the work he does, he lives and breathes aircraft of all kinds and it’s been his dream to go into space one day. He gets his chance with Starfinder One and although it soon goes to shit he acquits himself well and plans to remain a member of the principal crew. On Four, he’s working directly under Elen and has an expert knowledge of the proton-fusion core, so he’s the one to go with Sheridan to try and stabilise it.

Taryn Elton, Engineer and Atomic Specialist of Starfinder One

Karl, Engineer on Starfinder One

(Details and picrews to be added!!)

Tagging (let me know if you want to be added or removed): @shrinkthisviolet @starstruckpurpledragon