Microsemi SoC is well known for its wide range of radiation-tolerant FPGA offerings, which include the following:

• RTSX-SU: High-reliability, rad-tolerant, antifuse-based FPGAs. 
   
• RTAX-S: High-performance, high-density, low-power consumption FPGAs that are specifically designed for space applications. 
   
• RTAX-DSP: Space-flight FPGAs based on the tried-and-trusted RTAX-S family augmented with rad-tolerant multiply-accumulate DSP blocks. 
   
• RT ProASIC3 FPGAs: Flash-based, rad-tolerant FPGAs targeted at low-power apace applications. 
   
• RTG4: High-speed flash-based FPGAs targeted at signal processing applications.

One problem for designers is that these devices are not cheap. I know several folks working on space applications who have told me about the moment of panic that occurs just before they power-up a new prototype board for the first time. It’s bad enough to blow up a regular FPGA, but it really makes your eyes water when you smoke a space-rated device.

In order to address this issue and to facilitate lower-cost prototyping and design validation activities, the folks at Microsemi SoC offer “RT-PROTO” versions of their RTSX-SU, RTAX-S, RTAX-DSP, and RT ProASIC3 FPGAs. Now there’s a new kid on the block — the RT-PROTO version of their RTG4 FPGAs.

Launched in 2015, RTG4 FPGAs bring new capabilities to the space market and help solve a variety of challenges common to space applications, including satellite signal processing congestion. In addition to satellite applications, RTG4 FPGAs are ideal for space launch vehicles, planetary orbiters and landers, and deep space probes.

RTG4 PROTO FPGAs

Article source: http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1330063

Warbirds! It’s time to take flight once again. And for many model plane enthusiasts, getting ready to do this may be just a little different these days. As with so many processes, 3D printing has had a hand here too, streamlining, as well as adding speed, affordability, and a new level of quality. While you will probably still see the hobbyist tinkering at a table in the home workshop, that may be just long enough to glue parts together after they’ve come off the 3D printer. Companies like 3D LabPrint have had a lot to do with this, and previously we’ve taken a ride through history with mini-aircraft like their 3D printed RC Spitfire, the P51-D Mustang, and the Thunderbolt.

Founder Stepan Dokoupil, a Czech Republic-based designer, as well as an architect and pilot, has just informed us that now, rather than a new plane, their latest product centers around accentuating the Messerschmitt Bf 109T with a landing gear conversion kit.

The Messerschmitt Bf 109T model.

“This is another interesting extension for 3D printers and pilots who have a paved landing strip at their airfield,” Dokoupil told 3DPrint.com. “We were look[ing] for a light, cheap, simple and robust solution, and after a long development phase and flight tests we can say, this is it.”

This is still a work in progress according to Dokoupil, who states on the website that

Article source: https://3dprint.com/141171/3d-labprint-landing-gear-kit/

David Chvatal Bond
Notre Dame High School Class of 1956

Back in the forties, our family, the Chvatal’s, lived at 112 West 3rd St. in Cresco, next to the Lutheran Church.

Just south was the poultry house (I don’t recall its official name) that processed eggs and chickens. Chickens were killed and hung on a moving conveyer, de-feathered and processed as they moved along. Eggs were checked with some sort of light device and put into wooden boxes made on site. There were scores of wire cages holding chickens being fed and awaiting their fate inside the plant.

At the rear of the plant was a ladder that we kids would climb and roam around the upstairs level, where there was a maze of wood material and a machine for making egg crates. I am sure we caught heck for wandering around up there.

The outside area toward the back was wet and swampy and a long, straight weed of some sort grew there. We used to play “cowboys and Indians” and pulled these dead “spears” out of the ground and threw them at each other. It’s a wonder someone didn’t lose an eye.

My father, John Chvatal, owned and operated the West End Grocery in partnership with Dick Fencl. It was located right across from the Cresco Waterworks along Highway 9. You could say it was the original “Kwik Trip” since they were open on Sundays. Later he owned and operated the U-Save Grocery Store in partnership with Shorty Wentworth.

After he sold

Article source: http://www.crescotimes.com/articles/2016/07/07/news/doc577bbae337f0c166498940.txt

So what is it about 2016 that’s spelled a death knell for so many stars? It seems there’s never been a year where so many icons have died in such record numbers, and in such rapid succession. What’s sadder still, is that the year is only half over, and this chilling roll call of lost luminaries is so lengthy already. In many cases, these are legendary figures, artists who have made an indelible impression on both out music and our culture overall. There’s no point, practical or otherwise, to hold back our homage. Here then, is a list of musicians and some of their more memorable moments, from the earliest to the last…

David Bowie (1/8/47 -1/10/16) –– Bowie’s death is still hard to process, given the indelible impact he had not only on music, but also on fashion, film, theater and the arts in general. From his early days as an androgynous seducer and his alter ego Ziggy Stardust, through to his incarnations as the Thin White Duke and the cool crooner of his later years, Bowie was always one step ahead of the competition. A master of both style and substance, he epitomized the expression “one of a kind.”

Guy Clark (11/6/41 -5/17/16) –– For a prolific musician who can boast approximately two dozen albums and a career spanning nearly four decades, Guy

Article source: http://www.glidemagazine.com/165060/deaths/

The aviation industry accounts for 2 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, which could reach 3 percent by 2050. To defy this version of the future, industry leaders have set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2020 and to halve emissions by 2050.

When it comes to airplanes, that hinges on fossil fuel use. Boeing is targeting this concern in its work toward efficiency in its products, with 75 percent of Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ RD contributing to fuel efficiency. But the holy grail for Boeing is a “drop-in sustainable aviation biofuel” that could provide an estimated 50 to 80 percent emissions reduction.

As the managing director of environmental strategy and integration at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Julie Felgar is leading this effort to reduce emisions. She also works with policy, interfacing with Boeing’s government relations operations in Washington, D.C., and with other countries.

Felgar describes her external engagement as working closely with Boeing’s competitors in the aeronautic space. “This is an issue where all boats go up on a rising tide,” she said. This interview was edited for clarity and length.

Sureya Melkonian: You were working in international relations and policy at Boeing before your current position. Why did you make the switch to sustainability?

Julie Felgar: I did work in the Washington, D.C., office of Boeing as the director of international operations and policy. I was primarily focused on the Latin America and the Asia region, and all of the business that we were doing in that area.

When Boeing commercial airplanes really started to focus on what

Article source: https://www.greenbiz.com/article/boeings-julie-felgar-sustainability-craft

Article source: http://www.republic-online.com/news/local_news/article_ad72c0e5-0197-535f-aa51-d8273d344208.html