Baring its teeth for the first time, personal submarine which boasts 'the agility of a dolphin' (but looks more like a killer whale)

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Breaking the waves: The shark-like Seabreacher X can reach surface speeds of 50mph and has the turning style of a dolphin


A mighty beast rises out of the water, ready to pounce on some unsuspecting prey.

The waters of Whiskeytown Lake, in northern California, apparently have a new
master - but on closer inspection this is no killer whale, it's a hi-tech submarine.

Capable of speeding across the water at 50mph, the Seabreacher X is an underwater vessel which boasts 'the agility of a dolphin'.

The most advanced submersible watercraft built by Innespace Marine, the X is a more extreme take on the company’s Seabreacher J model.


Lift-off: The personal submarine is fitted with an onboard camera so passengers can glimpse the world below the waves


According to Innespace Marine, the Seabreacher X comes in an array of largely threatening colours and ‘can sustain high speed dives and then breach the surface, launching the entire vessel clear out of the water.

‘The new fully vectored thrust system mimic the tail articulation of real aquatic animals like sharks and dolphins,’ the website adds.

‘The custom tuned exhaust system also gives the vessel a more throaty growl as it tears across the surface.’


Red roar: The Seabreacher X boasts a custom exhaust for a 'throaty growl'


And if its 260 horsepower supercharged engine and top speeds of 50mph (surface) and 25mph (underwater) weren’t exciting enough, the Seabreacher X has all the modcons of a high-performance car.

It’s got an onboard stereo with an iPod dock, GPS navigation, colour schemes customised to your design and even a snorkel-mounted video camera that transmits live footage to LCD screens for passengers.

Predictably, such power and luxury doesn’t come cheap.

Seabreachers are built to order for a standard price of $65,000 and watersports enthusiasts who want to speed across the surface in a top-of-the-range model can expect to pay around $85,000.

But for such expense, you could own a vehicle that’s, as AOL’s Bradley Hasemeyer put it, ‘about 27 per cent dolphin, 37 per cent shark, 47 per jet boat – and 100 per cent awesome’.


Shark attack: Watersports fans can pay extra to have their Seabreacher X customised




source: dailymail

End of an era: Space shuttle Discovery lands safely back on Earth after its 39th and final mission

By GRAHAM SMITH

Right on schedule: Space shuttle Discovery lands at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, shortly before noon local time today


Nasa vessel touched down on schedule at Kennedy Space Center at 11.57EST (16.57GMT)

Discovery capped a successful 13-day spaceflight with a smooth landing in Florida today, ending a 27-year flying career for the world's most-travelled spaceship.

With commander Steven Lindsey at the controls, Discovery touched down at Kennedy Space Center at 11.57EST (16.57 GMT) to wrap a cargo run and construction mission at the International Space Station (ISS).

Nasa's oldest shuttle swooped through a mostly clear sky to land at its home base and end its 39th mission.


Grounded: Nasa's oldest shuttle swooped through a mostly clear sky to land at its home base and end its 39th mission


Kennedy Space Center was packed with shuttle program workers, journalists and even some schoolchildren eager to see history in the making


'To the ship that has led the way time and time again, we say, "Farewell Discovery",' radioed the Mission Control commentator.

'For the final time: wheels stop,' Commander Lindsey called out as the shuttle rolled to a stop.

Florida's spaceport was packed with shuttle program workers, journalists and even some schoolchildren eager to see history in the making.

The six astronauts on board went through their landing checklists with the bittersweet realisation no one would ever ride Discovery again.

They said during their 13-day space station delivery mission that they expected that to hit them hard when the shuttle came to a stop on the runway.


Setting off: Discovery leaves the ISS on Monday to begin its 39th and final voyage home


A close-up view of the International Space Station from Discovery after the two undocked more than 200 miles above Earth's surface on Monday. During two spacewalks astronauts completed a number of maintenance and installation tasks


Discovery accumulated 365 days in orbit over 39 missions. It will now be prepared for display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

During its final mission, the vessel delivered a combination storage room-research lab to the station, as well as an external platform to house large spare parts.

It also carried tons of supplies and science gear, including a prototype humanoid robot built in partnership with General Motors.

Sister ships Endeavour and Atlantis will have their finales in April and June respectively, delivering the $2billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer particle detector and a year's worth of supplies to the station, a $100billion project of 16 nations that has been under construction 220 miles above Earth since 1998.


This incredible image gives a detailed ISS, the assembly of which began in 1998. It is currently orbiting about 220 miles above the surface of Earth


The $100billion space station, whose span would cover the length of a football field, has been under construction since 1998 and measures 167ft x 358ft x 66ft


Setting off: Discovery, pictured the northern Atlantic Ocean, left the ISS on Monday


At the controls: Commander Steve Lindsey (right) and astronaut Alvin Drew (left) confer on the flight deck


Two other shuttles were destroyed in accidents. Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff on January 28, 1986, killing seven astronauts.

Columbia disintegrated as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere over Texas on February 1, 2003, killing seven more astronauts.

The U.S. is ending the 30-year-old shuttle program due to high operating costs and to free up funds to begin work on new spaceship's that can travel to the moon, asteroids and other destinations beyond the station's orbit.

Congress, however, has not yet allocated funds to start new programs.

The U.S. will now rely on the Russian government to launch astronauts to the space station, although it hopes to eventually buy rides from commercial companies, if any develop the capability.

Cargo runs will be handled by Russia, Europe and Japan, as well as two U.S. firms, Space Exploration Technologies and Orbital Sciences.


Astronaut Michael Barratt watches a water bubble float near him on Discovery's mid-deck (left), while his colleague Eric Boe takes a photo of the ISS on the flight deck


STS-133 Space Shuttle Discovery Lands To Complete Her Final Mission To Space


source : dailymail

The real Up! Scientists recreate floating house from Pixar movie... and prove it really CAN fly

By RACHEL QUIGLEY

Magic: The Up! house which will be part of a new National Geographic TV series called How Hard Can It Be? was 10 stories high, including the balloons. It reached 10,000 feet and flew for about one hour


It was another one of those Disney moments of magic.

When 78-year-old retiree Carl Frederickson's house takes off into the air aided by the help of hundreds of helium balloons in Up!, viewers saw it is a heart-warming moment of pure fiction.

But for some people, it became more than that.


Record: Dozens of volunteers worked around the clock in the Californain desert to get the custom-built house airborne with the aid of 300 eight-foot-high helium balloons


Film: Carl Fredricksen attached the balloons to his house to fulfil his life-long dream of discovering the wild in South America


The team from National Geographic have built a house inspired by the Pixar movie Up! that can really fly.

Using 300 helium-filled weather balloons, a team of scientists, engineers, two balloon pilots and dozens of volunteers, they managed to get the small house 10,000 feet into the air.

Of course it was not a real house, but a custom-built light weight one.
Executive producer Ben Bowie said: 'We found that it is actually close to impossible to fly a real house.'

Producer Ian White added: 'But what we can do is kind of fly a light-weight house and fly it safely with people on board.'


Up!: National Geograhic's house, left, and the Pixar one from the Disney film Up! about an old man's journey to see the great wilds of South America which he travels to in his own house which flies with helium balloons


Up! The house was life-sized and together with the balloons was ten storeys high


Away!: The house and two pilots soared 10,000 feet into the air for more than an hour over the desert


Each of the balloons were eight-feet high and filled with a whole tank of helium.
As well as getting the house to fly, they set a world record for largest cluster balloon flight ever attempted.

The experiment was done as part of a new National Geographic TV series How Hard Can it Be?

The 4.8m x 4.8m x 5.5m house flew across California's High Desert for about an hour with two people inside, just like the Disney Pixar film.

The new series will premier in the autumn.



source: dailymail

12mph step-on-and-go unicycle you can take anywhere

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Balancing act: A user test out the Solowheel, which has a top speed of 12mph and can travel for two hours on a single 45-minute charge


A designer has reinvented the wheel - with the world's smallest self-balancing unicycle.

Suitable for the daily commute or for weekend leisure, the one-wheel machine is powered by a 1,000-watt electric motor that generates a top speed of 12mph.

Users place their feet on a foldable platform either side of the wheel and simply lean forward to move, back to stop and left and right to turn.

The further forward you lean, the faster it goes, and a series of gyroscopes inside ensure the wheel remains perfectly balanced.

The Solowheel can travel for two hours on a single 45-minute charge and can climb hills with an incline of up to 15 per cent.

The rechargeable lithium-ion battery even recaptures energy when going downhill or slowing down.


The one-wheel machine will retail at £975


It was designed and created by Shane Chen, 54, who has created over 30 sports-related products for his company, Inventist.

A spokesman for the firm, based in Washington, U.S., said: 'The Solowheel is the smallest, greenest, most convenient people-mover ever invented.

'Our new self-balancing electric unicycle is more compact and fun to ride than any folding electric bike.

'Because of the gyro-sensors and left and right steering capability, you can literally step on and go - it is easy to learn.

'The Solowheel is very portable and weighs only 20lbs. This allows you to carry your wheel with you into a shop or restaurant, on an elevator, into work, to the cinema, onto a bus or train or into your classroom.

'It eliminates chaining your electric bike up to a bike rack along with others where it may get damaged or even stolen.

'Solowheel provides users with an easy, uncomplicated, straightforward ride.'
The unicycle costs £975 and will be available in the UK from next month.





source: dailymail

And they're off! World's first robot marathon gets off to a shaky start (and the winner crosses the line after a leisurely 55 hours)

By GAVIN ALLEN

Victory: Robovie PC won the world's first full-length marathon for two-legged robots in Osaka, western Japan


As athletics events go it was hardly the most graceful start to a race ever witnessed.

In what you might call a staggered start the 'runners' more closely resembled drunks stumbling out of a pub at closing time than the next generation of Usain Bolts or Linford Christies.

While top athletes' bodies are often compared to highly-tuned machines, the world's first ever robot marathon somewhat turned that idea on its head.



On your marks: The robo runners await starters orders


As the starting gun went one contestant stood at the start line rooted to the stop, while another tottered forward a couple of steps before promptly falling on his face.

The event, which started two days ago, is still under way in Osaka, Western Japan, but it seems our top athletes shouldn't fear being replaced by more efficient robots just yet.

The fastest human marathon ever completed took just two hours, three minutes and 59 seconds, a record set by Ethiopian running legend Haile Gebrselassie on September 28, 2008. The average time for completing a marathon is 4 hours 30 minutes for men and 5 hours 10 minutes for women.


Are we there yet? Five robots tried to complete 422 laps around a 100-meter indoor racetrack to cover 26 miles


But the winner of the race, Robovie PC, took a slightly more leisurely time of 54 hours, 57 minutes and 50.26 seconds.

In total five two-legged robot entrants went under starters orders on Thursday but some are not expected to complete the requisite 26 miles until Sunday, when their human counterparts run in the popular Tokyo marathon.


Radio controlled: Osaka Institute of Technology student Kazumasa Shibata steers his team's robot while, right, Team Vstone's Takuro Imagawa adjusts eventual winner Robovie PC during the race


Whizz kids: Two of the teams comprised students of Osaka Institute of Technology


The 12in tall, battery-charged robots are competing 422 laps around an indoor 100-metre oval race track and the start was a true sporting spectacle.

On their marks, the robots bent their metal knees, stretched steel arms and gave the general impression that they were ready to take running to a whole new level.

But when the gun sounded you could have been forgiven for thinking that the robots had been programmed to believe they were taking part in a famous Monty Python sketch - the Silly Olympiad, which included a race for people with no sense of direction.


In full flight: The robots tackled the distance at a slow and steady pace


Salute: Robovie PC waves to the crowd after his moment of triumph


Not all the robo-runners were able to 'run' in the right direction from the starting line, some didn't move at all while one paused and then fell straight on its metal face, although it impressively stood up again courtesy of a clearly much-needed self-righting mechanism.

Two entrants from the Osaka University of Engineering's teams got off to a shaky start and it was the Vstone droids that performed best, providing the eventual winner.

Vstone chief executive Nobuo Yamato hopes the event will become international in the future.





source: dailymail

The final journey of Discovery: After months of delays, Nasa's oldest space shuttle blasts into orbit one last time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xahJylc-LSIendofvid


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By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Making history: Discovery blasts off with a roar at Cape Canaveral today


Shuttle's 39th and final flight lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 4.50pm local time (9.50pm GMT)

After 143million miles and nearly a year in orbit, space shuttle Discovery has blasted off for the last time.

Tens of thousands witnessed history in the making from the Florida launch site. Countless more watched from surrounding towns. Roads leading into Kennedy Space Center were jammed.

Discovery should reach the space station Saturday. It will deliver a compartment full of supplies as well as the first humanoid robot to fly in space.


Into the night: The shuttle can be seen roaring towards the edges of space after lift-off today


One last time: Thousands gathered at Cape Canaveral to witness Discovery's last journey


The launch took place just after the scheduled 4.50pm local time (9.50pm GMT), Fuelling began shortly after sunrise.

This time, Nasa is confident that no hydrogen gas will leak and no cracks will develop in the fuel tank.

Both those problems cropped up during the initial countdown in November and the repairs took almost four months.

Discovery will head to the International Space Station (ISS) with a crew of six, as well as a load of supplies and a humanoid robot.

This will be the 39th flight for Nasa's oldest surviving shuttle, which first blasted off in 1984.

It promises to be a sentimental journey for the six astronauts assigned to the mission, as well as the supporting cast of thousands who have painstakingly prepared the world's most travelled rocketship.


Lift off: The space shuttle Discovery blasts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida,this afternoon for the very last time


Once more, Nasa's fleet leader is paving a new road, one that leads to shuttle retirement and an uncertain future for the U.S. space program.

When Discovery returns from the ISS, it will be the first of the three surviving shuttles to be decommissioned this year and shipped off to a museum, in this case the Smithsonian Institution.

But the end of the 30-year shuttle program is still months down the road.

For now, Nasa prefers to focus on Discovery's last hurrah, an 11-day mission to deliver a bundle of space station supplies and an experimental humanoid robot that will become the first of its kind in space.


Emotional last journey: Tens of thousands of people gathered near Cape Canaveral to watch the shuttle's final launch


Nasa spokesman Charles Bolden said: 'Discovery is the most flown spacecraft in history.

'People don't understand. They say it matter-of-factly. There is no other multi-flown spacecraft than the shuttle.'

It's been an uncharacteristically bumpy exit for Discovery.

Fuel tank cracks - one of the most challenging problems to strike the shuttles - cropped up during the initial countdown in early November.

It took until January for Nasa to understand the cracking in the centre portion of the tank that holds instruments, and to be assured the repairs would work.

Then last month, the lead spacewalker was injured in a bicycle crash and had to be replaced on the crew.

Launch director Mike Leinbach said Discovery has been 'a great ship... an amazing machine'.

'This is her 39th mission,' he said yesterday. 'We'd have quite a few left in her had the program been extended, but it wasn't.'

'Landing day is going to be tough,' he noted, as will landing day be for shuttle Endeavour in the spring and especially for shuttle Atlantis in the summer.


On our way: The Discovery's astronauts leave crew quarters for the launch pad ahead of its 39th and final flight


Team effort: Commander Steve Lindsey (front row, right) leads the crew followed by pilot Eric Boe (front, left) and back row, left to right, mission specialists Alvin Drew, Nicole Stott, Steve Bowen and Mike Barratt


Revealed: Discovery awaits lift-off at Kennedy Space Center in Florida last night after its rotating service structure (left) is moved away


Mr Leinbach expects there to be a lot of choked up people on the runway 'because it's the end of a 30-year program that not only have we worked in... but we've grown to love and appreciate and feel like we're doing something special for the country and really the world.'


Nasa's finest: The Discovery crew is (from left) Steve Lindsey, Eric Boe, Steve Bowen, Alvin Drew, Michael Barratt and Nicole Stott


Discovery has long been a favourite at Nasa, at least unofficially.

The oldest of the surviving shuttles that first flew in 1984, Discovery carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit in 1990, returned Mercury astronaut John Glenn to space at age 77, and got Nasa flying again after the Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters.

To mark the historic nature of the flight, the six astronauts are taking up a medallion from the Royal Society that was struck in honour of 18th century British explorer James Cook. His ships included the Discovery, one of the exploring vessels after which the shuttle was named.

The future, as outlined by the White House, involves turning orbital rides over to private companies in order to free Nasa up for grander outer space travel. Asteroids and Mars are on the must-see list.

Launch manager Mike Moses said yesterday: 'We're still working on the what's next part.'

The new approach is neither good nor bad, he stressed: 'We can't keep doing what we're doing with the budgets we have, so this is the new future.'

As long as the space shuttles keep flying, the U.S. government can't invest enough money in a successor spaceship, said White House science adviser John Holdren.


Long history: Discovery's robot arm holds the Hubble Space Telescope some 380miles above Earth in 1990


Debut: Discovery blasts off from Kennedy Space Center on its first flight, STS-41-D, on August 30, 1984


He said last week: 'We need to move toward a more modern, more efficient and safer way to get our astronauts in low Earth orbit.'

Mr Bolden, a former astronaut, said his number one priority, for now, is getting the last three shuttle missions flown safely.

He expects to be 'crying like a baby' when Atlantis makes the final landing of the final flight.


Discovery's last flight



source: dailymail [endtext]