The XTI Aircraft Company includes an aviation industry A-list group of founders and engineers who intend to develop a vertical take-off and landing aircraft called the Trifan 600. As seen below, the vehicle has three ducted fans to provide vertical lift. During horizontal flight the center fan is covered while the other two fans tilt and drive the vehicle forward at up to 400 mph (640 kmh).
Here is a video about the vehicle:
To guage interest in the project, they have opened an equity crowdfunding campaign at StartEngine Crowdfunding. This involves eventual purchase of shares in the company, not contributing money for a perk as with Kickstarter or Indiegogo projects.
A big advantage of an electric car is that you can top off the battery every night with a garage charger. Of course, that means you have to remember to plug it in every evening. Tesla Motors shows off a prototype robotic system to automatically connect a charger to a Tesla whenever it is parked in the garage:
Elon Musk on Twitter: “Tesla Snakebot autocharger prototype. Does seem kinda wrong :)”
Below is a NASA video and article about protein growth in microgravity. (Note that a Schering Plough protein crystal experiment carried out on Shuttle Columbia’s last flight led directly to a treatment for Hepatitis-C: Space KSC: I’m a Doctor, Not an Astronaut – Space KSC) :
In one of many direct Earth applications ofInternational Space Station research, the newestBenefits for Humanity video in theBenefits serieshighlights how high-quality crystals grown in microgravity lead to new therapeutics for disease. Learn how the investigation of protein crystals in space is helping to treat Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), an incurable genetic disorder affecting the muscles with onset usually in early childhood and primarily in young males.
Research into a disease like DMD involves the study of the structure of associated proteins by crystallization, which helps researchers better understand protein function. This comprises making millions of copies of that protein and arranging them in three-dimensional rows. Crystals grown on Earth are impacted by gravity, which may affect the way the molecules align on the surface of the crystal. Researchers have discovered that growing crystals aboard the space station allows for slower growth and higher quality crystals.
In microgravity, crystals grow more slowly, but the molecules have time to more perfectly align on the surface of the crystal which returns much better research data. Credits: NASA
Since 2003, scientists with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency have conducted protein crystal growth investigations on the space station, including proteins associated with DMD. Having a better understanding of the protein’s shape enabled researchers to design a drug that fits specifically into a location on the protein associated with DMD. The research team estimates that the drug may be able to slow the progression of DMD by half.
“Studying this protein led to a huge discovery,” said Dr. Yoshihiro Urade, Ph.D., professor at the University of Tsukuba in Tsukuba, Japan. “What we’re talking about is potentially doubling the lifespan of many DMD patients, and it’s all because of research opportunities afforded to us by the International Space Station.”
With many other protein crystal growth studies occurring or planned aboard the space station, many thousands of other proteins’ structures could be determined. This is yet another way the orbiting laboratory is enabling research Off the Earth, For the Earth
![campaign_image%209[1]](https://i0.wp.com/hobbyspace.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/campaign_image-91.png)
![Image_35[1]](https://i0.wp.com/hobbyspace.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Image_351.png)
![campaign_image%2032_v2[1]](https://i0.wp.com/hobbyspace.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/campaign_image-32_v21.jpg)
![earth-microgravity_0[1]](https://i0.wp.com/www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/earth-microgravity_0.jpg)
