NASA’s Ingenuity Helicopter Needs a Flight Control Software Update Before First Flight on Mars
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https://scitechdaily.com ^
| APRIL 13, 2021 | By NASA
The Ingenuity team has identified a software solution for the command sequence issue identified on Sol 49 (April 9) during a planned high-speed spin-up test of the helicopter’s rotors. Over
the weekend, the team considered and tested multiple potential solutions to this issue, concluding that minor modification and reinstallation of Ingenuity’s flight control software is the most robust path forward. This software update will modify the process by which the two flight controllers boot up, allowing the hardware and software to safely transition to the flight state. Modifications to the flight software are being independently reviewed and validated today and...
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Historic First Flight of Mars Helicopter Delayed by NASA – Here’s Why
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https://scitechdaily.com ^
| APRIL 11, 2021 | By NASA
Based on data from the Ingenuity Mars helicopter that arrived late Friday night, NASA has chosen to reschedule the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s first experimental flight to no earlier than April 14. During
a high-speed spin test of the rotors on Friday, the command sequence controlling the test ended early due to a “watchdog” timer expiration. This occurred as it was trying to transition the flight computer from ‘Pre-Flight’ to ‘Flight’ mode. The helicopter is safe and healthy and communicated its full telemetry set to Earth. Ingenuity Begins to Spin Its Blades NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter does a slow spin test of...
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Historic First Flight of Mars Helicopter Delayed by NASA – Here’s Why (now will fly no earlier than Apr14)
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SciTechDaily ^
| 4/11/2021
Based on data from the Ingenuity Mars helicopter that arrived late Friday night, NASA has chosen to reschedule the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s first experimental flight to no earlier than April 14. During
a high-speed spin test of the rotors on Friday, the command sequence controlling the test ended early due to a “watchdog” timer expiration. This occurred as it was trying to transition the flight computer from ‘Pre-Flight’ to ‘Flight’ mode. The helicopter is safe and healthy and communicated its full telemetry set to Earth. The watchdog timer oversees the command sequence and alerts the system to any potential issues....
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Mars helicopter Ingenuity performs well before first flight
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UPI ^
| 07 April 2021 | ByPaul Brinkmann
NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity is seen on the planet's surface on Monday, the 45th Martian day of the Perseverance rover mission. Photo
courtesy of NASA ORLANDO, Fla., April 7 (UPI) -- NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity, the first powered aircraft on another planet, is free of the Perseverance rover that carried it and appears to be functioning well ahead of its first flight on Sunday, the space agency said. NASA plans to broadcast the results of that first flight at 3:30 a.m. EDT Monday after the helicopter transmits data and images to Perseverance, which will send them back to Earth. The...
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NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Survives First Frigid Martian Night on Its Own
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SciTechDaily ^
| 06 April 2021
Making it through the frigid Martian temperatures after being deployed by NASA's Perseverance rover is a major milestone for the small rotorcraft...The sole mission of Ingenuity, a technology demonstration, is to conduct flight tests in the thin atmosphere of Mars; the helicopter carries no science instruments. [Photo
in Comment #1]
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NASA's Mars helicopter is slowly unfolding beneath the Perseverance rover
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Space.com ^
| 3/30/21 | Elizabeth Howell
NASA's Mars helicopter is slowly unfolding beneath the Perseverance rover By Elizabeth Howell 30 March 2021 NASA's Perseverance rover is slowly getting ready to deploy the first helicopter on Mars even as it takes a look back at the litter it's dropping on the Red Planet.The rover, which was carefully sterilized on
Earth to avoid contaminating Mars with microbes, dropped a protective debris shield onto the planet's surface on March 21. The shield is no longer needed as it was designed to protect Ingenuity during the "seven minutes of terror" landing in February.An image from the WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic...
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Czech Republic’s richest man, Petr Kellner, killed in Alaska helicopter crash
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New York Post ^
| March 29, 2021 | Lee Brown
The Czech Republic’s richest man, billionaire investor Petr Kellner, was one of five people killed in a helicopter crash in Alaska, officials have confirmed. The
56-year-old founder of investment group PPF was among four passengers on a heli-ski tour who died alongside their pilot Saturday near Knik Glacier northeast of Anchorage, Alaska State Troopers said. “An unbelievable tragedy,” said Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, who offered “sincere condolences” to Kellner’s wife, Renata, and his four children.
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Feds Confiscate Guns in Flathead Valley With 30 Vehicles, Three Tanks, and Helicopter
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Montana Daily Gazette ^
| March 15, 2021 | PUBLISHER
Heretofore ignored by the legacy press and mainstream media, in February, federal authorities invaded a neighborhood in the Flathead Valley with militarized police and terrorized its occupants with what appears to be Waco-level tyrannical overreach. In
1992, a federal siege occurred in Boundary County, Idaho, at a location known as Ruby Ridge. The eleven-day siege lasted from August 21-31 and resulted in the deaths of one U.S. Marshall, and the wife and son of Randy Weaver, the target of the siege. This event captured the attention of the nation. To secure the land around this seven-person home composed of three...
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Homemade Helicopter by 102 year old Boeing Engineer
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https://youtu.be/oB9EYOtCOYs ^
| Mar 9, 2021 | Carson Thompson
Incredible, any rotary-wing aviators here?Homemade Helicopter by 102 year old Boeing Engineer
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French Billionaire Politician Olivier Dassault Killed in Helicopter Crash
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Reuters ^
| MARCH 7, 2021
French billionaire Olivier Dassault was killed on Sunday in a helicopter crash, a police source said, with President Emmanuel Macron paying tribute to the 69-year old conservative politician. Dassault
was the eldest son of late French billionaire industrialist Serge Dassault, whose namesake Dassault Aviation, builds the Rafale war planes and owns Le Figaro newspaper. “Olivier Dassault loved France. Captain of industry, lawmaker, local elected official, reserve commander in the air force: during his life, he never ceased to serve our country, to value its assets. His sudden death is a great loss. Thoughts on his family and loved ones,” Macron...
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French billionaire politician Olivier Dassault killed in helicopter crash
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Reuters ^
| 3-7-21 | Reuters Staff
PARIS (Reuters) - French billionaire Olivier Dassault was killed on Sunday in a helicopter crash, a police source said, with President Emmanuel Macron paying tribute to the 69-year old conservative politician. Dassault
was the eldest son of late French billionaire industrialist Serge Dassault, whose namesake Dassault Aviation, builds the Rafale war planes and owns Le Figaro newspaper. “Olivier Dassault loved France. Captain of industry, lawmaker, local elected official, reserve commander in the air force: during his life, he never ceased to serve our country, to value its assets. His sudden death is a great loss. Thoughts on his family and...
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Astronomy Picture of the Day - Ingenuity: A Mini-Helicopter Now on Mars
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APOD.NASA.gov ^
| 2 Mar, 2021 | Illustration Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Mars 2020 - Perseverance
Explanation: What if you could fly around Mars? NASA may have achieved that capability last month with the landing of Perseverance, a rover which included a small flight-worthy companion called Ingenuity, nicknamed Ginny. Even though Ginny is small -- a toaster-sized helicopter with four long legs and two even-longer (1.2-meter) rotors, she
is the first of her kind -- there has never been anything like her before. After being deployed, possibly in April, the car-sized Perseverance ("Percy") will back away to give Ginny ample room to attempt her unprecedented first flight. In the featured artistic illustration, Ginny's long rotors are...
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Kobe Bryant helicopter pilot had spatial disorientation in deadly crash: NTSB
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Fox Television 11 Los Angeles ^
| February 9, 2021 | Kelli Johnson
WASHINGTON - The National Transportation Safety Board revealed the likely cause of the deadly helicopter crash that took the lives of nine Southern California residents, including NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter on Tuesday. During Tuesday’s board meeting, the NTSB was critical of veteran pilot Ara Zobayan's actions in the
final moments of the flight from when the aircraft entered the Van Nuys airspace to when it collided with the hilly terrain in Calabasas. "There were opportunities along the way to have reversed the course and prevented this crash by simply landing," NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said. In...
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3 Idaho Army National Guard members killed in helicopter crash
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https://www.krem.com ^
| Updated: 8:54 AM PST February 3, 2021 | Staff
The pilots were on a routine training flight when their Black Hawk helicopter went down near Lucky Peak. BOISE, Idaho — Three pilots with the Idaho Army National Guard were killed Tuesday night when their helicopter went down near Boise. The UH-60 Black Hawk crashed south of Lucky Peak just after 8
p.m. Tuesday. The three guard members were participating in a routine training flight, officials say. “This is a tremendous loss to the Idaho National Guard and our community,” said Maj. Gen. Michael Garshak, adjutant general of Idaho and commander of the Idaho National Guard. “Our thoughts and prayers...
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Bakersfield Man Indicted for Laser Strikes on Sheriff Helicopter
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justice.gov ^
| January 25, 2021 | U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of California
FRESNO, Calif. — Andrew Nathan Hernandez, 18, of Bakersfield, was arrested today for aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.According to court documents, on Dec. 26, 2020, Hernandez aimed the beam of a laser pointer at the Kern County Sheriff’s helicopter Air-1. Hernandez is scheduled to
be arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe on Tuesday, Jan. 26.This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bakersfield Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar is prosecuting the case.If convicted, Hernandez faces...
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Witless Ape Rides Helicopter
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National Review ^
| January 20, 2021 | KEVIN D. WILLIAMSON
Memo to MAGA and all its myriad fellow-travelers: Maybe Death of a Salesman as presented by Leni Riefenstahl just wasn’t the show Americans were dying to tune into this season. And,
while we’re at it, maybe turning your party over to Generalissimo Walter Mitty, his hideous scheming spawn, and the studio audience from Hee-Haw was not just absolutely aces as a political strategy. Think on it, Cletus. I know this whole thing still sounds like your idea of a good time — how’s that working out for you? Let me refresh your memory: On the day Donald Trump was sworn...
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Three National Guard members killed in helicopter crash in upstate New York
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NY Post ^
| 20 January 2021 | Elizabeth Elizalde
Three National Guard members were killed when a military helicopter crashed in upstate New York Wednesday evening, officials said. The
aircraft, a UH-60 medical evacuation helicopter, was on a routine mission when it crashed in Mendon, a rural town near Rochester, around 6:30 p.m., according to the New York National Guard.
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Why ‘Helicopter Money’ Won't Help Us Out of This Mess
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American Thinker ^
| 01/19/2021 | John Horvat II
Imagine getting up one morning and finding helicopters hovering over the neighborhood. They
are showering down cash on the community. All one has to do is go and pick up an allotted amount. Such a prospect might seem too good to be true. However, in these chaotic times, it might become the new normal.The concept is called helicopter money. Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman coined the term in 1969 to envisage how sudden increases in money supply universally distributed would affect spending and saving. His conclusions were not favorable. No one took it seriously at the time. Everyone agreed that...
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Air-Ambulance Company Agrees To Pay $825,000 To Settle Claims For Operating A Helicopter With "Severely Corroded" Parts
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justice.gov ^
| November 20, 2020 | U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Colorado
DENVER – United States Attorney Jason R. Dunn announced that Air Methods Corporation has agreed to pay $825,000 to settle a civil case alleging that the company violated Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) regulations by operating an emergency-services helicopter with severely corroded pitot tubes. Pitot
tubes are components of the pressure measurement system used to determine airspeed. If a pitot tube is not functioning properly, it can cause the airspeed reflected on a helicopter’s instruments to vary significantly from the actual airspeed, cause the helicopter’s auto-pilot to disengage, and present serious safety concerns.Air Methods, headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado, is the...
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Hollywood Man Arrested on Federal Charge Alleging He Recklessly Operated a Drone that Crashed into and Damaged LAPD Helicopter
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justice.gov ^
| November 19, 2020 | U.S. Attorney’s Office Central District of California
LOS ANGELES – Special agents with the FBI this morning arrested a Hollywood man on a federal charge alleging that he recklessly operated a drone that crashed into a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter. The
drone damaged the LAPD aircraft and the pilot was forced to initiate an emergency landing. The drone also damaged a vehicle when the unmanned aircraft fell from the sky after the crash. Andrew Rene Hernandez, 22, was arrested pursuant to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday that charges him with one count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft. According to the complaint filed in...
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