An aircraft powered by a megawatt-class hybrid-electric engine developed in collaboration with NASA and built by GE Aerospace, demonstrated flight of an innovation that can inform new generations of fuel-saving aircraft power systems.

Mounted to a Saab 340B aircraft, the engine flew at Farnborough International Air Show in the United Kingdom. It was the public debut of a system that has in recent months made historic test flights, becoming the first hybrid electric-powered aircraft to fly above 30,000 feet.

“This achievement reflects what NASA does best in aeronautics: we explore bold possibilities, validate them through rigorous research and testing, and work with industry to turn breakthrough ideas into technologies that bring real value for the American people,” said Laurie Grindle, director of the Aeronautics Division within the agency’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

The testing leveraged work done through NASA’s former Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project and the agency’s ongoing Subsonic Vehicle Technologies and Tools project – years of collaborative research that included key testing at NASA test facilities. 

The engine integrates electric motors, a gas turbine, and energy storage capabilities. It was designed to demonstrate the capacity to power an aircraft around the size of a regional-class jet, reducing fuel burn and costs without sacrificing performance. The unit’s technology and designs are expected to be used to help develop future hybrid systems that could lower airline operating costs. 

The demonstration flight came after years of rapid development for the technology. For NASA, it also validates work that stretches back to a time when hybrid aviation propulsion seemed almost beyond the horizon of possibility.

“This is the culmination of more than 15 years of work, and we did that because it’s going to have an impact for aircraft that will help reduce energy use and help U.S. companies and the public,” said Ralph Jansen, aerospace engineer at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. “It’s about having a vision that no one believes can happen and then doing the work to define and execute the research and development needed to make it happen.”  

This accomplishment was possible because of the collaborative effort of hundreds of people working on Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration and Subsonic Vehicle Technologies and Tools projects across NASA centers, in conjunction with GE Aerospace and its partner companies.

Hybird-Electric Evolves

In recent years, aviation has seen a boom in small aircraft and drones powered by electrical systems drawing from batteries. But large passenger and cargo planes require complex engines capable of supplying massive amounts of power. So more than a decade ago when NASA began contemplating hybrid systems, just the possibility of using electric motors to supplement some energy was a daunting engineering challenge. 

NASA spent about seven years performing preliminary research, working with small businesses and other partners to consider technological obstacles and the potential commercial viability of hybrid systems. During that time, the agency addressed several barriers to implementation including the power, thermal, and battery technology, and the integration of the power system, engine, and aircraft.

Through the agency’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration award, GE Aerospace and NASA worked with researchers to develop lighter and more efficient power systems and shrink key components – sometimes dramatically. 

NASA and GE Aerospace also leveraged agency facilities and resources to further their research. In 2022, GE Aerospace tested an integrated version of its propulsion system at NASA’s Electric Aircraft Testbed at the agency’s Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Testing allowed the system to operate in conditions simulating 45,000 feet in altitude, the range in which commercial single-aisle aircraft fly. 

The team added components, including electric motors, power converters, propellers, and a GE Aerospace commercial engine, followed by more ground tests and eventual flight tests. For the researchers who’d spent years on the concept, seeing the engine powering an aircraft in flight was a major step in a long journey.

“I’ve got to say, I was pretty touched seeing it fly. It was just awesome,” Jansen said.  “It’s just like a regular plane, which is probably the best thing of all.”

NASA’s current support for this research is through the Aeronautics Division of its Research and Technology Mission Directorate.

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NASA and its partners will discuss the upcoming crew rotation mission to the International Space Station during a pair of news conferences on Monday, Aug. 3, from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Mission leadership will provide an overview of NASA’s SpaceX Crew‑13 mission at 12 p.m. EDT. Next, crew members will discuss their training and mission preparations at 2 p.m. This is Crew-13’s final media availability prior to traveling to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch.

NASA will stream these events live. Learn where to watch online:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

The Crew-13 mission will carry NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov to the orbiting laboratory. The crew will launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida no earlier than mid-September.

International media attending in person must email the NASA Johnson newsroom at jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov by 5 p.m., Tuesday, July 21. United States-based media attending in person must respond by 5 p.m., Thursday, July 30. Media joining virtually must respond by 10 a.m. the day of the event. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online.

Briefing participants are as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):

12 p.m.: Mission Overview News Conference

• Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator, Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
• Dana Weigel, manager, Low Earth Orbit Program, NASA Johnson
• Mathieu Caron, director, Astronauts, Life Sciences, and Space Medicine, CSA
• Julianna Scheiman, director, NASA Science and Dragon Programs, SpaceX

2 p.m.: Crew-13 News Conference

• Jessica Watkins, commander, NASA
• Luke Delaney, pilot, NASA
• Joshua Kutryk, mission specialist, CSA
• Sergey Teteryatnikov, mission specialist, Roscosmos

Following the news conference, crew members will be available for limited media interviews. All interview requests must be submitted by 5 p.m. on July 30, to the NASA Johnson newsroom at: jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov.

This will be the second flight to the space station for Watkins, who was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017. Watkins grew up in Lafayette, Colorado, and earned an undergraduate degree in geological and environmental sciences from Stanford University, as well as a doctorate in geology from the University of California, Los Angeles. As a geologist, she studied the Martian surface and was a member of the Curiosity rover science team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Watkins first launched to the space station as a crew member aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission, spending a total of 170 days in space across space station Expeditions 67/68 in 2022. She will be the first NASA astronaut to launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft twice.

Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021, Delaney earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of North Florida and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering at the Naval Postgraduate School. The Florida native is a distinguished naval aviator who participated in exercises throughout the Asia Pacific region and conducted missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. As a test pilot, Delaney evaluated developmental aircraft systems and served as a test pilot instructor. He also worked as a research pilot at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, where he supported airborne science missions. This is the first spaceflight for Delaney.

The Crew-13 mission also is the first spaceflight for Kutryk. Prior to his selection as a CSA astronaut in 2017, he served as a CF-18 fighter pilot, flying missions in support of Canada’s NATO, U.N., and North American Aerospace Defense Command commitments. A native of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Kutryk also worked as an experimental and operational test pilot at the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment in Cold Lake, Alberta. Kutryk received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, and he is a distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Test Pilot school in Edwards, California. He has master’s degrees in space studies, flight test engineering, and defense studies.

This mission will be Teteryatnikov’s first trip to the orbiting laboratory. He graduated from the Naval Academy, St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2011 as an engineer specializing in ship power plant operations. Before his selection as a test cosmonaut, Teteryatnikov served in various naval engineering roles, including undersea vessels and specialized engine room operations. He was selected for the Gagarin Research and Test Cosmonaut Training Center Cosmonaut Corps in 2021 and has served as a test cosmonaut since 2023.

For more information about the mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/nasas-spacex-crew-13

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Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Leah Cheshier / Anna Schneider
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov / anna.c.schneider@nasa.gov

NASA and its partners will discuss the upcoming crew rotation mission to the International Space Station during a pair of news conferences on Monday, Aug. 3, from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Mission leadership will provide an overview of NASA’s SpaceX Crew‑13 mission at 12 p.m. EDT. Next, crew members will discuss their training and mission preparations at 2 p.m. This is Crew-13’s final media availability prior to traveling to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch.

NASA will stream these events live. Learn where to watch online:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

The Crew-13 mission will carry NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov to the orbiting laboratory. The crew will launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida no earlier than mid-September.

International media attending in person must email the NASA Johnson newsroom at jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov by 5 p.m., Tuesday, July 21. United States-based media attending in person must respond by 5 p.m., Thursday, July 30. Media joining virtually must respond by 10 a.m. the day of the event. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online.

Briefing participants are as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):

12 p.m.: Mission Overview News Conference

• Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator, Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
• Dana Weigel, manager, Low Earth Orbit Program, NASA Johnson
• Mathieu Caron, director, Astronauts, Life Sciences, and Space Medicine, CSA
• Julianna Scheiman, director, NASA Science and Dragon Programs, SpaceX

2 p.m.: Crew-13 News Conference

• Jessica Watkins, commander, NASA
• Luke Delaney, pilot, NASA
• Joshua Kutryk, mission specialist, CSA
• Sergey Teteryatnikov, mission specialist, Roscosmos

Following the news conference, crew members will be available for limited media interviews. All interview requests must be submitted by 5 p.m. on July 30, to the NASA Johnson newsroom at: jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov.

This will be the second flight to the space station for Watkins, who was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017. Watkins grew up in Lafayette, Colorado, and earned an undergraduate degree in geological and environmental sciences from Stanford University, as well as a doctorate in geology from the University of California, Los Angeles. As a geologist, she studied the Martian surface and was a member of the Curiosity rover science team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Watkins first launched to the space station as a crew member aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission, spending a total of 170 days in space across space station Expeditions 67/68 in 2022. She will be the first NASA astronaut to launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft twice.

Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021, Delaney earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of North Florida and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering at the Naval Postgraduate School. The Florida native is a distinguished naval aviator who participated in exercises throughout the Asia Pacific region and conducted missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. As a test pilot, Delaney evaluated developmental aircraft systems and served as a test pilot instructor. He also worked as a research pilot at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, where he supported airborne science missions. This is the first spaceflight for Delaney.

The Crew-13 mission also is the first spaceflight for Kutryk. Prior to his selection as a CSA astronaut in 2017, he served as a CF-18 fighter pilot, flying missions in support of Canada’s NATO, U.N., and North American Aerospace Defense Command commitments. A native of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Kutryk also worked as an experimental and operational test pilot at the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment in Cold Lake, Alberta. Kutryk received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, and he is a distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Test Pilot school in Edwards, California. He has master’s degrees in space studies, flight test engineering, and defense studies.

This mission will be Teteryatnikov’s first trip to the orbiting laboratory. He graduated from the Naval Academy, St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2011 as an engineer specializing in ship power plant operations. Before his selection as a test cosmonaut, Teteryatnikov served in various naval engineering roles, including undersea vessels and specialized engine room operations. He was selected for the Gagarin Research and Test Cosmonaut Training Center Cosmonaut Corps in 2021 and has served as a test cosmonaut since 2023.

For more information about the mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/nasas-spacex-crew-13

-end-

Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Leah Cheshier / Anna Schneider
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov / anna.c.schneider@nasa.gov

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Sono le nove del mattino, scendo dall’autobus che mi porta alla stazione della metro. Mentre attraverso la strada che separa la fermata dai tornelli spero che il prossimo treno abbia l’aria condizionata. In 200 metri di tragitto ho già oltrepassato la soglia della sensazione trascurabile. Oggi sono pure sfortunata: le porte che si spalancano di fronte a me fanno un rumore che esprime tutt’altro che modernità. Un sospiro brusco e stanco, con picchi acuti che mi stordiscono. La testa già mi gira, ma penso che sono solo le nove del mattino. Il treno è di quelli vecchia scuola, la metro B di Roma ne conserva ancora qualche esemplare superstite risalente al massimo alla fine degli anni Novanta. Accanto a me sulla banchina due sessantenni, un signore e una signora indietreggiano lentamente come spostati dal lieve tepore fuori luogo proveniente dall’interno del vagone, rinunciano, aspettano il prossimo. Con un passo sono dentro, voltandomi tra le porte li vedo inquadrati. La signora è già seduta sulla panchina, si è tolta gli occhiali e si asciuga la fronte con un fazzoletto di carta. Il signore cammina lento nel verso opposto al treno, alza lo sguardo e lo rivolge alla sua destra, l’unico occhio che posso osservare sembra quello di Dio nella Creazione di Michelangelo, ma con una patina di lacrime o, più probabilmente, di sudore.

Le porte si chiudono, facendo il rumore assordante di prima che sfianca fino a tradursi in un movimento meccanico di una flemma indescrivibile. Il treno parte, devo fare sette fermate e già fatico a respirare.

Attorno a me alcuni ventagli svolazzano con una precisione e un vigore incredibili che solo determinate donne sono in grado di sfoggiare. Altri mezzi cerchi colorati ondeggiano impacciati sbattono sui gomiti, sulle spalle o sui petti, altri direttamente si chiudono, scivolando arenati lungo i ciondoli legati alle borsette.

Penso poche cose, due: come farò? E come faccio adesso? 

Sono dentro a una serra piena di ormoni coltivati dalla temperatura ottimale. Non posso rifugiarmi concentrandomi sul mio odore perché sono fuori casa da mezz’ora e già non lo riconosco più, non è più familiare. Dietro al collo sento come un alito caldo, ma è una persona che muovendosi ha spostato l’aria. Sono completamente sudata, devo stare fuori casa fino alle otto.

Le abitudini delle persone in un vagone della metropolitana sopra i quaranta gradi cambiano, la rivoluzione antropologica è questa: alcune, completamente stordite, spengono i display del telefono. Alcune si fissano i piedi, altre chiudono gli occhi: sono costretti a disconnettersi contro la loro volontà. Mi sembra uno stand by sempre più frequente, comandato dal clima come fosse la punizione della natura al nostro progresso. Ho pensato la stessa cosa quando sono venuta a sapere che a Torino il sistema elettrico non regge l’aumentare dei consumi causato dall’impiego dei climatizzatori e interi quartieri vanno sistematicamente in black out per ore. Nel duemilaventisei, all’apice della società della performance, della liquidità e dei suoi flussi, del tenere traccia, del monitorare ogni cosa, tutto collassa per una cosa che scientificamente possiamo misurare e gestire come il caldo.

C’è qualcosa che non funziona, stiamo proprio mancando gli obiettivi minimi del progresso. Un signore ha sotto al braccio il giornale di oggi, Elon Musk si esprime contro i giudici che hanno condannato il gioielliere di… Non riesco a leggere. Non riesco nemmeno a capire. Davvero a un tizio che può possedere tutto non importa niente di possedere anche il pianeta Terra come ambiente umanamente vivibile? Sono stanca, mi pulsa la testa, ho pure le mestruazioni e sento uscire una biglia di roba calda da me. È evidente che è così, come potrebbe una persona normale e ragionevole diventare Elon Musk? Sto mostrificando. La verità è che voglio tornare a casa.

Una ragazza vicino a me ha un odore dolce, dopo quindici minuti mi ha preso in ostaggio i recettori olfattivi e mi ha fatto venire la nausea. Per fortuna la prossima fermata è la mia. Comunque io non sono una persona che soffre il caldo, tutt’altro, penso che fino ai sedici anni non ho nemmeno mai sudato veramente. D’estate stavo la mattina al mare e in mezzo alla strada dalle 15:45 fino all’ora di cena, capitava al massimo un paio di giorni che facesse più caldo del solito e si preferisse rimanere a casa dove comunque non avevamo mai dovuto comprare né condizionatori né ventilatori e si stava bene. 

Da pendolare cronica ho passato ore sotto al sole ad aspettare gli autobus, le corriere, è capitato a mezzogiorno anche nelle stazioni dei treni affollate, dove sotto l’ombra della tettoia non ci si stava: ma non ho mai avuto così tanta paura di sentirmi male. 

Scendo a Castro Pretorio, sono le dieci, e le persone si muovono lente, affaticate o sudate. Nessuno fuma tra il bar e le scale della metro vicino ai posacenere dei secchioni.

Sei minuti di strada e sono a lavoro. Ho già imparato a memoria i punti all’ombra e tengo un andamento sostenuto e preciso per non fare nemmeno un passo in più. Il percorso l’ho capito già da metà maggio. A un certo punto, fisso, un fuoristrada militare con un’inutile tendinda bianca mi costringe ad attraversare la strada, o meglio, a superare la barriera tangibile e misurabile oltre la quale l’ombra smette di fare il suo lavoro. Tengo duro, attraverso, in almeno tre strati di indumenti mimetici due ventenni mi guardano ignorare le strisce pedonali. Hanno le pupille dilatate come tossici, ma so perfettamente che è il caldo, se mi concentrassi sul movimento della pupilla e lo decifrassi in codice morse sono certa che uscirebbe fuori “aiuto”. Mi fanno un po’ pena, ma hanno pure un mitra e questi due pensieri sbattono nella mia testa producendo lo stesso rumore pieno e acuto delle porte dei treni vecchi della metro B.

Sono puntuale, ma il caffè non lo prendo perché se mi fermo è finita. Varco la porta sul retro del locale con cinque minuti di anticipo. Dentro c’è l’aria condizionata, ancora bassa, ma c’è. Mi cambio e scendo.

“Ciao come va?” mi sorride “Fa caldo” è l’unica cosa che riesco a dire, lo constato al minimo della voce per non risultare strana, lo sussurrerei a stento, se fosse per me. Per i prossimi venti minuti vorrei poter non pensare e non parlare. 

“Sì è vero….” dice lei mentre apre una scatola da cui tira fuori delle posate nuove e le getta in una vaschetta piena d’acqua calda “… ma io comunque mi ricordo che anche in passato, tipo nel duemilatre forse? O era il duemila? Ma anche quando sono andata in Grecia dopo la maturità, faceva caldissimo”. Io sono impalata e la guardo, mi sento imperscrutabile, io non ce la faccio. Mi guarda come se mo io dovessi rispettare quella cazzata dei turni di parola. Non mi avrai. 

“Nel senso, comunque ora c’è anche l’aria condizionata, non si soffre più come prima! Io mi ricordo a inizio agosto a Roma non si stava!”. Penso “sarà la decima volta quest’anno” dico “Sì. Può darsi”, non mi avrai.

The post stanca dei negazionisti dell’emergenza climatica first appeared on Stanca.

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On the morning of July 20, 1976, roughly 40 minutes after mission controllers received word that the Viking 1 lander had successfully touched down on the surface of Mars, this photo gave us our first view from the surface of the Red Planet.

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La Biblioteca del Circolo culturale “Errico Malatesta” sarà chiusa da lunedì 20 luglio per la consueta pausa estiva. Ci rivediamo a settembre con la riapertura dei servizi di prestito e consultazione, nuove iniziative e presentazioni

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Who runs the hidden infrastructure behind secure Internet routing? An internship report from SIDN Labs looks beyond the RIRs at the independently operated RPKI publication servers helping to secure BGP.

La fisica quantistica può davvero dimostrare il libero arbitrio? Federico Faggin sostiene che la coscienza sia una realtà fondamentale dell’universo. Ma che cosa risponderebbero Baruch Spinoza e Rudolf Steiner? 🎬 Première19/07/2026 [riservato agli Abbonati a Scorribande filosofiche]👉https://youtu.be/El7d-vSnaYA Federico Faggin, inventore del primo microprocessore, è oggi uno dei più autorevoli sostenitori dell’idea che la coscienza non […]