In light of the Soyuz spacecraft blasting off today, in preparation for the arrival next week of the privately owned SpaceX Dragon Capsule, we present this infographic about the Dragon Capsule.
Upon its arrival, it will be the first commercial space vehicle to dock with the International Space Station.
Click on the graphic for an expanded view.
First commercial launch to ISS
Despite the miniscule numbers of electric cars currently on the planet’s roads (approximately 50,000 sold worldwide in 2011, a market share of 0.1%), the stone-cold fact is that they are indisputably a big part of the world’s automotive future.
Renault’s latest offering is the Twizy and is the star of today’s annotated graphic. Bonjour, Twizy! Twizey? Twizzy? Twizzee, said with an Inspector Clouseau-style French accent? Dunno. Have fun with it yourself!
Click on the graphic for an expanded view.
Renault Twizy electric car
It may sound like the stuff of a Monty Python sketch, but the stark reality of 21st-century terrorist extremists is that inserting explosives in to body cavities (one particular cavity being the obvious first choice) is a troubling fact for airport security.
US officials in particular are concerned about Al Qaeda operatives attacking aircraft in this way. Detection of body cavity devices is not straightforward, as conventional body scanners do not penetrate skin.
Click on the graphic for an expanded view.
Al Qaeda cavity-bomb attacks
As E&T reports in a recent news story about the SKA project, ASTRON – the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy – and IBM have embarked on a €32.9M project to develop and build the computer systems that will be needed to support the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope when it begins operations from 2019, in what’s being claimed as one of the most data-intensive science projects ever planned.
Australia and South Africa are competing to host the SKA. This graphic illustrates the concept and design of the planned radio telescope.
Click on the graphic for an expanded view.
World's biggest radio telescope
Recently, we posted a graphic about the gay abandon with which the UK government has been frittering away it’s hardly earned cash on the imminent Olympic games.
In the name of friendly balance, we now present this graphical celebration of the snazzy cable car project that will span the River Thames, ferrying Olympic enthusiasts from bank to bank of the River Thames, upstream in the old Dome area. It looks like quite the fun ride.
Update!
We’ve also added a nifty interactive version of this graphic to the E&T website. It’s got video and everything!
Click on the graphic for an expanded view.
London’s Olympic gondola Air Line
As the front cover of one of the UK’s red-top national newspapers informs us today, there are but 95 days or so left until the London 2012 Olympic games begin.
As any good party planner will tell you, it behoves one to keep a watchful eye on costs. It seems that the UK government could have done with reining in its spending a little before inviting the world to join it in celebration, with the revelation that the 2005 estimated budget of £2.4 billion has spiralled – as a government’s estimated costs are typically wont to do – to a final budget of £11.3 billion.
This helpful graphic breaks down the costs and source of the money.
Click on the graphic for an expanded view.
London's soaring Olympic budget
After the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, several major nations – including Germany, Belgium and Italy – vowed to quit atomic energy.
One year later, 44 of the world’s nations – including 18 previously non-nuclear countries – propose building over 540 new reactors.
Click on the graphic for an expanded view.
In the current issue of E&T magazine, we report on how scientists working on engendering simple soap with new properties may have uncovered vast new potential for advanced cleaning.
A University of Bristol team has dissolved iron in liquid surfactant to create a soap that can be controlled by magnets. The discovery could be used to create cleaning products that can be removed after application and used in the recovery of oil spills at sea.
Click on the graphic for an expanded view.
Magnetic soap could clear oil spills
While we’re on the subject of global defence spending, it seems opportune to reflect on Brazil’s Embraer entering the global defence market.
Its KC-390 military tanker and transport aircraft is being built in partnership with international suppliers and will go head-to-head for sales with Europe’s Airbus A400 and Lockheed Martin’s C-130 Hercules.
Click on the graphic for an expanded view.
Embraer enters global defence market
Asian defence spending is set to exceed that of Europe as EU nations slash military budgets while China plans to boost spending by 11 per cent in 2012, pushing it above $100bn for the first time.
Click on the graphic for an expanded view.
Asia overtakes Europe in defence spending
E&T is the IET's magazine covering science, engineering and technology.
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