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Brits launch paper plane into space, show depth of their national debt
It used to be that British engineering enthusiasts would send entire cars up into space, but not in today's age of austerity. No sir, all you're getting this time is a paper plane. A trio of amateur space junkies has successfully lifted and released a paper glider from a height of 90,000 feet, earning itself the glory of being the first to ever conceive of and execute the feat. It took them a year to perfect the vessel, named the Vulture 1, and they used a helium balloon to get it to the requisite height before achieving a relatively bump-free landing 23 miles from the launch site. The whole thing has produced some pretty nice imagery, which you may check out at the source link below, and some inevitable gloating from the Reg crew, who were behind the whole thing and can also be found in the More Coverage section.
Blizzard announces Tauren Marines as the latest Starcraft 2 unit
The Tauren Marines are coming! That's right, for all of you lore enthusiasts who like to speculate as to whether Azeroth is in the same universe as Aiur, here's your proof. The Terran confederacy, on the lookout for new recruits for the meat grinder, has stumbled upon a planet known to its inhabitants as Azeroth, and has taken a special interest in a group of anthropomorphic bovines with bizarrely well developed horticultural skills. They've managed to recruit a group of the younger, wilder bulls, creating a new corps of soldiers that have taken on the nickname of "Mad Cows." We're incredibly excited to see what repercussions this could have not only for Starcraft, but for the World of Warcraft itself! It is likely that we'll see an in-game event or patch soon in which the Terrans land on Azeroth in order to recruit the Tauren. How will the Tauren accept a group of space-faring aliens who look suspiciously like the Humans who are usually regarded as their enemies? How will the Terrans react to the Humans themselves? Will there be any technology sharing? I'm sure many Engineers will be dying to get their hands on the schematics for their very own Vulture land mount, and the Cenarion Circle may want to compare notes with the Terrans on fighting giant bug-like creatures. Of course, those of you with the Zergling pet may want to consider hiding them for a while, lest a Firebat mistake you for an Infected Terran.
DARPA sets sights on aircraft capable of five-year flight
DARPA's certainly not lacking for ambitious projects these days, but it looks like it's about to get another big one underway nonetheless, with it reportedly now close to awarding contracts for its Vulture program, which aims to build an unmanned aircraft capable of a non-stop five-year flight. As if that feat wasn't enough, the aircraft will also have to be able to carry a 1,000 pound payload, pump out 5kW of onboard power, and keep up enough speed to withstand the winds it'll encounter at 60,000 to 90,000 feet. Needless to say, that's a long ways from becoming a reality, although it seems that the first phase of the project could soon be kicking off, with Vulture program manager Daniel Newman saying that they've had "at least one successful offeror," and that they're now close to doling out the first contracts. That initial phase will run for twelve months, and will require contractors to "define the objective system and design both full-scale and subscale demonstrators." That'll then be followed by phase two, which'll run through 2012 with the goal of testing of a subscale demonstrator capable of flying for three months.[Via CNET News.com]
