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Japanese probe enters orbit around Venus

Wed, 12/08/2010 - 11:12 by Prince damin

Tokyo -- Japan says it is waiting to re-establish contact with its Akatsuki probe as it enters orbit around Venus after a six-month flight to the cloud-shrouded planet.

The main engine of the spacecraft was fired late Monday in a maneuver intended to allow the Venus' gravity to capture the probe.

Akatsuki then lost contact with Earth as it moved behind Venus, the BBC reported.

Japanese scientists said they would know by late Tuesday whether the operation to insert the satellite into the correct orbit had been successful.

The 1,100-pound spacecraft carries five cameras that are sensitive in the infrared and ultraviolet parts of the electromagnetic spectrum to allow studies of the planet's surface through the thick cloud cover.

Airline might sue Rolls-Royce over engine

Thu, 12/02/2010 - 22:23 by Prince damin

Sydney -- The Australian airline Quantas Airways says it has begun legal action against the maker of an engine used on some Airbus A380 passenger jets.

Quantas officials said they initiated the action against engine supplier Rolls-Royce as a backup in case it can't reach a settlement with the company over the explosion of one of its engines in flight last month, the BBC reported.

The pilots in the November flight made a successful emergency landing in Singapore after one of the explosion.

The Australian Safety Bureau found a manufacturing problem with the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines.

Scientist pinpoints most uneventful day

Wed, 12/01/2010 - 06:03 by Prince damin

Cambridge, England -- A British computer scientist said his calculations suggest April 11, 1954, was the most uneventful day of the 20th century.

William Tunstall-Pedoe, the Cambridge, England, creator of TrueKnowledge.com, a search engine for facts, said the Sunday was remarkable only as a Belgian election day and the birthday of Turkish academic Abdullah Atalar, the New York Post reported Tuesday.

"We analyzed hundreds of millions of facts about dates and famous people" to find the least eventful day, Tunstall-Pedoe said.

"Unlike a typical day in the 20th century, there were no significant deaths or births or notable events on that day," he said.

The computer scientist said the day was the least eventful since 1900.

Man takes dinner table to 130 mph

Wed, 09/08/2010 - 09:40 by Rakhi

Santa Pod, England -- A British man said he broke the world record for fastest piece of furniture by taking his motorized dinner table up to 130 mph.

Perry Watkins, 47, said his Queen Anne-style dining table, dubbed the Fast Food, reached a top speed of 130 mph and averaged 113.8 mph during a pair of runs in Santa Pod, England, The Sun reported Tuesday.

Watkins, whose table was set for service during the runs, said he is hoping Guinness World Records will recognize his beating the previous record, which was set by a sofa traveling 92 mph in 2007.

The designer said his table runs on the engine of a 1994 Reliant Scimitar Sabre with a nitrous oxide booster kit.

Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).

Boeing, again, delays Dreamliner delivery

Sat, 08/28/2010 - 00:11 by Prince damin

Chicago -- U.S. plane maker Boeing announced a sixth delay in delivery of the first 787 Dreamliner airplanes due to a lack of engines for test flights.

Boeing said it would suffer no financial setback with the delay, but airlines with Dreamliners on order "will be quick to look for compensation," said industry analyst Saj Ahmad at FBE Aerospace, The New York Times reported Friday.

"The 787 has been delayed almost three years and it's an unacceptable situation for many, particularly as many carriers are witnessing a rise in traffic numbers," Ahmad said.

The first in line on the customer list, All Nippon Airlines, said it was "regrettable" to hear of yet another delay. The Japanese airline ordered 50 of the wide-bodied planes in 2004.

Toyota does U-turn on vehicle EDRs

Fri, 08/06/2010 - 01:54 by Prince damin

Los Angeles -- U.S. attorneys are saying Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Co. has switched its position opportunistically on automobile recording devices.

The electronic black boxes installed in cars that record engine behavior and gas pedal and braking applications were frequently criticized by the company, The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

With dozens of court cases filed against the company in the wake of recalls for problems with unintended acceleration, Toyota is now using evidence gleaned from boxes in selected crashes to claim driver error caused the accidents.

British firefighters using motorcycles

Sat, 07/24/2010 - 02:09 by Prince damin

Liverpool, England -- Firefighters in England said they are giving trial runs to two motorcycles fitted with water and foam hoses for fires that do not require a whole engine.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said the BMW motorcycles, which each cost about $46,000 to buy and outfit with water and foam canisters, have the ability to extinguish a car fire in about 20 seconds and the hoses will operate for 2 to 3 minutes at a time, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

Toyota's Hybrid Car Cares

Sat, 12/26/2009 - 13:02 by Barbara Watson

As people become more aware and conscious of environmental issues, Toyota, to put in its mite, has launched a model that takes extra care of the environment.

The Japanese company launched its new model Sai Hybrid Sedan this month.

The Sai, which was recently launched in Japan, will be introduced to the rest of the world after 2010. It is known to be one of the best hybrid cars of all times.