Meme Scholar with Madness (PhD)

[EndtheMadnessNow]

Terraforming Venus in "New Earths: Restructuring Earth and Other Planets" by James E. Oberg, 1981.




July 10, 1985: "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" was first shown in theaters 39 years ago today.




July 10, 1985: Down she goes! The Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior was blown up in Auckland harbour, New Zealand, by a bomb planted by agents of French intelligence. The French government at first denied responsibility, but was later forced to admit French secret service agents were responsible.


How Rainbow Warrior was played down

A PHOTOGRAPHER'S DATE WITH A NUCLEAR DEATH

Rainbow Warrior - 30 years on



Flight III Los Angeles-class USS Topeka (SSN 754) participated in RIMPAC 2024. Topeka is loading "Warshot" for RIMPAC SINKEX. Warshot is a Mark 46 torpedo, lightweight compared to the Mark 48. During New Year's Eve 2000, Topeka straddled the International Date Line, thus was famously "in two millenniums at once". After 35 years of silent patrol, Topeka is scheduled to be decommissioned later this year or 2025 at latest.




MADCAP for Warshot Wednesday...


M(k-48)ADCAP Kaboom!


July 10, 2010: Ex-New Orleans (LPH-11) Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship on fire during the RIMPAC 2010 SINKEX, foreshadowing the RIMPAC2024 SINKEX. This year another amphibious assault ship, Ex-Tarawa (LHA-1), will be the target.




USS Sterett (DDG-104), South Korean Navy destroyer ROKS Yulgok Yi I, and the Royal Canadian Navy HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331) depart Pearl Harbor, to begin the Force Integration phase of Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024...




The first time any unmanned aircraft completed an arrested landing at sea occurred July 10, 2013 as "Salty Dog" 502 landed aboard USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). With its distinctive sleek tail-less profile, the aircraft has become something of a poster child for the future of military drone technology.


The X-47B was the culmination of one of the more enduring DARPA efforts in recent history, which began when the US Air Force formalized the Uninhabited Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) development program with DARPA in August 1997. Northrop Grumman's X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) was cancelled in 2015.


July 10th: "Big Red" celebrates 31 years today! USS Nebraska (SSBN 738) was commissioned on this day in 1993. The Ohio-class ballistic missile sub is one of eight SSBNs homeported at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, Bremerton, Washington. Nebraska shares her nickname, "Big Red", with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's athletic teams.




The DARPA SHEPARD demonstrator is officially an X-Plane. Meet the Northrop Grumman XRQ-73 Hybrid Electric Uncrewed Aircraft System. Built on human + alien tech. Northrop finally shows original (Howard) Hughes Aerospace X project...

The XRQ-73 SHEPARD program is part of DARPA’s “X-prime” initiative, which focuses on rapidly maturing innovative technologies to meet urgent operational needs. The SHEPARD program draws on the technological advancements and lessons learned from the earlier Air Force Research Laboratory/Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (AFRL/IARPA) Great Horned Owl (GHO) project, which produced the XRQ-72.

The GHO project aimed to create an ultra-quiet, high-efficiency reconnaissance UAS, and the XRQ-72 featured a series hybrid electric propulsion system with two electric generators powered by either gasoline or diesel. This system powered four ducted fans installed on the top of the fuselage, providing quiet and efficient operation.

The XRQ-72 had a wingspan of 30 feet, an overall length of 11.2 feet, and a height of 4 feet, with a weight of 300-400 pounds. The XRQ-73 is expected to be significantly larger, although exact dimensions are not yet known.

The goal of the SHEPARD program is to create a mission-focused, long-endurance aircraft capable of performing a variety of roles, including intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), and more.

The XRQ-73 SHEPARD employs a hybrid electric propulsion system, which builds on the series hybrid electric architecture used in the XRQ-72 and combines a fuel tank, gas turbine, electric generator, and battery in series to power an electric motor. This architecture provides several advantages, including quieter operation, fuel savings, and reduced emissions. These features make the XRQ-73 particularly well-suited for ISR missions, where stealth and endurance are critical.

Northrop Grumman XRQ-73 SHEPARD Demonstrator Breaks Cover

Ending the day with Mexican Food, Cold Beer & Tattoos