Hot Spots in Cyberspace 8043

Stay tuned

Have you been following the Design News webcasts as they go live? You'll have several opportunities to catch some new ones, including the UGS-sponsored webcast, "The Age of Collaboration", as part of the SupplyChainLinkExpo on October 17, so keep checking www.designnews.com. It's not too late to catch the webcasts you may have missed, also. Take a first look or review again any of the three archived PTC-sponsored webcasts, including "Get it right the first time," "Rapid design customization," and "Design collaboration."

Ground control to you

The Air Traffic Control System Command Center (www.fly.faa.gov) features general real-time conditions of national airports. Although not flight-specific, the ATCSCC reports everything from closed airports to taxi delays, airborne traffic delays, and departure point delays via an interactive map of the U.S. Take a tour of the ATCSCC and its ten stops, which define air traffic management terms and visually outline the role of the airline traffic controllers, airline personnel, and traffic management specialists.

Share NASA's secrets

The NASA Technology Center (http://nasatechnology.com) is designed for engineers to collaborate with NASA in technologies such as aerodynamics, sensors/actuators, electronics/optics, and process control, among others. Users must register in order to access the technical details, in addition to the technical overviews and patent information. The site also features a search function to ease the technology collaboration process.

Aerospace news NOW

Consider www.spaceflightnow.com the go-to site for breaking news in the aerospace industry, as well as the source for mission reports. If for nothing else, check the site out for its comprehensive launch schedule. With shuttle bookings listed through April 2002, Spaceflight Now tracks future missions as well as past launches.

Up close and personal

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory site (http://chandra.harvard.edu) began as an initiative in 1999 to track x-rays in the universe's high-energy regions, and to provide details online of such phenomena as exploded star remnants.

Featured on the site are close-up images, press releases, and in-depth facts and background information on the astronomical effects. The Resources page also includes virtual postcards, screen savers, and wallpaper.

In the know with NASA

The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center's current projects site (www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Projects/current.html) contains up-to-date information on the latest aircraft projects, including the X-43A/Hyper-X, the X-40A Space Maneuvering Vehicle, and the F-18 System Research Aircraft (SRA). The site features photos and artwork, as well as vehicle descriptions, fact sheets, and project backgrounds, objectives, and milestones.

Feds take on safety

For those readers who are more concerned with safety standards of the latest aircraft than with the wingspan, the Federal Aviation Administration has an Aviation Safety Information site (http://nasdac.faa.gov) which provides a glossary of aviation terms, information on FAA regulations, safety studies and reports, and links to different databases the FAA uses, including the FAA Incident Data System and the NTSB Aviation Accident/Incident database. The site also includes a search function for the databases.