We have all read or heard about the Wright Brothers, haven’t we? We are grateful for their spectacular invention of aeroplanes that eased travel and gave us awe-inspiring glimpses of the clouds. With constant advancements in technology in the current world, we are not just flying in our atmosphere but also experimenting with drone helicopters on other planets, undertaking personal human flights and striking space missions.
Walking ‘n’ living up the space
Those of us interested in dance have attempted to replicate Michael Jackson’s moonwalk sometime or the other. While that was just a metaphorical feature, humans have managed to actually step on the moon, perform spacewalks, reach Mars and even live in space over the decades. The International Space Station (ISS) has been home for about 242 humans from 19 countries in space for two decades; a technology marvel that has continued to aid space scientific research and experimentation, orbiting Earth about every 90 minutes.
Travel Destination: Space
Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to launch the first private space mission to orbit this year, which will not have any professional astronauts on board. Though a luxurious affair right now, it still presents the possibility that humans could soon be riding and even living beyond planet Earth. In addition, a cruise-ship-style hotel that could float above the Earth’s atmosphere, Voyager Station, could be a reality by 2027.
Personal flight
The cool attitude of Iron man and his futuristic suit have captured the fancy of many Marvel fans across the planet. Well, Gravity Industries has people taking flight almost the same way with their Jet Suit. The 1050 brake horsepower Jet Suit, can typically fly for approximately 3-4 minutes, making you hover around in air upto the speed of 136 km/h.
Unmanned vehicles
We all have our traffic frustration stories and none of us would mind commuting in a traffic-less city. While this may seem like talk of another planet with the expanding urbanization, the upcoming eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-off and Landing) human flight aircraft are promising a different reality. Going ahead of the drones, that are now extensively used for various commercial purposes, we are likely to see autonomous air taxis flying around for city commutes in the near future.
Here are some upcoming technologies in aerospace:
The amalgamation of human imagination and technology has often left us by surprise and only holds a promise of taking us places far and beyond!
Contributed by Aerospace Journalist Ayushee Chaudhary, this article was originally published in the Emerging Technologies issue of The Plus magazine.
