Im glad that some of you have decided to Post articles on this page. Ive been unable to do so for sometime now. I was just laid off from my job of 15 years and am now looking for new employment within the aerospace engineering field here in Los Angeles. But I will try to post more about science and engineering in the coming days. What do you all think about SpaceX's Falcon 9 test this past weekend?

Hello everyone, I have to appologize to you all for not contributing in a long while. Ive been working on my Certification in A.I. from IBM. Its been taking up most of my free time. I will try to post more engineering or science information soon. In the mean time please feel free to Post anything related to Science or Engineering. Even if its just questions. Thank you David

Biometrics By: David Shahal Systems Engineer 07/13/2019 What is Biometrics? Good question. Biometrics is the term for measurements and calculations for the body. Temperature, heart rate etc. It is also used to Identify a person and for gaining access to a building, office, lab etc.. We often use it on our Phones for fingerprint logons, or Facial recognition to gain access to phones or buildings. It could be using your voice to gain access or logon. Biometrics is unique to the individual, which raises concerns about ones privacy and who has access besides you. Physical ID cards can be outfitted with Biometrics. What does this mean, it means the issuing entity can place all of your personal information on the card, height, weight, eye and hair color, Medical information, even banking information. Some people even implant an RFID chip into there bodies. This can give them access to office buildings, or health information. They can even track their own body temperature and heart rates. Look up Biohackers What can be on the ID card/chip etc.? 1. Passport 2. Driver’s license 3. Access control 4. Health records 5. Voting records 6. Banking records 7. Personal records 8. School records 9. ANYTHING GOES Is it safe? When you, logon to a website, do you trust it? Of course, you do otherwise you wouldn’t be logging on in the first place. However, with biometrics you have everything stored in one database, either on a chip on the card or in the cloud someplace. All of your information is located here. Meaning if someone gains access to it, your DNA, Financial and health information can be put at risk. Governments can use this information to grant you healthcare services or deny you services. Take an example from 2005 in which thieves who wanted to steal a Mercedes-Benz S-Class car cut the finger off of the owner in order to steal the car. You have also seen this happen in movies. Passwords vs. Biometrics: The use of passwords to gain access to your banking information is not biometrics, however if you forget your password you can request a new one within a few minutes you are back up and running conducting your banking. While biometrics you normally cannot change this. As it is set in your DNA, Fingerprints, voice, iris recognition or Retina just to name a few. You can’t change those things. Who uses Biometrics: To some extent the following Nations use some sort of Biometrics: Argentina, Belgium, Colombia, Germany, Italy, Peru and Spain. The US was considering adopting a National ID but that failed, India has a National ID program. Azerbaijan has implemented Biometrics and National ID. Concerns: National IDs and biometrics databases are often used by authoritarian regimes and used for government surveillance and social control 1. Surveillance 2. Private information 3. Government watch lists Conclusion: Is a Biometric ID a good thing? It can be with the proper protections in place. However, putting all of your personal information on one National Database is a risky venture. They are very expensive to implement, error prone and have a high risk to privacy and personal freedoms. Put in another way, the government has more control over you, what’s to stop them from shutting down your access to work, food, banking etc. just for speaking out against the government? Look at China, with social scoring in place, if you do something wrong, your social score goes down. This has a net negative effect on your ability to gain employment, travel and living your life. Can this happen here? You bet. Your Civil Liberties are at stake here. National IDs have often been used to discriminate against people based upon sexual orientation, race, religion, political views and ethnicity. So, Until the proper Legal Safeguards are in place to protect us from Government and Corporate abuse, I say no thank you. Source(s): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biometrics https://www.eff.org/issues/national-ids

As the title states, Every Human can make a difference. I know inside each of us is the ability to change and the ability to create change. Ideas are born out of necessity. So, what can you bring to the table? What would you like to change? What would you improve or create that would help humanity? Is is improving food production? Home building? Jet Aircraft? Rockets? Space Travel? We all have ideas, some of you may not have engineering degrees or are scientists or doctor's. But that does not matter, you can all join in the discussion and bring your ideas into reality. The biggest threat to our Earth right now is Climate Change, whether or not you believe in the science behind it, you can feel the change with each passing year. So how would you make a change? What would you like to invent to change things for the better? Anyway, its up to all of us to bring about positive change to our world. As an Asgardian we may never make it to Space if we dont fix the things we have here on Earth first.

The Engineering Process By David Shahal Systems Engineer 06/26/2019 I will attempt to explain some of the basics of The Engineering Process as it pertains to Systems Engineering. First, I must tell you all I have been a Systems Engineer for the past 15 years in the Aerospace Industry. Second, The Engineering Process can be and most likely is applied across all engineering disciplines. So here goes. 1. User Requirements – the gathering of the User Requirements is the single most important first step within the engineering process. This is the bread and butter of what you are working towards. For example: if your customer wants to create a new Jet Engine, they don’t just say go make us an Engine, they give you requirements, how fast, how energy efficient, how heavy it is to name a few. a. These are expressed in SHALL, WILL, MAY, MUST etc. statements, “The Engine SHALL weigh 1500 pounds”. This statement is a customer must have item. b. A User Requirements review is generally recommended before any work is started. Getting together with your Engineering team and the Customer is a must. You may even start a question and answer document to share between You and Customer. c. User Requirements can be a long process of questions and answers, changes to the requirements, deletions or additions. when the requirements are locked down that is usually when you begin the next step. 2. Documentation – this is where you, the engineer will spend a lot of your time on. The creation of Documents. Verification and Traceability document, Test Plan Document, Test Procedure Document and Test Reports. You may also create User guides, Test Set documentation, Schematic Drawings etc. About 75% of your time as an Engineer will be spent on Documentation. a. Your organization may use a system called IBM Rational DOORS (Dynamic Object-Oriented Requirements System) to create, update and maintain your documents. Or you may just use Microsoft Word, Excel etc. for your documents. 3. Implementation – In this section you begin your design phase. You generate needed drawings and any extra documents, you create your engineering test boards (actual circuit cards, parts etc.), chassis, cabling, power requirements, Prototyping of your design, mockups if needed etc. 4. Testing – Does it work as expected, or do you need to rework your design. You have different types of testing, EMI (electro-Magnetic Interference), Lightning, Fire, Radiation, Software and other hardware testing as needed. a. You will also produce your Test Results documentation at this stage. So, brush up on your technical writing skills. b. You may be certifying your design at this stage, so documentation is very important. c. Quality Assurance will always be involved. d. Expect multiple meetings each week until you are done. e. Do not be afraid of speaking up for yourself, your design and your teammates.

Happy Unity Day 2019! How are you celebrating? For me, I'm at work...an engineers job is never done. I would rather be in space though. Lets make this happen.

Communication Satellites - Does Asgardia Need Them? By David Shahal Systems Engineer May 31, 2019 SpaceX just launched its Starlink Satellites into orbit. Deploying around 60 of them. Many people have seen the trail in the nights sky around the world and have posted videos and photos of this amazing event. They plan even more launches of Starlink Satellites in the coming months and years, planning on a network or nearly 11,000 of them. Now, Asgardia wants to do the same thing. Offer low cost internet service via a Satellite Network of around 10,000 satellites. Good Idea or Bad? You decide! This network could potentially generate Millions of dollars/euros per month in income for the Space Nation. I've also read someplace that Facebook and Google both want to do the same thing, heck Facebook is hiring Aerospace Engineers as we speak. Imagine the sky filled with 30,000 or 40,000 of these satellites all fighting for your $ Dollars, the cost of Internet may only be a few dollars per month. To cover the globe both would need at least 10,000 satellites clouding the night sky and potentially causing more traffic for our Rocket Launches and putting our Astronaut’s in danger. Other companies and Nations may be planning on the same thing. Maybe China will one day soon enter the cheap internet era with a Satellite network of their own. Adding to the already crowded heavens. Time will tell. Does Asgardia need to spend Millions of Euros/dollars on this when other companies are doing it before us? Why not build several large Communication Satellites and piggy back off the Starlink Satellite Network or Facebook or Google for that matter? We could save millions of Euros and instead spend that money on a space ark or Lunar/Mars base that could potentially house many thousands of Asgardians. My two cents!

Please forgive the editing. I was trying to get this out to you today by 1 PM PST. Radiation Shielding for Space Travel and Space Living By: David Shahal – Systems Engineer Date: 05/20/2019 When we think of Radiation we often think of going to the Dentist Office and getting an X-Ray of our mouth or going to the doctor to for an X-Ray for a possible broken bone. Electrical power is generated through nuclear power and Nuclear weapons are the stuff of nightmares only used twice in our history on Japan during World War II. The horrors of nuclear radiation became well known to the world after Three Mile Island had a partial melt down in 1979. Chernobyl suffered a meltdown in 1986, and Fukushima suffered a meltdown in Fukushima prefecture in Japan after a major earthquake and tsunami hit the area in 2011. In these three cases radiation was released into the surrounding area and atmosphere. In Space radiation is abundant. Our own Sun, distant suns and planets all create radiation sending it out across space. We see evidence of this in our northern lights and solar winds. Todays Space Craft are monitored by various instruments that detect radiation. The Johnson Space Center monitors all radiation in the spacecraft and on the astronauts, they also monitor space weather for signs of incoming solar flares. Types of Radiation: There are four types of radiation. Alpha, Beta, Neutrons and Electromagnetic. 1. Alpha particles: These particles have two protons and two neutrons. Common elements: Uranium and Thorium. In our homes we may have Radon. Notes: Alpha particles wont go through paper, Human skin is shielding enough from alpha particles. Radon is used in Smoke detectors. 2. Beta particles: which is an electron that is not attached to an atom with a small mass and a negative charge. Common elements: Tritium, which is produced by cosmic radiation and exists all around us. Carbon-14 which is used for Radio carbon dating also emits Beta particles. Notes: Travel farther than Alpha Particles, these particles can go through your skin. Medical imaging devices use Beta Particles so they can see inside the body. Common use is in treating cancer. 3. Neutrons: These particles do not have any charge and is present in the nucleus of an atom. Common elements: These are seen when an atom is split as in uranium atoms. Without neutrons, you wouldn’t be able to sustain the nuclear reaction used to generate power. 4. Electromagnetic: X-rays and Gamma rays. They have no mass or charge. Common use: x-ray medical/dental equipment Notes: Can pass through the body. Useful in medical devices to see broken bones etc. A common shield against Gamma/X-rays is lead. This is why the x-ray technician puts a lead apron over you and leaves the room. Too much gamma radiation will do a human body very much harm. An X-Ray or Gamma Ray burst from a nearby star could potentially wipe out all life on earth. Calactic Cosmic Radiation (GCR) – originates from outside the solar system. These are ionized particles that consist of the entire element table. They travel at the speed of light and can pass through matter. Solar Particle Events (SPE) – Solar flares or Coronal Mass ejections (CMEs), travel at various speeds and can arrive at Earth sometimes in a matter of as little as 10 minutes. These are full of electrons, protons, alpha particles and heavier particles. How do we protect humans in space? First lets talk about what a Spacecraft is made of. Since spacecraft needs to be light in weight, they are made of Aluminum and aluminum composites. Titanium and Titanium alloys are also used to strengthen it as well. Spacecraft also need some sort of heat shielding so they can survive reentry into Earth or Mars Atmosphere, This is called Thermal Protection. The first line of Radiation shielding is what the spacecraft is made of, in our case Aluminum or Aluminum composites provide for some radiation shielding. Some scientists and engineers think creating a space craft out of Hydrogen rich plastics could give better radiation shielding than that of Aluminum. Another example, liquid hydrogen to provide Material shielding. Hydrogen fuel tends to give good shielding by placing it between the crew and outside of the space craft. Another potential shield is that of Water (H20), again placing it between the crew and the outside of the space craft. How about Electromagnetic fields (raise shields captain?), EM Shielding. The earth does this for us naturally. We can create a magnetic field around objects, but this would take more space and weight on the space craft. The two main issues are: 1. Needs a very large power supply. 2. In tests at NASA, they could only repel either positive ions or negative ions, however they attracted the opposite back to the test subject. More research needs to be done on this. In order to protect humans’ we may have to provide a safe zone onboard each space craft, possibly behind all the water or liquid hydrogen we are carrying. Space is limited onboard our current space craft and the added weight would mean the creation of larger rockets to carry our space craft to into space. Another type of protection being talked about is Drugs. These drugs would be taken to strengthen the human body, in order to repair the damage caused by radiation. A drug by the name of Retinoids – a vitamin with antioxidant properties which when taken could stop the division of cells damaged by radiation, giving the body time to repair itself. Using Clay as a Radiation Shield for spacecraft is also an option. Clay from Asteroids would be mined and placed on the space craft, between the crew and outside of the ship. The clay is rich in hydrogen and would allow for better radiation shielding than aluminum. The major hurdle is mining in space, its never been done before and putting it on our space craft would be nearly impossible, we need a space dock or to land on the moon or Mars. Etc. Mars or Moon Colony: The radiation shielding of a colony on Mars or the Moon would boil down to using the materials we send to both bodies, i.e. space craft, landers etc. lined with Aluminum. The creation of an initial habitat would need to be brought with the first human’s. Placed on the ground, then built up. In the last section, I spoke of using clay from an Asteroid as Radiation shielding. Well, we could use Moon dirt and Mars dirt to create a habitat with. Forming bricks with the dirt and used to create brick structures. Of course, radiation is not the only thing we need to be mindful of, we have Mars and Moon quakes. On Mars we have dust devils larger than some of our biggest tornados and the falling of meteors. References: 1. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2124676-asteroid-clay-is-a-better-space-radiation-shield-than-aluminium/ 2. http://www.tp.umu.se/space/Proj_10/Daniel_H-10.pdf

Here are some of the basics of Spacecraft Propulsion Systems either in use or in theory. While some may seem like a Science Fiction TV show or Movie others are already in use today or are in development. Types of Propulsion Systems for Spacecraft By: David Shahal - Systems Engineer Date: 05/13/2019 1. Chemical Rockets These have been powering spaceflight for 90 years. Types of Rockets: Delta IV, Falcon 9 Fuel: Hydrogen and Oxygen. 2. Electrothermal These engines use electrical energy to power the craft. It does this by super-heating plasma and firing the plasma through nozzles in order to generate thrust. Used on: Satellites since the 1970s. Fuel: Hydrazine 3. Ion Drive A thruster where fuel such as Xenon is given a positive or negative charge (it becomes Ionised), then it is accelerated by an Electric Field and shot out the back of the unit, creating propulsion. Ion Engines are very slow and need time to build up to speed. But once at speed can deliver 10x as much thrust as a Chemical Rocket. Used on: Dawn Spaceprobe in orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres and TIE FIghters in Star Wars films Fuel: Xenon 4. Solar Sails A solar sail is just that, a sail. Very much like ships of old sailing the oceans under sail. These sails catch the wind and propel the ship. A Solar Sail catches the solar winds and propels the space ship. A large enough sail can potentially propel a spacecraft at incredible speeds without fuel. Used on: 2010’s Japan’s Interplanetary Kite-craft - 196 square meter sail on a mission to Venus. The Planetary Society of the United Stated created the Light Sail Project. Fuel: Sun Light – Solar winds 5. Plasma Propulsion engine Very much like the Ion Drive, these engines are the super powered version of it. Use magnetic currents and electrical potentials to accelerate ions within Plasma to generate thrust. It is said that the engine could power a spacecraft from Earth to Mars in 39 days. Used on: Variable Specific Impluse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) by Ad Astra Rocket Company in Texas, USA. It has not yet flown. 6. Fission Engine Nuclear engine - uses a fission reactor to heat the fuel to high temperatures to create thrust. No nuclear engines have flown, however concepts have been created as far back as 1960s and 1970s. 7. Fusion Engine Powered by trying to recreate the Sun by super-heating fuel to hundreds of millions of degrees until the nuclei fuse to generate more energy. This Rocket would be hundreds of times more energy efficient than the best chemical rocket. Research has failed to produce this engine at a cost of billions of dollars. 8. Pulsed Fusion Engine This is the dropping and detonation of small nuclear bombs behind the space craft. Testing this type of engine would more than likely violate the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. 9. Nanospacecraft Theory of putting an engine on a silicon chip. The engine would act as a tiny particle accelerator. Each chip would contain millions of tiny electric launchers. 10. Antimatter Straight out of Star Trek. Antimatter is created in Particle Accelerators. Only one ounce of Antimatter was ever created. So creating enough fuel is a very big problem. However, if we had enough fuel, we could potentially send a spacecraft to mars in 45 days. Used on: USS ENTERPRISE NCC-1701, and other science fiction space ships. 11. EM Drive No fuel required propulsion system. This is a Hypothetical drive created by Aerospace Engineer Roger Shawyer. This drive goes against Newton’s Conservation of momentum, which states an objects momentum remains constant until something acts upon it. Considered a Reactionless Drive (see Newton’s Third Law – for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction). If this engine is true, it would go against Newton’s laws and make Physics as we know it completely wrong. So what it an EM Drive? It is called an RF resonant cavity thruster. Picture a Magnetron pushing microwaves into a closed cone, then it pushes against the short end of the cone and creates propulsion. On going testing and a NASA research paper have been sent in for Peer Review with findings to be published in AIAA Journal of Propulsion and Power (As of 2017). The EM Drive is still a theory and needs more research and validation testing. If Proven true, this will be a game changer as Spacecraft will not need to carry any fuel onboard, saving weight and space. It could also send humans to the moon within 2 days, Mars in 2 months and Pluto in 2 years.

Just want to put this out there. Who are all of the Members of Parliament and whom do they represent? Some Background: In the United States I have Member of the House of Representatives that represent me, I also have two state senators who also represent me in Government. So, I would like to see a list of all members of Parliament and the areas they represent.

Do any of you members have any questions comments or concerns? I see you liking the posts, but no one is commenting on them or has any questions. its okay if you dont. What topics in Engineering would you like to see?

Something a bit different. Lets talk about LAWS of MOTION. These are used for all types of engineering. But especially for building and understanding Rockets and aircraft/spacecraft. Its Physics Baby! Sir Isaac Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion 1. First Law of Motion – Every object in a state of uniform motion will remain in that state of motion unless an external force acts on it. 2. Second Law of Motion – Force equals mass times acceleration [ f(t) = m a(t)] 3. Third Law of Motion – For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Why are these important in the field of Aerospace, space exploration etc.? 1. The first law states that an object either at rest or in motion will remain so unless acted upon by force. For example, if you have an object floating in space, your force (f) = 0, as is your velocity (v) = constant. If you apply a force (f) to it, your objects velocity (v) will change. Throw a ball into the air, force (f) of gravity and air resistance (velocity) will make the ball drop. 2. The Second law states a Force acting on an object causes the object to accelerate, the acceleration is dependent upon the strength of the force. F=ma F = Force M = Mass A = Acceleration So think of a gun. Firing the bullet. The shell experiences acceleration through the barrel. If the shell has a mass of 0.5 kg, the gun has a force of 100,000 m/s^2 F= 0.5 kg * 100,000 m/s^2 F = 50,000 ks m/s^2 (in Newtons). 3. The Third Law states for Every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. For example: Throw propellant from the back of a rocket and the rocket is pushed forward in response. A 1 second burst from a rocket, with 500 kg of mass accelerated to 3500 m/s. F=ma 500 kg * 3500 m/s = 1.75 million Newtons (of Force) - which is the same as SpaceX Raptor Engine If the rocket exhaust experiences 1,750,000 N Then A the Rocket itself must also experience 1,750,000 N

Expanding on the last post, of a basic DC Circuit. This photo shows you what a Closed Circuit is and what an open circuit is. The Closed circuit (with highlights in Yellow) displays the light bulb being illuminated. The Open circuit is just that, OPEN. Notice at the top of the circuit its missing a line and the light bulb is off.

This is a picture of a basic DC Circuit. Its a Battery, a switch and two lamps. when you flip the switch one way, its RED Light turns on, the other way and the GREEN Light turns on. Does this remind you of anything? How about a FLASHLIGHT (TORCH)? if this was an AC Circuit, it could be a Light Switch in your office or bedroom. Have you heard the term CLOSE the Light or OPEN the Light. When you close the light, you are closing (the switch) the circuit to turn it on, Open it (the switch) and you turn off the light .