China throws down the gauntlet: lifted off C919, first domestically produced plane
The C919, China's first domestically produced passenger aircraft, made its maiden flight today, taking off from Shanghai Airport and heading for the capital Beijing. The 164-seat aircraft was built to break the dominance of single-aisle jets from Airbus and Boeing, but still relies on Western components, including engines and avionics. Despite this, Comac, the manufacturer, already has over 1,200 orders, but some experts suggest that most of these orders are just letters of intent from domestic customers.
2023-06-03T03:17:20Z
Maya, a 3,000-year-old "highway" discovered in the middle of the forest
A literally unbelievable discovery comes from South America, and specifically from the territories that once belonged to the Mayas, one of the three great pre-Columbian civilisations along with the Incas (Peru) and Aztecs (Mexico). In the territory between present-day Guatemala and Mexico, in fact, a huge network of highways has been discovered.The complex of roads and bridges dates back as far as 3000 years, and the team of scientists who made the discovery compared it in importance to the discovery of the Egyptian pyramids. It is estimated that the 'highway' continues for hundreds of kilometres and intersects some 417 ancient Maya settlements.For this discovery, a new technology called lidar was used, an advanced type of radar that reveals presences hidden by dense vegetation, resulting in 3D reconstructive images.
2023-06-04T02:03:09Z