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Pumping out six times the specific impulse of an SR-71’s afterburning J-58 engine, the YJ102R might be the most powerful turbojet on the planet—at least by weight. It’s barely bigger than two breadboxes. Yet the Liberty Works / Rolls Royce-designed powerplant will push a new generation of cruise missiles, the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works-built Revolutionary Approach To Time-critical Long Range Strike (RATTLRS), past Mach 3. Lockheed Martin and the Office of Naval Research (ONR, the DoD office that sponsored the missile’s development) invited Popular Mechanics to take a look at a full-scale model of RATTLRS, on display on the hanger deck of the USS Kearsarge....

(Published in the October 1999 issue)More: Comparison test of the best boat props.Futuristic jet boat or traditional outboard runabout. Which one is better? More specifically, which one is better for you? We thought this was such an intriguing question that we assembled two examples of each type and staged a showdown in the protected waters of Pine Island Sound, near Captiva Island on Florida’s west coast. Yamaha and Sea-Doo build the best-known jet boats....

Media Platforms Design TeamSporty SUVs from revered nameplates have long been dismissed by the enthusiast fringe. But in the current automotive zeitgeist where well-heeled buyers are snatching up Porsche Cayennes, BMW X6 Ms, and Mercedes-Benz AMG sport utes at a surprising clip, Lamborghini’s much-rumored Urus concept could be the key that solidifies the future of the exotic Italian brand.Just unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show, the Urus concept is a striking specimen that manages to maintain Lamborghini’s ballbusting image while providing transport for a driver and three passengers....

Microsoft’s BUILD developer conference came with some good news this year. iOS apps are now super easy to bring over to Windows, there’s a new browser, and HoloLens looks sweeeet. But there’s bad news too; pour one out for Windows Media Center.For those of you who aren’t familiar, Windows Media Center was a program started back on Windows XP. It was basically software that could turn a tiny PC into a DVR for you....

The New Horizons spacecraft’s Long Range Reconnaissance Imager caught a new view of Pluto that’s the best scientists have ever seen. The time-lapse image, captured from April 12 to April 18, offers the public something we’ve never been able to see about Pluto: surface details.“These discoveries are first of a kind,” John M. Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, said in a conference call. “We’re close enough to Pluto to show us features where no Hubble has gone before....

The Big Three submitted their plans to automakers yesterday and outlined what kind of cash is needed. It’s not good. Ford is on a relative easy street. The company asked for up to $9 billion in short-term loans that it would access sometime next year. GM and Chrysler, however, are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. By the end of this month, both companies need billions of dollars to stay afloat....

Media Platforms Design TeamAlthough smartphone cameras have been growing steadily better and more powerful, they have always been an add-on: the phone and web features come first. But with the release of the Lumia 1020 this week, Nokia switches the order. Whether one is navigating the software or investigating the device’s matte finish exterior, it’s clear that Nokia’s creative energies center on the 41-megapixel camera.Before we continue, note that the Lumia 1020 is an AT&T exclusive that will run you $300 even with a contract....

Media Platforms Design TeamOf all the security threats that Loyola University campus police must prepare for, they probably didn’t count on an out-of-control driverless golf cart.Yesterday, a student at the Chicago school recorded the malfunctioning golf cart twirling in circles for three minutes until officers figured out a way to stop it. Joseph Bailey Jr., the junior who recorded this video, said he was leaving chemistry class when he saw the commotion....

Media Platforms Design TeamAstronomers know that the heavy elements that make up you and everything around you come from supernovae—thus the Carl Sagan chorus that we are made of star stuff. And they know that big enough stars can collapse into bizarre, ultra-dense neutron stars or even black holes. But that doesn’t mean they know everything about a supernova. Scientists are still figuring out what happens inside a dying star at the moment it explodes....

Penn StateMedia Platforms Design TeamPenn State University senior Brianne Wilburne readies her team’s machine in preparation for another run. The team won the regional Penn State Rube Goldberg Competition held at Penn State in February. Media Platforms Design TeamWith a Super Mario Brothers video game theme based on the Nintendo classic, students from Penn State University’s American Society of Mechanical Engineers used a Nerf gun rigged to a small motor as a part of their machine’s sequence....

Media Platforms Design Team Today Sansa introduced a new MP3 player, the slotRadio, that will cost only $100 but comes pre-loaded with 1000 songs on a micro SD card. The slotRadio card’s music will be sorted by genre, but users who are crazy about country music or classic rock will be able to purchase extra, genre-specific cards for $40. The slotRadio card will be different from Sansa’s slotMusic cards, which are currently available—slotMusic cards are 1 GB micro SD cards that come preloaded with one album that has no DRM (digital rights management)....

Media Platforms Design TeamThe tech press has been writing for years now about how we’re all going to start using our phones as wallets, paying for everything with a swipe or tap. LevelUp is a company working in this space, and we caught up with COO and cofounder Michael Hagan at a coffee line at SXSW, where he was urging people to download his app in exchange for free beverages. The user downloads the LevelUp app (iOS or Android), attaches credit card information to it, and then pays at the register....

Months after soliciting potential names for its new B-21 bomber, the Air Force has settled on a designation. The USAF’s new stealthy bomb-dropper will be known as the “Raider.” The designation was announced this morning during the Air Force Association’s annual Air, Space & Cyberconference by Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James. View full post on TwitterThough we might know its full name, plenty of the B-21 is still shrouded in mystery....

Mazda ConnectPro: One of the few nonluxury car companies to use head-up display and an intuitive scroll wheel for screen control. Con: The number of submenus is annoying (and distracting). Real-time traffic updates are oddly separate from the navigation app. Chevrolet MyLinkPro: Pair your iPhone and you can use Siri through the voice-command system, which is nearly seamless.Con: Instead of Bluetooth, iPhone owners have to use a USB cable to connect....

Jason Camberis is a 44-year-old network engineer who builds and sells custom arcade machines and security systems for a living. But for his true masterpiece, he created something to channel his childhood: A giant arcade cabinet that would make anyone feel small. It was just certified as the biggest arcade machine in the world by Guinness World Records.The machine, which was verified on March 23, 2014, checks in at precisely 4....

Media Platforms Design Team(Photo Credit: Chris Hondros/Newsmakers/Getty Images)Verizon’s new motto: Everyone else is doing it, so why can’t we?In a response to the FCC’s concerns about its plans to throttle 4G LTE customers with unlimited data plans, Verizon argues that all four major U.S. carriers do the same thing. Verizon CEO Daniel Mead also said the letter from FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler was “incorrect” and “surprising: considering the FCC doesn’t seem to have a problem when other carriers throttle data....

View full post on YoutubeRick Sullivan’s novelty license plate reads, “FLIPOVR.” Good thing that one was available, since “WTF TRUCK” is probably too long.Sullivan co-owns and operates a garage in Illinois. In the video, he explains that he got the idea for his inverted pickup after rescuing an old Ford Ranger that had flipped over during an accident one winter. Like any true DIYer, Sullivan’s first thought was, “I could recreate that....

Tim Russ is best known for playing Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager (and due to an “I was an extra” retconning, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country). But thanks to the folks at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade, he’s here with a helpful rundown of that other franchise: Star Wars. Of course, when UCB and a Star Trek actor come together on Star Wars Day, May the Fourth, you’re guaranteed to get factually accurate information....

Media Platforms Design TeamHow did you get started?I went to college at the University of Montana and studied businessthough hard-knocks engineering would be more my forte. Growing up, I spent a lot of years in the manufacturing business with my father, and gained a lot of experience building things, designing things, understanding how things work in general, from a mechanical aspect. I think I’ve always been ingrained with a little bit of inventiveness....

Media Platforms Design TeamThe only thing the Popular Mechanics technology department loves doing more than building high-performance computers is giving them away. For our December 2006Monster Media PC sweepstakes, we got a whopping 76,554 entries. We put the contestants through a random number generator, which selected Stewart Sandro as the winner of our custom-built, brutally powerful media machine. Here’s Stewart’s description of himself:Stew Sandro is currently a 737 Captain for Continental Airlines....