deicer Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 The Artemis mission to the moon is now delayed again. With Boeing building the capsule, read what you want into it. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/nasa-delays-artemis-ii-moon-mission-that-includes-canadian-astronaut-jeremy-hansen/article_1be8c338-4273-5c14-8cf7-0ac9ee797e7f.html NASA delays Artemis II moon mission that includes Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen NewsAlert: Canadian astronaut's moon trip delayed NASA says it will be delaying the Artemis II moon mission that includes Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, initially scheduled for November of this year. NASA says it will be delaying the Artemis II moon mission that includes Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, initially scheduled for November of this year. The U.S. space agency provided an update today on the timeline for the upcoming mission around the moon and said it will be pushed back to September 2025 due to a number of technical issues and to allow more preparation time. A subsequent mission, Artemis III, which will land astronauts on the moon for the first time in more than 50 years, has been delayed until at least September 2026. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 Will there be any refunds for the companies that were sending stuff to the moon on PEREGRINE ?? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 https://aeronewsglobal.com/eva-air-orders-18-airbus-a350-1000s-and-15-a321neo/ EVA Air orders 18 Airbus A350-1000s and 15 A321neo Taiwan’s EVA Air has finalised a firm order with Airbus for the purchase of 18 long-range A350-1000s and 15 single-aisle A321neo. This sees the airline become the latest global carrier to select the A350-1000 for its future long haul requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Japan space agency says its lunar spacecraft is on the moon, but is still 'checking its status' Mari Yamaguchi The Associated Press Staff Contact Updated Jan. 19, 2024 8:58 a.m. MST Published Jan. 19, 2024 4:41 a.m. MST Share Link X Reddit LinkedIn Email TOKYO - Japan's space agency says that its unmanned spacecraft is on the moon, but is still "checking its status." More details will be given at a news conference that is expected shortly. The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, came down onto the lunar surface at around 12:20 a.m. Tokyo time. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below. RELATED STORIES Two companies will attempt the first U.S. moon landings since the Apollo missions a half-century ago International astronaut will be invited on future NASA moon landing Russian module on International Space Station suffers coolant leak TOKYO (AP) -- As Japan's space agency prepares for its first moon landing, it's aiming to hit a very small target. The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, is a lightweight spacecraft about the size of a passenger vehicle. It's using "pinpoint landing" technology that promises far greater control than any previous moon landing. While most previous probes have used landing zones about 10 kilometres (six miles) wide, SLIM is aiming at a target of just 100 metres (330 feet). It's the fruit of two decades of work on precision technology by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA. If successful, it would make Japan the fifth country to land on the moon, after the United States, Russia, China and India. The mission's main goal is to test new landing technology that would allow moon missions to land "where we want to, rather than where it is easy to land," JAXA has said. After landing, the spacecraft will seek clues about the origin of the moon, including analyzing minerals with a special camera. The SLIM, equipped with a pad to cushion impact, aims to land near the Shioli crater, near a region covered in volcanic rock. The closely watched mission comes only 10 days after a moon mission by a U.S. private company failed when the spacecraft developed a fuel leak hours after the launch. SLIM lowered its orbit to 15 kilometres (more than nine miles) above the lunar surface on Friday, from which it will make a final approach to a touchdown, JAXA said. The attempt is scheduled 20 minutes after midnight Tokyo time on Saturday. JAXA said everything was going well, and it issued a final go late Friday for a planned touchdown. Nicknamed the Moon Sniper, it was launched on a Mitsubishi Heavy H2A rocket in September. It initially orbited Earth and entered lunar orbit on Dec. 25. Japan also hopes a success will help regain confidence for its space technology after a number of failures. A spacecraft designed by a Japanese company crashed during a lunar landing attempt in April, and a new flagship rocket failed its debut launch in March. JAXA has a track record with difficult landings. Its unmanned Hayabusa2 spacecraft, launched in 2014, touched down twice on the 900-metre-long (3,000-foot-long) asteroid Ryugu, collecting samples that were returned to Earth. Experts say a success of SLIM's pinpoint landing, especially on the moon, would raise Japan's profile in the global space technology race. Takeshi Tsuchiya, aeronautics professor at the Graduate School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo, said it was important to confirm the accuracy of landing on a targeted area for the future of moon explorations. "It is necessary to show the world that Japan has the appropriate technology in order to be able to properly assert Japan's position in lunar development," he said. The moon is important from the perspective of explorations of resources, and it can also be used as a base to go to other planets, like Mars, he said. SLIM is carrying two small autonomous probes -- lunar excursion vehicles LEV-1 and LEV-2, which will be released just before landing. LEV-1, equipped with an antenna and a camera, is tasked with recording SLIM's landing. LEV-2, is a ball-shaped rover equipped with two cameras, developed by JAXA together with Sony, toymaker Tomy and Doshisha University. JAXA will broadcast a livestream of the landing, while space fans will gather to watch the historic moment on a big screen at the agency's Sagamihara campus southwest of Tokyo. ------ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 On 1/19/2024 at 9:05 AM, Malcolm said: Japan space agency says its lunar spacecraft is on the moon, but is still 'checking its status' Mari Yamaguchi The Associated Press Staff Contact Updated Jan. 19, 2024 8:58 a.m. MST Published Jan. 19, 2024 4:41 a.m. MST Share Link X Reddit LinkedIn Email TOKYO - Japan's space agency says that its unmanned spacecraft is on the moon, but is still "checking its status." More details will be given at a news conference that is expected shortly. The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, came down onto the lunar surface at around 12:20 a.m. Tokyo time. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below. RELATED STORIES Two companies will attempt the first U.S. moon landings since the Apollo missions a half-century ago International astronaut will be invited on future NASA moon landing Russian module on International Space Station suffers coolant leak TOKYO (AP) -- As Japan's space agency prepares for its first moon landing, it's aiming to hit a very small target. The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, is a lightweight spacecraft about the size of a passenger vehicle. It's using "pinpoint landing" technology that promises far greater control than any previous moon landing. While most previous probes have used landing zones about 10 kilometres (six miles) wide, SLIM is aiming at a target of just 100 metres (330 feet). It's the fruit of two decades of work on precision technology by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA. If successful, it would make Japan the fifth country to land on the moon, after the United States, Russia, China and India. The mission's main goal is to test new landing technology that would allow moon missions to land "where we want to, rather than where it is easy to land," JAXA has said. After landing, the spacecraft will seek clues about the origin of the moon, including analyzing minerals with a special camera. The SLIM, equipped with a pad to cushion impact, aims to land near the Shioli crater, near a region covered in volcanic rock. The closely watched mission comes only 10 days after a moon mission by a U.S. private company failed when the spacecraft developed a fuel leak hours after the launch. SLIM lowered its orbit to 15 kilometres (more than nine miles) above the lunar surface on Friday, from which it will make a final approach to a touchdown, JAXA said. The attempt is scheduled 20 minutes after midnight Tokyo time on Saturday. JAXA said everything was going well, and it issued a final go late Friday for a planned touchdown. Nicknamed the Moon Sniper, it was launched on a Mitsubishi Heavy H2A rocket in September. It initially orbited Earth and entered lunar orbit on Dec. 25. Japan also hopes a success will help regain confidence for its space technology after a number of failures. A spacecraft designed by a Japanese company crashed during a lunar landing attempt in April, and a new flagship rocket failed its debut launch in March. JAXA has a track record with difficult landings. Its unmanned Hayabusa2 spacecraft, launched in 2014, touched down twice on the 900-metre-long (3,000-foot-long) asteroid Ryugu, collecting samples that were returned to Earth. Experts say a success of SLIM's pinpoint landing, especially on the moon, would raise Japan's profile in the global space technology race. Takeshi Tsuchiya, aeronautics professor at the Graduate School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo, said it was important to confirm the accuracy of landing on a targeted area for the future of moon explorations. "It is necessary to show the world that Japan has the appropriate technology in order to be able to properly assert Japan's position in lunar development," he said. The moon is important from the perspective of explorations of resources, and it can also be used as a base to go to other planets, like Mars, he said. SLIM is carrying two small autonomous probes -- lunar excursion vehicles LEV-1 and LEV-2, which will be released just before landing. LEV-1, equipped with an antenna and a camera, is tasked with recording SLIM's landing. LEV-2, is a ball-shaped rover equipped with two cameras, developed by JAXA together with Sony, toymaker Tomy and Doshisha University. JAXA will broadcast a livestream of the landing, while space fans will gather to watch the historic moment on a big screen at the agency's Sagamihara campus southwest of Tokyo. ------ They added that the lack of electricity from solar panels may limit the duration of the lander’s activities, but said they would do their best to accomplish as much as they can with the power they have. The end of battery power does not mean the end of the mission, the officials stressed. Officials do not believe the solar panels were damaged during the landing given the rest of the spacecraft is intact, and noted that as the angle of the sun changes in the weeks ahead, the panels may start generating electricity. Had the solar panels been working properly, the lander would have been able to operate for "several days," before the panels suffered damage from the moon's daytime temperatures, which can rise to about 100 degrees Celsius, the officials said. 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conehead Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 12 minutes ago, Malcolm said: They added that the lack of electricity from solar panels may limit the duration of the lander’s activities, but said they would do their best to accomplish as much as they can with the power they have. The end of battery power does not mean the end of the mission, the officials stressed. Officials do not believe the solar panels were damaged during the landing given the rest of the spacecraft is intact, and noted that as the angle of the sun changes in the weeks ahead, the panels may start generating electricity. Had the solar panels been working properly, the lander would have been able to operate for "several days," before the panels suffered damage from the moon's daytime temperatures, which can rise to about 100 degrees Celsius, the officials said. I'm interested in learning what's the status of LEV-1 and -2? Did they deploy successfully? What are they doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 38 minutes ago, conehead said: I'm interested in learning what's the status of LEV-1 and -2? Did they deploy successfully? What are they doing? Evidently they did. The lander was able to release its two lunar rovers, LEV-1 and LEV-2. The LEV-1 rover moves using a hopping mechanism and is equipped with wide-angle visible light cameras, scientific equipment and antennas that allow it to communicate with Earth. And LEV-2, also outfitted with cameras, can change shape to move across the lunar surface. The team is receiving a signal from LEV-1 and will see whether its cameras were able to capture any images. JAXA officials said they will not definitively confirm the status of LEV-2 until more data is received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conehead Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 4 hours ago, Malcolm said: Evidently they did. The lander was able to release its two lunar rovers, LEV-1 and LEV-2. The LEV-1 rover moves using a hopping mechanism and is equipped with wide-angle visible light cameras, scientific equipment and antennas that allow it to communicate with Earth. And LEV-2, also outfitted with cameras, can change shape to move across the lunar surface. The team is receiving a signal from LEV-1 and will see whether its cameras were able to capture any images. JAXA officials said they will not definitively confirm the status of LEV-2 until more data is received. Thanks Malcolm. I couldn't find any information about them; these little guys are facinating, and they should have a BIG future in explorations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Members 291 Posted 13 hours ago 747 evolution Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Very interesting how progress had taken all the breakers, switches and dials and turned it into a more simplified interface on just the front screens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 How would you like to go to 200 1/2 weather with this cockpit layout ?? Certainly improved your cross-check. 2833 hrs in three different aircraft numbers at the beginning of my career . I have a few months with over 109 hours !! Our Unit Tail Numbers 394 - freight 695 - pax 808 - VIPs DC-3 / / MILITARY C-47 Normal cruise 3000 -10000 ft Approved for 2 hours at 14000ft (for transit over the Rockies) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s space agency said Thursday that its first lunar mission hit the tiny patch of the moon's surface it was aiming for, in a successful demonstration of its pinpoint landing system — although the probe appears to be lying upside-down. Japan became the fifth country in history to reach the moon when the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, touched down on the Moon early on Saturday. But trouble with the probe's solar batteries made it hard at first to figure whether the probe landed in the target zone. While most previous probes have used landing zones about 10 kilometers (six miles) wide, SLIM was aiming at a target of just 100 meters (330 feet). Improved accuracy would give scientists access to more of the moon, since probes could be placed nearer to obstacles. One of the lander's main engines lost thrust about 50 meters (54 yards) above the moon surface, causing a harder landing than planned. A pair of autonomous probes released by SLIM before touchtown sent back images of the box-shaped vehicle on the surface, although it appeared to be upside down. After a few days of data analysis, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA determined that the spacecraft landed about 55 meters (60 yards) away from its target, in between two craters near the Shioli crater, a region covered in volcanic rock. But after the landing mishap, the craft's solar panels wound up facing the wrong direction, and it cannot generate power. Officials said there is still hope the probe will be able to recharge when the Moon enters its daytime in the coming days. JAXA project manager Shinichiro Sakai said the images sent back were just like those he'd imagined and seen in computer renderings. “Something we designed traveled all the way to the moon and took that snapshot. I almost fell down when I saw it,” he said. For the pinpoint landing, Sakai said, he would give SLIM a “perfect score.” “We demonstrated that we can land where we want,” Sakai said. “We opened a door to a new era.” LEV-1, a hopping robot equipped with an antenna and a camera, was tasked with recording SLIM’s landing and transmitting images back to earth. LEV-2 is a baseball-sized rover equipped with two cameras, developed by JAXA together with Sony, toymaker Tomy Co. and Doshisha University. The two autonomous probes frame and select images independently, both using LEV-1's antenna to send them back to base. Daichi Hirano, a JAXA scientist who designed LEV-2, also known as Sora-Q, said it selected images containing SLIM and nearby lunar surface and transmitted the images through LEV-1, making the pair the world's first to achieve the mission. Despite the rush, the probes captured and transmitted 275 images. Japan followed the United States, the Soviet Union, China and India to reach the moon surface. The project was the fruit of two decades of work on precision technology by JAXA. JAXA has a track record with difficult landings. Its Hayabusa2 spacecraft, launched in 2014, touched down twice on the 900-meter-long (3,000-foot-long) asteroid Ryugu, collecting samples that were returned to Earth. SLIM, nicknamed “the Moon Sniper,” was intended to seek clues about the origin of the moon, including analyzing minerals with a special camera. SLIM was launched on a Mitsubishi Heavy H2A rocket in September. It initially orbited Earth and entered lunar orbit on Dec. 25. Japan hopes to regain confidence for its space technology after a number of failures. A spacecraft designed by a Japanese company crashed during a lunar landing attempt in April, and a new flagship rocket failed its debut launch in March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 .......its first lunar mission hit the tiny patch of the moon's surface it was aiming for, in a successful demonstration of its pinpoint landing system — although the probe appears to be lying upside-down........ Yes, our baby could always get to his mouth with a spoon but unfortunately at the last moment he turned it upside down....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airband Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 Ingenuity: Damage puts end to ground-breaking Mars helicopter mission Thu Jan 25, 2024 - BBC News By Sam Hancock Nasa's Ingenuity Mars helicopter, which made history by achieving the first powered flight on another world, has suffered mission-ending damage. In a statement, Nasa said the aircraft was forced to perform an "emergency landing" that damaged its rotors. The space agency's Bill Nelson said the aircraft was "the little helicopter that could" and had racked up far more missions than had been intended. He said Ingenuity had "paved the way for future flight in our solar system". Ingenuity is said to remain "upright" but images taken by an accompanying ground vehicle showed that "one or more of its rotor blades" were damaged and it was "no longer capable of flight". Nasa said the circumstances were being investigated. "Ingenuity has paved the way for future flight in our solar system, and it's leading the way for smarter, safer human missions to Mars and beyond," Mr Nelson, a Nasa administrator, said in a video message on social media. "That remarkable helicopter flew higher and farther than we ever imagined and helped Nasa do what we do best - make the impossible, possible." Ingenuity reached the Red Planet in February 2021 by riding on the belly of the Perseverance rover. It was meant to be on a short technology demonstration to prove flight was possible in the ultra-thin Martian atmosphere. The vehicle went on to support Perseverance by previewing areas of Mars that might be of interest, helping the wheeled robot and its drivers on Earth pick the right path. Before its mission came to an end on Thursday, Ingenuity performed 72 flights and flew more than 14 times farther than originally planned. Many will mourn the passing of the plucky chopper but its withdrawal from service has probably come at the right time, the BBC's science correspondent Jonathan Amos says. The Perseverance rover is about to undertake some long, fast drives as it seeks to climb up on to the rim of Jezero Crater. If still functional, Ingenuity would, in all likelihood, have struggled to keep up with Perseverance, or at the very least held up the rover's exploration. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/spacex-appears-to-be-flying-this-slick-looking-737 SpaceX Appears To Be Flying This Slick Looking 737 The gray-and-black airliner is turning heads and drawing outward comparisons to some of the most secretive 737s in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Interesting in that shouldn't the flight attendants been secured in their seats during the landing. The aircraft has been removed from service is being inspected. HONOLULU (AP) — An American Airlines flight from Los Angeles made a hard landing at Maui's main airport, sending five flight attendants and one passenger to the hospital. The six were later released, the airline said in a statement. Flight 271 arrived at Kahului Airport around 2 p.m. Saturday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which said it was investigating. Neither American Airlines nor the FAA provided additional details. The Airbus 320 was carrying 167 passengers and seven crew, according to the airlines. The Associated Press Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 This is a link to CNN and shows aircraft of the future. Dont know how long it will last, ( the link), and if you have AdBlock you should turm it on https://www.learnitwise.com/worldwide/fuplan-ta/28?utm_medium=tb&utm_source=tb&utm_campaign=mg-lw-fuplan-l-win-ca-18-rl-20014d&utm_term=www.cnn.com&utm_l=1&utm_t=scroll&cc4d76fdaf5=7&a0v5la7bquf89=65e72cba9cc1705e2zmces00lrb4fjhz&uy3ubftvh0u6o8=1b74a671d1fb55b2a63fb24f724695d0&cusduxj27i=2359022&xnfrr0ncac=22777&zsmoi87pih9=trace.mediago.io&lzzgnpz8d=41b6e88a2b85b0e731ef8e73e5558712 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airband Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 18 hours ago, Malcolm said: Interesting in that shouldn't the flight attendants been secured in their seats during the landing. Hard landing incident where a harnessed flight attendant experienced significant injury. Analysis A flight attendant was injured when Southwest Airlines Flight 2029 landed at the John Wayne Orange County Airport (SNA), Santa Ana, California. According to the flight crew, they were flying a visual approach to runway 20R at SNA. They were aiming for the touchdown zone due to its short runway and trying to fly the aircraft onto the runway with minimal floating. However, it ended up being a firm landing. Shortly after exiting the runway, the flight crew were informed that the “B” position flight attendant (FA) seated in the aft jump seat had injured her back on landing and required medical assistance. Data from the operator’s Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) and Aircraft Health Monitoring (AHM) programs indicated the landing did not meet the hard landing criteria set by the airplane’s manufacturer. According to the FA, after securing the galley and cabin for landing, she sat down in her jumpseat, secured her seatbelt harness, and got into the brace position. She indicated that the plane hit the ground with such force that she thought the plane had crashed. She immediately felt pain in her back, neck and she could not move. Paramedics evaluated her and transported her to a local hospital where she was later diagnosed with a compression fracture to her T3 vertebra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/25/2024 at 11:20 AM, Kip Powick said: .......its first lunar mission hit the tiny patch of the moon's surface it was aiming for, in a successful demonstration of its pinpoint landing system — although the probe appears to be lying upside-down........ Yes, our baby could always get to his mouth with a spoon but unfortunately at the last moment he turned it upside down....... Baby is feeding...... Rise and shine: Japanese moon probe back to work after sun reaches its solar panels Rise and shine: Japanese moon probe back to work after sun reaches its solar panels© Provided by The Canadian Press TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese moon explorer is up and running Monday after several tense days without the sunlight it needs to generate power. Japan's first lunar mission hit its target in a precision touchdown on Jan. 20, but landed the wrong way up, leaving its solar panels unable to see the sun. But with the dawn of the lunar day, it appears that the probe has power. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said Monday that it successfully established communication with the probe Sunday night, and the craft has resumed its mission, taking pictures of the Moon’s surface and transmitting them to the Earth. After a last-minute engine failure caused the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, to make a rougher-than-planned landing, JAXA used battery power to gather as much data as possible about the touchdown and the probe's surroundings. The craft was then turned off to wait the sun to rise higher in the lunar sky in late January. With power, SLIM has continued work to analyze the composition of olivine rocks on the lunar surface with its multi-band spectral camera, seeking clues about the Moon's origin and evolution, the agency said. Earlier observations suggest that the moon may have formed when the Earth hit another planet. Related video: Japan's moon lander 'SLIM' comes back to life and resumes mission (WION) In other global news, Japans moon Lander has come back Loaded: 38.28% Play Current Time 0:00 / Duration 1:34 Quality Settings Captions Fullscreen WION Japan's moon lander 'SLIM' comes back to life and resumes mission Unmute 0 View on Watch A black-and-white photo posted by JAXA on social media showed the rocky lunar surface, including a rock the agency said it had named “Toy Poodle” after seeing it in initial images. The probe is analyzing six rocks, all of which have been given the names of dog breeds. SLIM is expected to have enough sun to continue operations for several earth days, possibly until Thursday. JAXA said it’s not clear if the craft will work again after another severely cold lunar night. The SLIM landed about 55 meters (60 yards) away from its target, in between two craters near the Shioli crater, a region covered in volcanic rock. Previous moon missions have typically aimed for flat areas at least 10 kilometers (6 miles) wide. SLIM carried two autonomous probes, which were released just before touchdown, recording the landing, surroundings and other lunar data. The landing made Japan the world's fifth country to reach the moon surface, after the United States, the Soviet Union, China and India. Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Pre 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 Report this ad Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionals Reuters home Private US moon lander launched half century after last Apollo lunar mission By Joe Skipper and Steve Gorman February 15, 20243:28 AM MSTUpdated 5 hours ago CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida, Feb 15 (Reuters) - A moon lander built by Houston-based aerospace company Intuitive Machines was launched from Florida early on Thursday on a mission to conduct the first U.S. lunar touchdown in more than a half century and the first by a privately owned spacecraft. The company's Nova-C lander, dubbed Odysseus, lifted off shortly after 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT) atop a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket flown by Elon Musk' SpaceX from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. Report this ad A live NASA-SpaceX online video feed showed the two-stage, 25-story rocket roaring off the launch pad and streaking into the dark sky over Florida's Atlantic coast, trailed by a fiery yellowish plume of exhaust. About 48 minutes after launch, the six-legged lander was shown being released from Falcon 9's upper stage about 139 miles above Earth and drifting away on its voyage to the moon. "IM-1 Odysseus lunar lander separation confirmed," a mission controller was heard saying. Report this ad Moments later, mission operations in Houston received its first radio signals from Odysseus as the lander began an automated process of powering on its systems and orienting itself in space, according to webcast commentators. Although considered an Intuitive Machines mission, the IM-1 flight is carrying six NASA payloads of instruments designed to gather data about the lunar environment ahead of NASA's planned return of astronauts to the moon later this decade. Thursday's launch came a month after the lunar lander of another private firm, Astrobotic Technology, suffered a propulsion system leak on its way to the moon shortly after being placed in orbit on Jan. 8 by a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket making its debut flight. The failure of Astrobotic's Peregrine lander, which was also flying NASA payloads to the moon, marked the third time a private company had been unable to achieve a "soft landing" on the lunar surface, following ill-fated efforts by companies from Israel and Japan. Those mishaps illustrated the risks NASA faces in leaning more heavily on the commercial sector than it had in the past to realize its spaceflight goals. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on the IM-1 mission with the Nova-C moon lander built and owned by Intuitive Machines from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., February 15, 2024. The mission will attempt to deliver science payloads to the surface of the moon for NASA's... Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Read more Plans call for Odysseus to reach its destination after a weeklong flight, with a Feb. 22 landing at crater Malapert A near the moon's south pole. If successful, the flight would represent the first controlled descent to the lunar surface by a U.S. spacecraft since the final Apollo crewed moon mission in 1972, and the first by a private company. The feat also would mark the first journey to the lunar surface under NASA's Artemis moon program, as the U.S. races to return astronauts to Earth's natural satellite before China lands its own crewed spacecraft there. IM-1 is the latest test of NASA's strategy of paying for the use of spacecraft built and owned by private companies to slash the cost of the Artemis missions, envisioned as precursors to human exploration of Mars. By contrast, during the Apollo era, NASA bought rockets and other technology from the private sector, but owned and operated them itself. NASA announced last month that it was delaying its target date for a first crewed Artemis moon landing from 2025 to late 2026, while China has said it was aiming for 2030. Small landers such as Nova-C are expected to get there first, carrying instruments to closely survey the lunar landscape, its resources and potential hazards. Odysseus will focus on space weather interactions with the moon's surface, radio astronomy, precision landing technologies and navigation. Intuitive Machine's IM-2 mission is scheduled to land at the lunar south pole in 2024, followed by an IM-3 mission later in the year with several small rovers. Last month, Japan became the fifth country to place a lander on the moon, with its space agency JAXA achieving an unusually precise "pinpoint" touchdown of its SLIM probe last month. Last year, India became the fourth nation to land on the moon, after Russia failed in an attempt the same month. The United States, the former Soviet Union and China are the only other countries that have carried out successful soft lunar touchdowns. China scored a world first in 2019 by achieving the first landing on the far side of the moon. Reporting by Joe Skipper in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles. Editing by Gerry Doyle Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 film of the launch and also the landing of the 1st stage back on earch Intuitive Machines Moon launch: SpaceX blasts private firm's lunar lander into orbit (bbc.com) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Royal Air Force Red Arrows Announce 2024 Canadian Tour — Airshow News (newsairshow.com) Today, the RAF Red Arrows announced the Maple Hawk Tour, visiting 4 Canadian air shows over 5 weeks. Pictured is the Red Arrows and Canadian Forces Snowbirds in Toronto the last time they visited Canada in 2019. Who's looking forward to the possibility of more special formations? The Canadian shows are: Air Show Atlantic Canadian International Air Show Airshow London Aero Gatineau-Ottawa Date 1980 Mark T.1A Crew Two (instructor and student) as training aircraft or one (pilot) as Red Arrow display aircraft Top speed 638 mph (1,028 kph) Range 1,565 miles (2,520 km) Did you know? The Red Arrows have been displaying since 1965. Museum reference EF.2017.39.1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 Singapore Airshow kicks off with aerial displays; Boeing and China's COMAC announce new orders Story by The Canadian Press • 3h Singapore Airshow kicks off with aerial displays; Boeing and China's COMAC announce new orders© Provided by The Canadian Press SINGAPORE (AP) — The Singapore Airshow — Asia’s largest — kicked off Tuesday with an array of aerial displays including some by China’s COMAC C919 narrow-body airliner, with aircraft manufacturers such as COMAC and Boeing announcing new orders. It’s the first time Singapore will open the event to the public since 2020, when a scaled-down version went ahead as the COVID-19 pandemic was just starting. The biennial show comes as Asia’s aviation sector is taking off following the hard years of the pandemic, when many countries in the region closed their borders to most international travel. Subhas Menon, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, said that this year's show was “back in full swing” with over 1,000 exhibitors. “The Singapore Airshow is a good opportunity for exhibitors to show off the direction they’re going, in terms of technology like autonomous vehicles and so forth,” Menon said in an interview Tuesday. He said passenger loads in the region are nearly back to pre-COVID levels, and that Asia Pacific is expected to account for 50% of the growth in air travel demand this year. But even as the aviation sector bounces back, the industry faces a broader supply chain crunch, with parts and plane shortages and shortages of personnel, from air crews to pilots. China's first homegrown airliner makes global debut “Supply chain issues are definitely affecting the timely delivery of aircraft and spares, and that’s one of the reasons why capacity growth is lagging behind traffic growth,” Menon said. “We do not know when this will ease as it’s related to trade tensions and geopolitical problems that are happening around the world,” he said. On Tuesday, China’s Tibet Airlines finalized an order for 40 C919 passenger jets and 10 ARJ21 regional jets from the Commercial Aircraft Company of China (COMAC). The two companies signed the deal on the sidelines of the airshow. COMAC's C919 is a narrow-body airliner, similar to the Airbus A320neo and Boeing's 737 Max jets. COMAC designed many of the C919’s parts but some of its key components, including its engine, are still sourced from the West. The orders come as COMAC attempts to position itself as a viable option for single-aisle jets, as companies like Boeing and Airbus grapple with a backlog of orders. The company has received over 1,000 orders for its C919, according to Chinese media, although the plane is currently only certified in mainland China. Four C919s are currently operational with China Eastern Airlines. The C919’s debut at the show is the first time the jet has made a trip outside Chinese territory, though the aircraft performed a fly-past in Hong Kong in December in its first foray outside of mainland China. Separately, Boeing and Thai Airways on Tuesday jointly announced that the airline had ordered 45 787 Dreamliners to grow its fleet as it seeks to expand its international network. The flying display — a highlight of the biennial air show — saw Singapore's air force perform an aerial display with a F-15SG fighter jet and an AH-64D Apache helicopter. COMAC's C919 and Airbus' widebody A350-1000 aircraft also performed fly-pasts. The Indian air force's Sarang helicopter team showed off an array of aerial acrobatics, while the Indonesian air force's Jupiter and the Australian air force's Roulettes performed acrobatic maneuvers, including crossovers and drawing giant hearts in the sky. The South Korean air force’s Black Eagles, flying in their acrobatic aircraft T-50B, were the finale of Tuesday's aerial display, performing maneuvers including the drawing of the Taegeuk — the yin-yang circle found on the South Korean flag — via the jets' smoke system. The U.S. Air Force’s B-52 Stratofortress is expected to make a fly-past on Thursday. U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing will not be featuring any passenger jets at the show. The firm is under scrutiny after a midflight blowout of a fuselage panel on one of its 737 Max 9 jets last month. This year’s airshow is also expected to spotlight sustainable aviation, with Airbus using a blend of sustainable aviation fuel made of feedstock from cooking oil and tallow, together with conventional jet fuel for the A350-1000 aircraft in its aerial display. Singapore said this week it will impose a new green jet fuel levy on travelers from 2026, as flights departing from Singapore will be required to use sustainable aviation fuel that year. Hyundai’s U.S.-based Supernal unit, which specializes in advanced mobility aircraft such as air taxis, is also an exhibitor in this year’s airshow. The event, which runs from Feb. 20 to 25, is expected to draw more than 50,000 visitors, with the last two days open to the general public. More than 1,000 companies from over 50 countries are participating. Zen Soo, The Associated Press Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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