NASA’s InSight successfully takes its first-ever selfie!
Welcome to the online world, InSight! NASA’s most recent mission was a massive success when InSight landed on Nov. 26, 2018. Since InSight’s successful landing, it has been keeping itself quite busy by snapping as many shots of the Martian landscape as possible, including a pic of itself!
Although no selfie stick was included in the creation of this heavy duty space tech, it was still capable of getting quite a lot of shots of itself, which were all revealed on Dec. 11, 2018. The InSight took exactly 11 stellar images of itself using the Instrumental Deployment Camera (IDC), which is attached to its robotic arm, according to CNet. NASA went ahead and combined all 11 photos, similar to the time the Mars Rover did, allowing us to get a glimpse of the spacecraft resting on the main surface.
It appears the lander has already mastered the art of taking the perfect selfie too! With a great high angle, excellent lighting, and all the right positions, we can definitely learn a thing or two when it comes to InSights camera skills, that’s for sure! Another image was taken by the lander, this time, the photo is of the area that the space lander will remain for its duration on Mars, known as the « crescent of terrain » says NASA.
This image was actually created using a series of 52 prior images the lander took, displaying the countless rocks, holes, and bumps the planet has. Although this is by no means a groundbreaking discovery, NASA believes this is a great start to the InSight mission, and how such shots allow for them to know that the location is safe.
All while a safe environment is important, this now makes it clear for the lander to begin its work! According to NASA, the InSight’s heat-probe is expected to drill nearly five-meter deeps in Mars’ surface, in order to measure the planet's temperature at that location. Although the exact mission is still weeks away from starting, it’s great news to be receiving photos and countless information from InSight, allowing the mission to go off without a hitch!


Rabbids Are Headed to Mars in New Netflix Film RABBIDS INVASION MISSION TO MARS
Ubisoft and Netflix are teaming up to send the Rabbids franchise into space as they embark on a space adventure in the trailer for the new Netflix original film, Rabbids Invasion Mission to Mars. The cute, but destructive bunnies will be going off-world in the new animated film next month and will star Beardie, a Rabbid with genius intellect that dreams of traveling to space, specifically Mars.
With his smarts, he is able to get a spot on a mission to Mars, but as is the case in any good animated film, his not so genius Rabbids have tagged along and amongst it all, a plot has caused the mission to go wrong and with the Rabbids seemingly stranded on Mars, Beardie will have his smarts, fellow Rabbids and maybe some extraterrestrial intelligence at his disposal to try and save the mission.
The official synopsis:
“When Nebulous Industries announces they are recruiting Rabbids for a mission to Mars, Beardie doesn’t think twice. As a genius Rabbid misunderstood by his stupid peers, he has always dreamed of going to the red planet. After successfully passing the tests, he takes off with three other Rabbids: Disco, the lively queen of the dancefloor, Cosmo, the pilot with self-confidence issues, and Mini, the adorable tiny Rabbid who HATES being mistaken for a kid.”
Rabbids Invasion: Mission to Mars will arrive on Netflix on February 18th. Check out the trailer below:


A new section has been introduced to the Russian anti-terrorism law. The long winded titled “The Use of Weapons and Military Technology by the Russian Armed Forces to Eliminate the Threat of Terrorist Acts in the Air or to Thwart Such an Attack” details how Russian security forces are to engage terrorists employing passenger airplanes as possible weapons. The revised section is part of the Russian “Combating Terrorism” law that the Duma adopted in March 2006. However what perks the ears of many is not the forgotten law as a whole but what the new sections say about hostages caught in the middle. According to Kommersant:
[T]he decree concerning the use of armed force “to eliminate threats of terrorist acts in the air” suggests that antiaircraft defense forces should attempt to influence an aircraft that is in violation of airspace rules using radio commands from the ground to before trying to knock the aircraft off course. If the radio commands don’t work, fighter jets will be deployed to intercept the plane. Before firing warning shots, they will first give the plane “visual signals” that it must land immediately. If the plane fails to respond to all of these signals, the military has the right to take measures to “intercept its flight by means of destruction.” Thus, passengers on a hijacked plane will have half an hour to two hours, depending on the efficiency of the military, to come to grips with their inevitable doom as a result of a successful counter-terrorism operation.
Those who are flying in a plane that is hijacked far from large cities and strategic objectives are the only ones who have additional chances at survival. The decree forbids the military from shooting down a plane “if there is no real threat to people’s lives and/or of an ecological catastrophe.” So a plane flying from, let’s say, Moscow to Thailand, over the vast unpopulated expanse of Siberia, should have nothing to worry about. But this ban is effectively annulled by a provision that “if there is credible information about the possibility of the airplane being used to commit a terrorist act,” the plane can be destroyed without warning. Considering that such credible information, according to the decree, “is defined by officials according to the procedure set down by theand the ,” it can be assumed that the plane will inevitably be shot down, even if its pilot swears that it has drifted off course due to instrument failure.
That is not all. In the resolution’s third provision which regulates “the use of weapons, military technology, and special devices by the Russian armed forces during counterterrorism operations,” speaks directly to anti-terrorist operations in places like Chechnya and Dagestan. Even though we are told that the situation in those regions are under control, nevertheless, Russian forces can use heavy military weapons
to defend civilians and free hostages, to repel an attack on a secured facility, to stop a vehicle or vessel “if its driver refuses to stop despite orders from military personnel,” to give “warning of the intent to use weapons, give a signal, or call for help,” and finally to detain persons who were involved in terrorist activities and are attempting to hide themselves. Special devices cannot be used “near visibly pregnant women, persons with obvious signs of disability, and children,” except in situations in which “such persons are putting up armed resistance or carrying out an attack that threatens the lives and wellbeing of others.”
Though Kommersant states that these provisions have produced an outcry among some, apparently these are already the rules of engagement for military. Their adoption by the Duma would only make military engagement consistent with Federal law.
Given Russian security forces “success” in rescuing hostages, I fail to see how these provisions will bring anyone any comfort.


Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), the Taiwan National Space Organization, NASA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and others have come together to launch a space mission that will change the future of weather forecasting on the planet.
The mission, COSMIC- 2 launched, from Florida. COSMIC- 2 comprises 6 satellites built to enhance space weather study and forecasting was launched into space on aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket departing from Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA. Australia’s BOM, will play an instrumental role in the mission, working from their ground station in Middle Point, Northern Territory.
The satellites will capture and record data that will help the BOM in forecasting storms in warm, tropical areas near the equator, as they are the source for weather and climate services. The BOM has an establishment of a large network of ground stations that will coordinate signals with the satellites.
“This enables us to make a valuable contribution to international space missions, such as COSMIC-2. In the case of COSMIC-2 we will be sending commands to the satellites as well as downlinking real-time data,” said Dr. Anthony Rea, Chief Data Officer, BOM.
The original mission to improve weather forecast systems began more than a decade ago, in 2006. The new COSMIC- 2 is advanced in design and scope. With this, the satellites will orbit the planet close to the equator, measuring tropics and substropics also studying the ionosphere for solar storm effects. COSMIC- 2 will use radio occultation techniques to gather signals from the Global Navigation Satellite system.


Find the best hidden options to fly.
Only the best airlines flying directly to Auckland.
Get direct (non-stop) flight ticket from $100.
What is the cheapest ticket price to Auckland from Queenstown?
The cheapest non stop flight cost nearly $100.
Do I need to change currency before flying to Auckland?
No, you don't need to change currency. You can use NZD in Auckland.
Will I arrive to Auckland Airport in Auckland?
Yes, flying from Queenstown you can arrive only to Auckland Airport
How many airports I can fly from Queenstown to Auckland?
The only airport you can fly nonstop from Queenstown to Auckland is Queenstown Airport
How long does it take to fly nonstop from Queenstown to Auckland?
Usually it takes 1 hours and 40 minutes to get to Auckland.
What airlines flying nonstop to Auckland?
There are 15 airlines flying this direction: Virgin Atlantic, United Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Air New Zealand, LATAM Chile, Jetstar, Etihad Airways, Emirates, Air China, EVA Air, Air Canada, American Airlines, All Nippon Airways.


Business Development Consultant
David Abel is a member of the business development team within Harris’ Electronic Systems division. Electronic Systems provides technology supporting mission critical communications for defence, aviation, public safety, minerals & energy, utilities and maritime environments, as well as high-value engineering services. David joined the team in late 2016 having moved across from Harris’ Communications Systems division based in Brisbane. In this role he was responsible for developing and executing business development across the Australian Defence sector as well as areas of Public Safety. Previously, he served as senior program manager responsible for all Australian programs within the Communication Systems portfolio. Prior to joining Harris, David had worked at Motorola Solutions, based in Melbourne as Project Director for public safety radio.
David has held a number of senior positions in engineering and program management, including Elbit Systems and Lockheed Martin Stasys. Whilst at Stasys he spent his time developing tools and processes to assess and improve datalink interoperability. David studied Electronic Engineering at Portsmouth University in the UK, he also completed a number of post graduate courses in RF Engineering whilst working for the UK Royal Aircraft Establishment (later part of QinetiQ) as a radio propagation engineer.
Integrated operations using smart, connected networks


Question by skyhawk: what are the highest paying aviation jobs?
i’m in the 9th grade and i am thinking about getting a job in aviation. I want a good paying job that i am interested in.
Answer by Jonas
747 pilot. thats the highest. a380 pilots will get paid the most soon. my dad is a 777 pilot, he gets $ 150,000 a year. air traffic controllers get paid well too.
What do you think? Answer below!


Mr Tero Taskila – high flying goals for Estonian Air
According to Taskila, the overall goal of the company is to provide opportunities for economic growth in Estonia through better global access. Taskila and his crew have a clear vision and the ambition to get there.
What are the specifics of this new model?
The new business model is based on customer connectivity. It has changed the way operations are run at Tallinn airport. Before, we had flights scattered during the day, now the focus is on getting all the aircraft arriving in Tallinn at the same time and departing at similar times to optimize the connectivity. This has meant that all the suppliers have been refining their processes so they have adequate staffing during the peak hours.
The new model was launched in late March. What was the outcome?
The first eight weeks shows that we made the right choice with the business model. Customers appreciate the new flight options and this can be seen from our passenger growth. Passenger numbers nearly doubled in April and this growth has continued into May.
Does this also imply transit passengers?
What has been surprising is that the transfer passengers are growing much faster than expected.
What are the challenges?
There are operational challenges. The routines have to be adjusted to handle the new schedule and aircraft. During the winter we held a massive training program for pilots and technical personnel, to make the switch from 17 years of Boeing 737 qualification to Canadair 900 and Embraer 170.
What about safety issues?
As we do not compromise with safety issues, the pilots and ground personnel need more time for checks before the flight, mechanics need more time in troubleshooting on the new planes, but this is the only way we can get the routine in place.
Has everything been running according to routines and plans?
We are victims of our small size. Our profitability hinges on the efficiency of the aircraft. The new aircrafts are all well equipped to provide us that; but at the same time they are not immune. Since safety is our leading concern and we only have seven jets, you can quickly calculate that 15% of our capacity is grounded if one plane has to be over hauled unexpectedly.
How is Estonian Air’s on time performance?
All in all, we are performing on the level of the industry average, considering the statistical challenge of one delay causing more impact to smaller airlines than bigger. We are not pleased with the present situation. Every delay costs the business directly and indirectly which means inconveniences for passengers.
What actions have been taken to tackle delays and other issues connected with fast growth?
We have made some adjustments to the timetables to allow more time to catch up with delays. We have more frequent operations meetings with internal key players as well as sub-contractors, such as the airport, catering, border control, and air traffic control. In addition we have wet-leased one turbo propeller aircraft to support feeder traffic and at the same time have trained our pilots for the new aircraft type.
ESTONIAN AIR AT-A-GLANCE
Estonian Air, Estonia’s national carrier, is the biggest operator at Tallinn Airport.
* Estonian Air focuses on improving the connection between Estonia and the rest of the world, with the aim of increasing competitiveness as a network carrier hub.
* Estonian Air flies to 24 destinations in Western Europe, Scandinavia, and CIS. Recently the following destinations were added: Helsinki, Riga, Jyväskylä, Hannover, Vienna, Venice, Joensuu, Kajaani, and Tbilisi.
* In the first quarter of 2012, Estonian Air carried 224,826 passengers altogether, which is 33.3% more than during the
same period last year.
* The bulk of the fleet consists of fuel efficient and environmental friendly Embraer 170 and Canadair medium range aircraft.
TEXT: TOOMAS KÄBIN, PHOTOS: ESTONIAN AIR


Contributed Photo: Former Thatcher Eagle Kelly Motes has graduated from the United States Air Force Academy and has received a pilot slot.
Former Thatcher Eagle flying high
THATCHER – Kelly Motes a 2016 Thatcher High School graduate has completed her studies at the United States Air Force Academy. She has received a Bachelor of Science degree in Geospatial Science while competing at the Division I Level for the Air Force Volleyball team. Kelly has been commissioned a Second Lieutenant and has received a pilot slot.
While competing in Athletics she received the 2018 Iron Bolt Award and the prestigious Air Force Academy Volleyball Amy Svoboda Memorial Award. This award is given to the player that best exemplifies effort, enthusiasm, and team-first attitude.
As a cadet, her military leadership positions included Wing Athletics NCO/Covid Wing Athletics Officer, Squadron Director of Operations, and Wing Plans and Programs Officer.


On July 20, 1969, at 1:46 p.m., Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin separated the Eagle landing craft from the Apollo 11 command module. Michael Collins stayed behind, firing the rockets, moving about two miles away from his colleagues—and 250,000 miles from humanity on earth. He was absolutely and completely alone.
“Keep talking to me, guys,” Collins radioed to the men as he watched their landing craft get smaller and smaller.
At 3:08 p.m., Armstrong and Aldrin, flying feet first, fired the module’s descent engine for the first time, preparing to land on the moon. Collins watched as they made their way down to the chalky, grey surface. He radioed to Mission Control the first report of the descent, saying, “Everything’s going just swimmingly. Beautiful!”


Over 500 guests gathered at the Connecticut Convention Center on Friday, October 16, 2015 to honor Pratt & Whitney’s 90th Anniversary at a celebration hosted by the Connecticut Public. Attendees included Honorary Chairs Governor Dannel P. Malloy and First Lady Cathy Malloy, Airbus Americas President Barry Eccleston, and Pratt & Whitney’s Vice President of Engineering Thomas Prete. Guests were also given a preview of the upcoming CPBN documentary, Keys to the Sky, a program that explores how Frederick Rentschler and the people of Pratt & Whitney helped to create the modern aviation industry while building the best aircraft engines in the world.
Proceeds from the Pratt & Whitney 90th Celebration gala will benefit the third season of Made in Connecticut, another CPTV original documentary that explores modern manufacturing and the role of innovation in companies located and thriving right here in Connecticut.
For more photos from Pratt & Whitney’s 90th Anniversary Celebration, please click here.
Tune in on Thursday, October 29 at 8 p.m. for the premiere of Keys to the Sky on CPTV.


Reasons for Owning an Aircraft
Aircraft ownership is still popular even when there are alternatives like jet charter, fractional ownership, and jet cards. Some people say they want to fly with the same aircraft for a long time. Some people say that they also want the same people as their flight crews and maintenance mechanics for their aircraft. Another factor is you flights are more economical.
When you have a personal aircraft the hangar fees, insurance, property taxes, interest, maintenance, and crew expenses are the same all throughout. Yearly flight fees would demonstrate that these are the same regardless of the duration of those air times. Fees that involved fuel consumption and extra flight time maintenance are what changes most of the time. Personal aircraft flights are still cheaper than the expenses incurred with a chartered aircraft flight.
You will see how cost-effective personal aircraft flights are since overhead expenses are balanced out by your savings for each travel. There is no suggested maximum number of flights before you can feel its cost-effectiveness. Flying more times with a personal aircraft is the best decision to be more economical with travel.
It is important for companies to know what you expect from an aircraft when you travel. Companies want to know your preferences in an aircraft’s passenger capacity, destination, number of flight hours, cabin size, and luggage capacity are. Destinations will then dictate the aircraft’s routes, costs, and flight times, and you have to share those with the company. After those are discussed, companies will identify aircraft that will fit those needs. Each aircraft’s approximate operating and capital budget is then offered to you. Categorizations like heavy, midsize, and light are assigned for aircraft. If what you want is outside those categories there are other options that can offer what you need.
If you have decided on a particular plane model then it is time to check if it is up for sale. An aircraft’s latest closed sale and current listings will be the basis for the purchase price. You can negotiate for the best price in the market with the right timing.
If you have your aircraft already then a management company can help you in placing it on charter certificate. A charter certificate helps in mitigating your operational cost. Your aircraft will be up for those chartered flights as posted management companies. With a few chartered flights each year the profit can cover the ownership cost.
If you are looking for a company that can help you get your personal aircraft, then VREF aircraft valuation reference is here for you. They know how to get the best plane deals in the market, so vref aircraft services is really reliable. In this site, they can offer more information to communicate with them as soon as possible. With it becoming more popular, go to VREF aircraft value reference right away.


A Hundred Lucky Juans Return Home!
Oct 8, 2013 - 11:43 AM MPSTOne hundred Uwinners from our recently-concluded Facebook contest, 100 Lucky Juans, are coming home today via our Dubai-Manila A330 flight! Join us as we celebrate their homecoming with their friends and relatives at Resorts World Manila! #100luckyjuans
Cebu Pacific's Maiden Flight to Dubai
Oct 7, 2013It's official - we're starting our very first long-haul flight today! Watch as we send off our Airbus A330 from Manila to Dubai, our first long-haul destination.
Inauguration of Cebu Pacific's Airbus A330
Sep 12, 2013 - 4:03 PM MPSTCebu Pacific's Airbus A330 to be officially inaugurated by the Vice-President of the Philippines, Hon. Jejomar C. Binay at the Balagbag Airport, Manila on the 12th of September, 2013.
Juans to be the 80 Millionth Passenger?
Aug 7, 2013We're about to hit our 80 millionth passenger mark any moment now! Do you know who our 80 millionth passenger will be? Join us and find out in this day of festivities!
Delivery of Cebu Pacific's first A330 in Toulouse
Jun 14, 2013It's finally here - our very first Airbus A330! Experience this brand-new aircraft when you fly on select flights to Singapore and Incheon!
The delivery ceremonies will be held in the Airbus Factory in Toulouse, France this June 13, 2013. Witness the event unfold!


Nowadays, drones are not considered only as remotely operated aircrafts but they are much more than that. Drones are used for different purposes and tasks in different fields. Military personnel use drones to target any specific location and to capture images of areas that are affected by manmade or natural threats or disasters. Businesses also make use of drones to promote and advertise their business. Drones are also used in agricultural field to protect the farms and to scare the birds so that they will not destroy the fields. There are many uses of drones. You can find information about drones at Rotorcopters.
Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles that are remotely controlled either by pilots or by computers. Drones are gaining popularity these days because of their advanced features, technology and different uses. Drones are nowadays widely used for civilian operations like rescue and search, weather analysis, etc. They are widely known for their stealth and precision features. They are also used for preventing major terrorist attacks.
Drones are designed with latest technology and they are light in weight. They can fly at a high altitude. They have features like camera, GPS, wireless connectivity, etc. Batteries used in drones usually have high power and expandable life. Drones with cameras are used by media professionals and military personnel.
Use of drones in film industry
The movies that are produced these days are way more better than those produced earlier. It is due to the fact that now the film industry is making use of the drones to capture the shots from all angles. This allows the viewers to see the unexpected views in the movie. In addition, several media professionals also use it to cover the accidents, celebrity visits and other cases that cannot be covered manually.
Helpful in rescue operations
Drones are used for rescue operations also. They are helpful in saving the lives of people. When there is any type of disaster or calamity in any area, the rescue teams use drones to search people and to provide food to the victims. The camera of drone captures the images of these areas and also allows you to see live video streaming of the area of operation. You can control the movement of drone camera by remote and you can easily find the people who get affected by the natural disaster with the help of drone camera.
Drones are used for security purposes also. They observe public behavior and traffic. They are used for finding and attacking the suspicious targets. Drones are used for checking dangerous devices on landing areas and roads. Drones can also check bombs. They provide tactical and intelligence support.
Modifications and developments are constantly done to add more features to the drones to make them more advanced and usable.


If you are traveling to Florida, I would highly recommend that you visit the Kennedy Space Center Tourist Complex, where you can get an up close and personal appreciation for the history of human spaceflight.
The Kennedy Space Center is one of ten NASA field centers, but since 1968, the Kennedy Space Center has been the primary launch center for human spaceflight, and is where they launched operations for Apollo, Skylab, and the Space Shuttle programs.
Where is the Kennedy Space Center?
The Kennedy Space Center is located directly due east of Orlando, located on the Atlantic Coast about halfway between Miami and Jacksonville.
It is only a short one-hour or so drive from Orlando to the Kennedy Space Center and makes a perfect addition if you’ll be visiting Orlando for a Florida family vacation.
We drove up from Miami that morning — about a 3-4 hour drive — visited the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, stuck around for the rocket launch (which was late due to delays), and then drove to Orlando where we had an Airbnb. It was a big, but doable day.
Kennedy Space Center Map
Visit the Kennedy Space Center
The Kennedy Space Center itself is a fun and educational visit. Personally, I’ve always been fascinated by the stars and space. I remember one of my favorite university science classes (and I didn’t like science classes) was an amazing astronomy class.
It was might impressive to see these big, towering rockets in person. You can walk among the rocket gardens, learn about the moon landings and the Apollo program.
But the coolest part, I think, might be the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit.
They have a great video that explains the history of the shuttle program, and then all of a sudden the movie screen lifts up and you’re staring at the real life version through a transparent screen.
That screen lifts up and then you can walk right up the shuttle and take in the size of it.
Quite a bit bigger than those little Space Shuttle toys I played with as a kid…
They’ve got a cool shuttle launch experience ride so you can strap in, tilt up vertical and then feel the g-force of a launch.
Kennedy Space Center was unexpectedly fun and educational. Even Andrea’s 10-year-old nephew got really into it, despite the fact that it’s more educational in nature, rather than filled with theme park rides and attractions like over in Orlando.
See a Rocket Launch
The highlight of our visit to the Kennedy Space Center for sure had to be going to the launch viewing area for Atlas V rocket later that evening.
We boarded buses at the Kennedy Space Center and were driven off to the Apollo / Saturn V Center for the launch viewing.
There were hours to kill before the launch, but we wandered around the indoor exhibits, and stood beneath the absolutely massive Saturn V rocket — the world’s largest — which stretch the length of the building.
It was already dark and getting late, so we grabbed dinner inside the food court.
Outside there are a series of bleachers and we managed to find a space for all of us along the bleachers with a view to the launch pad a few miles away, across Banana Creek.
When I was younger I frequently shot off model rockets, most of them were little ones that I could launch in the yard or at a school football field with friends, but I also made the trek out to Monroe, Washington or down to Bend, Oregon where they could let the “big ones” fly. Of course, big ones for us meant like the size of a person — not a few hundred feet tall like the one we were about to see…
Or would we?
They pushed back the launch because of weather. To us it appeared to be completely calm and perfect, but even the most minor disturbance can have major consequence for launching a rocket of this size and they have to make sure conditions are perfect.
Meanwhile, we were worried it might get canceled completely.
One hour ticked into two and still nothing… But then the time came, the countdown began, and the bright light from the rocket light up the sky, shortly thereafter followed by the roar of the engine, as it slowly lifted off the platform.
It began picking up speed slowly as it arced up and out across the Atlantic Ocean.
Sadly, I failed to take any decent photos of the launch — they were all overexposed since I hadn’t anticipated just how intensely bright it would be. The night sky turned almost like day.
An unforgettable and special experience that just happened to coincide with the dates of our trip. It’s a must do if there is a rocket launch during your visit.
Click here to check out the Kennedy Space Center launch schedule to see if the planned dates coincide with your visit — of if you’ve got some flexibility, I’d recommend trying to plan a trip that will coincide. It’s truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience and something so incredible to see in person.
Plan a Trip to the Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center tickets can be purchased online from their website.
Kennedy Space Center hours feature different closing times depending on the season, but the center opens at 9am every day of the year. If you’re visit coincides with an evening launch, it isn’t necessary to arrive at opening time, but rather around mid-day in order to enjoy the visitor complex and be left waiting forever for the launch.
Speaking of launches, be sure to check the Kennedy Space Center launch schedule prior to planning a visit.
Where to Stay
As mentioned earlier, we drove up from Miami in the morning, did the visit, saw the launch, then continued to Orlando in order to maximize our time.
But if that sounds like a hassle, you could easily stay in nearby Titusville either before or after you visit the Kennedy Space Center.
Traveling to visit the Kennedy Space Center on your next trip? Book the perfect room on Booking.com today!
Wish you could travel more? Click here to grab my free resources for affordable, long-term travel.
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The headlines in space news are all about Mars these days, but NASA is doing some seriously cool science here on Earth too. This last January NASA launched SMAP, a satellite designed to measure soil moisture from orbit.
Courtesy of NASA
How does it measure soil moisture from orbit? SMAP orbits at more than 400 miles above the Earth, which is quite a distance to be measuring soil moisture, much less anything else. The satellite produces a radio wave, bounces the wave off the surface of the earth, and listens to the returning radio wave. Somehow (and this is above my pay-grade) that information is used to determine the moisture content in the top 2 inches of soil, as well as determine if the soil is frozen or thawed.
And SMAP is fast. The signal takes microseconds to bounces off the ground, the satellite orbits the Earth every 98 and a half minutes, and it maps the whole Earth in under 3 days. To make up for its small field of measurement, the whole satellite spins at almost 15 revolutions a minute, effectively measuring 1000 km consecutive “loops” on the surface of the earth. That’s a 1000 km “loop” every 4 seconds. (If your head is spinning, watch the video again, and appreciate that they slowed it way down).
Why is all of this so important? Beyond being super cool (my Star Trek dreams are coming true!) this data will be incredibly important to the advancement of the sciences and our understanding and stewardship of Earth. SMAP will give researchers, policy makers, and resource managers the ability to monitor drought conditions, predict flooding events, assist crop productivity, and forecast weather with greater fidelity. More importantly, SMAP will give us greater insight into the water cycle, the carbon cycle, and the energy cycle, which are all interlinked and fundamental to the health of Earth’s biosphere.
Check out more on the project at SMAP.


The Hijacking That Didn’t Happen, United Airlines Flight 23
Between 8:42 and 8:46am United Airlines Flight 175 was hijacked, just minutes before American Airlines Flight 11 would crash into the North Tower of the World Trade Center (WTC). It is not known who entered the cockpit but it is speculated that Marwan al-Shehhi entered the cockpit with another and piloted the plane. According to the 9/11 Commission report and from the interviews of captured Al Qaeda detainees, al-Shehhi was the selected pilot for this flight. Boston Logan Air Traffic Controller, Pete Zalewiski, would have no idea that he would be directing traffic for a hijack, as well as speaking to UA Flight 175’s captain, Jason Dahl , for the final time, the transmission starts at 8:37am:
Pete Zalewiski: “Do you have traffic look at uh your 12 to 1o’clock at about, uh, 10 miles southbound to see if you can see an American seventy six seven out there please.”
Jason Dahl: “Affirmative we have him, uh, he looks, uh, about 20, yeah, about 29, 28,000.”
Zalewiski: “United 175, turn five, turn 30 degrees to the right. I [want to] keep you away from this traffic.”
Dahl: “We figured we’d wait to go to your centre. We heard a suspicious transmission on our departure out of Boston. Someone keyed the mike and said: ‘Everyone stay in your seats.’ It cut out.”
Flight transmits “Did you copy that?” (controller on land line).
Flight turns towards the south-west with ATC clearance.
At 8.46:18 Transponder signal no longer received.
Zalewiski: “We may have a hijack. We have some problems over here right now.”
At 8:40am New York Center air traffic controller Dave Bottiglia takes over monitoring the flight from Boston Center controller John Hartling. According to the testimony of Rich Miles (Manager of the United Airlines Systems Operations Center), before the 9/11 Commission, the cockpit transmission were not reported to officials at United Airlines. The 9/11 Commission will later add in their final report:
“SOC personnel at United that we talked to had no idea of the extent of interaction of the Flight 175 crew with the saga of Flight 11.” The Commission will add, “We walked down a list of indicators,” but state, “Until we mentioned them, no one we talked to at United Airlines was aware of those occurrences.”
However officials from United Airlines say the misunderstanding is from the protocols not specific instructions. United Airlines officials will say, however, that, “first and foremost,” FAA controllers “communicated directly with airline pilots, not the dispatchers” at the airline. Also that, United Airlines officials who talk with the 9/11 Commission will also recall that “they never received any communication… from the FAA or the air traffic control system advising United to contact its aircraft about the hijackings.” The 9/11 Commission will not offer any explanation for the lack of communication between air traffic control and United Airlines.
At 8:52am…a call is made by United Airlines Flight 175 attendant, Robert Fangman. He contacts, the maintenance office where Marc Policastro gets the call. the call lasts only 74 seconds, but Fangman manages to report that the flight has been hijacked, both pilots are dead, a flight attendant has been stabbed…the line is abruptly cut. The call was made using an Airfone in row 31 at the back of the plane. Another call is made. This time from Peter Hanson. Who calls his father and says, “Oh, my God! They just stabbed the airline hostess. I think the airline is being hijacked.” Despite being cut off twice, he manages to report how men armed with knives are stabbing flight attendants, apparently in an attempt to force crew members to unlock the doors to the cockpit. Meanwhile Otis Air National Guard has two pilots scramble as soon as possible, but according to one of the pilots, Lt. Col. Timothy Duffy, they were not properly informed about the situation, nor were they aware of Flight 175’s hijacking.
According to the 9/11 Commission, NEADS itself only receives its first notification about a second possible hijacking at 9:03. Furthermore, it is not until after 10:30 a.m. that the two pilots will learn that Washington has also been attacked, when a controller informs them of this in passing, but does not elaborate further. The pilots head toward Long Island, but by then it was too late. At 8:55am, Air Traffic Controllers from Boston Center give new coordinates to the two Otis Air National Guards, this time they head toward Manhattan, the new information is based on instructions just received from NORAD’s Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS).
At 9:03am United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower of the WTC.
It is not until 9:21am that United dispatchers are told to warn their flights to secure cockpit doors. United Airlines flight dispatcher Ed Ballinger, in charge of monitoring all United Airlines flights, takes the initiative to begin sending a warning message to the flights he is monitoring.
“Beware any cockpit intrusion… Two aircraft in NY hit World Trade Center builds.”
Meanwhile at JFK Airport, United Airlines Flight 23 a flight scheduled to depart to Los Angeles (LAX) at 8:30am. However it was late in pushing back from the gate.
Flight 23 captains, Carol Timmons and Tom Manello have heard a report over their radio that a plane has flown into the World Trade Center. They then receive an ACARS message, An ACARDS message is a digital datalink system for transmission of short messages between aircraft and ground stations via airband radio or satellite. The message is from Ed Ballinger,
“We have gone to heightened security. Do not open cockpit doors. Secure the cockpit.”
According to Lynn Spencer, author of “Touching History: The Untold story of the drama that unfolded from the skies on 9/11.”
Timmons starts barricading the cockpit door with their suitcases while Mannello grabs the crash ax for protection. Mannello calls the plane’s lead flight attendant to inform her of the threat, and tells her not to open the cockpit door under any circumstances. Soon afterwards, she calls back and informs him:
“We [the plane’s flight attendants] just think you should know this because we think it is unusual. We have four young Arab men sitting in first class this morning.”
Minutes later, the pilots receive a radio message from ground control, announcing, “All aircraft, be advised that the airport is now closed.” A subsequent message announces the airport is being evacuated. Mannello decides to move his aircraft back to the terminal. Soon after the flight attendant tells the passengers that the flight has been cancelled, the Arab men become abruptly agitated and the argument becomes so heated that she called airport security to the gate.
When the plane doors opened to let the passengers leave, the Arab males hurriedly left. Investigators will interview the plane’s crew nearly half a dozen times. But no information about the suspicious Arab passengers is ever released to the public.
Authorities will later check the men’s unclaimed baggage and find box-cutters, copies of the Koran, and al-Qaeda instruction sheets. On September 14, it is reported that investigators believe at least one of these passengers was among a number of individuals taken into custody at JFK and LaGuardia Airports the previous day. On September 13, New York authorities take into custody ten people of Middle Eastern descent at JFK International and LaGuardia Airports, reportedly fearing they intend to hijack aircraft and commit another suicidal terrorist attack on a US target.
According to the New York Times:
“Law enforcement officials said one of those held was carrying a false pilot’s identification.” Furthermore, several of the detained men “showed up at the airport with tickets for flights canceled on Tuesday [September 11] and tried to use them.”Investigators say they believe one of the men had been among a group of passengers that behaved suspiciously and became aggressive after their aircraft — United Airlines Flight 23 — had its takeoff canceled on the morning of 9/11. Some of the detained had false passports, knives and one even tried to board a flight dressed as a pilot.”
The incident would not make national headline, nor would it be remembered in the minds of those affected by the day’s events itself. It became lost in time, due mainly to the innumerable conspiracy theories that dominate the spectrum even to the present day.
However in 2004, Representative Mark Kirk (Illinois) will say the suspicious Flight 23 passengers were never found and are likely still at large.
And so the mysteries and actual anomalies from the September 11th 2001 attacks go unnoticed and unresolved.


- 1 What did Mae Jemison do to become famous?
- 2 Why is Mae Carol Jemison famous?
- 3 Why is Mae Jemison important?
- 4 Why is Mae Jemison a hero?
- 5 Why did MAE leave NASA?
- 6 Has there been a black astronaut in space?
- 7 How many black astronauts are there?
- 8 What is Mae Jemison legacy?
- 9 What is a challenge Mae Jemison had in her life?
- 10 When was Mae Jemison born and died?
- 11 How did Mae C Jemison help others?
- 12 What is Mae Jemison personality traits?
What did Mae Jemison do to become famous?
In 1987, Mae C. Jemison became the first African American woman to be admitted into the astronaut training program. Soon after, she became the first African American female astronaut. Jemison became the first African American woman in space, traveling aboard the Endeavour.
Why is Mae Carol Jemison famous?
Mae Carol Jemison (born October 17, 1956) is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. She became the first black woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. In pursuit of becoming an astronaut, she applied to NASA.
Why is Mae Jemison important?
As a doctor, engineer, and NASA astronaut, Mae Jemison has always reached for the stars. In 1992, Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space. She has also written several books and appeared on many television programs including an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Why is Mae Jemison a hero?
Mae Jemison is a Hero by being the first African American woman to be an astronaut. She went to a lot of hard work through try to go into space. She went to an astronaut- training program to make her dreams come true. She got a call from NASA, and accepted her to go to astronaut program when they let her go to space.
Why did MAE leave NASA?
Jemison, 36, who grew up in Chicago, said in her resignation letter that she was quitting the space agency to pursue interests in “teaching, mentoring, health care issues and increasing participation in science and technology of those who have traditionally been left out.” Jemison, an astronaut since June 1987, made
Has there been a black astronaut in space?
Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. (born November 22, 1942) is an American aerospace engineer, retired U.S. Air Force officer and fighter pilot, and former NASA astronaut, who is the first African American and the second person of African descent to go to space.
How many black astronauts are there?
Traveled into space
|#||Name Birth date|
|1||Guion Bluford November 22, 1942|
|2||Ronald McNair October 21, 1950 †January 28, 1986|
|3||Frederick D. Gregory January 7, 1941|
|4||Charles Bolden August 19, 1946|
What is Mae Jemison legacy?
Decatur native Mae Jemison is a physician and former astronaut who became the first African American woman to go into space. Jemison was chosen as one of 15 candidates from a pool of more than 2,000 applicants to join the NASA astronaut training program and became the first African American woman in the program.
What is a challenge Mae Jemison had in her life?
Mae Jemison had to face rejection, and racism. But she still became the first black women to go to outer space. She is a real and alive example that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.
When was Mae Jemison born and died?
Mae Jemison, in full Mae Carol Jemison, (born October 17, 1956, Decatur, Alabama, U.S.), American physician and the first African American woman to become an astronaut. In 1992 she spent more than a week orbiting Earth in the space shuttle Endeavour.
How did Mae C Jemison help others?
Scientist, chemical engineer, physician, teacher, and astronaut, Dr. Mae Jemison has been a strong advocate for science and technology. She has applied her medical experience to the service of her country, first as a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa and then as space shuttle astronaut.
What is Mae Jemison personality traits?
Entrepreneurial and progressive, Mae C. Jemison is ever-striving, heading for the top, and enjoying an enterprising, ambitious and determined personality to do things well, and an unyielding dedication to her plan until the goals are achieved.


Free Nemesis Air Combat Apps Games Full Download For PC Laptop
Nemesis Air Combat Apps Games Free Download For PC Windows 7/8/10/XP.Nemesis Air Combat Games Full Version Download for PC.Download Nemesis Air Combat Apps Latest Version for PC Laptop OSMac.
Nemesis: Air Combat combines great graphics and addictive gameplay. Just as it is organized in CSR Racing, where much depends on the power of your car and its upgrades, in Nemesis: Air Combat your success is based not on your pilot’s abilities, but on how much your aircraft is pumped. Each aircraft in this game is different in power and weapons, it can be customized and upgraded, but note – not every weapon here is effective against every opponent.
How to Play Nemesis Air Combat Games Apps on PC,Laptop,Windows
1.Download and Install Android Emulator on PC.Click “Download Emulator” to download.
2.Run Android Emulator on PC,Laptop or MAC.
3.Open Android Emulator for PC import the Nemesis Air Combat Apps file from your PC Into Android Emulator to install it.
4.Install Nemesis Air Combat Apps APPS for PC.Now you can play Nemesis Air Combat Apps on PC.


Russian freighter to swap one-day parking spaces again at space station
An unmanned Russian freighter will begin swapping parking spots at the International Space Station tonight (October 20) in a move that will take just over a day to reach its new berth.
The Progress 78 spacecraft is scheduled to undock from the Russian Poisk module at the station at 19:42 EDT (2342 GMT). There will be no coverage of the undocking on NASA TV, but you can watch it relocate to its new port on the International Space Station on Thursday.
After undocking this evening, the Progress spacecraft will “park” (NASA speaks to maintain its position) at a point approximately 120 miles (193 km) from the space station to over ‘one day – 28 hours, 41 minutes to be exact – before re-docking at the stations’ new Russian-built Nauka lab module on Friday at 12:23 a.m. EDT (04:23 GMT). NASA will cover the rendezvous and re-docking from 11:30 p.m. EDT Thursday (03:30 GMT Friday). All these times are subject to change.
Related: How Russian Progress Freighters Work (Infographic)
It’s unusual for a spacecraft to stay in position for so long near the space station, but NASA said the wait time would help with the re-docking procedure.
“The 24 hours for undocking / re-docking must allow Russian flight controllers to configure systems on Nauka to receive Progress,” NASA spokeswoman Leah Cheshier told Space.com by email. . “The vehicle is backing up to a safe distance from the station while the work is in progress.”
Additionally, Progress 78 will be able to check the Nauka module’s thruster lines for leaks before the module fires its thrusters to perform an “orientation check” of the station, according to NASA officials. noted in a press release on the maneuver.
At the end of July, the Nauka module accidentally tilted the space station of about 540 degrees shortly after its own docking due to a software glitch. NASA said the crew was not in danger at the time. (Yet another Russian spacecraft, a Soyuz MS-18 crew capsule that brought a film crew back to Earth last week, briefly flipped the ISS out of orientation October 15. NASA and Roscosmos are investigating the root cause.)
The Progress 78 spacecraft will dock without the assistance of the station’s current Expedition 66 crew, but Russian cosmonauts are standing by in case they need to help with the re-docking, NASA said. in a press release. blog post on the operation of the station.
“The station’s two cosmonauts, flight engineers Piotr Dubrovnik and Anton Shkaplerov, are getting ready,” the blog said. “The duo trained on the Zvezda service module’s tele-robotic rendezvous unit for the unlikely event where they would have to manually reconnect the 78P.”
Progress 78 was launched to the space station in late June and arrived at the orbiting lab on July 1, when it docked at the Poisk module after a two-day trip. Its port change comes just a week before another Russian cargo spacecraft, Progress 79, leaves Earth for the space station. The launch is expected to leave the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan no earlier than 8 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, October 27 (00:00 GMT or 5:00 a.m. local time on Thursday, October 28). NASA will begin coverage approximately 15 minutes before launch.
Progress 79 will transport three tonnes of food, fuel and supplies to the space station for a scheduled docking at the Zvezda Service Module aft port at 9:34 p.m. EDT on Friday, October 29 (0134 GMT Saturday, October 30). NASA plans its live coverage at 8:45 p.m. EDT Friday (0045 GMT Saturday).
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.


List of all Aviation Colleges in Nigeria
On the off chance that you want to be a pilot or have a vocation in avionics, then, at that point you ought to think about flying universities. This article covers a rundown of avionics schools in the nation and nitty gritty data about each.
DHAEWOOD AVIATION BUSINESS SCHOOL (DABS)
Dhaewood Aviation Business School is a private expert preparing establishment. The school exists to advance quality preparing in the flight/travel and the travel industry. It targets taking care of HR and capital issues related with the flying business so the different partners like aircrafts, travel services and flying related associations will work better. Spots additionally gives all essential gear to future pilots. Spots offices is situated in Ikeja, Lagos state,
Since the origin of the organization in 2005, it has accomplished its target in an extremely huge measurement. The school likewise gives proficient courses amazing and quality preparing for the individuals who might need to additional their investigations. Touches is viewed as one of the top flying schools in Nigeria.
Courses offered at DABS include:
Air tagging course
Air travel considers
Aircraft lodge group
Travel visa preparing and Management
2D/3D Animation courses
Travel and Tourism courses
Forex exchanging course
General SCHOOL OF AVIATION
The goal of the Universal School of Aviation (USA) is to address the issues of the flight business by creating all around prepared staff at their avionics schools for the best homegrown and global aeronautics related associations. The foundation has made accomplishments in the space of labor improvement and has additionally helped in lessening the pace of joblessness by giving work open doors in the flight business.
General School of Aviation (USA) has associations with global air organizations wherever on the planet. Its understudies can hope to get a new line of work rapidly and effectively after their graduation.
THE UNIVERSAL SCHOOL OF AVIATION PROVIDES THE FOLLOWING COURSES:
Electronic Booking Tools
Travel and Tourism Management
Air Ticketing and Reservation
With the Universal School of Aviation, you can be certain you will get great instructing and faculty who will show you the nuts and bolts of each course.
SCHOOL FEES AT THE UNIVERSAL SCHOOL OF AVIATION
Expenses are reliant upon the course of study. Nonetheless, most courses go for #50,000 which is liable to change whenever. Call the school line at 07063002833 for additional subtleties.
The school offers monetary guide to recently conceded understudies with restricted monetary assets. Up-and-comers may apply for a rebate of up to 10% of the educational expense.
A candidate for monetary guide should demonstrate that they are needing a markdown.
Families with multiple kids selected all the while in the foundation as full-time or low maintenance understudies are qualified for the kin rebate.
LANDOVER COMPANY LIMITED
Landover Company Limited was consolidated in Nigeria on August 15, 1991. Landover Aviation Business School is endorsed and approved by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and International Air Transport Association (IATA). The establishment expects to impart a high feeling of polished methodology in its understudies and empower them to dominate in their specific area(s) of avionics practice. The school likewise runs projects to coordinate experts in the Nigerian Aviation and Air Travel industry into the utilization of the most recent innovation and mastery in the consistently powerful worldwide avionics industry. The school has made IATA TOP 10 Aviation Training Institutions in Africa multiple times in succession in 2011, 2012, 2013.
Advantages OF STUDYING AT LANDOVER COMPANY LIMITED
At Landover Company Limited, you are furnished with both hypothetical and commonsense preparing
At the school, you will be worked with by qualified and concentrated educators.
Since its joining, it has developed to be the main flight administrations organization by giving answers for avionics based issues.
Courses offered at Landover Company Limited include:
TRAVEL and TOURISM
Specialized and OPERATIONS
Global AVIATION COLLEGE, ILORIN
This is a flying foundation set up in Ilorin by the public authority of Kwara State. Be that as it may, the school is organized to be mutually claimed with the private area. The target of the school is to prepare various experts to incorporate pilots (fixed and rotating wing), lodge group, air traffic regulators and airplane engineers for the quickly growing Nigerian and global flight industry. Courses can go from 2 months to year and a half
Advantages OF TRAINING WITH THE INTERNATIONAL AVIATION COLLEGE
The school furnishes its understudies with proficient and profoundly qualified educators to assist with showing different specializations of flying.
The International Aviation College gives the accompanying courses:
Flight dispatcher course
Short proficient courses
Airplane Technician course
Standard Pilot course
NIGERIAN COLLEGE OF AVIATION TECHNOLOGY (NCAT) ZARIA
The Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Zaria is one of the most established flight organizations in Nigeria. The College brags of over 50 years of involvement with giving human asset advancement in the aeronautics business in Africa. The establishment expects to turn into a notable aeronautics preparing supplier in the worldwide circle.
NCAT gives preparing projects to meet both public and worldwide prerequisites. The establishment additionally offers preparing in non-flying explicit regions, for example, PC gear support and satellite correspondence standards.
COURSES OFFERED AT NCAT, ZARIA
Flying school courses
Aeronautical Telecommunications Engineering courses
Airplane Maintenance Engineering courses
Flight Management courses
Air traffic administrations/Communication courses
Advantages OF STUDYING WITH NCAT, ZARIA
NCAT is a partner individual from ICAO TRAINAIRPLUS, which is pointed toward normalizing activities of the school with the ICAO drive and working on the nature of avionics preparing in the school.
NCAT, Zaria is likewise enlisted with the Aviation Accreditation Board worldwide.
Beside standard preparing programs, courses are additionally offered on the web
NCAT aeronautics preparing programs are in similarity with ICAO guidelines and suggested rehearses.
Other avionics schools in Nigeria are:
Aeroport College of Aviation and Travel Management
Team Training Institute – CTI
Hawk Aviation Training
Gibair Aviation Academy
Organization Of Aviation and Maritime Studies
Worldwide Institute Of Aviation Training
Lagos Aviation Academy
Lagos Aviation And Maritime Business Academy
Riteway Aviation School
Belgrade Aviation Training Institute
Mainland Aviation School (CAS)
Dab Aviation Training Institute


In the late 1930s, more than 150,000 volunteers with a love for aviation argued for an organization to put their planes and flying skills to use in defense of their country. As a result, the Civil Air Patrol was born one week prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Thousands of volunteer members answered America's call to national service and sacrifice by accepting and performing critical wartime missions. Assigned to the War Department under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps, the contributions of Civil Air Patrol, including logging more than 500,000 flying hours, sinking two enemy submarines, and saving hundreds of crash victims during World War II, are well documented. After the war, a thankful nation understood that Civil Air Patrol could continue providing valuable services to both local and national agencies. On July 1, 1946, President Harry Truman signed Public Law 476 incorporating Civil Air Patrol as a benevolent, nonprofit organization. On May 26, 1948, Congress passed Public Law 557 permanently establishing Civil Air Patrol as the auxiliary of the new U.S. Air Force. Three primary mission areas were set forth at that time: aerospace education, cadet programs, and emergency services.
Information and Picture from CAP NHQ.


In honor of this occasion, memorial events were held across all branches of the Armed Forces, military units, and higher military educational institutions. A solemn gathering took place at the Air Defense Forces Military Institute, where distinguished servicemen were honored with certificates of commendation, as reported by Sarbaz.kz citing the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
For conscript soldiers, lessons of courage were conducted in military units, featuring a screening of the documentary film “Assault Aviation” from the series “Liberators.”
A thematic exhibition dedicated to the pilot-assaulter Talgat Begeldinov was organized at the State Military-Historical Museum of the Armed Forces, showcasing photographs and documents that narrate the glorious chapters of his life and heroic endeavors during the war.
Talgat Yakubekovich Begeldinov was born in 1922 in the village of Maybalyk, Akmolinsk region. He spent his childhood and youth in Bishkek. His dream of becoming a pilot led him to the aero club in Bishkek, where a year later, he became a flight instructor. He graduated from the Balashov Military Aviation School of Pilots in the Saratov region and later attended the Orenburg Aviation School.
Starting as an ordinary pilot, he went on to become the commander of a squadron in a Guard’s aviation regiment by the end of the war. He fought on the Kalinin, Voronezh, Steppe, and the first and second Ukrainian fronts, completing 305 combat sorties. Despite facing numerous life-threatening situations and sustaining injuries, he remained unwavering in his determination to endure and triumph.
After the war, Talgat Yakubekovich graduated from the Military Air Academy, served in a strike aviation regiment in Ukraine, and led the staff at the Krasnodar Higher School of Navigators of the Air Force. He also served as the Deputy Head of the Civil Aviation Management in Kazakhstan. Until his advanced years, he actively participated in the life of the state and society, heading an international foundation that provided support to war veterans.


Intel and AT&T announced today at Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona that they are collaborating to test and define airborne LTE requirements for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones. As part of the collaboration, they demonstrated a proof of concept showcasing an LTE-based real-time video stream from a UAV using the AT&T LTE network with Intel’s modem. Connecting drones over the network will help address many challenges the category faces, including safety and security concerns, real-time communications, potential interference with manned aircraft, and supporting future capabilities (such as beyond line of sight), as they are approved by the FAA. For more information, go to Intel iQ or read AT&T’s news release.
An Intel Corporation demonstration team displays the company’s technology in a Yuneec unmanned aerial vehicle as part of their demonstrations on Monday, Feb. 22, 2016, at the 2016 Mobile World Congress. (CREDIT: Shawn Morgan/Intel Corporation)


Manager, Materials Process
Company: Triumph Group
Posted on: April 8, 2021
Triumph Group designs, engineers, manufactures, repairs and
overhauls a broad portfolio of aviation and industrial components,
accessories, subassemblies, systems and aircraft structures. We
partner with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and operators
of commercial, regional, business and military aircraft worldwide,
to provide products and services that solve their hardest problems.
So whatever the part, component or complexity of assembly, Triumph
is committed to quality, service and meeting the specialized needs
of each customer. Triumph participates at all levels of the
aerospace supply chain - from single components, to complex
systems, to aerospace structures and their contents. We provide
solutions for the entire product life cycle of an aircraft - from
raw material to aftermarket service. Our unique ability to
integrate a broad range of products and capabilities is our
competitive advantage. Responsibilities Job Summary: Responsible
for the research, development, and testing of aerospace interior
composite systems and components.
- Develops new/innovative process and technology in order to gain
and maintain an industry leadership position.
- Works with sales and marketing, customers and suppliers to
commercialize new design and process formulations.
- Stays current with emerging technology and competition.
- Effectively manage the demands of several concurrent projects,
including the ability to prioritize tasks to achieve successful
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively
communicate at all levels of the organization
- Possess ability to work through issues and bring projects to
completion; perform complex research, analysis, and
troubleshooting; and resolve critical problems over sustained time
durations in a logical manner.
- Performs research, design, and development of manufacturing
processes including production flow, assembly methods, and use of
- Designs, develops, and tests and/or sources and cost justifies
various tools, machinery, and equipment for recommended
- Develops and maintains records and notes on design, test,
process and resulting intellectual property with the intent of
- Assist management and the TGI legal team in the application and
retention of patents relative to work performed.
- Responsible for regulatory compliance and technical data and
components (FAA, OEM REACH, Export Control)
- Leads small team of engineering employees across US and
- Mentoring and development of lower-level engineers
- B.S. in Engineering, or related discipline required. Advanced
Degrees (MS/PHD) or Certifications preferred
- CATIA V4 and V5 experience or training preferred.
- Travel will be required (International as well as
- Development and execution of engineering test plans and
- Development of technical documents and specifications
- Extensive experience with manufacturing and processing of
Aerospace polymers and fiber reinforced composites
- Experience with lamination of films and scrims as well as
development of adhesives systems highly desirable.
- Development of insulation burn through and sound attenuation
- Development and qualification of new Aerospace products and
- Understanding of regulatory requirements for aircraft
- Approves engineering work completed by lower-level
- Minimum 8 years of experience in Research and Development and
new product introduction
- Establish new product failure reporting during the initial
stages of the product life cycle
- Accountable for preparing and presenting plans for any projects
and coordinating deployment including training of team
- Understanding of patent types and their applicability including
the provisional patent process. -- Preferred Experience
- Aircraft ECS and air handling systems
- Aircraft acoustics and vibration mitigation All qualified
applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard
to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,
national origin, or disability. Please contact us if you require
assistance in applying for Triumph Group and we will provide
reasonable accommodations via HRDepartment@triumphgroup.com. If
you'd like more information on your EEO rights under the law,
please click here .--
Keywords: Triumph Group, Jackson , Manager, Materials Process, Executive , Taylorsville, Mississippi
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The worlds's smallest IP-PBX at astricon
Kristian Kielhofner has announced the worlds' smallest ip pbx, running Astlinux
Starting with a 400 Mhz Gumstix
and cutting and squeezing Linux and Asterisk
into 11MB of flash, the finger sized board supports over 40 simultaneous ulaw voip calls and runs off a 5v battery.
The project is still a work in progress, but details, including more pictures, are here
So, I'm sitting in the developer meeting, rolling my eyes in the back of my head at the painful depth of work that is required to internationalize anything.
Some parts of the standard seem to require 7 bit ascii. Others 8 bit. Others UTF 8. For all I know there's EBCDIC required somewhere in the loop.
Interoperating requires switching between each of these possible character sets for each broken device....
It's a very abstract way of looking at the basic problem of communication between people - even before you make a phone call you have to agree on a character set. After that you can express words and names... and after that you can call someone and talk voice who can't understand what you the heck you are talking about....
Wednesday I speak at astercon (My topic: asterisk on embedded systems
). Tomorrow I fly down and have a chance to see f2f a bunch of people I've met on irc and on conference calls. It should be a very rewarding experience. I've been looking for my camera for hours now. I have a million things to finish for work left undone, which I feel bad about, but perhaps I can get the documentation for my current project finished on the plane, and coax the board I'm working on to do something useful before the talk... and did I mention have some fun and meet some cool people?
The broad outlines of the future for manned space exploration
The New Atlantic writes:
In Griffin’s testimony at his Senate confirmation hearing, he made clear his strong support for the new Vision for Space Exploration and candidly criticized the old NASA mentality. “It is time to recognize that we have squandered a once-insurmountable lead in the arts and sciences of spaceflight,” he said. “The best we can say for ourselves today is that our grounded space shuttle is much more sophisticated than the operational vehicles belonging to the two nations which have sent people into space since we have last done so.”
Gradually I've begun to see some coherent arguments around the idea of flying fuel and spacecraft separately on the HLV. The private spaceflight enthusiasists are going ape after the idea
, yet not one has seriously suggested that we concentrate on getting resources into earth orbit from elsewhere in the solar system (e.g. NEOs). I guess I'm one of the few who still thinks it would be cheaper to get a grip on space that way.
In this matter, my views are congruent with the fuel depot crowd - if we can separate the propellant from the payload we can double (well, barring drag problems) the usable mass we send to orbit... and perhaps... one day... with this infrastructure in place... we could derive the propellant from outside earth's orbit. The technical problems in transferring cryogenics in space are severe, but they could be mastered - or we could settle on less difficult fuels (methane, alcohol, a variety of others).
Having a viable infrastructure for fuel delivery lowers risk and increases the size of the market for all those interested in seeing more competition in the space industry.
Consider this analogy about gas powered cars: If cars ran on Xenon, and could only refuel in Houston, would they have spread across the US and the world as fast as they did? No! Only by being able to make stops every few hundred miles are cars viable transport.
(Xenon is a popular, but very difficult to refine and rare propellant used in SEP powered spacecraft
. It's a dead end fuel, suitable only for missions that can't refuel....)
In looking over the vision for space exploration I note that Zubrin slices NASA's problem in two
In the Apollo Mode, business is (or was) conducted as follows: First, a destination for human spaceflight is chosen. Then a plan is developed to achieve this objective. Following this, technologies and designs are developed to implement that plan. These designs are then built and the missions are flown.
The Shuttle Mode operates entirely differently. In this mode, technologies and hardware elements are developed in accord with the wishes of various technical communities. These projects are then justified by arguments that they might prove useful at some time in the future when grand flight projects are initiated.
Contrasting these two approaches, we see that the Apollo Mode is destination-driven, while the Shuttle Mode pretends to be technology-driven, but is actually constituency-driven. In the Apollo Mode, technology development is done for mission-directed reasons. In the Shuttle Mode, projects are undertaken on behalf of various pressure groups pushing their own favorite technologies and then defended using rationales. In the Apollo Mode, the space agency’s efforts are focused and directed. In the Shuttle Mode, NASA’s efforts are random and entropic.
To make this distinction completely clear, a mundane metaphor may be useful. Imagine two couples, each planning to build their own house. The first couple decides what kind of house they want, hires an architect to design it in detail, and then acquires the appropriate materials to build it. That is the Apollo Mode. The second couple polls their neighbors each month for different spare house-parts they would like to sell, and buys them all, hoping eventually to accumulate enough stuff to build a house. When their relatives inquire as to why they are accumulating so much junk, they hire an architect to compose a house design that employs all the knick-knacks they have purchased. The house is never built, but an excuse is generated to justify each purchase, thereby avoiding embarrassment. That is the Shuttle Mode.
I slice it in three - By the time that Apollo was hitting its stride the rot at NASA had already set in. For more details, read Chris Kraft's "Flight". I look to the upcoming moon program and especially the development of a specialized lander and return vehicle as a waste of money - we don't need specialized gear to land on an asteroid - just specialized gear to mine it - and the ability to refuel in orbit...
Labels: asteroids, fuel depots, nasa, space, space05


Apple TV+ has dropped the official trailer for the upcoming third season of its sci-fi alternate-history drama For All Mankind, which will be available for streaming on June 10. The video highlights the series’ ten-year time jump, teasing the start of a brand new high-octane space war. It previews the three-way race to Mars involving NASA, the Soviet Union, and Helios, a private space company.
Check out the For All Mankind Season 3 trailer in the player below:
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For All Mankind explores what would have happened if the global space race never ended. The drama presents an aspirational world where NASA astronauts, engineers and their families find themselves in the center of extraordinary events seen through the prism of an alternate history timeline — a world in which the USSR beats the US to the moon.
“In Season 3, the Red Planet becomes the new frontier in the Space Race not only for the U.S. and the Soviet Union, but also an unexpected new entrant with a lot to prove and even more at stake,” reads the synopsis. “Our characters find themselves going head-to-head as their ambitions for Mars come into conflict and their loyalties are tested, creating a pressure cooker that builds to a climactic conclusion.”
RELATED: Prehistoric Planet Trailer Teases Apple TV+’s Dinosaur Documentary Event
The series stars Joel Kinnaman, Shantel VanSanten, Jodi Balfour, Sonya Walger, Krys Marshall, Cynthy Wu, Casey Johnson, Coral Peña and Wrenn Schmidt, with new series regular Edi Gathegi as Dev Ayesa, a charismatic visionary with his sights set on the stars.
For All Mankind is created and executive produced by Ronald D. Moore, Ben Nedivi, and Matt Wolpert, with Nedivi and Wolpert set as showrunners. Executive producers are Maril Davis, David Weddle, Bradley Thompson and Nichole Beattie. It is a production by Sony Pictures Television.


Frontier Airlines Coming to Eastern Iowa Airport
Flights Begin May 17
Cedar Rapids/Iowa City regional travelers are now able to book additional non-stop flights on a new low-cost carrier coming to The Eastern Iowa Airport. Frontier Airlines announced that it is launching new year-round service from its Denver (DEN) hub to The Eastern Iowa Airport, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (CID), beginning May 17.
Airport Director Tim Bradshaw, A.A.E., said the Frontier service to Denver initially will include four weekly flights and could lead to more flights.
“As the airline industry recovers from the economic turbulence of the last three years, which has resulted in mergers and reduced capacity at airports across the country, it is very good news to announce that The Eastern Iowa Airport has landed a new low-cost carrier,” Bradshaw said. “The new service will be a low-cost alternative for passengers traveling to Denver and western destinations such as Seattle, Los Angeles and San Diego and beyond.”
During the last three years, The Eastern Iowa Airport also regained Delta Airlines service to Atlanta (ATL) and Continental Airlines service to Houston (IAH) area.
With the addition of Frontier Airlines’ four weekly nonstop flights to Denver, Eastern Iowa Airport passengers will have 27 nonstop flights to Denver weekly.
Frontier flights are scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, departing Denver at 3:10 p.m., and arriving in Cedar Rapids at 5:59 p.m.; and departing Cedar Rapids at 6:35 p.m. and arriving in Denver at 7:43 p.m.
Service will be provided on 99-seat Embraer 190 aircraft. The aircraft features STRETCH seating with an additional five to seven inches of legroom on every flight. The Embraer aircraft additionally offer onboard Wi-Fi service from Gogo.
The announcement of the Frontier service brings the total number of airlines serving The Eastern Iowa Airport to six. Frontier joins American Eagle, Allegiant Air, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines.
The Eastern Iowa Airport has service to 11 nonstop destinations: Atlanta (ATL); Chicago (ORD); Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW); Denver (DEN); Detroit (DTW); Houston ((IAH); Minneapolis (MSP); Las Vegas (LAS); Orlando-Sanford (SFB) Fla.; Tampa (TPA), Fla.; St. Petersburg-Clearwater (PIE), Fla.; and Phoenix-Mesa (AZA). There are more than 30 daily departures from Cedar Rapids, with connections to hundreds of destinations.


It seems like an impossible feat, thought up by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, to have drone delivery. Yup, drones dropping off your packages in just 30 minutes! When people talk of the future, this is what they must’ve meant.
The idea was officially announced December 2 in a 60 Minutes interview with Bezos where he described his futuristic plans to renovate the praised Amazon Prime shipping. This got a lot of hype from amazon buyers who, although very pleased with the 1-2 day shipping Amazon Prime offers, were hoping for an even quicker package delivery.
These drones are unmanned aerial vehicles which fly to houses to drop of Amazon packages. It sort of sounds like something from a sci-fi movie which was one of the reasons people liked the idea so much.
Although this idea could be a breakthrough for the shipping industry, there has been a lot of talk about the effect drones have on the privacy of the customers. Many think that the cameras on the drones could invade their personal space and let amazon officials see who they are shipping to. This new innovation, being dubbed “Octocopter” would need clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration or FAA before Amazon enacts this mind-blowing idea.
There are many regulations that the drone shipping have to pass before Amazon is able to actually incorporate it into their service. One day we should all expect to receive our packages via drone, but for one company, that dream is just around the corner.


Neil Armstrong is famous for being the first man to walk on the Moon.
Neil Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930 in the state of Ohio. His love for flying started at a young age when his father took him to an air show. From then on his goal in life was to become a pilot. At the young age of 15, Neil earned his pilot's license.
While attending college, Neil was called up by the Navy to serve as a fighter pilot in the Korean War.
As a Navy fighter pilot, Neil learned to take off and land from aircraft carriers.
Armstrong flew several missions during the war. At one point his plane was hit by enemy fire, but he was able to eject and was safely rescued.
After graduating from college, Armstrong became a test pilot. He flew all sorts of experimental planes testing them out to see how well they flew. It was a dangerous job, but very exciting. He flew over 200 different types of aircraft during his career.
In 1962 Armstrong was selected for the NASA Astronaut Corps. He had to go through a series of harsh physical tests, but he passed and was soon part of the "new nine" group NASA astronauts.
The New Nine
Neil Armstrong was a member of a group of astronauts called the "New Nine."
Armstrong's first trip into outer space was aboard the Gemini 8. He was the command pilot of the space capsule and piloted the first successful docking of two vehicles in space.
The Gemini 8 mission was cut short, however, when the capsules began to roll.
On December 23, 1968 Neil was offered the command of the Apollo 11. This would be the first manned landing on the Moon. The crew included Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.
This was an exciting time for the entire country. The United States was in a race with the Soviet Union to put the first man on the Moon. If the flight was successful, Armstrong would be that man.
Armstrong inside a simulator training for the Apollo 11 mission.
It took months of training and preparation.
Armstrong and the crew boarding the spacecraft and preparing for launch.
After months of practice and preparation, the Apollo 11 spacecraft launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 16, 1969. There was one scary moment in the flight where Armstrong had to take over manual control of the landing. Upon landing Armstrong said "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."
After landing, Armstrong was the first to leave the craft and walk on the Moon. The historic date was July 21, 1969. His famous words upon being the first man on the Moon were "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind".
Walking on Moon
Buzz Aldrin also walked on the Moon during this trip. They collected Moon rocks and were on the Moon for over 21 hours. While the lunar module, named the Eagle, was on the Moon, the third astronaut, Michael Collins, orbited the Moon in the command module.
Neil Armstong back inside the Eagle after walking on the Moon.
The three pilots arrived back on Earth on July 24th. They landed in the Pacific Ocean and returned heroes. The picture shows the three astronauts in quarantine talking to President Richard Nixon.
The crew was famous. Here they are being celebrated with a parade.
After the Apollo 11 flight, Neil held many positions with NASA. He also worked as a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati.
Neil Armstrong died on August 25, 2012 at the age of 82.
The crew of the Apollo 11 meeting with President Obama.
Armstrong training for mission.
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Washington, D.C.– Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva today congratulated the University of Arizona (UA) on its newly announced contract to lead an $800 million National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) asteroid research mission. The mission is expected to inject $200 million into the state economy, more than the popular Mars Rover program.
The OSIRIS-REx mission will send a spacecraft to the asteroid 1999 RQ36, which dates to the early solar system and is thought to be rich with organic compounds that may have seeded life on Earth. The UA team is led by Michael Drake, director of the school’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland will manage the mission for NASA. OSIRIS-REx stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer.
“This is a tremendous boost to our economy, our education system, our prestige and our scientific community,” Grijalva said. “The University has been leading the way in astronomical studies for decades, and there’s no better home for a mission like this. We’re going to see a lot of interest in Southern Arizona for years to come because of this award, and I congratulate the school and the entire team involved. Forget politics – this is straight up good news for our state no matter what you do.”
All mission science operations will be performed on the UA campus. The mission will include the OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite built by UA as well as instruments built by NASA, Arizona State University (ASU) and the Canadian Space Agency. The team includes UA, NASA Goddard, Lockheed Martin, ASU, KinetX, the Canadian Space Agency, NASA Johnson Space Center, NASA Ames Research Center, NASA Langley Research Center, and researchers from other academic sites.
For more information, call UA Associate Vice President for Federal Relations Shay Stautz at (520) 621-3108.


In order to reach the moon, astronauts would need to launch a rocket and fly to the far side of the planet in a capsule that was specially modified for the mission.
They would then use their craft to dock with a giant robotic arm, which would pull them up to the surface and onto a robotic probe, where they would spend several months exploring the lunar surface.
After the lunar landings, astronauts aboard the probe would spend a year on the moon.
After that, the astronauts would be able to spend their time on other missions, like exploring Mars or another nearby world.
IGN’s Apollo 11 astronauts would spend their first year on Earth as part of the Apollo 13 mission.
In 2018, the space agency released the first official pictures of the spacecraft that would fly to and land on the Moon.
You can check out some of the pictures and videos from the Apollo 11 mission below.


Yes, you heard that right! SpaceX has a new mini-bakery! But it’s not feeding all the hungry SpaceX engineers working on the Starship at their Boca-Chica site. Instead, they make their heat shield tiles here.
As Starship prepares for its first orbital flight, the thermal protection system will play a crucial part in making the mission a success.
The SpaceX factory which makes the tiles have been widely rumored around on the internet for many years. But in 2019 we started seeing some SpaceX vans outside, something that looked more like a warehouse in Cape Canaveral, Florida. But oh boy, was it a normal warehouse, in May 2020 there was a site inspection that gave us a much closer look at the new SpaceX facility.
It’s said to have 20 employees at the time of inspection, they run 24 hours a day and they work 7-days a week, in 3 shifts. The facility is said to be about 40,000 Sq.ft in size. The number of employees at the time of writing this blog must have surly gone up as the SpaceX Starship prepares for its first orbital test flight.
So now that we know where they are made, let’s talk about how they are made. The new SpaceX heat shield tiles are very similar to that of NASA’s Space Shuttle’s thermal protection system. They need to be able to withstand very high temperatures during the re-entry. For this, they need to have low thermal conductivity and high specific heat capacity and melting point. Elon Musk has mentioned that the tiles are made out of Silicon and Aluminum Oxide. The tiles are 90% air and 10% Silica and they are a bit like hard form. That’s because Air has a low thermal conductivity and high specific heat capacity. This is very similar to those of the Space Shuttle.
1/2 of the new SN20 is covered with these tiles.
If we take a closer look at these tiles, we can see that they are labeled with red and green stickers.
The tiles with red ones are found to have been broken or damaged somehow during the inspection. The ones labeled in green are found to be misaligned during the fitting.
Now, this might be one of the very first and very important problems for SpaceX to solve. It’s not as simple as baking a few foams like tiles and sticking them on the Starship. For the Starship to be fully reusable, it needs to avoid such inspections. To understand this better, SpaceX plans on reusing the Starship at least three times a day. NASA’s Space Shuttle had a similar technology and it took literal months for inspection and maintenance between launches. The main reason for this is that the Space Shuttle had a much more complex shape than the SpaceX Starship.
The Space Shuttle had many different shapes of tiles, and during the launch ice would fall from the main tank hit these tiles thus, damaging them. SpaceX has about 15,000 tiles compared to 20,000 of the Space Shuttle. The Space Shuttles tiles were glued in place, but SpaceX uses a red robot to weld the mounting pins onto the body of the Starship and a person just comes along and gives it a nice push into place. The reason they choose the hexagon shape is that if they were to go with for example a square shape. then the heat would go between the tiles and the body of the Starship would be exposed to the Starship. The thermal protection on Starship is much more simpler and efficient than compared to that of the Space Shuttle.
On June 7th 2021 a Boca Chica watcher and Twitter user @StarshipGazer took some really good photos of a few shipments from the so-called “mini-bakery”.
One of them was a wooden crate and was labeled incoming mini-bakery. This could mean that they are moving the mini-bakery, near the production site. Again this cannot be confirmed yet, since it could be some more tiles from Florida as well.
What do you think about new SpaceX ‘mini-bakery’? Let me know in the comment section below!


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Learn about Space History for Kids in the eleventh adventure, which transports you back to the Mir Space Station. You will learn about the solar system, the Space Race, gravity and more.
Begin the history adventure with a Mysteries in Time subscription box for kids.
Max and Katie travel back to the Mir Space Station, where they learn how to be astronauts and experience
weightlessness. However, their fun is interrupted when the warning alarm sounds. Something is broken, but the person being blamed
insists he is innocent. Is he forgetful or is someone sabotaging the equipment and framing him?
Join Max and Katie on their adventure through time and space as they learn about the solar system, the Space Race, gravity and more!
Saturn is known as a gas giant and has enormous rings made up of ice, rocks and dust.
There are thousands of man-made satellites in space today, all orbiting the Earth.
The first man in space was a Russian man called Yuri Gagarin, who was successfully sent into orbit in 1961.
Human beings have been fascinated by the night skies for thousands of years. The stars
have captured people's imaginations and featured in stories worldwide. The position of the stars has encouraged
people throughout history to study the patterns in the sky and make maps to help them navigate at night.
By understanding the movement of the planets, people have been able to make accurate calendars.
More recently, mankind has made incredible journeys into space. This is still an exciting time for space travel, with new discoveries every year!
A constellation is a group of stars that make a pattern in the sky, like a dot-to-dot picture. Some constellations look like an animal, an object or a person. There are 88 constellations. People throughout history have used the constellations to help them find their way, like a map. Some of the earliest recordings date back to the Ancient Greeks, who knew they could sail in a certain direction by watching the position of the stars in the night sky. People also used to use the position of the constellations to create calendars.
Until 1981, the American space rockets could only be used once, which was very expensive!
From 1981 until 2011, they used the space shuttle. This could be launched into space with rockets, which broke away once in orbit. The shuttle could then land safely back on Earth afterwards, like an aeroplane.
The first man on the Moon was an American astronaut called Neil Armstrong (1930 - 2012),
who flew on board the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Neil Armstrong was a fighter pilot, who then retrained as
an astronaut. After the moon landing, Neil Armstrong became famous across the world.
Along with the two other astronauts, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, he took part in celebratory parades and interviews, as well as travelling to many countries to talk about their experience.
A space station is a spacecraft that stays in space and keeps orbiting the Earth. Rockets and shuttles take astronauts and supplies (such as food, fuel or equipment) to the space station and back. Astronauts carry out scientific experiments on board the space station, for example testing the effects of gravity on different objects or plants. Astronauts sometimes spend several months in space, carrying out their investigations.


Whether they're swooping in to deliver packages or spotting victims in disaster zones, swarms of flying robots could have a range of important applications in the future, a new study found.
The robots can transition from driving to flying without colliding with each other and could offer benefits beyond the traditional flying-car concepts of sci-fi lore, the study said.
The ability to both fly and walk is common in nature. For instance, many birds, insects and other animals can do both.
Robots with similar versatility
Robots with similar versatility could fly over impediments on the ground or drive under overhead obstacles.
But currently, robots that are good at one mode of transportation are usually bad at others, study lead author Brandon Araki, a roboticist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and his colleagues said in their new study.
The roboticists developed algorithms
The roboticists developed algorithms that ensured the robots did not collide with one another.
In tests in a miniature town made using everyday materials such as pieces of fabric for roads and cardboard boxes for buildings, all drones successfully navigated from a starting point to an ending point on collision-free paths.
Adding the driving apparatus to each drone added weight and so slightly reduced battery life, decreasing the maximum distances the drones could fly by about 14 percent, the researchers said.
Still, the scientists noted that driving remained more efficient than flying, offsetting the relatively small loss in efficiency in flying due to the added weight.


Via Tom Engelhardt's TomDispatch, I just learned that the Air Force posts a daily official account of the air missions flown.
Engelhardt is one commentator who has been stressing the importance of the air war in Afghanistan and Iraq. There is a lot of bombing and "close-air support" going on in both places.
The Air Force summary for 11/16/06, reporting the action for the previous day, says:
In Afghanistan Nov. 15, Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs provided close-air support for International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, troops in contact with Taliban extremists near Oruzgan.
An Air Force B-1 Lancer provided close-air support to ISAF troops in contact with enemy forces near Ghazni.
Royal Air Force GR-7 Harriers provided close-air support to ISAF troops in contact with enemy forces near Lashkar Gah. The GR-7s expended rockets on enemy positions.
In total, 39 close-air-support missions were flown in support of ISAF and Afghan troops, reconstruction activities and route patrols.
Additionally, seven U.S. and Royal Air Force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR, aircraft flew missions in support of operations in Afghanistan.
That's thirty-nine air strikes of one kind or another in Afghanistan in just one day. Who are we fighting there? Are those Al Qaida targets we're going after? Taliban? Local warlords? And just what kind of effect is all this aerial warfare having on the ordinary people of Afghanistan? Our Establishment media isn't telling us much on that score.
Let's put some context by using the Air Force's descriptions of the aircraft mentioned. In order, the A-10 Thunderbolt IIs can carry the following armaments:
One 30 mm GAU-8/A seven-barrel Gatling gun; up to 16,000 pounds (7,200 kilograms) of mixed ordnance on eight under-wing and three under-fuselage pylon stations, including 500 pound (225 kilograms) Mk-82 and 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms) Mk-84 series low/high drag bombs, incendiary cluster bombs, combined effects munitions, mine dispensing munitions, AGM-65 Maverick missiles and laser-guided/electro-optically guided bombs; infrared countermeasure flares; electronic countermeasure chaff; jammer pods; 2.75-inch (6.99 centimeters) rockets; illumination flares and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. (my emphasis)
Cluster bombs, 2000-lb. low/high drag bombs, mine dispensing munitions, Sidewinder missiles. Just what kind of weapons are they using "near" Oruzgan?
Armaments for the B-1B Lancer:
24 GBU-31 GPS-aided JDAM (both Mk-84 general purpose bombs and BLU-109 penetrating bombs) or 24 Mk-84 2,000-pound general purpose bombs; 8 Mk-85 naval mines; 84 Mk-82 500-pound general purpose bombs; 84 Mk-62 500-pound naval mines; 30 CBU-87, -89, -97 cluster munitions; 30 CBU-103/104/105 WCMD, 24 AGM-158 JASSMs or 12 AGM-154 JSOWs.
Same question for "near" Ghazni.
The Air Force press release tells us that the British Harriers "expended rockets on enemy positions".
And that's just in Afghanistan, where accounts of US combat rarely appear prominently in the news. And just on Wednesday, there were 39 "missions in support of operations" in that country. And that's according to the Air Force's official account.
A lot of important news is going unreported about both the air wars in both Iran and Afghanistan.


A Bulgarian television provider is reaching the heights of outer space thanks to an innovative satellite attached to a planned Falcon 9 launch by Elon musk's pioneer space company SpaceX.
Space Systems Loral (SSL) announced May 12 that the BulgariaSat-1 satellite, built for the Bulgaria Sat telecom company, arrived at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
“It's exciting,” SSL Director of Communications Wendy Lewis told Balkan Business Wire.
Lewis said it often takes two to three years to build a satellite, including design and assembly phases.
“There is lots of testing,” Lewis said.
She added that optimal orbiting at 22,300 miles above Earth requires specific engineering standards, as well as rigorous testing. Other pressures on the satellite involve aspects of its atmosphere related to its positioning, she said.
Lewis said SSL leaders project that the rocket will launch in mid-June.
The BulgariaSat-1 satellite will help Bulgaria Sat provide direct-to-home television and communications services in the Balkans and elsewhere around Europe.
Thirty Ku-band BSS transponders will help with the provision of high-definition TV and other state-of-the-art services.
"BulgariaSat-1 is an essential part of Bulsatcom's strategy to expand high-quality TV and communications offerings to meet customer demand," Maxim Zayakov, CEO of Bulgaria Sat, said in a press statement. "SSL has been an excellent partner in helping us make our vision a reality and we eagerly await next month's launch."
The satellite was shipped in a special environmentally sealed container to regulate temperature and humidity and prevent contamination. Once at the site, the satellite must be loaded with propellant and attached to the rocket.
Look for more as SpaceX and its partners plan for the impending launch. Experts are saying within about 30 days from the launch, BulgariaSat-1 will be delivering data signals to consumers.