Brandon is currently flying for Frontier Flying Service based in Barrow, Alaska. He is a First Officer flying a Beech 99.
Joe is currently flying with Mesa Airlines as a First Officer.
Doug is currently a Captain flying Dash 8's for Mesa Airlines but still enjoys instructing in his spare time.
Khalid is currently flying for Mesa Airlines
Joe is currently flying in Puerto Rico
Jason is currently living in Ireland with his wife Morag and his two sons. He is currently flying for JetBlue
Andy is currently flying for Alaska Airlines flying 737s. He now has one son.
Ted is currently developing property in the Walla Walla area
Mary is flying for Pen Air based in Alaska. She recently had a baby boy, David.
Greg is flying for Airnet Express based in Illinois
Wesley is currently flying for United Express
Pete is a first officer for Alaska Airlines flying MD-80s.
Greg is a EMB 120 Captain in Denver flying for Skywest
Tim is flying for Horizon Air as a first officer in Dash 8's.
Ryan is a CRJ Captain in Denver flying for Skywest
Mark is an ERJ Captain for Continental Express in Houston
Jeff is flying for Sky West (United Express) as a Captain in Denver, CO. He still hangs out at Crest so you may bump into him sometime.
Dylan is currently flying as a Captain for Horizon Air in a DHC-8. He is based in Seattle, and resides in the Auburn area.
Ben is flying for Alaska Airlines as a first officer in MD-80s.
Ryan is currently flying as a Captain for Horizon Air in a DHC-8. Ryan, his wife Tanni, and their two children Jake and Jasmine live on Lake Tapps in the Sumner area.
Jeff is currently working for Skywest Airlines (United Express) based out of Portland, Oregon. He is flying as a captain in a Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia. Jeff resides in Enumclaw with his with Kathie and their two children Lindsay and Zach.
Darrin is currently an IOE Captain\Line Check Airman in an EMB 145 based in DCA. He is living in Williamsport, PA with his wife Trudi and two children, Ben and Sara.
Skip is currently flying for Horizon Air in Seattle as a DHC-8 captain, with an upgrade to Captain coming soon. In addition to his duties as a line pilot, Skip works as an check airman for the Horizon Air training department in Portland, Oregon. Skip resides with his wife Michelle in Federal Way, Washington.
Jeff was recently hired as a First Officer for Alaska Airlines. He is residing in the Seattle area with his wife Katie and their new baby girl Emma.
Rick is flying for Alaska Airlines in 737s. He resides with his wife Kate and they were last seen living in the Seattle area.
Jevon is a Captain for Skywest flying a 737. He now has a boy and a girl


NATO name: "Charger'") was the first commercial supersonic transport aircraft (SST). It was one of only two SSTs to enter commercial service, the other being the Anglo-FrenchConcorde. The design, publicly unveiled in January 1962, was constructed in the Soviet Union under the direction of the Tupolev design bureau, headed by Alexei Tupolev.
The prototype first flew on 31 December 1968 near Moscow, two months before the first flight of Concorde. The Tu-144 first went supersonic on 5 June 1969, and on 26 May 1970 became the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2. The frequent comparisons to Concorde led to the Tu-144 being known as "Concordski" in the West.


Why IndiGo and GoAir had to ground their A320neo flights
Budget carriers IndiGo and GoAir canceled as many as 66 flights after the country’s aviation regulator DGCA grounded 11 of their A320Neo planes with faulty Pratt & Whitney engines, causing severe inconvenience to hundreds of flyers.
IndiGo has canceled 42 flights for March 14. This includes flights to Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Jaipur, Srinagar, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Dehradun, Amritsar, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, among others, the airline announced on its website.
However, the Wadia Group-promoted GoAir said it had canceled a total of six flights today due to the grounding of three of its A320 Neo planes, as against 18 yesterday.
The Gurugram-headquartered IndiGo operates over 1,000 daily flights


Sunday, February 27
Boucher noted Canada and the U.S. amended an agreement last August to allow Norad to track any incoming rogue missiles.
Washington had hoped Canada would would go further and participate in building the continental defence shield, an elaborate system that some worry could lead to weapons in space and an international arms race.
Cellucci compared the situation to one that occurred during the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. He noted that it was a Canadian general at Norad who scrambled military jets under orders from Bush to shoot down a hijacked commercial aircraft headed for Washington.
Had that plane been flying over Canada, it would have fallen to the prime minister to make the decision to shoot it down, Cellucci said.
That's why Americans were "perplexed" as to why Canadians would want to leave it up to the Americans to decide what action to take in the event a missile was aimed at Canada.
The rest of the story:
Flight 93 timeline:
10:06 a.m. Flight 93 crashes just north of the Somerset County Airport, about 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, 124 miles or 15 minutes from Washington DC. [10:00, MSNBC, 9/22/01, 10:03, NORAD, 9/18/01, 10:06, Guardian, 10/17/01, 10:06, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10/28/01, 10:06, MSNBC, 9/3/02, 10:06, Mirror, 9/13/02, 10:06, USA Today, 8/13/02, 10:07, AP, 8/19/02, 10:10, CNN, 9/12/01, 10:10, Washington Post, 9/12/01, 10:10, New York Times, 9/12/01, 10:10, Boston Globe, 11/23/01, 10:06:05, US Army authorized seismic study] Little information about the crash has been made public.
(Before and After 10:06 a.m.) "At least half a dozen named individuals ... have reported seeing a second plane flying low and in erratic patterns, not much above treetop level, over the crash site within minutes of the United flight crashing. They describe the plane as a small, white jet with rear engines and no discernible markings." [Independent, 8/13/02]
1) Lee Purbaugh: "I didn't get a good look but it was white and it circled the area about twice and then it flew off over the horizon." [Mirror, 9/13/02]
2) Susan Mcelwain: Less than a minute before the Flight 93 crash rocked the countryside, she sees a small white jet with rear engines and no discernible markings swoop low over her minivan near an intersection and disappear over a hilltop, nearly clipping the tops of trees lining the ridge. [Bergen Record, 9/14/01] She later adds, "There's no way I imagined this plane - it was so low it was virtually on top of me. It was white with no markings but it was definitely military, it just had that look. It had two rear engines, a big fin on the back like a spoiler on the back of a car and with two upright fins at the side. I haven't found one like it on the internet. It definitely wasn't one of those executive jets. The FBI came and talked to me and said there was no plane around.... But I saw it and it was there before the crash and it was 40 feet above my head. They did not want my story - nobody here did." [Mirror, 9/13/02]
3 and 4) Dennis Decker and Rick Chaney, Decker speaking: "As soon as we looked up [after hearing the Flight 93 crash], we saw a midsized jet flying low and fast. It appeared to make a loop or part of a circle, and then it turned fast and headed out." Decker and Chaney described the plane as a Learjet type, with engines mounted near the tail and painted white with no identifying markings. "It was a jet plane, and it had to be flying real close when that 757 went down. If I was the FBI, I'd find out who was driving that plane." [Bergen Record, 9/14/01]
5) Jim Brandt sees a small plane with no markings stay about one or two minutes over the crash site before leaving. [Pittsburgh Channel, 9/12/01]
6) Tom Spinelli: "I saw the white plane. It was flying around all over the place like it was looking for something. I saw it before and after the crash." [Mirror, 9/13/02]
The FBI later says this was a Fairchild Falcon 20 business jet, directed after the crash to fly from 37,000 feet to 5,000 feet and obtain the coordinates for the crash site to help rescuers. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/16/01, Pittsburgh Channel, 9/15/01] Was the unmarked jet some kind of reconnaissance plane? The FBI also says there was a C-130 military cargo aircraft flying at 24,000 feet about 17 miles away, but that plane wasn't armed and had no role in the crash. [Pittsburgh Channel, 9/15/01, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/16/01] Note that this is the same C-130 that flies very close to Flight 77 right as that planes crashes into the Pentagon (see 9:38 a.m.).
(After 10:06 a.m.) Just after Flight 93 crashes, "Up above, a fighter jet streak[s] by." [ABC, 9/15/02]
(After 10:06 a.m.) At some point after Flight 93 crashes, NORAD diverts "unarmed Michigan Air National Guard fighter jets that happened to be flying a training mission in northern Michigan since the time of the first attack." [AP, 8/30/02] Why weren't they diverted an hour or more earlier?
(10:08 a.m.) Bush is told of the crash of Flight 93 a few minutes later. Because of Cheney's earlier order, he asks, "Did we shoot it down or did it crash?" Several hours later, he is assured it crashed. [Washington Post, 1/27/02]


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Decades worth of man-made space junk is floating around in orbit above the earth and it’s a crowded cosmic trash dump that has the attention of NASA and other space experts.
According to the NASA’s Oribital Debris Program Office at Johnson Space Center, there are more than 9,000 pieces of space junk big enough to be identified and tracked, and many more too small to keep tabs on. Most of the debris consists of parts from old rockets and satellites that are eventually pulled back into the earth’s atmosphere and either burn up or crash to the ground. Dr. Carolyn Sumners is the director of astromony at the Houston Museum of Natural Science and says some of the junk is lost as space vehicles leave earth’s atmosphere and other objects are simply worn out satellites and other equipment.
Although the junk field is spread out over a huge area, there is still a chance that a space vehicle, like the Space Shuttle, could encounter debris that could cause damage. The Interntational Space Station even has a shield to deflect space junk.
Lawrence Pinsky is the chair of the physics department at the University of Houston and says as far-fetched as it sounds, there could be space junk-collecting missions in the future.
Pinsky says tracking the debris only does so much good, with many more pieces of junk that haven’t been pinpointed and tracked.
One of the biggest pieces of soon-to-be space junk is the Hubble Space Telescope, which weights about 13 tons. Officials will most likely control its re-entry into earth’s atmosphere and make sure it lands in the water and not on land where it could cause massive damage if it hit in the wrong area.


Chris got started in model rocketry at the age of 14 in 1968 after seeing an Estes catalog in eighth grade. He joined the junior high school rocket club and became president of the club in ninth grade.
He joined the NAR in 1968 and later joined the Cleveland Natural History Museum rocket club, a local NAR section in 1969.
He became active in NAR competition in 1970 and went to his first rocket meet, the Midwest Model Rocket Regional, where he set a world record in Swift (B motor) Boost Glide.
He joined the newly formed North Royalton Rocket Society, another NAR section, in 1971 and competed on a national level that year with fellow rocketeer, John Fleischer, placing fifth in the Team Division at NARAM-13. A short hiatus from the hobby started shortly after that because of college.
He joined the newly formed Suburban Northern Ohio Association of Rocketry (SNOAR) in 1975, after the demise of the North Royalton section, along with many former members of that club. He became editor of the clubs newsletter, SNOAR News in 1978.
He competed on a national level with fellow club members Mike Nowak and Matt Steele for the 1978 contest year and won the National Team Championship at NARAM-20. He then retired from competition rocketry. SNOAR News won one of many Honorable Mentions that year. It was at NARAM-20, after meeting Gary Rosenfield, that Chris first stated that “The future of model rocketry lies in high-power.”
He started flying high-power rockets in 1976, mostly with clusters of D12's and FSI E and F motors. And later began flying the first commercially available uncertified composite motors in 1978 with the introduction of Pro-Jet, SSRS and Plasmajet motors. He became one of the first dealers for Composite Dynamics, SSRS, Ace Rockets kits and later, Aerotech.
He was the editor of SNOAR News when it was awarded the LAC Newsletter Trophy at NARAM-22, in 1980. SNOAR as a section went on to win the Reserve Section Championship that year. At this NARAM, Chris was “called out on the carpet” by then National Contest Director Mark Bundick for flying uncertified and illegal G motors at a NAR sanctioned launch. The famous phrase “Who flew the G?” came out of this confrontation.
During the ‘70’s, he participated in the Estes Build-Up program where he constructed models for local hobby shops and distributors. He along with other SNOAR members conducted Estes demo launches for hobby shops and department stores. He was the Estes representative at all the KentCon Spacemodeling Conventions held from 1979-81. Chris constructed Estes demonstration flight models for a number of NARAM’s and constructed models featured in several Estes catalogs and the European Centuri catalog.
After hearing about the rocketry activities being held out west, he attended the annual Smoke Creek, NV high power rocket launch in the spring of 1981, which was sponsored by the Reaction Research Institute. While at Smoke Creek, he overheard another rocketeer at the launch utter the famous words “large and dangerous rocket ships”. After returning from the launch, he started working on organizing a Midwest high-power launch for the following year.
He organized and sponsored the first Large and Dangerous Rocket Ships launch, a two day high power event in August 1982. This was the first rocket launch to file for a FAA waiver. The next four LDRS launches were held on this same field near Medina, Ohio. The newly formed national Tripoli Rocketry Association had its first membership drive at LDRS-4, where Chris became a member. After LDRS-5, the launch was sponsored by national Tripoli and flown from different sites all over the country. The launch continues on today.
He founded North Coast Rocketry (NCR) in 1983, which was the first “full-service” high power rocketry company in 1983, selling high-power kits, parts, motors, adhesives and recovery systems. NCR became the first high-power rocket company that was not a motor manufacturer to sell Class B motors from Vulcan Systems, and for a while was the largest Aerotech dealer in the US. It was during this time that Chris coined the term “born-again rocketeer” (or BAR). A number of the rocketry technical reports he authored for NCR were later adopted by the NAR for their technical report series. He operated the company out of his house until it was moved to Salt Lake City in 1992. After some disagreements with his partners, he separated himself from the company in 1994. Estes later licensed much of the NCR product line, and several of the kits that Chris designed were downsized into their model rocket line-up.
After LDRS-3, the NAR started investigating the possibility of incorporating high-power rocketry into their organization. Chris, along with other SNOAR members participated in both NAR HPR Blue-Ribbon Commissions and NCR donated testing materials.
In 1985 he attended the Sixth Annual World Model Rocketry Championships held in Bulgaria, flying high-power demonstration flights using NCR kits with composite North Coaster motors. He also assisted the Polish team capture Gold Medals for Scale by lending them a NCR composite E motor for the second flight of their Saturn 1B.
Chris was awarded a Lifetime membership in the Tripoli Rocketry Association in 1987 while at LDRS-6 for his contributions to high-power rocketry.
In 1990, he was awarded the NAR’s Howard Galloway Award for his contributions to model rocketry. He is still currently a NAR member.
He began flying hybrid rockets with the introduction of the first Hypertek nitrous oxide hybrid rocket motors. He did both his Level 2 & 3 certification flights using Hypertek powered rockets.
In 1996, he was named to the Lifetime Membership Committee of the Tripoli Rocketry Association along with Tom Blazanin, the founder of national Tripoli. While on this committee, he started the Presidential Award to be awarded for outstanding individual achievements in rocketry.
After the sale of LOC/Precision to its former owner, Barry Lynch, Chris became a “occasional part-time” employee of LOC, traveling to hobby shows and launches with Barry, helping out at the LOC plant and helping developing the Hyperloc hybrid kit line.
In the late ‘90’s, he joined the Tri-City Skybusters (now just “Skybusters”), a local NAR section formed after the demise of SNOAR in 1992. A number of other former SNOAR members also joined the club.
In 2003, at the prompting of Ken Good, Tripoli’s president, he founded the Northern Ohio Tripoli Rocketry Association (NOTRA) and became its President/Prefect. NOTRA affiliated itself with the Skybusters to share launching equipment and launch fields. He, along with fellow NOTRA member Martin Dorociak, became “hybrid gurus” promoting hybrid rocket flying and giving hybrid launcher support at several other local launches.
He attended Balls-16 at Blackrock, NV in 2007 and became an instant convert to Experimental (later called “Research”) Rocketry. At Balls, he rephrased his 1978 statement, saying that “The future of high-power rocketry lies in EX.” After returning from the launch he began making plans to build composite rocket motors again. In 2008, after attending motor making workshops near Columbus, OH and Pittsburgh, PA, he successfully built and test-fired several 38 and 54mm motors. Later that year, while at Balls-17, he flew his smaller Level 3 prototype successfully with his first 75mm full L motor. In 2009, at Balls 18, Chris flew the same rocket for his successful Level 3 certification flight. Shortly thereafter he was nominated for membership on the TAP committee.
In 2008 he was named as head of the TRA Publications Committee, responsible for magazine print ads, advertising, and various membership services.
At the present time Chris resides in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio and retired from the Eastern Campus of Cuyahoga Community College where he had worked for 37 years. He is currently planning his second career as an instructor for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. After more than 52 years in the hobby, he still actively builds and flies rocket.


Just a few weeks ago, on October 16th, a Russian Briz-M rocket failed and exploded while in orbit. While no one was on board and thus there were no casualties, the explosion of the rocket does present a problem as well as bringing to light a concern for organizations seeking to further the progress of space travel. That problem is the growing cloud of space debris that is cluttering the orbit of the planet Earth.
Just one rocket left more than 500 fragments of itself floating around the planet. While some of these may harmlessly pass into the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up upon reentry, most of the pieces will simply continue to circle. Since they are moving at such a high speed, they are potential threats to not only the International Space Station, but any satellite or future space mission that has to fly through them. One small piece, moving at high velocity, can cause major damage to the complicated machinery of space craft.


Explorers- Exhibition PAD. A1
Researching the unknown is one of the deepest aspects of human nature. Since pre history, the humans progressively widened the limits of their habitats, often running big risks, looking for unexplored territories. The ancient mariners sailed the ocean trying to find new lands and unknown seas. Also when immediate advantages were not present, the need for exploring the world was always alive, boosted by a secret attraction for reality. Our innate need for novelty represents a continuous prompt to “go beyond”, to be open to meet the unexpected, the unknown, the “other” (be it another person, another continent, another planet). All the explorers have the intuition that the reality they are trying to explain, no matter if it is still unknown, will somehow have a meaning for us, will tell us something about our presence in the world, our origins, our destiny. The ancestral need of the man for meeting the mystery, expressed in the art and literature of all the cultures, did not only bring to a great expansion of our knowledge of the world, but to a deeper awareness of ourselves as well.
Nowadays, science is a unique form of exploration, that allows us to expand our knowledge of the physical world to limits that had never been reached before. But there is a precise branch of research that embodies, in modern terms, the same adventure of the ancient marines: space exploration. As a matter of fact, when we explore the space, we are not making experiments in a lab, we are not “passive” observes of the surrounding universe: we travel through the “cosmic ocean”, sending space ships (with astronauts or, more often, with sophisticated devices), to study the other worlds on site and to interact directly with the extraterrestrial environment.
In spite of the great risks, difficulties and losses, the planet exploration programs went on for more than 50 years without interruption. Thanks to the extraordinary technological development, the scientists widened the limits of space exploration far beyond the orbits surrounding the Earth, sending dozens of probes to the other planets and satellites of the Solar System. Some of these missions, starting from the conquer of the Moon with the Apollo Program, and other European (ESA) and American (NASA) probes sent to the solar system, had and will have a massive impact on the perception of our place in the universe. Among these, the Voyager Program stands out as an extremely important accomplishment.
Sent in 1977, after a 18-bilion-chilometer journey that lasted 36 years, Voyager 1 was the first space ship to exit the limit of our Solar System. Thanks to a rare and favorable planetary alignment, the two Voyager ships reached all the external planets, from Mars to Neptune, discovering new satellites and providing us extraordinary images of unexplored worlds. The odyssey of the Voyager shook from the basis our knowledge of the Solar System, and opened the way to many missions for the future, that will be directed on the single planets and satellites. In August 2013, Voyager 1 completed its journey through the Solar System, crossing the Heliopause and becoming the first object produced by the man to enter the interstellar space.
Each one of the Voyagers contains a “Golden Disk”, a sort of “cosmic postcard” containing information about the humans, about the cultural and scientific heritage of our planet, aimed at providing data about us, in the unlikely event extraterrestrials creatures come in touch with one of the space ships. Beyond the low possibilities that something like this may happen, these disks represent an emblematic characteristic of the experience of exploration: the perpetual need to find something or someone. We don’t explore just to find, but also to be found.
The exhibition will bring the visitors onto the Voyager, in an ideal interplanetary trip that starts from the Earth and reaches the extreme limits of the Solar System. Through historic images, reproduction of space probes, videos and multimedia material, the visitors will come in touch with the extraordinary technical challenges of these exploration, and will be involved the magnificent journeys of the recent missions. They will see the extraterrestrial landscapes, from the fascinating sights of Mars to the exotic giant planets, from the huge satellites of Jupiter to the breathtaking view of the rings of Saturn, till the landing of the Cassini probe on Titan.
At the end of this journey, we will appreciate our planet in a completely new way: we will see how tiny, wonderful and welcoming our Earth is. As a matter of fact, the farthest edges are an extremely favorable point of view to observe reality, because from far away we can understand the place we come from. As T.S. wrote: “We shall not cease from exploration, / and the end of all our exploring / will be to arrive where we started / and know the place for the first time”.
Cured by Euresis association.
In collaboration with Fondazione CEUR.


This paper documents work sponsored by the FAA, as part of the FAA's Concept Validation Plan. It proposes performance metrics relating improvements in technical capability of air and ground elements to traffic spacing under current and future operational concepts. The metrics proposed and defined are the Required Total System Performance (RTSP), and its component metrics; Required Navigation Performance (RNP), Required Communication Performance (RCP) and Required Surveillance Performance (RSP). The paper discusses the potential need for additional metrics for ATM functions such as conflict probing and resolution. A Short Term Conflict Alert (STCA) controller function was modeled to analyze the effects of radar surveillance performance on conflict detection.


Israeli spacecraft scheduled to land on the Moon in February 2019
SpaceIL and Israel’s Aerospace Industries mission to land on the Moon announced; Israel to be fourth to land on the Moon; Launch scheduled for Dec. 2018, landing in February 2019; SpaceIL: We will put the Israeli flag on the Moon.
Israel announced on Tuesday that it plans to be the fourth country to land on the Moon, a lunar launch scheduled for December of this year.
SpaceIL announced that it plans to land on the Moon by February 13, 2019, confirming “We have a launch and landing dates! December 2018- Launch, February 13 2019- First Israeli spacecraft lands on the Moon!… more


Yuri gagarin cause of death
Katya’s grandmother’s message stuck with her. “It speaks to the potential power of the Overview effect, to understand that we are all connected on the same planet, facing the same challenges, regardless of where we are physically located.”
“As a Mexican engineer working in the space industry, I know firsthand how few of us there are. I’ve always believed that it’s not enough to reach your goals if you don’t help others grow with you,” Katya Echazarreta explains to S4H.
“I started working to help not only students in the U.S. who have high aspirations like mine, but also women in Mexico who hear the same words I used to hear all too often: ‘it’s not for you.'”
She is the first female astronaut citizen ambassador for the S4H organization. Her work in STEM includes co-hosting the Netflix YouTube series IRL and Electric Kat on CBS’s Mission Unstoppable. She is now writing her first book.
Who was the first woman to travel into space
The existence of black holes stems from general relativity published by Albert Einstein in 1915, and the subsequent work of Robert Oppenheimer, Karl Schwarzschild, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and others. Space and time form a fabric that bends with mass, like a trampoline. A black hole is a ball so heavy that it has at its center a singularity, a region so infinitely dense that it collapses the bottomless trampoline. Any object we place nearby will tend to fall towards the ball, so the gravitational effect of the black hole is felt in its surroundings. Thus, astrophysicists have been able to identify many of them by discovering cosmic objects orbiting around an apparent nothingness; that gravitational pull reveals the presence of something that is otherwise completely invisible.
The image simulates the appearance of a black hole where falling matter has accumulated in a thin, hot structure called an accretion disk. Credit: Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration
Who was the first astronaut to set foot on the moon?
Cast: George Clooney, Felicity Jones, David Oyelowo, Demian Bichir, Kyle Chandler, Tiffany Boone, Caoilinn Springall, Ethan PeckMaybe not the best film in this list of a hundred titles, but this new work of George Clooney as director and protagonist raises interesting ideas and launches a message more directed to our present than to the near future. It is, that yes, one of Netflix’s best films. Adapted from Lily Brooks-Dalton’s eco-friendly novel of the same name, the film moves between a ship in space looking for a new settlement for humans and a surviving station on a devastated Earth. It could also be one of George Clooney’s best films.
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, Mia Goth, André Benjamin, Lars Eidinger, Agata Buzek, Claire Tran, Ewan MitchellFrench Claire Denis landed in the space sci-fi genre with a bang: this film is extreme, confusing, surprising and divisive. But we’re going for the (very) positive: it’s poetic, visionary and daring. It crumbles the boundary between narrative times, but retains themes that usually interest the genre such as the effects of climate change and the survival of the human species in space.
In 1955, he was admitted to the First Higher Pilot School of the Chkalovsky Air Force, a flying school in Orenburg where he began his training to fly the familiar Yak-18 and, in February 1956, graduated from MiG-15 training. Gagarin suffered two crash landings with the two-seater training aircraft, risking dismissal from pilot training. However, the regimental commander decided to give him another chance at landings and his flight instructor put a cushion on his seat to improve his vision from the cockpit, whereupon he managed to land well. His evaluation in the training aircraft completed, he began flying solo in 1957. On April 12, 1961, he flew the first flight of his life.
On April 12, 1961, at 6:07 a.m. UTC the Vostok 3KA-3 (Vostok 1) spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome with Yuri Gagarin on board, the first human to travel into space. It used the call sign Kedr – Russian: Кедр, Siberian pine or cedar  and during the rocket launch the following dialogue between the control room and the cosmonaut was recorded over the radio:


Space Exploration is a recurring theme and increasing priority of space policy makers in space agencies and space institutions. The challenges related to robotic and human spaceflight (e.g. Mars) and the understanding of our Solar System and the Universe are in the centre of Space Exploration today, more than ever. Closer to our planet challenges lie in the ability to monitor and survey our space infrastructure and space debris.
SpaceTec consultants have a solid background and many years of involvement in activities related to Space Exploration at an academic, institutional and industrial level. As such the team supports clients and provides solutions in this cutting-edge sector.
SpaceTec consultants were involved in assessing options for Space Situational Awareness for the European Commission.


A hot air balloon flight is probably on many people's list of “dreams to come true at least once in their life”. It’s in Marrakech that you are taken to the skies at sunrise aboard a large balloon for the first time. The adventure started very early in the day when it was still dark. The ground preparation is nothing trivial; it's a really impressive step! Imagine the team inflating the huge balloon with a fan, then raising it by heating the air inside with the help of the burners. It is an absolutely magnificent sight to see the balloon take shape, as the first light of day appeared.
The flight does not take place directly over Marrakech, as it would be impossible to land there because of the numerous infrastructures. Rather flew over his countryside, which allowed you to observe mountains, fields as far as the eye can see and small isolated villages. To experience a sunrise aboard a hot air balloon is truly a unique experience.
In the end, a balloon flight is undoubtedly an experience to be carried out once or several times in your life! It’s a great way to discover a landscape seen from the sky, while enjoying the pleasant feeling of being carried by the wind. He just loved to fly over the countryside of Marrakech in the rising sun. It is an activity to experience and to recommend to everyone.


4.5M remote sensing satellite deployable trailer mount antenna is mainly used in Marine, meteorology, remote sensing satellite. 4.5M remote sensing satellite deployable trailer mount antenna adopt ring-focus dual shaped reflector, AZ-EL + three axis type deployable trailer mount antenna, at the same time inclined shaft is designed as the upsidedown mechanism, antenna mount is the trailer car.
4.5M remote sensing satellite deployable trailer mount antenna can operate in L, S or X single band, or operate in L/S, L/X or S/X dual frequency band, and it can also operate in L/S/KU, L/X/KU or S/X/KU tri-band, Ku-band can be applied for Satellite communication. When 4.5M remote sensing satellite deployable trailer mount antenna three frequency bands work at the same time, it adopts three-frequency compound feed source, feedback type operation. Tracking mode includes manual tracking, programme tracking and single pulse tracking program. System include antenna reflector, antenna pedestal, feed system, servo tracking system, upsidedown mechanism, corollary equipment include the antenna trailer, Tow Tractor, Calibration signal source, beacon horn, elevator mechanism, north seeker and protection rod.
Electrical Specification Electrical specification Parameters Operational specification X Antenna Efficiency 50％～55％ Polarization mode Circular Pol. Sidelobe characteristics First Sidelobe ≤-14dB VSWR ≤1.5:1 Axis ratio for circular Pol. ≤0.6dB Antenna Type Ring focus paraboloid Mechanical Specification Antenna Type Feed back type Antenna pedestal type AZ-EL + Tilt three axis Antenna travel range Az: ±355°， El: -1°～181°，Tilt: +7° Travel speed AZ:≥20°/S EL: ≥10°/S Tilt: ≥0.3°/S Sew acceleration AZ:≥10°/S2 EL: ≥10°/S2 Total antenna weight 6500Kg Servo Specification Operating Mode Standby, Programme tracking, scan, Autotracking, Memory tracking, Antenna recovery zero, stow and lock Tracking Mode Manual tracking, programme tracking and monopulse autotracking Pointing Accuracy 1/6 half-power beam width (X-band) Tracking Accuracy 1/10 half-power beam width Monitor and Iterface requirement Monitoring computer communication, interface type RS232/422/RS485 or Network interface Power Supply 220V AC±10%, 380V AC±10%, 50Hz±5% Power 8000W


NASA is changing leaky seals in its moon rocket at the pad in hopes of launching it on its first check flight by using the stop of this month.
Managers stated Thursday they will behavior another check after the maintenance to make certain all hydrogen fuel leaks are plugged. If that check goes well — and if the Space Force extends a flight safety waiver — then NASA should take another stab at launching the 322-foot rocket in past due September. Otherwise, the rocket will return to the hangar for additional paintings, delaying liftoff until at the least October.
A collection of hydrogen fuel leaks and different issues halted lower back-to-returned release tries remaining week.
The Space Launch System rocket — the most effective ever constructed via NASA — holds a team capsule with three take a look at dummies. The space employer wants to ship the capsule into lunar orbit on an ordeal run, before putting astronauts on the subsequent flight, in 2024. That around-the-moon task might pave the way for the primary human moon landing in 50 years, presently scheduled for 2025.NASA is replacing leaky seals in its moon rocket on the pad in hopes of launching it on its first check flight by using the stop of this month.
Managers stated Thursday they’ll behavior another check after the repairs to make sure all hydrogen gas leaks are plugged. If that check is going well — and if the Space Force extends a flight protection waiver — then NASA may want to take every other stab at launching the 322-foot rocket in late September. Otherwise, the rocket will go back to the hangar for added paintings, delaying liftoff till at least October.
A series of hydrogen gas leaks and other problems halted returned-to-lower back launch attempts closing week.
The Space Launch System rocket — the maximum effective ever built by using NASA — holds a crew pill with three take a look at dummies. The space organization wants to send the capsule into lunar orbit on a trial run, before setting astronauts on the following flight, in 2024. That around-the-moon challenge would pave the manner for the first human moon landing in 50 years, currently scheduled for 2025.As an additional precaution, the launch team plans “a kindler and gentler approach to tanking” all through the final section of the countdown, slowing the float of fuel at instances to reduce stress at the seals, in line with Mike Bolger, a application manager.
“We’re positive that we are able to knock this trouble flat,” he instructed reporters.
Running years late and billions over finances, NASA’s new lunar exploration application is named Artemis after Apollo’s twin sister in Greek mythology. Twelve astronauts walked on the moon returned in the past due Sixties and early 1970s throughout NASA’s Apollo application.


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Since today is the fortieth anniversary of the first moon landing, I thought I would do a small tribute.
The parents of Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, appeared on "I've Got A Secret" on September 17, 1962, the day their son became an astronaut,. Interestingly, Neil's mom was asked how she would feel if her son became the first man on the moon, a full seven years before he turned out to be.
The Straight Dope takes a look at whether or nor Armstrong muffed his first words on the moon.
Bart Sibrel,, who believed that the moon landings were a hoax, aggressively confronted Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, in a hotel. Aldrin, 74 at the time, responded by punching Sibrel in the face. No charges were ever filed.


Over the years, most of our strikes on Rabaul have faded into a blur. But our first strike—that very first strike—was one that I will always remember.
I was on the flight list that included six Anzac pilots and 18 Yanks, plus crews. We were going in with a strike force of 24 TBF Avengers, each plane loaded with four 500-lb. bombs set with delay fuses.
The night before take-off, we were briefed by Lt. A. J. Ludwig, squadron intelligence officer, and Capt. Hank Hise, the designated flight leader. Believe me, we gave them both our full attention. I was eager, but apprehensive. They identified the target: military supply areas along the western slope of Rabaul’s Simpson Harbor. They reported on the latest weather conditions. Hank Hise followed up with directional headings, flight formations, attack strategy, a strong reminder of what to do if we had to bail out and some final words of encouragement.
We took off with the first streaks of dawn, when the surrounding jungle and hills were still dark and dripping wet. With our props trailing mist and exhaust stacks belching flame, we thundered down the runway matting, two planes at a time. Out over Empress Augusta Bay, we climbed in a circle to 14,000 feet, joined in formation, and made a beeline for Rabaul.
Flying high above us in a relentless weaving pattern, a flight of F4U Corsairs from VMF-115 provided flight cover, whether we needed it or not. While we expected heavy anti-aircraft fire at Rabaul, we didn’t anticipate any significant fighter opposition.
Maj. Joe Foss, America’s leading ace at that time, was the skipper of VMF-11&—on his second tour in the South Pacific war zone. He arrived at Espiritu Santo with his new squadron on the CVE carrier Copahee in early 1944, shortly before we came in on the Kitkun Bay.


The 2nd and 3rd April, 2019, the 3rd PERASPERA workshop “Plan the European Roadmap and its Activities for Space Exploitation of Robotics and Autonomy“ was held at BOZAR, the Palais des Beaux-Arts, in Brussels (Belgium).
The workshop was organized as a consultation event bringing together members of the institutions, industry and academy to discuss the next phase of the Space Robotics Technology roadmap, the preparation of the space robotics activities in the next Horizon Europe frame-program, and the future of the on-orbit servicing activities at European level.
During the first day of the workshop, the members of the Strategic Research Cluster (SRC) on Space Robotics Technologies presented the results of the activities of the first call (2016-2019) call, and the status and perspectives of the projects recently launched within the second call (2019-2021).
GMV participated as coordinator of four SRC projects, presenting the results and achievements of the projects in the first call that are concluding now (ESROCOS, ERGO and FACILITATORS), and detailing the projects plans and technical objectives for the ADE project, recently started in the second SRC call. In addition, GMV takes part in three other SRC projects (EROSS, MOSAR and PRO-ACT).
The representatives of GMV also participated in several discussion panels on the exploitation and impact of the SRC products and the potential for AI in future space robotics activities.
GMV presented an overview of the results of the FACILITATORS project, describing the facilities made available by the project and the tests carried out by the Operational Grants 1 to 5 for the validation of the hardware and software Common Building Blocks developed in the first phase of the SRC activities. This presentation to a wide audience of stakeholders complements the Final Review Meeting of the project, scheduled for 25th April 2019.
The outcome of this 3rd PERASPERA will shape the next stages of the roadmap for space robotics in Europe, which shall combine the heritage of the developments from the SRC, the short and long term perspectives for on-orbit and planetary robotic operations, and the synergies with terrestrial robotics innovations and developments.


Robots are about to venture into the sunless depths of lunar craters to investigate ancient water ice trapped there, while remote studies find hints about how water arrives on rocky worlds.
On October 9, 2009, a two-ton rocket smashed into the moon traveling at 9,000 kilometers per hour. As it exploded in a shower of dust and heated the lunar surface to hundreds of degrees, the jet-black crater into which it plummeted, called Cabeus, briefly filled with light for the first time in billions of years.
The crash was no accident. NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission aimed to see what would be kicked up from the lunar shadows by the impact. A spacecraft trailing the rocket flew through the dust plume to sample it, while NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter observed from afar. The results of the experiment were astonishing: Scientists detected 155 kilograms of water vapor mixed into the dust plume. They had, for the first time, found water on the moon. “It was absolutely definitive,” said Anthony Colaprete of NASA’s Ames Research Center, the principal investigator of LCROSS.
The moon isn’t an obvious reservoir of water. “It’s really weird when you stop to think about it,” said Mark Robinson, a planetary scientist at Arizona State University. Its lack of atmosphere and extreme temperatures should cause any water to almost instantly evaporate. Yet about 25 years ago, spacecraft began to detect signatures of hydrogen around the moon’s poles, hinting that water might be trapped there as ice. LCROSS proved this theory. Scientists now think there’s not just a bit of water ice on the moon; there are 6 trillion kilograms of it.
Most of this ice resides in peculiar features at the moon’s poles called permanently shadowed regions (PSRs). These are craters like Cabeus into which the sun can’t reach, because of the geometry of the moon’s orbit. “They’re in permanent darkness,” said Valentin Bickel, a planetary scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany.
PSRs are of immense interest to scientists. Inside, temperatures can drop below minus 170 degrees Celsius. “Some PSRs are colder than the surface of Pluto,” said Parvathy Prem, a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland. This means ice on or below the lunar surface in PSRs won’t necessarily melt; instead it might have survived there for billions of years. Studying the ice’s chemical composition should reveal how it was delivered to the moon, in turn illuminating the origin of water on Earth, or indeed any rocky world around any star. It could also be a resource for future human activities on the moon.
Studies so far have provided a tantalizing glimpse at best. But that’s about to change. Next year, robotic vehicles will enter the bewildering icy depths of PSRs for the first time, revealing what the interiors of these shadowed craters look like. By the decade’s end, NASA plans to send humans to explore in person.
On the eve of this new era of moon landings, a slew of fresh studies of PSRs have revealed that these shadowed regions are even stranger than scientists imagined. What will we find lurking in the shadows?
“I don’t know what we’re going to see,” said Robinson, the lead scientist for next year’s robotic mission. “That’s the coolest thing.”
Water, Water, Everywhere
Speculation about PSRs dates back to 1952, when the American chemist Harold Urey first hypothesized their existence on the moon. “Near its poles there may be depressions on which the sun never shines,” he wrote. He observed that, whereas Earth orbits the sun with its rotational axis tilted by 23.5 degrees, the moon orbits at a mere 1.5-degree tilt. This means the sun’s rays strike its poles nearly horizontally, and the rims of polar craters will block light from directly reaching their depths. However, Urey believed that any ice in these sunless locations would have been “rapidly lost” because of the moon’s lack of atmosphere.
Then in 1961, the geophysicist Kenneth Watson of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory theorized that ice could persist inside PSRs. Nightside temperatures on the moon were known to plunge to minus 150 degrees Celsius; Watson and two colleagues argued that this meant ice would get trapped in the coldest places, despite the exposure to space. “There should still be detectable amounts of ice in the permanently shaded areas of the moon,” they wrote.
Scientists debated the possibility of ice in PSRs until the early 1990s, when radar instruments detected signs of ice at the poles of Mercury, which was also thought to have permanently shadowed craters. In 1994, using a radar instrument on NASA’s Clementine spacecraft, scientists detected an enhanced signal over the moon’s south pole that was consistent with the presence of water ice. The hunt was on.
In 1999, Jean-Luc Margot at Cornell University and colleagues pinpointed PSRs on the moon that could contain ice. They used a radar dish in the Mojave Desert in California to make topographic maps of the lunar poles. “We simulated the direction of sunlight and used our topographic maps to identify regions that were permanently shadowed,” Margot said.
They located just a handful of PSRs, but subsequent studies have identified thousands. The largest measure tens of kilometers across inside giant craters, such as Shackleton crater at the lunar south pole, which is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. The smallest span mere centimeters. At the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference held in Houston in March, Caitlin Ahrens, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, presented research suggesting that some PSRs may grow and shrink slightly as temperatures on the moon fluctuate. “These are very dynamic cold regions,” Ahrens said in an interview. “They are not stagnant.”
New research indicates that some craters also contain double-shadowed regions, or “shadows within shadows,” said Patrick O’Brien, a graduate student at the University of Arizona, who presented evidence for the idea in Houston. While PSRs don’t experience direct sunlight, most receive some reflected light bouncing off the crater’s rim, and this can melt ice. Double-shadowed regions are secondary craters inside PSRs that don’t get reflected light. “Temperatures can be even colder than the permanent shadows,” said O’Brien; they reach as low as minus 250 degrees Celsius.
The double-shadowed regions are cold enough to freeze more exotic ices, like carbon dioxide and nitrogen, should any exist there. Scientists say the chemical composition of these and of the water ice inside PSRs could reveal how water got to the moon — and, more importantly, to Earth, and to rocky worlds in general. “Water is essential to life as we know it,” said Margaret Landis, a planetary scientist at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The question is, she said, “When and how did the conditions favorable for life on Earth form?” Whereas Earth’s past has been scrambled by geological processes, the moon is a museum of the solar system’s history; its ice is thought to have remained mostly untouched since its arrival.
There are three predominant theories about how water got to the moon. The first is that it arrived via asteroid or comet impacts. In this scenario, when the solar system formed, water molecules in the hot inner solar system were vaporized and blown away by the solar wind; only water in the frigid outskirts could condense and accumulate into icy bodies. These bodies subsequently bombarded the inner solar system, including the moon, delivering water. The second theory is that volcanic eruptions on the moon sometime in its middle age formed a thin, temporary lunar atmosphere that engendered ice formation at the poles. Or solar wind could have transported hydrogen to the moon that mixed with oxygen to form ice.
In February, a re-analysis of the LCROSS plume published in Nature Communications indicated that the ice in Cabeus crater is most likely of cometary origin. Analyzing the amount of nitrogen, sulfur and carbon frozen into the ice along with water, Kathleen Mandt of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and colleagues found that “the best explanation was comets,” said Mandt. “The nitrogen-to-carbon ratio was way beyond what was reasonable for volcanoes to have delivered.”
If the moon’s ice was delivered exclusively by comets, the same might have been true for Earth. That could mean rocky worlds must experience such impacts to accumulate the water necessary for life to flourish. However, Landis says it’s too early to say whether Mandt’s research holds true for all ice on the moon. “The community needs more time to digest it,” she said.
If some lunar ice is determined to be of volcanic origin, this would suggest worlds hold an innate ability to generate water from their interiors rather than relying on impacts. “It might be not all solar systems have lots of comets or asteroids,” said Landis, “but solar systems that form rocky planets might have this ability to have [volcanic] eruptions rear up water.”
Aside from looking for exotic ice in PSRs, scientists also want to measure the water ice’s proportion of deuterium, a heavier isotope of hydrogen. Substantial deuterium is more consistent with what’s found in comets (although rates vary), whereas less of it would point to solar wind. A volcanic origin would fall somewhere in the middle. Other elements will be informative, too; for instance, ice originating from volcanoes should contain abundant sulfur drawn up from the lunar interior, said Paul Hayne, a planetary scientist at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Into the Abyss
No previous foray to the moon has ventured into its permanent shadows; the Apollo landings took place near the moon’s equator at a time when knowledge of PSRs was in its infancy. In 2019, China’s Chang’e-4 lander and rover touched down at the south pole, but it did not target PSRs.
In 2017, however, President Trump signed a directive to NASA to return humans to the moon, an initiative later named Artemis. Ahead of the first crewed Artemis landings in the mid-2020s, which may include the first sorties into the moon’s permanently shadowed craters, NASA is paying commercial companies to conduct initial robotic exploration.
Merrill Sherman/Quanta Magazine; Source: NASA
Houston-based Intuitive Machines will be the first of these companies to explore a PSR, albeit briefly. Their Nova-C lander, scheduled to launch by the end of this year on a SpaceX rocket, will touch down on a ridge near Shackleton crater, a possible target for subsequent human exploration. The lander will then deploy a suitcase-size vehicle called the Micro-Nova Hopper. Intuitive Machines revealed details of the excursion at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference: The Hopper will use thrusters to jump across the lunar surface, up to hundreds of meters at a time; in three hops, it will reach the edge of the 100-meter-wide Marston crater, which contains a PSR. Then the Hopper will fire itself above Marston and descend into the pitch-black depths.
The lander has cameras and lights, but it’s unclear what it will see. Sheets of surface ice are possible, said Robinson, the mission’s lead scientist, but he says it’s more likely that the vehicle’s lights will reflect off ice crystals mixed in with the lunar soil. Or if there’s minimal ice on the surface, it may not definitively show up in images at all. Whatever the case, the view will be historic.
The Hopper’s dip into Marston will last no more than 45 minutes, and the scientific return will be limited — the primary goal is simply to demonstrate that the hopping approach works. But we won’t have long to wait for a more thorough dive into the lunar abyss.
This summer, the inaugural launch of NASA’s new Space Launch System rocket (which will propel Artemis missions to the moon) will carry several small spacecraft that will study PSRs from lunar orbit. A Korean orbiter launching in August, meanwhile, will carry ShadowCam, a purpose-built NASA instrument designed to image PSRs.
The defining moment in robotic PSR exploration, however, will come in late 2023, when a golf cart-size rover called VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) will head to the moon on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Upon exiting its landing vehicle, VIPER will drive into three of the moon’s permanently shadowed regions and drill into the ground.
Operating for up to 10 hours at a time before exiting to recharge its solar-powered batteries, the rover will drill up to a meter deep for subsurface ice, or dig into any exposed ice on the surface. “If there’s a block of ice we’re going to know right away, because of how hard it is to get through,” said Kris Zacny of Honeybee Robotics in Colorado, which designed the drill. The team expects to perform up to 50 drilling sessions.
VIPER will “revolutionize” our knowledge of these regions, said Landis. It will use spectrometers to analyze any ice that’s found, revealing the ratio of deuterium to hydrogen and looking for hints of carbon dioxide or nitrogen. VIPER may provide conclusive insight into where the moon’s ice comes from, and the general conditions under which ice might be found on rocky bodies. “We will have a quantum leap in our understanding,” said Colaprete, VIPER’s project scientist.
Drops to Drink
The scientific advances will come on the coattails of a different project. If ice is accessible on or near the surface in PSRs, NASA hopes that astronauts could use it as either drinking water or fuel. NASA is currently planning for the first crewed Artemis landing in 2025 to touch down near a PSR so that the astronauts can see for themselves how viable such an idea might be.
“This is not the Apollo program; we’re planning to stay there for a whole month,” said Jim Green, NASA’s former chief scientist. He added, “The concept of acquiring materials and having habitats on the moon is viable.”
Various proposals for how to extract and utilize water ice are under development, said Kevin Cannon, a space resource expert at Colorado School of Mines. “People are looking at mechanical systems like diggers, backhoes and excavators,” he said. Concentrated sunlight or an oven would then be used to extract the water from the excavated lunar soil. Another idea is to “skip the excavation step and just directly heat the ground in some kind of tent,” Cannon said.
Confirmation that there is indeed accessible ice on the moon could come by the start of next year, with the first images from inside a permanently shadowed lunar crater. By the end of 2023 we may know for sure how it got there.
“There are so many fundamental things we don’t yet understand,” said Prem. “We really are at the beginning.”


Russian Novosibirsk emergency department sources said
BEIJING, Nov. 23 (Reuters) - A Boeing 777 passenger plane from Cathay Pacific Airways, which travels from London to Hong Kong, is forced to land at a Russian airport due to a traffic signal in the luggage compartment, according to a spokesman for the Russian New Siberian emergency department. This signal is false, at present, passengers have been placed in a safe area. The technician is checking the airliner. The sensor said: "The sensor signal shows that the second luggage compartment fire is false." A total of 18 crew members and 214 passengers, a total of 232 people. The aircraft in Russia Novosibirsk Tol machev airport forced landing, emergency rescue department rushed to the scene, but not enabled. At present, the technician is checking the plane. Passengers have been placed in safe areas and are guaranteed water supply, without receiving complaints from passengers. According to the airport news, the local time 7:20 (Moscow time 3:20 pm), a Cathay Pacific Airways Boeing 777-300 aircraft crew decided to implement the landing.


Bieber signs up for Space Voyage
Canadian pop star Justin Bieber is the latest celebrity to reach for the stars, signing up to go into space with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic. British entrepreneur Branson announced on Twitter that Bieber, 19, and his manager, Scooter Braun, were the latest “future astronauts.” Bieber tweeted in response, “let’s shoot a music video in SPACE!!”
Virgin Galactic commercial space flights, which are slated to begin next year, have reportedly already drawn high profile passengers including physicist Stephen Hawking as well as actors Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The SpaceShipTwo rocket is currently undergoing vigorous tests in preparation of its first space trip with Branson and his family, scheduled for the end of this year.


Heathrow Boeing 777 Crash - RF Interference Rumour
Email forward suggests that an accident involving a Boeing 777 at London's Heathrow airport in January 2008 may have been caused by a RF transmitter signal emitted by Prime Minister Gordon Brown's motorcade (Full commentary below
Unsubstantiated - Idle speculation
(Submitted, March 2008)
Subject: That Boeing crash at Heathrow
A friend sent this concerning the Boeing 777 that crashed short of the
runway in London a few weeks ago.
Well, the British aircraft accident investigation board has finally come
around to the conclusion that I made several weeks ago: the event was
Prime Minister Gordon Brown's motorcade was passing under the approach
path of BA038. His security system utilized a RF transmitter to block out
any cell-phone triggered devices. Apparently this system has a two mile
range, and it caused the Boeing 777 EEC's (electronic engine controls) to
sense a "over-boost" situation, thereby commanding a reduced-thrust
situation for the engines, simultaneously. Most interesting.
We'll see how Boeing and the BAA handle this one. This could be potentially
bad, in view of the simplicity of technology that the bad guys could use to
bring down an airliner.
According to this rapidly circulating rumour, the crash landing of a Boeing 777 at London's Heathrow airport in January 2008 may have been caused by RF interference from Prime Minister Gordon Brown's motorcade. The message claims that the motorcade passed under the 777's flightpath just prior to the incident. It is suggested that a RF transmitter used by the motorcade's security system to block "cell-phone triggered devices" may have interfered with the plane's electronic engine controls.
However, the claims in the message are pure speculation and have not been confirmed by any reliable reports.
The accident itself is real. An initial report
into the incident published by the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) notes:
Following an uneventful flight from Beijing, China, the aircraft was established on an ILS approach to Runway 27L at London Heathrow. Initially the approach progressed normally, with the Autopilot and Autothrottle engaged, until the aircraft was at a height of approximately 600 ft and 2 miles from touch down. The aircraft then descended rapidly and struck the ground, some 1,000 ft short of the paved runway surface, just inside the airfield boundary fence. The aircraft stopped on the very beginning of the paved surface of Runway 27L. During the short ground roll the right main landing gear separated from the wing and the left main landing gear was pushed up through the wing root. A significant amount of fuel leaked from the aircraft but there was no fire. An emergency evacuation via the slides was supervised by the cabin crew and all occupants left the aircraft, some receiving minor injuries.
Moreover, news reports indicate that Prime Minister Brown was indeed at Heathrow when the accident occurred.
Claims that the January crash landing of a Boeing 777 at Heathrow was caused by RF interference from the Prime Minister's motorcade is no more than idle speculation
He was already on another plane waiting to take off
for a trip to China. The Prime Minister's plane was delayed for a time because all available emergency crews were responding to the Boeing 777 incident. However, the exact location of the Prime Minister's motorcade when the incident occurred or if a RF transmitter was actually being utilized at the time is, again, pure speculation.
The message claims that the AAIB has "finally come around to the conclusion" that the accident was RF related. However, I could find no reports that back up this claim in any way. At the time of writing, the AAIB was still investigating the incident. A special bulletin
about the incident published by the AAIB in February 2008 makes no mention of RF interference as a possible cause. During the investigation thus far, special attention has been paid to problems with the aircraft's fuel systems as a possible cause of the accident.
The rumour may have originated from comments made
to the media by one Nina Anderson, science-fiction novelist and author of "Worse Than Global Warming – Wave Technology". The book warns of impending disaster
in December 2012 due to proliferation of electromagnetic technology and postulates that similar circumstances may have caused the downfall of ancient civilizations, including the mythical Atlantis. Anderson has urged investigators to examine the possibility that electromagnetic wave interference was responsible for the Heathrow incident. However, Anderson is not part of the investigation team and her comments are based on her somewhat controversial personal opinions rather than on any real evidence associated with the incident.
Until the AAIB finishes its investigation, it would be premature to conclusively dismiss possible causes of the accident - even a cause as unlikely as RF interference from the Prime Minister's motorcade. That said, however, circulating baseless rumours and idle speculation in the guise of fact will serve no good purpose.
Accident to Boeing 777-236, G-YMMM at London Heathrow Airport on 17 January 2008 - Initial Report
UK PM's Flight Delayed by Plane Incident
AAIB Bulletin S1/2008 SPECIAL
Wireless technology theory to BA crash
Worse Than Global Warming: Wave Technology
Did Wi-Fi interference cause Boeing 777 crash?
Last updated: 19th March 2008
First published: 19th March 2008
Write-up by Brett M. Christensen


Honor the memory of the National Airlines crew operating NCR Flight 102 at a special ceremony dedicating an art piece to be on permanent display at the Yankee Air Museum at Willow Run Airport, Ypsilanti, MI. The memorial art piece frame contains 7 individual bronze plaques with each crew member's name and flight crew position.
This heart-warming service includes a poignant reading of the names in honor of the NCR102 flight crew. It concludes with a formation flight of three TG7 Airforce Motor Gliders flown by the Tuskegee Honor Flight group prior to a breathtaking "missing man" formation flight by the Screamin' Rebels Memorial Flight Team consisting of six RV type aircraft along with the playing of "Taps".
The dedication ceremony honors the legacy of the crew members on flight NCR102 on Saturday, June 14, 2014 at 4:30 pm ET (Doors open for guests at 4:00pm) at the Yankee Air Museum, 47884 D Street, Belleville, MI (KYIP).
Refreshments will be served in the museum at the conclusion of the ceremony. RSVP by calling Shira at 407-283-6201 by June 10. Yankee Air Museum is open for a self-guided tour before and after the ceremony.
If you fly-in to KYIP, contact Active Aero in advance at 734-547-7359 to pre-arrange for concierge service or inbound at 122.85. Let them know you are attending the Yankee Air Museum dedication ceremony. They will take care of you. Shuttle service is available to Yankee Air Museum. Note: higher air traffic that day due to Michigan Nascar race.
First Officer Art Striker recently completed a world-class oil painting of N949CA flying west into the sunset. This powerful image is now available to order. Art has signed and numbered 500 prints, which will sell for $100 apiece. Each copy will be printed on photo quality paper and will measure approximately 24"x30" in size.
to make a secure online donation to the families of the crew operating Flight 102
Click Here or on the "Links" Page
to make a donation to an individual
family or fundraising effort.
All donations made through this site
will be divided evenly among the 7 Families
of the crew operating Flight 102.
Content copyright . NCR Flight 102 Memorial Page. All rights reserved.


Drone Ops Consultant at Police City of Pearland
Brandon Karr is an internationally recognized SME for UAS operations for public safety with a specialization in law enforcement and disaster response. Brandon is currently a Drone as First Responder Solutions Engineer for DroneSense. He is from Pearland, Texas and is the former Chief Pilot, UAS Integrations Coordinator, and night shift patrolmen for the Pearland Police Department. Brandon started his interest in aviation in 2006 where he earned his Commercial and Certified Flight Instructor licenses for manned fixed wing single-engine, multi-engine, and instrument ratings. He used his aviation knowledge and experience to start the Pearland Police Department’s UAS program and since has assisted over 600 other agencies start or develop their programs across the nation. He has developed Pearland PD’s UAS program to be integrated into patrol, K9, SWAT, crash reconstruction, and crime scene functions. Brandon also started their Drone as First Responder program and was granted the first completely BVLOS waiver in the nation.
Brandon is the Cofounder of Unmanned Tactical Group and has developed several courses involving utilizing UAS in public safety including Part 107 Ground School, Basic to Advanced Flight Scenarios, Night Operations, Crime and Crash Scene Mapping, and Legal Concerns for UAS.
Brandon is a committee member for Law Enforcement Drone Association, DRONERESPONDERS, and sits on two subcommittees for the State of Texas regarding the implementation of sUAS for major disasters or incidents.
Brandon has been a speaker for major conferences such as Interpol Drone Expert Summit, AUVSI Xponential, Commercial UAV Expo, DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Summit, DJI Airworks, International Emergency Drone Organization, and many other conferences and webinars.
Brandon is also President of the Gulf Coast Regional Public Safety UAS Response Task Force. This regional team is comprised of over 85 agencies with over 500 pilots that are tasked with responding to law enforcement, fire/EMS, or OEM purposes in the event of disasters or major incidents. The regional team has responded to multiple incidents across the state, provides a variety of UAS training to the region, and assists Public Safety agencies develop UAS programs
User spotlight: policing aerial cities
- 9 November, 2023
- 13:00 - 13:45


Image taken by the on-board camera of the lunar probe Chang'e-3 of China's first moon rover 'Yutu' - or Jade Rabbit - on the lunar surface on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013. It was the world's first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades. But the rover malfunctioned in late January, sending out distress messages. (AP Photo / Xinhua)
China’s lunar rover Jade Rabbit is still alive and kicking.
The plucky rover, which famously sent out a dying message in January, is severely handicapped but is still functioning, Chinese authorities said Monday.
Sent to the moon by China to study its surface and mineral resources, Jade Rabbit experienced unexpected malfunctions six weeks into its operation.
Before entering the second moon night in late January, Jade Rabbit sent out a mournful last message that it had run into some problem and that “I know I might not survive this moon night.” The rover's missives caught worldwide attention and made even more famous after a dramatic rendition of its plight by actor Patrick Stewart in a tin foil dress on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."
Since then, it has been unable to move farther and entered into a deep “coma” that lasted for about 50 days before waking up in mid-March. (Because the rover is solar powered, it entered a hibernation mode during the long period of lunar night when there was no sunlight.)
The 140-kilogram, six-wheeled rover was designed with a life expectancy of three months.
Chinese experts said Monday that the rabbit appears to have tripped over some rocks--the whole surface of the moon is like a quarry, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Still, Chinese authorities praised Jade Rabbit for being "much stronger than expected."
"Yutu has 'over-served' its time on the moon and sent lots of data back to Earth. We hope it can continue to work miracles," Zhang Yuhua, deputy chief designer of the lunar probe system, told Xinhua.


With only a few modifications, the US Government has used the T-10 as a troop personnel parachute since the early 1950s. We manufacture all models of the T-10 and MC1 series parachute assemblies and reserve systems.
When packed for service, the complete assembly weighs approximately 29 pounds. The canopy has a nominal diameter of 35 feet and a projected or inflated diameter of 24.5 feet.
The parachutes listed below are used by airborne forces throughout the world. We can also manufacture custom military parachutes as requested.
We are also approved to manufacture the MC6 and T11 parachutes for the US military and are a fully licensed supplier for these items. However, due to proprietary rights, we cannot manufacture these for other customers.
Quotes and Pricing Information
|Assembly||Canopy Shape||Canopy Nominal Diameter||Part Number||NSN|
| 24 ft.
| Flat Circular
| 24 ft.
| 28 ft.
|Flat Circular|| 28 ft.
*US Government Only
Component parts for all airborne troop assemblies can be supplied separately. Please contact us to request the parts number list.


A low-cost ultra-light servo. The first choice for many indoor, slow-fly and park-fly model aircraft, and also small electric model helicopters.
Dimensions (LxWxH) 23 x 12 x 24 mm
Weight approx. 8 g
Torque @ 4/5 cells* 11/13 Ncm
Transit speed for 40° @ 4/5 cells* 0,12/0,10s


According to a report from the local newspaper Heraldo de Aragon, the pilot involved in the incident is a highly experienced wing captain with over 1,000 flight hours. The pilot sustained injuries to the legs, hips, and arms after executing an ejection from the aircraft. The Spanish Air Force has issued a statement confirming the pilot’s transportation to a hospital, assuring that their life is not at risk.
The aircraft crashed within the confines of the base, situated in proximity to a heavily trafficked highway. As per the air force, fragments of the wreckage were scattered outside the base’s perimeter. Upon impact, the aircraft disintegrated completely.
While the exact cause of the crash remains unclear, this recent incident adds to a series of unfortunate accidents involving the Spanish Air Force’s F-18s. In 2017, an F-18 crashed during takeoff at an air base near Madrid, resulting in the pilot’s fatality. Additionally, three non-fatal crashes occurred in 2009, and one in 2003, while six of the American-manufactured jets crashed during the 1990s and 1980s, leading to the loss of two pilots’ lives.
Presently, the Spanish Air Force operates a fleet of 84 F-18s, with purported plans to replace them with the F-35. However, the official stance of Madrid regarding these reports remains unconfirmed.
Spanish F-18 fighter jet crashes at Zaragoza air base pic.twitter.com/Tohqzxq2ux
— Spriter (@Spriter99880) May 20, 2023
🔴 SPAIN :#VIDEO MOMENT WHEN SPANISH F-18 HORNET FIGHTER JET CRASHES NEAR ZARAGOZA AIR BASE !
The pilot managed to eject. #BreakingNews #UltimaHora #Zaragoza #PlaneCrash #Crash #Aviation #Aviacion #Accident #Accidente #Aereo pic.twitter.com/uc0wMOmz0q
— LoveWorld (@LoveWorld_Peopl) May 20, 2023
#BreakingNews | F-18 jet crashes in Spain, pilot escapes narrowly pic.twitter.com/apaHpWMID1
— News18 (@CNNnews18) May 20, 2023
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When you make the decision to purchase an industry-leading aircraft, we are here to help.
TAKE YOUR FLYING DREAM INTO REALITY
I’ve owned a bunch of different airplanes but I’ve only had interactions with one jet manufacturer brand and that’s CESSNA. And that’s because I don’t want to leave.
As told by Simon Elliot, President and Owner of Active Deployment Systems.
Textron Aviation collaborated with Spectrum Aeromed to demonstrate the capabilities of BEECHCRAFT KING AIR turboprops when configured with air ambulance equipment.
Textron Aviation has unveiled the industry’s first interactive, 3D full-color, technical library.
For country singer, fiddler and outdoorsman Nick Hoffman, learning to fly a CESSNA CARAVAN turboprop was the final frontier. Follow Nick on his journey to become a Caravan aircraft pilot. Because "nothing says awesome like 675-horsepower of turbine".
Textron Aviation Flight Operations Pilot Jared Jacobs and Technical Marketing Advisor Alex Hunt give a walkthrough of the Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion avionics suite. This suite is found on KING AIR turboprops and is demonstrated on a KING AIR 360 turboprop while it is on the ground.
Jets are often considered a business tool enabling companies to grow efficiency and expand reach. But sometimes those tools do more than take a businessperson to several meetings a day or home for dinner. Often, jets connect people in a deeper sense, especially when a generational love of flying is involved.
From seats and materials to lights and the G5000, a Paraguayan customer takes his CITATION EXCEL jet to Textron Aviation’s Orlando Service Center for a complete refurbishment.
Kevin Baird’s career in aviation has developed in a unique way. His goal was to understand both what happens inside of the cockpit as well as outside of it. And he wanted to ensure his path allowed him to grow in both areas.
Manufactured in the aviation hub of Wichita, Kan., and with maintenance and support locations worldwide, the Beechcraft brand of aircraft traces its roots to the pioneers of aviation. Throughout its history, this brand of products has been known for quality, reliability and value that established benchmarks for the industry.
Gregory Poole Equipment Company was founded in 1951 and has since grown in the eastern region of the United States. The company focuses on new and used sales, rentals, parts and service for construction, agriculture, forestry, electric power generation, marine power and a wide range of other industries. But it’s not just about business for the Poole family. The company, coupled with a love of CESSNA aircraft, shows the true meaning of family and shared passion.
Lady Elliot Island is a 42-hectare island at the southern tip of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. It is about 46 nautical miles north-east of Bundaberg located off Queensland, Australia. It is managed jointly by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service under a collaborative lease arrangement with the Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort. The resort is the dream of one man, Peter Gash.
After six years in service, the CESSNA CITATION LATITUDE aircraft topped the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) list as the most delivered midsize business jet for the fifth consecutive year, with 58 aircraft delivered in 2019 and 234 total delivered through Q1 of 2020. On the aircraft’s fifth anniversary, several of those who work closely with the Citation Latitude aircraft, took some time to explain why.
“When the skies go dark, we run towards the darkness.” It’s a strong statement from Brad Pierce, the president of Restaurant Equipment World and volunteer with the non-profit AEROBridge. But it’s one he stands by based on his countless experiences with others in business aviation.
It’s no secret the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted commercial air significantly. Vacations were cancelled, business trips were delayed and visits to loved ones were paused.
Dwayne Clemens knows Beechjets better than most. A former Beechcraft employee turned full-service FBO owner in the air capital, he’s well-versed in the capabilities and value a Beechjet brings to a company.
As more attention is put on health, safety and sanitation, many aircraft owners are starting to look closer at what’s inside their aircraft.
Lieutenant Colonel Neil Taylor spent several decades in the United States Air Force and has never seen a fight quite like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Simon Elliott is no stranger to disaster. He’s walked with those on the ground after Hurricane Katrina providing personal hygiene equipment and trailers.
Weight calculations, weather assessments and system functionality checks were not why Trevor Smith spent time at Lambert International Airport in St. Louis.
With a jet-like cabin design, dual-channel FADEC and the first clean-sheet turboprop engine in more than 30 years, the DENALI aircraft is sure to disrupt the marketplace. But behind the features and capabilities of the new aircraft is a team of experts invested in both the plane and those who will sit inside.
The news reports said roughly 50 people were dead. A storm, controlled by no man, had swept the vast islands leaving little in its path.


Overview of ARES Institute, Inc.
The Aerospace Research & Engineering Systems Institute, Inc. (ARES) is a not-for-profit corporation in the state of Florida. ARES is working to develop a series of innovative research programs involving academia, industry and government in order to protect and grow the aerospace workforce in the state. The primary purpose of the Institute is to engage students at all levels of their studies in exciting space-related projects and spur interest in math, science and aerospace careers.
A.R.E.S. Institute, Inc. is a registered IRS 501(c)3tax-exempt corporation. Click here for our IRS letter of tax status determination.
Introductory brochure (PDF)
ARES and FASTEP presentation (PDF)
Student Rocket Program factsheet
Launch Systems and Rocketry Education factsheet
The Guiding Vision
The fundamental philosophy behind the programs of the Institute is that there is no more effective way to make aerospace careers attractive to students than to engage them in hands-on endeavors and provide the experience and the excitement of accomplishing complex aerospace projects. This is one of the best ways to attract students to aerospace careers and is essential during a time when universities are turning out fewer and fewer engineering graduates and even fewer are taking up careers in the aerospace industry.
The vision of ARES has three primary components
Involve students from primary school through graduate studies in a comprehensive program of increasing skill and complexity involving rocket, payload and spacecraft design, fabrication and flight
Provide experiential knowledge to secondary and higher level students to supplement classroom learning
Provide knowledge and continuing education for aerospace professionals for job retraining and skills retention
In January 2004, U.S. President George Bush set the country’s space program on a new path to establish a permance manned presence on the Moon and prepare for exploration of the Solar System beyond. NASA and industry are currently working to bring the Vision for Space Exploration to reality. The objectives of the Vision will see the fleet of space shuttles retired in 2010, concurrent with the development of new launch vehicles called Ares 1 and Ares V. Ares 1 will transport astronauts to the space station and carry crews to the Moon. Ares V will be a heavy-lift launch vehicle comparable to the Apollo Saturn V and will lift the heavy cargo required for sending people to the Moon.
The new program will create exciting opportunities for future generations of engineers and scientists. The Vision also incorporates a vigorous initiative to explore the Solar System with unmanned spacecraft, and will create opportunities for planetary science, geology, astrophysics and other scientific disciplines.
Additionally, NASA has been charged by Congress to engage private industry, beyond just the major aerospace corporations, to fulfill the requirements for carrying out the Vision and for supporting the International Space Station after the space shuttle is retired.
To meet its future needs, NASA as well as industry will need to attract a new generation of engineers and scientists. Not only that, the transition from space shuttle to the Vision will necessitate strong workforce retrainng and retention initiatives.
Industry Faces Several Needs
Impact of “engineering brain drain” as older aerospace workers retire at a faster rate than they are replaced with younger people
Domestic industry strives to retain a competitive workforce in the face of international competition
The workforce of the future faces the prospect of being inadequately trained
Math and science need to be taught more effectively and with more focus
The Vision for Space Exploration will create opportunities for a new generation of scientists and engineers and necessitate retraining for those already in the workforce
So What Are Our Goals And Objectives?
To involve students from grade school through graduate studies in a comprehensive program of increasing skill and complexity involving rocket, payload and spacecraft design, fabrication and flight
To provide experiential knowledge to secondary and higher level students to supplement classroom learning
To provide supplementary knowledge and continuing education for persons in the workforce for job retraining and skills retention
To establish and maintain a comprehensive program of research and experimental aerospace related projects.
There Will Be Numerous Benefits
Aerospace workforce retention and retraining for future needs
Seeding the aerospace workforce of the future with critical skills
Creating a more attractive environment to attract new aerospace ventures to Florida
Maintaining, increasing and keeping relevant the skillset of the aerospace workforce in the state
Reducing the impact of “engineering brain drain” by providing a mechanism for experiential knowledge to be passed from the older generation to younger
Help make Florida more competitive in the aerospace and engineering related industries
Already scarce funds can be utilized more effectively and efficiently by pooling together the resources of multiple institutions, businesses and governments
By focusing on rocket, spacecraft and space engineering initiatives, the multidisciplinary nature of the work will benefit those in all math, science, and engineering related industries
While not a primary concern, the social benefits of mentoring and hands-on real-world achievement oriented projects are worthy of note.
FASTEP: Florida Aerospace, Science & Technology Education Program
FASTEP is a proposed comprehensive program consisting of 3 individual projects that span elementary through post-graduate level students…
Student Rocket Program
Student Rocket Program
The Student Rocket Program project involves primary, secondary and college students and begins with the design, construction and flight of model rockets. Further on, students will be involved in the creation of payloads to fly on actual sounding rockets on scientific missions. This project is being modeled after the successful Rockets For Schools programs that have taken place in the midwest for the past 6 years. First Rockets For Schools was in 1996 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Since then, schools in WI, IL, MI, IA have participated annually. Model rockets for younger students, secondary level students participate in building model rockets and a sounding rocket mission, university level students and professionals from industry create a payload for a sounding rocket and conduct the mission Industry and government collaboration is key Three main purposes: To stimulate interest in science, math and technology in students in grades 6 through 16 and make it more exciting Encourage students and the public in future aerospace pursuits Promote and teach cooperative learning, teamwork, leadership and problem-solving skills Model rocketry can be engaged with a minimal expenditure of money, a few hundred dollars per school. Other components of the Student Rocket Project would require grants, donations and government support .
LASRE: Launch Systems & Rocketry Education
Taking a systems engineering approach is vital for engineering, math and science students. Traditional curricula don’t provide enough exposure to full life-cycle development of aerospace products and only limited hands-on experience. This program will develop hands-on skills for engineering students and provide them with experience in all aspects of product development, from requirements definition to the actual test of an aerospace product. Program patterned after the successful CALVEIN (California Launch Vehicle Education Initiative) program at California State U. at Long Beach Provide students with hands-on experience designing, developing and testing a rocket propulsion system Involves university undergraduates and graduate students partnered with industry professionals Multi-year program: basics and beginning design work in the first year, development the next year followed by fabrication and testing Using CSULB’s CALVEIN as an example, total program cost for each iteration (each rocket system) should be less than $200,000 over the span of a few years, from a variety of public and private sources.
What is a microsatellite: small spacecraft weighing < 100lb. Typically used to demonstrate new technologies, techniques, or for communication or earth/space observation Purpose -to provide hands-on experience in a multidiscplinary team-oriented space-related project including mission operations Program brings together university upperclassmen and graduate students in multi-university teams Typical lifecycle would be approximately 3 years from requirements specification to completion of spacecraft fabrication and testing (i.e. ready to launch) This program could be engaged for between $50,000 and $75,000 per year, on average.
Seminars and Conferences
An annual conference will bring together participants throughout the state to share knowledge and experience. Activities would include presentations by various teams and individuals along with learning sessions to supplement the classroom and project experience. The sharing of knowledge among teams and individuals would broaden the individual’s learning experience. Additionally, participants with exceptional performance would be given an opportunity to gain formal recognition (i.e. achievement awards).
The FASTEP program is multidisciplinary in nature. Knowledge and experience spans a broad range of skills.
Broad Scope of Partners
FASTEP will bring together participants from academia, industry, and government The benefits from this include: Increasing the skill level of graduates entering the workforce and enhancing Florida’s economic competitiveness Increasing the number of engineering and aerospace graduates Students are more likely to work for an aerospace company in the state if they have worked with the company while still in school Small business in Florida find a source of skilled labor and capital which they might not otherwise have access to Industry and academia partners working with government can more effectively and efficiently engage in leading edge R & D projects in an environment of scarce funding
Leveraging Existing Talent
FASTEP is designed to leverage existing talent and knowledge of professionals in the aerospace industry by giving professionals the opportunity to work with students. Additionally, older students work with younger students and pass on their knowledge. Multitiered mentoring is an effective way to spread experiential knowledge, increases the likelihood for project success and promotes teamwork and leadership.
Bringing It All Together
FASTEP is composed of three connected phases. A student’s involvement in the Student Rocket Program will lead to taking part in LASRE which in turn will lead to participation in the microsatellite project. Key here is continuity in learning (from one phase to the next) and the comprehensive nature of the program. Of significant note is that, fully implemented, FASTEP projects would span the greater portion of an individual’s educational career, from approx. grade 6 through graduate studies.
Funding and Budget Targets
Approximate projected budget requirements:
Student Rocket Program: $10,000/yr. at a ratio of 2:2:1 split between government, academia, and ARES, repsectively (4k:4k:2k)
LASRE: $75,000/yr. at a ratio of 8:5:3 split between govt., academia, and ARES (45k:25k:15k)
Microsatellite: $75,000/yr. at a ratio of 1:1:1 split between govt., academia and ARES (25k:25k:25k)
The Aerospace Research and Engineering Systems Institute was formed with the purpose of creating hands-on space-related projects that bring together academia, industry and government participants. The objectives are to increase the skill level of engineering graduates, to increase the number of engineering graduates, and to increase the number of students entering the aerospace industry in Florida. Additionally, ARES seeks to reduce the impact of so-called “engineering brain drain”1 by providing means for the older generation of aerospace professionals to pass on their experience, knowledge and skills to the younger generation of students.


Born in Saginaw, MI, on April 13th, 1925, to Walter and Sara Graebner, Walter David, known as Dave, grew up on a dairy farm and learned early the hard work involved in a family business. His passion became aviation, earning his pilot's license at age 16. He attended Curtiss Wright A&E School in California after graduation from high school. His aircraft mechanic and aviator skills continued throughout his professional aviation career, flying many and varied aircraft. Dave retired from Schlumberger Oil Field Services as the Houston, TX, based Chief Pilot. He continued as a contract pilot for other oil field companies as well as flying his beloved Beechcraft Bonanza. Dave was awarded the prestigious FAA Wright Brothers "Master Pilot" certificate and the FAA Charles Taylor "Master Mechanic" certificate in 2006.
Dave married Shirley Joan Bank in 1948, moved to TX, and neither one looked back. 75 years together, producing two children, Steven and Carol; followed by two grandchildren, Kurt and Keith; and now two great-grandchildren, David and Liam.
Dave and Shirley have had a wonderful life together.
Memorial Service at Riverside Retirement Chapel, Saturday, 1/27/2024 at 1pm.
In lieu of flowers donations to: Hospice of Spokane or St. Luke Lutheran Church, Spokane.
To plant a tree in memory of Dave, visit the Tribute Store.
1801 E Upriver Dr Spokane, WA


Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles
I've Fallen And I Can't Get Up!
Downhill Mountain Biking
Free Solo Climbing
Cocoanut Grove Fire
Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson
Rube Goldberg Machine
Swiss Army Knife
The Boeing 777 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet and is commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven". The aircraft has seating for over 300 passengers and has a range from 5,235 to 9,380 nautical miles, depending on model. Its distinguishing features include the largest-diameter turbofan engines of any aircraft, six wheels on each main landing gear, a circular fuselage cross-section, and blade-shaped tail cone. Developed in consultation with eight major airlines, the 777 was designed to replace older wide-body airliners and bridge the capacity difference between the 767 and 747. As Boeing's first fly-by-wire airliner, it has computer mediated controls; it is also the first entirely computer-designed commercial aircraft. The 777 is produced in two fuselage lengths. The original 777-200 model first entered service in 1995, followed by the extended-range 777-200ER in 1997; the stretched 777-300, which is 33.3 ft (10.1 m) longer, began service in 1998. The longer-range 777-300ER and 777-200LR variants entered service in 2004 and 2006, respectively, while a freighter version, the 777F, debuted in 2009. Both longer-range versions and the freighter feature General Electric GE90 engines, as well as extended and raked wingtips. Other models are equipped with either the GE90, Pratt & Whitney PW4000, or Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines. The 777-200LR is the world's longest-range airliner and holds the record for longest distance flown by an unrefueled commercial aircraft, with the demonstrated capability to fly more than halfway around the world. United Airlines first placed the 777 into commercial airline service in 1995. As of March 2011, 60 customers have placed orders for 1,209 aircraft of all variants, with 923 delivered. The most common variant used worldwide is the 777-200ER, with 415 aircraft delivered, and Emirates operates the largest 777 fleet, with 86 aircraft. The airliner has had one hull-loss accident, attributed to a Trent 800 engine fuel component, with no passenger fatalities as of 2011. Through the 2000s, the 777 has emerged as one of its manufacturer's best-selling models. Because of rising fuel costs, airlines have acquired the type as a comparatively fuel-efficient alternative to other wide-body jets and have increasingly used the aircraft on long-haul, transoceanic routes. [READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE]
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