(Replaces reference to CEO with “accountable manager” in first paragraph)
By Stelios Orphanides
The board of directors of Cobalt Air appointed Guy MacLean as the airline’s accountable manager, replacing Andrew Madar.
In a telephone interview, Maclean confirmed the decision of the company which also notified the Civil Aviation Authority.
Madar took over as the company’s top executive after the resignation of his predecessor Andrew Pyne in August 2016, two months after the company received its commercial licence. The reasons for the divorce are unknown.
The company was not immediately available for comment.
The Cyprus Business Mail understands that the changes in the company’s management went beyond Madar.


GOOD NEWS: Innovations from Alabamians employed in the aerospace industry have changed the world. To continue that momentum and retain a level of expertise in any field, it is important for leaders to foster a culture that emphasizes professional development and training of current as well as future generations.
Flight Works Alabama is a workforce development initiative created from dialogue between industry and education as to what skills are deemed necessary to compete effectively in a global economy. The Flight Works Alabama simulation environment, strategically placed near Airbus’ aircraft factory, serves as an excellent way to introduce students to careers in aerospace and aviation. We are looking forward to the Flight Works Alabama grand opening in late 2019 and the talent that will develop as a result of this partnership between the public and private sector.
Read More - Alabama Political Reporter article:


What to expect
Help USAF achieve mission effectiveness and avoid grounding aircraft by developing a full solution to reverse engineer obsolete legacy parts with the latest technologies in additive and agile manufacturing.
WE NEED YOUR INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS!
In this challenge, USAF is seeking to gather solutions on how to reverse engineer obsolete legacy parts and turn them into 3D models using the latest technologies in additive and agile manufacturing. How can we bring ideas into the real world by converting 2D designs into 3D models in a universally compatible way? We are exploring concepts to improve and define the best design practices to create a standard 3D package for agile and additive manufacturing. If we can build a new digital database of 3D designs, it will be critical to mission effectiveness and help USAF avoid grounding aircraft. Join us in our efforts today!


What did Carl Sagan say about the Pale Blue Dot?
There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”
What is meant by Pale Blue Dot?
The Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of Earth taken Feb. 14, 1990, by NASA’s Voyager 1 at a distance of 3.7 billion miles (6 billion kilometers) from the Sun. The image inspired the title of scientist Carl Sagan’s book, “Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space,” in which he wrote: “Look again at that dot.
Who said Pale Blue Dot?
On February 14, 1990, the Voyager 1 spacecraft saw Earth from a distance of nearly four billion miles, capturing a view of our planet later described by scientist Carl Sagan as a “Pale Blue Dot.”
When did Carl Sagan wrote Pale Blue Dot?
Pale Blue Dot (book)
|Cover of the first edition|
|Media type||Print (Hardcover and Paperback)|
Who did Carl Sagan work with?
Further Work With NASA and Fringe Science
In 1968, Sagan became the director of Cornell University’s Laboratory for Planetary Studies, and three years later, he became a full professor.
Is Carl Sagan religious?
Given his novel’s religious sympathy, it is intensely strange that Sagan is sometimes imagined as a kind of proto-New Atheist. Sagan opposed emergent Christian fundamentalism for its growing political muscle and its creationism.
What is the farthest picture of Earth?
The “Pale Blue Dot” picture of Planet Earth was acquired by the Voyager 1 probe exactly 30 years ago on Friday – from a distance of about 6 billion km (4 billion miles) miles. To mark the anniversary, the US space agency has now reprocessed this iconic view using modern techniques and software.
What is the blue planet in our solar system?
Neptune: The Blue Planet.
What is the White on earth?
Water covers most of Earth. The white swirls are clouds. The brown, yellow and green parts are land. And the white parts are ice and snow.
Where is Voyager 2 now?
NASA is upgrading the big radio dish in Australia used to beam commands to Voyager 2. NASA’s Voyager 2 probe will have to fend for itself in interstellar space for the next 11 months or so.
What is the farthest NASA has gone?
Voyager 1 is a space probe that was launched by NASA on September 5, 1977. Real-time distance and velocity data is provided by NASA and JPL. At a distance of 152.2 AU (22.8 billion km; 14.1 billion mi) from Earth as of January 12, 2020, it is the most distant human-made object from Earth.
Is Voyager 2 still transmitting?
NASA said that the successful call to Voyager 2 is just one indication that the dish will be fully back online as planned in February 2021. Both Voyager 2 and Voyager 1 have traveled well beyond their original destinations. The spacecraft were built to last five years and conduct close-up studies of Jupiter and Saturn.
What’s the farthest satellite from Earth?
The most distant human-made object is the spacecraft Voyager 1, which – in late February 2018 – is over 13 billion miles (21 billion km) from Earth. Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, were launched 16 days apart in 1977. Both spacecraft flew by Jupiter and Saturn.
Where is Voyager currently?
Launched in 1977, both Voyager probes are now hurtling through interstellar space, making them the most distant man-made objects from Earth. On January 30, at 12.26pm GMT (7.26am EST), NASA tracked Voyager 2 at nearly 11.5 billion miles from Earth.
What was the last picture Voyager 1 took?
The probe took the Pale Blue Dot photo at 0448 GMT on Feb. 14, 1990, just 34 minutes before its cameras were shut off forever. (The very last photos Voyager 1 took, however, were of the sun, Hansen said.)


- Do astronauts pay taxes?
- How much does an astronaut suit cost?
- Can u get pregnant in space?
- How often do astronauts change clothes?
- How do astronauts wash and use the bathroom in space?
- How much do astronauts get paid?
- Does it smell bad on the ISS?
- Why are astronauts paid so little?
- Do astronauts poop in their space suits?
- Do astronauts wear deodorant?
- Do Astronauts pack clothes?
- Do astronauts drink pee?
- How do astronauts poop?
- Do astronauts wash dishes?
- Can you drink urine through a LifeStraw?
Do astronauts pay taxes?
Unfortunately for astronauts, the IRS doesn’t consider international airspace, or international waters, or space, abroad.
This means that they will have to pay US taxes on all of their income.
Expats meanwhile, living abroad, can claim one or more IRS exemptions to help reduce their US tax bill, in many cases to zero..
How much does an astronaut suit cost?
The suit was tested in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park badlands of western North Dakota. The suit has a mass of 47 pounds (21 kg) without a life support backpack, and costs only a fraction of the standard US$12,000,000 cost for a flight-rated NASA space suit.
Can u get pregnant in space?
As a result NASA’s official policy forbids pregnancy in space. Female astronauts are tested regularly in the 10 days prior to launch. And sex in space is very much frowned upon.
How often do astronauts change clothes?
As per NASA, astronauts will wear the clothes during their daily two and a half hour exercise regimen for a total of 15 days.
How do astronauts wash and use the bathroom in space?
On the ISS, astronauts do not shower but rather use liquid soap, water, and rinseless shampoo. They squeeze liquid soap and water from pouches onto their skin. Then they use rinseless soap with a little water to clean their hair. … An airflow system nearby quickly evaporates excess water.
How much do astronauts get paid?
Astronauts’ annual salaries are determined using a government pay scale, and starting out, typically fall under two grades: GS-12 and GS-13. According the US government’s 2020 pay scales and a NASA job listing, a civilian astronaut in 2020 can earn between $66,167 and $161,141 per year.
Does it smell bad on the ISS?
THE STENCH OF SPACE NASA astronaut Scott Kelly has revealed the ISS smells like jail, citing the similarities in their ‘combinations of antiseptic, garbage, and body odor. ‘ While touring Harris County Jail in Texas, Kelly said he got a whiff in one room that transported him right back to his days on the ISS.
Why are astronauts paid so little?
Their pay tends to be even less. The original astronauts were in the military and were paid just their military salary. A lot of it has to do with supply and demand. There are thousands of applications per year for just a few openings.
Do astronauts poop in their space suits?
Eliminating Waste Each spacewalking astronaut wears a large, absorbent diaper called a Maximum Absorption Garment (MAG) to collect urine and feces while in the space suit. The astronaut disposes the MAG when the spacewalk is over and he/she gets dressed in regular work clothes.
Do astronauts wear deodorant?
Well, it’s not like people really smell that bad. We use deodorant, we wipe, rinse off, shower. But there’s a little body odor going on for sure. Mostly it’s just exercise clothes people wear for a couple weeks without washing.
Do Astronauts pack clothes?
Here’s What Astronauts Pack When They Go To Space There is no washing machine in space. … Most of the clothing brought to the space station doesn’t come back home. Dirty clothes are placed in a bag and most of it is put on a resupply vehicle that makes a one-way trip to the space station several times a year.
Do astronauts drink pee?
Astronauts have been drinking distilled urine since 2009, and they currently recapture 93 percent of wastewater, but the system they’re using now is heavy, slow and has been prone to breaking down. It spins the urine at high speed to separate out the water vapor, then treats it chemically.
How do astronauts poop?
Today, astronauts at the International Space Station poop into a little plate-sized toilet hole, and a fan vacuum-sucks their excrement away. A separate funnel equipped with a fan suctions their pee away.
Do astronauts wash dishes?
Some previous space stations were equipped with showers, but these are not fitted in the Shuttle or the ISS. Instead, astronauts use a damp, soapy cloth for washing. There is no washing of dirty dishes either. Used food containers are crushed and thrown away.
Can you drink urine through a LifeStraw?
LifeStraw filters do not remove dissolved salts and are not designed to be used to drink non-diluted urine. Because of this, we do not recommend drinking urine with the LifeStraw in even low amounts.


Additionally, the first F-35s are still plagued with communications deficiencies. First, the aircraft has a difficult time distinguishing friendly forces from hostile ones, and second, it can’t verify the GPS ground coordinates.
Tests indicate that 80 percent of the F-35’s information system alerts constitute false positives. The first F-35s ready to deploy in July, according to the Marine Corps, cannot use night vision technology.
So this MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR AIRCRAFT cannot do the things that an aircraft built in 1975 can?
Nope, nope, nope. This is such an epic failure that people need to be jailed.


Private jet charter is a luxurious and convenient way to travel, but many people assume that it is out of their price range. However, with the right strategy and resources, it is possible to find affordable private jet charter rates that fit within your budget.
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Use Flight List Pro’s Jet Charter Service to Save Money
Private jet charter can be more affordable than you think if you use the right strategies and resources. By following these ten tips, including using a charter broker directory like Flight List Pro, being flexible with your travel dates, booking in advance, considering one-way flights, choosing the right aircraft type, considering empty leg flights, negotiating, watching out for hidden fees, joining a jet card program, and considering shared charter, you can find the best private jet charter rates that fit within your budget.
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Space Ice Cream is freeze-dried, meaning not only would the product weigh less, but that it wouldn’t need to be kept in refrigerated storage. Comment below and tell us what you think! That’s where the real innovation happened, because that’s when space ice cream was invented. That fits with the technical obstacles to space ice cream — as Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield explained (along with Buzz Aldrin and many other astronauts), crumbly food like astronaut ice cream would be a major hazard in space. What does it taste like? The CRS-1 flight is launching with more than 800 pounds (360 kilograms) of supplies, experiments and equipment to support the space station's crew, and will return to Earth with nearly 1,700 pounds (770 kg) of science results and spent hardware. That matches with the complete absence of ice cream from mission transcripts as well. As the above video shows, debunking astronaut ice cream doesn't have to kill the fun of eating space food. When you’re in a zero-gravity space orbit, having something that breaks into small crumbs can wreak havoc for the safety of the vehicle and for the crew. If kids want to eat astronaut ice cream, they should just enjoy delicious, real ice cream, as real astronauts have many times since the 1970s, when refrigerators became available in space. Good luck if you try it. And if you’re interested in supporting our video journalism, you can become a member of the Vox Video Lab on YouTube. Three critics from rural places discuss Ron Howard’s Netflix adaptation of J.D. That chalky space ice cream you got at the gift shop? If you have already made a contribution to Vox, thank you. "I think it’s very likely it never flew," she wrote me. To freeze-dry the ice cream, the water is taken out and the air pressure is lowered, creating a vacuum, then the ice cream is heated and cooled until you have your final product. As you can hear above, he said that years later, when he first encountered the freeze-dried dessert, he wished they'd had it on Apollo 7 — but they never did. Sign up for the newsletter, The 126-year fight to change Mississippi’s Confederate flag. ISS Astronauts Get a Sweet Taste of Real Ice Cream The latest shipment to the station includes some frozen goodness for the crew . The only problem is that astronaut ice cream is a lie. https://www.cnet.com/news/astronauts-bust-the-myth-of-space-ice-cream It melts when you pop it in your mouth, like honeycomb! You can still buy Astronaut Ice Cream! Any space-enthused kid has endured the crumbly, chalky agglomeration of flavors known as "astronaut ice cream." Why? Weed was the real winner of the 2020 election. The importance of having ice cream on board? Space ice cream, otherwise known as Astronaut Ice Cream, was originally developed by the company Whirlpool after they were commissioned to do so by NASA. Chris Hadfield, my favorite TED Talk astronaut, speaks about the ridiculousness of actually having such a monstrous dessert aboard a space flight. If kids want … As he says “Because we have a TV show…”. Nowadays, astronauts actually can have desserts like ice cream in space, but those desserts are all in liquid form. Support free explanatory journalism. Because astronauts have to break out of our atmosphere to go into space, they have to limit the weight of what they bring up. The ice cream, which is now a not ... Robert Cabana, former shuttle astronaut and the director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, said. Was this famous war photo staged? "It probably got made, tested on the ground, and rejected. Because astronauts have to break out of our atmosphere to go into … And that's because by 1972, freezers were allowed on board and astronauts were able to eat the real deal… Astronaut Ice Cream is apparently a thing, even though real astronauts never actually ate it. Space ice cream, otherwise known as Astronaut Ice Cream, was originally developed by the company Whirlpool after they were commissioned to do so by NASA. When I asked astronaut Walt Cunningham, the sole surviving member of the crew, about it, he said, "We never had that stuff." NASA, the manufacturers, and other astronauts cannot verify that it ever was on a mission. As the above video shows, this legendary children's treat has a surprisingly murky history. If you haven’t, help us keep our journalism free for everyone by making a financial contribution today, from as little as $3. Congratulations to you, space ice cream, for continuing to be the chalky disappointment we never deserved. That’s right, it most likely never went on any of the Apollo missions. We found out why. originally developed by the company Whirlpool, Fill Out a Quick Form and Find Out Why Your Life Sucks (or Doesn’t), Isolating trends in public cloud costs using time-series analysis, I’ve Been Hiding My Investment Strategy (Out of Fear) for 6 Years, An Elderly Mathematician Hacked the Lottery for $26 Million, Activating the Vagus Nerve Might Lower Your Covid-19 Risk, 20 Things Most People Learn Too Late In Life. 10 enormously consequential things Biden can do without the Senate. Not the crunchy, meringue-cookie texture astronaut ice cream so loved (and sold) on the Space Coast, but the chilly, melty, creamy dessert most often found on … It's dry, crunchy and has the same texture as the centre of a Malteser. To get the obvious out of the way: Astronaut ice cream probably isn't made out of real astronauts. While we know now that the faux-ice cream never made it on to a real space mission, it has now at least been up higher than Mount Everest. Astronaut ice cream never made the docket for Apollo 7 or any other early missions. The true story behind Arlo Guthrie’s Thanksgiving staple, “Alice’s Restaurant”. Make a contribution to Vox today. Apollo 7 is identified by many online sources as the only flight to harbor the chalky ice cream. Even if astronaut ice cream were on Apollo 7, it would probably have been rehydratable food similar to most of the other food options on the flight, not the freeze-dried block we recognize today. That's the reason John Young was reprimanded for sneaking a corned beef sandwich on board during the Gemini program — bread crumbs could easily float into instruments. Black Lives Matter helped shape the 2020 election. One astronaut who flew on an Apollo space flight, Walt Cunningham, has come out to say that they certainly never had this ice cream (though, he adds, it would’ve been nice). You get this as a result: It’s crumbly, it’s chalky, and the worst part is that it probably never even went to space. You can find this video and all of Vox’s videos on YouTube. If you’ve ever had one, or even if you just take a glance at the picture above, you can see that Astronaut Ice Cream cracks apart very easily. Well, it’s the exact same importance that I place on having Sea Salt Caramel Gelato from Talenti in my freezer at all times–it’s delicious. Yes, each Astronaut Ice Cream pack contains a rectangle slice of freeze-dried, edible vanilla ice cream and comes in a resealable pack. They do always get to try things in advance, and they probably thought it was as horrible as it actually is when you buy it in the gift shop.". And that kind of work takes resources. There are several reasons why astronauts back in the day didn’t have space ice cream on their space flights, the biggest reason is that it crumbles during consumption. There are other delicious and educational options (I share my favorite toward the end). Joe Biden can have a consequential presidency even with a Republican Senate. Why does Hillbilly Elegy feel so inauthentic and performative? There's also a smattering of technical documents that mention the development of some sort of ice cream in space — but none that can confirm the existence of ice cream on board. On the rebellious joy of a long, long movie dance scene, Holiday shopping as we know it is over — just ask seasonal workers, 11 great ways to pass the time this holiday weekend. Even after the economy recovers, advertising alone will never be enough to support it. While it began with just chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and a neapolitan blend, new flavors and styles have come out since. So is there any argument that astronaut ice cream did fly in space? That’s why NASA made contracts with companies like Whirlpool to help create lighter weight foods that wouldn’t bog down the rocket.


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Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D (2005)
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D Photos
as Pete Conrad
as Gene Cernan
as Al Shepard
as Al Bean
as Jim Irwin
as Dave Scott
as Beta Station Commander
as Neil Armstrong
as Ed Mitchell
as Helium 3 Commander
as Jack Schmitt
as John Young
as Buzz Aldrin
as Charles Duke
as Alpha Station Commander
as Houston Capcom
Critic Reviews for Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon is an earnest but insubstantial Imax 3-D spectacle that, even at 40 minutes, seems unduly padded.
The illusion is impressive but incomplete, and therefore mildly disappointing. But I cannot deny having felt a little nervous when 'we' were standing too close to the edge at the Grand Canyon-like Hadley Rille. So clearly I am a liar.
One of the astronauts describes his excitement during the lunar mission as 'like a kid playing in a sandbox.' Unfortunately, that could also sum up the film's visual content.
Adults will be more than passably entertained by this short, patriotic feature, and kids will be entranced.
Audience Reviews for Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D
Caught this on a recent trip to the Kennedy Space Center, so there's nothing like being there to enhance your experience! This IMAX documentary is one of a series of excellent films made about one of humankind's great adventures: The moon missions. It takes you from the origins through a lot of footage from the later missions that you may not have seen, and supplements the real footage with technically excellent simulations and re-enactments. Like its close cousin, From the Earth To The Moon series, its an inspirational and sometimes harrowing tale of the journey to our nearest neighbor. It's calculated to inspire, and it does. The sheer magnitude of what was accomplished is still pretty staggering. If you watch this and are not moved by the experience, then you either never saw any of the space program coverage over the last 40 years, or you just aren't awake. The kids in the film can't name the astronauts that did it, but it still captures their imagination and that nothing is impossible. Great narration, photography, and science fact. Recommended
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D Quotes
There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.


Welcome to the Aerospace Australia Ltd Innovation Awards page. The Awards recognise and reward innovation by Australian individuals and organisations in products, services and business processes.
The Chairman of Aerospace Australia Ltd will present the Awards during the Australian International Air Show and Defence Exposition 2015 at Avalon International Airport.
There are six awards in all, for aerospace and aviation innovators.
Defence innovators will be eligible for the:
- Aerospace Australia Limited Defence Industry Innovation Award
- Aerospace Australia Limited Defence SME Innovation Grant
- Aerospace Australia Limited Young Innovator Scholarship for Defence Industry
Non-defence companies and individuals will be eligible for the:
- Aerospace Australia Limited Civil Industry Innovation Award
- Aerospace Australia Limited Civil SME Innovation Grant
- Aerospace Australia Limited Young Innovator Scholarship for Civil Industry
The SME Innovation Grants and Innovation Scholarships are worth $10,000 each.
Either download the Eligibility Criteria and Entry Form for the relevant Award as a PDF file, or complete the application on-line.
Please read the Eligibility Criteria carefully.
For further information please contact:
Executive Manager, Industry development
Aerospace Australia Ltd
PO Box 4095
GEELONG VIC 3220
Tel: 03 5282 0550
Fax: 03 5282 4455


For Steam players, it's time to excited about Microsoft Flight Simulator.
The epic title arrives in under a month, so here's how to get your hands on it.
The "Pre-Purchase" price for Microsoft Flight Simulator is $59.99 / £59.99, it remains to be seen whether that price will go up or down after release!
The Deluxe Bundle features an extra five aircrafts and five additional handcrafted international airports. It's priced at $89.99 / £79.99.
READ MORE: Microsoft Flight Simulator Editions
As for the Premium Deluxe Bundle, you receive a further five aircraft and airports, and set you back $119.99 / £109.99.
After over a year of hype, it's incredible that Flight Simulator will be arriving on Tuesday, 18 August.


Michael Fincke - United States Astronaut - El Camino College
Michael Fincke graduated from Pennsylvania’s Sewickley Academy in 1985. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on an Air Force ROTC scholarship and graduated in 1989 with a bachelor of science in Aeronautics and Astronautics as well as a bachelor of science in Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences. This was followed by a master of science in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University in 1990. He was awarded an associates of science degree in Earth Sciences (Geology) from El Camino College in Torrance, Calif. in 1993 and then a second master of science in Physical Sciences (Planetary Geology) from the University of Houston - Clear Lake in 2001.
Fincke was born March 14, 1967 in Pittsburgh, PA., but considers Emsworth, PA. to be his hometown. Married to the former Renita Saikia of Houston, Texas. They have three children. In addition to time with his family, Mike enjoys travel, Geology, Astronomy, learning new languages, and reading. He is conversant in Japanese and Russian. His parents, Edward and Alma Fincke reside in Emsworth, Pennsylvania. Renita’s parents, Rupesh and Probha Saikia formerly of Assam, India reside in Houston, Texas.
In addition to two NASA Distinguished Service Medals and two NASA Spaceflight Medals, Colonel Fincke is a recipient of the first ISS Leadership Award as well as a United States Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, three Commendation Medals, two Achievement Medals, and various unit and service awards. He is a Distinguished Graduate from the United States Air Force ROTC, Squadron Officer School, and Test Pilot School Programs and the recipient of the United States Air Force Test Pilot School Colonel Ray Jones Award as the top Flight Test Engineer/Flight Test Navigator in class 93B.
Colonel Fincke graduated from MIT in 1989, and immediately attended a summer exchange program with the Moscow Aviation Institute in the former Soviet Union, where he studied Cosmonautics. Upon graduation from Stanford University in 1990, he entered the United States Air Force where he “washed out” of the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program, and then was reassigned as a Space Systems Engineer and a Space Test Engineer at Los Angeles Air Force Base. As a Flight Test Engineer at Edwards and Eglin Air Force Bases he flew in F-16 and F-15 aircraft. In January of 1996, he reported to the Gifu Test Center, Gifu Air Base, Japan where he was the United States Flight Test Liaison to the Japanese/United States XF-2 fighter program. Colonel Fincke has more than 1,000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft types.
Selected by NASA in April 1996, Colonel Fincke reported to the Johnson Space Center where he completed two years of training and evaluation. He was assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Station Operations Branch serving as an International Space Station Spacecraft Communicator (ISS CAPCOM), a member of the Crew Test Support Team in Russia and as the ISS crew procedures team lead. He also served as back-up crewmember for ISS Expeditions 4 and 6 as well as back-up commander for ISS Expeditions 13 and 16. He is qualified to fly as a left-seat Flight Engineer (co-pilot) on the Russian Soyuz TM and TMA spacecraft. He was the Commander of the second NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO 2) mission living and working underwater for 7 days in May of 2002. Fincke has a total of 365 days, 21 hours and 32 minutes in orbit, and has logged 26 hours and 12 minutes of EVA time on six spacewalks.
Fincke was assigned to the crew of STS-134 to the International Space Station. The mission delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), a state-of-the-art cosmic ray particle physics detector designed to examine fundamental issues about matter and the origin of the universe. The mission also marked the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour.
ISS Expedition 9 (April 18 to Oct. 23, 2004). Expedition 9 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan aboard the Soyuz TMA-4 spacecraft. As the NASA Space Station science officer and flight engineer, Colonel Fincke spent six-months aboard the ISS continuing ISS science operations, maintaining Station systems, and performing four spacewalks. The Expedition 9 mission concluded with undocking from the station and safe landing back in Kazakhstan on October 23, 2004.
ISS Expedition 18 (October 12, 2008 to April 8, 2009). Expedition 18 launched from from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan aboard the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft. As the ISS Commander, Fincke and his 3-person crew helped prepare the station for future six-person crews and hosted the Space Shuttle crews of STS-126 and STS-119. The Expedition 18 mission concluded with undocking from the station and safe landing back in Kazakhstan on April 8, 2009.
Read about more notable alumni...


"The World is My Country" logo
is flying from the North to South Pole!
November 1, 2019
Record-breaking pilot Robert DeLaurentis is making an Epic flight and he is taking us with him!
Our logo is on his Citizen of the World plane and you can keep up with his trailblazing journey at:
"The poles are the only places on the planet where peace exists today". Robert says. "All the member countries of the Antarctic Treaty cooperate together because it’s in their best interest. Our flight will join the south and north poles, and in doing that, we are hoping to join everyone in between in our message of global peace."
"As pilots, we have a responsibility beyond flying. We become ambassadors every time we go anywhere in the world. Everyone has had the dream of flying sometime in their lives, so seeing someone out there in the world flying a small airplane is a great way to share the message, which is One Planet, One People, One Plane – the Oneness of Humanity.”
For the pole-to-pole flight, DeLaurentis and his team have christened their Turbine Commander 900 the Citizen of the World. “I am hoping to show all the people in the 20-plus countries along our route that we are all citizens of the world,” he said.
“The airplane is a fantastic billboard for our message. Airplanes don’t know boundaries. They just fly. An airplane is the ultimate demonstration of the oneness of our world.”


Brussels Airlines has introduced plans to droop all scheduled flights from March 21 by way of April 19 as a result of COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. Through March 21, the airline says it can scale back its flight operations “gradually in a controlled and structured manner in order to bring passengers and crews home.”
Part of the Lufthansa Group, Brussels Airlines is the flag provider and largest airline of Belgium, flying to over 100 locations in Europe, North America, Africa and Asia. It is a member of the Star Alliance.
Passengers on cancelled flights will robotically be rebooked; they’ll examine the standing of their rebooking at brusselsairlines.com below “My Booking.” The airline is asking passengers whose scheduled flights don’t happen within the subsequent seven days to chorus from contacting the Service Center within the coming days as a consequence of excessive name volumes.
Additionally, Brussels Airlines is providing all passengers an prolonged goodwill association, which permits them till June 1 to determine on a brand new journey date and alter their ticket to a special vacation spot.
On Monday, as reported by our sister publication Travel Agent, Austrian Airlines, one other Lufthansa Group provider, introduced plans to droop flight operations as of Thursday, March 19, with cancellations to final initially till March 28. Passengers on cancelled flights throughout this era shall be rebooked on different airways if doable, Austrian Airlines mentioned.
Other Lufthansa Group carriers are additionally decreasing their short- and long-haul schedule. Long-haul routes will see capability decreased by as much as 90 p.c, whereas solely 20 p.c of initially deliberate seating on flights inside Europe shall be supplied. Lufthansa Group mentioned it expects to publish the extra cancellations over the following few days, and passengers shall be knowledgeable accordingly.
This article initially appeared on www.travelagentcentral.com.


On November 3, the United Aircraft Corporation’s profile program Course for Takeoff was completed with the launch of model aircraft.
For the first time, the session was based on a model of an aviation production cluster that has a number of aviation plants. Together with their instructors – United Aircraft Corporation’s experts – the children went from creating aviation companies to producing aircraft built by the young aviation workers at “plants” at Artek.
The UAC’s educational program allowed Artek children to learn more about the corporation’s work, its product range, and the main stages in an airplane’s service life. Having assembled five “plant” teams, they made a “map of professions,” developed staff schedules, distributed roles, defined areas of responsibility and set up a production processes in order to manufacture high-quality model aircraft capable of flying a given distance, before the deadline.
The winning team with the most points achieved through completing the tasks throughout the session was awarded with certificates, while the five most active “aviation workers” received special certificates allowing them to enroll in any of the 12 major universities involved in the aviation industry on an employer-sponsored basis. These certificates were awarded to Maria Bulakhova from the Moscow region, Nikita Intsertov from Ryazan, Olga Omelyanchuk from Taganrog, Yevgeny Bondarenko from Moscow and Anastasiya Tolkacheva from Voronezh.
UAC’s HR Training Department director, Elena Mitina commended the young peoples’ work and noted that “the environment at Artek allows for exploring the creative potential in gifted or simply interested children from all over the country. Artek’s educational session is an important part of our vocational program, which was created to identify talented children and guide them toward the industry’s universities.”
Artek director Alexei Kasprjak noted that working with thematic partners, including the leaders of high-tech sectors of the economy, creates opportunities for children to learn more about various professions, and contributes to the long-term planning of the regional labor market, while drawing the future experts’ to the regions’ priority disciplines.
“Thanks to programs like Course for Takeoff, the professional core of the future is being formed at Artek today,” he said.
The United Aircraft Corporation began cooperating with ICC Artek last year. The corporation sponsors the constant operation of the camp’s aircraft modeling laboratory. Twice a year, the United Aircraft Corporation carries out a program four youth from all over the country who have won various national competitions and UAC’s themed olympiades. The corporation became the first Artek partner to award the students who showed best results during the session with certificates for training at major universities in the industry.


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Tim Flohrer leads ESA's Space Debris Office since 2020. He joined the office as an engineer in 2007, and became analyst in 2009, senior analyst in 2018. Since 2014 he is working for ESA's Space Situational Awareness Program (SSA) and Space Safety Programme (S2P) and leads activities addressing the monitoring of space debris. In parallel he is supporting operational collision avoidance activities for ESA and third party missions, re-entry predictions, mitigation analyses, long-term predictions of the space debris environment, and space debris risk assessments. Before he moved to Darmstadt, Germany, Tim was a research associate at the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern, Switzerland, where he mainly worked on ground- and space-based optical space surveillance, and related planning and processing software. Tim is an ESA delegate to the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), where he is chair to WG1 (measurements) and he was chair of WG2 (environment and database). Tim holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD; Dr. phil.-nat.) from the University of Bern, Switzerland, and a Diplom-Ingenieur in Geodesy from the Dresden University of Technology, Germany. Tim has been working on space debris and space surveillance topics for more than 22 years.
Prof. Bosanac graduated in Theoretical Physics from the University of Zagreb and obtained PhD degree from the university of Sussex, UK, when he was appointed research position at the R. Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia. The area of his research activity is atomic and molecular energy transfer and electromagnetic interactions, astrophysics, and recently electromagnetic propulsion technology. During research carrier Bosanac published around 100 papers, four books, was principal investigator in several international science projects and was actively involved in popularizing science by publishing and lecturing. He was visiting professor at several distinguished universities, and for his work received two Croatian State Prices in science, in 1997 and 2013. In 2017 Bosanac founded Adriatic Aerospace Association to promote Space programme for Croatia. Bosanac was also President of the Croatian Astronomical Society from 2008 - 2012. Outside of research Bosanac was active in projects that are related to promotion of science in Croatia and internationally by initiating in 1986 the interdisciplinary Brijuni conferences that continuously run until now.
Fellow of AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics), full Member of IAA (International Academy of Astronautics), Honorary Member of IAASS (Int. Assoc. for the Advancement of Space Safety), Member of ESA delegation at IADC (Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee) and UNCOPUOS/STSC (Scientific & Technical Sub-Committee). Klinkrad was ESA visiting scientist in ESOC’s Flight Dynamics Division (1980-1983), Flight Dynamics Engineer for the ERS-1 Project at ESTEC (1983-1988), Senior Mission Analyst in ESOC’s Mission Analysis Office (1988-2005), Head of ESA's Space Debris Office (2006-2014), Appointment as “ESA Senior Advisor” on space debris in 2008. Author of the text book on “Space Debris” (2006), 250 publications, recipient of the “Joseph P. Loftus Space Sustainability Award” from the Int. Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS) in 2013, recipient of the “Distinguished Service Award” from the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) in 2015, recipient of two “ESA Team Awards” in 2013 and 2014.
Prof.Dr.Sc. Ognjan Božić worked for The German Aerospace Center as a research scientist for 19 years. Research was focused on solid and hybrid rocket engines, aerothermodynamics, rocket propulsion, space system concepts etc.
Stoewer was the European Space Agency’s (ESA) first program Manager for the Spacelab project, where he created a strong systems group. Stoewer also founded the ESA’s Systems Engineering and Programmatics Department, where he implemented an end-to-end systems engineering philosophy across ESA projects. He served as managing director of the German Space Agency’s national space science and applications projects.
Lectures Space Mission Analysis and Design, Space Propulsion, Master Thesis Seminar at University of Applied Sciences in Austria. He is also advisor to students in Projects and Master Theses. Field of specialization: Space Propulsion.
Yi Li is an Associate Professor and Assistant Dean at the School of Astronautics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, China. His research group works on sounding rockets and aerodynamics related to spacecraft. He also works on space education. In 2017, he founded the first students’ club of sounding rocket in China. He is also a division director of Shaanxi Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics. From 2009 to 2014, he worked as a PhD student at German Aerospace Center and received the doctoral degree from Technical University Braunschweig in 2015.
Guenter W. Hein is Professor Emeritus of Excellence of University FAF Munich. He was ESA Head of EGNOS & GNSS Evolution Programme Dept. 2008-2014, in charge of development of 2nd generation of EGNOS and Galileo. Prof. Hein has more than 300 scientific and technical papers published, carried out more than 200 research projects and educated more than 70 Ph. D.´s. He received 2002 the prestigious Johannes Kepler Award for „sustained and significant contributions to satellite navigation” of the US Institute of Navigation (ION), the highest worldwide award in navigation given only to one individual each year. G. Hein became 2011 a Fellow of US ION. The Technical University of Prague honoured his achievements in satellite navigation with a Doctor honoris causa in Jan. 2013. He is Chairman of the Executive Board of Munich Aerospace.
Prior to joining the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, Dr. Worden was Director of NASA's Ames Research Center. He was research professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona. He is a recognized expert on space and science issues and has been a leader in building partnerships between governments and the private sector internationally. Dr. Worden has authored or co-authored more than 150 scientific papers in astrophysics and space sciences. He served as a scientific co-investigator for three NASA space science missions – most recently the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph launched in 2013 to study the Sun. He received the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal for the 1994 Clementine Mission to the moon. Dr. Worden was named the 2009 Federal Laboratory Consortium 'Laboratory Director of the Year' and is the recipient of the 2010 Arthur C. Clarke Innovator's Award.
Sun was a founding member of China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) in 1993 and worked as General Designer Assistant for China Manned Space Program (CMSP) for 8 years. After the maiden flight of Shenzhou spaceship, Sun moved to Munich and worked as Managing Director of EurasSpace GmbH, a company of EADS and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) for more than 8 years. The joint-venture company was a primary contractor of Sino-European space business. After managing this office he founded CASC European Office based in Paris, and served as Chief Representative in the office for 7 years. Sun was involved in most of the joint programs between China and European in this period, including the satellite launch services for Eutelsat W3C, telecommunication satellite procurements or joint manufacture from/with European satellite manufacturers, and several joint satellite programs with ESA and CNES based on bilateral government agreements. Mr. Sun is the author of a number of scholarly papers, presentations, articles and book contributions.
Alessandro Golkar is Full Professor at the Technical University of Munich, Chair of Pico-, Nanosatellites, and Satellite Constellations. His research interests are in systems engineering and in the development of novel mission concepts of spacecraft systems, with particular interest in nanosatellites and satellite constellation systems. Prof. Golkar served as co-PI of the FSSCAT CubeSat mission, a satellite mission sponsored by ESA, 1st Prize Winner of the ESA Sentinel Small Satellite Challenge, and Overall Winner of the 2017 Copernicus Masters. From 2012 to 2022, Prof. Golkar was among the founding faculty members of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) in Moscow, Russia, a new research university founded in collaboration with MIT. From 2017 to 2019 Prof. Golkar took a sabbatical leave from academia and joined Airbus as Vice President of the Technology Planning and Roadmapping unit of the Corporate Technology Office at group level, in charge of creating the Airbus Concurrent Design Facility and running roadmapping studies for the steering of the overall group R&T budget of 800 MEUR per year. Professor Golkar holds a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and M.Sc. and B.Sc. degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. He serves as Associate Editor of the INCOSE Systems Engineering journal.
Aaron Knoll is head of the Imperial Plasma Propulsion Laboratory (IPPL) within the Aeronautics Department at Imperial College London. From 2013 to 2017, Aaron led the Plasma Propulsion research group at the Surrey Space Centre, University of Surrey. His research looks at alternative propellants for spacecraft electric propulsion, innovative MEMS based electrolysis micro-propulsion for CubeSats and SmallSats and hybrid electric + chemical propulsion architectures for future space exploration.
Željko Ivezić obtained undergraduate degrees in mechanical engineering and physics from the University of Zagreb, Croatia, and his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Kentucky in 1995. After working on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) at Princeton University, he took a professorship in astronomy at the University of Washington in 2004. Željko's scientific interests are in detection, analysis, and interpretation of electromagnetic radiation from astronomical sources, with emphasis on data mining and machine learning methods. He has co-authored over 300 refereed publications, with a cumulative citation count of over 100,000. His current obsession is the Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), for which he served as the Project Scientist for well over a decade, and he is now serving as the Director of the Rubin Construction project. In many ways similar to SDSS, which provided to us the first large digital color snapshot of the faint optical sky, LSST will deliver a digital color movie of the night sky by collecting about 60,000,000 GB (or 60 PB) of astronomical imaging data.
Martin Quack is professor of physical chemistry at ETH Zürich, His research group investigates the quantum dynamics and kinetics of molecules both theoretically and experimentally, with special emphasis on the dynamics of tunneling and parity violation (due to the electroweak interaction of the standard model) in chiral molecules. He has been elected as a Fellow of the American Physical Society, Member of the Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as a corresponding member of Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities. From 2002 to 2011 he had been member of the National Research Council of the Swiss National Science Foundation. In 2014 he was elected as member of the presidium of the German Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina
Hrvoje Buljan received a MSc degree in physics from the University of Zagreb in 1997 and defended his PhD thesis at the same university in 2002. In the period from 2002-2004 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. His research at the time was focused on nonlinear optical phenomena such as incoherent solitons. After the postdoc period he moved back to the University of Zagreb as an Assistant Professor and formed his group with diverse activities including photonics, condensed-matter systems, quantum gases. HB authored and co-authored more than 88 publications in peer reviewed journals with ~4300 citations in Web of Science. HB was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Zagreb in 2009, and to the rank of Full Professor in 2013. He received the Annual Croatian State Award for Science in 2010, the Andrija Mohorovičić award in 2019, and the Croatian Academy of Sciences award in 2023. He mentored 7 PhD theses and more than 40 diploma theses. HB is the PI on several research projects including the Scientific Center of Excellence for Quantum and Complex Systems including 80 scientists from 9 Croatian public institutions and 5 MEUR from EU Regional and Development Fund (2015-2025). At the Brijuni conference, he will present applications of his work in space technologies.


Rolls-Royce, Tecnam and Scandinavia’s major airline, Widerøe, have entered into a partnership that will see the start of an all-electrical aircraft for passengers by 2026.
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Rolls-Royce and Widerøe initially entered a joint study software in 2019, which was aimed at building a practical electrical aircraft to satisfy Norway’s ambition of owning only zero-emission domestic flights by 2040. Thanks to its topography, Norway largely depends on airways for connection, as is the circumstance with most Scandinavian international locations.
Relevant: Rolls-Royce unveils prototype for world’s fastest electrical aircraft
“Norway’s comprehensive community of limited take-off and landing airports is great for zero-emissions systems,” mentioned Stein Nilsen, CEO of Widerøe. “This aircraft demonstrates how promptly new technological know-how can and will be formulated, and that we are on monitor with our ambition of traveling with zero emissions all around 2025.”
Rolls-Royce will offer its abilities in producing the ability and propulsion systems. On the other hand, Tecnam will be dependable for building the aircraft layout as nicely as overseeing producing and certification. After the aircraft style and design is prepared, Widerøe will choose more than to guarantee that airline operations are ready for support by 2026.
“We are hugely psyched to be offered the job as launch operator, but also humble about the difficulties of putting the world’s very first zero-emissions aircraft into services,” said Andreas Aks, main system officer at Widerøe. “Our mission is to have all new abilities, procedures and methods essential for a zero emissions operator, designed and authorised in parallel with the plane remaining made and licensed.”
Now, Rolls-Royce is a main world wide company of plane engines and other plane parts. Given the affect it has in the production of plane and submarine areas, Rolls-Royce can help the world shift away from emissions in this sector.
By using CleanTechnica
Graphic by way of Rolls-Royce and Tecnam


Tuskegee NEXT project fundraiser to be held at DuPage Airport
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin said on Monday that they are holding a fundraiser for the Tuskegee NEXT 2025 Project.
The fundraiser will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, at the DuPage Airport, 2700 International Drive, West Chicago.
The program's goal is to train 100 Chicago-based minority youths in aviation so they can earn their pilot licenses by 2025.
The program will use formal flight training to teach the youths about the aerospace industry. The project includes life skills, mentorships and educational initiatives.
The program draws inspiration from the Tuskegee Airmen, the first black U.S. pilots who enlisted during WWII and overcame prejudice and segregation. The airmen became one of the most renowned and respected fighter groups during the war and led the way for the U.S. military to integrate minorities within the service branches.
“As a result of a lackluster economy and increasing flight-training costs, the aviation industry is at risk of entering an era of unprecedented pilot-staffing challenges,” Stephen Davis, DuPage Airport Authority Chairman, said. “I began to wonder how we could do our part in finding solutions to this challenge, while opening up the door to the aerospace industry to talented, eager, but at-risk children from underserved areas in our own backyard. A model was set many years ago with the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen.”
“We are thrilled to team up with Cook County and the DuPage Airport to provide this one-of-a-kind experience for youth as they explore careers in the aerospace industry,” Cronin said. “We hope to both inspire the next generation and provide important mentoring relationships for participants.”


NASA’s JPL Joins Genius™ Beta Program to Explore Interoperability and Governance Infrastructure for Global Space Economy
Vancouver, BC, – 30 November 2023 – VERSES AI Inc. (CBOE: VERS) (OTCQX: VRSSF) (“VERSES” or the “Company”), a cognitive computing company specializing in next-generation intelligent software systems, welcomes National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to the Beta program of its Intelligence-as-a-Service platform, Genius™.
NASA seeks to advance international and interagency collaboration on space exploration through technology and policy standards. NASA, JPL and many other stakeholders in the new “space race” have a vested interest in standardizing infrastructure and supporting the space economy, which Morgan Stanley estimates may grow to $1 Trillion by 2040.
The international space agency community is actively seeking to develop standards for space exploration. For example, many countries have recently announced their intention to return to the moon. To ensure safety and collaboration, in 2020, NASA published the Artemis Accords, a non-binding multilateral arrangement between thirty-two world governments and one territory participating in NASA’s Artemis space program, which aims to return humans to the moon by 2025, establish a permanent presence on the moon and ultimately expand space exploration to Mars and beyond. The Accords set out to define space rules and laws governing various activities, from exploiting natural resources on the moon, comets and asteroids to governments’ ability to protect access to lunar bases or mining zones. PWC estimates that the lunar economy will reach $170B by 2040.
In addition to governance considerations, many technical specifications must be developed, including power distribution, communications, positioning, navigation and timing, lunar surface surveying, lunar satellite networks for guidance and communications and cislunar space traffic control. Interoperability is central to the success of the global space economy.
“Interoperability of systems is critical to ensure safe and robust space exploration. Therefore, the Artemis Accords call for partner nations to utilize open international standards, develop new standards when necessary, and strive to support interoperability to the greatest extent practical,” says NASA.
“We believe that interoperability, knowledge sharing, transparency and accountability are prerequisites for collaboration in space and is precisely the kind of application that Genius is uniquely designed to enable,” said VERSES CTO Jason Fox.
Genius is built on the open standards designed by the Spatial Web Foundation being developed within the IEEE P2874 Spatial Web, Architecture and Governance Working Group. IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) is the world’s largest standards development organization (SDO) and works with many other SDOs and government agencies involved in space exploration. The standards have already been successfully deployed in Flying Forward 2020, a European Commission program chartered with defining governance systems for autonomous drones across five European cities.
Similarly, NASA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), among others, seek to develop a civil lunar infrastructure that unifies other siloed efforts to foster shareable, scalable systems that interoperate. Genius is the only system based on these open standards designed specifically to foster this kind of interoperability and governance on Earth, the Moon, Mars and beyond.
“I’m thrilled that JPL will participate in the Genius beta program because it represents one more step towards standardization. While serving as CTO of the Open Geospatial Consortium, the standards body responsible for key geospatial information standards, my experience with NASA and JPL is that real tests using running code are essential in adopting standards. And standards are the foundation to enabling industries and economies to thrive,” said George Percivall, Distinguished Engineering Fellow and Vice-Chair of the IEEE P2874 Working Group on behalf of the Spatial Web Foundation.
VERSES AI is a cognitive computing company specializing in biologically inspired distributed intelligence. Our flagship offering, Genius, is patterned after natural systems and neuroscience. Genius enables intelligent software agents that can learn, adapt and interact with the world. Key features of Genius include generalizability, predictive queries, real-time adaptation and an automated computing network. Built on open standards, Genius transforms disparate data into knowledge models that foster trustworthy collaboration between humans, machines and AI, across digital and physical domains. Imagine a smarter world that elevates human potential through innovations inspired by nature. Learn more at VERSES, LinkedIn, and X.
About NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center founded in 1936 by researchers at the California Institute of Technology. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) owns and sponsors the laboratory. The laboratory’s primary function is constructing and operating planetary robotic spacecraft, though it also conducts Earth-orbit and astronomy missions. It is also responsible for operating the NASA Deep Space Network. For more information, visit JPL.
On behalf of the Company
Gabriel René, Founder & CEO, VERSES AI Inc.
Eric Holder, Director of Communications, VERSES AI Inc. [email protected]
Investor Relations Inquiries
U.S., Matthew Selinger, Partner, Integrous Communications, [email protected] 415-572-8152
Canada, Leo Karabelas, President, Focus Communications, [email protected] 416-543-3120


A British Airways jet waiting to land after coming from Amsterdam was targeted last night.
The laser panic comes just days after a Virgin Atlantic jet bound for New York was forced to return to the west London airport after laser was shone at its cockpit.
Scotland Yard said the latest incident, which came at 7.47pm last night, is being investigated.
A spokesman said: “Police are investigating an incident where a laser was shone into the direction of an incoming flight into Heathrow Airport.
“It did not endanger the aircraft. Enquiries continue to establish where the offence took place.
General secretary Jim McAuslan said: “Aircraft are attacked with lasers at an alarming rate and with lasers with ever-increasing strength.
“It is an incredibly dangerous thing to do. Shining a laser at an aircraft puts that aircraft, its crew and all the passengers on board at completely unnecessary risk.
“We repeat our call to the Government to classify lasers as offensive weapons which would give the police more power to arrest people for possessing them if they had no good reason to have them. This incident shows why this is becoming more and more urgent.”
More than 8,998 laser incidents across the country were reported to the UK Civil Aviation Authority between 2009 and June 2015.


ABOUT THE PROJECT
Cosmic Caper - A Space Game!
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Cosmic Caper is a space game for children and adults.
Cosmis Caper is an endless game for jumping into space walls. In Cosmic Caper, you need to collect asteroids and be a space hero! While trying not to fall down, you need to be carefull of the spikes. Collect many astroids as possible in this endless space. This game will improve your concentration and timing.
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THE AUTHOR: Luc Colin, Associate at Gide Loyrette Nouel
The World Arbitration Update (WAU) addresses key and novel topics of investment and international commercial arbitration, as well as public international law. WAU has an objective to connect the different regions with the global community, creating a unique space for practitioners, private parties, arbitrators, academics and students to discuss and network. WAU nourishes the conversation by following a distinct format, in a decentralized forum in which each day the focus is on a specific region, starting with the Americas (Monday), Africa and MENA (Tuesday), Asia Oceania (Wednesday), Europe (covered in this post), and lastly Friday was dedicated to diverse topics.
On 29 September 2022, the WAU hosted a topical discussion in a realm that is, a priori, intrinsically decentralized: the interconnection between space law and international arbitration. The panel was moderated by Viva Dadwal (King & Spalding), and featured Prof. Irmgard Marboe (University of Vienna, Austria), Werner Eyskens (Crowell Moring LLP, Partner), Dr. Jan Frohloff (Space Arbitration Association), Nick Storrs (Taylor Wessing, Partner) and Maximilian Trautinger (Schonherr).
Laying Down the Legal Framework: Main Treaties, Principles and Rules of International Law
Prof. Irmgard Marboe first introduced the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 (“OST”), which set the general principles governing human activities in outer-space. Based on this first foundational Treaty, four other specialized agreements followed: the Rescue Agreement of 1968 on assistance in the rescue of astronauts (which builds upon OST’s articles 5 and 8), the Liability Convention of 1972 (“LIAB”) concerning damage caused by a State’s space objects on the surface of the Earth or to aircraft, the Registration Convention of 1974(“REG”) which builds upon the previous instruments and aims at identifying space objects, and finally, the Moon Agreement of 1979, which notably provides for the peaceful use of the Moon and “other celestial bodies”.
Prof. Irmgard Marboe stressed that these Treaties lay down four principles relevant to international disputes: responsibility, liability, registration, and the definition of a “launching State“.
The principle of responsibility in space law provides that States are internationally responsible for their national activities, conducted both by national governmental and non-governmental entities, in case of violations of international law (“unlawful acts“). The corollary is that the activities of non-governmental entities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall require authorization and continuing supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty.
The principle of liability in space law provides that States are internationally liable for damages caused by space objects for which they are the “launching State“. Liability is absolute for damage on Earth and aircraft in flight, and based on fault for damage caused in outer space.
The principle of registration in space law provides that States have the obligation to register space objects for which they are the “launching State“. Registration creates a link between a space object and the liable State.
The “launching State” refers to a State which:
- launches or procures the launching of a space object; or
- from whose territory or facility a space object is launched.
In terms of procedural aspects, the LIAB includes specific rules on outer-space dispute settlement. These rules provide for the establishment of a Claims Commission. The Claims Commission issues recommendatory awards, which will be final and binding if the parties have so agreed. Outer-space disputes may also be resolved through arbitration. In 2011, the Permanent Court of Arbitration published optional rules for arbitrating disputes relating to outer space activities, based on the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules.
The Need for International Dispute Resolution: Arbitration as an Efficient Mean to Settle Disputes
Werner Eyskens recalled that space is an expanding market, increasingly dominated by private players, and subject to significant constraints. Werner Eyskens contends that, for three reasons, such a market will generate numerous disputes.
First, the scarcity of resources and the multiplication of incidents. Second, the multiplication of private players with short-term economic objectives, which will resort to arbitration to translate potential losses in financial compensation. Third, space activities cover many technical areas that can generate disputes regarding frequency spectrum, environment, tourism, etc.
Werner Eyskens observed that arbitration may be the most appropriate way to settle these disputes, because of the advantages it offers over State courts:
- an independent forum;
- the possibility to choose the language of the proceedings and to designate specialized arbitrators;
- a controlled document production process; and
- the opportunity for parties to bring forward their own experts.
The Specific Features of Space Arbitration: Political, Public Law, and Confidentiality Aspects
Dr. Jan Frohloff stressed that space arbitration presents three features. First, space disputes can become political, since satellites and rockets are dual-use goods, and because some of the key players in the industry are still space agencies. An example can be found in the Antrix v. Devas saga, where the Indian state-owned company Antrix had leased S-band satellite spectrum to Devas. Five years after the deal was signed, the Devas-Antrix agreement had become mired in controversy, with allegations of corruption, and the government rescinded the contract with Devas.
Second, space activities largely involve public law issues: the selling of satellites aboard requires export-control permits, and the operating of a satellite in orbit requires the right to use the frequency in the relevant orbit. These public law issues regularly find their way to space arbitration. For example, in ABSH v. KT and KTSAT, the arbitral tribunal had to decide whether title to a geostationary satellite had passed from the Korean seller of the satellite (KT) to the foreign buyer (ABS); after Korea’s Ministry of Science issued an order that declared the purchase agreement “null and void” and since KT had allegedly failed to obtain a Korean export permit.
Third, Dr. Jan Frohloff recalled that due to the nature of this industry, space arbitrations are most often confidential: there are therefore few sentences publicly available in this area.
The Impact of Space Debris in the Industry: Damages and its Liability Regime
Nick Storrs observed that “space debris” represent a near-term existential threat to the space industry itself, which therefore has a strong interest in ensuring that this matter is managed. He recalled that damages caused by objects in outer space are principally governed by the LIAB. This liability regime requires to identify (1) to which State the particular debris belong and (2) whether there is a fault. Both of these elements are difficult to determine in practice.
For now, the issue of space debris is largely managed through inter-agency cooperation, like the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee, whose Guidelines on Space Debris Mitigation provide a cooperation framework by setting basic standards and objectives.
Space debris management is therefore self-regulated, without an enforcement mechanism. Nick Storrs anticipated that enforceable commitments will become necessary as the industry grows and space debris multiply. Arbitration may have a role in such commitments. Nick Storrs drew a parallel with environmental issues where, in spite of the difficulty of attributing liability, international agreements have defined common standards and have included arbitration as a means of dispute resolution.
The Allocation of Space Resources
Maximilian Trautinger highlighted the issue of the allocation of space resources. In particular, geostationary orbital positions (“GEO”) are a limited resource, and were first allocated through a first come first served approach. In 1977, the International Telecommunication Union (“ITU”) adopted an allotment plan for GEO. For other orbital positions than GEOs, such as the Low Earth Orbit (“LEO”), the first come first served approach still prevails.
The same applies to the use of the radio frequencies, which are also limited resources. While the allotment of radio frequencies in GEOs is managed by the ITU, radio frequencies in other orbits are allocated on a first come first served basis.
The question of resource ownership will therefore become even more pressing in the future. Maximilian Trautinger recalled that the principle of non-appropriation set out in the Outer Space Treaty and the Moon Treaty provides that outer space and celestial bodies are not subject to appropriation.
However, in 2015, the U.S. adopted the SPACE Act allowing US citizens and industries to engage in the commercial exploration and exploitation of space resources. Similar regulations were passed in Luxembourg and Japan, suggesting that the issue of space resources ownership will become an important source of disputes in the future.
Maximilian Trautinger also pointed out the potential conflicts that could arise from (1) the delivery of critical materials based on complex supply chains and (2) the growth of private investments in space, increasingly exposing investors to the risks of this industry.
According to Maximilian Trautinger’s words, we are entering a period of growing frictions in a frictionless space. The principles set out in the existing international legal instruments, established at a time when States were the main players in space exploration, are effectively being challenged. These frictions concern, first of all, the rise of private actors, with their own interests, alongside the States. These frictions are also caused by some States themselves, when they grant their nationals certain rights in contradiction with the principle of non-appropriation. Lastly, these frictions are also due to the intensification of space activities and their consequences, e.g., the multiplication of debris.
These frictions will inexorably give rise to disputes, between different actors, and regarding various issues. Because of its flexibility and efficiency, arbitration appears perfectly suited to the resolution of these disputes. If it already plays a role today, its wider use will however depend on the adoption of binding international agreements.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Luc Colin is an associate at Gide Loyrette Nouel. He graduated with two bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Law, and a Master’s degree in Global Business Law and Governance from the Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne. He holds another Master’s degree in Arbitration and Alternative dispute resolution from the Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas. Luc has also studied at Columbia Law School and Sciences-Po Paris, and interned at several law firms in Paris and Mexico.


At least 12 airplanes violated temporary flight restrictions during President Donald Trump’s visit to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach last weekend, prompting military aircraft to intervene and buzz at least five of them.
The encounters “required the Air Force F-15s to travel at supersonic speeds, a sound noticed by area residents,” the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) confirmed in a release, the Palm Beach Daily News reported. The planes took 14 minutes to travel 75 miles from Homestead.
Over the weekend, eight of the violations occurred on Friday: F-15 jets flew alongside two of the violators, and a military helicopter did the same with a third, according to the Daily News.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday the pilots’ identities and registration numbers of the planes will remain confidential pending investigation. It was unclear, according to the Daily News, whether violations had also occurred during the president’s previous two weekend visits.
“The FAA will investigate each incident and will take appropriate enforcement action. The FAA also will continue to conduct outreach to educate local pilots about the restrictions,” the agency said in a statement.
Not having radios tuned in is the cause of most temporary flight-restriction violations, a NORAD spokesperson told the Daily News. The pilot involved in Sunday’s incident also had no radio communication until the F-15 jets got close.
The U.S. Secret Service dictates certain flight restrictions whenever a president is in town, limiting Lantana airport’s traffic and imposing limits at other Palm Beach County airports.
Aviation businesses at Palm Beach International Airport and the county’s three general aviation airports say Trump’s last two weekend stays at Mar-a-Lago have cost them about $250,000 in business, the Daily News reported. [Palm Beach Daily News] — Gabrielle Paluch


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Russian, French astronauts return from space station stint
A Russian cosmonaut and a French astronaut returned to Earth Friday aboard the Russian Soyuz capsule after six months on the International Space Station, while its American crew remained in the orbital lab for an extended stay, revealed a problem television The NASA.
Russians Oleg Novitskiy and Thomas Pesquet to the European Space Agency, attacked the interior of the spacecraft and left the station at 6:47 a.m. AD (1047 GMT), while the complex sailed 400 miles above the Earth.
They made a southwestern parachute from Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, 10:00 am local time (1410 GMT).
A seat in the capsule was empty because US astronaut Peggy Whitson, who flew to the station with Novitskiy and Pesquet in November, will remain in orbit until September. She filled a vacancy after Russia had reduced its crew size to station two members to three.
“Of course we need Oleg and Thomas, they are outstanding astronauts,” said an emotional Whitson during a ceremony Thursday, where she returned control of the station 100 billion to Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin.
“Peggy is a legend,” said Pesquet. “We are a little sad to leave behind us, but we know it is in very, very capable hands.”
Whitson, Yurchikhin and astronaut Jack Fischer, also with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, will handle the station until a new team launches in late July.
“It’s going to be a bit difficult,” Whitson said during an interview with Reuters on Wednesday. “I was here on my last two expeditions and I was just a crew of three, but it was a much smaller season at that time.”
“However, I think it’s quite feasible,” he said.
Whitson, the station that serves for the third time, broke the US record in April for the time accumulated in space. By the time he returned to Earth in September, he has accumulated more than 660 days in orbit.
Gennady Padalka Russian cosmonaut, with 878 days in orbit, is the most experienced spaceflight in the world.


The owner of an aerial photography business has been sentenced to 30 days in jail after a drone he was operating knocked a woman unconscious.
Paul Skinner was found guilty of reckless endangerment, by a judge at the Seattle Municipal Court.
It is believed to be the first time a drone pilot has been given a jail sentence.
The incident happened during Seattle’s 2015 Pride Parade.
According to the police, the 18in (45cm) by 18in drone crashed into a building and fell into the crowd, injuring two people.
Judge Willie Gregory said he acknowledged that the incident was an accident but added that the pilot had “engaged in conduct that put people in danger of being injured”.
Prosecutor Pete Holmes said the faulty operation of drones was a “serious public-safety issue that will only get worse” and more prosecutions could follow.
Ravi Vaidyanathan, a drone expert from Imperial College London, said he was “not aware of anything previously resulting in jail time”.
He said it was inevitable more accidents would follow and called on the regulatory bodies that governed drone use to provide “a consistent set of guidelines on usage”.
“In the US, there are rules for commercial use but different ones for hobbyists,” he said.
“In the UK, rules are governed by the size of aircraft, so in my understanding anything under 20kg [3st 2lb] can be flown without regulation.
“We are in uncharted territory, but the guidelines have to be consistent.”
He added the inconvenience to the public was also “non-trivial”.
“Having a drone buzzing around does not add to most people’s beach experience, for example, and we need to think about this too.”
During the past fiscal year, more than 1,200 possible collisions between an aircraft and a drone were reported to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA was unable to confirm any strikes, but it has reported several close calls, including a Lufthansa jet approaching Los Angeles that passed within 200ft (60m) of a drone.


Our exhibition plane
The exhibition plane is a joint service provided by Leipziger Messe and the Leipzig-based airline company FSH.
Business travellers from Germany and overseas can charter a special plane (Piper Cheyenne) from the FSH fleet, which carries the Leipziger Messe logo on the nose and tail unit of the plane. Within international airspace, it reports with the call name "Leipzig Fair".
A 24-hour service offers freely selectable departure times. In addition, you also have the option of starting and landing at the smaller city airports, which are usually close to the city centre.
FSH Luftfahrtunternehmen Schul-und Charter GmbH


Patty Wagstaff: The Aerobatic Pilot
April 2023 Issue
By Elizabeth Skenes Millen
Photography submitted by Patty Wagstaff
“She was not quite what you would call refined. She was not quite what you
would call unrefined. She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot.” - Mark Twain
Mark Twain would be surprised to know Patty Wagstaff, who uniquely redefines refined and unrefined. Not only does she have a parrot, but she takes it flying with her. And she is not a passenger, rather she is an award-winning, upside-down, barrel-rolling, low-flying, nose-diving aerobatic pilot.
To Patty Wagstaff the sky represents beauty, freedom, and challenge. A six-time member of the US Aerobatic Team, she is the first woman to win the title of US National Aerobatic champion and one of the to few win it three times.
Energetic and spirited from early childhood, Patty has built a life of adventure, risk, and courage. She grew up in and around airplanes. At 9-years-old her family moved to Japan, where her father was a captain for Japan Air Lines. At 10, her father let her take the controls of his DC-6, and thus, her lifelong love affair with airplanes began.
Following her dreams even when no reward was in sight, her dedication pushed the limits of aerobatic flight. It was only three years into flying that she was called to aerobatics. “I wasn’t looking for a career, but I saw aerobatics and thought that’s what I want do. It was exciting, fast, and entertaining. It looked like a lot of fun! You don’t really choose it, it chooses you,” Patty said.
But how does one get in a plane and learn to fly it upside down?
And what about fear? Isn’t it terrifying?
“I’ve never been scared, except maybe getting to an air show, but in the plane—never. You start slow and build up. It takes a lot of practice, and it is very methodical. You have to stay in shape for it all year long. It’s definitely a lifestyle and a commitment,” Patty explained.
What does it feel like, though? A giant rollercoaster?
“Yes. It’s a lot like a roller coaster, but I’m so focused on what I’m doing, it’s a controlled rush. It’s not adrenaline. You have to stay focused. I’m built for it.”
Her breathtaking air show performances give spectators a front-row seat to the precision and complexity of modern, unlimited, hard-core aerobatics. Her smooth, aggressive style sets the standard for performers the world over. Patty has flown aerial displays in such exotic places as South and Central America, China, Russia, Europe, Singapore, Kenya, and Iceland.
She has also earned her Commercial, Instrument, Seaplane and Commercial Helicopter Ratings. She is a Flight and Instrument Instructor and is rated and qualified to fly numerous airplanes, from World War II fighters to jets. Patty’s sister, Toni, interestingly, is a commercial pilot for United Airlines which frowns upon turning the plane upside down. In other words, she leaves the aerobatics to Patty.
Patty’s skill is based on years of training and experience. She is a six-time recipient of the “First Lady of Aerobatics” Betty Skelton Award; an inductee into the National Aviation Hall of Fame and was the recipient of the National Air and Space Museum’s Award for Current Achievement. She is proud of receiving the air show industry’s most prestigious awards, the “ICAS Sword of Excellence”, and the “Bill Barber Award for Showmanship”. Recently she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Air Force Association.
Patty’s dedication to aviation has helped empower women to find aviation as a career. “There is a big push for more women in aviation. It’s a great place for careers right now, and it’s good for women to see other women flying. And, the airplane doesn’t know the difference,” she said. Patty has never looked at her gender as a barrier to success. “You just have to make it work for you.” And, she has done that through hard work, focus, and serious dedication.
Patty shares her expertise across the world. Each year she and her team travel to Kenya where she leads a training program to give bush, recurrency and aerobatic training to the pilots of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Airwing, who protect Kenya’s wildlife and other natural resources from poachers. She also flew for Cal Fire for several years as an Air Attack pilot in the OV-10 Bronco, helping to keep California safe and supporting firefighters on the ground.
In 2013 she launched an aerobatic school, “Patty Wagstaff Aviation Safety” in St. Augustine, Florida. In addition to aerobatics, flight instructors at the school teach advanced aviation, training pilots how to stay out of trouble in the sky and how to recover if trouble occurs.
However, on April 22 and 23, Patty will be the only female flying and performing in the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort Air Show.
“I’m happy to be back in Beaufort, happy to be invited back. The Marines do a great job there with the show,” Patty said. “Air shows are a wonderful way for people to get exposed to aviation and the smaller planes. I want spectators to have a great time and gain a better appreciation for aviation. Airplanes are wonderful!”
If You Go:
The MCAS Beaufort Air Show will be held Saturday April 22 and Sunday April 23 at the Marine Corps Air Station on US 21. Be prepared to have an exciting day with the US Navy Blue Angels, Patty Wagstaff, the MAGTF, Franklin’s Flying Circus and so many more.
In addition to the air performers, patrons can visit exhibitors and partake in a Top Gun experience, helicopter rides, a Blue Angels cockpit experience, Monster Trucks, and Precision Driving.
For a complete line up of performers and everything you need to know before you go, log onto www.beaufortairshow.com. The air show is free, special seating tickets are available. (if not sold out)


Indonesian pilots both fall asleep mid-flight: The occurrence of two Indonesian pilots falling asleep mid-flight highlights the critical importance of crew fatigue management and aviation safety protocols. The incidents, while rare, underscore the challenges faced by pilots in maintaining alertness and concentration during long-haul flights, particularly when operating under demanding schedules and in adverse conditions.
Indonesian pilots both fall asleep mid-flight
The first incident occurred on a domestic Indonesian flight, where both pilots reportedly fell asleep for a brief period while on autopilot. Fortunately, the flight crew managed to awaken and regain control of the aircraft without incident. However, the incident raised concerns about the adequacy of rest periods for pilots and the effectiveness of fatigue risk management systems within Indonesian aviation.
In the aftermath of the incident, aviation authorities in Indonesia conducted a thorough investigation and implemented measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future. This included revising flight crew scheduling practices, enhancing fatigue awareness training, and implementing more stringent monitoring of pilot rest periods.
Despite these efforts, a second incident occurred several months later involving another Indonesian flight crew. Once again, both pilots were reported to have fallen asleep mid-flight, prompting renewed scrutiny of safety protocols and fatigue management practices within the country’s aviation industry.
The incidents served as a wake-up call for Indonesian aviation authorities, prompting a comprehensive review of regulations and procedures to address underlying issues related to crew fatigue and operational safety. This included strengthening oversight of flight crew duty hours, improving training on fatigue management techniques, and enhancing awareness of the importance of maintaining optimal alertness levels during flight operations.
In response to these incidents, the Indonesian aviation industry has redoubled its efforts to prioritize safety and ensure that robust mechanisms are in place to prevent crew fatigue-related incidents. By learning from past mistakes and implementing proactive measures, authorities aim to instill confidence among passengers and stakeholders in the safety and reliability of Indonesian air travel.


Illustration by Hannah Robinson
Humble, fossil-free, ageless and resistant to radiation; these are no superpowers, but merely perks of a good old-fashioned winter slumber, also known as hibernation. Dr. Rob Henning has been studying hibernation at the University of Groningen, Netherlands, and surprisingly, with his work recently gaining interest from the European Space Agency (ESA), his findings may help to advance human space travel.
Henning’s office is decorated with statues of little animals: “all hibernators” he points out as I admire his kingdom of inanimate souvenirs. He explains that animals in hibernation (also known as ‘torpor’) only need a fraction of the food, oxygen and water required to stay alive, due to almost entirely shutting down their metabolism.
Space agencies, most notably ESA, have become interested with how such knowledge of hibernation could be applied to long distance space travel. Henning and his fellow colleagues, now working for ESA, are focusing on answering key questions on how the state of hibernation is initiated, whether it is related to sleep, and which mechanisms are responsible for maintaining integrity during the torpor state.
When in space, each crew member needs about 30kg of food, water and oxygen supply per day, meaning a crew of six members would require roughly ten tons of weight for a return trip to Mars. According to ESA’ s correspondent, Laetitia de Groot, if Henning and his colleagues manage to decrease the basic metabolic rate of an astronaut by at least 75%, as commonly seen in hibernators, this could result in substantial mass and cost savings for long-duration space travel.
However, decreasing the metabolic rate would not solve all of the problems of long-distance space travel; human physiology is simply not adjusted to such journeys. Astronauts spend several hours a day working out in order to prevent bone and muscle loss decay – a serious health concern caused by the lack of gravity.
“The beauty of suppressing our metabolism is that we are not as responsive to the surrounding environmental factors. We already know of approaches that allow us to suppress our metabolism to more than 40% of the basal level. Even such mild suppression will be significant for practical application,” explains Yuri Griko, a NASA researcher also interested in hibernation, inspired by Henning’s work.
ESA has, for the first time, obtained data confirming that torpor can be induced synthetically in animals that do not naturally hibernate, also working as efficient protection against space radiation. Currently there are around two-hundred cross-discipline researchers working on applying hibernation research to space travel, but the idea of hibernating astronauts remains a controversial topic for most. However, some astronauts are coming to terms with this: “I would be open-minded,” says NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao, “but my initial preference would be to remain awake.”
So far, hibernation can only be mimicked. In order to induce it, the key would have to be found to turn off our metabolism. “If you figure out the switch you will get a Nobel prize,” laughs Dr. Henning.


SPACE APPS CHALLENGE
2-3 OCTOBER 2021
Space has been in the news more than ever, with the private exploration efforts of Bezos, Branson, and Musk. While these are commendable achievements, we believe that space isn’t just for billionaires.
We want to make space inclusive for all!
We are proud to have hosted the NASA International Space Apps Challenge - the world’s largest global hackathon - for five years in Singapore!
As we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Challenge with the theme ‘The Power of 10’, NASA welcomes nine more space agencies from around the world to help power this year’s Space Apps Challenge. This edition also features four new inclusive award categories.
We invite teams of technologists, scientists, designers, entrepreneurs, artists, and others to collaborate to answer some of the most pressing challenges on Earth and in space, and have some fun doing it!
Remember, much of space work is about improving how we look after the planet and its people.
The number of exciting challenge statements featured in this year’s NASA International Space Apps Challenge.
From discovering the secrets of the sun to spotting bugs from space and the classic ‘Invent Your Own Challenge’ category, there’s more than enough creative scope for everyone!