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BBC News - Boeing pilots to make space trip


Boeing ship

The CST-100 is Boeing's answer to Nasa's call for a commercial crew transport service

Boeing says two of its own employees will crew the first manned mission of its new astronaut capsule.

The US company has confirmed it will use the Atlas 5 rocket to test its CST-100 ship on three flights in 2015.

An unmanned capsule will be used on the first and second launches. On the third, Boeing test pilots will take the vessel to the space station.

The plan is dependent on a successful development programme and the availability of sufficient funding.

Boeing is one of a number of companies being encouraged by the US space agency (Nasa) to develop a commercially operated crew transport service to and from low-Earth orbit.

The idea is that Nasa and other space agencies around the world would buy seats in these vehicles to get their people to the international orbiting platform and other destinations that might one day include privately run space labs and hotels.

Last month, Nasa retired its space shuttles, partly on the grounds of cost - they were hugely expensive to maintain.

The agency believes that by handing operational responsibility to the commercial sector, the price of getting into low-Earth orbit can be reduced substantially.

It is giving Boeing financial support to help it develop the CST-100 ship.

The conical design will be capable of carrying up to seven individuals.

The choice of the Atlas 5 as the CST-100's launcher is not a major surprise. It has an excellent record - 27 flights with a 100% success rate.

It also happens to be operated by a company that is part-owned by Boeing called United Launch Alliance (ULA). However, Boeing says that relationship played no part in the decision to use Atlas; it was simply that Atlas was deemed the best rocket for the task.

"Our approach is to produce a reliable spacecraft built on existing simple systems and then integrate that with a proven launch vehicle, all focussed on putting in place a very safe system, one that will be reliable and that can be operational as soon as practical so that we can start flying US crew from US launch sites post the shuttle era," said John Elbon, vice president and programme manager of Boeing's Commercial Crew Programs.

Atlas 5

The Atlas 5 has a 100% record of launch success

The year 2015 will see the Atlas launch the capsule three times.

The first flight will put the ship in orbit. The second will take the CST-100 part-way towards space before practising an abort.

In this procedure, the capsule will push itself away from the rocket mid-flight as if there were some problem on the rocket. This will be a critical test of astronaut safety features built into the capsule in the event of an emergency.

Assuming these demonstration flights go well, the third mission will see Boeing test pilots take the CST-100 all the way to the International Space Station.

The CST-100 would then be ready for commercial service starting in 2016.

Boeing says the two pilots it plans to use on the manned mission in 2015 will emerge from a selection process that is already under way.

"We're actually interviewing now for the first one," said Mr Elbon. "I would like to get one on board so that they can be part of the design process and influence it from an operator's perspective."

The decision of Boeing to use the Atlas 5 follows hard on the heels of a recent agreement signed between Nasa and ULA to prepare the Atlas rocket for astronaut launch duties.

This work will determine which components on the Atlas already meet Nasa's stringent requirements for human spaceflight and which elements might need to be upgraded.

ULA is also developing an emergency detection system that would be placed inside the Atlas to give warning of a major malfunction. In addition, ULA needs to prepare a gantry structure that would allow astronauts to get in and out of a capsule when it is mounted on top of an Atlas at its launch pad.

"ULA will provide launch services from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station," explained George Sowers, ULA's vice president of business development.

"We will use the Atlas 412 configuration, which means it has a single solid rocket booster [attached to its liquid-fuelled core stage] and a dual engine Centaur upper stage.

"We believe the Atlas 5 provides the earliest possible initial launch capability for commercial crew and we'll be ready to support Boeing with both un-crewed and crewed test flights in 2015."

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

 

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Credible Sport Test YMC 130 H

The takeoff at the 1:05 mark in the video is near instanteous! Read more about Operation Credible Sport and the plane, the C-130 Hercules
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2 guys decide to play a prank on Heathrow's P.A. announcers LOL

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Gyrocopter World Tour

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Airbus A380 Jumbo Jet clips tail of another plane while taxing at JFK airport

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RAF jets escort Etihad airbus into Stansted after passenger 'makes threats'

Etihad Airbus is escorted into Stansted by RAF jets after passenger 'makes threats'

A man has been arrested after a passenger jet was diverted to Stansted Airport under an RAF escort today.

The pilot of the Etihad Airbus heading from Abu Dhabi to London's Heathrow Airport contacted air traffic control to say that a man on board had begun making threats.

The 300-seater airliner was redirected to Stansted airport and two RAF Typhoon jets were scrambled to accompany the aircraft before it landed shortly before midday.

 

Threats: The Heathrow-bound Etihad plane was diverted to Stansted after a 37-year-old man 'made threats' on board

The Heathrow-bound Etihad plane was diverted to Stansted after a 37-year-old man 'made threats' on board

Waiting police immediately moved in on the man, a British national, and led him away for questioning.

An Essex Police spokeswoman said: 'A 37-year-old man, a British national, has been arrested following an incident onboard an Etihad Airways plane travelling from Abu Dhabi to Heathrow.

'The pilot reported a passenger causing disruption and making threats. The plane was diverted to Stansted Airport were it landed just before midday.

'No-one has been injured and the airport has been operating normally.'

Ted Underhill, a plane spotter, witnessed the drama. He said: 'It just flew in with a fighter, which I think was Typhoon. The fighter spent a few minutes circling over the airfield, it was quite low as the plane landed, then went up and circled round a few times and then someone must have given the all clear to go.

 

Action stations: Two Eurofighter Typhoon jets were scrambled to intercept the airbus

Action stations: Two Eurofighter Typhoon jets were scrambled to intercept the Airbus belonging to the national airline of the United Arab Emirates

'I've heard there was second fighter but I didn't see it. The landing looked quite normal to me. I assumed there had been some sort of terrorist incident or some sort of trouble onboard.

POLICE Stansted.jpg

'I've never seen anything like that in all the years I've been spotting planes here.' 

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: 'Typhoon aircraft were launched this morning to escort a passenger aircraft due to an incident on board.

'The aircraft landed safely at Stansted Airport.'

'The airport remained open and flights are arriving and departing as normal.' 

A Stansted spokesman added: 'Etihad flight EY19 to London was diverted to Stansted in order to offload a disruptive guest on board.

A source at the airport said: 'We are hearing all sorts of things but it sounds as though the passenger has said something to a woman on board and it's all kicked off. It must have been bad for this to have happened though.

'There's lots of different stories going around.'

Another man said the 37-year-old man, who is not thought to live in Britain, added: 'I heard he was very drunk and was making a scene.'

Passengers were kept on board the plane at Stansted while it was refuelled and then expected to fly on to Heathrow shortly after 4pm.

Essex Police said it had taken a decision not to reveal where the arrested man lives or what he is alleged to have said.

 

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Boeing gets $89M to build unmanned aircraft that can stay aloft for 5 years

darpa/boeing solareagleOne of the more unique unmanned aircraft took a giant step toward reality this week when the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) inked an agreement with Boeing to build the SolarEagle, a plane capable of remaining at heights over 60,000ft for over five years.

Boeing says the first SolarEagle under the $89 million contract could fly as early as 2014.

12 mad science projects that could shake the world

The SolarEagle is built under DARPA's Vulture program.  The idea is to build a single aircraft that could support traditional intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance functions over country-sized areas - while at the same time providing an unblinking eye over a critical target, monitoring that target night and day, day in and day out, month after month - providing unprecedented high-value intelligence. Vulture aircraft will also be able to provide communications capabilities available today only from geostationary satellites - offering opportunities for new, more flexible, expandable and relocatable communication architectures at a fraction of the cost of dedicated satellite capabilities. The challenges with Vulture include developing solar cell, energy storage, and reliability technologies that will allow the aircraft to operate continuously, unrefueled for over 44,000 hours, DARPA stated.

Under the Vulture II agreement, Boeing will develop a full-scale flight demonstrator, including maturation of the critical power system and structures technologies. Key suppliers for the program include Versa Power Systems and QinetiQ. 

During testing, the SolarEagle demonstrator will remain in the upper atmosphere for 30 days, harvesting solar energy during the day that will be stored in fuel cells and used to provide power through the night. The aircraft will have highly efficient electric motors and propellers and a high-aspect-ratio, 400-foot wing for increased solar power and aerodynamic performance, Boeing stated.

Boeing has been on a roll this week.  Earlier it had announced a marriage with outer space tourism proprietors Space Adventures to offer low Earth orbit (LEO) flight services onboard Boeing's future commercial crew spacecraft.  Under the agreement, Space Adventures will market passenger seats on commercial flights aboard the Boeing Crew Space Transportation-100 (CST-100) spacecraft.

Boeing's (CST)-100, which is under development, can hold seven and is bigger than NASA's Apollo orbiter but smaller than NASA's Orion.  Boeing says the ship will be able to launch on a variety of different rockets, including Atlas, Delta and Falcon. It will use simple systems architecture and existing, proven components, Boeing stated.

Follow Michael Cooney on Twitter: nwwlayer8  

 

 

 

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Solar plane completes historic 24-hour flight - U.S. news - Environment - Green Machines

PAYERNE, Switzerland — An experimental solar-powered plane landed safely Thursday after completing its first 24-hour test flight, proving that the aircraft can collect enough energy from the sun during the day to stay aloft all night.

Pilot Andre Borschberg eased the Solar Impulse onto the runway at Payerne airfield about 30 miles southwest of the Swiss capital Bern at exactly 9 a.m. (3 a.m. EDT) Thursday.

Helpers rushed to stabilize the pioneering plane as it touched down, ensuring that its massive 207-foot wingspan didn't scrape the ground and topple the craft.

The record feat completes seven years of planning and brings the Swiss-led project one step closer to its goal of circling the globe using only energy from the sun.

"We achieved more than we wanted. Everybody is extremely happy," Borschberg told reporters after landing.

Milestone
Previous flights included a brief "flea hop" and a longer airborne test earlier this year, but this week's attempt was described as a "milestone" by the team.

The team said it had now demonstrated that the single-seat plane can theoretically stay in the air indefinitely, recharging its depleted batteries using 12,000 solar cells and nothing but the rays of the sun during the day.

But while the team said this proves that emissions-free air travel is possible, it doesn't see solar technology replacing conventional jet propulsion any time soon.

Instead, the project's overarching purpose is to test and promote new energy-efficient technologies.

Project co-founder Bertrand Piccard, himself a record-breaking balloonist, said many people had been skeptical that renewable energy could ever be used to take a man into the air and keep him there.

 

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