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Tag: Aerospace technology

  • Ospreys had safety issues long before they were grounded. A look at the aircraft's history

    Ospreys had safety issues long before they were grounded. A look at the aircraft's history

    WASHINGTON — When the U.S. military took the extraordinary step of grounding its entire fleet of V-22 Ospreys this week, it wasn’t reacting just to the recent deadly crash of the aircraft off the coast of Japan. The aircraft has had a long list of problems in its short history.

    The Osprey takes off and lands like a helicopter but can tilt its propellers horizontally to fly like an airplane. That unique and complex design has allowed the Osprey to speed troops to the battlefield. The U.S. Marine Corps, which operates the vast majority of the Ospreys in service, calls it a “game-changing assault support platform.”

    But on Wednesday, the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps grounded all Ospreys after a preliminary investigation of last week’s crash indicated that a materiel failure — that something went wrong with the aircraft — and not a mistake by the crew led to the deaths.

    And it’s not the first time. There have been persistent questions about a mechanical problem with the clutch that has troubled the program for more than a decade. There also have been questions as to whether all parts of the Osprey have been manufactured according to safety specifications and, as those parts age, whether they remain strong enough to withstand the significant forces created by the Osprey’s unique structure and dynamics of tiltrotor flight.

    The government of Japan, which is the only international partner flying the Osprey, had already grounded its aircraft after the Nov. 29 crash, which killed all eight Air Force Special Operations Command service members on board.

    “It’s good they grounded the fleet,” said Rex Rivolo, a retired Air Force pilot who analyzed the Osprey for the Pentagon’s test and evaluation office from 1992 to 2007 as an analyst at the Institute for Defense Analyses, and who previously warned military officials that the aircraft wasn’t safe. “At this point, they had no choice.”

    The Osprey has become a workhorse for the Marine Corps and Air Force Special Operations Command and was in the process of being adopted by the Navy to replace its C-2 Greyhound propeller planes, which transport personnel on and off at-sea aircraft carriers.

    Marine Corps Ospreys also have been used to transport White House staff, press and security personnel accompanying the president. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said they also are subject to the standdown.

    While the Ospreys are grounded, Air Force Special Operations Command said it will work to mitigate the impact to operations, training and readiness. The command will continue to fly other aircraft and Osprey crews will continue to train on simulators, spokeswoman Lt. Col. Becky Heyse said.

    It was not immediately clear how the other services will adapt their missions.

    QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CLUTCH

    The first Ospreys only became operational in 2007 after decades of testing. But more than 50 troops have died either flight testing the Osprey or conducting training flights over the program’s lifespan, including 20 deaths in four crashes over the past 20 months.

    In July, the Marine Corps for the first time blamed one of the fatal Osprey crashes on a fleet-wide problem that has been known for years but for which there’s still not a good fix. It’s known as hard clutch engagement, or HCE.

    The Osprey’s two engines are linked by an interconnected drive shaft that runs inside the length of the wings. On each tip, by the engines, a component called a sprag clutch transfers torque, or power, from one proprotor to the other to make sure both rotors are spinning at the same speed. That keeps the Osprey’s flight in balance. If one of the two engines fails, the sprag clutch is also a safety feature: It will transfer power from the working side to the failing engine’s side to keep both rotors going.

    But sprag clutches have also become a worrying element. As the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps began looking at HCE events following incidents in 2022, they determined that the clutches may be wearing out faster than anticipated.

    Since 2010, Osprey clutches have slipped at least 15 times. As the system re-engages, hard clutch engagement occurs. In just fractions of a second, an HCE event creates a power spike that surges power to the other engine, which can throw the Osprey into an uncontrolled roll or slide. A power spike can also destroy a sprag clutch, essentially severing the interconnected drive shaft. That could result in the complete loss of aircraft control with little or no time for the pilots to react and save their Osprey or crew, Rivolo said.

    In the 2022 crash of a Marine Corps MV-22 in California that killed five Marines, hard clutch engagement created an “unrecoverable, catastrophic mechanical failure,” the investigation found. The fire was so intense it destroyed the Osprey’s flight data recorder — another issue the Marines have pushed to fix, by requiring new flight data recorders to be better able to survive a crash.

    OSPREYS HAVE BEEN GROUNDED BEFORE

    After Air Force Special Operations Command experienced two hard clutch engagement incidents within six weeks in 2022, the commander, Lt. Gen. James Slife, grounded all of its Ospreys for two weeks. An undisclosed number of Ospreys across the military were grounded again in February 2023 as work began on clutch replacements.

    But getting replacements to all the aircraft at the time depended on their availability, Slife said in 2022.

    And even that replacement may not be the fix. Neither the services nor defense contractors Bell Textron or Boeing, which jointly produce the Osprey, have found a root cause. The clutch “may be the manifestation of the problem,” but not the root cause, Slife said.

    In last week’s crash, Japanese media outlet NHK reported that an eyewitness saw the Osprey inverted with an engine on fire before it went down in the sea. If eyewitness accounts are correct, Rivolo said, clutch failure and a catastrophic failure of the interconnected drive shaft should be investigated as a potential cause.

    After its investigation of the 2022 crash, the Marine Corps made several recommendations, including designing a new quill assembly, which is a component that mitigates clutch slippage and hard clutch engagement, and requiring that all drivetrain component materiel be strengthened.

    That work is ongoing, according to the V-22 Joint Program Office, which is responsible for the development and production of the aircraft. A new quill assembly design is being finalized and testing of a prototype should begin early next year, it said.

    WHISTLEBLOWER QUESTIONS

    Materiel strength was the subject of a whistleblower lawsuit that Boeing settled with the Justice Department in September for $8.1 million. Two former Boeing V-22 composites fabricators had come forward with allegations that Boeing was falsifying records certifying that it had performed the testing necessary to ensure it maintained uniform temperatures required to ensure the Osprey’s composite parts were strengthened according to DOD specifications.

    A certain temperature was needed for uniform molecular bonding of the composite surface. Without that bond, “the components will contain resin voids, linear porosity, and other defects that are not visible to the eye; which compromise the strength and other characteristics of the material, and which can cause catastrophic structural failures,” the lawsuit alleged.

    In its settlement, the Justice Department contended Boeing did not meet the Pentagon’s manufacturing standards from 2007 to 2018; the whistleblowers contended in their lawsuit that this affected more than 80 Ospreys that were delivered in that time frame.

    In a statement to The Associated Press, Boeing said it entered into the settlement agreement with the Justice Department and Navy “to resolve certain False Claims Act allegations, without admission of liability.”

    Boeing said while composites are used throughout the V-22, the parts that were questioned in the lawsuit were “all non-critical parts that do not implicate flight safety.”

    “Boeing is in compliance with its curing processes for composite parts,” the company said. “Additionally, we would stress that the cause of the accident in Japan is currently unknown. We are standing by to provide any requested support.”

    ONGOING FIXES

    The V-22 Joint Program Office said that since the 2022 incidents, significant progress has been made toward identifying the cause of the hard clutch engagement.

    “While the definitive root cause has not yet been determined, the joint government and industry team has narrowed down the scope of the investigation to a leading theory,” it said in a statement to the AP. “The leading theory involves a partial engagement of some clutches which have been installed for a lengthy period of time. This has not yet been definitively proven, but the data acquired thus far support this theory.”

    Bell assembles the Osprey in a partnership with Boeing in its facilities in Amarillo, Texas. Bell would not comment on last week’s crash, but said it works with the services when an accident occurs. “The level of support is determined by the service branch safety center in charge of the investigation,” Bell spokesman Jay Hernandez said.

    In its report on the fatal 2022 crash, the Marine Corps forewarned that more accidents were possible because neither the military nor manufacturers have been able to isolate a root cause. It said future incidents were “impossible to prevent without improvements to flight control system software, drivetrain component material strength, and robust inspection requirements.”

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  • Iran says it sent a capsule with animals into orbit as it prepares for human missions

    Iran says it sent a capsule with animals into orbit as it prepares for human missions

    Iran says it sent a capsule into orbit capable of carrying animals as it prepares for human missions in coming years

    ByThe Associated Press

    December 6, 2023, 3:00 AM

    This photo released by the Iranian Defense Ministry on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, claims to show a rocket with a capsule carrying animals is launched from an undisclosed location into orbit, Iran. Iran said Wednesday it sent a capsule into orbit carrying animals as it prepares for human missions in coming years. (Iranian Defense Ministry via AP)

    The Associated Press

    TEHRAN, Iran — Iran said Wednesday it sent a capsule into orbit capable of carrying animals as it prepares for human missions in coming years.

    A report by the official IRNA news agency quoted Telecommunications Minister Isa Zarepour as saying the capsule was launched 130 kilometers (80 miles) into orbit.

    Zarepour said the launch of the 500-kilogram (1,000-pound) capsule is aimed at sending Iranian astronauts to space in coming years. He did not say if any animals were in the capsule.

    He told state TV that Iran plans to send astronauts into space by 2029 after further tests involving animals.

    State TV showed footage of a rocket named Salman carrying the capsule.

    Iran occasionally announces successful launches of satellites and other spacecraft. In September, Iran said it sent a data-collecting satellite into space. In 2013, Iran said it sent a monkey into space and returned it successfully.

    Reports said the country’s Defense Ministry built and launched the Salman rocket while the capsule was built by the Iranian civil space agency. Media reports did not say where the launch took place. Iran usually makes launches from Imam Khomenei Space Center in northern Semnan province.

    It says its satellite program is for scientific research and other civilian applications. The U.S. and other Western countries have long been suspicious of the program because the same technology can be used to develop long-range missiles.

    In 2020, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it put the Islamic Republic’s first military satellite into orbit, unveiling what experts described as a secret space program.

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  • South Korea launches its first spy satellite after rival North Korea does the same

    South Korea launches its first spy satellite after rival North Korea does the same

    VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. — South Korea launched its first military spy satellite into space Friday, a little over a week after North Korea claimed to put its own spy satellite into orbit for the first time as tensions rise between the rivals.

    Launched from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base using SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, it was the first of five spy satellites South Korea plans to send into space by 2025 under a contract with SpaceX. The event had been scheduled for earlier in the week but was pushed back because of weather conditions.

    South Korea had no military reconnaissance satellites of its own in space and has partially resorted to the United States’ spy satellites to monitor moves by North Korea.

    South Korea’s Defense Ministry described the launch as successful, saying the satellite had a communication with an overseas ground station.

    A ministry statement said the launch allowed the South Korean military to acquire an independent space-based surveillance system. It said the satellite would also help bolster the military’s preemptive missile strike capability, a key part of its so-called three-axis system that includes missile defense and massive retaliatory capabilities.

    After two launch failures earlier this year, North Korea said it successfully placed its Malligyong-1 spy satellite into orbit last week. North Korea has since said its satellite had transmitted imagery with space views of key sites in the U.S. and South Korea, including the White House and the Pentagon. But it hasn’t yet released any of those satellite photos.

    U.S. and South Korean officials confirmed the North Korean satellite entered orbit, but many outside experts question whether it can send militarily useful high-resolution imagery.

    The North Korean satellite launch sparked immediate, strong condemnations from the U.S., South Korea and others. Multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions ban any satellite launches by North Korea, viewing them as covers for testing its long-range missile technology.

    North Korea responded angrily, saying it has sovereign rights to launch spy satellites to cope with what it calls increasing U.S. hostilities. It said it would also launch additional ones.

    On Saturday, North Korea’s Defense Ministry threatened to take unspecified steps to eliminate or undermine the capabilities of U.S. spy satellites in protest of what it called the “rubbish” comments by an unspecified U.S. Space Command official that hinted at an attack on the North Korean satellite. The North Korean ministry said it would consider such an action a declaration of war.

    The North’s statement followed remarks by Sheryll Klinkel, a public affairs officer for the U.S. Space Forces that were carried in Radio Free Asia, a U.S. government-funded news service, earlier in the week.

    Asked whether the United States has the ability to block the operation of North Korea’s spy satellite, the RFA report quoted Klinkel as saying that “Joint Force space operations could deny an adversary’s space and counterspace capabilities and services using a variety of reversible and irreversible means, reducing the effectiveness and lethality of adversary forces across all domains.”

    North Korea’s satellite launch has inflamed animosities between the two Koreas, with the rivals taking steps to breach a previous military agreement meant to ease front-line military tensions.

    Spy satellites are among the high-tech weapons systems that Kim Jong Un has publicly vowed to introduce. Since 2022, North Korea has conducted about 100 ballistic missile tests — part of efforts to modernize its arsenal of weapons targeting South Korea and the United States. South Korea and the United States have expanded their military exercises.

    South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers last week that Russia’s technological assistance likely enabled North Korea to place its spy satellite into orbit. South Korea, the U.S. and Japan have accused North Korea of seeking high-tech Russian technologies needed to enhance its military programs in return for supplying conventional arms to support Russia’s war in Ukraine. Both Russia and North Korea have denied the allegation.

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    Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.

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  • North Korea says it put a military spy satellite into orbit on third try

    North Korea says it put a military spy satellite into orbit on third try

    SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said it placed a spy satellite into orbit with its third launch attempt this year, demonstrating the nation’s determination to build a space-based surveillance system during protracted tensions with the United States.

    The North’s claim Wednesday could not immediately independently be confirmed. Observers doubt whether the satellite is advanced enough to perform military reconnaissance. But the launch still invited strong condemnation from the United States and its partners because the U.N. bans North Korea from conducting satellite launches, calling them covers for tests of missile technology.

    The North’s space agency said that its new “Chollima-1” carrier rocket accurately placed the Malligyong-1 satellite into orbit on Tuesday night, about 12 minutes after liftoff from the country’s main launch center.

    The National Aerospace Technology Administration called the launch a legitimate right of North Korea to bolster its self-defense capabilities. It said the spy satellite would help improve the North’s war preparedness in the face of “the enemies’ dangerous military moves.”

    The agency said leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the launch at the scene and congratulated scientists and others involved. It said North Korea will launch several more spy satellites to better monitor South Korea and other areas.

    U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said Washington strongly condemned North Korea for the launch, saying it “raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region and beyond.” She said the launch involved technologies that are directly related to North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile program.

    South Korea said the launch would push it to suspend a 2018 inter-Korean tension-reduction agreement and resume frontline aerial surveillance of North Korea. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called the launch “a serious threat that affects the safety of the people” and said Japan lodged a protest with North Korea condemning the launch in strongest terms.

    According to South Korean and Japanese assessments, the rocket carrying the satellite flew from the Korean Peninsula’s west coast and over the Japanese island of Okinawa toward the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese government briefly issued a J-Alert missile warning for Okinawa, urging residents to take shelter.

    A spy satellite is among the key military assets coveted by Kim, who wants to modernize his weapons systems to cope with what he calls escalating U.S.-led threats. North Korea’s attempted launches earlier this year ended in failure due to technical issues.

    North Korea had vowed a third launch would take place in October. South Korean officials have said the delay until now occurred likely because North Korea was receiving Russian technological assistance for its spy satellite launch program.

    North Korea and Russia, both U.S. adversaries that are increasingly isolated globally, have been pushing hard to expand their relationships in recent months. In September, Kim traveled to Russia’s Far East to meet President Vladimir Putin and visit key military sites, touching off intense speculation of a weapons deal.

    The alleged deal involves North Korea supplying conventional arms to refill Russia’s ammunition stock drained in its war with Ukraine. In return, foreign governments and experts say that North Korea seeks Russian help in enhancing its nuclear and other military programs.

    During Kim’s Russia visit, Putin told state media that his country would help North Korea build satellites, saying Kim “shows keen interest in rocket technology.”

    Russia and North Korea dismissed the allegation of their arms transfer deal as groundless. Such a deal would violate U.N. bans on any weapons trading involving North Korea.

    Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said Tuesday’s launch raises more questions than answers, such as whether the North Korean satellite actually performs reconnaissance functions and whether Russia provided technical and even material assistance.

    “What is already clear is that this is not a one-off event but part of a North Korean strategy of prioritizing military capabilities over economic development, threatening rather than reconciling with South Korea, and further aligning with Russia and China instead of pursuing diplomacy with the United States,” Easley said.

    Since last year, North Korea conducted about 100 ballistic missile tests in a bid to establish a reliable arsenal of nuclear weapons targeting the U.S. and its allies. Many foreign experts say North Korea has some last remaining technologies to master to acquire functioning nuclear missiles.

    But the experts say that possessing a rocket that can place a satellite into orbit would mean North Korea can build a missile capable of carrying a warhead with a similar size of the satellite.

    In written responses to questions from The Associated Press last week, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said the North’s successful launch of a reconnaissance satellite “would signify that North Korea’s ICBM capabilities have been taken to a higher level.”

    Yoon, currently on a state visit to the U.K., convened an emergency security council meeting during which officials decided to push for suspension of the 2018 deal. South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik ordered the military to brace for a possibility that North Korea might use the deal’s suspension as a pretext to launch provocations.

    Japan’s coast guard said earlier Tuesday that North Korea had told Tokyo that it would launch a satellite sometime between Wednesday and Nov. 30. Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, criticized North Korea for conducting the launch before its window started.

    North Korea is under 11 rounds of U.N. sanctions over its past nuclear and missile tests. But it’s unlikely for the North to be hit with fresh sanctions over Tuesday’s launch. Russia and China have already stymied any U.N. Security Council response over the North’s recent series of launch activities.

    In June, Kim’s sister and senior ruling party official, Kim Yo Jong, called the Security Council “a political appendage” of the United States. She slammed the council for allegedly being “discriminative and rude,” saying it only takes issue with the North’s satellite launches while thousands of satellites launched by other countries are already operating.

    The North’s two previous satellite launches in May and August involved the same rocket and satellite used in Tuesday’s launch.

    In the first attempt, the North Korean rocket carrying the satellite crashed into the ocean soon after liftoff. North Korean authorities said the rocket lost thrust after the separation of its first and second stages. After the second attempt, North Korea said there was an error in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight.

    South Korea retrieved debris from the first launch and called the satellite too crude to perform military reconnaissance.

    Some civilian experts said North Korea’s Malligyong-1 satellite is likely capable of only detecting big targets like warships or planes. But by operating several such satellites, North Korea could still observe South Korea at all times, they said.

    Kim is eager to introduce other sophisticated weapons such as more mobile ICBMs, nuclear-powered submarines and multi-warhead missiles. Observers say Kim would ultimately want to use an enlarged weapons arsenal to wrest greater U.S. concessions like sanctions relief when diplomacy resumes.

    In response, the U.S. and South Korea have been expanding their regular military exercises and increasing the temporary deployments of powerful U.S. military assets in South Korea. On Tuesday, the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and its battle group arrived at a South Korean port in a fresh demonstration of strength against North Korea.

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    Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo.

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  • SpaceX launched its giant new rocket but explosions end the second test flight

    SpaceX launched its giant new rocket but explosions end the second test flight

    SpaceX launched its mega rocket Starship but lost both the booster and the spacecraft in a pair of explosions minutes into Saturday’s test flight.

    The rocketship reached space following liftoff from South Texas before communication suddenly was lost. SpaceX officials said it appears the ship’s self-destruct system blew it up over the Gulf of Mexico.

    Minutes earlier, the separated booster had exploded over the gulf. By then, though, its job was done.

    Saturday’s demo lasted eight or so minutes, about twice as long as the first test in April, which also ended in an explosion. The latest flight came to an end as the ship’s six engines were almost done firing to put it on an around-the-world path.

    At nearly 400 feet (121 meters), Starship is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, with the goal of ferrying people to the moon and Mars.

    “The real topping on the cake today, that successful liftoff,” said SpaceX commentator John Insprucker, noting that all 33 booster engines fired as designed, unlike last time. The booster also separated seamlessly from the spaceship, which reached an altitude of 92 miles (148 kilometers).

    Added commentator Kate Tice: “We got so much data, and that will all help us to improve for our next flight.”

    SpaceX founder Elon Musk watched from behind launch controllers at the southern tip of Texas near the Mexico border, near Boca Chica Beach. At company headquarters in Hawthorne, California, employees cheered as Starship soared at daybreak. The room grew quiet once it was clear that the spaceship had been destroyed.

    SpaceX had been aiming for an altitude of 150 miles (240 kilometers), just high enough to send the bullet-shaped spacecraft around the globe before ditching into the Pacific near Hawaii about 1 1/2 hours after liftoff, short of a full orbit.

    Following April’s flight demo, SpaceX made dozens of improvements to the rocket as well as the launch pad. The Federal Aviation Administration cleared the rocket for flight on Wednesday, after confirming that all safety and environmental concerns had been met.

    After Saturday’s launch, the FAA said no injuries or public damage had been reported and that an investigation was underway to determine what went wrong. SpaceX cannot launch another Starship until the review is complete and corrections made, the FAA added.

    NASA is counting on Starship to land astronauts on the moon by the end of 2025 or shortly thereafter. The space agency awarded SpaceX a $3 billion contract to make it happen, by transferring astronauts from its Orion capsule to Starship in lunar orbit before heading down to the surface.

    “Today’s test is an opportunity to learn — then fly again,” noted NASA Administrator Bill Nelson via X, formerly known as Twitter.

    Starship is 34 feet (10 meters) taller than NASA’s Saturn V rocket which carried men to the moon more than a half-century ago, and 75 feet (23 meters) taller than NASA’s Space Launch System rocket that flew around the moon and back, without a crew, last year. And it’s got approximately double the liftoff thrust.

    Like before, nothing of value was aboard Starship for the trial run.

    Once Starship is proven, Musk plans to use the fully reusable mega rockets to launch satellites into orbit around Earth and equipment and people to the moon, and eventually, to Mars.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • SpaceX launches giant new rocket but loses spacecraft eight minutes into flight

    SpaceX launches giant new rocket but loses spacecraft eight minutes into flight

    SpaceX launches giant new rocket but loses spacecraft eight minutes into flight

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  • SpaceX’s giant new rocket launches on second test flight from Texas

    SpaceX’s giant new rocket launches on second test flight from Texas

    SpaceX’s giant new rocket has blasted off on a second test flight from South Texas

    ByMARCIA DUNN AP aerospace writer

    November 18, 2023, 6:45 AM

    This image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a closeup view of SpaceX Starship stacked atop of the Super Heavy booster at the launch site, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, in Boca Chica, Texas. (Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies via AP)

    The Associated Press

    SpaceX’s giant new rocket blasted off from South Texas on a test flight Saturday, seven months after the first try ended in an explosion.

    The 397-foot (121-meter) Starship rocket thundered into the sky and arced out over the Gulf of Mexico. The goal was to separate the spaceship from its booster and send it into space.

    SpaceX aimed for an altitude of 150 miles (240 kilometers), just high enough to send the bullet-shaped spacecraft around the globe before ditching into the Pacific near Hawaii about 1 1/2 hours after liftoff, short of a full orbit.

    Starship is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built. Its first flight in April lasted four minutes, with the wreckage crashing into the gulf. Since then, Elon Musk’s company has made dozens of improvements to the booster and its 33 engines as well as the launch pad.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • SpaceX will try again to launch its mega rocket into orbit

    SpaceX will try again to launch its mega rocket into orbit

    The first launch ended in an explosion minutes after lifting off in April.

    ByMARCIA DUNN AP aerospace writer

    November 15, 2023, 5:28 PM

    In this image from video provided by SpaceX, the company’s Starship launches from Boca Chica, Texas, on April 20, 2023. SpaceX is aiming for another test flight of its mega rocket on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, now that’s it’s gotten the final OK from the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA issued its license Wednesday, Nov. 15, noting that SpaceX has met all safety, environmental and other requirements. (SpaceX via AP)

    The Associated Press

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX is aiming for another test flight of its mega rocket on Friday after getting final approval from federal regulators.

    The first launch of Starship ended in an explosion minutes after lifting off from South Texas in April.

    The Federal Aviation Administration issued its license Wednesday, noting that SpaceX has met safety, environmental and other requirements to launch again. Elon Musk’s rocket company said it was targeting Friday morning.

    After the self-destruct system blew up the rocket over the Gulf of Mexico, SpaceX made dozens of improvements to the nearly 400-foot (121-meter) rocket and to the launch pad, which ended up with a large crater beneath it.

    SpaceX has a $3 billion NASA contract to land astronauts on the lunar surface as early as 2025, using the spacecraft.

    A month ago, the FAA completed its safety review of the upcoming Starship launch. It needed more time to wrap up its environmental review. No one was injured in the first attempt, but the pad was heavily damaged as the rocket’s 33 main engines ignited at liftoff.

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service later reported that concrete chunks, steel sheets and other objects were hurled thousands of feet (hundreds of meters) from the pad. It also said a plume of pulverized concrete sent material several miles (up to 10 kilometers) away.

    Wildlife and environmental groups sued the FAA over what they considered to be the FAA’s failure to fully consider the environmental impacts of the Starship program near Boca Chica Beach.

    Plans call for the test flight to last 1 /1/2 hours and fall short of a full orbit of Earth. The spacecraft would go eastward, passing over the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans before ditching near Hawaii. Nothing of value will be on board.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Long-haul carrier Emirates signals it will hold off on major Airbus purchase over engine worries

    Long-haul carrier Emirates signals it will hold off on major Airbus purchase over engine worries

    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Long-haul carrier Emirates signaled Tuesday it will hold off on a major purchase of Airbus A350 aircraft over concerns about their Rolls Royce engines, marking a major blow for the European manufacturer as it hopes to close the sale during the Dubai Air Show this week.

    Emirates President Tim Clark’s comments to journalists at the show came the day after his airline announced a $52 billion purchase with Airbus’ rival Boeing Co., while its sister airline FlyDubai bought another $11 billion of aircraft from Boeing.

    Ethiopian Airlines said it was buying 31 aircraft from Boeing. Mesfin Tasew, the group CEO, made the announcement, saying the airline also signed options to potentially purchase another 36 aircraft as well.

    Airbus has yet to strike a major deal at the show, which comes as global airlines like Emirates have bounced back from the lockdowns of the coronavirus pandemic with increased global demand for travel.

    In his comments to journalists at the Emirates chalet on the runway of Al Maktoum International Airport, Clark raised concerns about the maintenance required for the Rolls Royce engines on the A350.

    “If the engine was doing what we want it to do … then it would re-enter the mix of assessment for our fleet plan,” Clark said.

    Airbus and Rolls Royce did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press.

    Emirates is a heavyweight when it comes to East-West travel out of Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel.

    Clark also said that Emirates needs to buy aircraft now as it moves forward with plans to expand its routes and networks.

    “Irrespective of the difficulties of getting these aircraft out of the door, we have to place orders now because the lead time for deliveries are so long,” Clark said.

    Clark also said that the tensions in the wider Middle East sparked by the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip wouldn’t affect Emirates’ business, adding they are used to working around the region’s geopolitical problems. He said although the Israeli market was one of the fastest growing markets for Emirates, they had to stop their daily flights to Tel Aviv, Israel, but that the airline was able to absorb the demand fall-off.

    Emirates and FlyDubai launched direct flights to Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv after the two countries established diplomatic ties in 2020.

    Two major Israeli firms — Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. and Israel Aerospace Industries had been slated to participate in the Dubai Air Show. But the IAI stand, bearing the slogan “Where Courage Meets Technology,” was roped off and empty Monday. On Tuesday, a few people gathered there.

    Also in the market for aircraft is Riyadh Air, a new Saudi carrier being created as part of trillions of dollars worth of spending planned in the kingdom. In March, the airline announced an order of up to 72 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner jetliners and has further plans to expand.

    Clark said he wasn’t worried about the competition, however.

    “If Saudi Arabia wants to spend $2 trillion on doing wonderful things over there, they’ve got to have the labor from somewhere. And that labor force has got to be brought in, and their carriers are going to find it difficult in the early stages to meet that demand,” he said. “So do I think it’s a problem with this lot? No, I don’t … because we managed to build Emirates through all of this competition, rising geopolitical socioeconomic difficulty.”

    The air show, which sees billions of dollars worth of deals, as arms manufacturers exhibit at the show, comes two weeks before Dubai hosts the United Nations’ COP28 climate talks.

    Aviation has particularly drawn the ire of climate change activists, in part due to the amount of jet fuel the industry burns. Emirates in January successfully flew a Boeing 777 on a test flight with one of its two engines entirely powered by so-called sustainable aviation fuel. Earlier this month, the airline cleared SAF for flights, including one to Sydney, Australia.

    However, “decarbonizing civil aviation is incredibly difficult and will be long term,” Clark said.

    Meanwhile Tuesday, other purchases included:

    — Emirates announced $1.2 billion in deals with French firm Safran, including for seats.

    — Emirates announced plans for a $950 million maintenance facility at Al Maktoum International Airport, the city-state’s second airfield.

    — EgyptAir announced it would buy 10 Airbus A350-900s. It did not disclose the price of the aircraft.

    — Boeing and SCAT Airlines of Kazakhstan announced the airline would purchase seven Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. It also did not disclose terms for the sale.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell contributed to this report.

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  • Low-cost carrier FlyDubai says it will buy 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, the first wide-body aircraft in its fleet

    Low-cost carrier FlyDubai says it will buy 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, the first wide-body aircraft in its fleet

    Low-cost carrier FlyDubai says it will buy 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, the first wide-body aircraft in its fleet

    ByThe Associated Press

    November 13, 2023, 4:53 AM

    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Low-cost carrier FlyDubai says it will buy 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, the first wide-body aircraft in its fleet.

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  • Dubai Air Show opening as aviation soars following pandemic lockdowns, even as wars cloud horizon

    Dubai Air Show opening as aviation soars following pandemic lockdowns, even as wars cloud horizon

    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The biennial Dubai Air Show opens Monday as airlines are poised to make major aircraft purchases after rebounding from the groundings of the coronavirus pandemic, even as Israel’s war with Hamas clouds regional security.

    That conflict, as well as Russia’s war on Ukraine, likely will influence the five-day show at Al Maktoum Airport at Dubai World Central. It is the city-state’s second airfield after Dubai International Airport, which is the world’s busiest for international travel and home base for the long-haul carrier Emirates.

    While commercial aviation takes much of the attention, arms manufacturers also have exhibitions at the show. Two major Israeli firms — Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. and Israel Aerospace Industries are participating.

    Rafael also sponsored a meeting of air force commanders Sunday at a luxury Dubai hotel, highlighting the balancing act being struck by the UAE amid anger in the Arab world over the Israel-Hamas war. The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms, established diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020.

    The firm Russian Helicopters likely will have staff on hand for the air show after appearing at the Abu Dhabi arms fair earlier this year despite being sanctioned by the U.S. and others over Moscow’s attack on Ukraine. ROSCOSMOS, the Russian state space company, also is at the show.

    Global aviation is booming after the coronavirus pandemic saw worldwide lockdowns and aircraft grounded — particularly at Al Maktoum Airport, which served for months as a parking lot for Emirates double-decker Airbus 380s.

    Air traffic is now at 97% of pre-COVID levels, according to the International Air Transport Association. Middle Eastern airlines, which supply key East-West routes for global travel, saw a 26.6% increase in September traffic compared to a year earlier, IATA says.

    Emirates, a main economic engine for Dubai amid its booming real estate market, announced record half-year profits of $2.7 billion Thursday. That is up from $1.2 billion for the same period last year, potentially putting the airline on track for another record-breaking year. The airline says it has repaid some $2.5 billion of the loans it received during the height of the pandemic to stay afloat.

    Tim Clark, president of Emirates, told Bloomberg in September to “watch this space” when it comes to purchases from both Airbus and Boeing during the air show. The airline is hiring a slew of new pilots and crew, likely to staff new aircraft.

    “We’ve got a lot of big plans for the airline going forward,” Clark said. “New fleet, larger numbers, larger network.”

    Also in the market is Riyadh Air, a new Saudi carrier being creataed as part of trillions of dollars worth of spending planned in the kingdom. In March, the airline announced an order of up to 72 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner jetliners and has further plans to expand.

    Turkish Airlines also may make a record-shattering purchase of 355 aircraft from Airbus, including 250 A321neo aircraft, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.

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  • The Air Force’s new nuclear stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, has taken its first test flight

    The Air Force’s new nuclear stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, has taken its first test flight

    The futuristic B-21 Raider warplane has taken its first flight, moving it closer to becoming the nation’s next nuclear weapons stealth bomber

    ByTARA COPP Associated Press

    November 10, 2023, 11:03 AM

    FILE – The B-21 Raider stealth bomber is unveiled at Northrop Grumman, Dec. 2, 2022, in Palmdale, Calif. The B-21 Raider has taken it’s first flight, moving the futuristic warplane closer to becoming the nation’s next nuclear weapons stealth bomber. The Raider flew out of Palmdale, Calif., where it has been under testing and development by Northrop Grumman. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

    The Associated Press

    WASHINGTON — The B-21 Raider took its first test flight on Friday, moving the futuristic warplane closer to becoming the nation’s next nuclear weapons stealth bomber.

    The Raider flew in Palmdale, California, where it has been under testing and development by Northrop Grumman.

    The Air Force is planning to build 100 of the warplanes, which have a flying wing shape much like their predecessor the B-2 Spirit but will incorporate advanced materials, propulsion and stealth technology to make them more survivable in a future conflict. The plane is planned to be produced in variants with and without pilots.

    “The B-21 Raider is in flight testing,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said.

    Such testing is a critical step in the campaign to provide “survivable, long-range, penetrating strike capabilities to deter aggression and strategic attacks against the United States, allies, and partners,” Stefanek said.

    Northrop Grumman Corp. is based in Falls Church, Virginia.

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  • Astronaut Frank Borman, commander of the first Apollo mission to the moon, dies at 95

    Astronaut Frank Borman, commander of the first Apollo mission to the moon, dies at 95

    BILLINGS, Mont. — Astronaut Frank Borman, who commanded Apollo 8’s historic Christmas 1968 flight that circled the moon 10 times and paved the way for the lunar landing the next year, has died. He was 95.

    Borman died Tuesday in Billings, Montana, according to NASA.

    Borman also led troubled Eastern Airlines in the 1970s and early ’80s after leaving the astronaut corps.

    But he was best known for his NASA duties. He and his crew, James Lovell and William Anders, were the first Apollo mission to fly to the moon — and to see Earth as a distant sphere in space.

    “Today we remember one of NASA’s best. Astronaut Frank Borman was a true American hero,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement Thursday. “His lifelong love for aviation and exploration was only surpassed by his love for his wife Susan.”

    Launched from Florida’s Cape Canaveral on Dec. 21, 1968, the Apollo 8 trio spent three days traveling to the moon, and slipped into lunar orbit on Christmas Eve. After they circled 10 times on Dec. 24-25, they headed home on Dec. 27.

    On Christmas Eve, the astronauts read from the Book of Genesis in a live telecast from the orbiter: “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”

    Borman ended the broadcast with, “And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you — all of you on the good Earth.”

    Lovell and Borman had previously flown together during the two-week Gemini 7 mission, which launched on Dec. 4, 1965 — and, at only 120 feet apart, completed the first space orbital rendezvous with Gemini 6.

    “Gemini was a tough go,” Borman told The Associated Press in 1998. “It was smaller than the front seat of a Volkswagen bug. It made Apollo seem like a super-duper, plush touring bus.”

    In his book, “Countdown: An Autobiography,” Borman said Apollo 8 was originally supposed to orbit Earth. The success of Apollo 7’s mission in October 1968 to show system reliability on long duration flights made NASA decide it was time to take a shot at flying to the moon.

    But Borman said there was another reason NASA changed the plan: the agency wanted to beat the Russians. Borman said he thought one orbit would suffice.

    “My main concern in this whole flight was to get there ahead of the Russians and get home. That was a significant achievement in my eyes,” Borman explained at a Chicago appearance in 2017.

    It was on the crew’s fourth orbit that Anders snapped the iconic “Earthrise” photo showing a blue and white Earth rising above the gray lunar landscape.

    Borman wrote about how the Earth looked from afar: “We were the first humans to see the world in its majestic totality, an intensely emotional experience for each of us. We said nothing to each other, but I was sure our thoughts were identical — of our families on that spinning globe. And maybe we shared another thought I had, This must be what God sees.”

    After NASA, Borman’s aviation career ventured into business in 1970 when he joined Eastern Airlines — at that time the nation’s fourth-largest airline. He eventually became Eastern’s president and CEO and in 1976 also became its chairman of the board.

    Borman’s tenure at Eastern saw fuel prices increase sharply and the government deregulate the airline industry. The airline became increasingly unprofitable, debt-ridden and torn by labor tensions. He resigned in 1986 and moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico.

    In his autobiography, Borman wrote that his fascination with flying began in his teens when he and his father would assemble model airplanes. At age 15, Borman took flying lessons, using money he had saved working as a bag boy and pumping gas after school. He took his first solo flight after eight hours of dual instruction. He continued flying into his 90s.

    Borman was born in Gary, Indiana, but was raised in Tucson, Arizona. He attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in 1950. That same year, Borman married his high school sweetheart, Susan Bugbee. She died in 2021.

    Borman worked as a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, operational pilot and instructor at West Point after graduation. In 1956, Borman moved his family to Pasadena, California, where he earned a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering from California Institute of Technology. In 1962, he was one of nine test pilots chosen by NASA for the astronaut program.

    He received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor from President Jimmy Carter.

    In 1998, Borman started a cattle ranch in Bighorn, Montana, with his son, Fred. In addition to Fred, he survived by another son, Edwin, and their families.

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  • South Korea plans to launch its 1st military spy satellite on Nov. 30

    South Korea plans to launch its 1st military spy satellite on Nov. 30

    SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea said Monday it plans to launch its first domestically built spy satellite at the end of this month to better monitor rival North Korea as it expands its arsenal of nuclear weapons.

    The plan was unveiled days after North Korea failed to follow through on a vow to make a third attempt to launch its own reconnaissance satellite in October, likely because of technical issues.

    Jeon Ha Gyu, a spokesperson for the South Korean Defense Ministry, told reporters Monday that the country’s first military spy satellite will be launched from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base on Nov. 30.

    The satellite will be carried by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Under a contract with SpaceX, South Korea plans to launch four more spy satellites by 2025, according to South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

    South Korea currently has no military reconnaissance satellites of its own and relies on U.S. spy satellites to monitor moves by North Korea.

    The possession of its own spy satellites would give South Korea an independent space-based surveillance system to monitor North Korea in almost real time. When operated together with South Korea’s so-called three-axis system — preemptive strike, missile defense and retaliatory assets — the country’s overall defense against North Korea would be sharply strengthened, according to Lee Choon Geun, an honorary research fellow at South Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute.

    Lee said U.S. spy satellites produce much higher-resolution imagery but are operated under U.S. strategic objectives, not South Korea’s. He said the U.S also sometimes doesn’t share satellite photos with highly sensitive information with South Korea.

    Last year, South Korea used a homegrown rocket to place what it called a “performance observation satellite” in orbit, becoming the world’s 10th nation to successfully launch a satellite with its own technology.

    Observers say a SpaceX rocket is a more reliable launch vehicle. They say South Korea’s 2022 launch showed it can send a heavier satellite into space, but that it needs more tests to ensure the rocket’s reliability. Lee also said it’s much more economical to use a SpaceX rocket to launch the spy satellite from the Vandenberg base.

    North Korea is also eager to acquire its own spy satellite. But its two launch attempts earlier this year ended in failure for technical reasons. The country said it would make a third attempt sometime in October but did not do so and its state media have not provided a reason.

    South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers last week that North Korea is likely receiving Russian technological assistance for its spy satellite launch program. The National Intelligence Service said North Korea was in the final phase of preparations for its third launch, which the NIS said would likely be successful.

    The possession of spy satellites is part of ambitious arms build-up plans announced by North Korea leader Kim Jong Un in 2021. Kim said North Korea also needs more mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear-powered submarines, hypersonic weapons and multi-warhead missiles to cope with intensifying U.S. military threats.

    South Korea, the U.S. and other foreign governments believe North Korea is seeking sophisticated weapons technologies from Russia to modernize its weapons programs in return for supplying ammunition, rockets and other military equipment for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Both Russia and North Korea have rejected the reported arms transfer deal as groundless.

    After North Korea’s first failed launch in May, South Korea retrieved debris from the satellite and concluded it was too crude to perform military reconnaissance. Lee said the North Korean satellite would still be capable of identifying big targets like warships so it could be militarily useful for North Korea.

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  • Ken Mattingly, astronaut who helped Apollo 13 crew return safely home, dies at age 87

    Ken Mattingly, astronaut who helped Apollo 13 crew return safely home, dies at age 87

    LOS ANGELES — Ken Mattingly, an astronaut who is best remembered for his efforts on the ground that helped bring the damaged Apollo 13 spacecraft safely back to Earth, has died, NASA announced. He was 87.

    “We lost one of our country’s heroes on Oct. 31,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a Thursday statement.

    Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II “was key to the success of our Apollo Program, and his shining personality will ensure he is remembered throughout history,” Nelson said.

    NASA didn’t mention where or how Mattingly died. However, The New York Times reported that Mattingly died in Arlington, Virginia.

    A former Navy pilot, Mattingly joined NASA in 1966. He helped with development of the spacesuit and backpack for the Apollo moon missions, NASA said.

    However, his own first spaceflight only came in 1972 when he orbited the moon as pilot of the Apollo 16 command module, while two other crew members landed on the moon’s surface.

    On the trip back to Earth, Mattingly spacewalked to collect film cannisters with photographs he had snapped of the moon’s surface.

    In later years, Mattingly commanded two space shuttle missions and retired from the agency and the Navy as a rear admiral.

    But his most dramatic mission was one that he never flew.

    In 1970, Mattingly was supposed to have joined the crew of Apollo 13, piloting the command module. But he was removed from the mission a few days before launch after being exposed to German measles.

    He didn’t contract the illness but was replaced aboard the mission by John Swigert Jr.

    Several days into the mission, an oxygen tank on the spacecraft’s service module exploded, knocking out most of the power and oxygen to the command module. The lunar landing was scrapped and NASA began frantic efforts to save Swigert, James Lovell and Fred Haise.

    Mattingly, who knew the spacecraft intimately, worked with engineers and others as they analyzed the situation and scrambled to find solutions and pass on instructions to the crew.

    The trio of astronauts eventually crowded into the lander, which was designed for only two, and used it as a lifeboat for four days as Apollo 13 swung around the moon and then landed safely on Earth.

    Mattingly “stayed behind and provided key real-time decisions to successfully bring home the wounded spacecraft and the crew,” NASA’s Nelson said.

    “One of the many lessons out of all this is starting on day one it was from the very first moment, assume you’re going to succeed and don’t do anything that gets in the way,” Mattingly recalled in an oral history interview for NASA in 2001.

    Apollo 13’s story was told in the 1994 book “Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13,” co-authored by Lovell, and in the 1995 movie “Apollo 13,” where Gary Sinise played Mattingly.

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  • Ken Mattingly, astronaut who helped Apollo 13 crew return safely home, dies at age 87

    Ken Mattingly, astronaut who helped Apollo 13 crew return safely home, dies at age 87

    LOS ANGELES — Ken Mattingly, an astronaut who is best remembered for his efforts on the ground that helped bring the damaged Apollo 13 spacecraft safely back to Earth, has died, NASA announced. He was 87.

    “We lost one of our country’s heroes on Oct. 31,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a Thursday statement.

    Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II “was key to the success of our Apollo Program, and his shining personality will ensure he is remembered throughout history,” Nelson said.

    NASA didn’t mention where or how Mattingly died. However, The New York Times reported that Mattingly died in Arlington, Virginia.

    A former Navy pilot, Mattingly joined NASA in 1966. He helped with development of the spacesuit and backpack for the Apollo moon missions, NASA said.

    However, his own first spaceflight only came in 1972 when he orbited the moon as pilot of the Apollo 16 command module, while two other crew members landed on the moon’s surface.

    On the trip back to Earth, Mattingly spacewalked to collect film cannisters with photographs he had snapped of the moon’s surface.

    In later years, Mattingly commanded two space shuttle missions and retired from the agency and the Navy as a rear admiral.

    But his most dramatic mission was one that he never flew.

    In 1970, Mattingly was supposed to have joined the crew of Apollo 13, piloting the command module. But he was removed from the mission a few days before launch after being exposed to German measles.

    He didn’t contract the illness but was replaced aboard the mission by John Swigert Jr.

    Several days into the mission, an oxygen tank on the spacecraft’s service module exploded, knocking out most of the power and oxygen to the command module. The lunar landing was scrapped and NASA began frantic efforts to save Swigert, James Lovell and Fred Haise.

    Mattingly, who knew the spacecraft intimately, worked with engineers and others as they analyzed the situation and scrambled to find solutions and pass on instructions to the crew.

    The trio of astronauts eventually crowded into the lander, which was designed for only two, and used it as a lifeboat for four days as Apollo 13 swung around the moon and then landed safely on Earth.

    Mattingly “stayed behind and provided key real-time decisions to successfully bring home the wounded spacecraft and the crew,” NASA’s Nelson said.

    “One of the many lessons out of all this is starting on day one it was from the very first moment, assume you’re going to succeed and don’t do anything that gets in the way,” Mattingly recalled in an oral history interview for NASA in 2001.

    Apollo 13’s story was told in the 1994 book “Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13,” co-authored by Lovell, and in the 1995 movie “Apollo 13,” where Gary Sinise played Mattingly.

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  • NASA spacecraft discovers tiny moon around asteroid during close flyby

    NASA spacecraft discovers tiny moon around asteroid during close flyby

    The little asteroid visited by NASA’s Lucy spacecraft this week had a big surprise for scientists _ a mini moon

    ByMARCIA DUNN AP aerospace writer

    November 3, 2023, 11:09 AM

    This photo provided by NASA shows a photo taken by the Lucy spacecraft during Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023 flyby of asteroid Dinkinesh, 300 million miles from Earth. It turns out Dinkinesh, which is only a half-mile across, has a dinky sidekick … just one-tenth of a mile across. This little companion was a surprise to everyone. (NASA via AP)

    The Associated Press

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The little asteroid visited by NASA’s Lucy spacecraft this week had a big surprise for scientists.

    It turns out that the asteroid Dinkinesh has a dinky sidekick — a mini moon.

    The discovery was made during Wednesday’s flyby of Dinkinesh, 300 million miles (480 million kilometers) away in the main asteroid belt beyond Mars. The spacecraft snapped a picture of the pair when it was about 270 miles out (435 kilometers).

    In data and images beamed back to Earth, the spacecraft confirmed that Dinkinesh is barely a half-mile (790 meters) across. Its closely circling moon is a mere one-tenth-of-a-mile (220 meters) in size.

    NASA sent Lucy past Dinkinesh as a rehearsal for the bigger, more mysterious asteroids out near Jupiter. Launched in 2021, the spacecraft will reach the first of these so-called Trojan asteroids in 2027 and explore them for at least six years. The original target list of seven asteroids now stands at 11.

    Dinkinesh means “you are marvelous” in the Amharic language of Ethiopia. It’s also the Amharic name for Lucy, the 3.2 million-year-old remains of a human ancestor found in Ethiopia in the 1970s, for which the spacecraft is named.

    “Dinkinesh really did live up to its name; this is marvelous,” Southwest Research Institute’s Hal Levison, the lead scientist, said in a statement.

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • China announces plan for new space telescope as it readies to launch space crew

    China announces plan for new space telescope as it readies to launch space crew

    TAIPEI, Taiwan — China announced plans on Wednesday to send a new telescope to probe deep into the universe as it prepared to launch the country’s next, three-member crew for its orbiting space station.

    The telescope, dubbed Xuntian, will be installed by China‘s Tiangong space station and will co-orbit with it, according to a statement from Lin Xiqiang, spokesperson and deputy director general of the Chinese Manned Space Agency.

    No timeframe was given for the installation. State broadcaster CCTV said the telescope would enable surveys and mapping of the sky.

    China has researched the movement of stars and planets for thousands of years while in modern times, it has pushed to become a leader in space exploration and science.

    The announcement came on the eve of the flight by three astronauts — Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin — who will replace a crew that has been on the station for six months.

    The launch is expected for late morning on Thursday. Tang is a veteran who led a 2021 space mission for three months.

    China has made majors advance in its burgeoning space power and says it plans to send a crewed mission to the moon by the end of the decade while also pursuing other ambitions in space.

    The program largely comes in competition with the United States but also seeks to draw in support from nations in Europe, Southeast Asia, South America and elsewhere.

    China built its own space station after it was excluded from the International Space Station, largely due to U.S. concerns over the control of the program by the People’s Liberation Army, the military branch of the ruling Communist Party.

    China’s first manned space mission in 2003 made it the third country after the former Soviet Union and the U.S. to put a person into space using its own resources.

    American spending, supply chains and capabilities are believed to give it a significant edge over China for the time being. China has broken out in some areas, however, bringing samples back from the lunar surface for the first time in decades and landing a rover on the less explored far side of the moon.

    Meanwhile, the U.S. aims to put astronauts back on the lunar surface by the end of 2025 as part of a renewed commitment to crewed missions, aided by private sector players such as SpaceX and Blue Origin.

    In addition to their lunar programs, the two countries have also separately landed rovers on Mars, and China plans to follow the U.S. in landing a spacecraft on an asteroid.

    The new crew of the station will also need to conduct maintenance on its solar panels that have been hit by debris flying within the solar system, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

    A large amount of those particles were created by China in the destruction of one of its own satellites by a missile it fired in 2007, in what was seen as a sign of strength against its competitors in the U.S. and its allies.

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  • Boeing loses $1.6 billion on fewer deliveries of airliners and higher costs for Air Force One jets

    Boeing loses $1.6 billion on fewer deliveries of airliners and higher costs for Air Force One jets

    Boeing is reporting a loss of $1.64 billion in the third quarter

    ByThe Associated Press

    October 25, 2023, 8:04 AM

    FILE – Boeing 737 Max airplanes sit parked in a storage lot, Monday, April 26, 2021, near Boeing Field in Seattle. Boeing reports earnings on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

    The Associated Press

    Boeing reported a $1.64 billion loss for the third quarter on Wednesday as it delivered fewer copies of its best-selling plane and sunk more money into building two new Air Force One presidential jets.

    The aircraft maker lowered its forecast of 737 Max production to between 375 and 400 planes this year, down from a previous estimate of 400 to 450.

    Boeing said production and deliveries of 737s will be slowed as it does inspections and additional work to fix a pressure-sealing section of the planes.

    Boeing reported a $482 million loss in the quarter on a contract with the Air Force to build two new presidential jets because of higher estimated manufacturing costs. The company also lost $315 million on a satellite contract.

    The company, based in Arlington, Virginia, said that excluding special items it lost $3.26 per share in the quarter. Revenue rose 13% to $18.10 billion.

    Analysts expected the company to lose $3.18 per share on revenue of $18.01 billion, according to a FactSet survey of analysts.

    The company delivered 105 commercial planes in the quarter, down from 112 a year earlier, as it struggled with problems that slowed production of the 737 Max passenger jet. Deliveries of 737s slipped to 70 from 88 in the same period last year, but deliveries of 787 Dreamliners rose.

    CEO David Calhoun said that “despite near-term challenges, we remain on track to meet the financial goals we set for this year and for the long term.” He said the company was working to stabilize its supply chain and steadily increase aircraft production rates.

    Shares of the company rose about 3% in premarket trading.

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  • India conducts space flight test ahead of planned mission to take astronauts into space in 2025

    India conducts space flight test ahead of planned mission to take astronauts into space in 2025

    India has successfully carried out the first of a series of key test flights after overcoming a technical glitch ahead of its planned mission to take astronauts into space in 2025

    ByASHOK SHARMA Associated Press

    October 21, 2023, 1:41 AM

    FILE- Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman S. Somanath arrives to address the media after the successful landing of spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 on the moon, in Bengaluru, India, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023. India successfully carried out Saturday, Oct. 21, the first of a series of key test flights after overcoming a technical glitch ahead of its planned mission to take astronauts into space by 2025, Somanath said. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, File)

    The Associated Press

    NEW DELHI — India successfully carried out Saturday the first of a series of key test flights after overcoming a technical glitch ahead of its planned mission to take astronauts into space by 2025, the space agency said.

    The test involved launching a module to outer space and bringing it back to earth to test the spacecraft’s crew escape system, said the Indian Space Research Organization chief S. Somanath, and was being recovered after its touchdown in the Bay of Bengal.

    The launch was delayed by 45 minutes in the morning because of weather conditions. The attempt was again deferred by more than an hour because of an issue with the engine, and the ground computer put the module’s lift-off on hold, said Somanath.

    The glitch caused by a monitoring anomaly in the system was rectified and the test was carried out successfully 75 minutes later from the Sriharikota satellite launching station in southern India, Somanath told reporters.

    It would pave the way for other unmanned missions, including sending a robot into space next year.

    In September, India successfully launched its first space mission to study the sun, less than two weeks after a successful uncrewed landing near the south pole region of the moon.

    After a failed attempt to land on the moon in 2019, India in September joined the United States, the Soviet Union and China as only the fourth country to achieve the milestone.

    The successful mission showcased India’s rising standing as a technology and space powerhouse and dovetails with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s desire to project an image of an ascendant country asserting its place among the global elite.

    Signaling a roadmap for India’s future space ambitions, Modi earlier this week announced that India’s space agency will set up an Indian-crafted space station by 2035 and land an Indian astronaut on the moon by 2040.

    Active since the 1960s, India has launched satellites for itself and other countries, and successfully put one in orbit around Mars in 2014. India is planning its first mission to the International Space Station next year in collaboration with the United States.

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