NASA Gives LockMart The Moon

NASA has picked Lockheed Martin Corp to build the Orion spacecraft. If all options and production orders are exercised the value of the deal could be $8.15 billion.

Yah, billion with one of those "Bs."

Against that keep in mind this could deliver an unspecified number of spaceships for flight to the lunar surface as well as the ISS (International Space Station).

And that each nuclear powered aircraft carrier or missile submarine runs, in round numbers, $2 billion. Or did.

By contrast this seems cheap but we've not yet begun to overrun our budget!

Orion should be able to carry 4 crew to the moon and six to the ISS. The hope is Mars missions will use the moon base as a jumping off point - made possible in part by the Orion vehicle.

Watch for the first crewed or "manned" (as NASA stills says) launch of Orion sometime in 2014. The moon is due for a visit in 2020. Can't wait to see the pictures.

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Space News: Manned Programs: Orion


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Crash Of Comair Flight 5191 - ATC Controller Had Two Hours Sleep

The NTSB says the air traffic controller on duty during the crash of Comair flight 5191 had only slept two hours prior to beginning work...

See the two new video news items:

Crash Of Comair Flight 5191 - ATC Controller Had Two Hours Sleep

Sounds like another FAA staffing and labor problem to me. Sure the pilot is responsible for making sure they are on the correct runway - I'm not speaking to that specific issue with the prior sentence - but there is an ongoing hostility between the FAA administration and the working folks in the towers and centers. And safety suffers because of it.

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Airline News: Safety: Comair 5191 Crash


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NTSB To FAA: Urgent GE CF6-80A Jet Engine Fixes Recommended

The NTSB has once again whipped the FAA in public for moving too slow on issues the Safety Board feels are urgent. You may recall the incident in June, 2006, when the high-pressure turbine (HPT) stage 1 disk left the building like Elvis during a run-up at LAX while hanging under an American Airlines Boeing B-767.

According to the NTSB "Debris from the failed engine punctured the airplane's left and right wing fuel tanks; leaking fuel ignited and damaged the wing and fuselage. Pieces of the ruptured disk also penetrated the fuselage and the right engine, and another, found about 2,500 feet from the airplane against an airport perimeter fence, had crossed two active runways and taxiways." I hate it when that happens.

None of the three people working nearby were hurt and the FAA has issued an AD. But the NTSB thinks that is too little and too slow. Read the whole sober report at the link below.

NTSB To FAA: Urgent GE CF6-80A Engine Fixes Needed

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Airline News: Safety: GE CF6-80A Jet Engines


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Update On The Crash Of Comair Flight 5191 - Video News

As promised, we've got our network-quality tv news coverage running on the tragic crash of Comair Flight 5191. In preparing the reporting we've noticed a discrepancy in the reporting of the accident aircraft's model number. Some members of the press and the FAA are calling it a CRJ-100. The NTSB's website says it was a CRJ-200.

There are references and details in the body of the initial report. Be sure to scroll down all the way on the item with the video. At the top of the story you'll see the standard tv news item. At the bottom we've included the NTSB factual briefing video as well.

We now also know the lights were off on the take off runway. The co-pilot, who has so far survived, was apparently flying the airplane when the accident occurred.

Update On The Crash Of Comair Flight 5191 - Video News

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Airline News: Safety: Airline Crash

NTSB Sends Go Team To RJ Crash Of Comair Flight 5191

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has sent a "Go Team" to Lexington, Kentucky, to investigate the early morning August 27, 2006 crash of a Comair regional jet carrying 47 passengers and three crew.

We will try to get video of this story as soon as it is available.

NTSB Sends Go Team To RJ Crash Of Comair Flight 5191

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Airline News: Safety: Airplane Crash

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NASA Calls The CEV Orion

Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - AeroSpaceNews.com - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has decided to call the new crew exploration vehicle Orion.

The flagship of NASA's Constellation program to return to the moon and onward to Mars, the Orion spacecraft will eventually replace the Space Shuttle.

A NASA statement claims that Orion will fly with astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2014, while the moon mission will follow in 2020.

NASA Crew Exploration Vehicle Orion

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Space News: Manned Flight: CEV Orion Constellation Program


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Russian Tupolev Tu-154 Airliner Operated By Pulkovo Airlines Crashes in Ukraine

The Soviet-era Tupolev Tu-154 airliner is said by Russian Emergencies Ministry to have had 170 people on board: 160 passengers and 10 flight crew. Read additional details on our news site below. We are working on getting video news footage live asap.
Crash of Pulkovo Airlines Flight 612

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Airline News: Safety: Crash


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Airline Terror Plot with Liquid Explosives in UK Busted

British authorities have arrested 21 suspects in an alleged terrorist plot attempting to carry liquid explosives aboard airline flights in carry-on bags. The flights were reportedly from London Heathrow to California, New York and Washington in the United States and involved US air carriers United Airlines, Continental and American Airlines.

Watch the video clip here:
Airline Terror Plot with Liquid Explosives in UK Busted

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Airline News: Safety: Enforcement

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China Massacres Thousands of Dogs In Chinese Rabies Crisis

All right - I know this is not aviation related, but it is too disturbing not to let folks know about.

China Massacres Thousands of Dogs In Chinese Rabies Crisis

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Dog News: Health: Rabies