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| FAA Grounds SpaceX
Super Heavy Rocket April 25, 2023 The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has placed future launches of the SpaceX Super Heavy rocket on hold following last week's failed attempt to launch the spacecraft for the first time. The grounding was announced after last week's launch caused damage on the ground and created what was estimated to be a six-mile dust cloud that wildlife advocates say created havoc on the environment in the area. The rocket, which became unstable about four minutes after launch, was deliberately exploded by SpaceX. Reports say debris from the exploded rocket was found washing up on beaches along the Gulf of Mexico for hours after the failed attempt to place the Starship in orbit. |
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| Privately-Funded Lunar
Vehicle to Land on Moon This Evening April 25, 2023 UPDATE: Published reports now say that the Japanese company, iSpace, has lost contact with the lunar vehicle scheduled to land on the Moon this evening. This has led to speculation the vehicle has crashed on its descent to the lunar surface. The first privately-funded lunar vehicle is scheduled to land on the Moon tonight, April 25th, at 9:40 p.m. Pacific time. The vehicle is funded by a Japanese company, iSpace. The vehicle, known as the Hakuto-R Series 1 Lander, is carrying two moon rovers; one for Japan and one for the United Arab Emirates. iSpace plans on live coverage of tonight's event on it's YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/@ispace9464. The iSpace lander was launched in December on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and entered lunar orbit on March 21st. |
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| Two Airlines Experience
Emergency Situations Last Week April 23, 2023 Passengers on two airline flights experienced scary situations last week. On Tuesday, April 18th, a United Airlines flight that had departed Bradley International Airport near Hartford, CT (KBDL), returned to the airport after the pilot declared an emergency. According to reports, a cockpit window had been left unlatched and opened after takeoff. After landing safely, passengers had to wait six hours for another aircraft to be placed in service to continue their trip. The flight was heading to Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, on Thursday, April 20th, passengers seated on the right side of an an American Airlines plane taxiing at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (KCLT) noticed fire coming from the wing. The takeoff was aborted and the plane returned to the gate. American Airlines did not release a statement specifically stating what had happened, only that the plane, an Airbus A321) had experienced a "mechanical issue." The plane was scheduled to go to Dallas-Fort Worth. |
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| SpaceX Super Heavy
Rocket Explodes After Takeoff April 20, 2023 In what was the first test launch of the SpaceX Super Heavy Rocket in preparation for man's return to the Moon, the rocket exploded approximately four minutes after liftoff from the SpaceX Launch facility in Texas this morning. The explosion occured after the Starship failed to separate from the actual rocket, sending the entire system tumbling end over end. Although not confirmed, the explosion could have been deliberately executed by SpaceX engineers as a safety precaution. |
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| NASA Discloses Where
Satellite Debris Hit Earth April 20, 2023 A decommissioned NASA satellite that re-entered the Earth's atmosphere last night ended up dumping any remaining debris over the Sahara Desert. There have been no indications of any injuries or damage. The satellite, known as the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, was launched in 2002 and was decommissioned in 2018. It's main mission was to study the Sun. |
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| SpaceX Starship Could
Launch Tomorrow April 19, 2023 The SpaceX Starship launched by the Super Heavy Rocket could launch tomorrow morning (Thursday) after Monday's launch was scrubbed at the last minute due to a faulty valve. The launch will be the first flight test of the system designed to take man back to the Moon after 50 years. The Super Heavy rocket is the largest, most-power rocket ever used, taller and more powerful than the Saturn V used by NASA during the Apollo missions. SpaceX will carry tomorrow mornings launch on their YouTube Channel. They have a launch window of slightly over an hour that begins at 8:28 a.m. Central time. |
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| Canadian Airlines
Flight Goes Off Runway in Ontario April 19, 2023 A DeHaviland Dash-8, carrying 48 passengers and eight crewmembers overran the runway they landed on at Sault St, Marie Airport (CYAM) in Ontario on Monday, April 17. There were no injuries and all were evacuated safely. Weather reports during the time of the incident, approximately 10:20 p.m. local time, indicated the visibility was five miles in rain. Unlike many aircraft used by airlines, the DeHaviland Dash-8 does not have evacuation slides, meaning passengers departing in an emergency must use retractable stairs or depart from an emergency exit and jump to the surface. |
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| Decommissioned NASA
Satellite Expected to Return to the Earth's Atmosphere Tonight April 19, 2023 After being in space for 20 years, a NASA satellite is expected to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere tonight, Wednesday, at approximately 9:30 p.m. Eastern time. While most of the 600 pound satellite is expected to burn up during re-entry, some debris could make it back to Earth. Despite that fact, NASA says the chance of any injuries or damage on Earth is "low." However, the odds of any injuries is quite a bit higher than other events, with NASA saying there is a 1 in 2,467 chance someone on Earth could be injured when any remains from the satellite crashes. The satellite, known as the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, was launched in 2002 and decommissioned in 2018. NASA did not release any likely areas that could be affected by and debris. This event has once again launched debate on how dangerous space debris is becoming. |
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| New Inspections May Be
Required For Some Models of the Boeing 747 April 19, 2023 The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would create an Airworthiness Directive for the Model 8 series of the Boeing 747. The proposed Airworthiness Directive comes after cracks were discovered in "stringers common to the end fittings" at multiple stringer locations. The FAA says the discovery creates a serious safety issue with the aircraft and proposes that routine inspections be required of the areas affected and that any cracks be reported to the agency. |
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