Aerospace
U.N. agency moves to kill aircraft battery exemption
February 12, 2013 11:08 am | by JOAN LOWY - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsA U.N. agency that sets global aviation safety standards is moving to prevent aircraft batteries like the one that caught fire on a Boeing 787 last month from being shipped as cargo on passenger planes, people familiar with the effort said.
US: 787 battery approval should be reconsidered
February 7, 2013 7:15 pm | by JOAN LOWY - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsThe U.S. government should reassess its safety approval of the Boeing 787's lithium ion batteries, America's top accident investigator said Thursday, casting doubt on whether the airliner's troubles can be remedied quickly.
NTSB: Plane batteries not necessarily unsafe
February 6, 2013 12:20 pm | by JOAN LOWY - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsThe use of lithium ion batteries to power aircraft systems isn't necessarily unsafe despite a battery fire in one Boeing 787 Dreamliner and smoke in another, but manufacturers need to build in reliable safeguards, the nation's top aviation safety investigator said Wednesday.
Supersonic skydiver reached 844 mph in record jump
February 5, 2013 8:14 am | by Marcia Dunn, AP Aerospace Writer | News | CommentsSupersonic skydiver Felix Baumgartner was faster than he or anyone else thought during his record-setting jump last October from 24 miles up. The Austrian parachutist known as "Fearless Felix" reached 843.6 mph, according to official numbers released Monday. That's equivalent to Mach 1.25, or 1.25 times the speed of sound. His top speed initially was estimated at 10 mph slower at 834 mph, or Mach 1.24.
Japan 787 probe finds thermal runaway in battery
February 5, 2013 2:37 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsJapan's Transport Safety Board says the lithium ion battery aboard a Boeing 787 flight in Japan last month found evidence of the same type of "thermal runaway" seen in a similar incident in Boston. The board said in a report Tuesday that CAT scans and other analysis found damage to all eight cells in the battery that overheated on an All Nippon Airways 787 on Jan. 16, prompting an emergency landing.
AP Exclusive: 787 grounded, but batteries can fly
February 3, 2013 4:34 am | by JOAN LOWY - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsAt the time the government certified Boeing's 787 Dreamliners as safe, federal rules barred the type of batteries used to power the airliner's electrical systems from being carried as cargo on passenger planes because of the fire risk. Now the situation is reversed.
U.S. satellite lost in failed launch from Pacific
February 1, 2013 4:44 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsSea Launch AG says a U.S. communications satellite was lost after a booster rocket carrying it into space failed shortly after its launch from a floating platform in the Pacific. The company said in a statement Friday the Intelsat 27 satellite was lost 40 seconds after the launch due to the failure of the Zenit-3SL rocket.
Japan to send investigators to US for 787 probe
January 31, 2013 10:55 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsJapan's Civil Aviation Bureau is sending investigators looking into problems with Boeing 787 batteries to Seattle, where the aircraft are assembled. The Transport Ministry said members of the team working on the investigation would leave Tokyo on Sunday for Seattle. It provided no further details.
Boeing sticks to production plans, battery for 787
January 30, 2013 3:34 pm | by JOSHUA FREED - AP Business Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsBoeing is sticking with plans to speed up production of its 787 and sees no reason to change the lithium-ion battery design at the center of the troubled plane's problems, its CEO said Wednesday. Boeing's full-speed-ahead approach comes even as it became clear that airlines were replacing 787 batteries more often than Boeing had expected.
NASA testing vintage engine from Apollo 11 rocket
January 28, 2013 9:46 am | by Jay Reeves, Associated Press | News | CommentsYoung engineers who weren't even born when the last Saturn V rocket took off for the moon are testing a vintage engine from the Apollo program. The engine, known to NASA engineers as No. F-6049, was grounded because of a glitch during a test in Mississippi and later sent to the Smithsonian Institution. Now, NASA engineers are using to get ideas on how to develop the next generation of rockets for future missions to the moon and beyond.
Boeing 787 probe shifts to monitoring system maker
January 28, 2013 1:08 am | by YURI KAGEYAMA - AP Business Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsThe joint U.S. and Japanese investigation into the Boeing 787's battery problems has shifted from the battery-maker to the manufacturer of a monitoring system. Japan transport ministry official Shigeru Takano said Monday the probe into battery-maker GS Yuasa was over for now as no evidence was found it was the source of the problems.
U.S. officials defend handling of Boeing 787 mishaps
January 23, 2013 4:10 pm | by JOAN LOWY - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsObama administration officials struggled Wednesday to defend their initial statements that the Boeing 787 is safe while promising a transparent probe of mishaps involving the aircraft's batteries. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood stood by his Jan. 11 assertion that the 787, Boeing's newest and most technologically advanced airliner, was safe.
Pentagon researches new life for dead satellites
January 23, 2013 10:42 am | by Alicia Chang, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsWhen satellites retire, certain parts—such as antennas and solar panels—often still work. There's currently no routine effort to salvage and reuse satellite parts once they're launched into space. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is spending $180 million to test technologies that could scavenge defunct communication satellites for their valuable parts and recycle them to build brand new ones for cheap.
Boeing investigation turns to battery maker
January 21, 2013 4:13 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsJapanese and U.S. investigators are conducting a probe of the maker of the lithium ion batteries used in Boeing's grounded 787 jets. Tsutomu Nishijima, a spokesman for GS Yuasa, said Monday that the investigators visited the company's headquarters in Kyoto, Japan and that Yuasa was cooperating with the probe.
Aviation technology advances, U.S. tries to keep up
January 20, 2013 2:22 pm | by DAVID KOENIG - AP Airlines Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsThe battery that caught fire in a Japan Airlines 787 in Boston last week was not overcharged, but U.S. investigators said Sunday there could still be problems with wiring or other charging components. An examination of the flight data recorder indicated that the battery didn't exceed its designed voltage of 32 volts, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement.
Airbus confident of avoiding Boeing battery issue
January 17, 2013 4:47 pm | by CARLO PIOVANO - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsAirbus said it was confident its planes would not encounter the same technical problems afflicting archrival Boeing's 787s, even though they use the same kind of batteries that have this week raised security concerns. The company may nevertheless be affected eventually, experts say. If investigations show that authorities had approved parts for the 787 that turned out to be deficient, Airbus may face tougher tests when it tries to launch a new plane this year.
Space station to get $18 million balloon-like room
January 17, 2013 3:07 pm | by Hannah Dreier, Associated Press | News | CommentsNASA is partnering with a commercial space company in a bid to replace the cumbersome "metal cans" that now serve as astronauts' homes in space with inflatable bounce-house-like habitats that can be deployed on the cheap. A $17.8 million test project will send to the International Space Station an inflatable room that can be compressed into a 7-foot tube for delivery.
Boeing: 787 production continues as planned
January 17, 2013 12:37 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsBoeing says production of its 787 is continuing as planned, even though airlines have grounded the plane because of safety concerns. Federal aviation officials grounded the plane until they can figure out a solution to electrical problems that have caused one battery to catch fire and another to leak in the past two weeks. It's not clear how long the grounding will last.
Space station to get $18 million balloon-like room
January 16, 2013 8:59 pm | by HANNAH DREIER - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsNASA is partnering with a commercial space company in a bid to replace the cumbersome "metal cans" that now serve as astronauts' homes in space with inflatable bounce-house-like habitats that can be deployed on the cheap. A $17.8 million test project will send to the International Space Station an inflatable room that can be compressed into a 7-foot tube for delivery, officials said Wednesday in a news conference at North Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace.
Boeing defends Dreamliner, safety questions remain
January 9, 2013 6:35 pm | by JOSHUA FREED - AP Business Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsBoeing's 787 is supposed to revolutionize air travel. It just needs to get out of its own way first. The new plane is undoubtedly Boeing's most visible. It's built from composites instead of aluminum and comes with the promise of the most comfortable ride in the sky. At $200 million each, 787s are an important part of Boeing's future, even though it will be a while before it makes money on them.
To the moon? Firm hopes to sell $1.5 billion trips
December 7, 2012 8:49 am | by Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsA new venture called Golden Spike Co. was announced on Thursday that hopes to offer trips for two to the moon for a cool $1.5 billion. Some space experts are skeptical of the firm’s financial ability to get to the moon, but the team of former NASA executives believe they can combine the technical might of Apollo with the marketing of Apple.
Below surface, moon reveals a "shattered" history
December 6, 2012 12:07 pm | by Alicia Chang, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsResults presented Wednesday at the meeting of the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco show that the moon took a beating in its early days, far more than previously believed. Detailed gravity mapping by NASA’s Ebb and Flow spacecraft show the extent to which the moon was broken up and shattered from bombardment by asteroids and comets.
Mars redux: NASA to launch Curiosity-like rover
December 5, 2012 9:53 am | by Alicia Chang, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsThe space agency on Tuesday announced plans to launch another mega-rover to the red planet in 2020 that will be modeled after the wildly popular Curiosity. To keep costs down, engineers will borrow Curiosity's blueprints, recycle spare parts where possible and use proven technology including the novel landing gear that delivered the car-size rover inside an ancient crater in August.
Judge backs NASA lab in work discrimination case
November 5, 2012 10:32 am | News | CommentsA California judge has tentatively ruled in favor of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by a former computer specialist who alleged he was singled out in part because of his belief in intelligent design.
Rover finds Mars atmosphere free of methane
November 5, 2012 10:12 am | News | CommentsA set of instruments aboard the rover has ingested and analyzed samples of the atmosphere collected near the "Rocknest" site in Gale Crater where the Curiosity rover is stopped for research. With these initial sniffs of Martian atmosphere, preliminary results reveal little to no methane. Methane is of interest as a simple precursor chemical for life.
