STS-116 Begins A 12-Day Mission Supporting The ISS
ANN REALTIME REPORTING 12.09.06 21:00
EST: With the light from a fire not seen in the
Florida night since 2002, shuttle Discovery thundered aloft to
begin a 12-day mission supporting the International Space
Station.
AMR CEO Tom Horton says American Airlines is studying plans to
replace its aging fleet of MD-80 airliners. The airline currently
owns or leases 327 MD-80s with an average age of 17 years.
Russia's space agency, RKA, is willing to let bygones be bygones
and set aside old rivalries in the new space race. It wants to join
NASA in the US agency's planned moon exploration program slated to
place a permanent manned presence on the lunar surface.
A 737 operated by the UK's Excel Airways missed a vehicle on the
runway it was using by only 56 feet according to an official report
released Friday from the country's Air Accident Investigation
Branch.
It seems passengers on airlines these days are being
called on to deal with all sorts of situations. Turbulence,
terrorists, shrinking knee room, unruly passengers, bad or no
meals, flatulence... it's a real jungle up there.
Accepts 'Obstruction' Charge Instead Of 'Conspiracy'
Former Boeing Engineer Kenneth Branch plea bargained a deal with
prosecutors to avoid jail time in a case involving a rivalry
between Boeing and Lockheed for the USAF's Evolved Expendable
Vehicle Launch (EELV) program.
A 78-year-old pilot ditched his Cessna 150 (file photo of
type below) in Humboldt Bay off the northern California coast
Thursday after its engine quit.
FAA Report Says Most Oceanfront Projects Won't Interfere
The city of Myrtle Beach, SC is breathing a collective sigh of
relief after getting a long-awaited report from the
FAA on Thursday. City planners had worried plans for a new
radar facility might quash hopes of further development on the
beach, but an FAA-sponsored study concluded that won't be the
case.
Boeing's Large Cargo Freighter (LCF) doesn't sport the clean,
sharp, astetic lines those who find beauty in airplanes look for.
In fact, it's rather bulbous and dumpy looking -- like a little
brother who spends a little too much time with the video games and
junk food.
Memphis Children's Facility To Receive Gifts & Food
In the midst of all the controlled chaos during the holiday
season at one our nations busiest businesses, some of FedEx's
employees will take a little time to help those less fortunate.
Believe it or not, there is a predictability to communications
frequencies for non-towered airports... and even in some cases for
towered airports as well.
"The weather is the weather. The shuttle is a
difficult, fragile machine. It has enormous capabilities, but it's
fragile."
Source: NASA Administrator Michael Griffin
commenting on the agency's decision to postpone Thursday night's
scheduled launch of the shuttle Discovery because of poor
weather. It would have marked the first night launch for the
shuttle in four years.