Also: Eastern 980, FPV Races, RC Airshow, Skywriting Stamp, WASP Doris Lockness, Canadian Aero-$$$, Camcopter S-100

A soccer ball originally packed onto space shuttle Challenger in 1986 is now orbiting the Earth on board the International Space Station. The soccer ball was signed and presented to the late NASA astronaut Ellison Onizuka by soccer players -- including his daughter -- from Clear Lake High School, near NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Onizuka, of course, was one of seven astronauts on board Challenger on Jan. 28, 1986, when it came apart shortly after liftoff. It’s a startling statistic... but as many as two thirds of the Navy's fleet of F/A-18 Hornets have been grounded due to lack of maintenance, according to Navy officials. The inability of Congress to pass a budget over the past several years has led to severe shortfalls in maintenance for aircraft, as well as other priorities. Many of the grounded aircraft are waiting -- and waiting -- for parts to be delivered from the Navy's aviation depot backlog. Congress has not produced a budget for nine consecutive years, relying instead on Continuing Resolutions to keep the government running. The first enlisted remotely piloted aircraft pilot selection board met at the Air Force Personnel Center Feb. 6-9, 2017 to identify the next enlisted group to attend RPA pilot training as part of the deliberate approach to enhance the Air Force’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission. AFPC has received complete application packages from 185 Airmen. All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne!!!

Airborne 02.10.17 is chock full of info in this Daily News Episode, Thursday, February 10th, 2017... Presented by Aero-TV veteran videographer and Airborne Hosts Brianne Cross, Christopher Odom, and Laura Hutson, and is supported by ANN CEO/Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell, Chief Videographer Nathan Cremisino, and Aero-Journalist Tom Patton, this episode covers:

• Soccer Ball Becomes Orbiting Memento Of Challenger Accident 
• Only A Third Of The Navy's Strike Fighters Are Airworthy, Leaders Say 
• NTSB Completes Evaluation Of Materials From Eastern Airlines Flight 980 
• 185 Airmen To Meet First Enlisted RPA Pilot Selection Board 
• AVW: NewBeginnings 2017 @ Jax RC
• Dates Set For Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor’s RC Airshow 
• USPS Issues New Love Skywriting Forever Stamp 
• Gone West: Pioneering Female Pilot Doris Lockness 
• Canadian Government, Bombardier Announce Significant Investment 
• Camcopter S-100 UAS Wins Contract With RAN 

Get Comprehensive, Real-Time, 24/7 coverage of the latest aviation and aerospace stories anytime, at aero-news.net. And be sure to join us again next week for the next edition of "Airborne Unlimited" here on Aero-TV. Thanks for watching. See you, again, tomorrow!

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