Note: This post is being updated with the latest information
Two T-6 Texans had a mid-air collision today at the Reno Air Races, bringing a tragic end to the final ever Reno Air Race event that has been held every autumn for nearly 60 years.
Eyewitnesses on scene have informed us that both planes collided at the end of the T-6 Gold Race, after crossing the checkered flag as they climbed to cool down. Both pilots Nick Macy and Chris Rushing were killed, confirmed by race event officials this evening.
Macy piloted Six-Cat and Rushing flew Baron’s Revenge. Families of both pilots have been notified and support services are onsite as they deal with this tragedy.
“RARA is doing everything we can to support the families and friends of the involved pilots,” says the event organizers on their social media. “After conversations with the families and with the race classes, we have made the decision to cancel the remainder of the races.”
“I am completely devastated and heartbroken today,” said Fred Telling, Chairman of the Reno Air Racing Association and President of the T-6 Class. “These two pilots weren’t just an integral part of the National Championship Air Race family, they were a part of my family. My heart goes out to their own families and to all of the spectators and fans who have so enthusiastically supported us this week.”
The official livestream was cut off immediately when the incident occurred. Nobody on the ground was hurt, and no homes or nearby property were impacted.
UPDATE @ 7:30pm CT with information on the aircraft involved. See Facebook post below:
UPDATED: As of 6:30pm ET on Sept 18, 2023, the F-35 debris field has been found, confirmed by Joint Base Charleston to local news media. The crash scene is in Williamsburg County, a couple hours north of the base. Local, county, and state authorities are assisting on scene as the investigation continues, but no additional information has been provided.
Marine Corps acting commandant, Eric Smith, has issued a 2-day stand-down this week for all aviation units inside and outside of the country, to discuss safety measures and procedures.
FOUND! F-35 Debris Located After Pilot Ejects Near Charleston 4
ORIGINAL REPORT SEP 18:
A Marine Corps F-35B pilot safely ejected from his stealth fighter jet this afternoon next to Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina. Details are few as of now, but base PA has confirmed the incident.
The pilot ejected with last radar contact a few miles northeast of Lake Moultrie. Local emergency dispatch chatter said the pilot ejected from 2,000 ft, a few miles north of Lake Moultrie. The pilot made it out safely, and then showed up a several miles south in a backyard of a residential neighborhood. The weather was horrible at the time of the accident, but unclear if that played any part.
FOUND! F-35 Debris Located After Pilot Ejects Near Charleston 5FOUND! F-35 Debris Located After Pilot Ejects Near Charleston 6
The pilot was sent to a local hospital to be checked out. His wingman landed in another F-35 back to Joint Base Charleston.
The pilot and jet are based out of Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina. Operating with VMFAT-501 with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
No smoke has been reported, which would be an obvious sign that a jet went down. There are no reports of property damage either. As of now, the jet has not been located.
Few planes in aviation history can match the lethality and reputation of the F-15 Eagle. Several variants have been produced over the years, and no end is in sight for the bird as a new generation of EX Eagles comes online.
But there’s one Eagle flying which is quite special compared to any other. It’s operated by NASA, and it’s the fastest and oldest F-15 still flying in the world.
NASA 836 is a highly modified F-15B used primarily for testing advanced propulsion concepts. It’s based at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California.
But the supersonic flying wind tunnel also serves NASA and the greater aerospace industry and taxpayer in other ways. It’s used for crew training, pilot proficiency and safety chase support for other research aircraft. It also conducts a wide range of various flight research experiments. It can carry one of several flight test fixtures mounted underneath it to help conduct those experiments.
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1,000 pounds lighter than any other F-15, but with modern engines
The jet first entered service in 1974 with the USAF. NASA acquired it in 1993 from the Hawaii Air National Guard. NASA then modified it to support their test programs. They made it 1,000 pounds lighter than any other F-15 flying in the world, and installed new modern engines.
The age of the jet, combined with its lighter weight and more powerful Pratt and Whitney F100-PW-220 turbofan engines, makes 836 the oldest and fastest flying F-15 in the world. The engines are equipped with more advanced technology and include digital electronic controls, as well as improved durability and reliability.
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The engines can produce almost 24,000 pounds of thrust each in full afterburner. The crew regularly take the jet past Mach 2, at altitudes of 40,000 to 60,000 feet. Speeds are limited to Mach 2 when a flight test fixture is mounted beneath the fuselage.
Supersonic flight research
Some experiments and research the jet has conducted include investigating the suppression of sonic booms, improving airflow and fuel efficiency of jet engines at a wide variety of speeds, and even flying space shuttle insulating foam at Mach 2 to better understand how insulating foam loss behaves during launch.
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Foam loss punched a hole through space shuttle Columbia’s thermal protection in 2003, which killed the crew when they hit reentry. NASA’s F-15 helped make a safe return to flight for the space shuttle program.
The jet operates with a unique data acquisition system onboard. It includes a research airdata system for the jet itself, a GPS navigation package, a nose boom that contains an airdata probe, a digital data recorder and telemetry antennas. An on-board video system also monitors from the rear seat and transmits high-speed video and photography to researchers on the ground.
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More recently, 836 along with NASA’s other F-15 have been conducting Shock-Sensing Probe (SSP) research flights. NASA mounted a data probe on the nose of 836, to test its ability to measure the shock waves of another aircraft flying at supersonic speeds. The jet will fly with NASA’s X-59 soon, using the SSP to measure its unique shock waves in flight, helping validate the X-plane’s ability to reduce loud sonic booms to quiet sonic “thumps.”
NASA’s F-15s are an invaluable asset to America’s aerospace industry. The research trickles down to helping make flight safer and more efficient for everyone.
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When I visited the crew last year at Edwards, they made sure to point out that their 836 could leave any other F-15 in their dust. If I had something that fast I’d brag about it too. Sure wish they had offered me a ride.
The NTSB has released their final report on a fatal 2021 crash of a 1966 Cessna 182H in St Louis, Michigan. They found that the likely cause was due to the pilot was posting to social media 35 seconds before the deadly accident occurred.
It’s a sad story that was completely preventable. Unfortunately we occasionally see pilots post on social media at inopportune times. For 23 year old Slade Martin it cost him his life.
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NTSB findings
Martin was the only soul onboard, and was posting to Snapchat during a low-level pipeline patrol just before he hit a radio tower guy wire. The plane’s left wing was sheared off, sending the Cessna into the ground 0.3 miles away. It then burst into flames.
“Based on the known information, it is likely the pilot was distracted while he used his mobile device in the minutes before the accident and did not maintain an adequate visual lookout to ensure a safe flight path to avoid the radio tower and its guy wires,” says the NTSB. “Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s unnecessary use of his mobile device during the flight, which diminished his attention/monitoring of the airplane’s flight path.”
Investigators used radar, GPS data and screenshots from a friend of Martin, showing the Snapchat post. Snapchat posts only stay visible for 24 hours. So investigators could not verify until a friend provided screenshots.
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Final minutes before tragedy
No evidence of a mechanical issue or failure was ever found. Below are the NTSB’s findings about Martin’s last minutes before the tragic accident occurred:
“About 15 seconds before the accident, the airplane was about 0.65 miles southeast of the tower in a shallow right turn when it entered a climb from 475 ft agl. At the final radar return, about 600 ft east-southeast of the tower, the airplane’s altitude, calibrated airspeed, and climb rate were about 1,370 ft msl, 104 knots, and 1,575 ft per minute, respectively. The airplane’s final altitude was 370 ft below the top of the radio tower and its ground track was toward the guy wires located on the northeast side of the radio tower. Based on the airplane’s ground track and rapidly increasing climb rate, the pilot was likely trying to avoid the tower guy wires during the final moments of the flight.”
A New Zealand couple is demanding a refund after flying 13 hours next to a flatulent bulldog on Singapore Airlines.
According to the New Zealand news outlet Stuff, the man and woman were flying from Paris home to New Zealand. But they got more than they bargained for, as the small dog next to them started drooling and ripping off a symphony of farts they will never forget.
Gill and Warren Press were already unhappy that they weren’t warned they’d be sat next to the service dog. They paid extra for premium economy, but cooperated and sat down for the long flight half-way around the world.
It started with snorting
“I thought it was my husband’s phone, but we looked down and realized it was the dog breathing,” said the wife, Gill Press.
The owner and dog had the window, with the dog on the floor, drooling all over Gill’s husband’s leg. They asked for new seats, but premium-economy was full. When offered economy, they refused.
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Then the farts started.
Eventually, they just couldn’t take it anymore. The couple finally decided to move to the empty economy seats offered by the flight attendants.
“We didn’t get the experience we paid for”
An incident report was filed. After a couple weeks the airline offered the couple $74 vouchers for their website. The couple refused, at which time the airline offered $200 vouchers for each of them.
Gill says they paid $3000 for their tickets. The vouchers didn’t reflect the difference in value between the premium economy seats they bought, and the economy seats they were relocated to. They want the full amount difference for the time they were in economy.
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“We didn’t receive the experience we paid for,” she said.
Singapore Airlines has repeatedly apologized about the incident. Whether or not the Press’s will get what they want, who knows. But we expect any future flights they won’t be sitting next to a service dog.
Not an isolated incident
Such incidents occur more than most people realize. A dog defecated on its owner on an American Airlines flight in late 2017, before leaping onto a passenger’s lap. Loud and aggressive dogs have bitten passengers, with other incidents reported many times since by passengers and crews.
American surveyed 18,000 passengers during one weekend in May 2018. They found nearly 58 percent said only trained service dogs should be allowed in the cabin. They also surveyed 7,347 employees, with 65 percent saying they have experienced disruptions involving comfort animals. Nearly 25 percent said aggressive and threatening behavior was most common, while 11 percent reported animals peeing and pooping in the cabin.
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio has just set a new U.S. spaceflight record, eclipsing the previous record of 355 consecutive days set by astronaut Mark Vande Hei aboard the International Space Station (ISS). And he’s not done yet.
Rubio is a member of Expedition 68, launched on Sep 21, 2022 aboard a Russian Soyuz. It’s his first mission to space too, but it was not supposed to last this long.
The Soyuz MS-22 rocket is launched to the International Space Station with Expedition 68 astronaut Frank Rubio of NASA, and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos onboard, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo: NASA
Extended mission
Rubio was only supposed to be on the ISS for 6 months, which is standard. But half-way through the mission, their docked Russian space capsule sprung a coolant leak when it was hit by space debris. But it was bad enough that Russia deemed it unsafe for anyone to fly back to Earth in.
Russia launched a replacement capsule to the ISS for them, and sent the leaking capsule back to Earth empty.
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“Rubio’s journey in space embodies the essence of exploration,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson in a statement via social media. “As he breaks records as the longest serving NASA US astronaut in space, he also paves the way for future generations of astronauts. Your dedication is truly out of this world, Frank!”
Russia holds the world’s longest spaceflight records
Russian cosmonauts have everyone beat in records for longest space missions. Valeri Polyakov logged 437 continuous days in space in the mid-90s on the MIR space station.
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As for TOTAL time in space over a career on multiple missions? Cosmonauts own that too. Gennadi Padalka has logged 879 days on 5 spaceflights. As for the U.S., former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson holds the American record, with 675 days.
Rubio will become first American to spend full year in space
Rubio is set to break another American spaceflight record soon too, when he returns to Earth on Sept. 27. When he does, he will have been in space for 371 days. That’s longer than any American has ever been in space on a single flight.
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“I think this [duration] is really significant, in the sense that it teaches us that the human body can endure, it can adapt and — as we prepare to push back to the moon and then from there, onward onthopefully Mars and further on into the solar system,” said Rubio in an interview with Good Morning America. “I think it’s really important that we learn just how the human body learns to adapt, and how we can optimize that process so that we can improve our performance as we explore further and further out from Earth.”
A petition filed with the FAA last month is requesting an update to credit military MQ-9 Reaper pilot hours towards FAA Commercial and Restricted Airline Transport Pilot certificates. This limited change would reduce the total hours required for some military pilots to obtain a restricted or full Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) licences. Supporters also want other Group 5 UAVs (full flight controls, integrated into US and international airspace) included.
Flying a Group 5 UAV is similiar to piloting an conventional aircraft with a full set of controls, instruments, and radios. One of the only differences between a UAV and crewed aircraft is that the UAV pilot’s life is not in danger, nor are they flying people. Pilots still conduct systems checks, fuel planning, airspace planning, weather planning, communication and most other tasks typically associated with professional flight. They also fly the aircraft in a bay not unlike a simulator. They adhere to all FAA and ICAO flight rules and communicate with the appropriate ATC agencies in the airspace where they fly. The aircraft they pilot is also much more complex than a traditional drone, small UAV or even a single engine Cessna. So the question is, why is the experience considered invalid for professional licenses like an ATP?
Petition details
The petition (Docket (FAA-2023-1847) was filed by a USAF drone pilot named Tyler Jackson. And he makes some interesting observations. Some screenshots below:
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Jackson notes that MQ-9 pilots execute the same duties as their crewed aircraft counterparts. They operate and control the Reaper with traditional aircraft controls, and have all the equipment available and displayed to them for day/night VFR and IFR. They perform, supervise, or direct navigation, surveillance, reconnaissance, and weapons employment operations and have mastered all aspects of advanced aviation. The USAF would not give them Reapers to fly otherwise.
He also notes that MQ-9 pilots have the same responsibilities as their crewed military counterparts. They are graded against many of the same general evaluation criteria, and undergo evaluation on an annual basis in the instrument, qualification, mission, and emergency procedure areas for their aircraft while being held to the same rigorous evaluation criteria. You can read more about that in the petition hyperlinked above.
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Reaper pilots are well versed in theory of flight, air navigation, meteorology, flying directives, aircraft operating procedures, and mission tactics.
The petition also offers exceptions (see below).
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MQ-9 pilots would help with the pilot shortage
“The exorbitant cost of obtaining flight certificates, whether at the Commercial or ATP levels persists, creating obstacles for potential manned pilot vacancies,” says Jackson in the petition. He adds, “Due to the unconventional nature of flying remotely piloted group 5 aircraft and heavy reliance on simulator-based training during undergraduate flight training for MQ-9 pilots, crediting MQ-9 flying hours towards FAA flight certificates may allow for greater flexibility and experimentation in the aviation industry.”
According to a 2014 Government Accountability Office report, the cost to train a crewed aircraft pilot costs over 8.5 times more than a UAV pilot. There is no lack of interest to pursue aviation careers, but the costs are the major roadblock for many who would otherwise pursue.
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Jackson believes the proposed action could encourage adoption of alternative training methodologies, technologies, and approaches to civilian pilot education. Doing so could lower the costs for aspiring pilots by making training and education more affordable.
“The talent pool from the MQ-9 community is vast and could help pilots combine their full breadth of diverse experience and technologically advanced training to be great applicants for future FAA pilot shortages-especially when these applicants may only need 1/3 of their MQ-9 hours to fill the gap in hours to qualify for their restricted ATP,” says a former USAF pilot on the petition. “It has been a shame for many years to not allow these qualified candidates to have any credit for their diversity of well-rounded experience.”
In the history of sports and entertainment, few can top professional wrestling. And there’s a few legends that stand out, who helped make the industry what it is. The “Nature Boy” Ric Flair is one of them. He’s a household name, but a plane crash in 1975 when he was 26 years old almost ended his legendary career just when it was taking off.
“We were going from Charlotte to Wilmington, NC,” recalled Flair in a recent podcast with Joe Rogan. “Five of us went on the plane, but didn’t know at the time that the plane (a Cessna 310) was carrying no fuel because we were 1,400 lbs over gross.”
Overweight plane without enough fuel
The pilot, Joseph Michael Farkas, dumped fuel on takeoff due to being overweight. It would end up being the last plane he ever flew. According to Flair, he didn’t have a pilot license, and previous flights together were questionable.
In another podcast (see below), he recalled “We should have known there was something wrong with the guy, because he hit a jet stream one time… the plane went upside-down.”
Flair thought no big deal. Well, the pilot’s questionable skills would became a very big deal on the way to Wilmington.
“We hit a headwind, about 7,000 or 8,000 ft, and passed the point of no return,” recalled Flair. “He should have landed in Raleigh to refuel, but figured we had enough to make the final 100 miles.”
Flair was joined by friends Johnny Valentine, Bob Bruggers, Tim Woods, and David Crockett. Valentine could see the fuel gauge, and kept looking back at Flair. Shortly after, the right engine stopped. Pulling the reserve fuel did no good since they were empty. It wasn’t too long after before the left engine quit.
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The plane nose-dived like a brick falling out of the sky. Farkas was able to level it out, but hit the treetops approaching the runway at over 200 mph. The Cessna tore through the treetops, just missed a water tower and hit a pole, before crashing to the ground a quarter-mile short of the runway.
Half the souls onboard broke their backs
The plane came to a stop on a railroad embankment. All the seats broke loose, with everyone flying forward like a can being crushed.
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Flair’s back was broken. Farkas was unconscious. Valentine’s back was broken. Bruggers back was broken. Woods’ ribs were broken. Crockett suffered head injuries, his mouth was ripped open, several teeth shattered, and he had a shoulder dislocated.
All six were flown to a nearby hospital. The pilot never regained consciousness and died a couple months later. Valentine ended up paralyzed for life. The others were able to heal and recover, although they now had to deal with healing from the mental and emotional trauma of it.
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Flair was originally in Valentine’s seat
Flair was originally in Valentine’s seat on the flight, but complained until Valentine switched seats with him because he did not like sitting in front. That one decision changed both of their lives forever.
Crockett wasn’t even supposed to be there. He took his brother’s place on the trip because his brother had the flu and could not go.
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Fate is a strange thing.
Doctors told Flair he would never wrestle again. He was back in the ring 6 months later, as the Nature Boy, a persona that the world would come to know. The rest, is history. WOOOOOOOOO!!
Imagine you’re surrounded with the enemy closing in. You’re running out of ammo, and so is air support, and the only way out, is to grab onto a Cobra attack helicopter anywhere you can and hold on for dear life as it flies you away and you get to live a long blessed life.
It sounds like an action movie, but it really happened 55 years ago, and the pilot who did it – U.S. Army Capt. Larry L. Taylor – has received the Medal of Honor for his heroism.
“When I called Larry to let him know he finally was receiving this recognition, his response was, ‘I thought you had to do something to receive the Medal of Honor,'” recalled President Joe Biden. “Well, Larry, you sure as hell did something,” said Biden.
A call for help
On the night of June 16, 1968 Taylor acted with “gallantry and intrepidity, going above and beyond the call of duty” to aid 4 soldiers who met trouble on a reconnaissance mission northeast of Saigon. At the time, Taylor was a 1st Lt. team leader with Troop D (Air), 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 1st Infantry Division, near the hamlet of Ap Go Cong.
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With their night vision, the recon team realized that hostiles had completely surrounded them. They would inevitably be caught, so team leader Bob Elsner called for help.
Taylor got the call, hearing “we’re surrounded, we’re surrounded” on his radio. He and his co-pilot and another Cobra arrived on scene shortly after, but needed Elsner to pop flares so Taylor could locate them. Unfortunately, it also exposed them to the enemy, who immediately opened fire.
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All hell breaks loose
Both Cobras rained hell upon their foes with rockets and bullets to save the recon team for over a half-hour. But ammo and fuel does not last long. As they were running out, the enemy was closing in. And all the recon team had left were a few grenades and knives.
A Huey was called, but the request denied because the Army believed it stood 0 chance of surviving. They were on their own, with nothing left to fight with, and no help coming. Both Cobras were ordered to return to base. Taylor refused.
“I knew that if I didn’t go down and get ’em, they wouldn’t make it,” recalls Taylor.
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Both Cobras unloaded everything they had left. Taylor used his landing lights to distract the enemy, while the recon team headed for a location Taylor told them. He then flew over to extract them.
“We were able to make a breakout finally because he had directed us through the very weakest portion of the enemy envelopment,” said David Hill, one of the member of the recon team that night. Hill attended the ceremony awarding Taylor’s Medal of Honor.
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Taylor landed right beside the team
“I’m on the ground for no more than 10 seconds — you and your folks find a place on my ship and I’m gonna get us all out of here,” he ordered.
Cobras only have 2 seats, and both were taken by Taylor and his co-pilot. Under enemy fire, with bullet holes tearing through the helicopter, the soldiers grabbed on anywhere they could, standing on the Cobra’s skids and clinging to its rocket launchers.
With everyone onboard, the soldiers banged the helicopter twice to signal the GO to takeoff. Taylor got airborne without hesitation.
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Such a feat had never been accomplished, or even attempted, according to the Army.
But they were not free of danger yet. They cleared small arms fire, but with 4 guys handing onto the outside of a flying helicopter, he had to fly carefully. They could easily fall, or cramp and freeze from the 150 mph wind and then fall. Taylor flew them to a nearby water treatment facility under American control.
Medal of Honor Recipient Larry Taylor and the Men he saved. Photo: Dave Hill
“The four of them ran out in front of the helicopter, and then they turned around and lined up, and all four of them saluted,” said Taylor.
With that, they went their separate ways and life went on. Hill and Elsner met Taylor again in 1999, where they could finally shake his hand and say thank you.
After nearly 60 years, this month will mark the end of the Reno Air Races, which is scheduled for Sep 13-17 at the Reno-Stead airport. But the big question is, what comes next? Will the races continue elsewhere?
The Reno Air Race Association (RARA) has not announced anything, but another organization has, and they are aiming for a new air race event outside of Las Vegas next year. But is it all talk?
New spaceport will host the races
The races would be held 65 miles west of Vegas, near Pahrump, at a new Las Vegas Spaceport. The event is scheduled for Oct. 25-27, 2024.
There’s just one problem. The place doesn’t exist yet. The 240-acre area planned for the spaceport has no infrastructure to support such an event, or anything else. There isn’t even an airport, nor full funding to break ground. Yet.
According to Shelter Realty, the commercial real estate developer only recently began trying to get investors for the reportedly $310 million spaceport plan. They would then form a publicly-traded company and start building.
Last year 39 million tourists spent $12 billion in Vegas on gaming alone. The new spaceport hopes to tap into that purse. The facility would have a launching pad, a runway for spaceplanes, control tower, flight school, and a 200-room resort and casino.
The FAA has already licensed over a dozen spaceports around the country, with several dozen companies currently seeking licenses to operate space vehicles.
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The new Vegas races
As for the new Vegas Air Races, local Vegas news station KSNV reports that organizers expect more than 500 vendors and 25,000 spectators, with drone races, rocket launch demos and live music.
Organizers also claim racers will push 500 mph, so it’s safe to assume fans will see an unlimited and jet class, same as in Reno.
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“Ensuring safety is paramount as we execute our plan to draw visitors to the Las Vegas Spaceport and establish our brand,” said Robert Lauer, CEO of the Las Vegas Spaceport. “Our upcoming Air Races event in the coming year will serve as a demonstration, not only for the FAA but also for the public, reaffirming our unwavering commitment to safety compliance.”
The entire idea spaceport and races is an ambitious plan, and will no doubt cost a lot more than $310 million. Just ask Elon and SpaceX. But the optimistic timeframe seems unrealistic. Even if they had all the required permits and paperwork and funding to break ground today, a proper large runway resurfacing can take up to a year. Any airport in a year would be bare bones.
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However, it is great that people are trying. The potential is definitely there. One can hope. But some racers flying other races in the meantime, such as Andrew Findlay, who has dominated in the Reno “Sport Class” for years flying as #30 “One Moment Air Racing”.
“Sport class now has accreditation and will be doing future races. We had one in Madras, Oregon last week,” says Findlay. “We are planning a second location the end of October.”
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Findlay and several other races like the Vegas idea, but have their doubts for the reasons outlined above. The event itself is doable if the facility is built, but doing it next year seems far-fetched at best.
Four astronauts are back on Earth today, following a nominal return last night from the International Space Station.
Their return wraps up a 6-month stay on the orbiting science outpost. People across half the state of Florida were given a rare and spectacular look at the dramatic fireball reentry. And we captured it on video.
Flying in a fireball like a shooting star
When returning to Earth, spacecraft have to first slam into the atmosphere. This helps to greatly slow down their velocity, but it also creates an enormous amount of friction, which turns into a plasma ball of fire surrounding the spacecraft as hot as the surface of the sun.
Just imagine rubbing your hands together so fast it creates a fireball. It’s the same reason you see a shooting star. It’s dust and rocks from comets and asteroids slamming into our atmosphere with so much friction they explode.
Historically, spacecraft reentry usually occurred over the open ocean, although the space shuttles sometimes reentered across the mainland U.S. (before the Columbia disaster in 2003).
Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, left, NASA astronaut Warren “Woody” Hoburg, second from left, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, second from right, and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, right, are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. Photo Credit: NASA
NASA and SpaceX always have numerous location options for splashing down, in case of bad weather, rough seas or logistical issues at a primary location. Last night’s splashdown was targeted for the coast of Jacksonville, bringing the reentry over the center of the state and within view of millions of people.
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It’s as impressive as the launch too. Appearing out of the western horizon like a bright missile streaking east. It was bright it cast shadows 100 miles away (where I was located). Counties close to the reentry path also heard the sonic booms.
The international crew of NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, as well as UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, spent a total of 186 days in space and logged 79 million miles traveled.
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Lot of science accomplished on the ISS
According to NASA, the crew contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities and technology demonstrations on the ISS. Bowen conducted 3 spacewalks, joined by Hoburg for 2, and Alneyadi for 1, preparing the station for and installing two new Roll-Out Solar Arrays to augment power generation for the ISS.
The crew also contributed to hundreds of experiments and technology demonstrations, including assisting a student robotic challenge, studying plant genetic adaptations to space, and monitoring human health in microgravity to prepare for exploration beyond low Earth orbit and to benefit life on Earth.
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NASA and SpaceX have definitely worked well together under the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA seeded SpaceX’s development in the first place, under orders from Congress and former President Obama. And now NASA contracts them to fly cargo, supplies and crews to and from the ISS.
Back to the Moon with Artemis
But how much longer the ISS stays in operation is a big unknown. NASA does not need Russia to maintain the ISS, but it sure will be a lot harder without them. Russia has stated numerous times that they plan to pull out of the ISS sooner than later.
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NASA meanwhile is looking towards the moon with their Artemis missions, and is funding SpaceX to develop a lander. But those missions might fly only once a year. Artemis-2 won’t even launch until at least late 2024. The first moon landing would be a couple years later.
NASA wants a permanent human presence there, same as with the ISS. They plan to put a station in orbit around the moon to support those plans. The station would be called Gateway, and provide a staging point for surface missions and flights to / from Earth. It will also be a safe haven / lifeboat if anything went wrong with spacecraft, with room for additional modules to be installed.
Subway has made a giant sandwich blimp restaurant to float over a few cities across the nation this month, and they are offering the public a chance to fly on it.
New subs hit the menu
The 180-ft bread zeppelin is part of a marketing campaign called ‘Subway™ in the Sky’, promoting their new Deli Heroes subs and offering selected guests a “brand new dining experience at new heights.”
Subway Puts Restaurant On a Blimp to Promote Their New Subs 79
Subway says they are elevating their subs with the new Deli Hero selections. They are named the “Titan Turkey,” the “Grand Slam Ham,” the “Garlic Roast Beef,” and the blimp-shaped “Beast.”
The blimp’s gondola can carry 6 sandwich-lovers at a time. Each person will sample all four Deli Hero subs as they float above the normies on the ground. Subway expects to fly 40 fans per day, with each flight lasting 30-40 minutes.
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How to get a seat On A Subway Blimp
The blimp is in Kansas City this week, but all the seats are taken. Registration was full within the first hour it was open.
But you can still grab seats for the blimp’s other planned stops. It will visit Orlando Sep 19 – 20, and Miami Sep 24 and 26. Just pay attention to when the registrations open. Seats will fill fast and are awarded on a first-come first-serve basis (no purchase necessary).
