May 10, 2018 - No. 037 In This Issue Bipartisan House Bill Takes Aim at Aviation Maintenance Skills Gap NATA Announces 2018 Aviation Maintenance Technician Employer Recognition Award Recipients Wichita schools announce aviation training Aviation Orgs Draft Guidance for Remote Technology Use GE Aviation opens Alabama factory complex to produce unique materials U.S. drone program taps Apple, passes over Amazon, China's DJI Flightdocs Expands Customer Offerings with New Technology Center IFS Sticks With IFS Apps For Independent MROs easyJet Deploys Fleet Maintenance Solution from Aerogility. SpaceX's last Falcon 9 upgrade could finally make reusable rockets cost-effective Bipartisan House Bill Takes Aim at Aviation Maintenance Skills Gap A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation on May 8th to address one of the most pressing challenges facing the U.S. aviation industry: the chronic technician shortage. The bill sponsored by Reps. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) and Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.) is the House companion to Senate legislation introduced in March. It creates a new program administered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide grants of up to $500,000 to support aviation maintenance workforce development activities. The legislation incentivizes local collaboration by requiring that grant applications be jointly submitted by a business or labor organization, school and governmental entity. Analysis by Boeing suggests that 118,000 new technicians will be needed in North America over the next two decades. The consulting firm Oliver Wyman has forecast that demand for aviation maintenance technicians will outstrip supply by 2022.The results of the Aeronautical Repair Station's Association's (ARSA) 2018 member survey further underscore the need for the legislation: * More than 80 percent of respondents reported difficulty finding qualified technicians and more than half of responding companies have unfilled positions. As a result, companies say they are taking longer to complete work for customers, choosing not to add new technical capabilities and that in some cases turning down new business.ARSA estimates its members will forego as much $642.5 million in revenue this year if the projected 2,500 vacant positions at member companies remain unfilled. The aviation workforce legislation has broad support from business and labor.A May 8 letter coordinated by ARSA in support of the House bill was signed by 19 other leading organizations, which includes: * The Aerospace Industries Association * The Aerospace Maintenance Council * The Aircraft Electronics Association * The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association * The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association * Airlines for America * The Aviation Suppliers Association * The Aviation Technician Education Council * The Cargo Airline Association * The General Aviation Manufacturers Association * Helicopter Association International * The Modification and Replacement Parts Association * The National Air Carrier Association * The National Air Transportation Association * The National Association of State Aviation Officials * The National Business Aviation Association * The Professional Aviation Maintenance Association, * The Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association, and * The Regional Airline Association The National League of Cities has also voiced its support for the proposal and is a member of the ARSA-led coalition. "The skills gap in the aviation maintenance industry is reaching crisis proportions," ARSA Executive Vice President Christian Klein said. "It threatens to undermine both the efficiency of our aviation system and the ability of U.S. aerospace companies to seize opportunities in the growing global marketplace." "We sincerely appreciate Representatives Graves, Lipinski, Mullin and Lawrence taking the lead on this important issue and look forward to working with them and our industry allies to enact their bill into law." The Aeronautical Repair Station's Association (ARSA) is the only association devoted to the unique needs of the global civil aviation maintenance industry.ARSA is dedicated to helping member companies operate more efficiently and effectively, while continuing to ensure the safety of aircraft worldwide. https://americansecuritytoday.com/bipartisan-house-bill-takes-aim-aviation-maintenance-skills- gap-learn-videos/ Back to Top NATA Announces 2018 Aviation Maintenance Technician Employer Recognition Award Recipients Washington, DC, May 09, 2018 - Today, the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) announced the recipients of the 2018 Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) Employer Recognition Awards. These awards are presented annually to companies that provide qualified new and recurrent AMT training to their employees. Award winners receive either a one, three or five-star award depending on the percentage of employed AMTs meeting the training requirements. This year NATA is granting awards to 36 companies, including 13 awardees that will receive recognition for five consecutive years as AMT Employer Recognition Award recipients. "NATA is proud to once again recognize businesses that are committed to the high quality training of AMTs. Their dedication is critical to addressing our industry's current workforce challenges and these awards demonstrate the investment needed to continue attracting and retaining maintenance staff," stated NATA President Marty Hiller. On June 13th, the recipients will be recognized at the NATA Industry Excellence Awards Luncheon Presentation held in conjunction with the 2018 Annual Meeting and Aviation Business Conference. The full list of 2018 AMT Employer Recognition Award winners is available here. During the luncheon, awards will also be presented to long-time aviation executives Larry Flynn (Ong Memorial Award) and Randy Berg, A.A.E., (Distinguished Service Award) - along with Dr. Gerald Dillingham, former U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Director of Civil Aviation Issues (Distinguished Public Service Award); George Terry, VP Director of Maintenance Operations at Corporate Eagle (ATP/NATA General Aviation Service Technician Award); Juan Rivera, Airport Director at Manassas Regional Airport (Airport Executive Partnership Award); Janine Schwahn, Chief Instructor at Summit Aviation (Excellence in Pilot Training Award); and Henry Graves, Line Technician at APP Jet Center - Manassas (Safety 1st Certified Line Service Professional Award). http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12411967/nata-announces-2018-aviation- maintenance-technician-employer-recognition-award-recipients Back to Top Wichita schools announce aviation training WICHITA, Kan - The Wichita school district has announced plans for a high school aviation program to help students get technical education for work in the aviation industry. The district is partnering with WSU Tech and Textron Aviation on a program called Aviation Pathway. The program would allow students to get their high school diploma and technical certificate at graduation, which would give them the immediate opportunity for jobs with aviation companies. The program was announced Monday, and in a statement on the USD 259 web site, superintendent Alicia Thompson said it will be "a game-changer for Wichita students and for the aviation community." Students would take classes at their high schools and at WSU Tech's National Center for Aviation Training. They would be able to shadow or complete internships with employers during their final year. Students would choose courses in aviation production or aviation maintenance. The program will be presented to the Kansas State Department of Education this summer for formal approval. Full implementation of the program is planned for the 2019-2020 school year. https://www.kfdi.com/news/wichita-schools-announce-aviation-training Back to Top Aviation Orgs Draft Guidance for Remote Technology Use Sixteen aviation organizations have developed a suggested draft Advisory Circular to provide guidance on using remote technology and tools. The groups put together the draft AC after consulting with the FAA on a draft policy covering "remote witnessing using video" that was released for comment earlier this year, according to the Aeronautical Repair Station Association. The FAA's remote witnessing draft AC is designed to enable FAA-authorized witnesses to use video to remotely witness certain engineering tests. The draft AC developed by the aviation organization expanded on that to provide a baseline for compliance with the regulations while accommodating the use of connectivity technology, video, livestream and other audio and visual tools. This baseline would include general set up requirements and ensuring "the same level of acumen and capability [through remote connection] as if the oversight, inspection, test, or training task or activity was conducted on-premises," ARSA said. Delivered to Dorenda Baker, executive director of the Aircraft Certification Service and John Duncan, executive director of the Flight Standards Service, the AC was submitted backed by the Aerospace Industries Association, AOPA, Airlines for America, Aviation Suppliers Association, Aviation Technician Education Council, Cargo Airline Association, GAMA, Modification and Replacement Parts Association, National Air Carrier Association, NATA, Professional Aviation Maintenance Association, Regional Airline Association, Boeing, Gulfstream Aerospace, and Moog Aircraft Group, in addition to ARSA. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2018-05-09/aviation-orgs-draft- guidance-remote-technology-use Back to Top GE Aviation opens Alabama factory complex to produce unique materials HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - GE Aviation opened factory complex in Alabama today that will be the only U.S. location to produce unique materials used to manufacture ceramic components poised to revolutionize jet propulsion. The center in Huntsville is comprised of two adjacent factories standing on 100 acres, where silicon carbide (SiC) materials will be mass produced. The plants are critical in enabling GE Aviation to produce ceramic matrix composites (CMC) components in large volume. CMCs have ultra-lightweight properties and can withstand extremely high temperatures, making them an ideal material for use in the hottest portions of jet engines. "After years of research and testing, GE Aviation and our partners have cracked the code on mass producing CMC material," GE Aviation executive Mike Kauffman said at a plant-opening ceremony today. He added: "The impact of these materials will be felt around the globe." AEROSPACE LEADER GE Aviation executives joined Governor Kay Ivey and state and local officials at the plant-opening ceremony, which comes more than two years after the company announced the project. "Alabama is recognized as a leader in the aerospace industry, and Alabamians are setting the standard in aerospace manufacturing, development and maintenance," Governor Ivey said. "When a company with a reputation like GE Aviation chooses to locate in our great state, it says a lot about our state and the quality of our workforce." GE Aviation currently employs 90 people at the Huntsville production site, a number that is expected to double in the coming year. At full production, employment should reach 300. Production is projected to begin at the sprawling facility in the fourth quarter. Investment in the project has already exceeded $150 million and is expected to reach $200 million. "This is a great day for the State of Alabama. This is a great day for the City of Huntsville. This is a great day for GE Aviation," Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said. "The partnership that we will build over the years is a partnership that will help each of us succeed." CUTTING-EDGE FACTORIES At the Huntsville plant complex, one factory will produce SiC ceramic fiber, the raw material used to make the unidirectional CMC tape being produced in the neighboring factory. The CMC tape will be used to fabricate CMC components for jet engines and land-based gas turbines. The fiber plant is modeled after the SiC fiber factory of NGS Advanced Fibers in Japan, a joint company of Nippon Carbon, GE, and Safran of France. The expanding NGS operation is the only plant in the world today producing CMC fiber on a large scale. Demand for CMCs is expected to grow tenfold over the next decade driven by rising jet engine production rates. This is not GE Aviation's only cutting-edge Alabama factory. The company also produces fuel nozzles for next-generation LEAP engines using additive manufacturing at a facility in Auburn. http://www.madeinalabama.com/2018/05/rise-of-the-rest/ Back to Top U.S. drone program taps Apple, passes over Amazon, China's DJI WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc soon will be capturing images of North Carolina by drone; a 1,500-pound, unmanned aircraft will look for mosquitoes in Florida; and startup Flirtey will fly medical equipment on drones to heart-attack victims in Nevada. The projects are among 10 announced by the U.S. Transportation Department on Wednesday that will help it assess how to regulate drones and integrate them safely into U.S. air space. The United States has lagged other countries in experimentation with drones, something the program hopes to correct. Missing from the projects are Amazon.com Inc, the world's largest online retailer, and China's DJI, the world's largest maker of non-military drones. About a dozen applications that included DJI were rejected. An application that would have seen Amazon deliver goods by drone to shoppers in New York City was also declined, a person familiar with the matter said. Among the winners were microchip maker Intel Corp, plane maker Airbus SE, ride services company Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL], delivery company FedEx Corp and software maker Microsoft Corp. The contest drew 149 bids from locales looking to host flights at night, flights over people and other drone operations that U.S. rules prohibit. The applicants listed companies they would partner with in the experiments, and the winners may have a head start at the billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs the young industry expects to create. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said dozens more projects could be approved in coming months, either with new waivers or under existing rules. Asked about Amazon's absence, Deputy Transportation Secretary Jeff Rosen cited a rigorous process and said there were "no losers." The wide interest in the U.S. initiative, launched by President Donald Trump last year, underscores the desire of a broad range of companies to have a say in how the fledgling industry is regulated and ultimately win authority to operate drones for purposes ranging from package delivery to crop inspection. FLYING BURGERS One clear winner was Nevada-based Flirtey, a drone delivery startup. It said it was a partner on four of the winning applications and expects the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration programs to jump-start growth. "This gives it the ability to move into any geography in the United States and move out of test mode into full operation," said Mark Siegel, a partner at Menlo Ventures, an investor in Flirtey. The startup will have to hire more people, ramp up its testing and add more features to its drones - all of which will require more money, and Flirtey will complete another financing round this year, Siegel said. AirMap, an airspace management company for drones, said it was on six winning applications. Winner Virginia Tech said that Alphabet's Project Wing, AT&T Inc, Intel, Airbus and Dominion Energy Inc are among the partners for its pilot program that will explore emergency management, package delivery and infrastructure inspection. Despite being sidelined for now, Amazon and China's SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd both offered support for the program. DJI's widely used products may play a role in some projects, even if the company does not formally take part. Amazon, which has worked with the FAA on policy as it has tested drone technology around the world, said the fate of its applications was unfortunate, but it was focused on developing safe operations for drones. Uber is working on air-taxi technology and will deliver food by drone in San Diego, California. "We need flying burgers," Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi joked at a conference. FedEx will use drones to inspect aircraft at its hub in Tennessee, as well as for aircraft parts shipments and some package deliveries between the airport and other Memphis locations, Memphis Airport Authority Chief Executive Scott Brockman told Reuters. General Electric Co is also a partner, he said. The FAA has said regulations are necessary to protect the public and the National Airspace System from bad actors or errant hobbyists. Several incidents around major airports have involved drones getting close to aircraft. Earlier, the agency confirmed it had sent two planned rules to the White House to regulate the increased use of unmanned aerial vehicles. One would allow drones to fly over people while another proposal submitted would allow for remote identification and tracking of unmanned aircraft in flight. After both are formally proposed, it could take months before they are finalized. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-drones-companies/u-s-sends-rules-on-drone-regulation-to- white-house-for-review-idUSKBN1IA2WC Back to Top Flightdocs Expands Customer Offerings with New Technology Center BONITA SPRINGS, Florida - May 8, 2018- Flightdocs, the leading provider of cloud-based aircraft maintenance tracking, compliance, and inventory management services, today announced the establishment of a new technology center. The 6,200-square-foot facility houses nearly 40 developers and other technology experts and became operational this month. The technology center team is focused on enhancing features and functionality of existing Flightdocs products and developing customized, flexible, highly secure solutions to meet the specific needs of individual customers and organizations, according to Rick Heine, chief executive officer of Flightdocs. "This ability to develop secure, custom solutions in a rapid-response environment distinguishes Flightdocs from competitive offerings," Heine said. "Businesses that are specialized need specialized tools. By investing in this new technology center, we are assuring that customers will get exactly the right products to meet the needs of their operations with no concerns that data or service will ever be lost or interrupted." In addition, the technology center's Southwest Florida location is adjacent to abundant technology resources and talent. "The local universities have substantial information technology and engineering programs where we recruit students for our intern-development program," Heine said. "This allows us to cultivate our own talent by having interns grow their skills under the direction of our software engineers. The resulting team of innovative thinkers and problem-solvers continually allows Flightdocs to advance its technological mission here in the U.S." Flightdocs is backed by a team that is available around-the-clock 365 days a year, with a guarantee that callers will always reach a live analyst and never an answering service or voicemail. About Flightdocs Flightdocs provides mission-critical, cloud-based aviation maintenance, compliance, and inventory management Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions. The company's solutions help aircraft owners and operators track and manage the maintenance and airworthiness of their aircraft, comply with rigorous safety rules and regulatory guidelines, reduce costs, mitigate risks, and minimize asset downtime. Flightdocs' customers include Fortune 1000 corporate flight departments, air charters, air medical providers, fractional aircraft operators, government agencies, and regional carriers. Headquartered in Bonita Springs, Florida, Flightdocs has been serving the aviation industry for over 15 years. http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12411575/flightdocs-expands-customer-offerings- with-new-technology-center Back to Top IFS Sticks With IFS Apps For Independent MROs IFS's Maintenix is riding high on its selection by UPS and Southwest Airlines and will soon support about a quarter of the world's commercial and military fixed-wing aircraft. But the $500-million-a year IFS believes its other applications, including Complex MRO and IFS Apps, are better suited to engine shops, component repair facilities and independent airframe MROs. For this is a very different market, requiring strong capabilities for doing external business. Jeff Cass, developer of Maintenix and now strategy VP in IFS's aerospace and defense unit, says MROs and airlines have different needs. For instance, contracts and invoicing are very important for MROs. Trying to satisfy both segments with the same app is not very efficient. And IFS, which started out in asset management, has very effective solutions for engine shops, which are a bit like manufacturing plants, and for component shops. Cass sees a great deal of potential in upgrading shop software. Some major ERP-firm installations are ten- to 15-years old and due for renewal or replacement. Many shops have home-grown systems. All of these applications are being pressed by new demands, for instance for customer visibility into check progress and the increasing need to do all business as electronically as possible. IFS already supports MROs such as St Aero, KLM UK Engineering, Emirates Engineering, Saudi Arabia's Middle East Propulsion Company and JORAMCO with tools from IFS Apps. But many other big fish are still out there. For instance, HAECO Hong Kong uses Ultramain, partly because its major customer Cathay Pacific Airways does. But parent corporation HAECO is looking for a global solution and setting very demanding requirements. "What they are looking for does not exist yet," Cass acknowledges. And IFS is not alone in seeking the business. Competitors like AMOS's MRO edition, Pentagon 2000, Corridor Aviation Maintenance Software and EmpowerMX are also looking at the important third- party MRO market, which has a few huge global players and hundreds of smaller shops. http://www.mro-network.com/technology/ifs-sticks-ifs-apps-independent-mros Back to Top easyJet Deploys Fleet Maintenance Solution from Aerogility easyJet, Europe's leading airline, is today announcing the successful deployment of a ground- breaking maintenance planning platform delivered by Aerogility. Using Aerogility's AI-based multi-agent software, easyJet will implement higher aircraft utilisation and increased cost efficiency for maintenance. Since partnering with Aerogility in 2017, easyJet's maintenance planning team has developed powerful maintenance forecasting and interactive planning capabilities. Today's announcement marks the deployment of the resulting system for the maintenance planning of easyJet's entire fleet. With the integration of Aerogility's new platforms, easyJet is now able to simulate flying its fleet over future years as well as the operation of its maintenance and engineering organisation, predicting when maintenance events should occur. These predictive maintenance forecasts include the analysis of systems such as engines, landing gear and airframes. Aerogility automatically generates optimised schedules which easyJet can analyse and edit to maximise the number of aircraft flying and the number of seats available for customers. This allows the airline's planning team to respond quickly by presenting alternative strategies and potential solutions to the day-to-day challenges faced by the fleet. Gary Vickers, CEO, Aerogility, says: "Aerogility's interactive maintenance planning tool enables the easyJet team to work through complex 'what-if?' maintenance policies and plan ahead efficiently. Operational data about each aircraft in the fleet is extracted from their AMOS operations system and integrated into the Aerogility planner. The planners can forecast when multi-functional heavy maintenance must be applied, factoring in existing plans with their third-party suppliers - and simultaneously incorporating other fleet upgrades and modifications programs." Swaran Sidhu, Head of Fleet Technical Management, easyJet, says: "Aerogility has delivered an innovative and cost-effective maintenance planning solution for us. It's given us the ability to look into the long-term maintenance planning of our fleet with the capability to not only make a late change to the plan but at the same time understand the impact of that decision operationally and economically. Aerogility has provided us with an essential tool to help deliver our business strategy - to drive down costs and maximise the number of aircraft available to our customers. We are really excited by the enhanced maintenance forecasting and planning capabilities this gives our team. Our Project team worked jointly with Aerogility, ensuring that the implementation process was smooth, on-time, and on-budget. This was a great learning process that allowed us to finesse the system to the varying needs of the airline's operation - great results all round!" Vickers concludes: "We could not be more pleased about the success of this implementation and the enthusiastic support of the easyJet team. Aerogility is proud to be helping one of the world's leading airlines drive down costs and maximise the number of aircraft available to fly passengers where they want to go." http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12411564/easyjet-deploys-fleet-maintenance-solution- from-aerogility Back to Top SpaceX's last Falcon 9 upgrade could finally make reusable rockets cost-effective Tomorrow, SpaceX will conduct a routine satellite launch from Florida, but it's not using an ordinary rocket. The mission will mark the debut of the Block 5 version of the company's Falcon 9, the most advanced upgrade of the rocket to date and the last major version of the vehicle that SpaceX plans to make. Block 5 is designed to improve the Falcon 9's reusability, and that's something SpaceX really needs if it wants to turn many of its expensive, long-term plans into reality. The entire point of landing and reusing rockets is to save money: instead of creating an entirely new rocket for each mission, SpaceX can simply reuse a vehicle that already exists and has been tested during flight. Many experts, including SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, have likened reusable rockets to airplanes. Airfare would be exorbitantly more expensive if a new plane had to be built for each flight. Up until now, SpaceX's rocket landings - while cool to watch - haven't saved the company a ton of money. The maximum number of times a Falcon 9 has flown to space and back is twice. And before a vehicle can fly again, it's taken apart, inspected, and refurbished by a legion of engineers over the course of many months. That takes time and money, which eats into the savings the company gets from not making a new rocket from scratch. "It's possible they're spending more on a refurbished rocket right now than on building a new one," Greg Autry, an assistant professor at the University of Southern California who specializes in new space companies, tells The Verge. Block 5 could change that. The vehicle boasts many upgrades that are meant to shorten the refurbishment and downtime needed between flights. For instance, its grid fins, which are used for steering the rocket back from space, are made out of titanium, so they won't catch fire on the way back to Earth. The engines also have a new heat shielding to protect them from the high temperatures during the plunge through the atmosphere. And the structure that holds the engines to the rocket's bottom is bolted down now, not welded, to make it easier to take apart and inspect. If these improvements do cut down on the Falcon 9's turnaround time, then SpaceX could finally start to see the cost savings it's been boasting about. The Block 5 is also intended to increase the Falcon 9's performance without the need for any more major upgrades. All of this combined could lead to larger profits, and that may help the company partially fund many of its ambitious projects, like launching thousands of satellites that can beam internet from space, or building a giant new rocket, the BFR, to take humans to the Moon and Mars. PROFIT FOR MARS Musk claims that Block 5 Falcon 9s can be used upwards of 100 times with minimal refurbishment. It's an optimistic prediction: these rockets go faster than the speed of sound and experience extreme temperatures and forces that cause wear and tear. Plus, Musk is prone to exaggeration. A more reasonable number is upwards of at least 10 times, according to Andy Lambert, vice president of production for SpaceX. Even just 10 reuses would certainly cut down on manufacturing costs for the Falcon 9. But it's not enough to simply fly these rockets multiple times to save money. Operations need to change, too. SpaceX will have to reduce the workforce responsible for making a rocket flight-ready again. "Everybody talks about the airplane as the model of reusability," says Miller. "What most people forget is there is not a standing army to turn your airplane around. There's maybe a dozen people." Labor costs were a big part of the reason why NASA's mostly reusable Space Shuttle was so expensive to fly. But since Block 5's upgrades could reduce the need for lengthy refurbishment, that would mean a smaller workforce that SpaceX has to pay for. It's still unclear how much money this will save SpaceX in the long run. The company won't give any concrete numbers about labor costs, but it says it intends to keep its baseline price the same for the Falcon 9: $62 million. Autry estimates each first stage - the 14-story section of the rocket that goes to space and back - runs between $30 to $40 million to make. And fueling costs only a few hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to Musk. If the company is able to substantially cut down on its labor costs, it could slash the cost of making the rocket by half. But Autry thinks that's not realistic - at least for now. "I think the reality will be that it will take a long while to get to there," he says. "But that means a savings of easily $10 million to $15 million." Musk's estimates are similar: about a 30 percent reduction in costs. If SpaceX can make that happen, the next thing to do is increase launch frequency. The more launches, the more profit the company can make in a year. SpaceX is already working on that, though. In 2017, it pulled off a record 18 launches, more than any other company has done before. And this year, it's already up to eight missions. By this time last year, it had only done five. All the extra money can go into the development of the BFR, which SpaceX is going to build at the Port of Los Angeles, as well as thousands of satellites it needs to launch in the near future. The company's satellite internet constellation, Starlink, just received regulatory approval by the Federal Communications Commission. But the FCC told SpaceX it needs to launch at least half of its first 4,425 satellites within the next six years in order to keep its license. If the Falcon 9 becomes cheaper, getting such a daunting amount of satellites into orbit is a little more feasible. "I don't think he can afford to launch his big broadband satellite constellation without the Block 5," says Miller. A CONSISTENT ROCKET Another important facet of the Block 5 is that it's meant to stay more or less the same. Musk says that this is the last major upgrade of the rocket, as the company is now mostly focusing on the BFR development. "It's the most improved Falcon 9 rocket that SpaceX has ever built and will ever build," Laura Forczyk, a space consultant and owner of space research and consulting firm Astralytical, tells The Verge. That's something NASA is happy about: the Block 5 is the rocket that SpaceX will use to launch NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, as part of the Commercial Crew Program. So this version has been built to meet all of the space agency's rigorous safety standards. NASA is requiring that SpaceX fly the Block 5 at least seven times successfully, without any major changes, in order to certify it for human flight. It's a stringent requirement, especially for a rocket that's flown numerous times before. In comparison, NASA's future Space Launch System will only do one test flight before it's certified to fly humans. And the Space Shuttle's very first flight had humans on board. "SpaceX is going through a level of rigor and improvement that far exceeds everything that's been done in human spaceflight," says Autry. But flying a consistent NASA-rated rocket could be helpful for SpaceX to gain new customers, too. SpaceX is known for tweaking its vehicles between launches, something that's bothered many in the spaceflight industry, including those in the national security satellite market. NASA and old space contractors typically don't introduce major changes in their rocket designs very often, and some think making quick alterations creates too much risk. But the Block 5 could silence those critics once and for all. That, combined with the rocket's enhanced performance may mean more national security payloads on SpaceX's manifest. "This will help them breaking into national security contracts they wish to get," says Forcyzk. Of course, who knows if SpaceX is truly done changing the Falcon 9. That's what Musk has said, but he also recently suggested that the company is looking into ways to recover the top portion of the Falcon 9 rocket, called the second stage. That would mean making some big design changes to the Falcon 9 (especially since he might use a giant party balloon for the recovery). It will be a while before we know the true benefits of the Block 5, but one thing is certain: these rockets need to fly a lot if SpaceX wants to really reap the rewards of reusability. "Getting something to fly twice, while that was a breakthrough, the benefits are getting something to turn around again and again and again," says Miller. https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/9/17254384/spacex-falcon-9-block-5-upgrade-rocket- reusability-savings Curt Lewis