September 30, 2019 - No. 077 In This Issue Facial recognition technology tested at Las Vegas airport Commuter Air Technology Honored as One of OKC's Fastest Growing Private Companies TSA Announces New Members of Aviation Security Advisory Committee Germany unveils plan for climate-friendly aviation Feds say Boeing 737 needs to be better designed for humans Greenhouse gas targets will cost the UK billions every year to hit 2050 goals SIU Aviation teams up with Chinese university for collaborative degree program IndiGo denies fire incident, says emergency landing of Goa-Delhi due to technical snag Man to fly over Bermuda in jet suit Elon Musk Sets Out SpaceX Starship's Ambitious Launch Timeline Facial recognition technology tested at Las Vegas airport As airport security technology advances, concerns have been raised about how invasive new protocols may be. The five-member Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, founded after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack, is responsible for ensuring that new technology helps prevent terrorism while balancing the need to protect privacy and civil liberties The board, which is part of the federal government, was in Las Vegas to observe the Transportation Security Administration's test of facial recognition using biometric technology at McCarran International Airport. "Aviation security is one of the very important post-9/11 focus points," said Adam Klein, the board chairman. "We're very aware of the public's interest in the rollout of facial recognition to verify the various points in the passenger journey." The 30-day test in the TSA pre-check lane in Terminal 3 at McCarran began in late August and ended Wednesday. The TSA assessed its ability to compare passengers' photo taken at the checkpoint against an image taken from the passenger's identity document. The administration collected passengers' photos and biographic information from their identity document and temporarily retained it for subsequent technical analysis. "We're aware of the questions that the members of the public, nongovernmental organizations, members of Congress and others have raised about the technology," Klein said. "We're looking at things like what is the security motivation for using this, what types of data are being collected, how's it being analyzed and how is it being stored and are there any other uses of the data on the back end." Because the technology used was in test mode, once the facial matching result was documented, passengers were still subject to manual identity and travel-document verification by TSA personnel, regardless of the biometric matching results. Being able to see the system in use from both the passenger and the operator side gave the board greater insight to just how the process works. "Looking at this, we're thinking about this particular pilot ... but we're also looking at what the future might be in terms of other uses of facial recognition and other biometrics in aviation security," said board member Ed Felton. " Are there conclusions that we can draw or recommendations that we can make from what the TSA should or shouldn't be doing in the future?" Board member Travis LeBlanc said that aside from worries about possible biases coming into play in the system, the regulatory process still needs to unfold. That process will answer many of the questions surrounding the facial recognition technology. "For example, when people can opt out and what happens when you opt out," LeBlanc said. "Or which data to retain, not just to use to make the actual decision, but what data are we going to keep and how long are we going to keep it, with whom you can share. What are we going to do about children? "I think a lot of these policy calls generate the kind of questions and concerns that passengers, consumers and citizens have about privacy today." The group is also studying whether the technology is efficient and accurate enough to be used in more than a pilot test setting. "Once we've gathered all this information ... then hopefully we'll be able to provide a judgment and provide recommendations for ensuring this technology is used in a way that adequately balances privacy and civil concerns with the very important aviation security concerns," Klein said. The board hopes to have a decision on the usefulness of facial recognition technology in the middle of next year, Klein said. "We're aware that the government is moving forward relatively quickly with this, so we understand we have to match our efforts at which these technologies are being deployed," he said. https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/facial-recognition-technology-tested-at-las- vegas-airport-1859441/ Back to Top Commuter Air Technology Honored as One of OKC's Fastest Growing Private Companies Commuter Air Technology (CAT), a Meta Special Aerospace (MSA) company providing aircraft modifications for commercial and government applications, was named the 43rd fastest-growing private company in Oklahoma City at the 2019 Metro 50 Awards. CAT has been a Metro 50 recipient nine times. "We are grateful to our customers and the Oklahoma City Chamber for this recognition," said Darryl Wilkerson, President of MSA. "Collaborating with our clients, Commuter Air Technology and its new partner, Meta Aerospace Capital, LLC, are driven to develop products and services designed from the ground up that provide elegant solutions to some of our industry's most difficult challenges in a uniquely low risk framework," Wilkerson added. CAT was recognized along with the other honored companies during the Metro 50 Awards Banquet on September 23 held at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. The Metro 50 Award allows both emerging companies, as well as companies that have exhibited substantial history as an established business, to be recognized. Metro 50 companies demonstrate positive growth in revenues; growth in the number of employees; creativity/entrepreneurship; and business development through the expansion of facilities, customer base or markets. The Metro 50 Awards are sponsored by Bank of Oklahoma, Cox Business, EY, Express Employment Professionals, The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, The Journal Record Publishing Company and OGE Energy Corp. About Commuter Air Technology Commuter Air Technology delivers certified aircraft and customized aircraft modifications for commercial and government applications around the globe. Modifications range from flight performance enhancements and high-density passenger systems to cargo conversions and corporate reconfigurations. With over 30 years of experience, Commuter Air Technology offers a full line of technical support services, such as crew provision, training, program management, aircraft maintenance, engineering as well as STC process management and Airworthiness certifications. Commuter Air Technology is a Meta Special Aerospace company. Learn more at http://www.commuterair.com. About Meta Special Aerospace Meta Special Aerospace (MSA) is a fully integrated and agile enterprise of aerospace and defense companies. MSA responds quickly and efficiently to government and commercial operators of mission-optimized aircraft with specialized aircraft performance enhancing products and contracted defense special mission services. MSA offers key services within its core operating markets of Manned Airborne ISR, Special Mission Training and Exercise Support and Aviation Services. The MSA portfolio of companies includes Commuter Air Technology, Valair Aviation, Mission Transportation and Alpha28. Learn more at http://www.metaspecialaerospace.com. http://virtual-strategy.com/2019/09/28/commuter-air-technology-honored-as-one-of-okcs-fastest- growing/ Back to Top TSA Announces New Members of Aviation Security Advisory Committee Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator David P. Pekoske announced the current Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC), including the appointment of two new members and the reappointment of 12 members. ASAC provides recommendations for improving aviation security methods, equipment and procedures. "The Aviation Security Advisory Committee has provided new ideas for protecting the security of our nation's transportation system," said Administrator Pekoske. "I thank all members of the Committee for their willingness to serve. ASAC is a strong contributor to aviation security. They represent our nation's vibrant aviation community, and I rely on their advice and counsel." The ASAC, a statutorily authorized committee, enhances TSA's security posture by providing a formalized mechanism for consultation with key industry partners on aviation security matters, including on the development, refinement, and implementation of policies, programs, rulemaking, and security directives pertaining to aviation security. The standard appointment term is two years. However, members serve on staggered terms, which means that approximately one-half of the Committee members' terms expire in alternating years. This ensures continuity and consistency for the ASAC. New appointments are marked with a double asterisk (**) and reappointments an asterisk (*). The remaining members are continuing to fulfill their staggered, 2-year term with the ASAC. The following members will represent the 19 mandated membership categories on the committee: Air Carriers Paul Doell, National Air Carrier Association Randy Harrison, Delta Air Lines, Inc. Craig Lowe, Airlines for America Matthew Vaughan, International Air Transport Association All-Cargo Air Transportation Steve Alterman, Cargo Airlines Association* Roger Libby, DP DHL - Americas Gary Wade, Atlas Air Indirect Air Carriers Brandon Fried, Airforwarders Association* Labor Organizations Representing Air Carrier Employees Bill Cason, Coalition of Airline Pilots Association* Wolfgang Koch, Air Line Pilots Association** Justin Madden, Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association Christopher Witkowski, Association of Flight Attendants - CWA* Labor Organizations Representing Transportation Security Officers David Borer, American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO* Labor Organizations Representing Employees of Airport Construction and Maintenance Contractors Michael Mayes, Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO Aircraft Manufacturers Jens Hennig, General Aviation Manufacturers Association* Airport Operators Colleen Chamberlain, American Association of Airport Executives* Michele Freadman, Massachusetts Port Authority Cedric Johnson, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport General Aviation Sarah Wolf, National Business Aviation Association Nobuyo A. K. Reinsch, Regional Airline Association Privacy Organizations Vacant Travel Industry Lorraine Howerton, U.S. Travel Association* Airport-Based Businesses John McGraw, National Air Transportation Association* Businesses that Conduct Security Operations at Airports Christopher Bidwell, Airports Council International - North America* Aeronautical Repair Stations Christian Klein, Aeronautical Repair Station Association Passenger Advocacy Groups Vacant Aviation Security Technology Industry Scott Gray, Leidos, Inc. Victims of Terrorist Acts Against Aviation Glenn Johnson, Victims of Pan Am Flight 103* Matthew Ziemkiewicz, National Air Disaster Foundation Law Enforcement Jason Wallis, Port of Portland Police Department Airport Construction and Maintenance Contractors TJ Schulz, Airport Consultants Council* The ASAC was established in 1989 in the wake of the crash of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. For more information on the ASAC, visit tsa.gov. https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/91010-tsa-announces-new-members-of-aviation- security-advisory-committee Back to Top Germany unveils plan for climate-friendly aviation The German government wants to promote a culture of innovation to develop CO2-neutral aviation. Chancellor Merkel has said Germany must develop more alternative fuel sources, including hydrogen-based energy technology. At the National Aviation Conference, a gathering of politicians and aviation professionals held in Germany's eastern city of Leipzig on Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany should become a global leader in producing climate-friendly aviation technology. The , as green mobility is an integral part of international efforts to reverse climate change. Merkel emphasized that promoting a competitive and climate-friendly aviation industry in Germany depends on becoming an innovator in climate-friendly energy sources. "It is important that the aviation industry can demonstrate how growth is not always connected to emissions that are harmful to the climate," said Merkel. On Wednesday, the German government introduced the "Leipzig Statement for the Future of Aviation," a document signed by industry and government officials outlining the future of climate- friendly German aviation. "The federal government supports the development of new propulsion methods, along with climate- friendly aircraft technology as part of the aviation research program," said part of the statement. In Leipzig on Wednesday, Merkel called for a sustainable and profitable German aviation industry More money needed However, to implement this innovation plan, more money will have to be redirected into research and development of non-fossil fuel energy sources. German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer said Wednesday in Leipzig that the government was "committed to ensuring that the revenue of the aviation tax is used for research, innovation and climate goals." This would require tax reform, specifically earmarking an aviation tax for research into alternative energy sources. Scheuer also mentioned increasing the aviation tax with input from the German aviation industry on how to best "adapt" tax revenues towards innovation. During her speech in Leipzig, Merkel also announced a strategy for developing hydrogen energy in Germany set to be introduced by the end of 2019. "The potential of hydrogen for aviation has not yet been realized," said Merkel. Ideally, synthetic fuel could soon be used in place of kerosene-based jet fuel, produced with green electricity through hydrogen dialysis. Additives to fossil-based kerosene have long been tested and approved. But the problem is that only very small quantities of climate-neutral fuel are available at very high prices. Merkel admitted this, but added: "It has been the case with every technology that it was very expensive in the beginning." Flying dirty Despite good intentions, until alternatives are made affordable, the European aviation industry will continue to be a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. "In the long term, we cannot do without hydrocarbons on long-haul routes," the president of the Federal Association of the German Aerospace Industry, Klaus Richter, told Germany's dpa news agency. Although Merkel said the aviation industry needed to become more climate-friendly, the chancellor added that Germany "does not want forced restrictions on our mobility." Earlier in August, the association of the German aviation industry released a six-point program outlining a strategy to sink CO2 emissions from aircraft. Merkel praised the sector's voluntary goal of stopping aircraft emissions from rising starting in 2020 and then reducing emissions by 2050 to half the level measured in 2005. https://beloitbulletin.com/2019/09/29/germany-unveils-plan-for-climate-friendly-aviation/ Back to Top Feds say Boeing 737 needs to be better designed for humans The two 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people and led to what is, so far, a six-month grounding of the jet, stemmed in part from Boeing's failure to accurately anticipate how pilots would respond to a malfunctioning feature that pointed the jets toward the ground. That's the key finding from a report the National Transportation Safety Board published Thursday, which included a series of recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration. The NTSB advised the regulator to have Boeing consider how 737 MAX pilots would handle not just problems with the MCAS system alone, but how they respond to multiple simultaneous alerts and indicators. In short, the NTSB says Boeing was wrong to assume pilots would respond correctly to the problem that ended up killing them. The crashes of Lion Air Flight 610, in October 2018, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, in March, stemmed from a feature Boeing designed to prevent stalls. In both cases, the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, activated in response to a false reading from a faulty angle of attack sensor. The pilots fought to counteract the system, which pushed the nose of the plane down, but ultimately failed. When Boeing tested what would happen if the MCAS malfunctioned, it didn't account for other elements. The Lion Air and Ethiopian pilots on the doomed planes dealt with a cascade of problems and warnings: Their control sticks shook. Various alarms sounded. When the pilots retracted the flaps, the plane's downward push required extra force to keep the jet aloft. The result: Their reactions "did not match [Boeing's] assumptions," the NTSB found. "An aircraft system should be designed such that the consequences of any human error are limited." The FAA hasn't said whether it will adopt the recommendations of the NTSB, which has no regulatory or enforcement power. And this is far from the end of the 737 MAX saga: Boeing and the FAA are still negotiating a fix to the plane's software, and congressional, international, and criminal investigations into the crashes are ongoing. But as its title-"Assumptions Used in the Safety Assessment Process and the Effects of Multiple Alerts and Indications on Pilot Performance"-indicates, the NTSB report is about more than one troubled jet, one feature, one company, or even one country. The safety board wants the FAA to apply this sort of thinking to all the planes it certifies. And it hopes the agency will encourage its peers around the world to do the same. That's because the report is all about the question at the core of modern aviation safety: How to ensure that pilots can work with the computers that have taken on more of the work in the cockpit. It's about a field of study called "human factors." "The field of aviation has been the cradle of human factors, and its biggest beneficiary," says Najmedin Meshkati, who studies the field at the University of Southern California. Where ergonomics and biomechanics center on physical responses, human factors tends to center on the gray stuff packed into their skulls. It matters in fields from self-driving cars to coal mines-anywhere people interact with machines. It's long been a major focus in aviation because so many crashes trace back to pilots' failure to understand what the plane's myriad and complex systems are doing, why, or how to influence them. "Whenever you have a human error, and the consequence isn't immediately noticeable or reversible, human factors is important," Meshkati says. That's often the case in aviation-and the error doesn't always come from the human. The rising use of automation in aviation has produced major safety and practical benefits, but also distanced humans from the workings of the planes they're commanding. Meshkati draws a distinction between decision making and problem solving. The former is usually routine and procedure-based, like using your altitude, airspeed, and heading to calculate a landing path. Computers are very good at this. Problem solving comes in when some combination of factors means the procedures don't work, when a person needs to absorb information and devise a new formula that will keep them safe. This is where humanity has the edge, but hardly a guaranteed victory. According to the NTSB report, Boeing counted on pilots following a procedure that would get them out of a situation where MCAS malfunctioned. But Lion Air 610 and Ethiopian 302 demanded problem solving: Each set of pilots was fighting a plane that wanted to dive, while considering a cascade of malfunctions and signals. Better human factor thinking, Meshkati says, would have required less, or easier, problem solving. It could have produced a procedure that fit the actual conditions of the flights, allowing for good old decision making. Of course, the FAA has other things to consider. The NTSB's recommendations are "absolutely valid," says Clint Balog, a flight test pilot and human factors expert with the College of Aeronautics at Embry-Riddle University. But, he says, the safety agency trends toward idealism. "The FAA has to consider, what is realistic testing?" If airplane makers had to test for every possible combination of malfunctions and cockpit alarms, they'd never get another plane certified, he says. Not all pilots are equally skilled, by virtue of their natural talent, training, or experience. It doesn't make sense, Balog says, to design for the worst of the bunch-or the best. Cockpits as physical spaces, he points out, are designed for pilots of many shapes and sizes. But designers had to settle on limits on who can sit comfortably or reach every control. "We've got to figure out how to do the same thing for cognitive capability," Balog says. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/09/feds-say-boeing-737-needs-to-be-better- designed-for-humans/?comments=1 Back to Top Greenhouse gas targets will cost the UK billions every year to hit 2050 goals In order to remove sufficient greenhouse gases from the air to meet the UK's 2050 climate targets, the country will need to spend as much as £20bn a year, a report has found. The report details that in order for the UK to achieve net zero greenhouse emissions targets by 2050, approximately 130m tonnes of carbon of negative emissions could be required annually. The need for reductions and removal of emissions on this scale are driven by remaining emissions from three sectors. Deemed 'hard-to-treat', the report explains that emissions from the aviation, agriculture and industrial sectors are difficult to abate: "Abatement of emissions from these sectors is expensive and requires significant technological breakthroughs. Greenhouse gas removal (GGR) is required to compensate." Large-scale investment The report explains the two main options in greenhouse gas reductions: "Large-scale investment will be required for industrial GGRs such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS). "The rate of roll-out will need to be rapid, particularly in the 2030s and 2040s and will require significant policy support. "To achieve the expected level of negative emissions from land-based solutions, large areas of UK land will need to be afforested, and a large proportion of UK farmers may need to implement measures to sequester carbon, such as agroforestry, biochar, or enhanced weathering." Findings and conclusions The report urges ministers and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (DBEIS) to invest in greenhouse gas removal technology. It envisages a four-stage pathway up to 2050 which lobbies for support for a number of policies before rolling various technologies out as industries prepare for them financially begin their uptake. These are expected to cost between £1bn and £2bn a year in 2030, rising to up to £20bn by 2050, depending on progress. The most expensive projects involve those which could remove roughly 25m tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air annually - although simpler options exist just as replenishing natural habitats and forestry. A spokesman from DBEIS told The Guardian: "This report presents a variety of different options for consideration, and we will look closely at its findings. "We recognise the importance and urgency of taking action right across the economy to deliver on our world-leading net-zero target, including by developing our approach to greenhouse gas removal technology." https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/greenhouse-gas-removal-climate-change-net-zero-2050- uk-targets-638284 Back to Top SIU Aviation teams up with Chinese university for collaborative degree program CARBONDALE - A collaborative degree program between Southern Illinois University Carbondale's aviation technologies program and Shenyang Aerospace University in China is expected to bring 60 additional international students to campus beginning in 2021. Interim Chancellor John M. Dunn led an SIU delegation as the university and Shenyang Aerospace University (SAU) finalized the agreement. The pact includes a faculty exchange component that will begin next May. The university is in Shenyang, China, in northeast China. After attending SAU for their first two years of university coursework in China, students will attend SIU Carbondale for their final two years. After completing the four-year curriculum jointly designed by aviation faculty from both institutions, students will receive degrees from both SIU and SAU. There are 67 freshman recruited into this year's inaugural cohort, and the Chinese Ministry of Education has approved that number to grow to 120 students, said Andrew D. Carver, executive director of international affairs with SIU's Center for International Education. As a part of the program, SIU is already hosting semester-long exchange students from SAU. However, program students who choose to seek the SIU Carbondale degree will arrive on campus every fall semester beginning in 2021, he said. Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor Meera Komarraju noted the agreement will bring Chinese students to SIU's campus to study and allow faculty here to use their expertise and gain experience teaching in another country. "Such international collaborations reinforce our global presence and prepare our students to work effectively in a global economy upon graduation," she said. The Sept. 17 to 21 trip gave SIU an opportunity to strengthen relationships with other partner universities in the region, Carver said. In addition to Dunn and Carver, other SIU delegation members were: Yi Lee, Center for International Education Global Partnerships Development Office, SIU Carbondale; and Marc Chang, Olive Branch International Education Services and an SIU Carbondale alumnus. Michael Burgener, chair and associate professor of aviation technologies, will be the first SIU faculty member to teach courses at SAU in May. Discussions that resulted in the agreement began about two years ago when Carver, Lee and Chang pitched the idea to SAU officials, Burgener said. "SAU boasts one of China's top civil aviation programs, and that's what initially prompted us to explore SAU as a potential partner for SIU's nationally recognized aviation program," Carver said. This is the aviation program's first international "2+2" agreement. Developing these international relationships within aviation is important, Burgener said. "It increases international enrollment at the university and expands the reach of SIU Aviation. This will extend our reach from across the United States to across the globe," he said. The 2019 Boeing Pilot and Technician Outlook projects a robust demand for people seeking careers within the aviation industry over the next 20 years. Experts predict a need for 804,000 new civil aviation pilots, 769,000 new maintenance technicians and 914,000 new cabin crew for a worldwide fleet in commercial and business aviation and civil helicopter industries. The program is modeled after the successful joint program in accountancy between the College of Business and Northeast Normal University in China, Carver said. The joint accountancy program has already resulted in nearly 100 degree-seeking students studying on the Carbondale campus since 2016. According to Carver, developing collaborative degree programs in multiple disciplines and multiple countries around the world is becoming an increasingly important component of the Center for International Education's daily work. Yi Lee, who leads the Global Partnership Development Office, said that "double degree programs are often the most complex international agreements to negotiate and can take years to develop, but they are often the most rewarding." Carver said the programs are unique because they the partners establish a "long-term commitment" and ensure students recruited to SIU are academically well-prepared. "Such collaborative programs not only help SIU Carbondale to better internationalize the campus, they also are becoming an increasingly important component of our international student recruiting strategy," he said. https://thesouthern.com/news/local/siu/siu-aviation-teams-up-with-chinese-university-for- collaborative-degree/article_3d77c2fd-8248-52f5-be65-7b5133045b56.html Back to Top IndiGo denies fire incident, says emergency landing of Goa-Delhi due to technical snag A Delhi-Goa flight made an emergency landing at the Goa airport on Sunday after its engine developed some technical issues, says IndiGo The cause of the incident is not yet known and is currently under investigation Budget carrier IndiGo today refuted the occurrence of any fire incident in Delhi-bound Goa flight on Sunday night. A Delhi-Goa flight with 180 passengers made an emergency landing at the Goa airport after its engine developed some technical issues, according to the airline. Goa environment minister Nilesh Cabral was travelling to Delhi along with other officers earlier told IANS that the left engine of Goa-Delhi IndiGo flight caught fire after it took off from the Goa airport. "The engine caught fire fifteen minutes after the plane was airborne at around 1 am," Cabral told IANS. Following the incident, the plane had to return to the airport for an emergency landing. "The pilot immediately shut off the left engine and flew us back to Goa," said the minister. The budget carrier IndiGo said in a statement: "We strongly refute the occurrence of any fire in the engine of flight 6E-336 from Goa to Delhi on Sept 29." "The cause of the incident is not known yet and is currently under investigation," said IndiGo on Twitter. "As per the laid down Standard Operating Procedures, our pilot landed the aircraft in Goa for inspection. All the passengers were accommodated on other flights to Delhi," a spokesperson of the airline told PTI. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has started a probe into the incident. On Friday, Mumbai International Airport Ltd. said that the full emergency was declared for Chandigarh-Mumbai. Mumbai airport did not elaborate the reason behind the emergency. "Full emergency was declared for IndiGo 6E flight number 463 at 16:28 Hrs. IST. The IndiGo Airlines' flight landed safely at 16:44 Hrs. on RWY 27 and was fully parked. Following which the full emergency was withdrawn at 16:47 Hrs," MIAL said. IndiGo said that the aircraft is currently being checked by the maintenance team. https://www.livemint.com/news/india/delhi-bound-indigo-11569816278623.html Back to Top Man to fly over Bermuda in jet suit An inventor pioneering a new "Superman" era in human aviation will fly over Bermuda in a jet suit this month. Richard Browning is the founder and chief test pilot of the British company Gravity Industries, which creates the cutting-edge technology that allows people to fly like superheroes at up to 50mph for ten minutes. He will speak at the TEDx conference at the Fairmont Southampton next Saturday. Mr Browning, a former Royal Marines reservist, will discuss the evolution of the jet suit, which uses five gas-turbine jet engines to allow vertical lift and human propulsion. During his stay, he will perform a flight for schoolchildren studying Stem, for which he is a passionate advocate. Mr Browning said jet suits, which use similar designs to jet engines, were initially used for large model aircraft and drones. He told The Royal Gazette: "They weren't intended for putting on humans, but that's what a couple of us are doing now. "It all started with playing with an engine. I realised it was very benign and very gentle, albeit extremely powerful." Mr Browning's talk will cover the evolution of the jet suit "from the vision through lots of fails, through to success". It will include spectacular footage. He said: "We will be bringing a suit to Bermuda and hopefully flying in a few different locations." Mr Browning was inspired by his father, a maverick aeronautical engineer and inventor entrepreneur. "He died leaving a lot of unfulfilled ambition. You could interpret my drive to do what I am doing to fulfil that unfulfilled ambition," he said. "I developed this for the fun of taking on the challenge of something that was supposed to be not possible. Now it has ended up being so successful. It has certainly proved its worth from an entertainment perspective and capturing people's imagination." Mr Browning is also planning an International Race Series, which he hopes will inspire others to help develop the technology. He added: "From a search and rescue, law enforcement and military point of view, there are a lot of applications we are exploring. "Who knows, it could be a stepping stone in a new era of human mobility, but it is going to need a lot of evolution to get there. "The first motorcars were considered noisy, smelly and inefficient compared to a horse, so who knows." Sophie Mathew, TEDx organiser, said: "We have been seeking out groups that might wish to take this opportunity and raise the funds themselves for a separate event, but that's outside of TEDx and therefore have asked another event organiser to help making a public flight happen." http://www.royalgazette.com/news/article/20190928/man-to-fly-over-bermuda-in-jet-suit Back to Top Elon Musk Sets Out SpaceX Starship's Ambitious Launch Timeline BOCA CHICA VILLAGE, Texas - As Elon Musk, the founder and chief executive of SpaceX, says repeatedly, he created a rocket company because he wanted to colonize Mars. His fervent argument is that humanity must spread to a second planet as insurance for long-term survival. "Which future do you want?" he asked near the start of a presentation on Saturday night at a launch site near the southern tip of Texas, during which he said the options were being "confined to Earth" or become a spacefaring species. Mr. Musk said he hoped the audience agreed that humans should prepare for life elsewhere in the solar system as he delivered a progress report on Starship, a giant rocket that is the centerpiece of his ambitions. Standing before the prototype and an older rocket built early in the company's history, he pledged that Starship would first take off to an altitude of 65,000 feet and then land, "in about one to two months." "This is going to sound totally nuts," he said later, "but I think we want to try to reach orbit in less than 6 months," adding that this timeline relied on continued improvements in manufacturing the rockets. You can watch the presentation at SpaceX's website, or in the video player below. Starship Update What is Starship? Starship is the latest name for the upper stage of what Mr. Musk had been calling B.F.R. The "B" stood for Big, the "R" stood for Rocket, and Mr. Musk never publicly stated the meaning of "F." SpaceX currently flies two rockets: the Falcon 9 and the Falcon Heavy, which is essentially a Falcon 9 with two additional Falcon 9 boosters attached to the side. The present-day Falcons are too small for sending people to Mars. Mr. Musk and SpaceX have long envisioned a much larger rocket. For a while, Mr. Musk referred to it as the "Mars Colonial Transporter." But when he finally revealed a design at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2016, he called it the "Interplanetary Transport System." This spaceship was gargantuan, with a diameter of nearly 40 feet, and the capacity to take 100 people to Mars. A year later in Australia, Mr. Musk said the rocket had been scaled down by one-quarter, to a diameter of 30 feet. This was the B.F.R. The second stage was sleek-looking spacecraft that would return to Earth in one piece, and land vertically. Last November, SpaceX announced the Starship name; the first stage of B.F.R. is now known as the Super Heavy booster. In recent days, Mr. Musk has been posting updates as the prototypes come together. On Saturday before Mr. Musk's presentation, SpaceX highlighted Starship's size by displaying it alongside the company's original Falcon 1 rocket, which first launched to orbit in 2008. Can this really be done? Starship with the Super Heavy booster is essentially a rocket as powerful as a Saturn 5, which took NASA's Apollo astronauts to the moon 50 years ago, but it's fully reusable. For Apollo, everything but the small capsule on top, where the astronauts sat, was discarded along the way, and even the capsule could only be used once. Experts say Starship is within the realm of the possible, without requiring impossible physics or unlikely technological leaps. Indeed, Starship employs ideas that were studied decades ago but never built. The biggest innovation is perhaps that SpaceX and Mr. Musk have applied the accelerated research-and-development approach of Silicon Valley, building fast and fixing failures fast. Two competing teams at SpaceX are each building prototypes of Starship. One is in Florida, near Cape Canaveral; the other is at Boca Chica in Texas. Why is Starship shiny and silver? While most rockets these days have more utilitarian appearances, SpaceX's prototype resembles something from an old sci-fi movie of the 1950s. In part, that is because in its rush to get the prototypes to the launchpad, SpaceX has not bothered with such aesthetic niceties as paint. But there also are good engineering reasons for the choice of material. Mr. Musk originally had planned to use high-tech carbon fiber, but switched to stainless steel. Steel is heavier than carbon fiber and aluminum, another common material used for rockets, but it is also cheaper - about 2 percent of the cost of carbon fiber, Mr. Musk said - and has a higher melting temperature that can more easily withstand the heat of re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. Didn't SpaceX already fly a big rocket? In August, SpaceX tested a simple prototype that it called Starhopper, with a single engine, which Mr. Musk earlier compared to a flying water tower. It lifted to an altitude of 500 feet, flew sideways and then set down at a different spot. The flight lasted 57 seconds. A shorter July flight went 65 feet in the air. When will Starship take off? At Saturday's presentation, Mr. Musk provided updated schedules for the next phase of test launches, which will start with suborbital flights before heading to orbit. While SpaceX officials have said in the past that a cargo version of Starship could start launching satellites as early as 2021, Mr. Musk said that he could even imagine a mission to space with a crew aboard next year. Mr. Musk, however, has a history of overly optimistic predictions. In Guadalajara in 2016, for example, he said the aim was to send the first cargo flight to Mars in 2022 and the first people there two years later. Those dates are unlikely to be met. On Friday, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine reminded Mr. Musk that NASA, SpaceX's biggest and most important customer, was awaiting the delivery of another big SpaceX project: taking NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in the company's Crew Dragon capsules. Neither SpaceX nor Boeing, which also received a contract for providing transportation for NASA astronauts, appears to be on track to launch crews this year. When the contracts were awarded in 2014, NASA hoped that the flights would begin as early as 2017. On Saturday, Mr. Musk responded to Mr. Bridenstine's comments, stating that, "the vast majority," of SpaceX's resources were focused on its current rockets and capsules, including the Crew Dragon capsule for NASA. How does SpaceX make money with Starship? While experts find Starship to be technologically feasible, they do question how SpaceX can make enough money with it. Without a profitable business, SpaceX could not finance its expensive Mars ambitions, which are unlikely to make money anytime soon. Mr. Musk has talked of the Starship replacing both Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. But the rocket is much bigger than needed: Think of taking a semitrailer truck to go grocery shopping. A cargo Starship could conceivably take up several satellites at once, but satellites typically circle Earth in different orbits, and coordinating launches among different customers is difficult. SpaceX officials have also talked about how Starship could shuttle people across the world at speeds much faster than airplanes; a flight from New York to Tokyo could take less than an hour. Still, the question remains: How many people are willing to pay at great expense for a faster trip? How does Starship compare to NASA's rockets? NASA is working on its own big rocket, called the Space Launch System, that will initially be able to lift about 70 metric tons; a later, upgraded version is to lift 130 metric tons. (Starship with Super Heavy will lift more than 100 metric tons.) But while SpaceX's Starship and Super Heavy take advantage of cutting-edge technologies and are fully reusable, S.L.S. is largely a remix of components from the retired space shuttles. It is also not reusable; estimates are that it will cost $1 billion per launch, and launch no more than once a year. NASA also already spent billions on S.L.S., first announced in 2011, and Orion, the crew-carrying capsule. The first S.L.S. flight has been delayed for years; it is not expected to lift off until 2021. The first moon landing by astronauts is to occur on the third launch of S.L.S. Couldn't NASA just buy rides on Starship? The delays and cost overruns of S.L.S. frustrate many space aficionados, as well as NASA's inspector general and the United States Government Accountability Office. Some contend NASA could get places quicker and more cheaply if it took better advantage of commercial developments like Starship. However, to date, Congress, which decides NASA's budget and priorities, has continued to finance work on S.L.S. and Orion. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/28/science/elon-musk-spacex-starship.html Curt Lewis