December 7, 2020 - No. 92 In This Issue : STS Aviation Services New Hangar Rising Fast at Orlando Melbourne International Airport : US Aviation Academy and Dutchess Community College Partner to Begin Flight Operations in January 2021 : Honeywell Unveils New Cabin Air Catalyst : Pratt & Whitney adds GTF MRO shop in China : New pilot degree program set for lift off at Southeast, airport : Southwest Airlines plans to furlough 556 Denver airport workers : Corsair Receives €300m As TUI Sheds Its Share : Aviation Advisory Committee meets for the first time : Nigeria airlines may merge due to pandemic – NCAA boss : El Al, Gulf Air sign codeshare MOU : SpaceX launches first in new line of upgraded space station cargo ships STS Aviation Services New Hangar Rising Fast at Orlando Melbourne International Airport REVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Two weeks and lots of progress has been made on the new hangars at STS Aviation Group at the Orlando Melbourne International Airport. The hangar under construction is a closed structure and will house two bays that measure approximately 206 feet by 151 feet. Altogether, the hangar will be just over 62,000 square feet of space. These new hangars will be used to accommodate the increasing demand for aircraft maintenance checks and maintenance, repair and overhaul work at STS Aviation Group. Founded in 1984, STS Aviation Group is a one-stop service provider to the global aviation industry. With headquarters in Jensen Beach, Florida and offices around the world, STS delivers nose-to-tail solutions with unmatched results and expertise. https://spacecoastdaily.com/2020/12/sts-aviation-services-new-hangar-rising-fast-at-orlando-melbourne-international-airport/ US Aviation Academy and Dutchess Community College Partner to Begin Flight Operations in January 2021 US Aviation Academy (USAA) announces a partnership with Dutchess Community College (DCC) located in Poughkeepsie, New York to provide a professional pilot program beginning in January 2021 with flight operations to be conducted out of the Hudson Valley Regional Airport (KPOU). The partnership with DCC is another example of USAA’s commitment to the professional flight training industry. “US Aviation Academy is honored to partner with Dutchess Community College in the development of commercial pilots for our airline affiliates and others,” said Mike Sykes, CEO, US Aviation Group. “We anticipate a huge demand with tremendous job opportunities for our professional pilot students.” Classroom training will be conducted at the DCC campus; however, flight training will be held at the Hudson Valley Regional Airport in conjunction with US Aviation aircraft, facilities, training devices and personnel. The flight program will complement DCC’s new Aircraft Maintenance Technician School (AMTS) which is currently being developed and will launch in an all-new facility located at KPOU. Together, these two programs will establish a premier aviation career training center for the Northeast, enabling students to reach new heights of personal achievement whilst working to alleviate the industry shortage of qualified aircraft technicians and pilots. About Dutchess Community College: Dutchess Community College, in the beautiful mid-Hudson Valley (halfway between New York City and Albany), offers quality and value for those interested in starting a four-year degree at an acclaimed two-year school, as well as those pursuing a career track. The college, which has the lowest tuition rates in the state, awards AS, AA and AAS degrees and certificates. A new, suite-style residence hall allows students to combine the benefits of a DCC education with the experience of living away at college. DCC offers almost 60 programs in an enriching, student-centered environment. Contemporary facilities, outstanding faculty, abundant student activities and a vast artwork collection create a lively, engaging, collaborative community that fosters personal and academic growth. Students give DCC high marks for helpful and accessible faculty and outstanding support services. Students who graduate in the top 10% of their Dutchess County high school may attend DCC tuition-free. About US Aviation Academy: US Aviation Academy has provided world-class professional flight training since 2006 to the domestic market, international market, collegiate programs and the United States Department of Defense. USAA offers FAA Part 141 training including Private, Instrument, Commercial and Certified Flight Instructor ratings. US Aviation Academy has a fleet of over 120 aircraft and simulators, making it one of the largest flight training academies in the United States. The campuses USAA conduct operations out of are Denton Enterprise Airport (KDTO), Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport (KCXO), Fort Worth Alliance Airport (KAFW) and Hudson Valley Regional Airport (KPOU). https://www.prweb.com/releases/us_aviation_academy_and_dutchess_community_college_partner_to_begin_flight_operations_in_january_2021/prweb17592022.htm Honeywell Unveils New Cabin Air Catalyst Earlier this week, Phoenix, Ariz.-based Honeywell Aerospace unveiled a new catalyst for aircraft cabin systems, which will aim to reduce delays and maintenance issues caused by cabin odor events. The new catalyst from Honeywell comes at a time when cabin odor events have seen an increase over the past several years. In 2018, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a safety alert directing carriers to ensure their procedures and checklists “specifically address recognition, differentiation and mitigation of odors, smoke and/or fumes in the cabin and/or flight deck.” Depending on the severity of a cabin odor event, it can cause a flight to be delayed, or, even worse, require passengers to obtain medical attention. For example, in 2019, a Spirit Airlines flight departing Las Vegas experienced an oil smell during taxi. The incident resulted in the evacuation of the aircraft, several passengers being sent to the hospital and required the aircraft to undergo inspection and maintenance. The basic principles of how air gets to the cabin of an aircraft show how these types of cabin odor events can occur. The air required for air conditioning and pressurizing the cabin of an aircraft comes from the engines and is known as “bleed air.” Although bleed air passes through systems that cool the air and remove contaminants from it, bleed air can still occasionally contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and fumes causing odors in the cabin. The new fourth-generation catalyst from Honeywell is known as Combined Hydrocarbon Ozone Catalyst (CHOC4). CHOC4 gets applied to the aircraft’s ozone converter to absorb compounds which cause undesirable odors in the cabin. Tom Hart, Vice President and General Manager of Air & Thermal Systems at Honeywell gave a statement regarding CHOC4, saying, “severe smell-in-cabin incidents can cost airlines up to $50 million per year in flight disruptions and unscheduled maintenance,” “CHOC4 reduces VOCs from the engines and bleed air supply, thereby reducing the severity and frequency of these incidents.” According to Honeywell, CHOC4 can be applied to an existing ozone converter unit as part of normal maintenance. It is now available for the Airbus A320 and Honeywell has plans to expand its availability to more platforms early next year. https://airlinegeeks.com/2020/12/06/honeywell-unveils-new-cabin-air-catalyst/ Pratt & Whitney adds GTF MRO shop in China Pratt & Whitney announced that it will expand its global network of providers that maintain the Pratt & Whitney GTF engine to include MTU Maintenance Zhuhai. A joint venture between MTU Aero Engines and China Southern Airline Company, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai will provide engine maintenance for PW1100G-JM engines for the Airbus A320neo family of aircraft. The Zhuhai facility will be MTU’s third facility to serve engines with full disassembly, assembly and test capability in the GTF MRO network. MTU Maintenance Zhuhai will become the second facility in China and fifth in Asia supporting GTF MRO work, alongside AMECO in China, Pratt & Whitney’s Eagle Services Asia (ESA) in Singapore, as well as IHI and MHIAEL in Japan. China is home to one of the largest GTF fleets, powering 11 airlines with 140 A320neo family aircraft in operation. Pratt & Whitney has a long history in China, dating back more than 90 years. “We have a strong, storied history with MTU and China Southern,” said Rick Deurloo, chief commercial officer at Pratt & Whitney. “Pratt & Whitney has powered China Southern for many years and they were the first mainland Chinese airline to take delivery of an Airbus A320neo aircraft powered by the game-changing GTF engine. We look forward to continuing to support GTF customers in China.” https://asianaviation.com/pratt-whitney-adds-second-gtf-mro-shop-in-china/ New pilot degree program set for lift off at Southeast, airport Southeast Missouri State University, which launched an unmanned aircraft systems (drone) degree program in 2017, announced Friday its students will soon be training to become aviation pilots. Inside Commander Hanger at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, Southeast president Carlos Vargas, airport manager Katrina Amos and U.S. Aviation Group (USAG) chief development officer Mark Taylor of Denton, Texas, signed a partnership agreement to begin a four-year Professional Pilot program at Southeast beginning in the fall of 2021. Parked directly behind the trio was a four-seat Cessna 127 Skyhawk plane, a single-engine, fixed-wing aircraft in which future pupils will likely be trained. Vargas said Southeast’s Board of Regents gave the green light in May to the program and added the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development did the same this summer. The university will host the Bachelor of Science in its STEM college — the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Vargas said the objective of the four-year program is clear — to enable students who complete the classwork and training “to get a job immediately as pilots.” Unique arrangement USAG will own the aircraft, will provide necessary maintenance to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards and will be responsible for training students with in-flight lessons and in simulators at the Cape Girardeau airport — with whom USAG has signed a lease agreement. Classroom work on the degree, managed by USAG, will take place at Southeast’s main campus in Cape Girardeau. Amos, who became airport manager in January following the retirement of Bruce Loy, called Friday “historic” and said the pilot degree is the culmination of a 12-year conversation “about what such a program will do for the (Southeast) region.” USAG’s initial foray into America’s heartland U.S. Aviation Group’s Taylor said his company currently manages pilot education and training at two community colleges in Texas and one in New York. The company, he said, is also training 250 students at its corporate headquarters in Denton. USAG, which started to train pilots 13 years ago, has never had operations in the Midwest, though. “We expect the program (at Southeast) to grow exponentially,” said Taylor, with an expectation of 20 to 25 students in fall 2021. Southeast, in a news release, said graduates of the program should be able to find work as commercial pilots, as freight, military and regional airline pilots, as flight instructors, as corporate aviators or work in charter operations. Taylor said USAG has connections with three commercial carriers to help graduates find employment — United and Southwest Airlines, plus Envoy Air, a regional carrier formerly known as American Eagle. According to CAE, an aviation technology company, pilot demand between now and 2029 will significantly increase. “Beginning in late 2021, there will be a short-term need for approximately 27,000 new professional pilots. This demand will continue through the decade as the industry is expected to require more than 260,000 new pilots,” CAE’s 2020-2029 ”Pilot Demand Outlook” report states. Vargas acknowledged the pandemic has hurt the airline industry but said when the public health emergency eventually passes, more pilots will be needed. Expense As most students of the physical sciences realize, tuition is just part of the cost of getting a degree. In addition to the Professional Pilot degree tuition and fees, the university indicated Friday there will be “substantial lab fees” ranging from $71,000 to $75,000 over the four years. Vargas said a minimum of 121 credit hours will be required to complete the degree, including 42 hours of general education coursework. Vargas, who came to Southeast directly from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania in 2015, opined that upon arrival in Cape Girardeau he was surprised to learn how many members of the community were “into aviation,” noting a sizable number of area residents own planes — taking a moment to note the presence Friday of Ken Jackson, retired Dexter School District superintendent, himself a private pilot. USAG’s Taylor noted the hospitality of the Cape Girardeau community was a factor in choosing to associate with Southeast and the Cape Girardeau airport, adding a coda to his remarks. “We’re ready to start flying in Cape,” he said. https://www.semissourian.com/story/2852026.html Southwest Airlines plans to furlough 556 Denver airport workers Southwest Airlines, the second-largest carrier operating at Denver International Airport, informed the state Thursday that it would furlough 556 of its Colorado employees unless it can reach agreements with four of its unions on cost-cutting measures or obtain more federal assistance from Congress. “The involuntary furlough will take place next year unless we reach cost-saving agreements,” Julie Weber, chief people officer at the Dallas-based carriers said in a letter sent to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The Denver cuts are part of a larger national reduction of 6,800 workers that Southwest announced Thursday. Since taking to the air in 1971, the carrier has never laid off or furloughed workers. Southwest participated in the Payroll Support Program, which provided $32 billion to the aviation industry under the CARES Act. When that funding expired at the end of September, the company turned to a voluntary separation program, an extended emergency time off program, and pay cuts for managers and non-union employees. About 25% of workers took the voluntary separations, Weber said. The company also entered into cost-cutting negotiations with the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, the Transport Workers Union of America representing its flight attendants, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, representing its customer service agents, and the Transport Workers Union of America, representing its ramp, operations, provisioning and freight agents. “After over two months of discussions, we have not made meaningful progress in cost-saving negotiations,” Weber said in her letter. Jon Weaks, the head of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, said in a video sent out to pilots that the union had proposed several options for reaching the company’s cost-saving goals but that all of them had been rejected by labor negotiators. “A furlough is not a foregone conclusion. We will continue to engage with the company,” he said. “Their entire process has been flawed.” The 10% cut in pay the airline asked pilots to take would save about $220 million, but Weaks said they could be achieved in other ways and that the company was putting undue stress on its employees ahead of the holidays. Unless there is a breakthrough in union negotiations or an agreement on additional stimulus, the company plans to furlough 54 customer service agents, 13 provisioning agents and 73 ramp agents in Denver on March 15, followed by furloughs for 327 flight attendants and 89 pilots starting April 1. Southwest said in its letter that it had trimmed $8 billion in spending for its original budget and raised $18.9 billion from investors. But that still wasn’t enough to cover a 70% revenue loss it suffered in the third quarter. With stimulus negotiations crawling along in Congress, and union negotiations stalled, the company said it had no option but to cut salaries, wages and benefits. Before the pandemic, Southwest was looking to absorb 16 new gates on Concourse C and was building a $100 million maintenance facility. It counted nearly 4,200 employees in Denver in the summer of 2019 and by the following November received $12.9 million in state tax incentives linked to it adding another 1,013 jobs. In late July, Frontier Airlines, the airport’s third-largest carrier, said it would sideline just shy of 400 workers. American Airlines announced plans to drop 109 of its Denver employees. In September United Airlines, the largest carrier in Denver, updated its layoff plans, saying it would furlough 913 workers in Denver, down from the 2,820 initially slated to stop working in a July notification. https://www.greeleytribune.com/2020/12/05/southwest-airlines-denver-airport-furloughs-2/ Corsair Receives €300m As TUI Sheds Its Share Corsair announced last week that a consortium of investors and the state of France has signed an agreement to ensure the long-term sustainability of the airline. The transaction should be finalized before 2021 hits after approval by the Commercial Court of Créteil and will see the airline raise €300 million ($364 million). Notably, the move will see the TUI Group and Intro Aviation sell their entire stake in the carrier’s capital. A crucial move According to a press release seen by Simple Flying, the agreement allows Corsair to take on the unprecedented challenges brought on by the global health crisis. The airline highlights France’s support of the aviation industry as a strong factor in its determination to overcome the difficulties. “The consortium of investors, which becomes 100% shareholder, will play a decisive role in the success of Corsair On the initiative of two entrepreneurs, Eric Kourry and Patrick Vial-Collet, a consortium was quickly formed, bringing together entrepreneurs, particularly from the tourism and hotel sectors, based in the West Indies, Reunion Island and Guyana, as well as local authorities,” the press release says, translated from French. “Fully aware of the essential role of air transport for the economic and tourist development of the overseas departments and regions (DROM), the consortium acquires all of Corsair’s capital in order to support it in a restructuring project and development, and thus allow the maintenance of a sufficient number of actors on the services of the DROM.” Looking to bounce back The statement emphasizes that the consortium will quickly help strengthen Corsair’s position. Ultimately, the carrier now has the tools to weather the crisis and pursue the implementation of its strategic plan. The financial support gives it a solid basis to ensure its sustainability. Altogether, the €300 million will reinforce the airline’s equity and cash flow. So, it can recover from the pandemic with confidence while building its level of competitiveness as it seeks to seize all opportunities. The operator’s movements to reducing fixed costs have already made it possible to obtain considerable results. It has signed new open-ended agreements. This, along with cost reductions, will simplify operations and improve performance. Planning ahead Above all, Corsair’s move towards a sustainable business program will help it achieve success with its fleet renewal and modernization project that is underway. The airline has firm orders for five Airbus A330-900neos, which will start to arrive from next February. The fifth A330-200neo will replace the last A330-200 still present in the carrier’s holdings. This move will bring the fleet age to less than half a decade old. Efficiency and environmental goals will also be supported here. The carrier highlights the NEO’s ability to reduce carbon emissions and noise pollution over previous generation aircraft. To develop its position as an overseas outfit, Corsair will focus on operations to the French overseas territories. There will be the strengthening of services to current destinations such as Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion, Mauritius, Abidjan, and Montreal. However, there will also be expansions to new destinations such as Mayotte from next month. https://simpleflying.com/corsair-funding/ Aviation Advisory Committee meets for the first time Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects Ian Borg and former European Commissioner Karmenu Vella greeted the Aviation Advisory Committee for the first time during a meeting discussing prospective plans for the aviation sector. The Aviation Advisory Committee aims to advise and support the minister responsible for aviation in ensuring that the aviation industry in Malta continues to grow quantitively and improve qualitatively in an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable manner. Minister Ian Borg said, “Despite the negative impact that the pandemic has had on the aviation industry, now, that it seems that a ray of light has sprung to overcome this pandemic, the aviation sector will once again be an essential part of our strategy towards economic recovery. Today we have a committee made up of experts in the field of aviation whose work will surely lead to prolific assistance provided to the government to further develop and lead this sector towards more growth and sustainability, not only by addressing its current needs, but by also pinpointing future prospects which together will lead to various opportunities by this economic pillar; the aviation sector.” This first meeting of this committee has taken place today, specifically because today marks the International Civil Aviation Day where many countries, including Malta, commemorate the importance of civil aviation for social and economic development. It is worth mentioning that this year, our country commemorates the 105th anniversary since the first departed aircraft flight from our country. Today the aviation sector accounts for a significant part of the Maltese GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and supports almost 50,000 jobs both directly and indirectly. Minister Ian Borg also mentioned that Malta is a highly reputable jurisdiction regarding aircraft registration and said how in recent years we have seen both an increase in aircraft registrations and the number of commercial companies that are choosing to base their operations in Malta. He added that today, the Malta 9H Aviation Register has a total of more than 500 aircrafts registered under its name as well as four new certified airlines, with three more potentially wanting to certify themselves in the near future. Minister Borg added that the concept of aviation leasing, a project which was announced earlier this year together with Prime Minister Robert Abela, was essential and pointed out that as a concept, it continues to raise the quality of the existing aviation centre by opening new opportunities for engineers, for legal entities which assist those who want to venture into new opportunities in our country, for companies that offer financial services, for those that offer ancillary services such as aircraft maintenance and for the hospitality and property sectors among others. Former European Commissioner Karmenu Vella said that the Maltese aviation sector is central to our economy and the Ministry’s main objective is to have a safe, competitive, and a sustainable industry that contributes to the overall Maltese economy. He said that, “This can only be achieved through a well-planned National Aviation Policy which aims to ensure the elements of high quality, safety, reliability, competitivity and sustainability in the areas of economic growth, connectivity, entrepreneurship, employment, consumer protection, and research and innovation. This is one of the first priorities of the Aviation Advisory Committee.” Vella added that Minister Borg is also determined to stimulate and strive for better co-ordination and co-operation between all the major aviation stakeholders, both public and private. For this reason, another priority of the Aviation Advisory Committee is to set up and start an Aviation Stakeholders Forum where all stakeholders can contribute and be part of the decision-making process of the aviation policies. The Aviation Stakeholders Forum will also allow all stakeholders to interact and communicate on their synergies and common interests. https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2020-12-07/local-news/Aviation-Advisory-Committee-meets-for-the-first-time-6736229247 Nigeria airlines may merge due to pandemic – NCAA boss The Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Capt. Musa Nuhu, has foreseen a merger of airlines in the aviation sector due to the current crisis that has engulfed the sector. He made this statement while assessing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the industry during an NTA programme on Saturday evening. He said, “The COVID-19 pandemic exaggerated a bad situation; some airlines may not survive but the industry will come back better. It has always gone through crisis but has come out stronger. The Airlines Operators of Nigeria are coming together to see what they can do to help the situation and they met with me. The industry will be different altogether. “I am sure a lot of them will see changes in their model. I won’t be surprised there would be merger activities around airlines to reduce cost and survive.” Reacting to the increase in airfares, he stressed that airlines were in financial distress and required bailouts. He said, “The airlines carry their maintenance out of the country and it is done in foreign exchange. They need to raise enough money to service the aircraft. “The airlines have to find a source of raising more naira. Passenger load has decreased during the pandemic. That is why they have been significant increase airfares, they are trying their best and by the time the bailout kicks in, things will be better.” https://punchng.com/nigeria-airlines-may-merge-due-to-pandemic-ncaa-boss/ El Al, Gulf Air sign codeshare MOU El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) and Bahrain's national airline Gulf Air have signed a memorandum of understandings with a view to a future agreement on codeshare flights between Manama, the capital of Bahrain, and Tel Aviv, and on Gulf Air flights from Manama to the Far East and El Al flights from Tel Aviv to Europe. The memorandum also covers the airlines' customer loyalty clubs, cargo, maintenance services and aviation technology, and tourism. Gulf Air is due to begin direct flights between Manama and Tel Aviv on January 7, 2021. The signing took place during the official visit of Bahrain's Minister of Industry and Commerce Zayed Bin Rashid Al Zayani and his entourage to Israel. The memorandum was signed by El Al chairman David Brodet and by Al Zayani, who is also chairman of state-owned Gulf Air. El Al recently signed a similar MOU with Abu Dhabi -based Etihad Airways. https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-El-Al-Gulf-Air-sign-MOU-on-codesharing-1001351904 SpaceX launches first in new line of upgraded space station cargo ships An upgraded version of SpaceX’s Dragon cargo freighter launched Sunday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, loaded with 3.2 tons of supplies and experiments in the first of at least nine resupply flights to the International Space Station under a new NASA contract. The cargo capsule lifted off on top of a 215-foot-tall (65-meter) Falcon 9 rocket at 11:17:08 a.m. EST (1617:08 GMT) Sunday, vaulting away from pad 39A with 1.7 million pounds of thrust from nine Merlin main engines. The launch signaled the start of SpaceX’s 21st operational resupply flight to the space station, and the first using the company’s new generation of Dragon cargo capsules. The first 20 flights, spanning a period from 2012 until earlier this year, used a now-retired version of the Dragon spacecraft. The second-generation Dragon supply ship is based on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon vehicle designed to fly with astronauts. On the cargo capsule, SpaceX removed the crew-rated ship’s launch abort system and replaced the vehicle’s touchscreen displays and seats with racks and freezers to hold supplies and experiments. The Cargo Dragon rocketed to the northeast on top of the Falcon 9 rocket, flying with a first stage booster recovered after three previous flights. Around two-and-a-half minutes into the mission, after the Falcon 9 surpassed the speed of sound and soared into the upper atmosphere, the booster shut down its engines and separated to begin descent maneuvers targeting a SpaceX landing platform parked several hundred miles northeast of the Kennedy Space Center in the Atlantic Ocean. A Merlin engine tailored for firing in the airless vacuum of space ignited on the Falcon 9’s second stage and fired for six minutes to inject the Cargo Dragon into orbit. The reusable 15-story first stage booster nailed its landing on SpaceX’s floating drone ship roughly eight-and-a-half minutes after liftoff, completing its fourth mission to space and back. Moments later, the Cargo Dragon deployed from the rocket’s upper stage and opened its nose cone, revealing sensitive navigation sensors, a docking port, and forward thrusters for the planned 26-hour journey to the International Space Station. The Cargo Dragon spacecraft is loaded with 6,553 pounds (2,972 kilograms) of equipment and research hardware, including a new commercial airlock developed and owned by Nanoracks for attachment to the space station. There are also fresh food packages and provisions on-board for the space station’s seven-person crew. According to SpaceX, the new Cargo Dragon spacecraft can haul about 20 percent more cargo volume than previous Dragon supply ships. The new cargo vehicle can stay at the space station for up to 75 days, more than twice as long as the first-generation Dragon spacecraft, said Sarah Walker, director of Dragon mission management at SpaceX. The Cargo Dragon can be be reused up to five times, an improvement over the three-flight design of the first-generation Dragon cargo capsule. The new spacecraft will autonomously dock with the space station. Past Dragon cargo missions had to be captured by astronauts using the space station’s Canadian robot arm. That change reduces the workload on the space station crew and makes the Cargo Dragon’s rendezvous profile nearly identical to the Crew Dragon, but the docking port used by the new Cargo Dragon has a narrower passageway than the connection used by the berthing system on the first-generation Dragon cargo capsule. Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus supply ship is designed to berth to the space station with the robotic arm, offering transportation for bulkier items. The upgraded cargo capsules will splash down under parachutes in the Atlantic Ocean east of Florida, rather than the previous recovery zone in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California. The Dragon recovery vessels stationed at Port Canaveral, Florida, have helipads, allowing SpaceX to remove cargo and scientific specimens from the Cargo Dragon for transport to the Kennedy Space Center within hours, instead of days, said Kirt Costello, NASA’s chief scientist for the International Space Station. “That ability to get science back quickly is so important for space biology because we want to understand whether the effects that we’re trying to measure on orbit are due to the microgravity condition or due to the stress that a participant or a sample might see on landing,” Costello said. “So having those returned to the Cape really quickly and handed over to our scientists is a great new capability.” The Cargo Dragons, like SpaceX’s Crew Dragons, will be refurbished between missions inside a facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Splashdowns in the Atlantic Ocean shorten the travel time for the spacecraft from the recovery zone to the refurbishment site. SpaceX says all upgraded Cargo Dragon missions will launch from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, the same facility that hosts crew launches. That allows ground teams to load last-minute supplies and time-sensitive experiments into the capsule using the access arm built for astronauts. NASA signed a new cargo delivery contract with SpaceX for at least six upgraded Cargo Dragon space station flights in 2016. A NASA spokesperson said in November that the resupply contract has been extended to cover nine Cargo Dragon missions. After its successful launch Sunday, the Cargo Dragon was expected to fire its Draco thrusters in a series of maneuvers to fine-tune its course toward the space station. The cargo freighter will approach the space station from below, then perform a half-circle flyaround to position itself above the station. The Cargo Dragon will perform the first-ever docking on the zenith, or space-facing, port on the station’s Harmony module at 1:30 p.m. EST (1830 GMT) Monday. Once docked, the space station astronauts will open hatches leading to the Cargo Dragon to start unpacking the equipment. The space station’s robotic arm will remove a commercial airlock, or doorway, from the Cargo Dragon’s trunk and place it on the Tranquility module. The bell-shaped Bishop airlock, owned by Houston-based Nanoracks, will move equipment into and out of the space station, expanding on a similar capability currently provided by an airlock inside the Japanese Kibo lab module. “About five years ago, Nanoracks identified a need for customer and market demand for a bigger airlock, and one that could be opened a little more frequently than the Kibo one,” said Brock Howe, Nanoracks project manager for the Bishop airlock. So far, Nanoracks has signed agreements with NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Japanese robotics company GITAI to use the new airlock to dispose of trash and perform experiments. Other customers could use the airlock to deploy small satellites. The station’s robotic arm will periodically move the airlock on and off its home on the Tranquility module. The operations plan allows astronauts to mount satellites and experiments inside the airlock before the robot arm removes it to expose the payloads to the space environment. The Bishop airlock is about five times bigger than the Kibo airlock. The new airlock also has exterior connections to host experiments outside the space station. “There are a lot of different environments that the scientists can use, a lot of different volumes and scientists can use, a lot of different payload power and data capabilities on-board the airlock that really will enhance their ability to do some really cool science on-board ISS,” Howe said. Other items on the way to the space station inside the Cargo Dragon include spares and consumables for the research lab’s new female-friendly toilet, live rodents and support hardware for biological experiments, and an upgraded catalytic reactor for the water processing system. One experiment on the Cargo Dragon mission, named BioAsteroid, will look at how microbes might assist in mining material on asteroids. “BioAsteroid is an experiment to study whether we can use microorganisms, bacteria or fungi, to extract economically interesting elements from asteroid material,” said Charles Cockell, professor of astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh and BioAsteroid’s principal investigator. “It’s essentially what we would call a biomining experiment, and we hope to learn whether we can use microbes to extract things like rare Earth elements and other elements that can be used to sustain a self-sustaining human presence throughout the solar system.” The BioAsteroid experiment follows a similar investigation named BioRock, which demonstrated how microbes could extract valuable metals from basalt rock, a material that covers the moon and Mars. Now scientists want to study if a similar biomining setup could be used on asteroids. Other payloads on the Cargo Dragon mission will help scientists learn more about how spaceflight affects cardiovascular cells and human brain organoids, yielding insights into how microgravity impacts the survival and metabolism of brain cells. https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/12/06/spacex-launches-first-in-new-line-of-upgraded-space-station-cargo-ships/ Curt Lewis