HKUST STUDENT BRANCH
THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS (AIAA)
MONTHLY ROUNDUP
November edition
Virgin Galactic confirms the Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo suborbital rocket crashed on 31 October during the first powered test flight in nearly 10 months. The start-up suborbital tourism company was unable to immediately confirm reports that the crash killed one of the two test pilots onboard the aircraft. If confirmed, the fatality would be the first death linked to the programme since an explosion during a 2007 ground test of SpaceShipTwo’s propellent killed three Scaled Composites workers.
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#1 The Virgin Galatic crash that occurred last week. Reasons still unknown
SpaceShipTwo crashes during powered test flight
Qatar Airways has selected Frankfurt as the initial destination for its Airbus A350, the first delivery of which it expects by the end of this year.
The Oneworld member airline had previously pointed to New York as a potential candidate for the inaugural route but subsequently backed away from a clear indication.
But it has confirmed that the German hub will be the first connection for A350 services from Doha, beginning in January next year.The aircraft will be configured with 283 seats in two classes, including 36 in business.
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#2 The A350’s first commercial destination revealed as Frankfurt (Qatar Airways)
Qatar unveils first A350 destination
#3 The explosion of the private unmanned space rocket
(destination: International Space Station)
QatarPrivate Rocket Explosion Sparks Investigation by NASA,
Orbital Sciences
The explosion of a commercial Antares rocket just seconds after lifting off from Virginia's Eastern Shore Tuesday night has touched off an in-depth investigation into the launch failure by NASA and the rocket's builder, the Orbital Sciences Corporation.
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Investigators seek radar evidence that Russia says is proof that Ukrainian aircraft attacked flight MH17. Dutch prosecutors are asking Russia for evidence of its claim that a Ukrainian military aircraft shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
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#4 The development of MH17: investigators asked Russia to prove their theory of MH17 being shot down
MH17: Russia Challenged to prove Ukraine shot down plane
The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) announced today (September 2) that its regulations on the use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) on board Hong Kong registered aircraft have been revised such that passengers may be allowed to use certain PEDs like smart phones, e-readers and tablet computers in-flight under certain conditions.
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#5 Use of portable electronic devices on-board Hong Kong registered aircraft
Passengers may be allowed to use certain PEDs like smartphones, e-readers and tablet computers in-flight under certain conditions.
