All articles by Dan Thisdell – Page 11
-
AnalysisANALYSIS: Fast track beckons for Galileo navigation system
After a decade lost to false starts and budget wrangling and a partial launch failure, Europe’s bid to have its own satellite navigation system got a huge boost with what appears to be a perfect mission to orbit the seventh and eighth spacecraft in what will eventually be a 30-unit ...
-
NewsWould two-crew cockpit rule prevent another Germanwings tragedy?
Among the many repercussions of the shocking revelation that Germanwings flight 9525 was deliberately crashed by co-pilot Andreas Lubitz while alone at the controls, the most immediate has been a move to require that there be two crew members in a cockpit at all times.
-
NewsAirbus sale of Dassault stake shows Rafale, Falcon maker's appeal
Airbus’s 25 March move to offload a second tranche of its shareholding in Dassault Aviation has advanced its strategic plan to pare away non-core assets – and underscored the attractiveness to investors of Dassault, a company whose shares have until now been essentially untraded.
-
News
Airbus raises stakes in move to divest Dassault
Airbus’s bid to sell off non-core holdings is set to take a significant step forward, when it offloads a second tranche of shares in Dassault Aviation, taking its stake in the maker of Rafale fighters and Falcon business jets down to about 27%.
-
NewsZero-G flying means high stress for an old A310
Repeatedly pulling 1.8g in fiercely steep climbs and dives is no way for an airline to treat its customers, but for one of the world’s most specialised operators, that’s exactly what they’re paying for.
-
AnalysisANALYSIS: Airbus enjoys fruits of a maturing space age
Like the Solar Orbiter it is building for ESA, Airbus Defence & Space is basking in sunshine
-
AnalysisANALYSIS: 'Radical change well under way' at Finmeccanica
Finmeccanica looks to be rising strongly out of a five-year slump, with 2014 figures showing its first positive net result since 2010 and a strong performance in its aerospace and defence core.
-
NewsFinmeccanica heralds 'significant turnaround' in finances
Finmeccanica on Wednesday, 18 March unveiled a set of 2014 financial results it heralds as a “significant turnaround”, with profit (EBITA) in its core aerospace, defence and security businesses rising nearly a quarter to €833 million ($890 million) on sales up nearly 10% to €11.1 billion.
-
AnalysisANALYSIS: Solar Orbiter mission heats up for the European Space Agency
To get a sense of the challenge in designing the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter mission, consider that the surface temperature on the planet Mercury gets up to 427°C – nearly twice the melting point of tin.
-
NewsNASA deep space ambitions reach milestone with SLS test firing
NASA’s progress toward a 2018 test flight of its massive Space Launch System rocket took a key step forward on 11 March with a ground rig firing of one of its solid boosters.
-
AnalysisANALYSIS: Record-setting Solar Impulse is off to a strong start
As an aviation record-setting machine, Solar Impulse 2 is off to a good start.
-
NewsSolar Impulse: India calls with second leg success
It’s two down and 10 to go for Solar Impulse 2 and its round-the-world solar-powered mission – after crossing the Arabian Sea to reach Ahmedabad, India after a 16h, 790nm (1,465km) second leg from Muscat, Oman.
-
NewsVIDEO: Poor communication between pilots in Argentina helicopter crash?
Argentinian and French authorities investigating the 10 March mid-air helicopter collision that killed eight French nationals – including three star athletes – and both Argentine pilots will have the unusual advantage of video footage of the incident.
-
NewsSolar Impulse: One stage down, 11 to go
Solar Impulse 2 is back on the ground, having arrived at Muscat, Oman, on completion of the first leg of its 12-stop, round-the-world flight.
-
NewsVIDEO: Solar Impulse 2 aloft on first stage of round-world voyage
Solar Impulse, the Swiss-based initiative to demonstrate the power of advanced technologies to tackle global energy challenges, has finally begun its bid to fly round the world on solar power alone, taking off from Abu Dhabi at 0712 local time this morning for a 12hr, 400km first leg to Muscat, ...
-
NewsSolar Impulse poised to open book on round-world adventure
Five years after their ambitious solar powered flight project first got airborne, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg have entered final preparations for the first leg of a five month, 12-stage journey around the world from Abu Dhabi.
-
NewsLow power: Seven aircraft that flew on solar cells and muscle
As Solar Impulse 2 sets off on its long-awaited circumnavigation "without a drop of fuel", we look at some of the experimental aircraft that have paved the way for this milestone flight.
-
NewsMH370: Search continues, but mystery remains as deep as the sea
The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on 8 March 2014 was certainly the most baffling aviation tragedy of the year – if not of all time.
-
AnalysisANALYSIS: Airbus Group eyes rising fortunes as ramp-up rolls on
For a neat summary of the state of affairs at Airbus Group, look to its newest civil airliner, the A350. Calendar 2014 ended with the first delivery, to Qatar Airways.
-
NewsUK spaceport plan moves ahead with sites shortlist
The UK Civil Aviation Authority has moved the country a step closer to establishing a space launch industry geared to suborbital tourism and the launch of small satellites by narrowing the shortlist of possible locations for a spaceport originally named at the 2014 Farnborough air show.