June 19, 2017 - No. 049 In This Issue Boeing Takes on Airbus With $30 Billion Flurry for Biggest 737 Honeywell Connectivity Improves Passenger Experience Bombardier's FlightLink System for C Series Aircraft Showing Strong Benefits as Fleet of In-service Jetliners Grows Spanish Project To Introduce Drones at Airbus Plant Airbus Adds Cost-Saving Upgrades to A380 to Boost Sales GE's Digital Initiative Is Driving Uncertainty Out of Operations ST Aerospace Continues to Win Recognition as Top Global MRO Service Provider GE Launches New Partnership for Open Flight Deck Falcon 9 launch delay sets up potential SpaceX 'doubleheader' next weekend Rolls-Royce Advance Test Engine Readied for Testing Boeing Takes on Airbus With $30 Billion Flurry for Biggest 737 Boeing Co. is set to receive orders and commitments worth roughly $30 billion for the stretched Max 10 upgrade of the 737 workhorse, as its first new jet in almost four years counters Airbus SE's headstart at the largest end of the single-aisle aircraft market. The biggest 737 variant is set to get more than 240 orders from at least 10 different airlines, Boeing said at the launch announcement on Monday. The U.S. planemaker is confident the model can carve out sales and stem customer defections to the Airbus A321neo, which has racked up a considerable sales lead since being launched three years ago and still has room for upgrades. "We think the timing's just right," Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenberg said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. "Max 8 and Max 9 continue to be at the heart of the market. The Max 10 is going to add" to a portfolio that boasts a production backlog of seven years. The Max 10 will seat as many as 230 passengers, roughly matching its European rival while burning 5 percent less fuel thanks to a lighter construction, Boeing says. United Airlines, Indonesia's Lion Mentari Airlines PT and SpiceJet Ltd. of India are among a clutch of carriers that may place contracts at the expo, Bloomberg News reported this month, citing people familiar with the negotiations. The Max 10, which will be Boeing's first new model since the unveiling of the 777X series at the Dubai Air Show in 2013, will be 5 1/2 feet (1.68 meters) longer than the $119.2 million Max 9, currently the biggest member of the re-engined 737 family, which was launched alongside the Max 7 and 8 in 2011. Boeing said demand for single-aisle planes as well as widebodies remain buoyant despite concerns about turbulence in the Middle East and low fuel prices serving as disincentive to invest in more efficient aircraft. "We are continuing to see strong energy in the marketplace," said Muilenberg, predicting that new orders should roughly match deliveries this year. "I think there's a little upside here this week" at the Paris show. The stretched version of the 737 will be achieved by adding a 40-inch segment in front of the plane's wings, and a 26-inch plug behind them, with the wings themselves slightly modified to reduce drag at lower speeds. In order to carry the extra payload, the Max 10 will be equipped with larger, higher-thrust engines. The engines' position on the wings will be moved to affect the aircraft's center of gravity. The plane will also get taller landing gear to help resolve balance and tail-skid issues that cropped up with the 737-900ER, Keith Leverkuhn, general manager of the Max program, said in an interview at the show site at Le Bourget Airport on Sunday. The longest earlier-generation model is prone to tipping up if hold baggage isn't balanced carefully. The cumulative changes, which Boeing reckons it has achieved on a shoestring budget, are resonating well with customers, Kevin McAllister, who heads Boeing's commercial-airplanes arm, said Sunday. The Chicago-based company projects that the Max 9 and 10 will together capture 25 percent to 30 percent of 737 sales over the next 20 years. The mid-sized Max 8 -- ordered by carriers including Southwest Airlines Co. -- will remain the "core" offering and account for the bulk of demand. That could mean that the Max 10 runs a risk of cannibalizing sales of the Max 9. Airbus's chief salesman John Leahy said in Mexico this month that the new Boeing plane looks "very marginal" and risks compromising range and performance for "a few extra seats." Airbus itself could stretch the A321neo, its largest narrow-body, should demand be sufficient, he said. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-19/boeing-set-to-commit-to-first-new-jet- since-2013-with-bigger-737 Back to Top Honeywell Connectivity Improves Passenger Experience How can airborne connectivity impact the passenger experience? Honeywell (Chalet 104) has set out to answer this question with its Boeing 757 connected aircraft test platform. Currently on its worldwide "Power of Connected Tour," the hard-working, stripped-down airliner (the fifth 757 ever built) is outfitted with technology that can enhance the roles of pilots, operators and passengers. AIN was able to learn more about the passenger experience on the connected aircraft when the Honeywell tour stopped at New York's LaGuardia Airport on June 9. According to Honeywell, the passenger experience is improved by upgraded airborne connectivity speeds that are up to 100 times faster than other airborne technologies. Airline customers also enjoy high-speed connections with fewer dropped links, as well as smoother and safer flights, made possible by Honeywell's GoDirect products (see story on this page). The most key driver of the connected aircraft is Honeywell's GX Aviation technology for airline passengers and JetConnex for business aviation users. Powered by Honeywell's JetWave satellite communications hardware, GX Aviation and JetConnex bring high-speed airborne connectivity to commercial and business aircraft, via Inmarsat's Global Xpress Ka-band satellite network, which began service in 2016. Along with GX Aviation and JetConnex, Honeywell also offers a satcom network app that allows administrators to control permissions and restrict data streaming on devices; and it even can be used to block devices from the Wi-Fi system if a passenger consumes too much expensive data. On board the 757 connected aircraft on a "flight to nowhere" from LaGuardia, AIN was able to test the connectivity by streaming audio and video, video conferencing, texting and accessing social media and email accounts during the one-hour demo hop. Ultimately, there were 33 devices connected at one time without any major issues. Ka-band streaming rates are on the order of up to 32 megabits per second (Mbps), although rates are lower for business aircraft-up to 15 Mbps-due to antenna size limitations. Erica Brinker, Honeywell senior director, connected aircraft, told AIN that the looming possibility of a U.S.laptop ban for flights coming in from Europe could potentially be a hurdle for any company offering high-speed airborne connectivity, as passengers wouldn't be able to carry on larger devices on airliners. However, smaller mobile devices can easily tap into GX Aviation connectivity so passengers could complete work that they would normally reserve for their laptop on their phones or tablets. In addition, airlines control bandwidth restrictions and offer various connectivity packages, meaning that, in theory, they could incentivize passengers to carry smaller devices by increasing bandwidth for those traveling with tablets or phones. The 757 connected aircraft has visited San Francisco, Dallas, LaGuardia and London, but the first leg of the Power of Connected Tour ends here at the Paris Air Show. The aircraft will be on display from June 17 to 20. The second leg of the tour starts in July and will include stops in Dubai, Beijing, Tokyo and a few more cities over the rest of the year. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2017-06-18/honeywell-connectivity- improves-passenger-experience Back to Top Bombardier's FlightLink System for C Series Aircraft Showing Strong Benefits as Fleet of In-service Jetliners Grows MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - June 18, 2017) - Bombardier Commercial Aircraft announced today that customers are benefiting from the C Series Aircraft Health Management System (AHMS) following the successful entry-into-service (EIS) of the CS100 and CS300 aircraft last year. Now known as the "FlightLink" system, this suite of services leverages the vast amount of data recorded from C Series aircraft, rapidly moving that key data from the air to the ground, and from the ground to the customer. It enhances decision-making on aircraft performance and maintenance, eliminating wait times and allowing for rapid analysis. The system thereby optimizes aircraft availability and lowers maintenance costs. Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) and Air Baltic Corporation AS (airBaltic) have signed up and have been utilizing the FlightLink system for the management of their CS100 and CS300 aircraft since EIS. Delta Air Lines has signed up for the system to facilitate the management of its ordered CS100 aircraft. Other customers continue to familiarize themselves with the system during briefing and training sessions being conducted by Bombardier as they get closer to their EIS. "Our FlightLink system for C Series aircraft is specifically designed to optimize aircraft availability and lower maintenance costs throughout the life cycle of the aircraft. With the entry-into-service of SWISS' CS100 and CS300 aircraft, as well as airBaltic's CS300 aircraft, we are now capturing vast amounts of data and supporting our operators in the management of their C Series aircraft from our Customer Services nerve centre in Mirabel, Québec," said Todd Young, Vice President and General Manager, Customer Services and Q400 Aircraft Program, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. "Combined with the C Series aircraft's unmatched performance, economics and environmental credentials, the FlightLink system affords operators with dispatch reliability levels and cost-savings that have not previously been available in this market segment." "With nine C Series aircraft now in our fleet, we are beginning to see the strong capabilities of the FlightLink system. It's a powerful tool that keeps us informed about the performance of our C Series aircraft," said Gabriele Pedrazzini, Head of Maintenance Operation Control, SWISS. "Our decision-making regarding the maintenance requirements for our C Series aircraft is easier now that we're fully utilizing the FlightLink system. We expect that this advantage will become even more evident as more C Series aircraft are added to our fleet," said Andris Vaivads, Senior Vice President of Technical Operations, airBaltic. "As we prepare for the entry-into-service of the CS100 aircraft at Delta, our teams are gaining much insight from Bombardier's deployment of the FlightLink system. We look forward to the introduction of the CS100 to our fleet and to the operational advantages that will come with the FlightLink system," said Greg May, Senior Vice President, Supply Chain Management and Fleet Strategy, Delta Air Lines. The C Series aircraft is manufactured by the C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership, an affiliate of the Bombardier Commercial Aircraft segment of Bombardier Inc. About the C Series Aircraft FlightLink System The C Series aircraft FlightLink system is a health management tool that leverages the vast amount of data recorded and transmitted from C Series aircraft. It works by taking data from aircraft during flight, running that data through Bombardier's expert data management system, and transmitting the results directly to the customer. The system allows operators to make intelligent decisions on aircraft performance and maintenance, optimizing aircraft availability and lowering maintenance costs. Customizable for a specific aircraft, or for an entire fleet, the FlightLink system is available to all operators of Bombardier's C Series family of aircraft. Utilizing an easy-to-use, web-based interface, the FlightLink system reduces manpower requirements relating to data management and analysis, saving airlines time and money. Its real- time monitoring feature allows customers to track their aircraft while they're still flying, providing instant data to teams on the ground and leading to timely, fact-based decisions. The secure FlightLink system provides for the wireless transfer of data from the aircraft to the ground, and its highly customizable data management capabilities allow for automatic data download to all approved users within an organization. The FlightLink system provides operators with the capability to wirelessly upload data, such as Field Loadable Software and configuration files, directly to an aircraft prior to flight. The system can analyze data based on pre-defined metrics, or be customized to focus on specific analytics chosen by the customer. About Bombardier Bombardier is the world's leading manufacturer of both planes and trains. Looking far ahead while delivering today, Bombardier is evolving mobility worldwide by answering the call for more efficient, sustainable and enjoyable transportation everywhere. Our vehicles, services and, most of all, our employees are what make us a global leader in transportation. Bombardier is headquartered in Montréal, Canada. Our shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD) and we are listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, we posted revenues of $16.3 billion. News and information are available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier. http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12344988/bombardiers-flightlink-system-for-c-series- aircraft-showing-strong-benefits-as-fleet-of-in-service-jetliners-grows Back to Top Spanish Project To Introduce Drones at Airbus Plant Researchers with Spain's Center for Advanced Aerospace Technologies (CATEC), the University of Seville and Airbus will test the use of a small multi-rotor drone to perform tasks in an aerospace manufacturing plant under the European Robotics Challenges (EuRoC). The university-led Group on Robotics, Vision and Control (GRVC) and CATEC represent one of two teams selected to advance to the third stage of the challenge, which calls for starting a pilot program in an actual factory. The GRVC-CATEC team will implement a drone-based tool delivery and locating system at Airbus Defence and Space's Centro Bahía de Cádiz site in El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain, early next year, said Antidio Viguria, head of CATEC's avionics and unmanned systems department. The plant specializes in manufacturing carbon fiber components for programs including the A400M transport and A330 MRTT (multi-role tanker transport). It also produces fan cowl doors for the A320neo narrowbody airliner. TUM Flyers, consisting of the Technical University of Munich and Swiss engineering and architectural firm Schällibaum, was the second team chosen to advance under the "plant servicing and inspection" track of the robotics challenge, which is funded by the European Union. It is developing a system using drones to inspect bridges and other structures. Under the initiative, the GRVC-CATEC researchers have developed two use cases-employing drones to transport small tools where they are needed; and to locate missing tools to prevent foreign object damage (FOD) in the manufacturing process. In the latter case, the drone locates a missing tool marked with an ultra-wideband radio frequency identification (RFID) tag. The team named the project ARCOW, for Aerial Robot Co-Worker in Plant Servicing. During the first nine months of the robotics challenge, the team developed the basic technology and control algorithms at an indoor obstacle course at CATEC. The project used a multi-rotor drone supplied by Ascending Technologies, a German company that U.S. semiconductor manufacturer Intel acquired in early 2016. CATECand the university fitted the drone with an off-the-shelf Asus depth-sensing camera and developed an indoor localization system using the sensor for trajectory planning and obstacle avoidance. In January, the European Parliament awarded the GRVC-CATEC team the "Best Drone-Based Solution" prize at the first European Union Drone Awards ceremony held in Brussels. Clear Flight Solutions of Enschede, The Netherlands, developer of robotic, remotely controlled "Robirds" for controlling birds at airports, among other drone applications, was also recognized in the best drone- based solution category. Microdrones of Germany was best drone manufacturer; Unifly of Belgium, best emerging drone company. "I think there are many use cases for indoor application" of drones, Viguria said. "The good thing," he added, "is that aeronautical authorities do not regulate the indoor environment." Airbus has already demonstrated the use of Ascending Technologies' Falcon 8 drone with RealSense depth-sensing technology from Intel to visually inspect airliners. The manufacturer has said it will implement drone inspections of the A350XWB widebody airliner this year. "Now it's a manual system with people having to climb all over the plane," Intel CEO Brian Krzanich told the Xponential 2017 conference in Dallas in May. "With Airbus we've developed a system that's capable of doing [inspections] both on the tarmac or in the hangar. Airbus has developed additional software that allows you to do an airplane inspection, identify and geolocate defects, understand their size and dimensions, then push out a data report that allows you to go back and do a repair." Boeing has also demonstrated the use of a DJI Phantom quadcopter for 737 Max waterspray testing in Glasgow, Montana. "For the first time, engineers will have a view from above as well as below, capturing footage to help determine how the airplane will stand up against mother nature's torrents," the manufacturer states in a video. http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2017-06-18/spanish-project-introduce-drones- airbus-plant Back to Top Airbus Adds Cost-Saving Upgrades to A380 to Boost Sales Airbus SE formalized plans to upgrade its A380 superjumbo with fuel-saving winglets as the European planemaker seeks to revive sales of the flagship model. The 4.7-meter (15-foot) extensions, together with other wing refinements, will boost efficiency by as much 4 percent, Airbus said in a statement Sunday, dubbing the upgraded aircraft the "A380plus." Together with a revised cabin layout announced in April that will accommodate 80 more passengers, overall costs per seat should be cut by 13 percent versus the current model. The plane will have an increased maximum take-off weight of 578 metric tons to allow for the denser format, or add 300 nautical miles of range with the existing 550-seat three-class configuration. "The A380plus is an efficient way to offer even better economics and improved operational performance," John Leahy, Airbus's sales chief, said in the release. The cost of the plane's upkeep will also be reduced by longer intervals between maintenance checks. The A380plus falls well short of the so-called "Neo" upgrade that leading customer Emirates has been demanding, but for which Airbus and engine-maker Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc say there isn't a business case. It may still be enough to encourage the Dubai-based carrier to purchase about 20 superjumbos to add to more than 140 it plans to operate. The enhancements, announced on the eve of the Paris Air Show, come as the Airbus weighs lowering production rates for the A380 below one-a-month from 2018 if it fails to secure orders this year. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-18/airbus-seeks-superjumbo-order-boost- with-fuel-saving-winglets Back to Top GE's Digital Initiative Is Driving Uncertainty Out of Operations GE Aviation's new Digital Solutions division has been gathering momentum since its formation in 2015. It was earmarked as the focal point for the engine and aircraft systems group's efforts to help customers reduce operating costs through better use of data and analytics tools. The most recent addition to this portfolio was the March 27 acquisition of Critical Technologies, Inc., which is the developer of the AirVault cloud-based digital records management platform already used by more than 40 airlines and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) organizations. At the Farnborough International air show last July, the company unveiled a scaled version of the digital collaboration center. It has used the system to work with customers such Middle East low- cost carrier Fly Dubai to integrate its Predix data analytics platform for tasks such as minimizing the impact of unavoidable delays, giving pilots better operational understanding of their aircraft and protecting schedules and thus, revenues. In addition to the collaboration center in Dubai, GE has since opened similar facilities in Paris and in Austin, Texas, where its digital division is headquartered. Then, in November 2016, it launched a new Configuration Data Exchange and intends to roll this out for customer use throughout 2017 to give operators more information, more quickly about the performance and condition of aircraft and systems. The new Big Data application has been developed in partnership with Capgemini as a data pipeline allowing two-way flow of asset data between airlines, MROs, lessors, OEMs and parts brokers. Last November also saw a new partnership between GE and Teledyne Controls to use Predix to improve engine health monitoring. Teledyne will supply its expertise in wireless flight data collection to advance applications of the system. In March of this year, GE agreed to start working with offshore industry safety association HeliOffshore to develop and implement a new global safety management system specifically for helicopter operations. Under a program called InfoShare, HeliOffshore has already laid the groundwork for sharing data and information among multiple helicopter operators, including data from health and usage management, and flight data monitoring. "We're trying to help our customers be more successful," GE Aviation's chief digital officer Jim Daily told AINahead of this week's Paris Air Show. "The industry is now fully recognizing the value data can bring if you have the enough capability to analyze it thoroughly. You can drive outcomes [in improved operational performance]. Predix is bringing value from domain expertise in terms of how customers operate their assets and how data integrates in the overall operational environment." Essentially, Predix marries up aircraft and operational data on one cohesive, Cloud-based platform. Daily explained that the platform is agnostic in terms of which operational management systems it can work with to support the optimization of multiple assets. For sensitive defense applications, the technology could be installed within a secure site, and GE has made significant investments in adding data protection to the system. GE's ability to harvest data isn't confined to the engines and other systems the U.S.-based group makes for multiple aircraft platforms. "We started with a lot of focus on engines, but, thankfully, engines are not the biggest problem areas," Daily said. "Data is out there throughout the aircraft and the new vintage of aircraft have more and more data; the more of it we can collect and analyze, the more solutions we can generate." Smaller operators potentially will derive the greatest value from this approach to mining Big Data, since they do not have to employ larger IT departments to benefit. "Overall, the common thread is reducing uncertainty and unpredictability in what remains a very dynamic industry, and help operators understand what best to do when things do go wrong," Daily added. Next up for GE's digital team is the planned launch of an application called Fly Pulse that helps pilots better understand how to more efficiently operate their aircraft. The system has been developed through collaboration with Australian carrier Qantas. "We're still at the earliest stages and barely scratching the surface of all the data out there," concluded Daily. "There is still latency in terms of how long it takes to get data off systems even with a wireless connection, but we hope that within 10 years this will all be achieved in real time." https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2017-06-18/ges-digital-initiative-driving- uncertainty-out-operations Back to Top ST Aerospace Continues to Win Recognition as Top Global MRO Service Provider France, 18 June 2017 - As a customer-centric total support service provider, ST Aerospace continues to win accolades and recognition as a top global maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) player in the aviation industry when it recently won the prestigious Overall MRO of the Year 2017 at the Aviation 100 MRO Global Awards hosted by Airline Economics in Dublin, Ireland. The Aviation 100 MRO Global Awards, decided by the votes of thousands of industry professionals, recognise the most excellent performers in the aerospace industry. ST Aerospace was named Overall MRO of the Year for its sustained high level of service to airline customers based on the results from Aviation News' industry survey and judging criteria such as aircraft/engine handled, contracts won and global facilities/new facilities planned. As a further testament to its leading position in the commercial aviation aftermarket, ST Aerospace once again attained first placing in Aviation Week Network's biennial Top 10 Airframe MRO service provider ranking survey, a top position it has consecutively held since 2002. The 2017 ranking is based on ST Aerospace's airframe maintenance man-hours in 2016, which at 12.5 million, remain far ahead of most of other industry players/peers. Mr Lim Serh Ghee, President of ST Aerospace, said, "We are honoured to continue receiving recognition from new and longstanding customers in the form of international awards and rankings, which goes to show that we have been consistently providing quality solutions across our global network of facilities. ST Aerospace constantly strives to create even greater value through its comprehensive and deep suite of design, engineering and MRO solutions, and our steadfast commitment to leveraging technology and customer-centric service will ensure that our solutions are always closely aligned with our customers' evolving needs and business models." Operating a global MRO network with facilities and affiliates in the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe, ST Aerospace has a wide global customer base that includes leading airlines, airfreight and military operators. Its global network can service 42 wide-bodies, 29 narrow-bodies and 24 general aviation aircraft simultaneously; this includes a new second hangar at its MRO facility in Guangzhou, China, which has 500,000 man-hours in capacity when it reaches steady state. In its drive to create even greater customer value, ST Aerospace is further enhancing its operations by adopting Industry 4.0 Smart MRO initiatives. By embracing revolutionary digital technologies in the factory environment, ST Aerospace plans to go paperless, adopt collaborative robotics, fabricate aircraft parts through additive manufacturing methods, and provide customised predictive analytics solutions. Customers would be better able to get real-time status updates of equipment under repair and maintenance, reduce cabin parts inventory by 3D-printing just-in-time cabin parts designed and certified by ST Aerospace, and benefit from predictive analytics solutions backed by ST Aerospace's deep engineering expertise. http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12344820/st-aerospace-continues-to-win-recognition- as-top-global-mro-service-provider Back to Top GE Launches New Partnership for Open Flight Deck GE has launched a project with industrial and academic partners to develop technologies dedicated to the so-called open flight deck. The partnership includes BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Coventry University and the University of Southampton. Although aircraft fly in service for decades, the high cost of change and certification in adopting new technology for the flight deck creates an often impenetrable barrier. An open flight deck architecture will define the standards and interfaces to allow for the development of more easily deployable functional "apps." GEclaims a leadership position in open avionics system on the Boeing 787 and G500/600. "This project extends into the flight deck, where flexibility and lower cost of change is a real challenge for our customers," said GE Aviation president of avionics Alan Caslavka. "Open flight deck will deliver order-of-magnitude reductions in the cost of change, future-proofing platforms by enabling regular upgrades of flight deck applications. This technology will deliver significant benefits to future aircraft manufacturers, airlines and pilots." GE has developed an open platform approach to the avionics system in the Boeing 787 called the common core system (CCS). It allows suppliers to plug in modules within an overall platform, giving the aircraft manufacturer the flexibility to upgrade systems or choose the best suppliers for individual subsystems. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2017-06-19/ge-launches-new-partnership- open-flight-deck Back to Top Falcon 9 launch delay sets up potential SpaceX 'doubleheader' next weekend SpaceX has pushed back the liftoff of a Bulgarian television broadcast satellite on the company's second previously-flown Falcon 9 rocket until at least Friday, giving ground crews time to replace a valve on the launcher inside a hangar at its Florida launch pad. The schedule slip sets up a potential SpaceX "doubleheader" with another Falcon 9 rocket being prepared for launch next Sunday, June 25, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The company announced the delay in a tweet Sunday, saying engineers needed to replace a valve on the Falcon 9's payload shroud, an aerodynamic fairing will enclose the BulgariaSat 1 communications satellite during the first three-and-a-half minutes of launch. "Postponing launch to replace fairing pneumatic valve," SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk tweeted. "It is dual redundant, but not worth taking a chance." Ground crews were busy attaching the BulgariaSat 1 communications satellite to the upper stage of the Falcon 9 rocket this weekend inside a hangar at the southern perimeter of launch pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX's launch team ran the Falcon 9 and its ground support equipment through a practice countdown Thursday that culminated in ignition of the first stage's nine Merlin 1D engines for a hold-down firing. Technicians rolled back the rocket to its hangar to receive its U.S.-built telecom payload before the Falcon 9 was supposed to return to pad 39A some time Sunday evening, ahead of a launch window Monday afternoon. But SpaceX managers opted to delay the launch to replace a piece of suspect hardware on the rocket. A two-hour launch window Friday opens at approximately 2:10 p.m. EDT (1810 GMT). SpaceX said a backup launch opportunity is available Saturday on the U.S. Air Force's Eastern Range. The two-stage Falcon 9 rocket will propel BulgariaSat 1, built by Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto, California, into an arcing high-altitude transfer orbit within a half-hour of liftoff from Florida's Space Coast. Deployment of BulgariaSat 1 from the Falcon 9's second stage is expected around 35 minutes into the flight. Once in position in geostationary orbit 22,300 miles (35,800 kilometers) over the equator, BulgariaSat 1 will broadcast television programming across Bulgaria, Serbia and other parts of the Balkans for a mission projected to last more than 15 years. The $235 million project is Bulgaria's first communications satellite. The Falcon 9's first stage will fly for the second time when it blasts off with BulgariaSat 1. The same booster launched Jan. 14 from Vandenberg with the first set of 10 new-generation Iridium voice and data relay satellites, then landed on a platform in the Pacific Ocean after sending the commercial payload into space. SpaceX aims to recover the first stage again after launching BulgariaSat 1. A mobile barge left Port Canaveral last week heading for the landing zone in the Atlantic Ocean. Meanwhile, a separate SpaceX team on California's Central Coast is working on another Falcon 9 rocket - an entirely-new vehicle - assigned to loft Iridium's second batch of 10 upgraded communications craft. The Vandenberg launch team plans to roll out the Falcon 9 rocket - without the Iridium satellites on-board - to Space Launch Complex 4-East for an on-pad engine firing as soon as Tuesday. In a process similar to the BulgariaSat 1 campaign, the Falcon 9 will be moved back to its hangar for workers to connect the 10 Iridium satellites, their deployment fixtures, and payload fairing to the rocket. Liftoff of the Iridium satellites from Vandenberg is scheduled for 4:24:59 p.m. EDT (1:24:59 p.m. PDT; 2024:59 GMT). The satellites have an instantaneous launch opportunity each day, allowing the Falcon 9 to deliver the relay stations into the correct location in Iridium's orbiting fleet. The Falcon 9's guidance computer will try to release the Iridium satellites 388 miles (625 kilometers) above Earth in an orbit that loops over the planet's poles. If SpaceX pulls off the back-to-back launches, it will set a company record for the shortest time between Falcon 9 missions. Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX's vice president of flight reliability, said earlier this month that the company conducts a data review after each launch to cull for close calls that might affect future flights. But "quick-look" data analysis apparently can be completed within two days, the time separating SpaceX's two launch attempts Friday and Sunday. "The situation that we launch from both coasts is something that is somewhat new for us," Koenigsmann said in a June 3 press conference after SpaceX's most recent launch. "We've had this with a little bit a separation in the past, and we've set up the teams to be able to cope with that and basically have the ability to launch from both sites within a short time period." Other orbital-class launch vehicles of the same type have flown in close proximity before, but next weekend's potential schedule alignment would be unmatched in the U.S. commercial launch industry's modern era. Most recently, two Russian Soyuz rockets lifted off two hours apart in March 2015 from the Baikonur Cosmodome in Kazakhstan with a three-man space station crew and from the European- run space base in French Guiana with two Galileo navigation payloads. A pair of Soyuz boosters also took off two hours apart in June 2013 from Kazakhstan and French Guiana with a Russian government Earth observation satellite and four commercial O3b broadband communications craft on a mission managed by Arianespace. Other Soyuz rockets have flown in 24-hour spans during Soviet-era launch campaigns to support Russia's space station programs and Cold War military build-up. Early versions of U.S. Atlas rockets also launched within 24 hours of each other on at least one occasion in April 1966, when two Atlas boosters lifted off the same day from Cape Canaveral on a test flight for NASA's Surveyor moon lander program and with an ultraviolet astronomical telescope. Thor rockets launched with spy satellites less than 48 hours apart multiple times from Vandenberg in the 1960s. SpaceX rival United Launch Alliance, a 50-50 joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, has launched Atlas 5 rockets from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg with as little as six days of separation. If you include ULA's Delta rocket family, the company launched two flights - both from Cape Canaveral - four days apart July 28 and Aug. 1, 2014, with Delta 4 and Atlas 5 boosters. In the pre-ULA era, two Boeing-built Delta 2 rockets flew from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg three days apart Nov. 5 and Nov. 8, 1997. The first carried a GPS navigation satellite into orbit, and in a harbinger for the possible doubleheader next weekend, the second Delta 2 launch lofted five satellites for Iridium's first-generation communications constellation. A Lockheed Martin Atlas 2AS rocket and a similar Atlas-E launcher flew separate missions from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg on March 22 and March 24, 1995, delivering an Intelsat broadcast satellite and an Air Force weather satellite to space. Different versions of the retired family of U.S. Air Force Titan satellite launchers blasted off within days of each other multiple times, including flights by Titan 2 and Titan 4 rockets from the East and West Coats less than 48 hours apart in September 1989. China's Long March 2, 3 and 4 rockets, which all use the same type of engines, have flown several days apart numerous times. A recent example occurred in September 2015, when Long March 3B and Long March 2D launchers lifted off in a 37-hour span from bases in different parts of the country. https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/06/18/launch-of-recycled-falcon-9-rocket-delayed-to-friday/ Back to Top Rolls-Royce Advance Test Engine Readied for Testing Rolls-Royce (Chalet 93) says it is busy "proving our future core," as the UK engine manufacturer prepares to move its newly-assembled Advance 3 test engine from its Bristol site to a test cell at its Derby headquarters next month. Last week, AIN visited Bristol, where R-R's main focus is military engines, to see the final touches being made to the test instrumentation on Advance 3. That engine will form the basis for the company's next generation of civil powerplants, currently dubbed Advance (for engines to enter service in the 2020 timeframe) and UltraFan (for airframes in 2025 and beyond). They include a new Powered Gearbox (PGB), which is currently the focus of a major development effort at the R-R site in Berlin, Germany. It has a bypass ratio of around 4:1, so the UltraFan will be able to have a large, slow fan while the turbine can turn at its optimum speed. This marks R-R leaving behind its highly successful three-shaft architecture (common to all current Trent engines) for a "two-and-a- half-shaft" configuration, similar to Pratt & Whitney's geared turbofans, but on a much larger scale. The advance test engine shown consists of the new core, coupled with a Trent XWB fan and Trent 1000 LPturbine, said chief engineer commercial large engine future programs, Phil Curnock. He added that numerous new technologies were being inserted into Advance and tested in various sub- programs and demonstrators, such as its ALPS composite-titanium fan system and ALECSys advanced low-emissions combustion system (which recently completed altitude relight testing in Stuttgart). Curnock said the CTi fan has now reached TRL(Technology Readiness Level) 5. "We have a few more tests to complete and we'll be at TRL 6," he noted. Rolls-Royce has already flight tested (last October) a Trent 1000, with a composite fan and titanium case, on its Boeing 747 flying testbed in the U.S. Curnock said the company would "establish a drumbeat of regular testing" and was targeting 2021 for flight testing of an UltraFan engine. Chief engineer and head of program for Advance 3, Andy Geer, said that the Advance 3 test engine would be trucked to Derby "in July" and would then be put on a test pylon before installing in one of the site's large test cells. Tests will include water ingestion, noise surveys, X-ray examination, "rumble" survey and core zone thermal surveys, with the engine running at speeds of up to 15,000 rpm. Ultimately the technology will pave the way for Rolls-Royce's future airliner engines with up to 50,000pounds of thrust, including the geared UltraFan, he said. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2017-06-18/rolls-royce-advance-test- engine-readied-testing Curt Lewis