Flight Safety Information AUGUST 23, 2019 - No. 170 In This Issue Boeing and FAA give more signs of preparations for a 737 MAX return to flight U.S. FAA says it will invite global Boeing 737 MAX pilots to simulator tests Incident: Cobham B463 at Perth on Aug 21st 2019, flaps problem Incident: American B752 at Shannon on Aug 22nd 2019, engine malfunction Incident: Flysafair B734 near Cape Town on Aug 20th 2019, loss of cabin pressure Incident: JAL B788 over Sea of Japan on Ag 22nd 2019, cracked windshield Hawaiian Airplane makes an emergency landing after reports of smoke Trump Administration Appoints Aviation Safety Advisory Panel ATSB launches VFR-into-IMC Campaign CAA Nepal suspends AOC of Simrik Airlines over safety issues First FAA-Approved Long-Range UAS Test Completed in Alaska Awaiting 737 MAX approval, Boeing looks to boost aircraft production: sources Spacewalking Astronauts Install Parking Spot for Private Spaceships at Space Station International Conference on Unruly Airline Passenger Behaviour Boeing and FAA give more signs of preparations for a 737 MAX return to flight Lines of Boeing 737 MAX airplanes parked along the west side of Boeing Field and just south of the South Park Bridge in mid-June as the company awaits FAA approval for the planes to resume commercial flights. (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times) Thursday brought more strong hints that Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration are moving steadily toward ungrounding the 737 MAX as soon as October. The FAA said Thursday it's inviting "a cross-section of line pilots from carriers that operate the aircraft around the world" to participate in simulator testing "as part of the overall testing and validating of new procedures on the Boeing 737 MAX." And according to two sources with knowledge of the matter, the FAA's Flight Standardization Board that determines U.S. pilot-training requirements aims to issue in early September new recommendations for exactly what MAX pilot training is needed before U.S. airlines can fly passengers on the airplane again. Meanwhile, Boeing gave suppliers a new 737 production schedule reflecting "timing assumptions for the 737 MAX return to service plan." The updated schedule is aggressive. Assuming FAA clearance in October, Boeing plans to begin the ramp-up immediately, moving from the current 42 planes per month to the pre-crash production level of 52 jets per month by February and reach a new high of 57 jets per month by next summer. The simulator sessions the FAA plans for line pilots will test new procedures related to Boeing's the updated Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) flight control software, the original version of which went haywire in the two fatal MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia and repeatedly pushed the nose of each jet down. Because of a potential new computer glitch discovered in June, pilots may also run through separate procedures handling uncommanded nose-down movements unrelated to MCAS. Boeing and FAA pilots have been testing the updated MCAS software for months. What's significant is that the FAA is now inviting regular 737 MAX line pilots to do the same. The assumed response time of pilots to an emergency, whether due to MCAS or not, has been under scrutiny since the crash of the Ethiopian Airlines MAX in March, when the pilots tried and failed to follow a standard recovery checklist. FAA guidelines say that if an emergency arises on a plane flying by autopilot, the assumption is that a pilot will begin to respond within three seconds. If the plane is being flown manually, the assumption is one second. When FAA test pilots deliberately delayed their responses in a simulation in June, one of the pilots crashed the plane. The safety agency said the line pilots now being invited to the new simulator tests will be pilots with "previous experience at the controls of the Boeing 737 MAX." "A firm schedule for these tests has not been set, although they must be completed before the aircraft is approved for return to service," the FAA said in a statement. Those simulator sessions are designed to validate the safety of the MAX with a regular pilot at the controls. Dennis Tajer, an American Airlines captain and spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association union, said that "anything that gets the average line pilot in to test that system - not the top test pilot at Boeing but an average 737 pilot - that's realistic analysis and we're encouraged to hear that." At the same time, the FAA's Flight Standardization Board (FSB) is preparing to issue new guidelines early next month for the training that all U.S. airline pilots must receive before flying the MAX again. In April, the board issued a draft report after reviewing the initial MCAS fix Boeing had designed, which it "found to be operationally suitable." That report said full-flight simulator training, which is time-consuming and expensive for the airlines, is unnecessary ahead of clearing the plane to fly again. Instead, the board recommended only a short computer-based course and classroom instruction about the new software update. That report was shelved as Boeing's software update kept getting pushed further out. If the new training outline coming in September sticks to the previous recommendation that simulator training is not needed, that will boost the MAX's return-to-service schedule, which is crucial to the airlines and to Boeing. The U.S. airline-pilot unions have said they could support such a recommendation provided that training specifically on how to handle uncommanded movement of the horizontal tail is included in the recurrent simulator training that every U.S. airline pilot must go through, typically every nine months or so. The report by FAA's Flight Standardization Board coming in September will have a comment period no longer than 30 days to gather input from the airlines and pilots before it's finalized and made mandatory. This timeline meshes with Boeing's publicly stated hope to get the MAX flying again commercially "in the early fourth quarter." Even if the FAA doesn't mandate simulator training before the MAX returns to flight, there's no guarantee for Boeing that some overseas regulators won't come up with different requirements. But most foreign safety agencies seem likely to follow the FAA's lead. Separately, Boeing said Thursday that, contingent upon FAA clearance, it has come up with a new 737 MAX production schedule that can meet the target set by Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg in July: ramping up to a new production level before the end of 2020. Boeing said the production plan, which has been communicated to suppliers, "assumes a gradual increase in the 737 production rate from the current 42 per month to 57 per month in 2020." On Thursday, Reuters outlined the planned incremental steps, citing supplier sources. The Reuters report said Boeing's plan is to increase production from 42 to 47 aircraft per month in October, as soon as regulatory approval to fly is granted. It would then increase production to the pre-crash rate of 52 aircraft per month in February, and to 57 jets per month in June 2020. Still, all of this timing depends upon the regulators, here and overseas. Boeing cautioned in its statement that "while the assumption reflects Boeing's best estimate at this time, the actual timing of return to service will be determined by the FAA and other global aviation regulatory authorities." https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/boeing-and-faa-give-more-signs-of-preparations-for-a-737-max-return-to-flight/ Back to Top U.S. FAA says it will invite global Boeing 737 MAX pilots to simulator tests CHICAGO/WASHINGTON, Aug 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday it would invite Boeing 737 MAX pilots from across the world to participate in simulator tests as part of the process to recertify the aircraft for flight following two fatal crashes. Earlier, Reuters reported that the agency had asked the three U.S. airlines that operate the MAX to provide the names of some pilots who had only flown the 737 for around a year, including at least one MAX flight. In a statement, the FAA said it had not specified the number of required hours of flight experience, but said the candidates would be a cross-section of line pilots and must have experience at the controls of the MAX. Boeing Co's latest 737 narrow-body model, the MAX, was grounded worldwide in March after two crashes within five months in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people. Boeing has been reprogramming software for a stall-prevention system at the center of both crashes, which the FAA must approve before the plane flies again commercially. The FAA said it had not yet specified a firm schedule for the tests. Boeing has said it is working toward getting the 737 MAX flying again commercially in the early fourth quarter. Reuters reported on Thursday that it had told suppliers it planned to ramp 737 production back up in February, sending its shares 4% higher. The world's largest planemaker slowed its 737 production rate in April because deliveries of the MAX, which makes up the bulk of its single-aisle production, were frozen under the grounding, hitting its supply chain and airline customers. In the United States, MAX operators Southwest Airlines Co , American Airlines and United Airlines have had to cancel hundreds of daily flights as they wrestle with slimmer fleets at a time of strong domestic air travel demand. The MAX is Boeing's fastest-selling aircraft, with about 5,000 pending orders. As part of its own testing process, Boeing has invited senior airline pilots to experiment with the software fix and use simulators to run scenarios similar to the ones that led to the two crashes. But sources told Reuters that the FAA also wanted to observe newer 737 pilots. One source said the simulator tests were supposed to be conducted during the first week of September but had been pushed back to the middle of the month. The FAA, which is working alongside global regulators, has said repeatedly it does not have a fixed time line to approve the grounded jets to fly commercially again. https://www.yahoo.com/news/1-u-faa-says-invite-234320099.html Back to Top Incident: Cobham B463 at Perth on Aug 21st 2019, flaps problem A Cobham Aviation British Aerospace BAe 146-300, registration VH-NJN performing flight NC-974 from Perth,WA to Meekatharra,WA (Australia), was on approach to Meekathara when the crew stopped the descent at 8500 feet due to problems with the flaps. The aircraft returned to Perth, climbed to FL200 for the return and landed safely back in Perth about 2.5 hours after departure. The airline reported the crew received a flaps indication shortly after takeoff from Perth which prompted the return of the aircraft to Perth. The aircraft remained on the ground in Perth for about 90 minutes, then departed again and reached Meekatharra with a delay of about 4 hours. http://avherald.com/h?article=4cbe14b4&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: American B752 at Shannon on Aug 22nd 2019, engine malfunction An American Airlines Boeing 757-200, registration N189AN performing flight AA-89 from Shannon (Ireland) to Philadelphia,PA (USA) with 138 passengers and 8 crew, was in the initial climb out of Shannon's runway 24 about to be handed off to departure when the crew requested to return to the field advising they had low power on the right hand engine (RB211), no assistance was needed. The aircraft levelled off at 5000 feet, entered a hold to burn off fuel and landed safely back on runway 24 about 45 minutes after departure. The flight was cancelled after the aircraft failed full power engine runs. The aircraft is still on the ground in Shannon about 8 hours after landing back. http://avherald.com/h?article=4cbe06bc&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Flysafair B734 near Cape Town on Aug 20th 2019, loss of cabin pressure A Flysafair Boeing 737-400, registration ZS-JRM performing flight FA-461 from Cape Town to Durban (South Africa), was climbing through FL300 out of Cape Town when the crew initiated an emergency descent to FL100 due to the loss of cabin pressure, the passenger oxygen masks were released. As result of the oxygen generators supplying the oxygen masks with oxygen a burning odour developed on board. The aircraft returned to Cape Town for a safe landing about 45 minutes after departure. The occurrence aircraft positioned to Johannesburg at FL370 after about 15.5 hours on the ground and returned to service about 39.5 hours after landing in Cape Town. http://avherald.com/h?article=4cbe042b&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: JAL B788 over Sea of Japan on Ag 22nd 2019, cracked windshield A JAL Japan Airlines Boeing 787-8, registration JA835J performing flight JL-827 from Tokyo Narita (Japan) to Dalian (China) with 209 people on board, was enroute at FL400 over the Sea of Japan about 450nm west of Tokyo when the crew decided to return to Tokyo due to captain's windshield having cracked developing a spider mesh. The aircraft maintained FL400 for the return and landed safely back in Tokyo about 2.5 hours after departure. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground about 19 hours after landing back. http://avherald.com/h?article=4cbe025d&opt=0 Back to Top Hawaiian Airplane makes an emergency landing after reports of smoke HAWAII - (KHON & WIAT) We are following breaking news of a Hawaiian airplane making an emergency landing due to reports of smoke. According to our sister station, KHON, Hawaiian Airlines flight 47 landed safely at Daniel K. Inouye international airport after the crew declared an emergency due to reports of smoke in the cabin. The smoke began to fill the cabin about 30 minutes prior to landing. The plane was flying from Oakland to Honolulu. Passengers evacuated the plane via emergency slides on the tarmac. This is an ongoing investigation. https://www.cbs42.com/news/us-and-world/hawaiian-airplane-makes-an-emergency-landing-after-reports-of-smoke/ Back to Top Back to Top Trump Administration Appoints Aviation Safety Advisory Panel U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao on Thursday named 22 people to a new panel that will advise the department on aviation safety oversight and certification programs as the Federal Aviation Administration continues to grapple with the fallout from two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes. The long-time practice of the FAA delegating certification tasks to aircraft manufacturers has come under criticism after the two 737 MAX crashes in five months. The panel, created last year by Congress, will offer input on "aircraft and flight standards certification processes, oversight of safety management systems, risk-based oversight efforts, and utilization of delegation and designation authorities," the department said. The panel will be chaired by former Alaska Airlines Chief Executive William Ayer. It includes officials from Delta Air Lines, GE Aviation, United Airlines, Bell Helicopter Textron, Garmin, Wing Aviation LLC, Pratt & Whitney - a unit of United Technologies Corp - and Gulfstream - a unit of General Dynamics Corp - as well as union, airport and trade association officials. Beth Pasztor, vice president for safety, security and compliance at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, is also on the panel. Federal prosecutors, the Department of Transportation's inspector general, Congress and several blue-ribbon panels are investigating how the FAA certifies new aircraft and the decision to certify the 737 MAX. Last month, U.S. National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt said his agency would outline recommendations on the FAA's aircraft certification procedures by late September. https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2019/08/23/537774.htm Back to Top ATSB launches VFR-into-IMC Campaign The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) yesterday released figures that show 21 people died from incidents where visual pilots flew into instrument conditions over the last 10 years. The figures are contained in an updated report on VFR-into-IMC that is a part of an education initiative called "Don't Push it, Don't Go". ATSB Chief Commissioner Greg Hood said that over the past 10 years there have been 101 instances where VFR pilots entered IMC, resulting in nine fatal accidents. "These concerning figures taken from the ATSB's National Aviation Occurrence Database show that almost one in 10 VFR into IMC occurrences resulted in fatal accidents," Hood said. "Weather-related general aviation accidents remain one of the ATSB's most significant causes for concern in aviation safety; the often fatal outcomes of these accidents are all the more tragic because they are avoidable." "'The Don't push it, Don't go' campaign highlights three key messages: the importance of thorough pre-flight planning and having alternate plans, that pressing on where there is the possibility of entering IMC carries a significant risk of spatial disorientation and the value of using a personal minimums checklist to help manage flight risks," Hood said. ATSB Director Transport Safety Dr Stuart Godley outlined the physiology behind visual flight in cloud that puts the aircraft and occupants in a dangerous position. "The brain receives conflicting or ambiguous information from the sensory systems, resulting in a state of confusion that can rapidly lead to incorrect controls inputs and a resultant loss of control of the aircraft," he stated. "Pilots without a current instrument rating should always be prepared to amend and delay plans to fly due to poor or deteriorating weather conditions, and not to push on. "Have alternate plans in case of unexpected changes in weather, and make timely decisions to turn back, divert or hold in an area of good weather." In the report's conclusions, the ATSB says that pilot decision making in relation to weather is complex, and therefore there is no single cause of VFR-into-IMC cases. The ATSB has encouraged pilots to consider the following seven strategies as a way of reducing the chance of inadvertantly entering cloud. Make decisions before the flight Continually assess the conditions Evaluate the effectiveness of the plan Set personal minimums Assess your fitness to fly Set passenger expectations by making safety the primary goal Seek local knowledge of the route and destination pre-flight. The ATSB also points out that obeying established regulations means pilots stay within safety buffers. The full report is on the ATSB website. http://www.australianflying.com.au/latest/atsb-launches-vfr-into-imc-campaign#VWQo2DfTIwj0Pq4H.99 Back to Top CAA Nepal suspends AOC of Simrik Airlines over safety issues 22 August 2019 The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), has grounded Simrik Airlines for failing to meet safety standards. The inspection team of CAAN had found that the airline was using substandard spare parts in its Beech 1900 aircraft. CAAN did the same finding in an audit in 2018. The aircraft will be grounded until the airline replaces its spare parts and conducts the required maintenance of its aircraft. Simrik Airlines was founded in 2009 and operates domestic flights in Nepal using two Beech 1900C aircraft. https://news.aviation-safety.net/2019/08/22/caa-nepal-suspends-aoc-of-simrik-airlines-over-safety-issues/ Back to Top First FAA-Approved Long-Range UAS Test Completed in Alaska Pilots and scientists from the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration made the first official beyond-visual-line-of-sight flight approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. (TNS) - Alaska continues to be at the forefront of an aviation revolution. This time, pilots and scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration conducted the first official beyond-visual-line-of-sight unmanned aircraft flight in the country approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. The roughly 30-minute flight on July 31 was conducted over a nearly four-mile section of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System in a sparsely populated area north of Fairbanks. About half of the flight was flown under true beyond-visual-line-of-sight conditions, according to ACUASI Director Cathy Cahill. "Needless to say we were all very excited and we were leading the country. That was the first (flight) where we didn't have to have a human observer with their eyes on the aircraft," Cahill said in an interview. "We couldn't see the aircraft but we knew everything about the aircraft and the airspace around it." The unmanned aircraft center, often referred to as ACAUSI, is an arm of UAF's Geophysical Institute, where scientists conduct high-end research on everything from the aurora to Arctic climate conditions, earthquakes, volcanoes and the remote sensing technologies used in unmanned flights, among other fields. Short-range commercial flights with small unmanned aircraft have been authorized for roughly three years now, but it was tests in Alaska that helped FAA officials draft the detailed regulations needed for general commercial unmanned aircraft system, or UAS, flights in the national airspace. Prior to 2016, any UAS flights with a business purpose needed special, case-by-case approval from the FAA. In 2013, ConocoPhillips conducted the first FAA-approved commercial UAS flights in the country when the company flew unmanned survey operations over its offshore oil and gas lease holdings in the Chukchi Sea. Less than a year later, in June 2014, a UAS team working for BP flew the country's first UAS commercial flight over land to survey Prudhoe Bay oilfield infrastructure. The FAA approved ACUASI's Pan-Pacific Test Range in late 2013 to be one of the country's first six UAS testing hubs. The Pan-Pacific Range includes test sites in Oregon and Hawaii. President Donald Trump pushed the FAA to take the further steps to advance commercial remote flights in October 2017 when he issued a Presidential Memorandum directing the Transportation Secretary to establish a UAS Integration Pilot Program. Acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell said in a statement that the program is helping the agency continue to develop safe practices for integrating drones into the commercial aviation industry, which is the ultimate goal. "This important milestone in Alaska gets us closer to that goal," Elwell said. The beyond-visual-line-of-sight flight was observed by a group of FAA officials, Cahill added. She said it was meant to simulate a flight conducted to inspect pipeline integrity and monitor activity in the TAPS right-of-way. However, the Skyfront Perimeter, a 6.5-foot diameter quad-copter, employed to fly the mission was not equipped with a camera or other surveillance instruments; the flight was strictly to demonstrate it could be done safely, according to Cahill. "It was the airspace integration and the detect-and-avoid (demonstrations) that were the complex parts of this mission," she said. Utilizing UAS to conduct infrastructure inspections, mapping, wildlife monitoring and even fish counting has long been the goal of unmanned vehicle proponents. Unmanned craft are seen as being particularly applicable to Alaska, where vast distances and often challenging terrain and weather regularly combine to make manned flights to conduct the same work costly and dangerous. A lot of this work has been done under current FAA regulations, which require small UAS to be flown within eyesight - without binoculars or other visual aides - and lower than 400 feet, but those limitations still don't allow operators to capture the full suite of benefits an unimpeded UAS can provide, Cahill stressed. "If I want to go monitor a seven-mile long salmon stream in a canyon I would have to put people at a distance where they could keep their eyes on the (unmanned) aircraft the entire length of that seven miles," she said of current FAA requirements. "That requires flying people in or them hiking in under dangerous conditions; that's not safer than flying the manned aircraft we're trying to replace. So we need to go beyond visual line of sight." To go further, the ACUASI team used a detect-and-avoid system from San Francisco-based Iris Automation Inc. aboard the Skyfront to alleviate conflicts with birds or other aircraft in combination with a system of eight ground-based Echodyne radars to keep tabs on the aircraft. The area used in the demonstration was also chosen for its usually quiet airspace and general lack of development after consultation with FAA officials, according to Cahill. "We could see (the aircraft) in the telemetry. We could see it in the radar data; we knew where it was. We knew the Iris system was watching the airspace and it all worked really well," she said, adding that, "the key word in everything we do is 'safe.' If it's not safe, we're not doing it." Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. President Tom Barrett said in a statement that even though the Skyfront flight wasn't technically doing pipeline-related work, it is significant progress towards operating TAPS more reliably, safely and with better environmental protections. "This innovative step forward will advance safe performance not just in our industry, but in multiple disciplines and workspaces across the country," Barrett said. To Cahill, it was significant, but incremental progress, as she told the FAA's integration program team that ACUASI wants to gain approval for "365 days a year, 24/7 beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations in Alaska," for the litany of applications such permission could be used on. The focus now is getting approval for longer flights, she said. "It really is a crawl, walk, run, scenario and we crawled, but we crawled before anyone else did and we're very, very excited about that." https://www.govtech.com/fs/automation/First-FAA-Approved-Long-Range-UAS-Test-Completed-in-Alaska.html Back to Top Awaiting 737 MAX approval, Boeing looks to boost aircraft production: sources SEATTLE - Boeing Co has told suppliers it will resume production of its best-selling 737 jets at a rate of 52 aircraft per month in February 2020, then stepping up to a record 57 jets monthly in June, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Boeing told more than 100 suppliers during at least one Web meeting July 30 that the new schedule depended upon regulators approving the 737 MAX to fly again commercially in the fourth quarter, one of the people said. Shares of Boeing, the largest U.S. exporter with about 145,000 employees, were up 4.5 per cent at $355.18. Boeing mainly builds the latest version of its cash-cow single-aisle family at its Seattle-area factory, but also builds a small number of earlier or military variants of the 737. One of the people expressed skepticism over the timing given the intense scrutiny from regulators that grounded the 737 MAX after deadly crashes killed nearly 350 people in Ethiopia and Indonesia in the span of five months. There is no guarantee when regulators will clear the 737 MAX to fly again, and Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg told analysts last month that Boeing would consider further 737 output cuts or potentially suspending production if the grounding dragged on. In April, Boeing cut the number of 737s it produces monthly to 42 from 52 after halting deliveries to airline customers, cutting off a key source of cash and hitting margins. Because the grounding happened when Boeing was going up towards record production levels, and each move of the sprawling supply chain has to be planned far in advance, Boeing and its suppliers are now caught between two conflicting pressures: preparing to get back on the upward path as soon as the plane is flying but also ratcheting downwards if regulators stall and the grounding continues for longer than expected. Boeing has been tight-lipped about its production plans. Muilenburg told analysts last month that Boeing expects to be able to maintain its current monthly production rate of 42 aircraft, "followed by incremental rate increases that would bring our production rate to 57 during 2020." Two persons familiar with Boeing's production plans, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Boeing told suppliers it will increase production from 42 to 47 single-aisle aircraft per month in October, jibing with its guidance to investors on when it expects to win regulatory approval. It would then increase from 47 aircraft to the pre-crash rate of 52 aircraft per month in February 2020, the people, and a third person familiar with the plans, said. Boeing then would hit a record stride of 57 single-aisle jets per month in June 2020, two of the people said. In response to questions from Reuters, Boeing spokesman Paul Bergman said Boeing updated the 737 master production schedule to reflect timing assumptions for the 737 MAX return to service plan. "While the assumption reflects Boeing's best estimate at this time, the actual timing of return to service will be determined by the FAA and other global aviation regulatory authorities and could differ from this assumption and estimate." The current production plan represents a new delay as Boeing wrestles with the logistics of aligning a sprawling global supply chain with its high-volume assembly line in Renton, Washington. Rate changes by major manufacturers are usually incremental and communicated months or even years in advance, but the unprecedented challenge to the 737 program has forced Boeing to scramble, one of the people said. Boeing is eager to increase production because the higher rate means it can deliver more planes and get more cash. A higher rate also means Boeing pays less for parts. Boeing organized at least one Web meeting on July 30 to inform suppliers that the original rate ramp plan - which Boeing decided in April would begin in August - was being delayed by three months, according to electronic materials described to Reuters by a person who attended. Different suppliers were shipping at different "rate profiles" and Boeing wanted to try to "harmonize the supply chain," the person added. https://globalnews.ca/news/5802010/boeing-737-max-production/ Back to Top Spacewalking Astronauts Install Parking Spot for Private Spaceships at Space Station The astronauts were ahead of schedule installing cables and heavy reflectors. Astronauts Nick Hague and Andrew Morgan install IDA-3 outside the International Space Station on Wednesday, August 21.Astronauts Nick Hague and Andrew Morgan install IDA-3 outside the International Space Station on Wednesday, August 21.(Image: © NASA) Two NASA astronauts stepped outside the International Space Station Wednesday (Aug. 21) to install a new docking port for incoming commercial crew spacecraft during the fifth spacewalk from the station this year. Nick Hague and Andrew Morgan began their 6 hour and 32 minute spacewalk at 8:27 a.m. EDT (12:27 GMT), exiting from the U.S.-built Quest airlock after switching their spacesuits over to battery power. The pair installed the International Docking Adapter-3 (IDA-3) to the space-facing side of the station's Harmony connecting module. IDA-3 will serve as a second docking port at the space station for incoming commercial spacecraft built by Boeing and SpaceX. NASA has tapped Boeing's Starliner capsule and SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the space station in the future. The spacewalk marked Morgan's first time venturing outside the space station, while Hague has already performed two spacewalks earlier this year to assist in replacing some of the station's solar array batteries. During Wednesday's excursion, Hague was the first one out, followed by Morgan a few minutes later as the station soared over the Atlantic Ocean. Hague's mother was watching the action from Earth at NASA's Mission Control center at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. She apparently cooked up some special treats for the flight controllers on the ground who assisted the astronauts on their spacewalk. "I heard she was busy in the kitchen yesterday," Hague radioed Mission Control while routing cables outside the station. "I'm glad you guys enjoyed, and I'm jealous." NASA did not disclose in spacewalk commentary what dishes Hague's mother prepared. Hague and Morgan expected to have some difficulty in wrangling the docking adapters cables, which have been baking in the sun on the station's exterior since their delivery five years ago. But those fears, it seemed, were unfounded. The astronauts installed the cables with ease, even finishing ahead of schedule. The only trouble the spacewalkers experienced occurred as they stowed a bulky thermal cover for their tools. As spacecraft communicator Mike Barratt, also an astronaut, in Mission Control put it: "It's like beating a big hostile marshmallow." After installing the docking port, Hague and Morgan went on to install two vital reflectors on the IDA-3, which will serve as a docking aid for visiting spacecraft, providing visual cues for those incoming vehicles. Hague and Morgan also got an extra hand from Canada's Dextre, a two-armed robot that was launched in 2008. Spacewalkers Nick Hague and Andrew Morgan, both NASA astronauts, install cables for a new docking port for the International Space Station during a spacewalk on Aug. 21, 2019. In addition to Hague and Morgan, the station's six-person Expedition 60 crew includes NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Alexander Skvortsov and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano. Ovchinin commands the Expedition 60 mission. The crew is also tending to scientific research on board such as rodent experiments and stem cell differentiation. NASA's plan to use commercial spacecraft such as SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's Starliner will bolster scientific research and technology development to advance the agency's future missions to the moon and Mars, NASA officials said in a in a statement. Wednesday's spacewalk brings Hague's total time outside the space station to 19 hours and 59 minutes across three spacewalks. Morgan ended the day with 6 hours and 32 minutes of spacewalking time as it was his career first. "Welcome to the club, you did a brilliant job," Barratt congratulated Morgan as he stepped back into the station. Morgan apparently enjoyed his first walk in space. "It's a special thing we get to do, and it's an honor to be part of such a stellar team," Morgan said. https://www.space.com/spacewalkers-install-new-commerical-docking-port.html Back to Top DISPAX World 2019 18 - 19 September 2019, The Riverside Venue, London, UK The 3rd International Conference on Unruly Airline Passenger Behaviour With only a few weeks to go, DISPAX World 2019 is fast approaching! We are delighted to be able to offer all subscribers to Curt Lewis a 20% discount on the delegate rate. To redeem this offer use the promotional code: CURT20 when registering on the conference website: www.unrulypax.com/registration/ Disruptive passenger incidents are a daily occurrence on board commercial flights around the world. Seemingly trivial issues can quickly escalate into explosive situations that endanger the safety of passengers and crew. The much anticipated 3rd edition of DISPAX World returns to London to explore the broad range of causes of such behaviour, the responses available and the legal implications for carriers and states. Looked at from diverse perspectives, including those of aircrew, passengers, regulatory authorities, industry associations, and law enforcement, DISPAX World 2019 will provide a comprehensive and authoritative programme over two days in one of the busiest airline hubs in the world: London. Speakers will include industry leaders, aircrew, airport operators, academics and law enforcement agencies. DISPAX World 2019 is a must-attend conference for: Flight attendant instructors Unions & staff associations Pilots Law enforcement agencies Airline Security Personnel Airport operators Government transportation regulators Security companies Aviation health professionals & psychologists Consumer bodies Academics & researchers International law firms For more information and to view the programme, please visit: www.unrulypax.com or contact the Event Manager, Lucy Rawlings, at lrawlings@avsec.com and don't forget to follow us on Twitter: @DispaxWorld Curt Lewis