February 24, 2020 - No. 013 In This Issue Telecom, Technology and Aviation Industry Leaders Join Forces to Create the HAPS Alliance A group of global industry leaders announced that they are forming the HAPS Alliance, an association of world-leading telecommunications, technology, aviation, and aerospace companies that are united in promoting the use of high altitude vehicles in the Earth's stratosphere to eliminate the digital divide and bring connectivity to more people, places, and things worldwide. Members who have committed to join the HAPS Alliance include SoftBank Corp.'s HAPSMobile Inc. ("HAPSMobile"), Alphabet's Loon LLC ("Loon"), AeroVironment, Inc. ("AeroVironment"), Airbus Defence and Space, Bharti Airtel Limited ("Bharti Airtel"), China Telecom Corporation Limited ("China Telecom"), Deutsche Telekom AG ("Deutsche Telekom"), Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson ("Ericsson"), Intelsat US LLC ("Intelsat"), Nokia Corporation, SoftBank Corp., and Telefónica S.A. ("Telefónica"). The HAPS Alliance is being created so member companies can collectively advocate for High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) business development with the relevant authorities in various countries, build a cooperative HAPS ecosystem, develop common product specifications and promote the standardization of HAPS network interoperability. All of these activities will be key to the Alliance's aim of addressing diverse social issues and creating new value by providing telecommunications network connectivity worldwide through the utilization of high altitude vehicles. The Alliance, originally an initiative from HAPSMobile and Loon, will have members from participating leading companies across the aerospace, technology and telecom industries to carry out the Alliance's activities. The launch of the HAPS Alliance follows a previous April 2019 announcement between HAPSMobile and Loon where the companies formed a strategic alliance to advance the use of high altitude vehicles. High altitude network connectivity platforms operate in the stratosphere, which is above ground infrastructure, but below satellites, allowing for near ubiquitous coverage that avoids ground clutter and significant latency issues. These advantages make such vehicles a promising solution for expanding mobile coverage to areas where connectivity is lacking-such as mountainous terrain, remote islands, marine regions and developing countries-as well as for IoT and 5G use-cases. The HAPS Alliance seeks to create an ecosystem to support next-generation global connectivity needed to revolutionize the world's mobile networks. https://www.aviationpros.com/tools-equipment/maintenance-it/press-release/21126542/haps-mobile-telecom-technology-and-aviation-industry-leaders-join-forces-to-create-the-haps-alliance Back to Top Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics open house highlights need for airline mechanics Aliyah Sevorwell has never flown in an airplane but she is fascinated by the mechanics of flight. That's what prompted her to travel seven hours from New York's Staten Island to attend an open house for prospective students at the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics in West Mifflin Saturday. As a senior at Ralph R. McKee High School, Ms. Sevorwell, 18, has been tinkering with automobiles. But as she moves toward graduation, she sees an opportunity for her mechanical skills to truly take flight with a career in aviation. "It gives me more of a challenge to focus on," she said. "It's better for me because I like something to put my mind to and know I'm going to have to go through all of these difficult obstacles in order to get where I have to get. So it's actually the perfect thing for me." Ms. Sevorwell was one of about 160 potential students to cram into a campus hangar they shared with a Learjet and other small planes to hear about possible jobs as airline mechanics or electronics technicians. There might not be a better time to see such dreams take off. Josh Maxwell, a recruiter for PSA Airlines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Airlines, said there is a "desperate shortage" of airline mechanics in the industry. "That's felt by every company, on the East Coast, the West Coast, the north, the south. Every one of us is experiencing a shortage of aircraft mechanics," he said. Boeing estimates that nearly 200,000 new mechanics will be needed over the next 20 years. The current workforce is aging, with 76% of mechanics at least 50 years old, while less than 20% are 30 or younger. That has led airlines to scour schools like the PIA to recruit workers to maintain their jets. Mr. Maxwell was at the West Mifflin campus Saturday to make his pitch to prospective students. Salaries can start at as much as $50,000 a year, he said. To sweeten the pot, PSA provides new hires with a fully loaded toolbox worth $5,000 to help them do their work. There also could be signing or relocation bonuses. The airline right now "is hiring as many qualified mechanics as we can." While PSA doesn't have any maintenance jobs in Pittsburgh, it does have bases in Ohio in Canton/Akron, Dayton, and Cincinnati. Other bases are in Norfolk, Va., Charlotte, N.C., Greenville, S.C., Savannah, Ga., and Pensacola, Fla. The airline operates 50- to 70-seat Bombardier passenger jets. PSA, which partners with the institute, makes it a point to attend the PIA open houses. It does so, Mr. Maxwell said, because some of the top mechanics at PSA and American Airlines have graduated from the institute. "It's a top-notch student. We want to be here to capture them before somebody else does," he said. For good reason. In 2018, Forbes Magazine named the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics its top two-year trade school. According to statistics presented Saturday, about 91% of the students who graduate find jobs within six months. At the Pittsburgh campus, tuition for the 21-month aviation maintenance technology program leading to an associate's degree runs $42,783, including books, tools, supplies, fees and tests. Tuition for the 21-month aviation electronics technology is $41,521, including the same extras. About 250 students are enrolled at any one time. The shortage of mechanics has sent demand so high that students at PIA campuses in West Mifflin, Youngstown, Hagerstown, Md., and Myrtle Beach, S.C., are getting five to six job offers even before they graduate, said Suzanne Markle, PIA president and CEO. One student who is graduating at the end of March attended a job fair Wednesday and had three offers by Friday. "It is really a shortage. There aren't enough students graduating from schools like ours to fill the existing demand in the industry," Ms. Markle said. Over the last 18 months, thanks in part to the Forbes article, enrollment at PIA campuses has jumped about 20%, as students look for alternatives to traditional college. One who found his way to West Mifflin on Saturday was Collin Rimkus, a high school senior in Logan, Ohio, about an hour from Columbus. Mr. Rimkus, 18, has worked on motorcycle engines and Stihl chain saw, weed eater and leaf blower motors. But the jet engine, he said, is "a whole different animal," one he would like to tackle. He is leaning toward a career in aviation mechanics. "I've always been interested in mechanics. i just thought it would be very interesting to work on airplanes," he said. Ms. Sevorwell, meanwhile, caught the aviation bug watching the "Transformers" series. One of the characters, Starscream, who morphs into a jet, caught her attention. She also likes to watch planes take off and land near her home. One day she may be working on them. But first, she'd actually like to get on one. "If I could at least be in an airplane for once, I would love it," she said. https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2020/02/23/Pittsburgh-Institute-of-Aeronautics-mechanics-shortage-PSA-Airlines-American-West-Mifflin/stories/202002230153 Back to Top IFS to demonstrate key aviation solutions at MRO Middle East IFS, the global enterprise applications company, has announced its participation at MRO Middle East Summit & Expo. Scheduled to take place at Dubai World Trade Centre from February 25-26, with an audience of over 5,000 attendees, the exhibition is co-located with Aircraft Interiors Middle East (AIME). IFS will demonstrate its leading commercial aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) solutions at the event at Booth 521. There are several challenges that commercial aviation organisations face in today's evolving market and are embracing new technologies to attain seamless collaboration and have a truly connected workforce. Alongside there is also a heavy emphasis on cost reduction and maintenance optimisation. Visitors at MRO Middle East will get deeper insights into IFS software solutions which are designed to optimise aviation maintenance management operations and create superior user experiences with predictive analysis. They will also be able to see how these applications speed up decision making in real time and are specially developed to maximise the revenue potential of assets and tackles various aspects of aviation through controlled workflow, automated maintenance and materials planning. IFS has strong experience with the Aerospace & Defense (A&D) industry and has a host of solutions that supports A&D manufacturing, commercial aviation, fleet and asset management, military logistics and services and performance-based logistics. It services the region with a dedicated Middle East office and is supported with industry experts. - TradeArabia News Service http://tradearabia.com/news/IND_364445.html Back to Top LED, Southern University at Shreveport Partner on Technology, Aerospace, Small Business Programs BATON ROUGE - Today, Gov. John Bel Edwards and Chancellor Rodney Ellis of Southern University at Shreveport announced $1.135 million in economic development funding to spur workforce, aerospace and entrepreneurial programs at the Shreveport campus also known as SUSLA. Chancellor Ellis received the performance-based grants in a check presentation at this morning's Southern University System Board of Directors meeting at SUSLA. Included are $750,000 for new Information Technology initiatives; $175,000 for the new Milam Street Kitchen Incubator & Community Kitchen, known as MS KICK; $125,000 for facility improvements in the Airframe and Powerplant Maintenance Program; and $85,000 for advancement of LED's Small and Emerging Business Development Program at SUSLA. "More career options and diversity exist in today's economy than ever before, and synchronized workforce and higher education programs are the key to unlocking those opportunities," Gov. Edwards said. "We're delighted to maximize the potential of SUSLA students by providing these targeted LED investments that will create exciting career options in Shreveport and Northwest Louisiana." The largest funding initiative will establish the Center for Excellence in Computer Information Systems at SUSLA, which recently began collaborating with industry partners on curricula that will prepare students for software and information technology careers. In addition to defining curriculum and career pathways, SUSLA will recruit a lead manager and faculty for computer information systems; will enhance classroom equipment and software; and will establish professional certification programs for industry partners. "I am excited about this infusion of resources into our programs," Chancellor Ellis said. "It will truly allow SUSLA to competitively meet the workforce demands of this region and this state. We are truly appreciative of the support LED has and will provide us." For the MS KICK program, LED is providing funding to accelerate workforce and incubator programs tied to the community kitchen and incubator project that opened in the historic Ledbetter Heights neighborhood in 2019. Incubator staff and instructors will lead training focused on culinary arts, restaurant management, food safety, culinary medicine and related certifications. MS KICK - which includes a commercial-grade kitchen, a restaurant/café area, and training and event space - also will develop Shreveport's hotel and tourism management workforce, as well as food packaging and distribution projects that are linked with the city's participation in the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development's Choice Neighborhoods project. "SUSLA brings tremendous value to the City of Shreveport and our citizens," Mayor Adrian Perkins said. "By combining strategic investments from the State of Louisiana and innovative partnerships with industry, SUSLA can deliver better value and greater opportunity to its students. The university's faculty, staff and programs all will benefit. Best of all, Shreveport's economy will grow from these important investments in technology, aerospace and small business programs." SUSLA's Airframe and Powerplant Maintenance Program will develop additional classroom space at the Shreveport Downtown Airport, where the program provides aerospace technology instruction in adjacent hangar space. The SUSLA program will support recent economic development projects announced by Western Global Airlines (170 jobs in aircraft maintenance) and Advanced Aero Services (60 aviation maintenance jobs by 2021, with the potential to add hundreds more jobs). LED's Small and Emerging Business Development Program provides technical and managerial assistance through intermediaries that help Louisiana entrepreneurs grow and sustain their businesses. As an SEBD intermediary, SUSLA's Center for Business and Community Development will provide that small business support for the MS KICK incubator project and for the broader Shreveport community. https://kadn.com/led-southern-university-at-shreveport-partner-on-technology-aerospace-small-business-programs/ Back to Top Debris found in fuel tanks of 70% of inspected 737 Max jets CHICAGO (AP) - Debris has been found in the fuel tanks of 70% of grounded Boeing 737 Max jets that have been inspected by the company, Boeing confirmed on Saturday. Inspectors found the debris in 35 out of about 50 jets that were inspected. They are among 400 built in the past year that Boeing hasn't been able to deliver to airline customers. Boeing temporarily halted production last month because the planes were grounded after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people. Although debris hasn't been linked to those crashes, metal shavings, tools and other objects left in planes during assembly can raise the risk of electrical short-circuiting and fires. On Tuesday the company had said debris was found in "several" planes but it did not give a precise number. The debris was discovered during maintenance on parked planes, and Boeing said it immediately made corrections in its production system to prevent a recurrence. Those steps include more inspections before fuel tanks are sealed. "This is unacceptable and won't be tolerated on any Boeing aircraft when it's delivered to the customer," the company said in a statement Saturday. Boeing previously said the issue does not change the company's belief that the Federal Aviation Administration will certify the plane to fly again this summer. A Boeing spokesman cautioned against applying the 70% to all 400 jets, saying there's no way to know how many have the same problem until they're all inspected. An FAA spokesman said the agency knows that Boeing is inspecting undelivered Max planes and said the agency has increased surveillance. The number of planes with debris was reported Friday night by The Wall Street Journal. Max jets were grounded around the world last March. Boeing is testing updated flight control software that will replace a system that has been implicated as a cause of thecrashes. The system activated before the crashes based on faulty signals from sensors outside the planes. It pushed the noses of the aircraft down, triggering spirals that pilots were unable to stop. While investigators examining the Max accidents have not pointed to production problems at the assembly plant near Seattle, Boeing has faced concerns about debris left in other finished planes including the 787 Dreamliner, which is built in South Carolina. https://www.wfmj.com/story/41771680/debris-found-in-fuel-tanks-of-70-of-inspected-737-max-jets Back to Top Pratt & Whitney partners AIESL for maintenance of all types of aircraft engines The two companies are likely to make a joint announcement about the partnership soon. Aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney has partnered with Air India Engineering Services Ltd for maintenance of all types of engines, including those powering A320 neos, according to a source. The two companies are likely to make a joint announcement about the partnership soon, the source told PTI. A320 neo planes, powered by P&W engines, have been grappling with snags for nearly four years. A substantial number of such neos are operated in India by IndiGo and GoAir. P&W already has a tie-up with Air India Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL) for maintenance of its 4056 engine model. These engines power Boeing 747-series aircraft. Once the new partnership is in place, AIESL would be carrying out maintenance work for all types of engines manufactured by P&W. "P&W and AIESL have entered into an agreement under which the latter will maintain P&W engines in the country. In the first phase of the contract, P&W is helping in having a set up in Mumbai for model change," the source said. Faulty engines would come to AIESL for replacement and then they would be taken to P&W factory for repair. Later, the repaired engines would be refitted in the aircraft concerned, the source added. Under the pact, P&W would also train Air India staff with respect to handling engines. A P&W spokesperson declined to comment. However, a senior company official confirmed the signing of the agreement with the AIESL. "We are not commenting on the MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) plans in India," P&W spokesperson Jenny Dervin told PTI in response to a query on the issue. AIESL officials were not available for comments. Aviation regulator DGCA has set a deadline of May 31 for IndiGo to replace all 135 unmodified P&W engines. As per the source, AIESL has already received the first P&W engine of an IndiGo plane for maintenance work at Mumbai facility, the source said. "According to the agreement, the P&W officials will come and train AIESL engineers. Initially, their own engineers will do the job along with AIESL engineers "Once they are trained fully, AIESL will be carrying out the job completely on its own under the second phase of the contract," the source said. P&W engineers have already started imparting training to AIESL at their Bengaluru training facility, besides providing the tools, equipment and manuals. After completion of all requisite processes, approval would be sought from the DGCA, the source said. Air India and Vistara also have A320 neo planes but those are fitted with CFM's LEAP-1A engines. https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/pratt-whitney-partners-aiesl-for-maintenance-of-all-types-of-aircraft-engines/1875218/ Back to Top Safran Opens New CAP 2020 Industrial Campus in Tarnos Safran Helicopter Engines has today celebrated the opening of CAP 2020, its new industrial campus in Tarnos, southwest France. Present were Florence Parly, French Minister of the Armed Forces, Geneviève Darrieussecq, Secretary of State to the Minister of the Armed Forces, Ross McInnes, Safran Chairman, Philippe Petitcolin, Safran CEO and Franck Saudo, President of Safran Helicopter Engines. Launched in September 2015 and after a total investment of 50 M€, CAP 2020 represents a significant upgrade to the Tarnos facility. Now with 1,550 employees, Tarnos is the manufacturer's second largest facility. Tarnos is mainly dedicated to the support of in-service helicopter engines and MRO (Maintenance Repair & Overhaul) activities. CAP 2020 will act as the hub for the company's global support network, confirming its continuing commitment to customer satisfaction. This new industrial campus comprises three new buildings with a total footprint of 33,000 m²: A 8,500 m² parts and component repair shop, dedicated to MRO of turbines from Safran Helicopter Engines' worldwide support sites. A 14,500 m² repair shop for in-service engines. A 10,000 m² office building to manage global support and services. Through optimizing processes and with new industrial capabilities in place, Safran Helicopter Engines expects to reduce MRO cycles by 30 percent. Franck Saudo commented, "this new industrial campus complex enables us to welcome our customers to a modern site and offer them the very highest quality of service. CAP 2020 also provides our teams with a rejuvenated working environment that will help them realise their full potential. It also further strengthens our bond with the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, where more than 1,500 jobs are now guaranteed" CAP 2020 forms the backbone of the MCO (Maintien en Conditions Opérationnelles) support contract for helicopter engines operated by the French government. For 12 years now, the women and men of Safran Helicopter Engines have proudly delivered 100% serviceability for 1,600 engines operated by France's armed forces and parapublic services, operating both at home and abroad. https://www.aviationpros.com/aircraft/maintenance-providers/mro/press-release/21126573/safran-group-safran-opens-new-cap-2020-industrial-campus-in-tarnos Back to Top CA Spends Nearly $300M on Night-Flying Wildfire Helicopters Larry Groff of Windsor and another pilot, Lars Stratte of Redding, were killed when their CAL FIRE air tankers collided over a fire near Hopland in 2001. "Flying at night has its own set of hazards," said Brown, who worked for 38 years as a U.S. Forest Service firefighter, supervisor and aviation safety officer and joined CAL FIRE in 2009 after a mandatory federal retirement. The pilot's green-tinted view of the ground lacks detail, and the goggles afford no peripheral vision. There's scant margin for error with helicopters operating at 500 feet and dropping water at about 50 feet over rugged terrain with obstacles including power lines. The Super Hueys could fly at night, but CAL FIRE decided against using the 50-year-old single-engine copters for firefighting or rescues in darkness, Brown said. With the arrival of the Hawks, the agency has the first nighttime capacity since the aviation program began with converted crop dusters deployed as air tankers in the 1950s. The $288 million purchase came at an opportune time, said state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, whose district has been hit by seven major wildfires since 2015. "It's about damn time we're making these new investments," he said, calling the Hawks "game changers that can help us combat this new reality of megafires." Despite the rash of calamitous Northern California wildfires since 2015, McGuire said it took "an enormous push" to secure funding for the new helicopters. In the last five years, wildfires have scorched more than 5 million acres in California, an area larger than Sonoma, Napa, Lake and Mendocino counties combined. "It has become crystal clear that the status quo has become unacceptable," he said. "All of us know what a relief it is to see our aerial cavalry arrive." On large wildfires, there can be 20 or more helicopters aloft, along with a dozen or more fixed-wing tankers and air tactical supervisors in three small single-engine aircraft directing the air assault through radio contact with pilots and firefighters on the ground. Tankers are the backbone of the operation, spreading bright pink retardant ahead of the flames to coat fuel and slow the blaze. Helicopters are the ribs, dropping water to extinguish the fire as dozers and ground crews work below, Brown said. "You gotta have both," he said. "It's crowded up there." During the Kincade fire last year, CAL FIRE reported helicopters had dropped 2 million gallons of water and air tankers had unleashed 1 million gallons of retardant. Wildfires sometimes die down at night, with lower temperatures and lighter winds affording "an ideal time to attack the fire," said Jake Serrano, CAL FIRE battalion chief at the Sonoma County airport helitack base. The Hawks, equipped with a hoist and a 250-foot cable for rescues, give CAL FIRE "a weapon it never had before," he said. Whether the high-tech copters would have made a difference during the wind-whipped Kincade fire in October or the deadly Tubbs fire of 2017 is uncertain. Rough air is a consideration, in addition to wind velocity, Brown said, noting the downwind side of a ridge often has severe turbulence. A helicopter can fly in 40 mph wind, but the water or retardant it releases would be whipped into a light mist, rendering it ineffective at fire suppression. Ultimately, pilots determine whether they can safely fly and help stop the fire, Brown said. Wind gusts reached 76 mph in the hills where the Kincade fire broke out near Geyserville, and winds up to 60 mph drove the Tubbs fire from Calistoga to Santa Rosa in about four hours, forcing firefighters to focus on rescuing residents rather than battling the blaze. The new copters will be deployed over the next two to three years, with the Boggs Mountain and Howard Forest helitack bases on the delivery list. Nighttime operations will be conducted from Vina and four other bases in Santa Clara, San Benito, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The first Hawk, numbered CF 903, arrived in November and is undergoing maintenance and pilot and crew training in a cavernous, nearly 100,000-square-foot hangar with a bright, white epoxy floor at McClellan Airport, home to CAL FIRE's Aviation Management Unit since 2002. Workers for DynCorp International, the private company that provides maintenance of CAL FIRE's fleet and pilots for the fixed-wing aircraft, were swarming last week over the Hawk, one of three C-130s and other aircraft as winter maintenance was in full swing. "Summer's pretty boring here," a worker said. The C-130s, a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft in service around the world for more than 60 years, also represent a major upgrade for CAL FIRE. The seven tankers, originally intended for the U.S. Forest Service, were diverted to California at no cost to the state, along with $150 million worth of engines, propellers, wheels and other spare parts and 4,000-gallon tanks installed in their spacious cargo bays. They dwarf the twin-engine S-2Ts, the longtime mainstay of the CAL FIRE fleet, in speed, power and most importantly more than three times the retardant carrying capacity. The S-2Ts will remain in service, and the first of the C-130s is expected to be ready for duty in the middle of 2021. When members of California's congressional delegation wrote to then-Secretary of Defense James Mattis in 2018 urging prompt delivery of the C-130s, their letter said: "These firefighting aircraft are absolutely vital to California's efforts to combat the increasingly deadly wildfires that threaten our constituents." https://www.firehouse.com/operations-training/wildland/news/21126605/ca-spends-nearly-300m-on-nightflying-wildfire-helicopters Back to Top Gulfstream To Build New Texas Service Center Gulfstream Aerospace has announced plans to construct a new maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at Texas's Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW). The 160,000-square-foot (14,864-square-meter) service center will include hangar space, back shops and employee and customer offices. Gulfstream expects to break ground on the project in the third quarter of 2020 and open the facility by fall 2021. "[AFW] is an established airport for business aviation operators, has an outstanding infrastructure and is appropriately sized for our operations," said Gulfstream Customer Support President Derek Zimmerman. "The additional maintenance capacity we can provide at Alliance, the state-of-the-art facility and substantial job creation are great news for our customers, our employees and the community." In addition to adding around 50 new jobs, Gulfstream says it will relocate between 150 to 200 of the 230 customer service employees currently based at the company's Dallas Love Field (DAL) location to the new facility. Gulfstream plans to invest more than $35 million in the expansion project, which is still subject to the approval of the board of directors of its parent company, General Dynamics. As previously reported by AVweb, Gulfstream opened new maintenance facilities in Savannah, Georgia; Appleton, Wisconsin; and Van Nuys, California, in 2019 and plans to open two more in Palm Beach, Florida, and Farnborough, England, this year. https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/business-aviation-news/gulfstream-to-build-new-texas-service-center/ Back to Top SpaceX is looking to raise about $250 million, valuing Elon Musk's space company at $36 billion SpaceX is looking to raise about a quarter billion dollars in new funds, as Elon Musk's company heads into a critical year for its three major projects. The company is seeking to bring in about $250 million at a price of $220 a share, according to people familiar with the financing. The new raise would value SpaceX at around $36 billion, up from $33.3 billion previously. The round is not expected to close until the second week of March, those people told CNBC, and includes an equivalent purchase offer to existing SpaceX shareholders. SpaceX did not respond to CNBC's requests for comment. The details of the raise could change depending on market conditions between now and the second week of March. Last year SpaceX raised $1.33 billion across three funding rounds. It's one of the most valuable private companies in the world and, with consistently oversubscribed capital raises, SpaceX shares rank as some of the most in demand of any pre-IPO companies as well. The steady fundraising comes as SpaceX continues development on three important programs: Crew Dragon, Starlink and Starship. Crew Dragon is the company's spacecraft its built to fly NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, as well as private space tourists on multi-day space missions. The agency has awarded SpaceX more than $3.1 billion to develop the Crew Dragon capsule since the company won its first contract for the capsule in 2014. Additionally, Musk has said SpaceX has spent "hundreds of millions of dollars" of its own funds to develop Crew Dragon. The Crew Dragon capsule for SpaceX's first astronaut flight arrived in Florida last week and is now undergoing final testing and prelaunch processing. Additionally, NASA confirmed in a statement on Feb. 14 that SpaceX will be the first to launch the agency's astronauts from U.S. soil since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011. Boeing, the other company developing a capsule for NASA, has had a number of recent issues set back its Starliner spacecraft. SpaceX's mission, called "Demo-2," is expected to launch between April and June. Starlink is the company's ambitious plan to create a global network of small satellites to provide high-speed internet to any place in the world. Known as a "megaconstellation," Starlink is expected to consist of an interconnected system of about 12,000 satellites. So far SpaceX has launched about 300 Starlink satellites, sending batches of 60 at a time into space every few weeks. Its an immense undertaking for the company that, if successful, will make the company the world's largest satellite operator by number of spacecraft. SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell said two years ago that "it will cost the company about $10 billion or more" to build the Starlink network. Additionally, SpaceX is considering spinning off its Starlink satellite business and taking it public in the next several years. Starship is the name of the company's immense, next-generation rocket. Musk's dream is for Starship to be a fully reusable rocket, much like a commercial airplane, that can carry as many as 100 people to the moon and Mars. SpaceX is building Starship at a facility in southern Texas, with launchpads under construction at that location and in Florida. Additionally, SpaceX is close to signing a lease with the Port of Los Angeles, where it would build a major manufacturing facility on about 18 acres of land near the company's headquarters in Hawthorne, California. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/21/spacex-raising-250-million-elon-musks-company-valuation-36-billion.html Curt Lewis