Flight Safety Information May 21, 2020 - No. 102 In This Issue Witness ProSafeT's Comprehensive SMS Solution Incident: Nauru B733 at Brisbane on May 21st 2020, bird strike Incident: Cargolux B748 over Atlantic on May 9th 2020, cockpit crew member incapacitated Incident: American A321 near Nassau on Jan 24th 2020, smoke in cabin Lawmakers: FAA certification of new planes needs an overhaul After two crashes within days, Eglin announces safety pause FAA seeks $5.9 million penalty over 270 cargo flights Colombia joins Argentina in banning all international flights Engine Maker Rolls-Royce Cuts 9,000 Jobs As Aviation Reels Airlines Caught Unawares as India Allows Local Flights to Resume Lockheed Martin will slow F-35 fighter jet work because COVID-19 is disrupting its supply chain Air France axes A380, Emirates seen cutting deliveries U.S. Sanctions Chinese Company Connected to Iranian Airline Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit to attempt its first rocket launch from a 747 aircraft this weekend NASA Names The Next Space Telescope After The Brilliant 'Mother of Hubble' GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY Incident: Nauru B733 at Brisbane on May 21st 2020, bird strike A Nauru Airlines Boeing 737-300 on behalf of Qantas, registration VH-VLI performing flight QF-7332 from Brisbane,QL to Townsville,QL (Australia), was climbing out of runway 19L when the crew reported they had gone through a flock of birds upon rotation. The aircraft stopped the climb at 10,000 feet. A runway inspection revealed 8 to 10 dead birds on the runway at about the location where the aircraft had rotated. The aircraft entered a hold at 10,000 feet to burn off fuel and returned to Brisbane for a safe landing on runway 19L about 70 minutes after departure. http://avherald.com/h?article=4d794f4c&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: Cargolux B748 over Atlantic on May 9th 2020, cockpit crew member incapacitated A Cargolux Boeing 747-8 freighter, registration LX-VCL performing flight CV-7416 from Guadalajara (Mexico) to Luxembourg (Luxembourg) with 4 crew, was enroute at FL350 over the Atlantic Ocean about 400nm southeast of Gander,NL (Canada) when the crew declared PAN PAN reporting one of their relief pilots had become progressively ill. The crew requested to divert to Gander, where the aircraft landed safely on runway 21 about an hour later. The pilot was taken to hospital by medical services awaiting the aircraft's arrival. The aircraft remained on the ground for about 16 hours, then continued the flight to Luxembourg. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/CLX7416/history/20200509/1100Z/MMGL/ELLX http://avherald.com/h?article=4d792690&opt=0 Back to Top Incident: American A321 near Nassau on Jan 24th 2020, smoke in cabin An American Airlines Airbus A321-200, registration N970UY performing flight AA-1852 from Charlotte,NC (USA) to San Juan (Puerto Rico) with 185 people on board, was enroute at FL330 about 150nm east of Nassau (Bahamas) when the crew reported smoke in the cabin and diverted to Nassau. The aircraft landed safely about 30 minutes later. The aircraft remained on the ground for about 30.5 hours, then returned to Charlotte and remained on the ground in Charlotte for another 17.5 hours before returning to service. Bahama's AAID reported: "The crew reported that while enroute to Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, San Juan, Puerto Rico, while some 45miles off the coast of New Providence, Bahamas, smoke was detected in the cabin of the aircraft. The aircraft diverted from its original course and landed at the Lynden Pindling International Airport, Nassau, Bahamas without further incidence. There were 185 souls on board. No injuries were reported. A limited scope investigation was conducted and no safety recommendations were issued as a result of this occurrence." https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL1852/history/20200124/1552Z/KCLT/TJSJ http://avherald.com/h?article=4d790e8d&opt=0 Back to Top Back to Top Lawmakers: FAA certification of new planes needs an overhaul WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Aviation Administration outlined steps to change how it approves new passenger planes, but lawmakers said they will push ahead with legislation to change the current system that lets aircraft makers including Boeing play a key role in the certification process. The FAA has been under pressure to change its certification process after failing to catch problems with new flight-control technology on the Boeing 737 Max. Design problems have been blamed for two crashes that killed 346 people. For decades, the FAA has relied on employees of aircraft makers to vouch for the safe design of components on planes. Prompted by criticism of its review of the Max, the Transportation Department created a committee to review the certification process, and on Tuesday, the FAA responded to that panel's suggestions. The FAA defended the current system as safe but identified areas for improvement. For example, the agency said it will pay more attention to how pilots might respond to new technology, a key concern because of increasing automation on jetliners. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., praised FAA for being willing to make some changes, "but the Congress needs to address shortfalls and problems that exist in the FAA's current oversight authority." She said the report by the Transportation Department's advisory committee "defends a system that is in clear need of improvement." Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said he will introduce legislation to change the certification process, although he didn't provide any details. "Let's be clear," DeFazio said in a statement, "we already know the FAA's certification process is in need of a major overhaul." He said failures in the system led to the 346 deaths. The 737 Max has been grounded worldwide since March 2019, after the second of two crashes - one off the coast of Indonesia and another in Ethiopia. In both cases, an automated anti-stall system pushed the nose of the plane down, and pilots were unable to regain control. For more than a year, Boeing has been working on fixes to software and computers on the plane, which would need approval by the FAA, but the task has taken far longer than the company expected. https://www.yahoo.com/news/lawmakers-faa-certification-planes-needs-150414454.html Back to Top After two crashes within days, Eglin announces safety pause The commander of Eglin Air Force Base in Florida announced the base will take a "safety pause" on Thursday, after the crash of two fifth-generation fighter jets within days of one another. An F-22 crashed on Eglin's test and training range Friday morning during a training flight. Four days later, on Tuesday night, an F-35 also crashed on the base's air field. Both pilots safely ejected without significant injuries. But the back-to-back crashes have alarmed the base. Brig. Gen. Scott Cain, commander of the 96th Test Wing, said in a Facebook post Wednesday that while the health of the two pilots is a relief, the base needs to turn its attention to improving safety. "The events over the past few days remind us that the defense of our country can be a dangerous business," Cain said. "It is very important to me that we now take a safety pause." He ordered commanders at all levels to conduct a "virtual safety day" Thursday, in reflection of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Cain also asked the wing's safety office to prepare a safety briefing to be used across the base. Cain said the investigations into both accidents are still in their early phases. https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2020/05/20/after-two-crashes-within-days-eglin-announces-safety-pause/ Back to Top FAA seeks $5.9 million penalty over 270 cargo flights WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal regulators are seeking a $5.9 million penalty against an Atlanta aviation company that they say operated illegal cargo flights that were "careless or reckless" and posed a safety risk. The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that Humes McCoy Aviation lacked a commercial operating certificate and used pilots who had not passed required tests. The FAA said the company also didn't have approved programs for pilot training and handling hazardous materials. David M. McDonald, an attorney for Humes McCoy, said the company does not own any aircraft and merely acted as a broker between cargo customers and licensed air carriers. "It is our position that no violations took place," he said. The FAA said Humes McCoy used small planes to operate 270 illegal flights in North Carolina, South Carolina and Iowa from 2017 through 2019. The alleged violations are civil, not criminal. The company has 30 days to respond to the FAA. The agency frequently reduces proposed penalties during negotiations. https://wtop.com/business-finance/2020/05/faa-seeks-5-9-million-penalty-over-270-cargo-flights/ Back to Top Colombia joins Argentina in banning all international flights Colombian official: 'We do not expect to resume international air travel or to reopen land borders' before August 31. Colombia on Wednesday followed in Argentina's footsteps and imposed one of the toughest travel bans in the world to fight the coronavirus pandemic, saying no international passenger flights will be allowed until August 31. Argentina took a similar drastic step this month, although it also banned domestic flights. Colombia has banned domestic flights only until the end of June so far. Argentina's decision sparked outrage among that country's airlines, but so far the government has not changed its mind. "Until Aug 31 we do not expect to resume international air travel or to reopen land borders," Colombia's Transport Minister Angela Maria Orozco said in an interview with Blu Radio on Wednesday. Latin America has imposed stricter travel restrictions than most regions to fight coronavirus. In addition to Colombia and Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, El Salvador and Panama have also grounded all flights and repeatedly extended those bans as the disease has spread. Cargo flights are allowed. Colombia's decision is a blow to its largest carrier, Avianca Holdings, which this month filed for bankruptcy in a US court. Avianca said in a statement the government had not yet notified it about the new ban. Avianca had earlier hoped to resume flying in June. The carrier is in a delicate situation as its entire passenger fleet is currently unable to fly due to restrictions in several countries. It is, however, operating cargo flights, but those represent a small percentage of the company's revenue in normal times. The carrier has a limited amount of cash to keep the operation afloat while earning little revenue, which has prompted it to seek government aid that has yet to materialise. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/colombia-joins-argentina-banning-international-flights-200520180104411.html Back to Top Engine Maker Rolls-Royce Cuts 9,000 Jobs As Aviation Reels LONDON - Engine maker Rolls-Royce said Wednesday it plans to cut some 9,000 jobs globally as it grapples with the collapse in air travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company based in Derby, England, employs 52,000 people overall, and didn't specify which regions would take the hardest blow. CEO Warren East said most of the cuts will take place in the civil aerospace business, where two-thirds of U.K. employees work. Negotiations are set to begin with unions. "Being told that there is no longer a job for you is a terrible prospect and it is especially hard when all of us take so much pride in working for Rolls-Royce,'' East said. "But we must take difficult decisions to see our business through these unprecedented times." The company immediately came under criticism, however, since it has furloughed some 4,000 workers under a government program to pay some of the wages of people affected by the crisis. The unions insisted taxpayers deserved a more responsible approach to a national emergency. "The news that Rolls-Royce is preparing to throw thousands of skilled, loyal, world-class workers, their families and communities under the bus during the worst public health crisis since 1918 is shameful opportunism,'' said Steve Turner, assistant general secretary of Unite. "This company has accepted public money to furlough thousands of workers.'' The reorganization will lead to cuts resulting in some 700 million pounds ($856 million) in savings with an overall aim of 1.3 billion pounds in annual savings. The cuts at a big supplier for the aviation industry are a dark signal for Britain's overall economy. Thousands of jobs in a wider pipeline support operations at Rolls-Royce. It also suggests that government efforts to cushion the COVID-19 blow won't be enough for aviation. Leaders in the sector have been appealing for help. Airlines around the world have grounded their fleets amid pandemic restrictions on travel and received government-backed rescue loans. Carriers and planemakers like Boeing are cutting jobs heavily as they expect lasting damage to aviation. Rolls-Royce warned earlier this month that flying hours for its engines dived by 90% in April. "This is not a crisis of our making. But it is the crisis that we face and we must deal with it,'' East said. "Our airline customers and air-frame partners are having to adapt and so must we.'' https://www.mymotherlode.com/news/europe/1065016/engine-maker-rolls-royce-cuts-9000-jobs-as-aviation-reels.html Back to Top Airlines Caught Unawares as India Allows Local Flights to Resume India's decision to resume domestic flights from May 25 was a bolt out of the blue for most of the country's aviation companies. Top executives at three Indian airlines said they learned about the move when the aviation minister tweeted it. The executives asked not to be identified citing rules on speaking to the media. Airline shares surged. Most carriers have suspended ticket sales at least until June 1 and were staring at a longer stint on the ground, until the minister announced the government's plan to reopen the skies. Many are puzzled as the lifting coincides with India emerging as a nation where coronavirus infections are spreading at the fastest pace in Asia. While airlines, strapped for cash due to the shutdown, were waiting for a decision, the short notice makes it harder for them to prepare for operations, deploy staff, arrange for protective gear, and ensure the virus stays away from flights, the people said. Only a limited number of flights will be permitted initially, and fares must adhere to lower and upper limits set by authorities as long as the pandemic persists, India's civil aviation ministry said in an order posted on its website on Thursday. It didn't disclose the limits. Carriers must also supply a three-layered surgical mask, face shield and sanitizer to each passenger, and cabin crew must wear full-body gowns, shoe covers, masks and gloves, according to the order. The issue shows the challenge airlines face as the world gradually opens up the skies even as new virus hotspots emerge. The situation is particularly alarming in crowded India, where movement of people from its mega cities to the hinterland has already catalyzed the virus's spread despite a near two-month nationwide lockdown. Airlines around the world have struggled to remain in business, with some shutting down, as travel restrictions dried cash flows. The ban on local flights -- which came into effect on March 25, just days after a ban international operations -- prompted industry analysts at CAPA Centre for Aviation to speculate that struggling airlines would have to sell shares to stay alive. India's airlines, including InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.'s IndiGo, Asia's biggest budget carrier by market value, SpiceJet Ltd., Singapore Airlines Ltd.'s affiliate Vistara and AirAsia Group Bhd.'s local partner, have 650 planes between them in their fleet. The country is one of the biggest market for Airbus SE and Boeing Co. Shares of IndiGo jumped as much as 13% Thursday in Mumbai, making it the best-performing stock on the S&P BSE100 index. SpiceJet rose as much as 5.1%. Infections in the nation of 1.3 billion people were at 112,028, including 3,434 deaths, as of Thursday morning, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-21/airlines-caught-unaware-as-india-allows-local-flights-to-resume Back to Top Lockheed Martin will slow F-35 fighter jet work because COVID-19 is disrupting its supply chain The defense contractor hopes to make up work later in the year once the pandemic slows. Defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin will slow down production work at its F-35 fighter jet factory in Fort Worth and put workers on alternating shifts to deal with disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bethesda, Maryland-based company said it will drop production by 18 to 24 aircraft over the next three months, but still hopes to hit its delivery target of 141 jets by the end of the year. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lockheed has had supply problems for the jet assembly done in Fort Worth. "The delays are primarily from suppliers that produce sub-components and connectors for the aircraft," said Lockheed spokesman Brett Ashworth. Ashworth said the delays are both within the United States and from overseas suppliers. Lockheed Martin is also "accelerating payments to small and vulnerable suppliers" to help speed production. Starting May 23, Lockheed Martin will change schedules at the plant for the 2,500 manufacturing workers on the project. Employees will work two weeks on and then one week off. If employees hit 96 hours of work in those two weeks, they will get paid for all three weeks. "The alternate schedule allows Lockheed Martin to staff the production line to meet a slower workflow resulting from supplier delays," the company said in a statement. "In addition, it provides a work rhythm that retains the expertise of the talented workforce and provides opportunities to adjust work to better support production." Lockheed Martin won a new $34 billion contract in October to make 478 more F-35 jets, adding to the $406 billion initial cost for the program. A final agreement on a long-awaited contract for the next-generation F-35 jets that would be the biggest yet for Lockheed Martin. It's the most expensive program in the Pentagon's budget and is aimed at giving the U.S. and its allies superior air capabilities for decades to come. It's come under scrutiny for rising costs and has a total price tag of more than $1 trillion through the 2070s. Lockheed Martin produced 134 of the advanced fighter jets by the end of 2019 and had reported that it had lowered the cost for each jet to under $78 million. To deal with COVID-19-related problems, Lockheed said it will split workers into three teams, alternating on a rotating schedule that gives a week off for every two weeks on. The company said it will reevaluate the program every three weeks, but it is intended to run through early September. Lockheed Martin has continued production on its F-35 line and at other factories after being deemed an essential business. But it has also come under scrutiny when a worker at the Fort Worth factory died after telling supervisors he had been exposed to COVID-19. More than 5,000 people have signed a Change.org petition calling for Lockheed Martin to shut down the manufacturing facility because of the risk of employees spreading the coronavirus at the plant. Ashworth said Lockheed Martin has implemented social distancing on the production line "where possible" and is trying to reconfigure work to space employees farther apart. "We continue to use best practices to mitigate risks and protect the health and well-being of our employees and partners, while ensuring we meet our commitments to national security," Ashworth said. "When circumstances warrant, we deep clean work areas and common spaces in any facility with elevated exposure to COVID-19 and regularly share exposure-prevention protocols to reinforce healthy behaviors." There are about 18,500 aeronautics division workers at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth. The 2,500 workers that are part of the shift rescheduling are unionized and the company worked with the local International Association of Machinists branch on the changes. The IAM Local 774 did not respond to requests for comment. https://www.dallasnews.com/business/2020/05/20/lockheed-martin-will-slow-f-35-fighter-jet-work-because-covid-19-is-disrupting-its-supply-chain/ Back to Top Air France axes A380, Emirates seen cutting deliveries DUBAI/PARIS (Reuters) - The world's largest airliner, the Airbus A380, took a step closer to the aviation archives on Wednesday as Air France said it would permanently axe its grounded fleet and sources said Emirates was in talks to reduce remaining deliveries. The superjumbo is close to the end of its production run after demand switched to smaller jets, and airlines including Air France have been idling the double-decker temporarily because of the coronavirus crisis. Air France announced a fresh 500 million euro ($548.50 million) writedown as it permanently retires its nine jets, just over a decade after becoming the first European airline to operate them. Airbus last year announced plans to stop producing A380s in 2021 due to poor sales. It has nine left to build including eight for Emirates and one for Japan's ANA. Emirates no longer wants to take all eight A380s due to the pandemic and is in talks with Airbus, industry sources said. Bloomberg earlier reported Emirates hoped to cancel five. Both Emirates and Airbus said they were in regular dialogue with each other, declining further comment. Halting Emirates deliveries could be painful for both sides, with the airline foregoing deposits and Airbus left with parts already ordered and no significant market to dispose of them. Each A380 is worth some $200 million post-discounts, with virtually all represented by parts before assembly, suggesting an Airbus exposure of around $1.5 billion, market sources said. Emirates has 50 A350s on order, the price of which could become a bargaining chip in discussions, one added. Emirates is the biggest A380 operator with 115 and has said it expects to keep some into the 2030s. But the pandemic has forced belt-tightening worldwide and Emirates is considering retiring some A380s earlier than planned, sources said. One said Emirates was focused on reducing the number of leased A380s first. https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/air-france-axes-a380-emirates-184041264.html Back to Top U.S. Sanctions Chinese Company Connected to Iranian Airline The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned a Chinese company it alleged has acted as an agent for an Iranian airline accused of transporting weapons and other material for the country's military and militant groups. Treasury said Shanghai Saint Logistics Limited acts as Mahan Air's agent in the Chinese city, providing administration services for the Iranian company. It's the seventh company Treasury has sanctioned as an agent of Mahan Air, the department said in a statement. Mahan Air is currently operating charter flights between Iran and Venezuela, according to Treasury, helping to prop up the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by supplying Iranian technicians and equipment for its oil industry in exchange for gold bars, the department said. "This scheme supports the illegitimate Maduro regime's efforts to revive its energy production, languished by its corruption and mismanagement," Treasury said in the statement. The sanctions are "illegal," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular media briefing in Beijing Wednesday, calling on the U.S. to "change course and correct its mistake." "China stands consistently against U.S. unilateral sanctions and so-called long-arm jurisdiction," Zhao said. "Parties of the international community engage in mutually beneficial cooperation with Iran under the framework of international law that is legitimate and legal and should be respected and protected." https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/u-sanctions-chinese-company-connected-080808588.html Back to Top Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit to attempt its first rocket launch from a 747 aircraft this weekend • Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit is set to conduct its first orbital rocket launch as early as Saturday, in the final test of its Boeing 747 aircraft-based system. • Virgin Orbit's modified aircraft is scheduled to liftoff from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California and fly out over the Pacific Ocean. • Virgin Orbit is a spin-off of Branson's Virgin Galactic space tourism company. Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit is set to conduct its first orbital rocket launch as early as Saturday, in the final test of its Boeing 747 aircraft-based system. Virgin Orbit's modified aircraft is scheduled to take off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California at 1 p.m. EDT and fly out over the Pacific Ocean. If all the company's systems are ready, the aircraft will release the LauncherOne rocket, which will then fire its engine and head for space. The company plans to use the rocket to launch satellites, with the "air launch" system giving a schedule flexibility that Virgin Orbit touts over more common ground-based launch systems like those of SpaceX and Rocket Lab. Virgin Orbit is a spin-off of Branson's Virgin Galactic space tourism company. While both of the companies launch spacecraft from the air - rather than the ground - that's where the similarities end. Virgin Orbit uses a former commercial jet and will launch satellites the size of refrigerators to orbit, while Virgin Galactic has a one-of-a-kind aircraft and plans to send paying tourists on rides at the edge of space. Last year the company conducted a drop test of a rocket from the 747, in a final key test before this first launch. Virgin Orbit told CNBC on Wednesday that last week it conducted a wet dress rehearsal in preparation for this launch, fueling up the rocket and flying with it to verify it's ready. The company has a four-hour window in which to launch on Saturday, as well as Sunday and Monday. The company has yet to make the final decision on which day it plans to launch, although the back-up launch windows are for similar times of the day. Once done testing, Virgin Orbit has over a dozen launches lined. Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart told CNBC last year that the majority of those launches are for spacecraft from private companies, with only one for NASA and another for the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit. But Virgin Orbit has been regularly speaking with the U.S. military about the applications of its technology. Branson met with Air Force leadership last year to discuss Virgin Orbit's capabilities. Following the meeting, Air Force acquisitions head Dr. Will Roper said he was "very excited about small launch," because "if you lose a satellite" you can "put another one up at the time you need it." https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/20/richard-bransons-virgin-orbit-schedules-first-test-rocket-launch.html Back to Top NASA Names The Next Space Telescope After The Brilliant 'Mother of Hubble' NASA just named a powerful new space telescope for the woman who masterminded the existence of such observatories in the first place. Dr. Nancy Grace Roman spent 21 years at NASA developing and launching space-based observatories that studied the Sun, deep space, and Earth's atmosphere. She most famously worked to develop the concepts behind the Hubble Space Telescope, which just spent its 30th year in orbit. Roman earned the nickname "mother of Hubble" for her role in pushing for that telescope. When it launched in 1990, Hubble became the first of NASA's "great observatories," which are designed to push the limits of human knowledge about the cosmos. Roman also served as NASA's first Chief of Astronomy, making her the first woman to hold an executive position at the agency. She died in 2018. Roman "had huge influence in all of astronomy and space," Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's associate administrator for science, said in a NASA video announcing the name. Zurbuchen said Roman's work led space astronomy to where it is today. "For that reason: that vision, that foresight ... that leadership on the inside of the agency," Zurbuchen said, "that really makes her, I think, the only name that is appropriate for this large space telescope that we're building now." The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will hunt for new planets and dark energy NASA plans to launch the new telescope, which was originally called the Wide Field InfraRed Survey Telescope (WFIRST), into Earth's orbit in the mid-2020s. Over its five-year lifetime, the Roman Space Telescope will measure light from a billion galaxies and survey the inner Milky Way with the hope of finding about 2,600 new planets and photographing them. The new observatory will have a field of view 100 times greater than Hubble's. Each of its photos will be equivalent to about 100 Hubble images' worth of pixels. That breadth will help scientists test Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity and search for signs of "dark energy," a mysterious force that makes up 68 percent of the Universe and drives its expansion. "[Roman] is somebody I've really admired. It makes me excited and proud to be associated with a mission that's named after her. This is something I'm going to enjoy day after day as the mission continues," Julie McInery, the deputy project scientist for the telescope, said in a statement. 'I was told, from the beginning, that women could not be scientists' Roman was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on 16 May 1925. As a child, she loved to draw the Moon. Her mother, a music teacher, would take her on nighttime walks to point out constellations and the ribbons of the aurora borealis. Her father, a geophysicist, answered her "scientific questions," she told NASA in 2017. Throughout childhood, her love of the cosmos grew. Between the fifth and sixth grades, Roman organised an astronomy club among her friends to study the constellations. By seventh grade, she knew she wanted to be an astronomer. "I knew it was going to take me another 12 years of schooling, but I figured I'd try and if I didn't make it, I could teach physics or maths in high school," she told NASA. She graduated in 1949 from the University of Chicago with a PhD in astronomy - one of the few women in the world to earn such a degree at the time. "I certainly did not receive any encouragement. I was told, from the beginning, that women could not be scientists," Roman told NASA. "My thesis professor? There was a period where he went six months without speaking to me, even when I said hello to him in the hall. He didn't want to have anything to do with me." Roman rallied scientists, engineers, and legislators to make Hubble happen Roman's first job after leaving the University of Chicago was in the radio astronomy program at the US Naval Research Laboratory in Washington. At the time, American radio astronomers usually built their own instruments - an undertaking that had more to do with mechanics than with studying the Universe. "I did not want to start over as an engineer," Roman told NASA. "I enjoyed the work, so I wasn't looking terribly actively for a new job. But when NASA came along and offered me a job I decided to take it." That was in 1959, when the agency was just six months old. At work, Roman began to use the prefix "Dr." with her name. "Otherwise, I could not get past the secretaries," she recalled. A few months later, she heard that the agency was looking for someone to set up a space astronomy program. "I knew that taking on this responsibility would mean that I could no longer do research," she told NASA. "But the challenge of formulating a program from scratch that I believed would influence astronomy for decades to come was too great to resist." That's when Roman became the agency's chief of astronomy and began developing the concepts for Hubble - an idea that had been kicked around since the mid-1940s, primarily by astronomer Lyman Spitzer, but never moved forward. "Being the first executive woman at NASA turned out not to be terribly eventful. I was accepted very readily as a scientist in my job," Roman said. One of the first things she did at NASA was to organise top astronomers and engineers from across the country in 1960, then have them "sit down together and come up with something that the engineers thought would work, and that the astronomers thought would do their job," she said. "Beyond that, my job was trying to convince first NASA, and then the bureau of the budget, and the executive part of government, and then Congress, that was worth doing," Roman added. 'Nancy Grace Roman deserves a place in the heavens' Though Roman retired from NASA in 1979, she continued to consult for the space agency, and her early organisation and advocacy planted the seeds that ultimately led to Hubble and the Great Observatories program. Hubble launched in 1990 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. In the three decades since, the telescope has taken more than 1.4 million observations, and astronomers have used that data to publish more than 17,000 peer-reviewed scientific publications, according to NASA. Above: Roman stands next to a 1/6-scale model of the Hubble Space Telescope outside the Space Telescope Operations Control Centre at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland, on 31 March 2017. Hubble's lens has captured stunning images of distant planets, violent space collisions, and the births and deaths of galaxies and stars. It has helped scientists learn the secrets of dark matter, measure the Universe's expansion, and determine that most galaxies have a supermassive black hole at their centres. "It's hard to decide how history will decide to view my accomplishments," Roman told NASA. "People generally aren't terribly interested in what gets things started, and so I'm not sure they're going to have much of an idea of my role." But in giving the next telescope her name, NASA is ensuring that the "mother of Hubble" and her contributions to studying the cosmos won't fade. "Nancy Grace Roman deserves a place in the heavens she studied and opened for so many," Zurbuchen said. https://www.sciencealert.com/woman-behind-the-hubble-telescope-gets-a-space-observatory-named-after-her Back to Top GRADUATE RESEARCH SURVEY Dear Participants, You are being asked to participate in a research study of your opinions and attitudes about stress and mental health. This research started almost two years ago. The purpose of this study is to examine mental health issues in aviation, specifically Part 121 airline pilots. During this study, you will be asked to complete a brief online survey about your opinions on various life circumstances, stress, and mental health topics. This study is expected to take approximately 15 minutes of your time. In order to participate, you must possess an FAA issued Airline Transport Certificate (ATP) and you must also be currently working as a pilot for a Part 121 air carrier that is headquartered within the United States. Participation in this study is voluntary and data will be collected anonymously, stored confidentially, and you may choose to opt out of the study at any time. We sincerely appreciate your consideration and time to complete our study, as it is another small but important step towards increasing safety in aviation. Please click on the link below to complete the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7ZG6M6L For more information, please contact: Tanya Gatlin - Student Researcher Gatlint1@my.erau.edu 281-924-1336 Dr. Scott Winter - Faculty Advisor winte25e@erau.edu 386-226-6491 Curt Lewis