Flight Safety Information [November 30, 2020] [No. 241] In This Issue : Accident: Cubana E110 at Havana on Nov 28th 2020, gear up landing : Incident: Mwant E145 at Kinshasa on Nov 28th 2020, bird strike : Incident: Fedex MD11 at Memphis on Nov 27th 2020, engine failure : FAA extends conflict zone warning on Syrian airspace : Man arrested for refusing to wear mask on Delta flight from Salt Lake City : German cargo flight departs using sustainable aviation fuel : Korean airline merger faces debt burden and antitrust concerns : Government Still Aims to Privatize TAAG Angola Airlines in 2022 : FAA supports first 'mass air shipment' of Covid-19 vaccine : Pilot shortage prompts rare flight cancellations at Delta over Thanksgiving break : Airbus re-sells six unwanted jets built for AirAsia : Japan launches advanced relay satellite with laser communications tech into orbit : SCSI: Flight Data Analysis and Electronic Systems Investigation Accident: Cubana E110 at Havana on Nov 28th 2020, gear up landing A Cubana de Aviacion Embraer EMB-110, registration CU-T1541 performing flight CU-801 from Nueva Gerona to Havana (Cuba) with 15 passengers and 4 crew, landed on Havana's runway 06 at 08:33L (13:33Z) but suffered a belly landing, skidded along the runway and came to a stop without any gear. There were no injuries, the aircraft sustained substantial damage. Cuba's Civil Aviation Authority reported: "At 08:33L a Cubana de Aviacion Embraer 110, covering the route Geron-Havana, with 15 passengers and 4 crew on board, had a failure in the landing gears causing the the breakdown of the aircraft while landing at Havana Airport. There were no injuries. An investigation has been opened." Ground observers reported the aircraft landed without gear being down. http://avherald.com/h?article=4dfd6043&opt=0 Incident: Mwant E145 at Kinshasa on Nov 28th 2020, bird strike An Mwant Jet Embraer ERJ-145, registration 9S-AYE performing flight 301 from Kinshasa N'Djili to Gemena (DR Congo), was climbing out of Kinshasa when a bird impacted the left hand windshield causing it to crack. The aircraft returned to N'Djili Airport for a safe landing. The airline had been certified by DR Congo in May 2020 and received its first aircraft, 9S-AYE, on Nov 8th 2020. http://avherald.com/h?article=4dfd5c20&opt=0 Incident: Fedex MD11 at Memphis on Nov 27th 2020, engine failure A Fedex Federal Express McDonnell Douglas MD-11, registration N575FE performing flight FX-715 from Memphis,TN to Minneapolis,MN (USA), was in the initial climb out of Memphis' runway 36L when tower advised they appeared to have an engine stall. The crew declared emergency and reported they appeared to have a #1 engine (CF6, left hand) failure but were able to stabilize the engine. The aircraft stopped the climb at 2000 feet and joined a left downwind for runway 36C and landed safely on runway 36C about 8 minutes after departure. Following checks by emergency services the aircraft taxied to the apron. Ground observers reported a low flying aircraft with about six to seven fire balls from the aircraft associated with booms that shook their houses. The airline confirmed an engine issue just after takeoff, the aircraft returned to Memphis for a safe landing. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/FDX715/history/20201127/2211Z/KMEM/KMSP http://avherald.com/h?article=4dfd50b9&opt=0 Accident: ASL Ireland AT72 at Stuttgart on Nov 27th 2020, smoke in cockpit An ASL Airlines Ireland Avions de Transport Regional ATR-72-212A freighter, registration EI-SOP performing flight AG-6TR from Frankfurt/Main to Stuttgart (Germany) with 2 crew on board, was descending towards Stuttgart when the crew reported smoke on the flight deck. Emergency services responded and awaited the aircraft. The aircraft landed safely on runway 07 about 20 minutes later. Both crew were treated at the airport for smoke inhalation. The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Stuttgart about 7.5 hours later. http://avherald.com/h?article=4dfc9abf&opt=0 FAA extends conflict zone warning on Syrian airspace The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration extended the Conflict Zone warning on Syrian airspace for three years until December 30, 2023. It remains prohibited to conduct flight operations in the Damascus (OSTT) FIR by all U.S. air carriers. Explaining the extension, the FAA noted some recent events, among others: In late February 2020, Syrian air defense activities forced a commercial Cham Wings Airbus A320 passenger flight on final approach to Damascus International Airport to divert to an alternate airfield in Syria. The lack of de-confliction of Syrian air defense activity with civil air traffic is just one of the risks to U.S. civil aviation operations in the Damascus FIR (OSTT) emanating from third-party involvement in Syria. In March 2020, Russian, Turkish and Syrian forces clashed in Idlib Province. During these clashes, fighter aircraft and possible SAMs shot down several manned and unmanned aircraft. More information FAA SFAR 114 on Syria https://news.aviation-safety.net/2020/11/28/faa-extends-conflict-zone-warning-on-syrian-airspace-2/ Man arrested for refusing to wear mask on Delta flight from Salt Lake City A man was arrested after refusing to wear a face mask on a Delta Air Lines flight that was heading from Salt Lake City to San Francisco, authorities said. Joshua Colby Council, 44, was rushing to board his Delta fight at Salt Lake City International Airport around 10:40 p.m. Wednesday when a gate agent stopped and asked him to put on a face mask, according to a police report obtained by the Salt Lake Tribune. Council refused and continued to board the plane, police said. Once on board, the captain and flight crew also asked Council to wear a mask, but he became hostile and continued to refuse, police said. He also refused to leave his seat when airport security tried to escort him off the plane. Only when all the other passengers got up and walked out did he finally leave the plane, police said. The incident delayed the flight for 45 minutes. Council was booked into Salt Lake County jail on a disorderly conduct charge. He was released Thursday morning. “We apologize to customers for the delay on Flight 1382 on Wednesday as a passenger was removed from the flight for mask non-compliance,” the airlines said in a statement to The Post. Delta’s COVID-19 policy requires customers to wear a face mask, confirm that they have no symptoms, and be honest about whether they have been exposed to the virus in the past 14 days. https://nypost.com/2020/11/28/man-arrested-for-refusing-to-wear-mask-on-delta-flight/ German cargo flight departs using sustainable aviation fuel A Lufthansa cargo aircraft took off using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for the first time. The Boeing 777F departed from Frankfurt, Germany, on Sunday and headed to Shanghai, China, laden with SAF. Peter Gerber, the CEO of Lufthansa Cargo, described the flight as a "milestone because it is the first flight of this kind that will have flown 100% CO2 neutral”. By using SAF, the fossil CO2 emissions of a flight with conventional kerosene are completely avoided. This means that SAFs’ overall GHG emissions are 65-95% lower than traditional fossil-kerosene fuels. The joint venture was organised by cargo transport and logistics firms DB Schenker and Lufthansa Cargo. The two organisations have signed a joint declaration of intent to work on a Zero Carbon Emission 2050 Strategy in the future. Last year, renewable fuel producer Neste strengthened its partnership with Lufthansa in the development of renewable aviation solutions. The airline said it will use Neste’s SAF blended with fossil jet fuel, on flights departing from Frankfurt in Germany. https://biofuels-news.com/news/german-cargo-flight-departs-using-sustainable-aviation-fuel/ Korean airline merger faces debt burden and antitrust concerns • Deal to combine KAL and Asiana not guaranteed to cure carriers' problems • Korean Air Lines is set to take control of Asiana in a deal assisted by the Korea Development Bank. SEOUL -- When South Korea's state-owned development bank in mid-November unveiled its plan to create a "top 10 global airline" by backing a restructuring of the country's two main carriers, it seemed like an appeal to national pride -- but not everyone was buying it. Inside Asiana Airlines, employees were shocked at the news that the larger Korean Air Lines, their bitter rival, was to be their new owner as part of Seoul's plan to help the domestic aviation sector weather the pandemic. "I feel empty. We have tried to catch up to Korean Air for the last 30 years, but now we will lose our company name. That is frustrating," said an Asiana manager, asking not to be named. "[Korea Development Bank] CEO Lee Dong-gull said a few months ago that we can recover under our own power, but now he says we should be sold to Korean Air because we cannot survive. It does not make sense at all." The hint of disenchantment and a clash of cultures to come is just one of the potential obstacles to getting the most out of the merger plan -- one of the most radical efforts so far unveiled to reshape Asian aviation as carriers across the region face mounting losses from months of disrupted travel. KAL said it will buy new shares in Asiana worth 1.5 trillion won ($1.4 billion) as well as Asiana corporate bonds worth 300 billion won, taking the helm of an enlarged company. The KDB will inject 800 billion won into Korean Air's parent, Hanjin KAL, in exchange for a 10.66% stake in the holding company as well as three board directors. KDB acted after a $2.2 billion acquisition deal between Asiana's parent, Kumho Industrial, and Hyundai Development Co. collapsed in September. KDB is a main creditor of Kumho. KAL is strong in long-haul passenger services, connecting Seoul's main airport, Incheon, to key destinations in the U.S. and Europe. Asiana has wide networks in China. Both compete in the domestic market as well as on travel to Japan and Southeast Asia. But both are struggling financially because of the pandemic. KAL's operating profit fell by 94% to 7.6 billion won in the third quarter from a year earlier, with revenue dropping 52% to 1.6 trillion won. Meanwhile Asiana posted 5.8 billion won of operating profit in the quarter, turning around 45.1 billion won of operating losses a year earlier. Asiana attributed this to improvements in cargo service as well as low costs for fuel, human resources and other operations. Still, its revenue fell by 53.2% to 731.1 billion won during the quarter. This year's disruption exacerbated existing challenges, such as increased competition from low-cost rivals. Both have also become collateral damage as financial problems have emerged elsewhere in their conglomerate owners' business empires. KAL's financial health was undermined in the past by the support it gave to Hanjin Shipping, an affiliate that filed for bankruptcy in 2017. Asiana has also faced risks stemming from the use of its assets as collateral for borrowing by Kumho Industrial. While many industry analysts say a restructuring in the industry is needed for the long term, there are concerns that an integration of South Korea's two biggest airlines is an artificial solution that will do little to ease their serious financial problems. Both companies are under heavy debt. Asiana's total debt reached 11.5 trillion won in September, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 2,431.9%. Korean Air has 22.7 trillion won of total debt and a debt-to-equity ratio of 693%. "We believe that Asiana Airlines' debt will burden Korean Air continuously," said Yoo Seung-woo, an analyst at SK Securities. Jay Lee, credit analyst at Shinhan Financial Investment, agreed. "The biggest concern is Asiana Airlines' condition. Asiana's debt ratio jumped sharply for the last two years due to accumulation of big losses," Lee said. Lee said that injection of money from Korean Air may reduce Asiana's debt-to-equity ratio to 524%, but it is still unclear whether the integrated airline could rebound after the merger. Still, some hope the size of the new airline will give it fresh impetus. Kim Yu-hyuk, an analyst at Hanwha Investment & Securities, said the merger would boost the company's competitiveness in Asia and beyond while allowing it to cut costs through an integrated operating system and giving up duplicate landing slots as well as maintenance and repair departments. "With this deal, we have a mega-airliner with a fleet of 245 aircraft. It is the global No. 10 by revenue passenger kilometers and the third-largest by freight ton kilometers," said Kim. "The airliner will enjoy monopoly status in the long-haul passenger services and cargo services. We need to focus on [the fact that this will lead to] better performance and profits." That hints at a problem that the airlines must confront even before they complete their integration: the agreement they will need to secure from antitrust authorities in South Korea and beyond. Joh Sung-wook, head of the country's Fair Trade Commission, said on Nov. 19 that the agency will look into whether the deal undermines competition in the industry. The two airlines' combined share in the domestic passenger market is 62.5%. KAL also needs antitrust permission from other countries to complete the deal. For instance, HDC asked five countries -- the U.S., China, Russia, Turkey and Kazakhstan -- to approve its deal to buy Asiana earlier this year before it collapsed in September. The Ministry of Transport said KAL needs to keep its size and routes after the merger to maintain its competitiveness, worrying that it may have to give up some routes due to the antitrust concerns. "KAL wants to acquire Asiana to strengthen its competitiveness by making it bigger. Giving up too many routes will lead to undermining its base," said Kim Sang-do, a director at the ministry, in a news briefing. Objections from a major Hanjin KAL shareholder are another risk. Korea Corporate Governance Improvement, an activist fund, opposes the deal, saying it undermines shareholder value. It has filed a petition with a Seoul district court to stop the deal. "KCGI is waiting for the court's wise decision. We suggest open discussions for reshaping the aviation industry," the fund said in a statement. If the deal does come to fruition, it could get close attention from rivals looking at their own financial problems stemming from the coronavirus pandemic -- and make South Korea a test bed for wider restructuring. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-deals/Korean-airline-merger-faces-debt-burden-and-antitrust-concerns Turkish Airlines to establish new air cargo company Turkey’s flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) plans to establish a new air cargo company that will be entirely a THY subsidiary. The airliner informed the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) about the establishment of the subsidiary earlier Friday. THY currently has an air cargo division, Turkish Cargo, which ramped up business during the pandemic period. The statement by the company said that the THY Board of Directors decided on the establishment of the subsidiary in a bid to benefit from Turkish Cargo’s competitive advantage in the greatest possible way and thereby strengthen the company’s place among the strongest players of the sector while creating a separate platform for possible strategic partnerships abroad in the future. Turkish Cargo currently operates in 127 countries worldwide. Operating with a fleet of 365 aircraft – both cargo aircraft and passenger aircraft which were turned into cargo planes, especially after the pandemic halted global passenger transportation with border closures and flight suspensions – Turkish Cargo provides air cargo services to more than 320 destinations around the globe, 95 of which are direct cargo points. https://www.dailysabah.com/business/transportation/turkish-airlines-to-establish-new-air-cargo-company Government Still Aims to Privatize TAAG Angola Airlines in 2022 The COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on air transport did not change the Angolan government’s goals for TAAG Angola Airlines. The national airline is still expected to conclude its privatization process in 2022, as was announced this week to journalists by Angolan Transport Minister Ricardo d’Abreu in an event to celebrate the 44th anniversary of the ministry’s foundation, reported Newsavia. This means the original plan under the local government’s Propriv — the shorthand it uses for its Privatizations Program — is unchanged. The process, Forbes Angola reports, is divided into two phases: first is the company’s stabilization, and second is the recapitalization — both of which to be completed in direct concordance with the country’s Ministry of Finance. “Therefore, we will have 2021 to keep supporting the flag carrier,” d’Abreu said, “because it’s a matter that seems pertinent and, above all, to endow [TAAG] with a better operational capacity [and] improve [its] commercial and financial capacities.” Although the legal process of sale is expected to start in 2021, TAAG’s modernization efforts started already last year with a cost-cutting program, according to airline CEO Rui Carreira in an interview with Jornal de Angola nespaper earlier this year. Additionally, a few months ago, the airline took delivery of its first Dash 8-400 turboprops, from an order of six made in 2019. “One of the main objectives of our restructuring and reforms plan is the company’s financial equilibrium. And the financial equilibrium depends, amongst other factors, on the fleet equilibrium. To have an idea, it serves to say we have 22 medium-haul destinations and four long-haul, but we have more long-haul aircraft than medium-haul, which shows, clearly, the lack of fleet equilibrium,” Carreira told the newspaper. “With the acquisition of more medium-haul aircraft, our fleet gains equilibrium. And the fleet equilibrium allows the company’s financial equilibrium.” According to Airfleets, TAAG’s fleet currently includes seven Boeing 737-700s, three Boeing 777-200s, five Boeing 777-300s and two Dash 8-400s. With that, the airline is planning to build a strong network from its Luanda hub, with the 737s freed by the Dash 8s to operate longer sectors, in order to bring better results to the airline. In an interview with African Aerospace, Carreira said that, before COVID-19 broke out earlier this year, TAAG expected to have a loss between $80 million and $85 million, versus the $135 million in damages registered in 2019, while aiming for profitability within three years. In May, already under the pandemic, the CEO told Expansão the airline could lose $270 million this year, needing urgent cash injections from the Angolan state. The airline’s continuous need for state aid, intensified by the pandemic, makes the privatization even more attractive to the government itself, as already before the pandemic Angola was not experiencing the same economic boom that much of the developed world had been. That had placed its government under continuous strain, and offloading TAAG from its portfolio will likely provide much needed relief and enable the government to focus its resources elsewhere. https://airlinegeeks.com/2020/11/29/government-still-aims-to-privatize-taag-angola-airlines-in-2022/ FAA supports first 'mass air shipment' of Covid-19 vaccine (CNN)The Federal Aviation Administration says it has supported "the first mass air shipment" of a Covid-19 vaccine. "As a result of the historic pace of vaccine development through Operation Warp Speed and careful logistics planning, the FAA today is supporting the first mass air shipment of a vaccine," the agency said in a statement Friday. The FAA said it established a Covid-19 air transport team in October "to ensure safe, expeditious, and efficient transportation of vaccines." It said that several vaccines needed to be transported with dry ice and it was working with manufacturers, air carriers and airports to provide guidance on regulations to safely transport large quantities of the hazardous substance in air cargo. Pfizer's Covid vaccine, for example, requires large amounts of dry ice to keep it at approximately negative 75 degrees Celsius. "In addition to mitigating safety risks related to the safe transport of vaccines, the FAA is ensuring around-the-clock air traffic services to keep air cargo moving and prioritizing flights carrying cargo, such as vaccines, and personnel critical to the nation's response to and recovery from Covid-19," Friday's FAA statement reads. Advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday called an emergency meeting for Tuesday to vote on who they recommend should be the first to get a coronavirus vaccine once one is authorized. The CDC's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices wants to have advice out to the public ahead of any decision from the US Food and Drug Administration about emergency authorization of a vaccine, ACIP chair Dr. Jose Romero told CNN. Pfizer has applied to the FDA for EUA for its vaccine and biotech company Moderna is expected to do so soon. https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/27/health/faa-coronavirus-vaccine-air-shipment/index.html Pilot shortage prompts rare flight cancellations at Delta over Thanksgiving break • Airlines have urged thousands of employees to take buyouts and leaves of absence. • Delta has canceled hundreds of flights as it faced shortages of pilots. • Demand remains low because of the coronavirus pandemic but has spiked over the holiday. Delta Air Lines canceled hundreds of flights over the Thanksgiving break as it struggled with staffing shortages during the busiest travel week since the coronavirus pandemic began. While demand remains less than half of last year’s levels because of the pandemic, Transportation Security Administration airport screenings rose above 1 million on Sunday and Wednesday, the highest in more than eight months. On Thursday, Delta canceled about 300 flights, roughly 20% of its schedule and around 160 flights on Friday, around 9% of the schedule. “A number of factors have pressured our ability to timely staff several dozen scheduled flights,” Delta said Friday in a statement. “We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience these flight cancellations have caused.” The airline expects operations to return to normal over the weekend and said most customers whose flights were canceled were rebooked on flights the same day. The operational problems, reported earlier by the View from the Wing blog, come after some 1,800 Delta pilots took early retirement packages that the company urged as it sought to cut costs. And earlier this week pilots approved a deal to accept partial pay not to fly that would avoid more than 1,700 furloughs until 2022. The changes “have left a smaller pool of pilots qualified and ready to fly in the fleets that are seeing an increased demand over this holiday,” said the pilots’ union, the Air Line Pilots Association. Cuts to pilot ranks can create cascading problems because they need to be trained and also stay current on certain aircraft and cannot easily switch from one to another. American Airlines, which furloughed close to 8,000 flight attendants last month, is also dealing with staffing issues this week, and offered extra pay to encourage cabin crews to sign up for more trips, said their union, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants. Only two flights were canceled as a result of the staffing shortages, according to a company spokesman. “We are grateful to all of our team members who are working this week and this weekend to get our customers where they need to go over the Thanksgiving holiday,” the airline said in a statement. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/27/pilot-shortage-prompts-rare-flight-cancellations-at-delta-over-thanksgiving-break.html Airbus re-sells six unwanted jets built for AirAsia PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus has found buyers for six aircraft from the A320neo family rejected by one of its main customers, Malaysia’s AirAsia, as it works off a surplus left by the coronavirus crisis, industry sources said. Unwanted jets have become an emblem of pandemic-induced problems in the aerospace industry that have come on top of a chill in ties between two of its major players. Tensions became unusually public when Airbus in April invited tenders for six jets that AirAsia had failed to take delivery of. It has now found homes for all six, the last of which is being delivered this month, a European industry source told Reuters. Airbus provided no comment. Airbus has been steadily increasing deliveries as it strikes deals with airlines to reschedule deliveries or store jets. It said last month it had reduced an overhang that it had been unable to deliver during the crisis by 10 units to 135 jets. The redeployment of AirAsia orders is expected to trim the surplus further as deliveries top output in November. Airbus is seeing strong demand, relative to the rest of the battered sector, for its A321neo jet, and the aircraft has broadly held its value, the European source said. It is sticking with plans to increase output of the single-aisle jets. The A321neo competes with the two largest versions of the Boeing 737 MAX, which won approval last week to re-enter service after a 20-month grounding in the wake of two crashes. AIRCRAFT VALUES Boeing is expected to re-sell dozens of 737 MAX whose buyers cancelled during the grounding, potentially depressing prices. According to the UK-based consultancy IBA Group, all aircraft have lost some value during the COVID-19 crisis but the A321neo is trading around 5% below its inherent value while the MAX is 10% below - hurt also by the recent grounding. Doubts remain, however, about demand for a larger Airbus, the A330neo, whose largest customer, AirAsia’s long-haul unit Air Asia X, is seeking new funding to survive. AirAsia said in April it would stop taking deliveries of all Airbus jets this year and review remaining orders. The move exacerbated concerns about demand in Southeast Asia, which was already struggling with overcapacity before the crisis. AirAsia’s relations with Airbus were further clouded when it was drawn into an Airbus bribery case before being cleared by local investigators, industry sources have said. AirAsia co-founders denied any wrongdoing in a sports sponsorship deal cited in a wider Airbus bribery settlement with prosecutors in January. The European source said AirAsia remained an important partner for Airbus. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-airbus-aircraft/airbus-re-sells-six-unwanted-jets-built-for-airasia-idUSKBN287219 Japan launches advanced relay satellite with laser communications tech into orbit Earth observation data will flow more quickly using laser technology instead of radio, according to JAXA A Japanese satellite carrying laser relay technology launched into space Sunday (Nov. 29) on a mission to transfer data at high speeds from military and civilian Earth observation spacecraft. The communications satellite carrying the laser payload soared to orbit at at 2:25 a.m. EST (0725 GMT or 4:25 p.m. local time) from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan, aboard an H-IIA rocket. Rocket builder and launch provider Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) announced the successful launch on Twitter, adding the satellite had separated from the upper stage of the rocket. From there, the satellite will make its way to geostationary orbit for a 10-year mission. "It was confirmed that the rocket flew as planned," MHI said in a machine-translated statement from Japanese. Unusually, the mission was not broadcast live from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency or JAXA, perhaps because of the sensitive nature of the laser technology, according to Spaceflight Now. No information was provided about its exact orbital track, either. A Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIA rocket launches an advanced data relay satellite carrying the LUCAS laser communications system into orbit from Tanegashima Space Center on Nov. 29, 2020. A Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIA rocket launches an advanced data relay satellite carrying the LUCAS laser communications system into orbit from Tanegashima Space Center on Nov. 29, 2020. (Image credit: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) The satellite payload, called Laser Utilizing Communication System or LUCAS for short, will send data from satellites in low Earth orbit using laser technology, according to a machine-translated version of the JAXA mission page in Japanese. LUCAS will fly to geostationary orbit, which allows it to rotate at the same rate as the the Earth at roughly 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) above the equator. It will have a continuous view over the Asia-Pacific area. From its high altitude, LUCAS will connect with satellites in low Earth orbit using a near-infrared laser beam. The laser technology on LUCAS sends information at 1.8 gigabytes per second, which is seven times faster than the current standard of sending information by radio waves, JAXA said. With Earth-observing satellites more numerous than ever due to small satellites from private companies leveraging more advanced computing technology, JAXA said LUCAS would allow for "future increase in data transmission capacity, and immediacy requirements" in low Earth orbit spacecraft. Getting information quickly from these satellites is imperative to make full use of their applications, which include monitoring the Earth for global warming and assisting in disaster response after catastrophic events such as hurricanes. https://www.space.com/jaxa-launches-laser-communications-satellite Curt Lewis