Airliners carry a variety of computer systems that could become vulnerable to hackers and U.S. regulators haven’t imposed adequate counter measures, a government watchdog report concluded. From a report: The Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t prioritized cyber risks, developed a cybersecurity training program or conducted testing of potentially vulnerable systems, the Government Accountability Office said in a report issued Friday. “Until FAA…
Tag: airplane
Boeing Whistle-Blower Says Proposed 737 Max Fixes Aren’t Enough
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: A whistle-blower at Boeing Co. is urging aviation regulators to add additional protections to the grounded 737 Max. Curtis Ewbank, who has previously raised concerns about the plane’s design with congressional investigators, said in comments filed with the Federal Aviation Administration that a proposal to mandate fixes to the jet didn’t address multiple…
Congressional Inquiry Faults Boeing And FAA Failures For Deadly 737 Max Plane Crashes
A sweeping congressional inquiry into the development and certification of Boeing’s troubled 737 Max airplane finds damning evidence of failures at both Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration that “played instrumental and causative roles” in two fatal crashes that killed a total of 346 people. From a report: The House Transportation Committee released an investigative report produced by Democratic staff on…
Is Boeing’s ‘737 Max’ Safe Now?
America’s Federal Aviation Administration “laid out the proposed fixes for the design flaws in the MAX’s automated flight controls,” reports the Seattle Times, “starting a clock that could see Boeing get the green light sometime next month — with U.S. airlines then scrambling to get a few MAXs flying by year end.” But the newspaper also asks two big questions. “Is…
The launch and landing of China’s reusable spacecraft
Although few details are known, and no images have been released, the Chinese did apparently launch a reusable spacecraft on September 4, 2020. It appears to have deployed a satellite to orbit and then returned to Earth safely 2 days later. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/china-reusable-spacecraft-mission-sept-2020…
SpaceX Launched and Landed Another Starship Prototype
“SpaceX took another step forward Thursday in developing its next-generation Starship rocket, conducting the second short flight test of a prototype in the past month,” reports CNBC:
Starship prototype Serial Number 6, or SN6, took off from the launchpad at SpaceX’s facility in Boca Chica, Texas. It gradually rose to about 500 feet above the ground before it returned back to land,…
The NSA’s Guidelines for Protecting Location Data
American’s National Security Agency (NSA) “has shared new guidance with U.S. military and intelligence personnel, suggesting they take additional precautions to safeguard their location data,” reports Engadget. “The agency argues the information devices and apps collect can pose a national security threat.” Ars Technica reports:
The National Security Agency is recommending that some government workers and people generally concerned about privacy turn…
Stellar pulsations distribute key ingredient for life
As Carl Sagan famously said, “We’re made of star stuff”—but how do stars distribute their essential “stuff” for life into space? NASA’s telescope on an airplane, SOFIA, is finding some answers by watching pulsating stars as they expand and contract, almost like-beating hearts. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-08-stellar-pulsations-key-ingredient-life.html…
FAA Proposes Requiring Four Key Boeing 737 MAX Design Changes
The Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday that it is proposing requiring four key Boeing 737 MAX design changes to address safety issues seen in two crashes that killed 346 people and led to the plane’s grounding in March 2019. Al Jazeera reports: The agency is issuing a proposed airworthiness directive to require updated flight-control software, revised display-processing software to generate…
Virgin seeks to revive supersonic commercial flight—but faster
Space tourism company Virgin Galactic on Monday announced a partnership with engine-maker Rolls-Royce to build a supersonic commercial airplane that flies at three times the speed of sound. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-08-virgin-revive-supersonic-commercial-flightbut.html…