Month: January 2018

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Boeing, SpaceX have razor-thin margins to fly crew missions in 2018

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Commercial Crew Astronaut Eric Boe examines hardware during a tour of the SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California.

NASA

Almost since the beginning of the commercial crew program in 2010, the old and new titans of the aerospace industry have been locked in a race to the launch pad. Boeing, with five decades of aerospace contracts, represented the old guard. SpaceX, founded in 2002, offered a new, leaner way of doing things.

Through the years, as other participants in the commercial crew program fell away, Boeing and SpaceX remained on course to deliver US astronauts into space. It has not been easy for either company or for their sponsor, NASA. The space agency has only ever led the development of four spacecraft that carried humans into orbit, and three of those programs came in the 1960s, with the fourth and final vehicle in the 1970s—the space shuttle.

As both companies sought to climb this steep learning curve, they have missed deadlines. An original deadline of 2015 melted away after some key members of Congress diverted funds for the commercial crew program to other NASA programs, notably the Space Launch System rocket. But in recent years, Congress has fully funded the efforts by Boeing and SpaceX, and they were told that would yield flights in 2017.

Last year came and went, however, and now one of the biggest questions facing the US aerospace community this year is whether the commercial crew program finally takes flight. On Thursday NASA provided a modicum of new information, releasing target dates for test flights, both crewed and uncrewed.

New schedules?

Under the new schedule, Boeing is slated to fly an uncrewed test flight of Starliner in August and a second flight with astronauts in November. SpaceX, too, is scheduled to fly a demonstration flight of its Dragon in August, followed by a crew mission in December. The dates for Boeing in the updated schedule are the same as they’ve been for about a year. SpaceX has slipped several months to the right.

On Thursday key figures from both Boeing and SpaceX spoke at a meeting in Houston, The Academy of Medicine, Engineering & Science of Texas. The deputy manager for Boeing’s commercial crew program, Chris Ferguson, said the company is still on track for flights this year. SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell said the same.

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Airbus can’t deliver its planes to China

Airbus needs China’s blessing on its newest jetliners. And without it, undelivered planes are piling up at its factories in France and Germany.

The company wanted to sell nearly 200 more Airbus jets to China this week. But Chinese airlines have yet to take delivery of many airliners they’ve ordered from the company even though the planes are built.

That’s because China’s aviation regulator has yet to allow deliveries of key Airbus (EADSF) models.

Across Airbus’s factories in Germany and France, more than a dozen A320neo and A321neos, some that were ready as far back as last spring, have been in storage awaiting final sign-offs from the Civil Aviation Administration of China. About a half-dozen A350s for Chinese carriers are waiting at its main headquarters in Toulouse in southern France.

Winning regulatory approval in China, the world’s largest airplane market over the next two decades, is crucial as Airbus and Boeing (BA) pin their future hopes on China.

Precisely what has slowed Airbus’ approvals in China isn’t entirely clear. The delays have more to do with politics than technology, say several people familiar with the regulatory delays. The delays are wrapped up in an extended wish list from Beijing that ranges from new safety agreements with Europe to additional production in China.

This is business diplomacy at work, said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at the Teal Group aerospace consultancy.

“Jetliner purchases are a continuation of politics by any other means,” Aboulafia said. China’s ascendant role in aerospace as both competitor and customer gives them unique leverage over Boeing and Airbus. “Their actual buying clout greatly exceeds their market size.”

And Airbus is clearly making an effort to please the Chinese government.

During a visit this week by French President Emmanuel Macron with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the European planemaker announced it would increase production at its final assembly line in the Chinese city of Tianjin from four A320 jets each month to six by 2020. Airbus has even floated the idea of a new industrial partnership with China on the world’s biggest jetliner, the A380. Orders are badly needed on that program.

Airbus Chief Operating Officer Fabrice Brégier met during a visit to Beijing in late October with CAAC director Feng Zhenglin to discuss Airbus’s business operations in China, including aircraft airworthiness certification. An Airbus spokesman declined to say if the outstanding certification of Airbus’s newest jets was discussed.

Neither the CAAC nor the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to a request for comment about certification delays.

Delta set to place huge order with Airbus

Airbus disputed the idea that political issues are affecting the pace of Chinese approvals.

“This is a technical validation process … not a political one,” a spokesman for the company said. “The number of aircraft is small, and these will be delivered in the short term.”

China’s aviation regulator is considered one of the most methodical and rigorous on the planet. But in the Chinese aerospace industry, much of what happens is linked to the country’s long-term ambitions to compete against Boeing and Airbus.

“The Chinese are pretty good in building pressure on certain desires they have,” said one senior Airbus official. “The Chinese are playing it slow on granting [certification] on any aircraft program, be it Boeing or Airbus.”

Only in the closing days of last year was Airbus awarded Chinese certification for its new A321neo with Pratt & Whitney engines, the company said. That approval came nearly a year after many of the planes on order had already been made. Both A320neo and A321neo jets with CFM International engines have yet to win Chinese approval.

It’s common practice in the airplane business to add more orders even when previous commitments haven’t been fulfilled. Chinese carriers took delivery of 424 airliners from Airbus and Boeing and other manufacturers in 2017, according to trade publication Air Transport World.

Getting approval from the Chinese regulator has often come closely times around political visits that accompany other deals. Boeing won Chinese certification for its single-aisle 737 Max in mid-October, just before a visit to the country by President Trump in November.

Trump & Boeing: It’s not about Air Force One, it’s about China

The U.S. and China also signed a new aviation safety agreement last fall after more than 10 years of negotiations.

The Federal Aviation Administration denied there was any connection around the bilateral agreement and timing of aircraft certification.

China is in the middle of finalizing a new bilateral aviation safety agreement with Europe that would recognize China’s airworthiness standards. That would provide a major boost to Chinese plane makers and suppliers, who want to eventually sell Chinese-made airliners in Europe.

China’s first direct competitor to Boeing and Airbus’s dominant single-aisle jets, the Comac C919, made its first test flight in May 2017.

China over the years has asked Airbus to intervene with the European Aviation Safety Agency and the European Commission to help expedite the talks over the aviation safety agreement, say two people familiar with the requests. As the negotiations dragged on, so did the pace of certification.

The talks between China and the European Commission were successfully completed in December, according to a European Commission spokesman.

The agreement is expected to be signed in June, which the Commission says it expects will help advance certification for “European aviation products” in China.

CNNMoney (Seattle) First published January 12, 2018: 3:57 PM ET

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Saudi women-only car show opens, now that they can drive

JEDDAH — Women flocked to Le Mall in Jeddah on Thursday to check out the kingdom’s first car exhibition aimed at women, a few months after Saudi Arabia granted them the right to drive.

Pink, orange and yellow balloons hung in the mall’s showroom as women posed for photos and selfies in front of the cars. One woman in the driver’s seat fixed her face cover. Another wrapped her turquoise-painted fingernails around the steering wheel, feeling it out.

In a decree issued in September, King Salman ordered by June an end to the ban on women drivers, a conservative tradition that has limited women’s mobility and been seen by rights activists as an emblem of their suppression.

Saudi Arabia is the only country that bans women drivers. The landmark royal decree has been hailed as proof of a new progressive trend in the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32, is the face of that change. Many young Saudis regard his recent ascent to power as proof their generation is taking a central place in running a country whose patriarchal traditions have for decades made power the province of the old and blocked women’s progress.

“I’ve always been interested in cars, but we didn’t have the ability to drive,” said Ghada al-Ali, a customer. “And now I’m very interested in buying a car but I would like the payments and prices to not be very high.”

Saudi Arabia’s cost of living has risen after the government hiked domestic gas prices and introduced value-added tax (VAT) in January.

The exhibition focused on fuel-efficient cars and provided a team of saleswomen to help their new customer base. The showroom carried signs emblazoned with the slogan “Drive and Shop,” a play on words in Arabic, using the female form of the verbs.

“It is known that women are the largest section who shop in malls,” said Sharifa Mohammad, the heads the exhibition’s saleswomen. “This whole mall is run by women anyway. All the cashiers are women. Everyone in the restaurants are women.”

Writing by Sarah Dadouch

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Kawasaki Concept J: Futuristic 3-wheel transforming motorcycle is back

At the 2013

Tokyo Motor Show

,

Kawasaki

unveiled the three-wheeled, battery-powered,

transforming Concept J motorcycle

. Looking like perilous technology teleported from Canis Major, the Concept J rider has a choice of slinking over a low-down sportbike, or sitting upright on an urban cruiser. In sportbike mode, the suspension pulls the two front wheels close together. In town-touring mode, the seat rises, the footpegs drop, and the front wheels spread for easy stance.

When we didn’t hear anything about the bike after Tokyo, everyone assumed the Concept J took its neon green shark fin and red

Tron

hub to the overstuffed graveyard of

concept vehicles

. But it seems Kawasaki’s playing the long game: The Japanese bikemaker’s U.S. arm posted a promo vid that features the Concept J. The alien wonder’s appearance could be another MacGuffin, but

Honda

and Yamaha have shown

motorcycles

with features that intersect with the Concept J.

Honda

displayed its

self balancing Riding Assist-e

, with its automatically adjusting front geometry, at last year’s

Tokyo Motor Show

. Yamaha put its

three-wheeled Tri-City into production

in 2014, then followed that up with the more powerful, and weirder,

three-wheeled Niken last year

.

At the 2013 Tokyo show, Kawasaki President Shigehiko Kiyama said the Concept J “explores the attractive possibility of an adaptable transport platform that is fun, easy and convenient.” The promo video above is heavy on aspirational dialogue, including the line, “The future, to us, isn’t constrained by today’s limitations. It is set free by our imaginations.” Well, Kawasaki, if that’s true, then give us the Concept J. As is. Now-ish.

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Your Amazon Order Might Lock You Out of Trusted Traveler Programs

You wouldn’t think online shopping could get you in trouble with customs, but if you accidentally order counterfeit merchandise on Amazon it just might. If you plan on doing a lot of traveling, you probably want to double check your orders from now on.

Last year, Harper Reed, an engineer at Paypal, ordered a suitcase on Amazon. It was a Rimowa, which is a high-end luggage brand that usually costs several hundred dollars. On Twitter (see below), Reed explained that he paid full price for the suitcase and that the listing looked like any other item being sold on Amazon—except it wasn’t. Reed never received the suitcase, was quickly refunded his payment of $700, and then went to Neiman Marcus to purchase it there instead. No explanation from Amazon was given and, while he was a bit perturbed, he carried on with his life.

Then, come November, Reed applied for renewal of his Global Entry status, a Trusted Traveler program for “pre-approved, low risk travelers” offered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). It speeds up the airport security process for approved travelers, saving you a lot of time and grief. But to Reed’s surprise, he was denied. Unbeknownst to him, customs had flagged him for importing some counterfeit goods. Guess what it was? That’s right, the Rimowa suitcase he never actually received. According to Hilary George-Parkin at Racked, a spokesperson for CBP confirmed that having past violation of customs laws or regulations on your record can make you ineligible for Trusted Traveler programs. Whether it’s intentional or accidental, you’re screwed. You can appeal the denial, but the process can take months, making every trip you take during that time a frustrating experience.

So what happened? It’s impossible to say for sure (CBP doesn’t release specifics), but U.S Customs probably intercepted the shipment of the counterfeit bag as soon as it arrived, then Rimowa was sent a seizure notice with the names of the importer and exporter who are breaking the law. Meanwhile, Reed was refunded for the bag and carried on none the wiser. From there, Rimowa likely had an opportunity to take some kind of action, but since going after the exporter is a costly pain in the butt (as is the middle-man, Amazon), they chose the easier target: Reed. He got flagged for importing counterfeits, and was thus denied Global Entry.

Counterfeits and scams from fraudulent third-party sellers is a growing issue on the Amazon marketplace, so it’s more important than ever for you to pay close attention to the items you’re buying—especially if they’re being shipped to you from overseas. Watch out for massive discounts, learn how to spot fake reviews, double check who you’re buying from, and don’t hesitate to reach out to Amazon customer service if something seems amiss. When in doubt, buy luxury and big brand name items directly from their stores and websites. Cases like Reed’s are rare (this may even be the first case like this), but it’s a stark reminder that buyers truly do need to beware.

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When you lose weight, your fat cells don’t just let go of fat

Every January, fat’s in the crosshairs of health columnists, fitness magazines, and desperate Americans. This year, PopSci looks at the macronutrient beyond its most negative associations. What’s fat good for? How do we get it to go where we want it to? Where does it wander when it’s lost? This, my friends, is Fat Month.

If cells were personified, each fat cell would be an overbearing grandparent who hoards. They’re constantly trying to make you eat another serving of potatoes, and have cabinets stacked with vitamins they never take.

Like that grandparent, your fat cells are always trying to store stuff. Fats? Of course. Vitamins? Heck yeah. Hormones? You bet. Random pollutants and toxins? Sure. Adipose tissue will soak all that up like an oily little sponge and keep it safe until you need it again. That’s the whole point of body fat—to store energy for you. When you lose weight, your fat cells start shrinking, releasing lipids and other fats into your bloodstream. These get broken down, and eventually the smaller molecules exist via your urine or breath.

But adipose cells release all the other molecules they’ve hoarded, too. That includes key hormones like estrogen, along with fat-soluble vitamins and any organic pollutants that found their way into your bloodstream as you gained weight.

Adipose tissue’s tendency to store things is an unfortunate side-effect, because often we need those things to be circulating, not sitting around. Take hormones, for instance. Female body fat actually produces some of its own estrogen in addition to storing it, and the more adipose tissue a person has, the more estrogen they’re exposed to. This is why being overweight puts you at an increased risk of getting breast cancer. Many types of breast cancer are caused by malfunctions in estrogen receptors, which are more likely to go haywire when more estrogen is around to stimulate them.

Vitamins pose the opposite problem. Adipose sucks up available fat-soluble vitamins (those stashed in adipose tissue instead of being excreted in your outgoing urine)—A, D, E, and K—and often doesn’t leave enough for the rest of your body. Studies suggest that obese people tend to suffer from vitamin D deficiencies because it’s all lurking in their adipose tissue. These vitamins can come back out as you lose weight, and as you decrease your body fat, you also allow more of your new vitamin D to stay in your bloodstream. Water-soluble compounds can just be peed out if you take too much of them, but because the vitamins stored in your adipose tissue can continue to build up you can eventually overdose on them. It’s rare, but it does happen.

Fat is also a (temporarily) safe space to store pollutants and other organic chemicals that might otherwise pose a threat. Organochlorine pesticides build up in fat, as do the polychlorinated biphenyls in coolant fluids and other chemicals from the “dirty dozen” of environmental contaminants. These banned chemicals can get into your food supply in small quantities and are stored in your fat, possibly because your body wants to sequester them away from your organs. Bodies don’t seem to store enough of these to become toxic, but the constant build-up leaves you vulnerable to exposure. And they do start to re-emerge when you lose weight.

Since you’re not eliminating all of your body fat at once, this doesn’t seem to pose a problem for most people. You’re dumping toxins into your bloodstream, but you’re also eliminating them through your pee. There’s some evidence that certain pollutants—so-called “persistent organic pollutants”—can stick around in your body fat for years, but so far it seems that natural toxin-elimination methods (also known as peeing) work well enough to get rid of them.

Safe or not, it’s best not to give your body a spot to stash all the hormones and vitamins it can hoard. Our bodies aren’t designed to hold onto excess body fat and stay healthy—that’s why obesity is a risk factor for so many diseases. Getting rid of fat storage is just another reason to try and cut down on your own adiposity this year. Letting someone shame you into thinking you don’t look the way you should is not a wise reason to lose weight, but doing it to be healthier usually is.

Just think: every time you lose a pound of fat, you’ve also literally detoxed yourself without ever having to do one of those terrible juice cleanses (which, by the way, do not work). You’ve used the power of your own body’s filtration systems to get rid of them—and it will thank you for it.

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Casio’s $50,000 Printer Can Turn Paper Into  Faux Leather, Wood, and Alligator Skin

As a rule, we rarely post news about printers here on Gizmodo because, as a rule, they’re mind-numbingly boring. But Casio’s new Mofrel system does something truly innovative: it can add 3D textures to your printouts, turning flat paper into faux leather, stone, wood, and even simulate embossed stitched fabrics.

Embossing and stitching can all be faked using the Mofrel technology.

The paper you feed into the Mofrel isn’t the same stuff used in the Xerox copier at your work. Each sheet costs around $10, and is noticeably thicker, feeling more like card stock. It’s made up of multiple layers that include a base substrate of thicker paper stock, a layer of carbon molecules applied as a fine powder, and layers on top of that which can be printed on using standard inkjet inks.

A black and white image defines what parts of a printout will be raised, creating the textures.

Using a special plugin for Photoshop, a texture is created by first printing a black and white image. The printout is fed back into the Mofrel printer where it’s hit by IR light.

No alligators were harmed in the making of this printout.

The darker areas of the printout absorb that light, which in turns causes the microscopic carbon particles underneath to expand, pushing the top layer up and creating an added layer of depth and texture you can feel but also see as light falls across it. That printout can then be fed back into the other side of the printer, and finished with standard inkjet inks to add color.

Vinyl? Nope, printed paper.

The effect is incredibly convincing. Looking at a part for the interior of a car that was wrapped in one of these printouts, I would have not been able to visually distinguish it from an actual vinyl, textured fabric. And that’s where Casio is primarily targeting the Mofrel printing technology right now. As with 3D printing, even at $10/per sheet, it’s a much cheaper way to prototype finished objects, without going to the trouble of cutting and re-wrapping actual fabrics again and again, as you make small revisions to a prototype product. This will undoubtedly have a big impact for automakers as they prototype the finished interior of a new vehicle.

The Mofrel printer’s as big as a desk, and as expensive as a car.

So, can you get a Mofrel printer for your home? No. At $50,000 it’s a giant machine expensive machine—almost the size of a desk—that Casio is currently selling to manufacturers. You can’t even get it outside of Japan yet, but I suspect the company wouldn’t turn you down if you wanted to fill a design studio with a bunch of these machines.

Grandma and Grandpa will love photos of their grandkids they can look at, but also feel.

Is there a consumer application for this technology yet? It’s hard to imagine anyone spending $50,000 for a printer like this in their home office. But Casio showed off a photo of a baby you could touch and feel, and undoubtedly grandparents across the country will be the first adopters of this technology when it hits the consumer level.

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