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Thursday, October 24, 2013

Japanese scientists successfully test asteroid-blasting space cannon

Japanese scientists have successfully tested a space cannon that will be used to blast a hole in an asteroid as part of an upcoming mission. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will use the weapon to gather extensive data about the composition of asteroid 1999JU3 that could not be obtained by simply scanning the undisturbed surface. This successful test sets up a launch for next year.


The space cannon is to be mounted on the Hayabusa-2 vehicle, which will carry it to the asteroid, which orbits between Earth and Mars. This is essentially a kinetic impact weapon that relies on an explosive charge to launch a 4lb slug into the surface. The spacecraft will release the weapon, allowing it to float downward while it takes cover on the opposite side of 1999JU3.

The detonation will be triggered remotely before Hayabusa-2 circles back to the impacted side of the body. After the damage is done, the probe will land and scoop up debris from the impact to bring back to Earth.

1999JU3 is a 1000 meter C-type asteroid that interests scientists mainly because it is thought to have been altered very little since the formation of the solar system. Researchers hope to find water and organic material from the early solar system in the material gathered from 1999JU3. This data could shed light on how planets form and life arises.

The asteroid is currently scheduled for a mid-2018 blasting, with the probe making it back to Earth around 2020.

Boeing's 747 is an icon, Sales have fallen to Zero



 By JOSHUA FREED and SCOTT MAYEROWITZ
2 hours ago


For decades, the Boeing 747 was the Queen of the Skies. But the glamorous double-decker jumbo jet that revolutionized air travel and shrunk the globe could be nearing the end of the line.


Boeing has cut its production target twice in six months. Just 18 will be produced in each of the next two years. Counting cancellations, it hasn't sold a single 747 this year. Some brand-new 747s go into storage as soon as they leave the plant.

Boeing says it's committed to the 747, and sees a market for it in regions like Asia. But most airlines simply don't want big, four-engine planes anymore. They prefer newer two-engine jets that fly the same distance while burning less fuel.

"We had four engines when jet engine technology wasn't advanced," Delta Air Lines Inc. CEO Richard Anderson said at a recent conference. "Now jet engines are amazing, amazing machines and you only need two of them."

Delta inherited 16 747s when it bought Northwest Airlines in 2008. Northwest last ordered a 747 in 2001, according to Flightglobal's Ascend Online Fleets.

SEATS TO FILL

Part of the problem is all those seats. A 747 can seat from 380 to 560 people, depending on how an airline sets it up. A full one is a moneymaker. But an airline that can't fill all the seats has to spread the cost of 63,000 gallons of jet fuel — roughly $200,000 — among fewer passengers.

FILE - In this Jan. 12, 1970 file photo, the crew of a Pan Am Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet pose for photogra …
They're also too big for most markets. There aren't enough passengers who want to fly each day between Atlanta and Paris, for example, to justify several jumbo jet flights. And business travelers want more than one flight to choose from. So airlines fly smaller planes several times a day instead.

"No one wants the extra capacity" that comes with jumbo jets like the 747 and the Airbus A380, said Teal Group aviation consultant Richard Aboulafia.

THE GAME CHANGER

The 747 once stood alone, with more seats than any other jet and a range of 6,000 miles, longer than any other plane.

The plane was massive: six stories tall and longer than the distance the Wright Brothers traveled on their first flight.

On the early planes, the distinctive bulbous upper deck was a lounge, so it had just six windows. The plane epitomized the modern age of international jet travel.

"Everyone on the flight was dressed up," recalls passenger Thomas Lee, who was 17 when he took the inaugural passenger flight on Pan Am from New York to London in 1970. "After all, it was still back in the day when the romance of flight was alive and thriving."

FILE - In this undated file photo, workers are dwarfed by the immensity of Boeing 747 jumbo jet near …
International travel was mostly limited to those who could afford the pricy flights. The 747 changed that. The first 747s could seat twice as many passengers as the preferred international jet of the time, the Boeing 707. Long flights became more economical for the airlines. Ticket prices fell and soon a summer vacation in Europe was no longer just for the wealthy.

The plane's profile was enhanced by its role as Air Force One and by flying the space shuttle — piggyback — across the country. The 747 became the world's most recognizable aircraft.

Boeing began building 747s in the late 1960s. Production peaked at 122 in 1990. Overall, Boeing sold a total of 1,418 747s before redesigning the plane in 2011. The 747's success helped put Boeing ahead of U.S. competitors Lockheed, which left the passenger jet business in 1983, and McDonnell Douglas, which Boeing acquired in 1997.

But technology eventually caught up with the 747.

As engines became more powerful and reliable, the government in 1988 started allowing certain planes with just two engines to fly over the ocean, as far as three hours away from the nearest airport. Within a decade, twin-engine planes like the Airbus A330 and the Boeing 777 began to dominate long-haul routes.

Passenger airlines have ordered 31 747-8s, the current version of the plane. By comparison, airlines have ordered 979 of its smaller but ultra-fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliner.

The cost is a factor. The 747 is Boeing's most expensive plane with a list price of around $350 million, compared with $320 million for Boeing's biggest 777.

View gallery."
FILE - In this Jan. 12, 1970 file photo, a crowd is gathered at London's Heathrow Airport in England …
"Several" brand-new 747s have gone into storage, the company said, "to balance production and delivery rates."

AIR FORCE ONE, THE SEQUEL

At least the President of the United States still prefers to fly around in a jumbo jet.

Air Force One is the world's most visible airplane. The two modified Boeing 747-200s that do the job now will be 30 years old in 2017. The Air Force is seeking a four-engine replacement, making the Pentagon one of the last airplane shoppers eager to buy fuel for four engines instead of two. Boeing and Airbus are the only Western jetmakers with such a plane.

Boeing's 747 is an icon, but future is in doubt

Boeing has said it wants the job and has responded to a U.S. Air Force request for information. Airbus has not. The European company was widely assumed to be at a disadvantage against an American planemaker.

It's also possible that another company would buy planes and modify them to be used as Air Force One. An Air Force spokesman confirmed on Monday that it received multiple responses, but no date has been set for discussing the project with potential bidders.

IMPACT ON BOEING

View gallery."
FILE - In this Jan. 1970 file photo, a Boeing 747 takes off from Seattle. For decades, the Boeing’s  …
Boeing says that slowing 747 production won't have a significant financial impact.

Boeing's stock hit an all-time high of $129.99 on Wednesday. It has gained 74 percent so far this year, more than four times the gain in the Dow Jones industrial average.

Boeing has a backlog of some 4,787 planes, most of that orders for the best-selling 737. It has sped up production of the 737, as well as the 777, and plans to boost its output of 787s in 2016. Boeing gets the bulk of the money from a new plane upon delivery, so faster deliveries mean better cash flow.

Boeing is expected to begin offering customers a new version of the 777 by year end. With about 400 seats, that plane is widely expected to kill off demand for the 747 from passenger airlines, although the freighter version may survive longer.

Boeing isn't giving up on its iconic airplane. Marketing chief Randy Tinseth says the economic downturn of the past five years has hurt 747 sales.

Still, he says, "We think that market will come around."

Even if it doesn't, 747 fans can take heart. Most planes last three decades or more, so there will be some 747s in the skies for a long time.

___

Joshua Freed can be reached at http://twiter.com/AirFreed. Scott Mayerowitz can be reached at http://twitter.com/GlobeTrotScott..

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Second Sea Serpent Washes up in California

By LIZ FIELDS | Good Morning America



If good things come in pairs, the discovery of another giant, nearly mystical sea creature should portend positive things for a bunch of bewildered beachgoers who early Friday evening happened across the second so-called "discovery of a lifetime" in less than a week.
The 13-and-a half-foot-long oarfish, which washed up on a beach in Oceanside Harbor, Calif., is the second of the rarely seen creatures to be found in a matter of days.
"It's so rare to find in Southern California, especially in surface water," Suzanne Kohin, of the National Marine Fisheries Service said. "They thought it was a very rare event the first time, so these two events that we heard of in the last few weeks are the only ones I've ever heard of."
The first discovery was made by a snorkeling marine scientist who wrestled the dead 18-foot monster (with help) to shore near Catalina last Sunday.
"I was thinking I have no idea what that is and like it looks like a snake but it kind of looks like a giant eel," said onlooker Alexandria Boyle, who was one of a class of third-graders on a beach trip when the newest oarfish was found.
Boyle was among a crowd of about 75 who crowded around the creature as police were called, and waited around for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to come and collect the carcass.
Oarfish can grow up to 50 feet in length and live in depths of up to 3,000 feet. Little is known about their habits and life cycles, but the NOAA writes on their website they "probably only come to the surface when injured or dying."
When the first oarfish was found last week, the Catalina Island Marine Institute hailed it in a news release as a "discovery of a lifetime."
Mark Waddington, a school training guide with the Insitute told ABC News he spotted another instructor, Jasmine Santana, trying to bring the fish to shore, and immediately jumped in to help, along with 15 to 20 others.
"I had heard of it in studies, but never thought I would see one in person," said Waddington, who was "beside himself" when he saw the size of the fish.
Divers inspecting a navy buoy in the Bahamas were the first known to videotape a five-foot long oarfish in 2001, claims the NOAA.
The terrifying-looking and toothless oarfish is also known as a ribbon fish, possessing bony, silvery bodies and bright red-crested heads. They are thought to have spawned ancient folk tales about sea serpents.
ABC News' Lauren Effron contributed to this report.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

EBay CEO cites 'uncertainty' for weak 4Q outlook

By RYAN NAKASHIMA, AP

LOS ANGELES (AP) — EBay said the growth rate of e-commerce in the U.S. is slowing as it delivered a weaker-than-expected profit and revenue outlook for the current quarter through December. The company's third-quarter earnings edged past analysts' expectations, but revenue rose just short of estimates.
Following the release of the financial results Wednesday, eBay Inc.'s stock fell 5.3 percent to $50.70 in after-hours trading.
The San Jose, Calif.-based online auctioneer, marketplace host and payments processor said U.S. e-commerce had been growing at an annual 15.5 to 16 percent pace, but it slowed to around 13 percent by the July-September quarter. That softening, plus a weaker U.S. dollar affecting its overseas transactions, led the company to say its annual profit and revenue would come in at the low end of its outlook.
EBay Inc. CEO John Donahoe suggested that the 16-day partial U.S. government shutdown was partly to blame, citing "uncertainty about the government."
"Those uncertainties, frankly, we can't control," he told analysts on a conference call.
In an interview, he said the government shutdown wasn't entirely at fault for the depressed consumer psyche since the deceleration started in July and August. He said he hopes a last-minute resolution ending the gridlock gets passed. "Hopefully that'll have a positive impact," he said.
EBay's forecast for the current quarter through December predicts adjusted earnings of 79 cents to 81 cents per share, below the 83 cents analysts were looking for. The company also said it expects quarterly revenue of $4.5 billion to $4.6 billion, while analysts were estimating revenue of $4.64 billion.
Its annual outlook for adjusted earnings between $2.70 and $2.75 per share and revenue of $16 billion to $16.5 billion was unchanged.
The muted fourth-quarter earnings outlook was partly the result of the company's plans to invest more in a free-shipping pilot that began this month with nine retailers including Levi's, Kenneth Cole and Aeropostale, Donahoe said. The company subsidizes the cost of shipping to a U.S. address if customers pay using PayPal, eBay's payment processing unit, and it is examining adding more retailers to the program.
"We're very encouraged by the early results," he said.
For the quarter through September, eBay's net income grew 15 percent to $689 million, or 53 cents per share, from $597 million, or 45 cents per share, a year ago.
Revenue rose 14 percent to $3.89 billion, thanks to increasing mobile transactions in its online marketplaces eBay and StubHub. It also cited growth in the number of people using PayPal. Revenue was slightly below the $3.91 billion analysts were looking for.
Excluding special items, adjusted earnings came to 64 cents per share, a penny better than expected by analysts polled by FactSet.
Kerry Rice, an analyst with investment banking firm Needham & Co., said the weak outlook might mean weaker-than-expected results at online rival Amazon.com Inc.
He also said eBay's payments revenue came in below forecast because it discounted fees to large clients who agreed to accept PayPal payments. That could mean it is having to cut rates to deal with upstart competitors, he said.
EBay last month agreed to spend $800 million to purchase one such competitor, Chicago-based Braintree, whose success was driven partly by its relatively low fees and high-tech clients such as Airbnb, the vacation rentals site.

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