Wright Spirit 100-passenger aircraft aims for all-electric flights by 2026

During the COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference this week, Wright Electric unveiled its latest commercial aircraft, the 100-passenger Wright Spirit. According to the company, its new model outfits the British Aerospace (BAe) 146 airliner with Wright’s megawatt-class electric propulsion system for zero-emissions operation. The company has an ambitious plan to reach all-electric aircraft status by 2026. “Because we built … Continue reading

Source: https://www.slashgear.com/wright-spirit-100-passenger-aircraft-aims-for-all-electric-flights-by-2026-05698487/
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Brittany A. Roston

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Over half of Washington, D.C., Metro rail cars pulled after derailment

Last week’s derailment prompted Metro to take all of the system’s 7000-series train cars, or 60 percent of its rail cars, out of service until they are deemed safe.

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/over-half-washington-d-c-metro-rail-cars-pulled-after-n1281814
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Phil Helsel

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Rocket Report: Virgin Galactic stands down, SpaceX faces environmental lawsuit

Enlarge / Blue Origin’s New Shepard launches its second human spaceflight on Wednesday. (credit: Blue Origin)

Welcome to Edition 4.20 of the Rocket Report! If this is edition 4.20 of the newsletter, you know we’re going to bring extra smoke. So let’s get to it.

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don’t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Virgin Galactic substantially delays next mission. The space tourism company announced Thursday afternoon that it will delay a planned human flight for the Italian Air Force, Unity 23, and begin a “planned enhancement program” for its VMS Eve carrier aircraft and VSS Unity spacecraft. Effectively, this means that the vehicles will be taken out of service for the next eight months for repairs and upgrades. As one reason for this decision, the company cited a recent test that “flagged a possible reduction in the strength margins of certain materials used to modify specific joints, and this requires further physical inspection.”

Read 30 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Source: https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/10/rocket-report-virgin-galactic-stands-down-spacex-faces-environmental-lawsuit/
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Eric Berger

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American, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue the latest carriers to mandate COVID vaccines for workers

American Airlines, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines have joined United Airlines in mandating that employees must be vaccinated against COVID-19, per the Wall Street Journal.

Why it matters: The Biden administration has been pressing businesses to require workers to be vaccinated against the virus as vaccination rates flatten across the U.S.

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• The airlines provide government services including cargo hauling and special flights, which they say makes them contractors to the government so they fall under President Biden’s mandatory vaccination directive, AP reports.

The big picture: American Airlines told staff on Friday that it would require all employees based in the U.S. and “certain international crew members” to be vaccinated, per a memo obtained by Reuters.

• The American memo gave no timeline. But JetBlue Airways and Alaska Airlines said Friday they’d implement a vaccine mandate as early as Dec. 8, AP notes. That’s the deadline the White House has given for federal contractors to be inoculated, with limited exceptions.
• Delta said it’s “still evaluating Biden’s order,” according to AP.

Source: https://www.axios.com/american-alaska-airlines-jetblue-employee-vaccine-mandates-33ba1e4b-3662-4331-a58f-fabdc19aa23d.html
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Axios

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Passenger jumps onto wing of plane in Miami

The Federal Aviation Administration has reported “a disturbing increase” in unruly behavior on planes this year.

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/american-airlines-passenger-opens-emergency-exit-jumps-wing-plane-miami-n1280437
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Elisha Fieldstadt

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Covid hits the high seas again with cruise ship outbreak: 27 infected and one dead so far

A Carnival cruise ship headed to Belize from Galveston, Texas, has suffered a Covid outbreak. 27 passengers are infected, reports NBC News, and one of them, a 77-year-old woman, is dead.

NBC News was working to confirm the identity of the woman, who died on Aug.

— Read the rest

Source: https://boingboing.net/2021/08/24/covid-hits-the-high-seas-again-with-cruise-ship-outbreak-27-infected-and-one-dead-so-far.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=covid-hits-the-high-seas-again-with-cruise-ship-outbreak-27-infected-and-one-dead-so-far
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Rob Beschizza

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TSA extends transportation mask mandate through Jan. 18

People will now have to wear masks on airplanes, trains, buses and at airports through Jan. 18, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) told various media outlets in a statement Tuesday.

Why it matters: The mandate was set to expire on Sept. 13, but the highly contagious Delta variant has forced the federal government to change course on mask mandates.

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What they’re saying: “The purpose of TSA’s mask directive is to minimize the spread of COVID-19 on public transportation,” the statement reads.

The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has received over 2,867 reports of passengers in violation of the federal mask mandate, per CNN.

Source: https://www.axios.com/covid-mask-mandate-tsa-extends-1b0bcc68-59c3-4838-9218-f91760828dac.html
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Shawna Chen

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Welcome back to Canada, ugly Americans

The pandemic has confined me to this side of the border, surrounded by people who, like me, are appalled at what’s happening down south.

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/canada-u-s-border-reopening-challenges-expats-do-we-want-ncna1274254
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Debby Waldman

! #Headlines, #Canada, #CoronaVirus, #Newsfeed, #Travel, #Vaccines, covid19, pandemic, #Coronavirus, #News, #WorldNews

Missouri taxi company refuses vaccinated, masked customers

The owner of a Missouri taxi company said his transportation service will not pick up passengers who wear masks or have received the COVID-19 vaccine, despite a surge of new cases in the state.

Source: https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/566849-missouri-taxi-company-refuses-vaccinated-masked-customers
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Caroline Vakil

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United Airlines will require all 67,000 U.S. employees to get vaccinated — or risk termination

United’s requirement is one of the strictest vaccine mandates from a U.S. company.

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/united-airlines-will-require-all-67-000-u-s-employees-n1276156
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Leslie Josephs, CNBC

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American Airlines warns about fuel shortages around the country, asks pilots to conserve

The airline said flights will carry additional fuel into airports affected by shortages, a procedure known as tankering.

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/american-airlines-warns-about-fuel-shortages-around-country-asks-pilots-n1275061
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Leslie Josephs, CNBC

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132 test positive for Covid in popular Massachusetts tourist destination

During an emergency meeting Monday, the Provincetown Board of Health voted to advise people to wear masks inside, regardless of vaccination status.

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/132-test-positive-covid-popular-massachusetts-tourist-destination-n1274480
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Elisha Fieldstadt

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Watch: Maskless man pushed off a train by passengers

Anti-maskers in Spain beware – using public transportation without a mask will get you nowhere. Not with passengers like the one on the train below, who didn’t put up with any guff from a man who thought he could bend the country’s mask rules by riding a train without a face covering. — Read the rest

Source: https://boingboing.net/2021/07/16/watch-maskless-man-pushed-off-a-train-by-angry-passengers.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=watch-maskless-man-pushed-off-a-train-by-angry-passengers
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Carla Sinclair

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Canada may be ready to welcome fully vaccinated Americans by mid-August

Pressure has been mounting on Canada to continue to ease the restrictions at the border, which have been in effect since March of last year.

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/canada-may-be-ready-welcome-fully-vaccinated-americans-mid-august-n1274136
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The Article Was Written/Published By: The Associated Press

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Gender requirements relaxed for US passports

The State Department is making U.S. passports more inclusive for gender-fluid individuals, part of efforts to promote civil rights and as Pride month comes to a close.Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on…

Source: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/560916-gender-requirements-relaxed-for-us-passports
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Laura Kelly

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Underground tunnels of Rome’s Colosseum fully opened to public

Hypogeum of 2,000-year-old monument – its ‘backstage’ – restored with walkways for visitors

For the first time, visitors to the Colosseum in Rome can fully explore the underground tunnels and chambers where gladiators and wild animals once prepared for battle.

Spread across 15,000 square metres, the hypogeum of the 2,000-year-old monument is open to the public following the completion of a restoration project funded by the Italian fashion house Tod’s.

Continue reading…

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/25/underground-tunnels-of-romes-colosseum-fully-opened-to-public
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Angela Giuffrida in Rome

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American Airlines cuts hundreds of flights amid demand surge

American Airlines announced Sunday that it’s cutting some 950 flights from its schedule, including 296 this weekend, to reduce potential pressure on its operations, the Wall Street Journal first reported.

Driving the news: The U.S. vaccine rollout has led to a massive increase in travel bookings. The airline noted in an emailed statement that it’s facing an “incredibly quick ramp up of customer demand.”

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• Meanwhile, some vendors are contending with labor shortages and the first few weeks of June had “brought unprecedented weather to our largest hubs, heavily impacting our operation and causing delays, canceled flights and disruptions to crew member schedules and our customers’ plans.”
• The airline said this “led us to build in additional resilience and certainty to our operation by adjusting a fraction of our scheduled flying through mid-July.” The changes affect about 1% of planned flights for the first half of July.

“We made targeted changes with the goal of impacting the fewest number of customers by adjusting flights in markets where we have multiple options for re-accommodation.”

American Airlines

Our thought bubble, via Axios’ Joann Muller: This is another example of supply and demand being out of whack as the economy bounces back more strongly than expected.

Of note: Reducing a relatively small number of flights will “alleviate pressure on maintenance and mean there will be a bigger pool of pilots on reserve, providing a buffer when needed,” the Journal notes.

The bottom line: The adjustment underscores the challenges industries face in emerging from the pandemic, as a swift increase in travel also pressures “vacation-rental operators and rental-car companies,” per the WSJ.

Go deeper: United CEO warns America could face a pilot shortage

Source: https://www.axios.com/american-airlines-cuts-hundreds-flights-11587f73-46d8-4eea-bc64-63c1f7c86b3b.html
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Axios

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This Summer, Amtrak Brings Back the McRib of Travel Deals

Amtrak has been rolling out some good deals all year, but this might be the best one yet: The railroad service is bringing back the USA Rail Pass for $299, which is 40% off their usual price—making it a cheaper alternative to travel by plane or car. Here’s what you need to know.

Read more…

Source: https://lifehacker.com/this-summer-amtrak-brings-back-the-mcrib-of-travel-dea-1847072772
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Mike Winters

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Cicadas grounded White House press plane for hours before departure to Europe

The press corps was able to take off for the United Kingdom on a replacement plane after a more-than-six-hour delay.

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/cicadas-grounded-white-house-press-plane-hours-departure-europe-n1270091
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Rebecca Shabad

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United orders Boom supersonic jets to cut long-haul travel times in half

United has ordered 15 supersonic aircraft, inking a deal with Boom Supersonic that will eventually see planes capable of twice the current speed of the current fleet enter intercontinental service. The deal for the Overture airliners – which will be capable of Mach 1.7 – could trim the trip from Newark to London to 3.5 hours, United suggests. Newark to … Continue reading

Source: https://www.slashgear.com/united-orders-boom-supersonic-jets-to-cut-long-haul-travel-times-in-half-03676125/
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The Article Was Written/Published By: Chris Davies

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