SpaceX is targeting Thursday, October 1 at 9:17 a.m. EDT for a Falcon 9 launch of 60 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Falcon 9’s first stage previously supported launch of Crew Dragon’s first flight to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts onboard and the ANASIS-II mission. Following stage separation, SpaceX will land Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. One of Falcon 9’s fairing halves supported two previous Starlink launches.
The Starlink satellites will deploy approximately 1 hour and 1 minute after liftoff.
SpaceX is targeting Monday, July 20 for Falcon 9’s launch of the ANASIS-II mission, which will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The primary launch window opens at 5:00 p.m. EDT, or 21:00 UTC, and closes at 8:55 p.m. EDT, or 00:55 UTC on July 21.Falcon 9’s first stage previously launched Crew Dragon to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on board.
Following stage separation, SpaceX will land Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Just Read the Instructions” droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. The ANASIS-II spacecraft will deploy about 32 minutes after liftoff. Per the customer’s request, live coverage will end shortly after first stage landing.You can watch the launch webcast here, starting about 15 minutes before liftoff.
SpaceX’s Dragon capsule arrived at the International Space Station on March 9, 2020 and was docked at 3:25 a.m. PDT while flying over 262 statute miles over the Pacific Northwest. The spacecraft was then installed on the Harmony module for the duration of its four-week stay at the orbiting laboratory.
Filled with approximately 4,500 pounds of supplies and payloads, Dragon launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on March 6, 2020 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Dragon spacecraft that supported the CRS-20 mission previously supported the CRS-10 mission in February 2017 and the CRS-16 mission in December 2018. Dragon is the only spacecraft currently flying that’s capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth.
Packed with about 3,800 pounds of cargo and science, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft departed the International Space Station on Tuesday, January 7. A parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean occurred that morning just west of Baja California. A recovery team then secured Dragon on a boat for the return trip to the Port of Los Angeles, wrapping up SpaceX’s 19th resupply mission to the space station.
Filled with approximately 5,700 pounds of supplies and payloads, Dragon launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on December 5, 2019 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and arrived at the space station on December 8. The Dragon spacecraft supporting the CRS-19 mission previously supported the CRS-4 mission in September 2014 and the CRS-11 mission in June 2017. Dragon is the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth.
Alstom on track to complete first train for Hanoi Metro Line 3
26 October 2019 – Alstom, which is manufacturing 10 trains for Hanoi Metro Line 3, today hosted Deputy General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Tran Quoc Vuong, and his delegation to a visit of its train assembly plant in Valenciennes (France). The plant is working to complete the first trainset by the end of October, marking an important milestone in Alstom’s first integrated metro system contract in Vietnam, signed with MRB (Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board) in 2017.
As part of the visit, Alstom’s Managing Director for China and East Asia, Olivier Loison, and Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee and Mayor of Hanoi, Nguyen Duc Chung, signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the existing contract of Alstom in Hanoi. The agreement aims to foster further collaborative opportunities between both parties for new systems within the Vietnamese capital.
“We are honoured to have Deputy General Secretary Vuong and his team witness the final assembly of our first train for Hanoi Metro Line 3 here in Valenciennes. This will be an important milestone for the bilateral project as we bring this train to fruition. We look forward to remaining a close and long-term partner of Vietnam, addressing its mobility needs and supporting it in its upcoming transport projects,” said Olivier Loison.
In 2017, Alstom, as leader of a consortium including Colas Rail and Thales, was awarded a contract to supply an integrated metro system for Hanoi Metro Line 3. Alstom’s share covered the supply and integration of the metro system, including the 10 trains and the Urbalis 400 signalling system[1], as well as the delivery of power supply and depot equipment together with a partner. The new line is 12.5 kilometres long with 12 stations. It is expected to carry over 23,900 passengers per hour and per direction at peak capacity.
Alstom puts the passenger at the heart of its train design process. The four-car Metropolis trains for Hanoi Metro Line 3 will feature wide doors to facilitate passenger flow, dedicated space for passengers with reduced mobility, as well as ergonomic and easy-to-grab bars. The trains will be fully electric, with lightweight aluminium car bodies. The train’s exterior and interior colour scheme takes local Vietnamese inspiration and includes motifs such as dragon fruit and the rice paddy field – a design that was well-received by the people at a public consultation held in September 2018.
When completed, the first train will undergo a series of static and dynamic tests at the Valenciennes Railway Testing Centre during the month of November. Tests will be carried out on the trains’ automatic control system and on-board audio-visual equipment, this time on Hanoi Metro Line 3 in the second half of 2020. Entry into service is expected in the first half of 2021.
Alstom has built up close to 30 years of presence in Vietnam. It has provided signalling and telecommunication system modernisation services for the Hanoi-Vinh regional line phase one and phase two and has offered signalling and telecommunication systems for Ninh Binh station.
[1] Alstom’s Communication Based Train Control (CBTC)-solution, which controls the movement of the trains and enables trains to run at higher frequencies and speeds in total safety
Fort Worth, TEXAS — American Airlines has launched a codeshare agreement with Cathay Dragon, adding service to four new destinations and increased service to three existing markets in Southeast Asia.
American will place its code on select Cathay Dragon flights from Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), providing American’s customers seamless connecting service to seven cities beyond Hong Kong. The new codeshare flights are available for sale now for travel beginning July 11.
The agreement allows American’s customers to connect to four new destinations in Asia:
Dhaka, Bangladesh (DAC)
Chiang Mai, Thailand (CNX)
Da Nang, Vietnam (DAD)
Phuket, Thailand (HKT)
It also increases frequencies to three existing markets served by American’s other partners in Asia:
Penang, Malaysia (PEN)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KUL)
Hanoi, Vietnam (HAN)
Established in 1985, Hong Kong-based Cathay Dragon is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific Group and an affiliate member of oneworld®. The airline’s network covers 53 destinations across the Asia-Pacific region, including 23 destinations in mainland China. The codeshare relationship with Cathay Dragon will further strengthen American’s existing partnership with the Cathay Pacific group in the years to come.
American has proudly served Hong Kong since 2013 and currently operates daily, year-round service from Dallas-Fort Worth and Los Angeles.
HONG KONG/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Hong Kong flagship carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd said on Tuesday it is in “active discussions” about an acquisition involving budget airline Hong Kong Express Airways Ltd, although an agreement has yet to be reached.
Such
a deal would give Cathay exposure to the growing budget-travel market
at a time when a lack of slots at Hong Kong International Airport has
constrained its ability to follow peers like Singapore Airlines Ltd and
Qantas Airways Ltd and set up its own budget brand.
The
Hong Kong carrier has instead shifted some destinations from its main
brand to its regional carrier, Cathay Dragon, as part of a
transformation plan designed to cut costs and increase revenue. It has
ordered 32 Airbus SE A321neos for Cathay Dragon.
Cathay
said it had decided to go public about the discussions in response to
media reports suggesting it may be in talks to acquire shares in Hong
Kong Express Airways Ltd and full-service sister carrier Hong Kong
Airlines Ltd from cash-strapped Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co Ltd.
It
did not detail the potential value of the transaction, nor the size of
the stake it would hold. It said it would issue an additional statement
when appropriate.
An analyst last year estimated to Reuters that HK Express could be worth about $300 million.
HNA and HK Express did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A
person with knowledge of the matter said the companies appeared close
to reaching an agreement and noted Cathay’s parent Swire Pacific Ltd had
historically taken majority stakes when making investments.
Cathay is not interested in Hong Kong Airlines because it has both similar routes and full-service positioning, the person said.
A
second person with knowledge of the matter said Cathay had signed an
exclusivity period for discussion but other parties remained interested
in HK Express if a deal could not be reached.
Both sources spoke on the condition of anonymity as discussions are confidential.
ANTITRUST
Given Cathay’s dominance of Hong Kong’s aviation market, a deal could attract scrutiny from the competition regulator.
Some
analysts have also expressed doubts about the likely benefits of any
deal. Daiwa analyst Kelvin Lau said he did not see much value from the
acquisition as the two airlines flew similar routes, but also because
Cathay would need to undertake significant reform to add a budget wing.
Jefferies analyst Andrew Lee however said in a note to clients it would be “positive for Cathay Pacific” as it would give the airline greater access to a different passenger segment in the low-cost market.
FLYING HIGH
News
of Cathay’s interest in HK Express comes just weeks after Hong Kong’s
flagship carrier projected its annual profit at more than double analyst
estimates, sending its shares surging nearly 9 percent.
Shares
of Cathay have risen more than 19 percent so far this year, compared
with an 8 percent fall in 2018. The airline’s shares jumped more than 3
percent on Tuesday morning.
Cathay has faced repeated questions from investors over the last few years about its failure to set up a budget carrier.
Chief
Executive Rupert Hogg has said it would be difficult to do so until a
third runway was completed at Hong Kong International Airport in 2024,
opening up more slots.
“Our
home-based airport is full at the moment, or largely full, and so it’s
not a perfect place to develop a model from scratch,” he told CAPA
Centre for Aviation last May.
HK
Express operates a fleet of 25 A320 family aircraft to regional
destinations around Asia, according to plane tracking website
FlightRadar24.
Embattled
HNA Group is more than a year into the process of unwinding a $50
billion acquisition spree that at its peak netted the company stakes in
banks, fund managers, hotels, property and airlines, among other assets.
(Reporting by Donny Kwok in Hong Kong and Jamie Freed in Singapore; Additional reporting by Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Stephen Coates)
