Some Netflix subscribers face price hike as no-ads basic plan ends in Canada

David Friend, The Canadian Pres

Netflix is putting the final stake in its cheapest, ad-free "basic" plan in Canada.

After announcing last year that it would no longer offer the $9.99 plan to new or returning subscribers, the streaming giant is phasing out the price level entirely for users who were grandfathered into the plan.

"Basic" subscribers will now need to choose whether to downgrade to a $5.99 plan that includes commercial interruptions — and most of the Netflix catalogue — or pay more for the no-ads plans that start at $16.49 per month.

Netflix told investors in its quarterly financial report on Tuesday that it will eliminate the basic plan first in Canada and the United Kingdom between April and the end of June.

The latest move comes as Netflix looks to push more subscribers to its ad-supported plans, which cost less but are more lucrative for the company since they sell ad space.

Most of the biggest streaming platforms have recently adopted a similar strategy. 

Amazon's Prime Video will begin showing commercials on its streaming service in Canada starting on Feb. 5. It will give subscribers an option to "opt-out" by paying more to remove the commercial breaks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2024.

Hockey Night on Netflix? What the Netflix-WWE deal says about the future of sports broadcasting


Pete Evans, BNN Bloomberg Jan 24, 2024

It is perhaps appropriate that Netflix’s latest deal to become the exclusive broadcast partner of pro wrestling has landed like a flying elbow off the top rope.

In a pact announced Tuesday, WWE owner TKO has sold the global rights to stream its three-hour Monday night program, Raw, to Netflix, for the next decade.

The deal kicks in a year from now, once the agreement with current rights holder NBCUniversal expires. And while the price tag – a reported US$5 billion over 10 years – is eye-opening, experts say it makes a certain amount of financial sense for both sides.

Under the previous deal, NBCUniversal’s owner Comcast was paying TKO roughly $285 million annually for the rights to broadcast the WWE’s flagship wrestling show across its various U.S. media properties. 

The new deal will see TKO rake in almost 50 per cent more for the domestic rights alone, but instead of scrambling for a bigger piece of the shrinking pie of cable TV viewers, Raw will now have a more captive audience of Netflix’s 75 million customers in North America, and almost 250 million globally.

“It allows us to gain even a greater global footprint,” WWE President Nick Khan told Bloomberg News in an interview Tuesday trumpeting the deal. “It was a good bet by us and we think a good bet by them.”

'Landmark deal'

While the deal comes with a big price tag for Netflix, it’s not hard to see the appeal from their perspective. 

For about twice the price of what the streamer reportedly paid for the last nine-episode season of Stranger Things, Netflix has bought itself a minimum of three hours new content, each and every week — not to mention numerous additional WWE specials, including SmackDown and NXT as well as once-a-year special live events like Wrestlemania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble.

“WWE is great sports entertainment with a huge, established and passionate fanbase, and we believe this long term partnership will be a big value add for our members,” the company said in its earnings release on Tuesday.

Experts are inclined to agree.

“It’s a landmark deal,” said Adam Seaborn, a sports media analyst and head of partnerships at Playmaker Capital, in an interview with BNN Bloomberg on Tuesday.

For one thing, it will help Netflix retain customers because it brings fresh new content every week, not just a dozen or two dozen episodes like a scripted comedy or drama series would.

“Fifty-two weeks of sports programming keeps you tied into their programming all year round,” Seaborn said. “It's going to reduce churn.”

It’s an added bonus that the core demographic for WWE are the group that advertisers covet most – “that young male demo that every advertiser is after,” Seaborn added.

Surprise agreement

With synergies like that, both sides have much to gain from the deal. But that’s not to say it was expected.

“I don’t think anybody really saw this coming,” said Geetha Ranganathan, a media analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, in an interview with BNNBloomberg.  

While Netflix has dipped its toe into live events in the past with things like a Chris Rock comedy special, a golf tournament and the upcoming Screen Actors Guild Awards, the move into pro wrestling is its biggest bet yet into the genre. 

“We’ve seen Netflix be really shy about about getting into the live arena, getting into sports programming in a big way,” Ranganathan said. “This is definitely a departure from their time tested strategy (but) they’re looking to scale their advertising business,” she said — and what better way to do that than to have live sports content that already draws two million viewers a week.

Streamers pivoting to sports

It’s also unlikely to be Netflix’s last foray into live sports. Streaming companies have spent exorbitant sums in recent years buying up rights to live sports that once belonged to cable giants.

Apple has spent heavily for the rights to Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball games, and in 2021, Amazon bought the exclusive rights to broadcast Thursday Night Football – for a cool $1.2 billion annually.

Just this month, NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock spent a reported $110 million to be broadcast home for the AFC Wild Card game. That’s an exorbitant sum for any single event, but Comcast says it was a huge success, garnering almost 28 million viewers, enough eyeballs to gobble up 30 per cent of all U.S. internet traffic at the time.

With numbers like that, sports fans can expect that trend to continue.

Conventional broadcasters “have the rights to a lot of these properties and as the sports rights market heats up with all these new bidders it means (they) have to shell out more and more,” Ranganathan said.

Seaborn thinks Netflix in particular has more sports ambitions beyond wrestling. The NBA recently implemented an in-season tournament that seems tailor-made for a streaming partner to broadcast it, and “Netflix is definitely in the conversation for that,” he said.

He also thinks hockey isn’t out of the question.

In 2013, Rogers shook up Canada’s broadcasting landscape with a then-unprecedented deal to buy the exclusive national broadcasting rights for NHL games for C$5.2 billion over 12 years.

TSN and RDS, divisions of BNNB Bloomberg's parent company Bell Media, hold broadcast and streaming rights to multiple live sports events, including some NHL regional games as well as PGA Tour golf events and NFL games.

That Rogers deal is up for renewal in less than two years and Seaborn says he’d be “shocked” if the entire national rights went back to Sportsnet, which means the door is open to a streamer trying its hand at something game-changing: Hockey Night In Netflix?

“Someone like Netflix, someone like Amazon, someone like Apple, Roku, even players we haven't thought of yet are going to be in the mix for those rights,” he said.

BCE is the parent company of BNN Bloomberg through its Bell Media division.

 

25% of businesses missed CEBA deadline: Ottawa

Daniel Johnson , BNN Bloomberg

A quarter of small businesses with outstanding Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loans missed last week’s repayment deadline, according to the federal government. 

Small Business Minister Rechie Valdez and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland shared repayment estimates for the program during an announcement in Montreal on Monday.

Businesses had until Jan. 18 to repay the pandemic loans while receiving partial forgiveness. 

Valdez said government estimates indicate “about 75 per cent have been able to pay back” their outstanding CEBA loans. She did not say what percentage of businesses repaid CEBA loans with their own money and how many did so through refinancing agreements.

“Thank you to all the small businesses who did the right thing to keep Canadians safe and then continued to remain resilient and persevere through some very challenging times,” Valdez said during the announcement. 

The loan program was introduced in 2020 to help businesses affected by restrictions introduced by governments to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The deadline had been pushed back multiple times to the final date of Jan. 18.

Businesses that missed the deadline saw debts converted to three-year loans with interest of five per cent each ear. However, businesses that set up refinancing agreements with financial institutions will have until the end of March to repay their outstanding debt and have up to a third of the loan forgiven. 

Businesses borrowed money to repay: CFIB

Dan Kelly, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), said the government’s repayment figures do not reflect the fact that “a huge number of those that repaid their CEBA loans did so by borrowing the money.” 

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Kelly cited previous estimates from the CFIB that indicated one-third of CEBA loan holders would have to borrow money by taking a bank loan, borrowing against their home or using a line of credit in order to meet the deadline. 

“While government got its money back, the debt burden to many small businesses didn’t suddenly go away – it just moved from the left pocket to the right one,” Kelly said in Tuesday the social media post. 

Kelly said CFIB was “pleased” for businesses that were able to meet the deadline. He noted a recent CFIB survey showed that 22 per cent thought they would be unable to meet the deadline.

“I don’t think government should interpret this as a sign that all is well for Canadian small businesses,” Kelly said. 

“The 25 per cent that missed the deadline represents 225,000 small firms – a staggering number unable to come up with $40,000 almost four years after the pandemic started.”

 Last week, economists at Desjardins published a report predicting repayments related to the program would weigh on real GDP and employment in Canada, though they expected the overall economic impact would be minimal.

Their report said over half of businesses in Canada received loans under the program. Nearly 900,000 loans were approved and about 575,000 received extensions, with about $49.9 billion in funding sent out in total

Vancouver approves high-density Jericho Lands project criticized by residents

The Canadian Press

Vancouver's city council has approved a high-density development concept for a 36-hectare site on the city's west side, involving13,000 new homes.

The Council says the Jericho Lands Policy Statement sets the direction for development of the land owned by a joint venture that includes three First Nations.

It says the project unfolding over 25 to 30 years will potentially house 24,000 residents and include 8 hectares of parks and 4 hectares of public space.

The land is owned by the Canada Lands Company and MST Nations — Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh.

The council voted to advance the proposal after two hours of public comments at a meeting Wednesday, according to posts by the Vancouver City Clerk on social media.

The project had been opposed by some residents, including the group Jericho Coalition that says the plan fails to deliver "livable density" and will create "Metrotown by the sea" in reference to British Columbia's largest shopping mall.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2024.

Vertical Aerospace Founder Commits $50 Million to Get Air Taxis Flying

CEO and majority owner Stephen Fitzpatrick is putting his own money into the firm, which is expected to give it cash on hand through mid-2025.

By Jack Daleo

January 23, 2024

A Vertical Aerospace VX4 air taxi prototype, registered as G-EVTL, suffered a crash during testing in August. [Courtesy: Vertical Aerospace]

An air taxi founder is putting his money where his mouth is.

Stephen Fitzpatrick—founder, CEO, and majority owner of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer Vertical Aerospace—on Monday committed to invest $50 million into the company, which risked running out of cash by September per its own projection.

The funding, which will support the development and planned 2028 certification of Vertical’s flagship VX4 air taxi, extends the firm’s cash runway into mid-2025, it said.

“The company has achieved significant technical progress, both in its prototype program and its certification plans in 2023, that I believe is not reflected in our share price,” Fitzpatrick said. “Given the success I have seen in the past 12 months, I am more confident than ever in our world class team, and I am delighted to further support the company with additional funding.”

Vertical’s stock (NYSE: EVTL) dipped dramatically in 2023 amid delays to its certification timeline and the crash of its Aircraft One prototype in August—so much so that the New York Stock Exchange has threatened to delist it if shares continue to trade below $1.

The manufacturer has also struggled to attract investors, reportedly missing a target to raise funding by December. Its previous raise of $205 million closed more than two years ago. Like other air taxi manufacturers, Vertical does not yet produce revenue, so investment is required to finance its operations: Net cash used in operating activities in 2023 totaled about $95 million.

Fitzpatrick’s investment is structured in two tranches. An initial $25 million investment—priced at $10 per share of common stock—is expected to close in March. The Vertical CEO will supply a further $25 million by the end of July, but only if the company is unable to raise that amount in alternative equity funding. Whatever it is unable to scrounge up, Fitzpatrick will supplant.

Vertical said it is engaged in discussions for further funding pending the completed flight test campaign of its second VX4 prototype. The company’s first prototype was the one that tumbled 30 feet onto the runway at Cotswold Airport (EGBP) in the U.K. in August, damaging its right wing and landing gear. Vertical later said the crash resulted from a wiring issue that caused a high-voltage short circuit.

The manufacturer’s second-generation prototype, Aircraft Two, promises to address the problem. The piloted full-scale prototype is nearing completion at partner GKN Aerospace’s Global Technology Center in the U.K.

The updated model will have more features aligned with the design Vertical hopes to certify with the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). It adds a new propeller, second-generation powertrain, battery packs designed to meet thermal runaway safety requirements, and refined flight control system. Aircraft Two will also feature components made by Vertical certification partners Honeywell, GKN, Hanwha, Solvey, and Leonardo.

The upcoming prototype will complete a flight test campaign and several public demonstrations this year. These will include an appearance at the Farnborough International Airshow at Farnborough Airport (EGLF) in July, as well as flights to and from London Heathrow Airport (EGLL).

The demonstrations will put Vertical in position to refine and finalize the VX4 design, the company said. After that, the aircraft will need to pass final regulatory testing before being approved for production.

“I look forward to both our demonstrations and the completion of additional funding rounds to deliver on the promise the VX4 has to offer our customers and their passengers,” said Mike Flewitt, chairman of Vertical. “We are on track to deliver a transformative U.K. developed electric aircraft to our customers across the globe.”

In March, Vertical received design organization approval (DOA) from the CAA, a necessary step in the regulator’s type certification process. Only a handful of eVTOL air taxi firms, including Volocopter and Lilium, have obtained DOA. Vertical also said after the VX4 prototype crash that its timeline for CAA certification activities remained unaffected.

Once certification is obtained, Vertical has a large backlog of customers to serve. As of October, it had received preorders for 1,500 aircraft from dozens of customers worldwide. The company estimates its order backlog comprises $5 billion in value once fully realized.

NASA, Archer Battery Testing Partnership Aims to Assert U.S. Air Taxi Leadership

Archer said the initial focus on battery cell safety is part of a ‘much larger partnership’ between it and the space agency.

By Jack Daleo

January 22, 2024

NASA will study and test battery cell systems designed for Archer Aviation’s Midnight electric air taxi. [Courtesy: Archer Aviation]


The technology expected to power the next generation of commercial aircraft could have some more cosmic applications, according to NASA.

The space agency on Monday announced a new collaboration with electric aircraft manufacturer Archer Aviation to explore how the company’s battery cell systems—designed for its flagship Midnight air taxi—could one day be applied for space.

A core focus of the collaboration, the partners said, is ensuring U.S. leadership in the next generation of air transportation. It follows air taxi simulations NASA conducted with Archer competitor Joby Aviation, and both come in the wake of the world’s first electric air taxi flight for a paying customer, completed by China’s EHang in December. EHang has also begun deliveries to its operational partners.

The industry leadership of Archer, Joby, and other American air taxi manufacturers is being challenged by Chinese firms, such as EHang and AutoFlight, as well as European rivals such as Volocopter. U.S. lawmakers and government agencies fear those companies could undermine American firms by beating them to commercial launch and scale.

“Many countries around the world are challenging the U.S. in this new era of flight, and our country is at risk of losing its global leadership position unless we work together, government and industry, to ensure we seize the moment and pioneer this new era of aviation technology, which stands to benefit all Americans,” said Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer.

The initial NASA project will study and test Archer’s battery packs to see how they can safely support advanced air mobility (AAM) operations. The goal is to validate the technology for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis like Midnight, electric conventional takeoff and landing (eCTOL) designs such as Beta Technologies’ CX300, and potentially even usage in space.

According to Archer, the initial focus on battery cell safety is part of a “much larger partnership” with NASA under a Space Act Agreement for the advancement of “mission-critical” eVTOL aircraft technology.

The company believes the maturation of battery cell technology, in particular, will be key to U.S. mass production and adoption of eVTOL air taxis and other AAM services. Following testing, it plans to share the results with the industry to help it develop more efficient battery system supply chains.

“AAM promises to provide substantial public benefits to our communities, including transforming how urban and rural communities live and commute by maximizing mobility, bolstering cargo and logistics options, and creating pathways to manufacturing jobs and other ladders of social and economic opportunity,” Archer said in a news release. “Core to unlocking this potential is designing, developing, and mass producing batteries and electric motors that are purpose built for electric aircraft.”

Archer’s battery packs are designed specifically to power Midnight’s proprietary electric powertrain, which the company is beginning to mass manufacture. It said the cell’s cylindrical form factor “has a track record of safety, performance and scalability proven through decades of volume manufacturing, deployed across many applications globally, including in millions of electric vehicles.”

NASA will test the battery system’s safety, energy, and power performance capabilities using the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), one of the world’s most advanced high speed X-ray facilities. It will seek to understand how the cells function in “extreme abuse cases,” perhaps as a way to simulate the harsh environment of space.

NASA—which in addition to Archer and Joby is collaborating with the U.S. Air Force and other partners on an array of AAM initiatives—is one of many government agencies aiming to assert U.S. leadership in emerging aviation.

AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Air Force, is working with Archer, Joby, and plenty of other manufacturers in a series of “quid-pro-quo” arrangements. The manufacturers receive access to Air Force resources and feedback that can speed aircraft development, testing, and commercialization, and the Air Force gets to explore defense use cases for technology not yet on the market. AFWERX is also collaborating with the FAA to share flight test data and capabilities.

The FAA has been tasked with spearheading the growth of the domestic AAM industry. So far, the agency has released an AAM Concept of Operations, which will serve as the early blueprint for regulations and operational rules to enable scale. The first stage of that blueprint is detailed further in the regulator’s Innovate28 plan—a timeline of goals and milestones culminating in initial AAM operations by the time the 2028 Summer Olympics arrive in Los Angeles.

However, the U.S. may be four years behind its global competition: Germany’s Volocopter, China’s AutoFlight, and several other non-U.S. manufacturers plan to demonstrate or commercially launch their air taxis at the Paris Olympic Games this summer.

Both Archer and Joby anticipate entry into service in 2025, pending type certification of their respective aircraft. But though they may arrive on the scene after their foreign counterparts, the opportunity to lead remains. Later entrants will be able to evaluate the successes (or failures) of the initial wave of aircraft. Through collaborations such as the one between Archer and NASA, they’ll have more time to research safe, scaled operations.

NASA’s Twin Spirit and Opportunity Probes Leave Lasting Legacy 20 Years Later

The two spacecraft landed on Mars in January 2004, giving scientists the first evidence the red planet once held water.

By Jack Daleo

January 25, 2024


An artist’s concept depicts one of the twin rovers on the Martian surface. [Courtesy: NASA]

Two decades ago, a pair of NASA rovers changed the way scientists study Mars and the solar system forever.

January marks the 20th anniversary of twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity’s arrival on the Martian surface, where the vehicles searched for the first evidence of water on the red planet. Designed to last 90 days, Spirit was active until 2010, while Opportunity’s final communication came 15 years after landing.

Opportunity—nicknamed “the little rover that could”—was built to travel 1,100 yards but ultimately zigzagged nearly 30 miles across the Martian surface, covering a marathon-length distance by 2015. The rover finally succumbed to a planetwide dust storm in 2018.

“This was a paradigm shift no one was expecting,” said John Callas, former project manager of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which managed the Mars Exploration Rover mission, in a media release commemorating the anniversary. “The distance and time scale we covered were a leap in scope that is truly historic.”
[Courtesy: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory]

Before Spirit and Opportunity, scientists had no definitive proof that the network of channels visible from Mars’ orbit were formed by liquid water. The twin rovers delivered it—and set the stage for later and future explorations.

The Search for Life

The golf cart-sized twin rovers touched down three weeks apart on opposite sides of Mars: Spirit landed on January 3, while Opportunity followed on January 24. They arrived draped in airbags, bouncing along the surface dozens of times before coming to a stop.

Immediately, the rovers got to work snapping panoramic images—these were beamed back to scientists, who used them to select targets to investigate. Five-foot-high, mast-mounted cameras gave the vehicles a 360-degree, two-eyed, humanlike view of the terrain

.

A Mars panorama taken by Opportunity above Perseverance Valley, which would become the rover’s final resting place. [Courtesy: NASA]

The rovers’ robotic arms moved like a human’s with elbows and wrists. They could position instruments directly up against rock and soil scientists chose to investigate. A mechanical “hand,” meanwhile, held a microscopic camera that functioned like a geologist’s magnifying glass. A Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) acted as a hammer, exposing the insides of rocks.

Spirit and Opportunity ultimately returned more than 217,000 raw images, illuminating the Martian surface like never before. Shortly after landing, Opportunity discovered Martian “blueberries”—spherical pebbles of mineral hematite that formed in acidic water. Spirit years into its mission unearthed evidence of ancient hot springs, which may have housed microbial life billions of years ago

.

Opportunity snapped photos of Martian ‘blueberries,’ which support the theory that Mars once housed acidic water. [Courtesy: NASA]

Over the course of their mission, the twin rovers found that Mars not only supported fresh water but also hot springs and even acidic and salty pools at different points in its history. The findings were—and still are—considered groundbreaking.


“Our twin rovers were the first to prove a wet, early Mars once existed,” said Matt Golombek, former project scientist of the JPL. “They paved the way for learning even more about the red planet’s past with larger rovers like Curiosity and Perseverance.”

A graphic highlights some of the twin rovers’ key achievements on Mars.

 [Courtesy: NASA]
Lasting Legacy

Opportunity’s final transmission came in 2018. But the twin rovers’ impact will last forever.

“It is because of trailblazing missions such as Opportunity that there will come a day when our brave astronauts walk on the surface of Mars,” said former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “And when that day arrives, some portion of that first footprint will be owned by the men and women of Opportunity and a little rover that defied the odds and did so much in the name of exploration.”

NASA engineers’ work on Spirit and Opportunity unlocked practices for exploring Mars that continue even today, such as the use of specialized software or 3D goggles. Their experience countering roadblocks along the mission—of which there were many—has helped them plan safer, longer drives. It also allowed teams to quickly put together the more complex daily plans required to operate two later NASA rovers, Curiosity and Perseverance.


NASA approved the development of the SUV-sized Curiosity “thanks in part to the science collected by Spirit and Opportunity.” Its 2012 mission determined that the chemical ingredients needed to support life were present on Mars billions of years ago, when the red planet is thought to have been painted blue by water.

Perseverance landed on Mars in 2021 on a mission to collect rock cores to return to Earth. The project to check for signs of ancient life is part of a joint NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) campaign called Mars Sample Return.

Perseverance carried with it NASA’s Ingenuity, an autonomous, remotely commanded Mars helicopter. Not long after, it made the first powered flight on another planet. Ingenuity has now flown more than 25 times, including a record-breaking flight spanning 2,000 feet at 12 mph. The diminutive rotorcraft earned the reader’s choice honor in FLYING’s 2022 Innovation and Editor’s Choice Awards.

NASA’s Perseverance rover takes a selfie with the Ingenuity autonomous helicopter. [Courtesy: NASA]

Read More: 2022 FLYING Innovation and Editor’s Choice Awards

The career of Abigail Fraeman—who was a high school student when she was invited to JPL on the night of Opportunity’s landing—perhaps best encapsulates the lasting impact of the twin rovers.


Fraeman went on to become a Mars geologist, returning to JPL years later to lead the Opportunity science team. Now, the accomplished researcher serves as deputy project scientist for Curiosity. She is one of many who were deeply affected by Spirit and Opportunity’s accomplishments.

“The people who kept our twin rovers running for all those years are an extraordinary group, and it’s remarkable how many have made exploring Mars their career,” Fraeman said. “I feel so lucky I get to work with them every day while we continue to venture into places no human has ever seen in our attempt to answer some of the biggest questions.”

Twenty years after Spirit and Opportunity touched down on the Martian surface, Perseverance is one month away from entering its fourth year on the red planet. But NASA isn’t stopping there. The next step? The return of humans to the moon via the Artemis program, followed by the first steps on Mars charted by the agency’s Moon to Mars architecture.

First All-European Commercial Astronaut Crew Begins Research at Space Station

The mission arranged by Axiom Space will research cancer cures, remote-controlled robots, space horticulture, microgravity, and more.

By Jack Daleo

January 24, 2024

The Ax-3 mission crew (from left, Michael Lopez-Alegría, Alper Gezeravcı, Marcus Wandt, and Walter Villadei) arrived at the International Space Station on Saturday and began a series of experiments. [Courtesy: Axiom Space]

A team of astronauts has arrived at the International Space Station to study microgravity, space botany, remote-controlled robots, and even methods to prevent cancer.

The multinational crew of Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3)—the first all-European commercial astronaut mission to the space station—docked with the orbital laboratory Saturday morning and will spend two weeks conducting more than 30 experiments for NASA and its countries’ respective space agencies.

Wednesday marked the crew’s fourth day aboard the space station and the seventh day of its mission. Astronauts are now well underway conducting microgravity research, educational outreach, and commercial activities.

“The four Ax-3 crewmembers had their hands full as they explored cancer research, space botany, and robotics for Earth and space benefits,” NASA said in a blog post Tuesday.

Ax-3, the third private astronaut mission to the space station chartered by Houston-based Axiom Space, lifted off Thursday from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying the four-person crew was launched using a powerful Falcon 9 rocket, which the Elon Musk-owned company also uses to deploy Starlink satellites and conduct Commercial Crew rotation missions for NASA.

Axiom Space chief astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegría, a Spanish-born former NASA astronaut, is commanding the mission. Lopez-Alegría has made six trips to the space station, including as the commander of the company’s Ax-1 mission in 2022.

The crew also includes mission specialist Alper Gezeravcı, who became the first Turkish astronaut in space. European Space Agency (ESA) project astronaut Marcus Wandt of Sweden and pilot Walter Villadei of Italy—who also flew a commercial spaceflight mission for Virgin Galactic last year—round out the crew.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft docked with the space station Saturday morning, making Ax-3 the third mission with a fully private crew to arrive at the orbital lab. The astronauts were greeted by the Expedition 70 crew—NASA’s 70th long-duration mission to the space station—which helped them adjust to life in zero gravity and get the lay of the land.


The Expedition 70 team, which comprises NASA, ESA, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronauts and Roscosmos cosmonauts, arrived in August on the Crew-7 Commercial Crew rotation mission for a monthslong stay.

Now the Ax-3 and Expedition 70 teams—a total of 11 crewmembers from more than half a dozen nations—are living and working together on a two-week dual mission.

“The crew has seamlessly adjusted to microgravity and are now busy conducting research and outreach engagements,” Axiom Space said in a blog post on Tuesday.

The more than 30 experiments being conducted will focus on low-Earth orbit, such as the effects of microgravity on the biochemistry of neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, for example). One study will monitor cancerous tumors in microgravity, aiming to identify early warning signs and prevent and predict cancer diseases.

Wandt carried out a pair of outlandish experiments. On Tuesday, he used a laptop computer to command a team of robots on Earth, testing the ability for explorations on other planets to be controlled remotely from spacecraft. Wandt also recorded his brain activity to study how isolated environments affect an astronaut’s cognitive performance and stress levels.

Beyond human-centric research, Ax-3 crew members also conducted a space botany experiment. Researchers studied how space-grown plants responded to the stress of microgravity. The aim is to uncover better agricultural practices both in space and on Earth, including the possibility of genetic modifications to adapt plants to weightlessness.

The Ax-3 crew is expected to depart the space station on February 3, splashing down off the coast of Florida. NASA in August tapped Axiom Space for a fourth private astronaut mission to the orbital lab, with a launch targeted for August at the earliest. The mission is similarly expected to fly on a SpaceX Crew Dragon and span two weeks.

NASA’s relationship with Axiom Space actually extends beyond trips to the space station. The company was selected to provide next-generation spacesuits for Artemis III, NASA’s planned attempt to return Americans to the lunar surface. Testing on the spacesuits began earlier this month, the same day NASA pushed the Artemis III timeline from 2025 to 2026.

FAA Cracks Down on Boeing

Quality control and more inspections and maintenance will be required for the 737 Max 9.

By Meg Godlewski

January 25, 2024


The FAA is leaning hard on Boeing to improve its safety culture if the company wants to return the Max 9 to the air. [Shutterstock]

With the warning that “the January 5 Boeing 737 9 Max incident must never happen again,” the FAA has unveiled a list of actions Boeing must undertake if it wants to see the 737 Max 9 return to the skies.

According to a statement from the FAA, the agency has “approved a thorough inspection and maintenance process that must be performed” on all 171 grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft. The statement notes that “upon successful completion, the aircraft will be eligible to return to service.”

Within hours of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 losing a door plug shortly after an early evening takeoff from Portland International Airport (KPDX) in Oregon, the airline grounded its 737 Max 9 fleet as a precaution. The model makes up approximately 20 percent of Alaska’s fleet.

FAA Administer Mike Whitaker noted that the agency grounded the 737 Max 9 on a national scale within hours of the event and “made clear this aircraft would not go back into service until it was safe.”

Whitaker continued: “The exhaustive, enhanced review our team completed after several weeks of information gathering gives me and the FAA confidence to proceed to the inspection and maintenance phase. However, let me be clear: This won’t be back to business as usual for Boeing. We will not agree to any request from Boeing for an expansion in production or approve additional production lines for the 737 Max until we are satisfied that the quality control issues uncovered during this process are resolved.”

In addition, the FAA has “ramped up oversight of Boeing and its suppliers”.

New Instructions from the FAA

Per the statement from the FAA, the agency reviewed data compiled from 40 inspections of grounded aircraft and used it to create a detailed set of inspection and maintenance instructions. It also convened a Corrective Action Review Board (CARB) “made up of safety experts [that] scrutinized and approved the inspection and maintenance process.”

The agency stressed that “following the completion of the enhanced maintenance and inspection process on each aircraft, the door plugs on the 737 Max 9 will be in compliance with the original design which is safe to operate….This aircraft will not operate until the process is complete and compliance with the original design is confirmed.”

Per the FAA, the enhanced maintenance process requires:Inspection of specific bolts, guide tracks and fittings

Detailed visual inspections of left and right mid-cabin exit door plugs and dozens of associated components

Retorquing fasteners

Correcting any damage or abnormal conditions

FAA Holding Boeing Accountable

The FAA is also increasing oversight of Boeing’s production lines.

“The quality assurance issues we have seen are unacceptable,” Whitaker said. “That is why we will have more boots on the ground closely scrutinizing and monitoring production and manufacturing activities.”

Increased oversight activities include: Capping expanded production of new Boeing 737 Max aircraft to ensure accountability and full compliance with required quality control procedures

Launching an investigation scrutinizing Boeing’s compliance with manufacturing requirements. The FAA will use the full extent of its enforcement authority to ensure the company is held accountable for any non-compliance.

Aggressively expanding oversight of new aircraft with increased floor presence at all Boeing facilities

Closely monitoring data to identify risk

Launching an analysis of potential safety-focused reforms around quality control and delegation

The agency will continue to work closely with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as it continues the investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. One of the key questions to be answered is if the bolts that are designed to hold the door plug in place were installed correctly, if at all, at the time of the accident.

READ MORE: NTSB Identifies Part That Failed on 737 Max 9

FAA Waiting for Boeing Safety Review

In early 2023, the agency convened 24 experts to review Boeing’s safety management processes with an eye toward how they affect the aircraft manufacturing giant’s safety culture.

Per the FAA statement, “the review panel included representatives from NASA, the FAA, labor unions, independent engineering experts, air carriers, manufacturers with delegated authority, legal experts and others.”

The panel reviewed thousands of documents and interviewed more than 250 Boeing employees, managers, and executives, Boeing supplier employees, and FAA employees, and visited several Boeing sites as well as Spirit AeroSystems’ facility in Wichita, Kansas.

The report is expected to be released in a few weeks. The FAA will be using the information to determine if additional action is required.

In response to the FAA, Boeing released a statement: “We will continue to cooperate fully and transparently with the FAA and follow their direction as we take action to strengthen safety and quality at Boeing. We will also work closely with our airline customers as they complete the required inspection procedures to safely return their 737-9 airplanes to service.”

READ MORE: Boeing to Shut Down Facility for a Day

In addition, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) announced she will conduct congressional hearings to investigate the alleged “safety lapses” that may have led to the loss of the door plug from the ill-fated flight.

“[The public and workers deserve] a culture of leadership at Boeing that puts safety ahead of profits,” Cantwell said.

Airlines Reply

According to aviation data provider Cirium.com, there are approximately 215 Max 9 aircraft in use around the world. Of those, 79 belong to United Airlines and 65 to Alaska Airlines. Both airlines experienced flight cancellations and delays following the FAA’s grounding of the jets.

During the grounding the airlines complied with an FAA mandate to inspect their fleets of Max 9s, and the data collected from these inspections has been evaluated by the agency and used to develop its orders for final inspection of the aircraft, which is required to return them to airworthy status.READ MORE: United Airlines Says It’s Disappointed in Boeing

In a statement, Alaska Airlines noted “each of our aircraft will only return to service once the rigorous inspections are completed and each aircraft is deemed airworthy, according to the FAA requirements. We have 65 737-9 Max in our fleet. The inspections are expected to take up to 12 hours for each plane.”

Alaska Airlines predicts the first of the Max 9s will resume flying on Friday, “with more planes added every day as inspections are completed and each aircraft is deemed airworthy.”

Toby Enqvist, United’s executive vice president and chief operations officer, said the airline began inspection of its Max 9 fleet on January 12. In a message to United employees, Enqvist outlined the process, which includes removing the inner panel, two rows of seats, and the sidewall liner, enabling workers to access the doors and “inspect and verify the proper installation of the door and frame hardware, as well as the area around the door and seal.”

FRA issues final rule requiring breathing gear on hazmat trains

26/01/2024

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) yesterday announced a final rule to improve employee safety on freight trains transporting hazardous materials.

The rule requires railroads to provide emergency escape breathing apparatuses (EEBAs) for train crew members and other employees who could be exposed to an inhalation hazard in the event of a hazardous-material release. Railroads must also ensure that the equipment is maintained and in proper working condition and train their employees in its use.

The FRA advanced the rule after the Norfolk Southern Railway train derailment in East Palestine in February 2023.

“As FRA continues to advance rail safety and address concerns related to the transportation of hazardous materials, this new rule will implement needed protections for the workers who transport these products around the country,” said FRA Administrator Amit Bose in a press release. “The safety needs and benefits of EEBAs have long been established by past tragedies and research, and this rule will provide rail employees with the knowledge and tools to minimize potential dangers.”

Although casualties and fatalities caused by inhalation of hazmat are rare, train crew fatalities in 2004 and 2005 resulting from chlorine gas inhalation demonstrated that employee protections are necessary, FRA officials said.

The final rule fulfills the mandate in the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 that FRA issue regulations requiring railroads to provide EEBAs and training in their use. The rule also addresses similar recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Click here to read the final rule.

BMWED finalizes sick leave pact with CN

26/01/2024

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division-International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED) members work work for CN have finalized a sick-leave agreement, the union announced yesterday.

Membership on the former Bessemer and Lake Erie, Grand Trunk Western, Illinois Central & Chicago, Central and Pacific and Wisconsin Central railroads, now all doing business as CN, all have contractual language guaranteeing four paid sick leave days annually at the bid-in straight time wage, according to a BMWED press release.

CN MOW employees can take up to four paid sick days annually or cash in the unused time at the end of the year. They also have the option to roll over any unused sick leave into their 401K retirement plan.

The CN members also can use three personal days as additional sick leave if needed.

 

Florida Gulf & Atlantic MOW workers vote to join BMWED

22/01/2024

Nine maintenance-of-way workers at Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad voted 8-to-1 to join the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division–International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

The workers will be assigned to the Allied Federation, according to a BMWED press release. They maintain and repair track from Baldwin through Tallahassee into Pensacola along the Florida panhandle.

Preparation to issue Section 6 notices under the Railway L