THREE CONVICTED OF LIQUID BOMB PLOT
Three men face long prison terms after being found guilty in a UK court of conspiracy to murder over the 2006 "liquid bomb" plot against transatlantic aircraft, which led airports to restrict cabin baggage and limit the carriage of liquids. Abdullah Ahmed Ali, Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain were among eight individuals charged following an extensive police and intelligence operation.
SPACEX FALCON 1E WINS TWO LAUNCH CONTRACTS
Launch provider Space Exploration Technologies is to use its Falcon 1e rocket to launch 18 spacecraft to low Earth orbit from 2010 to 2014 for satellite operator Orbcomm. Separately, EADS Astrium has placed an order with SpaceX to launch a yet-to-be-identified Earth observation satellite. Falcon 1e, which will make its maiden flight next year, has double the LEO payload capacity of its Falcon 1 predecessor, which launched a commercial payload in July.
STOVL VARIANT OF F-35 RETURNS TO FLIGHT
A key test article for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme has returned to flight after a nearly year-long hiatus. The BF-1, which will demonstrate the F-35B's short take-off and vertical landing capability, completed a 1h flight on 4 September at Fort Worth, Texas after being grounded on 22 September 2008 over concerns about early fatigue cracking of turbine blades in its Pratt & Whitney engines. A series of flight tests are hoped to culminate in October with the first vertical landing.
LAST SHUTTLE FLIGHT TO DELIVERY NEW MODULE
SPACE STATION The International Space Station is to get another laboratory when the Italian-designed and built - but NASA owned - logistics module Raffaello is delivered in September 2010 during Space Shuttle Endeavour's STS-133 mission, which will be the last Shuttle flight before the fleet is retired. Separately, NASA is considering attaching an inflatable crew quarters module developed for its own orbital complex concept by private firm Bigelow Aerospace.
IRAQI GULF WAR ORPHANS HEADED FOR SCRAP
Nearly all of the Iraqi Airways aircraft parked in Jordan since the 1991 Gulf war are to be dismantled. Six of the carrier's jets, a mix of Boeing 707s and 727s, have been stored at Amman's Queen Alia International airport for nearly two decades. The Iraqi transport ministry says that only one aircraft will be "rehabilitated" and the others broken up. Some 15 Iraqi Airways aircraft were moved to stations in Tunisia, Iran and Jordan, when the war broke out.
WANTED: THE ENGINEERING STUDENT OF THE YEAR
Have you got what it takes to be the Engineering Student of the Year - or do you know someone who has? There are still a few days to make a bid for one of the ultimate accolades any aspiring aerospace engineer could have on their resume - and clinch a trip to the Dubai air show, where the Boeing-sponsored award will be presented at the Flightglobal Achievement Awards ceremony on 14 November. Entry details are on flightglobal.com/student and the deadline is 25 September. Meanwhile, you have until 4 October to vote for your Aviator, Innovator and Leader of the Year - see the shortlist at flightglobal.com/awards09. Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies, AJW Aviation and Bombardier are the event's other sponsors.
Source: Flight International
