Super Jumbo And the Space Race

At last the historical flight of the world's biggest jumbo jet landed safely in Sydney on Thursday, completing its long-delayed first commercial flight from Singapore.

The double-decker A380 emerged from low-lying cloud and flew across Sydney's famous harbor before touching down on time, a contrast to two years of delays which pushed its manufacturer Airbus into a loss.

Watched by hundreds of airport staff and aviation enthusiasts lining fences outside the airport, passengers on the inaugural Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight disembarked without a hitch.

The wet Sydney afternoon did nothing to dampen passengers' enthusiasm.

"It was just an incredible flight. The people onboard really turned it into a party," said passenger Ross Greenwood, a journalist for Australia's Channel Nine television network.

"The food was luxurious in first class, but even those people in economy were fed fillet of beef and it was beautiful," he said. "The aircraft is incredibly quiet and spacious."

Passengers paid between $560 and $100,380 for seats on the inaugural flight, after bidding for the tickets as part of a charity auction to drum up publicity.

During the flight, first-class passengers reclined in suites modeled on luxury yacht interiors and slumbered in proper beds which the airline said can be converted into doubles.

French design house Givenchy designed the bedding, while passengers ate off fine bone chinaware and drank from crystal glasses bought in by the same designer.

The A380 can seat more than 800 passengers although Singapore Airlines, the first airline to take delivery of the plane, has configured the aircraft to seat 470 over two decks, hoping to attract more top-paying passengers.

It replaces the Boeing 747 jumbo as the world's largest airliner in service.

Hundreds of airport staff and passengers armed with camera phones earlier watched the take-off from Singapore.

"I'm a big airplane freak and I love everything about planes," said Ernest Graaff, an A380 passenger as he waited to board the jet among beaming SIA flight attendants.

Graaff paid $40,000 for two business-class tickets on the jet. "I'm excited about being a part of history."

The aircraft will return to Singapore on Friday.

Airbus handed the superjumbo to SIA earlier this month after wiring glitches caused two years of delays, pushed the planemaker into a loss and leading to the loss of 10,000 jobs.

SIA is to take delivery of another five A380s in 2008. The airline plans to introduce the A380 on long-haul flights to London, Tokyo and San Francisco from early 2008


At the same week China launched its first lunar probe on Wednesday, the first step in an ambitious 10-year plan to send a rover to the moon and return it to earth.

State television showed pictures of the Chang'e 1 orbiter taking off with a trail of smoke from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province in southwestern China.

The launch comes just weeks after China's regional rival Japan put a probe into orbit around the moon in a big leap forward for Asia's undeclared space race. India is likely to join the regional rivalry soon, with plans to send its own lunar probe into space in April.

The Long March 3A rocket carrying the probe blasted off shortly after 6 p.m. (1000 GMT) after officials from the China National Space Administration said weather conditions were good for a lift off. Watch the rocket launch »

Several thousand people living within 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) of the launch center and under the rocket's trajectory were evacuated two hours before the launch, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

More than 2,000 tourists were also on hand to watch the rocket soar into space after paying 800 yuan ($106).

The Chang'e 1, named after a mythical Chinese goddess who flew to the moon, will orbit Earth while technical adjustments are made, and will enter the moon's orbit by Nov. 5, administration spokesman Li Guoping said when the launch plans were announced Monday.

The project's goal is to analyze the chemical and mineral composition of the lunar surface. The probe will use stereo cameras and X-ray spectrometers to map three-dimensional images of the surface, and to study the moon's dust.

The 2,300-kilogram (5,070-pound) Chang'e 1 is expected to transmit its first photo back to China in late November, and to conduct explorations of the moon for a year.

The launch marks the first step of a three-stage moon mission. In about 2012 there will be a moon landing with a moon rover. In the third phase about five years later, another rover will land on the moon and be returned to earth with lunar soil and stone samples, Xinhua said.

In 2003, China became only the third country in the world after the United States and Russia to put its own astronauts into space.

But China also alarmed the international community in January when it blasted an old satellite into oblivion with a land-based anti-satellite missile.

The Long March rocket had a drawing on it of a moon with an eclipse which was also designed to look like a dragon. "China Moon Probe" was written in Chinese on the rocket.

A government official said last week China hopes to join an international space station project that already counts leading space powers like the United States and Russia as its members.

China does not participate in the International Space Station, due in part to American unease about allowing a communist dictatorship a place aboard.


The space station's first section was launched in 1998 and it has been inhabited continuously since 2000 by Russian, U.S. and European crew mates.

Japan's space agency said nearly two weeks ago that its lunar probe was in high orbit over the moon and all was going well as it began a yearlong project to map and study the lunar surface.

So the space race is begining to step up.

Sukhoi Super Jet: the great white hope of the Russian aircraft industry?

Russia's civilian aircraft industry collapsed with much of the rest of its economy after the break-up of the Soviet Union.
Now, the country is hoping to gain a foothold on the global market for short-haul passenger aircraft, competing with the industry's two current titans, Canada's Bombardier and Brazil's Embraer.
Of all the projects it has to choose from, the Russian government has opted to finance the Sukhoi Super Jet (SSJ)-100 program. The United Aircraft Corporation, which brings together all Russia's aviation production facilities, plans to start mass producing SSJ-100 planes in the next three years.
On July 10, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved a low-interest credit line to assist the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft company in implementing the SSJ-100 program.
The project has attracted so much interest partly because the SSJ-100 could be used to promote other Russian aircraft on the global market.
Short-haul airliners seating up to 100 passengers are the most competitive and promising segment of the Russian aircraft industry, because only Bombardier and Embraer can compete with local producers on the country's domestic market. Russian companies, however, are still far behind their rivals on the international market.
This can primarily be explained by the fact that foreign customers simply do not like Russian airliners. Consequently, the Tupolev Tu-334 and Antonov An-148 planes, which were tested and certified long ago and can now be mass-produced, are still ordered only by Russian airlines and by Iran, which requires aircraft that do not have U.S.-made components.
However, the SSJ-100, which is being developed by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft in conjunction with foreign parts suppliers, could change the situation overnight. The American company B/E Aerospace will provide world-class interiors. The joint venture PowerJet, involving France's Snecma Moteurs, is developing the SSJ-100's engines. And U.S. aviation giant Boeing is providing technical consulting services.
Another joint venture involving Italian aerospace giant Finmeccanica, due to be established on July 15, will sell the new airliner on the European market and will also provide post-sale support.
The SSJ-100 represents an important step forward for the Russian aircraft industry because it is the country's first "post-Soviet" plane. The participation in the project of so many well-known foreign companies should give investors confidence in its success.
Most importantly, the complete transparency of this $1.4 billion program has given investors the needed insight into its financial aspects. The Russian government will provide about 8.7 billion rubles (about 247.8 million euros at the current exchange rate), and the EBRD will allocate 100 million euros in the next 10 years. Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica subsidiary, will buy a 25% stake plus one share in Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, and the Italian partner has convinced the national carrier, Alitalia, to buy 10 SSJ-100s.
It is hardly surprising that the government is betting on the SSJ-100. The United Aircraft Corporation, which is concentrating its efforts on this project, has put off the production of An-148 planes, and the Tu-334 will be mass-produced only if there is sufficient domestic demand.
Although Aeroflot Russian Airlines, the country's state-controlled flag carrier, has ordered 45 SSJ-100s, and the first deliveries are scheduled for 2008, their prototypes remain grounded. However, static tests of the SSJ-100's airframe began on July 9.
Russia's Dalavia airline, its leasing company Ilyushin Finance and Alitalia have ordered six, 10 and 10, respectively, of the SSJ-100-95, which seats 95 passengers. This is the most popular version of the Super Jet even though, with a price tag of $25-$28 million, it is also the most expensive. This makes for a total of 71 orders for SSJ-100s. Ten and 25 planes will be delivered in 2008 and 2009, respectively, and the rest will arrive in 2010.
In addition to those mentioned above, 29 more planes may be ordered soon. The United Aircraft Corporation expects other European airlines to follow Alitalia's lead and to order $2 billion worth of SSJ-100s by 2015. The success of the new airliner could pave the way for other Russian planes to enter the global market.
Will all this will worked, concerning Sukhoi compared to Antonov or Tupolev doesn't have an
experience in commercial jet production. Only time will tell.

Whats Russian up to?

"On Oct 18 2007 India and Russia signed a landmark Intergovernmental Agreement for the joint development and joint production of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), marking the beginning of cooperation in the development of state of the art new technology major weapon systems. The agreement was signed by the Secretary Defence Production Mr KP Singh and Deputy Director of the Federal Service for Foreign Military Cooperation Mr. Vyacheslav Dzirkaln in the presence of the Defence Minister Mr. AK Antony and his Russian counterpart Mr. Anatoly Serdyukov in Moscow today. The watershed agreement was signed at the conclusion of the Seventh Meeting of the India- Russia Intergovernmental Commission for Military and Technical Cooperation. Mr Antony and Mr Serdyukov also signed a Protocol which envisages a ‘new strategic relationship’ based on greater interaction at various operational levels.
Speaking to reporters shortly after the signing ceremony, Mr Antony said the two countries have agreed to strengthen and expand relations in all areas especially in the areas of joint exercises and greater cooperation in the field of Research and Development. Now the frequency and level of exercises will be higher, Mr. Antony said. He said talks with Russia have started to extend the Military Cooperation Agreement beyond 2010. The pact had been signed during the Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in 2000.
The Defence Minister described the Agreement on FGFA as a ‘major landmark’ and said that the Indo-Russian relationship is on a trajectory to reach new heights. He hoped that the two countries would soon sign an Intergovernmental Agreement on co-development and co-production of Multi-Role Transport Aircraft. Mr. Antony expressed satisfaction at the outcome of discussions on other important projects e.g., supply and licensed production of T-90 tanks, SU-30 MKI aircraft and other strategic issues. He admitted that there has been a delay in the delivery of the repaired and refurbished aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov along with supply of deck-based fighter aircraft MiG-29-K and said it was decided that some more studies by technical groups would be done to go through the details. He appreciated the efforts made by the Russian side to resolve issues relating to life cycle support of equipment of Russian origin.
On the question of Integrity Pact, he said, the objective is neither to create problems for anybody nor to favour anybody. What India wants is transparency in all defence purchases. In the past, there have been a lot of controversies. We want to avoid it. We want speedy modernisation but with transparency.Integrity Pact is one of the safeguards for transparency."

One question still lingering around if you look into Russian current inventory list there is no latest fighter aircraft around compared to western conterpart. Almost all new Russian fighter either a rebuilt or redesignates with new identification. As example Su-27 has been rebuilt, refitted with new avionic and altered design and coded as Su-30 or something else. Same to the Mig-29 Families of aircraft. If you looked to France there is a Rafale, if you looked into other European tri-nation collaboration there is Eurofighter "Typhoon" and Sweden with Saab Gripen and off course US F-22 Raptor. All now in service with the respected country.

Actually we have seen Russian prototype fighter SU-37 Berkut and Mig-1.42 (Above photo) in the making but none gone into full production. I'll think the best way for Russian will be collaboration with other country, like India or why don't they just copied other design like F-22 Raptor. Remember the famous AN-72 Coaler having a similar concept to the Boeing C-14. Russian will be left behind in stealth technology or similar technolgy or maybe the up to something behind the veil or are they? ...naah

Remember the Malaysian Cosmonaut that has been making headlines in their country, because the government concern regarding the redicule alleged tourist cosmonaut by certain quarters, the goverment taking step by asking Russian to gave official Cosmonaut title to him. For me whatever happen he still consider 'tourist', but the Cosmonaut title is stuck to him he still call Cosmonaut isn't it? ( The person who has been to space is call Astronaut or Cosmonaut- be it as tourist, commercial purpose or military).