Space tourism is a very interesting topic for me. Space tourism has been evolving and evolving and has always gained interest ever since we put a man on the moon. And ever since then, the general public has been very interested in making scheduled flights into space happen. And personally I believe it will happen a lot sooner then later. Researching this topic online, I found a website that said, "The space tourism industry is officially open for business, and tickets are going for a mere $20 million for a one-week stay in space." Now I don't know about everyone else, but I should have started saving a long time ago in order to save up for a mere week in space. Although, it would be worth it, $20 million is a lot of money to be spending on going to space. According to the same article, "Despite reluctance from NASA, Russia made American businessman Dennis Tito the world's first space tourist." Since then, there have been few other people that have also been lucky enough to get into the space tourism world.
The rules and regulations that govern and very clear cut and concise. According to the FAA website, "The new rules maintain FAAs commitment to protect the safety of the uninvolved public and call for measures that enable passengers to make informed decisions about their personal safety." These rules include, " launch vehicle operators to provide certain safety-related information and identify what an operator must do to conduct a licensed launch with a human on board. In addition, launch operators are required to inform passengers of the risks of space travel generally and the risks of space travel in the operators vehicle in particular. These regulations also include training and general security requirements for space flight participants." These regulations were updated in 2007 and I believe that they are 100% correct. Obviously space flight is very dangerous and the regulations need to be very clear and very strict in order to keep people safe when attempting to do this.
As technology continues to advance I believe that space tourism will become more mainstream and continue to advance. More people will be able to able to access it and I believe it will happen in the next 10-15 years. As far as it becoming a regular form of transportation I don't see it becoming as popular as the airline industry I just see it becoming a once in a lifetime experience type of activity.
As far as the qualifications, the pilots must have a valid FAA and medical certification. Student pilots are not qualified to do this. As far as management side goes, its hard for people to start and create a viable business in something this large of scale. I can only imagine how much would be needed in order to create a business that would operate on such a large scale.
References
Bonsor, K. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2015, from http://science.howstuffworks.com/space-tourism.htm
New Regulations Govern Private Human Space Flight Requirements for Crew and Space Flight Participants. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2015, from http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/human_space_flight_reqs/
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Pilots and Depression
The Germanwings crash is one of the most saddest aviation accidents in history. On March 24th, 2015, Andreas Lubitz intentionally crashed an Airbus 320 into the side of a mountain killing all 150 people on board. During the flight, the captain got up and left the cockpit, prompting Lubitz to lock the captain out of the cockpit so he could take full control of the plane. Lubitz set the altitude dial to 100 feet after ATC instructed the aircraft to fly at an altitude of 35,000 feet and then 21,000 feet. It was noted that the altitude dial was reset back to 49,000 after it was set to 100 feet which made investigators believe that Lubitz almost didn't go through with this disaster. After his altitude selections, the flight data recorder showed that Lubitz increased the aircrafts airspeed to 345 knots on descent and while ATC tried to contact the aircraft they never got a response. The aircraft then crashed into the mountain killing all on board.
Andreas Lubitz was known to have had dealt with depression before this accident. "Last month German prosecutors revealed that Lubitz had researched suicide methods and the security of cockpit doors." (bbc.com). The article also states that, "Lufthansa, Germanwings' parent company, twice refused to renew his medical certificate in 2009 due to depression, the BEA's preliminary report says." (bbc.com). So the company was at least aware that Lubitz had mental issues that he was dealing with.
Another case of a pilot with mental issues is Egypt Air Flight 990 on October 31st 1999. During this flight, the captain left to go to the bathroom and the co-pilot then locked him out of the cockpit. The NTSB came out with a report that said you can hear the co-pilot say "I rely on God" and then start a steep descent into the ocean killing everyone on board.
As of right now, commercial pilots are screened for physical and mental health every 6 months if you are over 40 years of age and once a year if you are under 40 years of age. Although they do this screening, this is more focused on the physical aspect of the pilots and not necessarily the mental side. As of right now, pilots are supposed to self identify any problems they may have and obviously not everyone self identifies if they have mental issues. Personally, I do not believe this is the correct method because people are not always truthful with their ways. Pilots know that if they do disclose their mental issues then they could possibly lose their source of income which is a huge factor in their decisions with lying about their conditions. If the FAA and the Airlines were to try a more liberal approach I believe in could land them in more hot water this way. If they had the power to tell someone they are not mentally fit to fly I feel like it would only cause more issues if by chance they were wrong about their diagnosis. And it only takes one wrong case to discredit the FAA telling people that they are or are not mentally fit to fly.
References
Germanwings crash: Co-pilot Lubitz 'practised rapid descent' - BBC News. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2015.
How Pilots Are Screened for Depression and Suicide. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2015.
Pilots blamed for deliberate plane crash deaths - CNN.com. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2015.
Andreas Lubitz was known to have had dealt with depression before this accident. "Last month German prosecutors revealed that Lubitz had researched suicide methods and the security of cockpit doors." (bbc.com). The article also states that, "Lufthansa, Germanwings' parent company, twice refused to renew his medical certificate in 2009 due to depression, the BEA's preliminary report says." (bbc.com). So the company was at least aware that Lubitz had mental issues that he was dealing with.
Another case of a pilot with mental issues is Egypt Air Flight 990 on October 31st 1999. During this flight, the captain left to go to the bathroom and the co-pilot then locked him out of the cockpit. The NTSB came out with a report that said you can hear the co-pilot say "I rely on God" and then start a steep descent into the ocean killing everyone on board.
As of right now, commercial pilots are screened for physical and mental health every 6 months if you are over 40 years of age and once a year if you are under 40 years of age. Although they do this screening, this is more focused on the physical aspect of the pilots and not necessarily the mental side. As of right now, pilots are supposed to self identify any problems they may have and obviously not everyone self identifies if they have mental issues. Personally, I do not believe this is the correct method because people are not always truthful with their ways. Pilots know that if they do disclose their mental issues then they could possibly lose their source of income which is a huge factor in their decisions with lying about their conditions. If the FAA and the Airlines were to try a more liberal approach I believe in could land them in more hot water this way. If they had the power to tell someone they are not mentally fit to fly I feel like it would only cause more issues if by chance they were wrong about their diagnosis. And it only takes one wrong case to discredit the FAA telling people that they are or are not mentally fit to fly.
References
Germanwings crash: Co-pilot Lubitz 'practised rapid descent' - BBC News. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2015.
How Pilots Are Screened for Depression and Suicide. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2015.
Pilots blamed for deliberate plane crash deaths - CNN.com. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2015.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Introduction
Hello,
I first got into aviation when I was a child growing up. I've always loved the airport environment and I've always loved watching planes land and take off. And of course I've always liked going on an airplane and still do to this day. I am an Aviation Management Major and I am planning on graduating in the spring of 2016.
After graduation, I hope to get into airport operations. As of right now, I don't really mind where at in the nation. I think it would be cool to be able to go out and see the world so I wouldn't really mind leaving Michigan if I had to in order to find a job. When I first came to college I was originally a flight major. After I obtained my private pilot certificate I realized that the pilot path wasn't really for me and I switched over to management. I am also currently working on my dispatch certificate because it seems like an interesting field and its another certificate to add to my resume.
I like that we have different speakers come in and talk to us. I also like how we have a variety across the aviation field as well. I would like to see someone that works primarily in airport security to come speak to us. I feel like they have seen a lot of different things working in security and would have a lot to share with us.
I first got into aviation when I was a child growing up. I've always loved the airport environment and I've always loved watching planes land and take off. And of course I've always liked going on an airplane and still do to this day. I am an Aviation Management Major and I am planning on graduating in the spring of 2016.
After graduation, I hope to get into airport operations. As of right now, I don't really mind where at in the nation. I think it would be cool to be able to go out and see the world so I wouldn't really mind leaving Michigan if I had to in order to find a job. When I first came to college I was originally a flight major. After I obtained my private pilot certificate I realized that the pilot path wasn't really for me and I switched over to management. I am also currently working on my dispatch certificate because it seems like an interesting field and its another certificate to add to my resume.
I like that we have different speakers come in and talk to us. I also like how we have a variety across the aviation field as well. I would like to see someone that works primarily in airport security to come speak to us. I feel like they have seen a lot of different things working in security and would have a lot to share with us.
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