boeing

Boeing announced today that it is resuming flight testing for its 787 Dreamliner program six weeks after an onboard fire halted the evaluation program and forced a test aircraft to land in Laredo, Texas.

Boeing said in a statement it returned test aircraft ZA004 to flight after it had installed an interim version of updated power distribution system software and completed a "rigorous set of reviews to confirm flight readiness." In the past few weeks, Boeing and supplier Hamilton Sundstrand completed initial verification of the changes with simulator and ground-based testing.

Boeing spokeswoman Lori Gunter told CNET that … Read more

The Phantom Ray UAV got some air time today, with a little help from a jumbo jet.

Boeing's futuristic unmanned aerial vehicle took a 50-minute flight today riding piggyback on a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a modified 747 designed to ferry space shuttles from one terrestrial site to another. The aerospace giant had said earlier in the year that the Phantom Ray was on track to make its first flight, but this may not be exactly what it had in mind.

The first flight of the Phantom Ray, which is designed to fly autonomously, is now scheduled for "… Read more

commentary It's been eight years in the making so far, and has gone through any number of delays and problems, but Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is still one of the most-anticipated commercial airplanes in history. And with the plane's testing program under way for almost exactly a year, it is edging closer and closer to carrying its first passengers.

Now, fans of the innovative plane--it is made from 50 percent composite material and is expected to offer carriers up to 20 percent savings on fuel--can get a fix unlike any offered before. With Edgar Turner's new book, &… Read more

Boeing said today that the fire Monday aboard a 787 Dreamliner test aircraft started when an electronics bay power panel failed, igniting a nearby insulation blanket.

The fire forced the 787 to make an emergency landing in Laredo, Texas, and the immediate indefinite suspension of the test program. Boeing also said yesterday that because of the incident, it did not know if its plan to make the first Dreamliner deliveries to customers in the first quarter of 2011 was still viable.

According to a statement it issued late today, Boeing said that the P100 panel--one of several power panels in … Read more

Boeing today said that it has decided to halt tests of its much-anticipated but beleaguered 787 Dreamliner after an onboard fire during an evaluation flight.

The fire took place aboard ZA002, the second test 787, as it approached Laredo, Texas, Boeing said. The plane lost primary electric power but was able to land safely due to deployment of its backup systems, including its Ram Air Turbine. Boeing is investigating the electrical fire and said that early indications are that a power control panel in the plane's aft electronics bay must be replaced. Other repairs may also be required. An … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Tab pricing shows up on Amazon UK, and it's well over a thousand dollars U.S., presumably to force you toward subsidized prices so you'll end up paying the same amount or more for with-contract tablets. Which ... seriously? No. Also, Craigslist says the adult services section is gone for good, and Google's music service appears to be imminent--much to Spotify's demise--er, dismay.

Boeing has won an $89 million government contract to build and fly an unmanned solar-powered plane that can--eventually--stay aloft continuously for up to five years. Yes, that's five years.

The defense contractor will develop the SolarEagle aircraft for the Vulture II program run by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, better known as DARPA. Scheduled to get off the ground for its first demo flight in 2014, the plane will likely serve as an electronic sensor and military communications platform. But it could eventually turn into a less expensive alternative to communications and reconnaissance satellites.

"SolarEagle … Read more

Space Adventures, the company that brokered eight private flights to the International Space Station aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft, is working with Boeing to launch wealthy space tourists and other non-NASA fliers aboard a capsule under development by the U.S. aerospace giant, officials announced Wednesday.

The Boeing CST-100 capsule, being designed to launch atop Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 rockets, Boeing's Delta 4, or the SpaceX Falcon 9, is intended to carry NASA and European Space Agency astronauts to and from the International Space Station under a NASA initiative to encourage development of private-sector spacecraft.

Under a separate memorandum of … Read more

Fancy a ride to the International Space Station? Boeing will offer space tourism flights in low Earth orbit aboard its Crew Space Transportation-100 (CST-100) spacecraft, expected to be operational by 2015, the company said Wednesday.

Boeing says it has agreed to market the flights through Space Adventures, which has already flown seven private individuals to the International Space Station aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

Extra seats on the CST-100 will be available to private individuals, companies and nongovernmental organizations.

The CST-100 can carry seven people on missions up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) above the Earth's surface. It will deploy … Read more