Issuu

Photo Collage Credit: Trey Henderson/The Avion Newspaper A photo collage of past and future space launch vehicles including the Saturn V (left), Space Shuttle (center-left), SLS (center-right), and Falcon Heavy (right). The Saturn V and Space Shuttle have both taken their place in aerospace as historically revolutionary vehicles for space exploration and development. SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy and NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) plan to do the same as NASA and SpaceX push toward the Moon, Mars, and Beyond. Current, unmanned vehicles such as United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV and Atlas V (not pictured) are bridging the gap between the previous generation of vehicles and future generations.

PastEarth, Present and Future Moon, Mars, and Beyond Apollo 13 Astronaut Speaks on the State of Space Exploration Himani Parekh Staff Reporter The whole auditorium was on its feet, clapping. A standing ovation for a man, medium height, with glasses and white hair, eighty-one years old. A standing ovation for a single human being who had accomplished extraordinary things. Fred Haise, the speaker at the Jan. 28 Honors Series event in the Willie Miller auditorium, is a former test pilot and Apollo 13 astronaut, a legend to those who love all things space and NASA. Accordingly, the auditorium was already half-filled with a mix of students and non-Embry-Riddle attendees when I arrived 45 minutes before the start of the event. Fifteen minutes before 7:30 p.m., the main auditorium reached capacity and anyone arriving thereon was directed to one of the five overflow rooms outfitted with live video feed of the auditorium. Fred Haise began by talking about the movie, Apollo 13, based

on the mission he had piloted with Jim Lovell and John Swigert. He had “worried about it” because Hollywood has a way of misrepresenting truths for the sake of the story, but while there were some inaccuracies, Haise’s biggest concerns lay in the omissions made for the sake of a strong plotline; for example, the movie highlighted Gene Kranz, when in fact, each mission had four flight directors. Also, the iconic adage “failure is not an option” is a Hollywood creation; the only line taken directly from the mission itself is “Houston, we have a problem.” Haise then spoke about the mission itself and his time with NASA and later as a test pilot with Northrop Grumman while videos and images from his career played on the screen behind him. The scope of the Apollo mission was striking. All but “one of the Dakotas…South Dakota did not have a contract” contributing to the Apollo mission. The effort was essentially nationwide, with “a huge brain trust” of experts working to make Apollo 13 a success and, later, to bring the astronauts back alive. At one point, an image of the three Apollo 13 astronauts in the command module appeared on the screen; Fred Haise pointed to it: “This is the first space selfie!” The eighty-one-year-old had our whole generation beat by approximately fifty years, and in space at that. He was funny, light, and matter-

of-fact when discussing his work and the dangers to which he had been exposed; as a test pilot, the possibility of death was always present, as evidenced by a set of photos documenting a particularly bad crash that had left his whole body badly burned and threatened to end his career as a pilot. He was also aware of the fragile thread from which the continuation of space exploration hangs to this day. Haise mentioned the ever dwindling funding for space missions and pointed out that “in 1987, if one vote had shifted in the House of Representatives, we would have no space station.” However, most incredible of all was his humanness. Haise was a man recounting his memories. He acknowledged that in many ways he was just lucky, had been born at the right time and by chance had wound up as a test pilot for NASA. To the people in the auditorium, Haise is a legend, revered for his work with NASA and his role in space exploration, but watching him speak, he was an extraordinary story wrapped in an ordinary man, someone who would not have known in his twenties that he would mean so much to so many people. And that made him an inspiration to all the twenty-somethings in the room dreaming of being an astronaut someday. Continue following The Avion at theavion.com and facebook.com/theavion for photos of the event as well as our exclusive video interview with Mr. Fred Haise himself.

SpaceX Releases Falcon Heavy Concept Animation Micah Knight Managing Editor On Jan. 28, SpaceX released a new animation of its Falcon Heavy rocket, due to launch later this year. The rocket, a combination of three Falcon 9 rockets, is to be the most powerful launch vehicle since the Saturn V of the Apollo Era, though its title will be replaced when NASA launches SLS for EM-1 before the end of 2018. The launch video starts at the historic launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. The rocket sits on the pad in the evening with blood-pumping rock music in the background. The rocket lifts off, making its way to delivering its payload into orbit. As the boosters separate, instead of just falling away to splash into the ocean, they begin to re-orient into a return trajectory bound for landing at a Cape Canaveral landing platform. Continued on B3>>

Travel

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Visit Florence and Pisa Executive Board Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editor Business Manager Photography Editor Advertising Manager

Trey Henderson Micah Knight Andy Lichenstein Michael Nisip Jack Taylor Elizabeth Worsham

Page Editors Front Editor Travel Editor SGA Editor Aviation Editor Space Editor Sports Editor Comics Editor Copy Editor

Trey Henderson Billy Nguyen Zack Wilkinson Andy Lichenstein Micah Knight Shemar Alexander Michael Nisip Elizabeth Worsham Malana Linton

Staff Contributors Reporters Photographers

Mark Fetters Dayton Drugovich Shemar Alexander Zack Wilkinson Mark Fetters

Correspondents Ravi Gondaliya, Cassandra Vella

Staff Advisor Wesley Lewis, Asst. Director, Media & Marketing

Contact Information Main Phone: (386) 226-6049 Ad Manager: (386) 226-7697 Fax Number: (386) 226-6727 Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editor Business Manager Photography Editor Advertising Manager

editor@theavion.com managing@theavion.com news@theavion.com business@theavion.com photo@theavion.com advertising@theavion.com

Website: theavion.com

Mark Fetters/The Avion Newspaper Florence, with its rich history and historic architecture, is a wonderful city full of beautiful churches (shown above) and delicious food.

Mark Fetters Staff Reporter After a three-hour train ride from Rome, you end up in the beautiful little town of Florence. Standing in the center of town is the Cupola del Brunelleschi (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower), which is the largest church in Florence. The construction of this Cathedral started in 1296 and was completed in 1436. The cathedral is a UNESCO world heritage site and is a major tourist attraction for visitors. With a step inside, the architecture is just as amazing as the outside- with high curved ceilings, tall pillars and stained glass all over. A walk across the Arno River and up a few steps leads you to Piazzale Michelangelo (Michelangelo Square). While it is a little

Mark Fetters/The Avion Newspaper The Leaning Tower of Pisa offers a place to take that “I’m gonna hold up this tower” picture.

David is something not to be missed in Florence. Michelangelo worked on the statue from 1501 to 1504; it is 14 feet tall and is on display in Accademia Gallery. While my time in Florence was coming to an end, and I needed to head back to Rome, I thought I might go see another city in Italy on my way back: Pisa. Pisa is about a 30 minute train ride from Florence, and it is smaller than Florence making it an easily walkable city. The main attraction in Pisa is the Leaning Tower, and it is very easy to notice

how much it leans. The tower was never meant to lean, during construction on soft ground the weight became too much and it started to lean. For a long time it leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees; it now leans at 3.99 degrees due to safety anchors. The tower is also the site where Galileo dropped two cannonballs of different weights to prove that their speed would be the same. With a four-hour train ride ahead, it was time to head back to Rome where I would visit the Vatican and see the Pope.

Venezuela Hosts Valuable Sites for Visitors Daniela Kaselow Salas Secretary, Travelers Club

The Avion is produced weekly during the fall and spring term, and bi-weekly during summer terms. The Avion is produced by a volunteer student staff. Student editors make all content, business and editorial decisions. The editorial opinions expressed in The Avion are solely the opinion of the undersigned writer(s), and not those of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the Student Government Association, The Avion, or the student body. Letters appearing in The Avion are those of the writer, identified at the end of the letter. Opinions expressed in the “Student Government” and “Student Life” sections are those of the identified writer. Letters may be submitted to The Avion for publication, provided they are not lewd, obscene or libelous. Letter writers must confine themselves to less than 800 words. Letters may be edited for brevity and formatted to newspaper guidelines. All letters must be signed. Names may be withheld at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. The Avion is an open forum for student expression. The Avion is a division of the Student Government Association. The Avion is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press. The costs of this publication are paid by the Student Government Association and through advertising fees. The Avion distributes one free copy per person. Additional copies are $0.75. Theft of newspapers is a crime, and is subject to prosecution and Embry-Riddle judicial action. This newspaper and its contents are protected by United States copyright law. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, in print or electronically, without the expressed written consent of The Avion. Correspondence may be addressed to: The Avion Newspaper, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd., Daytona Beach, Florida 32114. Physical office: John Paul Riddle Student Center, Room 110. Phone: (386) 226-6049. Fax: (386) 226-6727.

outside of the city, the climb up to it wis well worth the view it provides. With a full view of Florence for breathtaking pictures, the Cupola del Brunelleschi easily stands out as the largest structure in Florence. Also seen from the Piazzale is Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) that spans across the Arno; it appears to have homes that hang out of the edge and could fall at any time. After walking inside and across the bridge, you will find shops that sell jewelry and souvenirs. The large tower you can see from Piazzale Michelangelo is Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace), a town hall for Florence. Walking around the square, many old statues from famous artists can be seen and some festival is always going on making it a great hang out location in Florence. The statue of

Can you imagine beautiful beaches, deserts, mountains and snow in just one country? You can find all this is Venezuela. This is a country located in the northern part of South America and has a population of approximately 29 million people. Venezuela is known for its natural beauty, very friendly people who always make tourists feel like they are at home, the most beautiful women that have won many times in the “Miss Universe” pageant, and for its petroleum. To start, there are many spectacular places where people should go in this country. The most salient ones are Angel Falls, La Gran Sabana, Morrocoy, and Los Medanos de Coro. El Santo El Angel, or the

Angel Falls, is the highest waterfall in the world, and it is located in Cunaima National Park. It has a height of 979 meters. There are two ways to see this waterfall; one is in a helicopter and the other one is navigating in the Carrao River. The other natural wonder is the largest cableway in Merida, which is in the west part of the country. Tourists enjoy going up through the last station where they can see the only place in Venezuela that has snow on top of the mountain while eating a delicious strawberries with cream, a typical Venezuelan dessert. The next place to visit is Morrocoy, which is a national park that has small islands, called “Los Cayos,” with crystalline waters. Venezuela definitely will be an excellent option to visit

Daniela Kaselow Salas/Travelers Club Add a short caption explaining the time, place, people, and/or background information to the image pictured.

in the future, but for now it is going through a difficult social, political, and economic situation. I miss many things about my country. Some of those are the culture, the food, family and friends. Being away from my country and my family has taught me to value everything. I can definitely say that studying abroad is one of my best experiences; I

have learned to be more independent, met wonderful people and learned about other cultures and languages. If you would like to try something from my country, there is a Venezuelan restaurant, Sazon Latino, at 722 Mason Ave, Daytona Beach. I recommend trying tequeños, empanadas, arepas or pabellón.

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SGA

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03 2015

Meet Your Newly Elected Representatives Michael Wildes COA Representative Michael Wildes is a junior studying Aeronautical Science who has come to Embry-Riddle from the reggae-capital of the world: Jamaica. His love for the school is influenced by the diversity of the student body, and the excellent quality of education he considers himself fortunate to be getting. A very relentless and kind-hearted fellow, his best recommendations come from the people whom he has worked with. His purpose for becoming a member of Student Government is based on the principles of maintaining and strengthening the quality of diverse representation, which he has benefited from himself, Nishigandha Kelkar COE Representative I am a proud Eagle named Nishigandha Kelkar! I was born in India and have been brought up in Muscat. I am the only child of two remarkably supportive parents who are successful pedagogues in the field of education. My schooling in a multicultural environment has taught me to easily explore and embrace new ways of doing things. I possess a passion for Space Gasper Hrescak COE Representative Hi everybody! My name is Gasper Hrescak and I will be your new COE representative! I was born and raised in a magical little country called Slovenia, which is in Europe, where I studied Aerospace Science. I then made the best decision of my life and came to this campus in pursuit of a Bachelors degree in Aerospace Engineering. Before I was elected as COE representative, I was Alexandra Garlotte COA Representative Hi! My name is Alexandra Garlotte and I am a freshman in Research Meteorology minoring in Computer Science and Communications here at Embry-Riddle. I’m originally from Kansas City, Missouri and for as long as I can remember, weather has had a major part in my life. I went from fearfully cowering in my mother’s arms every time a storm hit, to

and also working very diligently to inspire the university to push pass everything that is mediocre. He also considers himself a very abled communicator and a student of people, aiming to serve the people around him. Michael thoroughly enjoys getting to know people from different countries and learning to appreciate cultures different from his own. If you can’t find him studying hard in library while downing cups of Starbucks, you will find Michael investing in his creative dreams of becoming an unparalleled motion graphics designer/producer/screenwriter, and learning all things related to the film industry. He is also a qualified writer who has written music reviews for your favorite artists’ favor-

ite artists, a website designer and a budding musician. His closest friends are never allowed to be bored around him, as he works extremely hard to be entertaining and understanding as well. As far as his presence on campus goes, Michael has been actively involved in numerous organizations such as Task Force One (now First Year Student Initiative), The Caribbean Students Association, TEDx-Embry-Riddle, and a growing list of others. He has also served as the Managing Editor for the Avion Newspaper and the Vice-President for the Baptist Collegiate Ministry. Previously, he worked with the Worldwide Campus’ Bookstore and the Special VFR video production team in the Flight Depart-

Studies, following which I am pursuing an Aerospace Engineering degree. My involvement on campus includes being the Vice President of Events with the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, a teaching assistant for CATIA, an SI instructor for PS150, and the Public Relations Manager with STEM Outreach, among others. I’ve always believed that a true life is lived by working for the welfare of others. The power to take the correct decisions, in

order to shape the future in the best way possible, stands to be a huge responsibility in itself. I promise to take it up with the best of my ability. During my tenure, I would love to meet new individuals and learn about their expectations from the SGA. At Riddle, the SGA is for you, and so I wish to hear your voice. As your COE Representative, I aim to provide the best college life experience to all the students and promise to work hard to accomplish it.

an Executive Event Planner for the International Student Programming Council (ISPC) board. ISPC’s main purpose is to make all the international and domestic students feel at home and to help them grow into a family that is literally from all over the world. I am still currently involved with ISPC as Head of Mentors. I was working for the Engineering Department as a T.A. and tutor for EGR 120. I have also worked as a math tutor in the COAS building so chances are I probably know you.

My two greatest passions are engineering and everything that is related to it, as well as helping people. In my time at the SGA, I hope to make the campus a more environmentally friendly place. I enjoy bringing a smile to your face and I truly hope that I will accomplish that. If you have any questions, ideas or simply want to talk to me, please feel free to contact me at hrescakg@my.erau.edu or any other means or social media. Stay awesome!

fighting the urge to run outside and stare at the tornado or play in the hail as the storm passed. I plan on using my degree from Embry-Riddle to become a forecaster, preferably for NASA. I love singing, cooking, making art, and meeting new people. I was a gymnast for my life and love being active; my love for oranges also knows no bounds. Here on campus, I am involved on the Orientation Team, and am also

a member of the Acabellas and the American Meteorological Society. I am very excited to be serving on the Student Representative Board this semester! I love helping people and cannot wait to start helping students on campus. I plan to get more students involved and to be a person that anyone can come to with ideas or concerns of what they feel should be dealt with. Please feel free to come to me anytime or just say hi!

ment for nearly two years. One of his proudest achievements was interning for Southwest Airlines in the Fall of 2014 in their Flight Operations Department. While there, he was able to see the inner workings of an airline first-handed, while interacting with some of the industry leaders, and also travelling across the USA during his down time. The experience has richly inspired him to pursue his dreams and motivate his fellow classmates to do so as well while he is serving as a College of Aviation Representative. When he isn’t writing about himself in the third person, he’s working on his goal to become a top-class airline pilot! It goes without saying that he is in love with the airline industry!

Want to do more with your time at ERAU?

COE

COA

It’s almost time for SGA elections! Pick up a packet in SC104 starting February 13th.

An artistâ€™s rendering of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy in orbit around the Earth showcasing the 27 Merlin engines the massive vehicle will use to propel over 100,000lbs of payload to Low Earth Orbit. The cut away panels are show for illustrative purposes only, displaying the inner structure of the vehicle.

Photo Courtesy: SpaceX

Aviation

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Airbus A321LR to Replace Boeing 757 Airshow Center Tico Warbird Air Show Titusville, Fla. Mar. 13-15, 2015

• Honoring the memory of Vietnam Veterans with the USAF Thunderbirds. Gates open 8:30 a.m., Flight Line Closes 12:00 p.m., Airshow starts 1:00 p.m. _________

Melbourne Air & Space Show Melbourne, Fla. Mar. 21-22, 2015

• The Blue Angels and their

C-130 will storm the skies of Melbourne at 3:00 p.m. both days and will be joined by the GEICO skytypers, John Klatt and the Wild Waco, Michael Goulian in his Goodyear Extra 330SC, and many more. Gates open 9:00 a.m. _________

New Smyrna Beach Balloon and Skyfest

Dayton Drugovich Staff Reporter There is no denying that the Boeing 757 is getting old; it can very well now be considered an old man in terms of commercial aviation. It was introduced in 1983 with Eastern. To put that into perspective, the MD-90 was launched in 1995. Somehow it has managed to cling to life in its later years by finding a niche market: transatlantic flights with not enough demand to support widebody service, but enough so that a 757 can do the job comfortably. Now with Airbus’ introduction of the A321neoLR, this may be the final nail in the coffin for one of my favorite airplanes still in the sky. The 757 was intended as a replacement for the 727 on high density domestic routes which it served

wonderfully until it was killed off by its brother, the 737. When the 737-900 was introduced, it was the same size as a 757-200 and was able to fly almost every mission the 757 was able to do while being more efficient. As a result, the production of new 757’s stopped and the last one rolled out of the assembly line on Nov. 28, 2005. Where the 737-900 could not succeed was carrying a lot of weight a long way, which is how the 757 found its transatlantic niche market which has kept it aloft. The new A321LR will be able to fly 206 passengers up to 4,000 nm – the longest of any single aisle aircraft. It will easily be able to take over the reins on the transatlantic flights. It accomplishes this range increase by aerodynamic improvements in the fuselage and

Photo Courtesy: Airbus A manufacturer’s rendering of the Airbus A321LR (long range). This aircraft will eventually replace the Boeing 757 at Delta, and many other commercial operators.

wing, an increased maximum gross take-off weight (MGTOW) of 97 tons, and an extra fuel take in the forward underfloor hold. I will miss the “flying

pencil,” as it has been affectionately referred to. there is no other aircraft out there that has the unique ability to make any livery look great, but not all is

lost. Boeing is not known to take things lying down, so we will soon see Boeing’s answer to the A321LR. There may be new life for the 757 after all.

New Smyrna Beach, Fla. April 17-19, 2015

• This event features a day

and night performance show. Civilian performers include the Aeroshell Aerobatic Team, Matt Youkin in his modified Beech 18, Gene Soucy in his “Showcat” biplane, and Patty Wagstaff in her Extra 300. A variety of vintage miiitary aircraft will be on display as well. _________

Sun ‘N Fun International Fly-In & Expo Lakeland, Fla. April 21-26, 2015

• The Breitling Jet Team will

be making their U.S. debut, headlining the second largest Air Show in the country. A variety of static displays and performance acts will be complemented with vendors throughout the arena. This is an excellent networking opportunity.

This Week in Aviation History Feb. 3, 2001

First Flight of the AugustaWestland AW139, a 15-seat medium sized twin-engine helicopter.

Feb. 5, 1971

Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell land on the Moon at the Fra Mauro formation, marking one of the last flights of the Apollo program.

Feb. 6, 1946

Trans World Airlines makes its first international flight, from New York City, USA to Paris, France.

Embry-Riddle Qualifies in Airbus Challenge Ravi Gondaliya Team Leader In late fall of 2014, 518 teams from all around the world participated in Round 1 of the Airbus’ biennial Fly Your Ideas challenge. Students were required to find unique approaches to the challenges facing the aviation industry in categories: traffic growth, affordable growth, energy, efficiency, community friendliness and passenger experience. The competition consists of three rounds and only the top five teams will be invited to Airbus HQ in France where finals will take place. Finalists will have an opportunity to present their research findings to top Airbus industry experts and possibly see their design concepts being incorporated in new Airbus airplanes. Hence, the name of the competition, Fly Your Ideas, seems appropriate. The competition is also supported by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In Jan., Embry Riddle Aeronautical University’s team, The Efficiente, became one of the top 100 teams selected from around the globe for round two of the challenge. Nine other teams from the US were selected for round two. Team members of The Efficiente consist of Ravi Gondaliya (Team Lead,

MSAE), Edward Boylan (MSAE), Jordan Stine (BSAE), Jiukun Li (MSAE) and Fady Rafla (MSAE). Academic mentor of the team is Dr. Dae Won Kim (Assistant Professor, Aerospace Engineering). The title of the project is, Extending Damage Tolerance and Life Cycle of a Composite Structure by Incorporating an Energy Absorbing Mesh in the Layup. While technical details about the project cannot be disclosed until the end of the competition, the group is currently planning the experimental phase of the project. With the deadline for round two approaching soon, March 2015, the team will fabricate its unique composites in the Embry-Riddle Composites Laboratory and will perform various mechanical tests like tensile-compression and impact testing in the Embry-Riddle Materials Testing Laboratory. Various opinions were also collected from industry experts at the annual American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics conference, Scitech, earlier this year. The unique research environment along with guidance faculty at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has been critical for our selection from round two. The team is optimistic about the challenge and is fully committed to being short-listed

as one of the five teams for round three. More information on the Fly Your Ideas competition

can be obtained at https:// www.airbus-fyi.com/. Follow team ‘The Efficiente’ at https://www.airbus-fyi.

com/teams/2435/the-efficiente. For questions, please contact Ravi Gondaliya at gondalir@my.erau.edu.

Space

February

03 2015

Falcon Heavy Continued from A1 >> Wait…what? Rockets going over a few miles per second in one direction turn themselves around and fly back? The amount of fuel it would take to perform such a maneuver is astronomical. The video shows the boosters re-entering the atmosphere enginesfirst. The engines take the heat of the burning fuel as it flows through them internally, but could they withstand the external heat of re-entry or constant, mas-

sive aerodynamic forces associated with re-entry? All the re-entry vehicles designed have had a heat shield shaped to deflect the heat and pressure away from sensitive parts of the vehicle. The coneshaped engines would funnel enormous heat and pressure back up the engines, with catastrophic consequences. The video then shows the Falcon 9 boosters near what is obviously Cape Canaveral, their launch point, and land spot-on on landing pads designed for them. The video cuts to the core stage, which boosts the payload into orbit –

at over 17,000 miles per hour – and follows the booster stages in turning around, re-entering and landing on a launch pad between that of the two boosters. The “turn around and fly back to the launch pad” concept is, from a technical and engineering standpoint, preposterous. However, the video is not about accurately showing how it is going to work. It is about getting the average public excited about this rocket and space. There are several alternatives to how the Falcon Heavy will actually be landing. They could

launch from Vandenburg in California and land at Cape Canaveral, or launch from Cape Canaveral and land on a floating pad, like the Falcon 9 a couple of weeks ago, or a Europebased site, or the rocket’s stages could complete an entire orbit before deorbiting and landing at Cape Canaveral. But turning around and landing again? Get on the ball, animators. The video also raises questions about the Falcon Heavy: can the Falcon 9 stages that make up the Falcon Heavy be interchangeable, flying on an individual mis-

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The Avion sion and then strap to a Heavy the next mission, or do the Falcon Heavy “Falcon 9 stages” need to be specially made? Despite flaws in technical aspects of the video, it will be exciting to watch this rocket launch later this year. SpaceX likely has more reasonable plans to land the stages. SpaceX will likely successfully land a Falcon 9 in the next months – even next week. SpaceX is a critical piece in America’s space industry to drive down costs and drive up excitement about going not only to space, but also to Mars and beyond.

Boeing to fly Astronauts Before SpaceX Cassandra Vella Correspondent The first commercial company to carry NASA astronauts to space in July 2017 will be Boeing - not SpaceX - which became official on Jan. 26.

Boeing and SpaceX are both receiving billions of dollars from NASA to replace the American transportation access to the International Space station since the 2011 shutdown of the space shuttle program. Thew previous announce-

ment that NASA chose Boeing and SpaceX was made in Sept. 2014 when Boeing received $4.2 billion and SpaceX received $2.6 billion. The details have taken since September to be released because there has been a legal challenge by

Sierra Nevada. Sierra Nevada had been working to develop a Space Shuttle-like vehicle, Dream Chaser, but had been closed out from the competition. The US Government Accountability Office had rejected Sierra Nevada’s protests, which finally allowed NASA and their partners to publically announce the future plans and contract information. Boeing is already planning two missions to carry NASA astronauts as they have already accomplished two milestones over SpaceX. In July 2017, a NASA astronaut and a Boeing test pilot will make the first crew test flight. This trip will be made with the spacecraft called Crew Space Transportation- 100 (CST- 100). Boeing’s capsule is designed for reuse for up to ten flights. SpaceX’s Dragon is also made to be reusable for an undetermined number of flights at this time. Both of these crafts can carry up to seven people for flight to the space station for low Earth orbit. The upgraded Dragon crew vehicle from SpaceX is planned for unmanned test

flights in 2016. SpaceX has a manned test flight for the Dragon spacecraft planned for early 2017. In 2012, the original design of the Dragon cargo ship was one of the first to bring supplies to the International Space Station, and is being transformed into a crew capsule. Since the Space Shuttle program shut down, the U.S. has relied on Russian Soyuz capsules to transport astronauts to and from space. The Russian trips cost the U.S. about $70 million per seat, and new U.S. commercial industry will cost approximately $58 million over five years. NASA will not allow Boeing or SpaceX to move on until they complete at least one successful test flight with one on-board astronaut. After the successful test flight, each company will be allowed between two and six more contracted flights to the International Space Station. These launches will take place in Cape Canaveral. The U.S. space agency will be focusing on sending humans to Mars by 2024 with the new U.S. commercial industry.

Launch Control Center DSCOVR - Falcon 9

February 8 @ 18:10 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station SLC-40

Eutelsat 115 West B & ABS 3A - Falcon 9 ~February 17 @ TBD Cape Canaveral Air Force Station SLC-40

MMS - Atlas V

March 12 @ 22:44-23:14 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station SLC-41

GPS 2F-9 - Delta IV

March 25 @ TBD Cape Canaveral Air Force Station SLC-37-B

SpaceX CRS 6 Falcon 9

April 8 @ TBD Cape Canaveral Air Force Station SLC-40

ISS Sightings

Tuesday, February 3

7:21 P.M. - Appears from 28 degrees above West-SouthWest, disappears 39 degrees above North-North-East. Max height is 59 degrees, visible for 2 minutes.

Wed, February 4

6:26 P.M. - Appears from 10 degrees above South-SouthWest, disappears 11 degrees above NE. Max height is 53 degrees, visible for 6 minutes.

Thursday, February 5

7:13 P.M. - Appears from 18 degrees above West-NorthWest, disappears 11 degrees above North. Max height is 21 degrees, visible for 3 minutes.

This Week in Space History

February 3 1966 Luna 9, an unmanned Soviet spacecraft, makes the first successful landing on the Moon. February 5, 1971 Apollo 14 Mission – Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell aboard LM, Antares land on the Moon at Fra Mauro formation. February 9, 1975 Soyuz 17 returns to earth after setting a Soviet mission-duration record of 29 days on a trip to the Salyut 4 space station.

Photo Courtesy: NASA Boeing’s CST-100 Capsule, which will be the first commercial capsule to carry astronauts to the Space Station in 2017.

February 9, 1971 Apollo 14 returns to Earth.

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Photo Courtesy: Shemar Alexander/The Avion Newspaper

Sports

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February

03 2015

Mens Basketball Cruises to 7659 Victory at Florida Memorial vs Embry-Riddle: 76

Florida Memorial: 56

Alison Smalling ERAU Athletics The second-ranked Embry-Riddle men’s basketball team used a balanced attack to earn a 76-59 win against Florida Memorial on Saturday night. Five Eagles scored in double-figures and the team shot 57.4% from the field, including over 65% in the second half. Joseph Gonzalez led the Eagles (21-1, 9-1) with 16 points in 20 minutes off the bench, while Reed Ridder poured in 14 including a game-high four three-pointers. Daniel Kiesling and Cesar Pastrana each tallied 12 points, and Pastrana also pulled down a game-high eight

rebounds. DeForest Carter chipped in 10 points and racked up a game-high seven assists and four steals while Dalton Barnes scored seven points and added six assists. Samuel Dorismond scored a game-high 17 points for the Lions (1-18, 0-10) and Davonte Byrd added 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting to go along with eight rebounds. Timothy Coleman tallied 12 points and Devante Wiltshire and La Dante Berry-White each handed out five assists. Pastrana got the Blue and Gold on the first with a fastbreak layup less than two minutes into the game. After a triple from Ridder and a layup from Kiesling,

the Eagles had already stretched the lead to 7-0 at the 17-minute mark. The Lions finally got on the board just over four minutes into the game, but ERAU came right back with a pair of layups to make it an 11-2 game with 15:11 left in the first half. A three from Gonzalez with 10:26 to play before halftime increased Embry-Riddle’s lead to double-digits for the first time (18-8). FMU trimmed the deficit to just four with 6:18 to play, but just two minutes later another trey from Ridder had regained the double-digit lead (29-18). Barnes knocked down a jumper with 1:52 left in the period, pushing the Eagle lead to 33-20, its largest of the half. Florida Memorial scored the final seven points before halftime to cut the ERAU lead to just six (33-27) at the break. In the opening stages of the second half, the Lions maintained the momen-

tum that they had seized at the end of the first half and closed to within two points (33-31) within the first minute of the period. Kiesling answered back with a three to provide a little breathing room, and at the 16:38 mark, Ridder hit his fourth three of the game, building the Eagle lead to 47-37. Barnes converted an and-one with 9:41 to play that increased ERAU’s advantage to 61-47, and the Blue and Gold were in full control for the rest of the contest. Carter scored a layup with 2:49 left that made it a 71-49 game, and Brian Johnson’s three with 87 seconds to play pushed the lead to 23 (76-53), the largest of the game. The Lions scored the game’s fins six points to account for the 76-59 final score. The Eagles close out their two-game road swing on Wednesday when they travel to Ave Maria. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Shemar Alexander/The Avion Newspaper

Women’s Basketball Stumbles at Florida Memorial vs Florida Memorial: 83 Alison Smalling ERAU Athletics The Embry-Riddle women’s basketball team (13-7, 5-5) led Florida Memorial at halftime, but the Eagles were unable to hold on to that advantage, falling 83-68 to the Lions in Sun Conference action, Saturday at Barry University’s Health and Sports Center. The Eagles were the slightly better team from the field, shooting 42.9 percent (27-63) compared to just 40 percent (24-60) by FMU, but the Lions did the majority of their

Embry-Riddle: 68 damage from the charity stripe where they were 27-of-34 compared to just 9-of-15 by the Eagles. Taylor Cyphers was 6-of-9 from the field, finishing with 18 points and nine rebounds to lead the Blue and Gold. Ashley McWilliams and Sabrina Whiting added 11 points apiece, while Kalah Martin contributed 10 points and seven assists. The Eagles got off to a promising start, outscoring the Lions 9-2 in the first four minutes. That advantage grew to 10 points (2414) with 8:22 remaining as

ERAU connected on 15 of its 32 field goal attempts and knocked down 6-of-8 free throws to take 38-31 lead at the intermission. Coming out of the break, Diamond Colebrooke began to take over for the Lions. Colebrooke recorded a steal, a layup and a three-pointer within the first 90 seconds of the second frame, and her efforts helped closed the gap to just four points (40-36). At the 17:22 mark, an Allison Abbott jumper gave the Eagles a 44-36 advantage, but over the next two minutes, Florida Memorial made a living at the charity stripe as two free throws apiece by Colebrooke, Natalia Mejia and Abreona Cabella tied the score at 44-44 with 15:16 left to play. Missed shots and turnovers led to a scoreless stretch over the next four

and a half minutes. Cabell finally broke the deadlock with a layup that gave the Lions their first lead of the night and that score sparked a 19-6 run that put Florida Memorial ahead 65-52 with 5:41 left on the clock. The Eagles got a pair of three-pointers from Whiting in the closing seconds of the game, but it was not enough to catch the Lions who made 14 of their 18 free throw attempts in the last 3:49 to come away with the win. Colebrooke lead all scorers with 24 points as Florida Memorial improved its record to 8-13 overall and 5-5 in Sun Conference play. The Eagles close out their two-game road swing on Wednesday when they travel to Ave Maria for a rematch with the Lady Gyrenes. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

Shemar Alexander/The Avion Newspaper

Sports

February

03 2015

Eagles Hit Three Qualifying Standards at Second Meet of Season Robert Lopez ERAU Athletics The Embry-Riddle men’s track and field team followed up its stellar performance at last weekend’s season opener with another solid performance on Friday at the Jimmy Carnes Invitational. The Blue and Gold hit three national qualifying standards and broke one school record, while a handful of Eagles also set personal bests in a variety of events. Kameron Turner and Richard Maku each hit a qualifying standard. Turner, a 2014 All-American, achieved a “B” standard in the pole vault with a mark of 4.70m, while Maku also hit a “B” standard in the triple jump with a mark of 14.17m. Junior Jamin Mays, who achieved a “B” standard in 1000m at last week’s ERAU Indoor/Outdoor challenge, hit another “B”

standard on Friday in the 800m as he crossed the finish line in 1:56.81. After setting a school record in the discus throw at his collegiate debut last week, freshman Brodie Lubelski continued the impressive start to his college career as he broke yet another school record on Friday. Lubelski broke the program record in the shot put by more than a meter as posted a personal best mark of 14.11m to finish second in the event. The freshman also set a personal record in the weight throw with a mark of 13.36. Many other personal records were also set on Friday. Zachary Farner and Michael Haynes each set career bests in the weight throw with marks of 14.31m and 12.80m, respectively. Lonnie Marts posted a mark of 12.80m to set a personal best in the shot put.

For the track events, Palmer Lintz set a personal record in the mile with a time of 4:31.92, while Matt Graves and Adam Lawrence each set career bests in the 3000m with times of 8:59.38 and 9:06.82, respectively. ERAU Head Coach Mike Rosolino noted that highlight of the day for him was the men’s 4x400m relay team of Alex Dori, Harish Prasad, Emerson Tyler, and Joe Fuller posting a time 3:22.67, which is the fastest time an ERAU team has ever run in the event on the track at the University of Florida’s Stephen C. O’Connell Center. “This track is usually pretty slow with it being so rounded,” Rosolino said, “so for us to run as fast as we did is really impressive.” The Eagles will return to action next weekend when they travel to Greensboro, N.C. for the Hilton Garden Invitational.

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Women Break Three School Records at Jimmy Carnes Invitational Robert Lopez ERAU Athletics After a plethora of impressive performances at last weekend’s ERAU Indoor/Outdoor Challenge, the Embry-Riddle women’s track and field team continued its early season success on Friday at the Jimmy Carnes Invitational. The Eagles hit three national qualifying standards and broke three school records at Friday’s meet, which took place at the University of Florida’s Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Sophomore Marina LeVine, who made her

collegiate track debut at last year’s Jimmy Carnes Invitational, hit an “A” standard in the 800m. LeVine posted a time of 2:18.69 to earn a fifth place finish. Halle Green-Anderson achieved two “B” standards in the long jump and 55m hurdles. The junior posted a mark of 5.44m in the long jump and time of 8.61 in the 55m hurdles. Green-Anderson’s mark in the long jump earned her a first place finish as she beat 11 athletes from NCAA I programs. Stephanie Mueller continued the hot start to her freshman campaign as she broke two more school

records on Friday. Mueller first set the school record in the high jump with a mark of 1.60m before beating a handful of NCAA I athletes in the pole vault to finish third in the event with a personal and program best mark of 3.30m. Senior Rebecca Love also set a personal best time in the 800m run, crossing the finish line in 2:29.74. Also noteworthy, Kirsten Chambers became the first Eagle woman to ever compete in the indoor pentathlon. Chambers finished in eighth place with 2671 points.

Athlete Spotlight of The Week Rico Saldana - Mens Basketball & Track and field I came to Riddle originally for basketball and had the opportunity to get back into track and field. I asked the coaches if it was okay for me to do both and they gave me the go ahead. I do the high jump; it’s my main event. I did it in high school and I was good at it. I did pretty well last season; I went to nationals and placed third with a jump of 6’11.5”. A majority of Basketball players can do the high jump and can be good at it. It’s hard to explain the feeling in depth but it’s like a rush, you know. What motivated me to get into sports was being from New York. There weren’t many options for being productive and getting away from the neg-

ativity. I started playing basketball and I had the height for it, so it kept me busy and off the streets. It’s funny, because ever since I committed myself to play basketball and take it seriously, I feel like there’s been a chain reaction of events which brought me where I am now. I do believe everything happens for a reason, and the chain of events that occurred got better and better with each opportunity I took. The type of person I am is whenever I do something I go all out. I give it my all. I make sure I do my research and everything to be the best that I can be. I don’t slack on anything and that definitely helped me excel through the years. I was in the top 25 eighth

graders for basketball in New York City. I started track in highschool because after the basketball season ended there were a few months that we wouldn’t be doing anything, so I took advantage of track in order to stay in shape, keep productive, and keep my grades up. I committed to Riddle within a few days after I visited the campus and created a relationship with Coach Ridder, Coach Keller and the team. It was an easy decision because I felt the brotherhood, and they share the same values I believe in. What drives me is family and to be successful at everything I do; I think it’s the process of success

alone: Setting goals and accomplishing them. My advice to young athletes is that it doesn’t happen overnight. You have to understand the process and be patient. I had my ups and down in basketball and track, so I’ve just had to work hard and endure those challenges and defeat the obstacles in my way. Sometimes you’ll lose and you have to learn from your mistake and work harder to perfect your game. Until you do that, you’ll be successful and it just takes time. Patience is a valuable thing to have while being a student athlete. Interviewed By Shemar Alexander

Shemar Alexander/The Avion Newspaper Rico Saldana, is an Embry-Riddle basketball player and track & field student athlete.

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