HUBBLE'S FINAL FRONTIER

YOU gotta love the Hubble Space Telescope. It's been up there for 18 years, orbiting Earth and snapping, literally, out-of-this-world photographs: stars, galaxies, swirls of dust and gas. Breathtaking.

As they say in science circles, Hubble has revolutionized astronomy and fired up the imaginations of people back here on terra firma. 

But alas, the show will soon be over. 

Just as the International Year of Astronomy begins, Hubble is preparing for its final act. In March the space shuttle Atlantis will make NASA’s fifth and final Hubble service mission. 

With luck the mighty machine will continue capturing more knock-out images until, with the click of a command from Earth, Hubble will turn itself off and get ready to plunge into the sea. 

What a story. Does this National Geographic documentary tell the tale in the style it deserves? Sort of. 

Certainly, the pictures are great. 

Added to Hubble’s more famous images such as the Pillars of Creation are excellent animations from NASA and its ilk, artists’ illustrations and historical footage. It sounds like a dog’s breakfast but it works. 

So, too, do the scientific talking heads. They’re articulate and passionate about Hubble and the discoveries it has helped them make. We get basics on the life cycle of stars and the formation and shenanigans of galaxies, along with the visible evidence Hubble revealed about invisible black holes and the expansion of the universe. Full marks to the production crew at Skyworks Digital. 

There is, of course, a but. In fact, there are two: the soundtrack and the narration. The adventures of Hubble and its friends are sufficiently interesting that there’s no need to present them like a sci-fi thriller with dramatic sound effects and over-the-top musical punctuation. Nor is there any need to assume viewers are morons, capable of taking in only simple sentences, or fragments thereof. 

‘‘Space (pause) is big (pause). 

Really big (pause). You just won’t believe how vastly hugely mind bogglingly big it is.’’ OK, that last bit is from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by the late, great Douglas Adams. When he does it, it’s fabulous. 

When the narrator of Hubble’s Final Frontier does it, it drives me insane. 

So, too, does her breathy ‘‘come up and see my etchings’’ voice-over. On top of an absurdly melodramatic script littered with gems such as ‘‘the death throes of stars’’ and ‘‘we are Hubble’s only chance of surviving’’, the result is unpleasant. In space no one can hear you scream. Not so next door, where my shut-up-just-shut-ups resounded. There’s one consolation, though: you can hit the mute button during her monologues and just enjoy the visuals. 

AIR INDIA TO SLASH AIRFARES FROM JAN 1

A day after Kingfisher Airlines announced a fare cut, national carrier Air India on Monday announced a similar fare reduction from Jan 1.

"In view of the slackening demand in post-peak season and continued decline in fuel prices, Air India will be adjusting domestic fares downwards on various sectors shortly," an Air India spokesperson said here. 

The spokesperson, however, did not divulge the quantum of fare cut, saying it was still being worked out. "We would be able to come with reduced fares by January 1," he said. 

Private air carrier Kingfisher Airlines Sunday said it would cut fares from the New Year. 

Kingfisher chairman Vijay Mallya said in a statement that the airline would begin the New Year on an aggressive note by slashing fares. But he did not quantify the reduction either. 

Low cost carriers are also expected to follow suit, said an industry official. 

Despite the fall in fuel prices, Indian air operators have been unwilling to cut fares, demanding that aviation turbine fuel (ATF) be brought under the "declared goods" category, which would bring down sales tax from an average of 32 percent at various airports to a uniform 4 percent. 

The proposal is now before parliament. 

Sales tax varies from 4% to 32%, and accounts for over 35% of operational costs of airlines. 

Last month, Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal said at a function here that he did not favor fare cuts as long as the aviation fuel was not classified as a declared good. 

However, air operators started cutting fares following pressure from the government, especially as aviation fuel costs have been slashed, with civil aviation minister Praful Patel urging air carriers to pass on the benefit to travellers. 

The lean season ahead also forced the issue for operators. 

State governments are likely to oppose the uniform taxation policy as it would lead to revenue loss due to lower sales tax collection. 

Over the past four months, there has been a sharp decline in aviation fuel prices. While some air carriers earlier this month reduced the fuel surcharge on the ticket price by Rs.200 to Rs.400, they did not touch the basic fare. 

Oil companies have reduced aviation fuel prices seven times since September. The fuel is now sold at Rs.32, 691.28 per kilolitre in Delhi after prices were slashed by Rs.4, 208.37 in the first week of December.

LOWCOST AIRLINES NOT SUITABLE FOR INDIA

India is not a suitable country for low-cost airline operations as it not only lacks infrastructure like low-cost secondary airports but also the cost of their staff is at par with full service carriers (FSC), a study has claimed. 

Also, the LFCs have to face tough competition from Indian Railways and road transport for destinations of shorter durations.                                                

"India has very few secondary airports from which the low fare carriers (LFCs) could operate. Of the 127 airports with the Airports Authority of India, only 80 are operational," aerospace expert Harmoz P Mama claimed in a study 'Civil Aviation in India: Challenges and Prospects'. 

Highlighting the poor airline coverage of smaller airports of the country, he said, "The top five airports in India handle about 70% of all domestic passenger traffic in India, which indicates poor airline coverage of most of the other airports." 
Beyond these are primarily small, crumbling airstrips with huts masquerading as terminal building which are totally unsuitable for airline operations, he claimed. 

The low fare airlines in order to save their staff -- particularly the pilots and engineers -- from being poached have to pay salaries on a par with those of FSCs, he said.                                                Apart from it, low-cost airlines also have to bear the brunt of the high price of Air Turbine Fue(ATF), which actually is a high percentage of their total costs.

BIOFUEL MIRACLE BY BOEING

Air New Zealand and Boeing Announce December Date for Sustainable Biofuels Test Flight:
Partnership with Rolls-Royce and UOP highlights the path to fuel certification

SEATTLE, Nov. 11, 2008 -- Air New Zealand and Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced Dec. 3 as the date for the airline's sustainable biofuels flight from Auckland using a 747-400 jetliner. Conducted in partnership with Rolls-Royce and UOP, a Honeywell company, one of the airplane's four Rolls-Royce RB211 engines will be powered in part using advanced generation biofuels derived from jatropha. Air New Zealand now becomes the first airline to use a commercially viable biofuel sourced using sustainability best practices.
Boeing, Air New Zealand and UOP have worked diligently with growers and project developer Terasol Energy to identify sustainable jatropha in adequate quantities to conduct thorough preflight testing. Using proprietary UOP fuel processing technology, the jatropha crude oil was successfully converted to biojet fuel, marking the world's first large-scale production run of a commercially viable and sustainable biofuel for aviation use.
"This flight strongly supports our efforts to be the world's most environmentally responsible airline," said Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Rob Fyfe. "We recently demonstrated the fuel and environmental gains that can be achieved through advanced operational procedures using Boeing 777s. We're also modernizing our fleet as we await our Trent 1000-powered 787-9 Dreamliners, which will burn 20 percent less fuel than the planes they replace. Introducing a new generation of sustainable fuels is the next logical step in our efforts to further save fuel and reduce aircraft emissions."
As part of the fuel verification process, UK-based engine maker Rolls-Royce's technical team conducted extensive laboratory testing to ensure compatibility with today's jet engine components and to validate the fuel meets stringent performance criteria for aviation fuel.
"In preparation for Air New Zealand's test flight we achieved our near-term goal - identifying and sourcing the first large-scale run of sustainable biofuel for commercial aviation," said Boeing Commercial Airplane's Managing Director of Environmental Strategy Billy Glover. "The processing technology exists today, and based on results we've seen, it's highly encouraging that this fuel not only met but exceeded three key criteria for the next generation of jet fuel: higher than expected jet fuel yields, very low freeze point and good energy density," Glover explained. "That tells us we're on the right path to certification and commercial availability."
Because of the unique environment in which aviation operates, stringent criteria are in place to ensure that any alternative fuel meets or exceeds current jet fuel requirements. Advance testing for the Air New Zealand flight showed that the jatropha-based biofuel met all critical specifications, including a freeze point at -53 degrees Fahrenheit (-47 degrees Celsius) and a flash point at 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius).
"Laboratory testing showed the final blend had excellent properties, meeting and in many cases exceeding the stringent technical requirements for fuels used in civil and defense aircraft," said Chris Lewis, Rolls-Royce company specialist for fuels. "The blended fuel therefore meets the essential requirement of being a 'drop-in' fuel, meaning its properties will be virtually indistinguishable from conventional fuel, Jet A1, which is used in commercial aviation today."
To process the jatropha crude, the team relied on UOP's green jet fuel processing technology based on hydroprocessing methodologies that are commonly used to produce transportation fuels. During processing, hydrogen is added to remove oxygen from the biomass, resulting in a bio-derived jet fuel that can be used as a petroleum replacement for commercial aviation. Boeing is working with airlines and engine manufacturers to gather biofuel performance data as part of the industry's efforts to revise the current American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards to include fuels from sustainable plant sources. Jatropha, which can be grown in a broad range of conditions, produces seeds that contain inedible lipid oil that is extracted and used to produce fuel. Each seed produces 30 to 40 percent of its mass in oil. Plant oil used to create the fuel for the Air New Zealand flight was sourced from nonarable lands in India and Southeastern Africa (Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania).
Air New Zealand is one of several air carriers working to diversify and secure its energy future through participation in the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group. That effort includes a commitment to sustainability criteria for fuel sourcing and commercializing plant-based fuels that perform as well as, or better than, kerosene-based fuel but with a smaller carbon lifecycle. The goal is to create a portfolio of next-generation biofuels that can be blended with traditional kerosene fuel (Jet A) to improve environmental performance.