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[ad_1] Varda's first manufacturing satellite and reentry vehicle attached to a Rocket Lab Photon bus. Rocket Lab Space startup Varda received long-awaited approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to bring its first spacecraft back to earth after a stint manufacturing drugs in space. Varda's small W-Series 1 capsule, or W-1, has been stuck in orbit since it launched eight months ago. The company has awaited regulatory authorization to make a landing attempt in Utah, at the Air Force's Utah Test and Training Range. The FAA confirmed on Wednesday it had issued the license to Varda. The FAA's approval means Varda will try to land the W-1 mission on Feb. 21. "We are incredibly proud to have this opportunity with our government partners, and appreciate their dedication to safe innovation in the United States," Varda said in a statement. The W-1 mission is a demonstration of the company's automated in-space manufacturing process. Last year, Varda

[ad_1] A United Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft lands at San Francisco International Airport in California on March 13, 2019. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images United Airlines said Monday that it has found loose bolts on door plugs of several Boeing 737 Max 9 planes during inspections spurred when a panel of that type blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight using that type of aircraft last week. Alaska Airlines later Monday said its initial inspections of the jets had turned up "loose hardware" and that, "No aircraft will be returned to service" until formal reviews are complete. "The safety of these aircraft is our priority and we will take the time and steps necessary to ensure their airworthiness, in close partnership with the FAA," Alaska Airlines said in a statement. The Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday grounded dozens of 737 Max 9s after the panel blew out midflight on Alaska Flight 1282. Alaska has 65 of the Max 9 planes in it

[ad_1] People walk in Central Park as smoke from wildfires in Canada cause hazy conditions in New York City on June 7, 2023.  Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images Smoke from Canada wildfires is set to disrupt flights again Thursday after hundreds were delayed a day earlier due to decreased visibility, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The FAA said it will "likely need to take steps to manage the flow of traffic safely into New York City, DC, Philadelphia and Charlotte due to reduced visibility from wildfire smoke." Traffic to Philadelphia International Airport was paused until 9:15 a.m., the FAA said. Hundreds of flights at LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport were delayed on Wednesday due to the heavy smoke. The FAA had briefly paused traffic altogether into LaGuardia during the day. As of about 9 a.m. ET on Thursday, there were nearly 800 flights delayed across the U.S., according to flight-tracker FlightAware . This story is developing

[ad_1] A rendering of Telesat's low earth orbit broadband constellation Telesat Shares of Canadian telecommunications satellite operator Telesat surged on Friday after the company announced it would swap suppliers for its planned Lightspeed global internet network. Canadian space company MDA will now build the Lightspeed satellites, taking the place of French-Italian manufacturer Thales Alenia Space and resulting in "total capital cost savings" of about $2 billion, Telesat announced. The company expects to begin launching the first Lightspeed satellites in mid-2026, with global service beginning once the first 156 satellites are in orbit. The full network is planned to consist of 198 satellites. Telesat stock surged as much as much as 64% with heavy volume in early trading from its previous close at $8.45 a share, before slipping slightly to closer to 50%. "I'm incredibly proud of the Telesat team for their innovative work to further optimize ... resulting

[ad_1] A sign for hire is posted on the window of a Chipotle restaurant in New York, April 29, 2022. Shannon Stapleton | Reuters Job cuts are rising at some of the biggest U.S. companies , but others are still scrambling to hire workers, the result of wild swings in consumer priorities since the Covid pandemic began three years ago. Tech giants Meta , Amazon and Microsoft , along with companies ranging from Disney to Zoom , have announced job cuts over the past few weeks. In total, U.S.-based employers cut nearly 103,000 jobs in January, the most since September 2020, according to a report released earlier this month from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Meanwhile, employers added 517,000 jobs last month, nearly three times the number analysts expected. This points to a labor market that's still tight, particularly in service sectors that were hit hard earlier in the pandemic, such as restaurants and hotels. The dynamic is making it even harder to p

[ad_1] American Airlines plane Silas Stein | picture alliance | Getty Images American Airlines pilots' union said Thursday that they agreed to a sweetened offer for a new labor contract, less than two weeks after a richer deal at rival United Airlines derailed voting at American. The new preliminary agreement includes pay matching with United, whose pilots are on track to get about 40% raises over four years, and at Delta Air Lines , whose aviators approved their contract in March , as well as other improvements. American CEO Robert Isom last week increased the company's offer by about $1 billion . "We appreciate the Allied Pilots Association for its collaborative work to reach an updated agreement on a four-year contract for American's pilots," American said in a statement. "It's a contract we're proud of and one our pilots deserve." American's pilots would start voting on the new deal in August. The deal is the latest in the trans

[ad_1] A Falcon Heavy rocket launches the USSF-67 mission on January 15, 2023 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX The U.S. military is raising the stakes — and widening the field — on a high-profile competition for Space Force mission contracts. The Space Force plans to buy even more rocket launches from companies in the coming years than previously expected, granting more companies a chance at securing billions in potential contracts. "This is a huge deal," Col. Doug Pentecost, the deputy program executive officer of the U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command, told reporters during a briefing this week. Earlier this year the Space Force kicked off the process to buy five years' worth of launches, under a lucrative program known as National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3. Now it's boosting the scale. The U.S. sees a rising impetus to improve its military capabilities in space, spurring the need to almost triple the number of launch

[ad_1] An American Airlines 777 is loaded with cargo at Philadelphia International Airport. Leslie Josephs/CNBC Airlines' cargo revenue is slumping. That's a sign of good news for travel recovery. Delta , United and American this month each reported year-over-year declines of about 40% in their second-quarter cargo revenue. For the first half of 2023, Delta's cargo business generated $381 million, down from $561 million in the first half of 2022, while American's cargo unit brought in $420 million compared with $692 million in the first six months of last year. United brought in $760 million from cargo so far this year, down from $1.2 billion a year earlier. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Meanwhile, airlines are reporting record revenue , if not earnings , thanks to the rebound in travel demand. That means the business impact of cargo, which once helped prop up airlines' revenue during the Covid pandemic travel plunge, has faded. Cargo revenue at Unite

[ad_1] Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, from American Airlines company, taking off from Barcelona airport, in Barcelona on 24th February 2023.  JanValls | Nurphoto | Getty Images American Airlines on Thursday raised its earnings outlook for 2023 after a strong start to the peak travel season, the latest airline to reap the rewards from the continued boom in demand. The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier expects to earn between $3 and $3.75 a share for the full year, adjusting for one-time items, up from a forecast in May to earn about $2.50 to $3.50. That updated 2023 profit guidance falls in line with Wall Street expectations of $3.10, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates. American shares were down more than 6% in late-afternoon trading. Airline executives have been upbeat about travel demand, particularly for international trips. Some airfares have declined compared with last year, when airlines struggled to rebuild their schedules after the worst of the Covid pandemic , leaving tr

[ad_1] Viasat 's stock plummeted in trading on Thursday after the company disclosed its most recently launched communications satellite suffered a malfunction. The Carlsbad, California-based company on Wednesday said an "unexpected event occurred" while deploying the reflector of its Viasat-3 Americas satellite "that may materially impact" performance. The satellite launched successfully in April on SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket. "We're disappointed by the recent developments," Viasat CEO Mark Dankberg said in a statement. Shares of Viasat fell 28.5% on Thursday to close at $30.74 a share, its biggest one-day loss since going public in December 1996. Sign up here to receive weekly editions of CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter . Viasat did not disclose the identity of the reflector's manufacturer in its release. Dankberg said his company is "working closely" with the manufacturer to resolve the problem. A Viasat spokespe

[ad_1] Travelers are seen ahead of the fourth of July holiday weekend at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on June 30, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia. Elijah Nouvelage | AFP | Getty Images Flight disruptions piled up at airports around the country ahead of the July Fourth weekend, but airline investors have largely shrugged them off. More than 63,000 flights operated by U.S. airlines, or 30% of their schedules, were delayed between June 24 through July 2. More than 9,000, or 4.2%, were canceled. Both of those percentages are above disruption averages so far this year, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. The delays were driven mostly by a series of rolling thunderstorms coupled with other issues like a shortage of air traffic controllers in congested airspace around New York and other areas, derailing travel plans of thousands of customers. It upended what has been a mostly calm spring for travelers. But sky-high travel demand continues to keep airline stocks a

[ad_1] An aerial view of the engines and fuselage of an unpainted Boeing 737 MAX airplane parked in storage at King County International Airport-Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, June 1, 2022. Lindsey Wasson | Reuters Workers at Boeing aircraft parts supplier Spirit Aerosystems approved a new labor deal on Thursday, setting the stage to resume production at a Wichita, Kansas, facility after a work stoppage last week. Spirit Aerosystems, which supplies fuselages for Boeing's best-selling 737 Max aircraft as well as other parts for Boeing and other manufacturers, halted production last Thursday after workers voted against a new proposed contract and in favor of a strike. "We continue to monitor the situation as we assess any potential impacts to production and deliveries," Stan Deal, CEO of Boeing's commercial airplane unit, said in a note to staff. The company and the workers' union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, had r

[ad_1] Planes are seen on the tarmac as people wait for their flight reschedule inside of the Newark International Airport on June 27, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey.  Kena Betancur | Getty Images News | Getty Images United Airlines ' CEO Scott Kirby said that without more gates the airline will have to reduce or change schedules to handle frequent gridlock at its Newark, New Jersey, hub , a message that came after mass flight delays marred July Fourth holiday weekend travel. The carrier gave 30,000 frequent flyer miles to customers who were most affected by the chaos. "This has been one of the most operationally challenging weeks I've experienced in my entire career," Kirby said in a note to staff on Saturday. He said that the airline needs more gates at Newark Liberty International Airport because of frequent aircraft backups there. "We are going to have to further change/reduce our schedule to give ourselves even more spare gates and buffer — especially duri

[ad_1] Travelers arrive at O'Hare International Airport on June 30 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. Travel forecasters are predicting record travel for the July 4th weekend, but this year's celebration may also be something of a battle with the elements. Kamil Krzaczynski | AFP | Getty Images Flight delays and cancellations continued to mar thousands of Fourth of July travelers on Friday, with United Airlines passengers bearing the brunt of the problems. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 17.7 million people from June 29 through July 5, peaking on Friday at more than 2.8 million people. That would be an single-day record for daily screenings and one of the clearest signs yet of air travel's strong recovery from the Covid pandemic. More than 4,800 U.S. flights were delayed on Friday, though United had more delays than competitors. By 5 p.m. on Friday, the carrier had canceled more than 230 mainline flights, 8% of its operation, while more than 790 f