NASA scientist wins free space trip on rocket plane

PALO ALTO, Calif. — A NASA scientist has won a free flight to suborbital space, but he may not be able to claim the prize.

Thomas Goodwin, a physiology and bioengineering researcher at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, won a suborbital flight on XCOR Aerospace's Lynx vehicle, a $95,000 value. Goodwin's name was randomly selected here Monday (Feb. 27) at the 2012 Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (NSRC-2012).

"I'm not sure I can accept this," Goodwin said, referencing his status as a government employee, which may prevent him from using the prize. "I'm very surprised."

If government regulations and red tape prohibit Goodwin from claiming the award, a backup is ready to step up; XCOR officials drew an alternate name just in case. Conference attendees who registered in advance were entered in the drawing.

XCOR's Lynx is a two-person space plane designed to take off and land on a conventional airport runway. In addition to flights with paying passengers, the rocket-powered vehicle is being designed to carry research experiments to suborbital space.

XCOR officials have said the Lynx could be in flight-test operations by the end of 2012. The company plans to charge $95,000 per seat when the space plane is up and running. XCOR also announced Monday that it recently secured $5 million in equity funding that will help fund its work on the Lynx.

Whoever eventually goes up in the space plane will be in for a real treat, XCOR officials said.

"Hang onto your hat, because it's going to be one amazing ride," said former NASA astronaut and space shuttle commander Rick Searfoss, XCOR's chief test pilot.

XCOR isn't the only company developing craft to take scientists, experiments and tourists up to suborbital space. Virgin Galactic, for example, is charging $200,000 for rides on its SpaceShipTwo vehicle, which seats six passengers, along with two pilots.

NSRC-2012, which runs through Wednesday (Feb. 29), brings scientists and educators together to talk about how commercial suborbital spacecraft can help advance research in atmospheric science, physics, planetary science, biology and physiology, among other fields, according to conference organizers.

The meeting is jointly hosted by NASA, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, and the Colorado-based Southwest Research Institute.

You can follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter: @michaeldwall. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Plane makes emergency landing at Newark Airport

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Newark Liberty Airport has reopened after a United Express flight from Atlanta made an emergency landing, forcing an hour-long shutdown.

There were no reports of injuries among the 71 people aboard.

Authorities say Flight 5124 landed around 6:20 p.m. Monday, shortly after the pilot was approaching the airport to land as scheduled and noticed a landing gear problem.

Newark firefighters were called to the scene, but found no smoke or fire aboard the plane.

A spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says the airport was closed shortly after the landing. Two of the airport's three runways reopened about an hour later.

Additional details were not immediately available.

View the original article here

Museum seeks royal plane wreckage

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
24 February 2012 Last updated at 10:06 GMT Maharaja Hanwant Singh died in a plane crash in 1952 A museum in India's Rajasthan state has asked Jodhpur Central Jail to hand over the wreckage of an aircraft that crashed in 1952, killing Maharaja Hanwant Singh and his mistress.

The remains of the light aircraft were found in the jail's cellar last year, nearly 60 years after the crash.

Officials think the wreckage was kept in the jail because it was bad luck.

The museum is yet to decide what they will do with the plane's wreckage once they get possession of it.

The Maharaja of Jodhpur, Hanwant Singh, died in the plane crash with his mistress Zubeida while he was campaigning in newly independent India's first general elections in 1952.

The light aircraft, a Beechcraft Bonanza, was the flying maharaja's favourite.

Though he was married to royal princess Krishna Kumari, he spent his last days with Zubeida.

Popular museum

The wreckage was left unattended in the Jodhpur jail for decades.

According to the jail officials, the wreckage was found when staff there looked through a pile of rubble.

"First we thought it could be a wreckage from the Indo-Pak war, when Pakistan bombs hit the city and some inmates were killed. But later we found it is the wreckage of the late Maharaja Hanwant Singh's plane," a senior officer of the jail told the BBC.

The Mehrangarh Museum Trust, founded in 1972 by Maharaja Gaj Singh has sent a formal letter to the jail authorities seeking possession of the wreckage.

Jodhpur Jail Superintendent AR Niazi told the BBC the issue would be referred to the government for the final decision.

The director of the trust, Mahendra Singh Nagar, said it was not clear what they would do with the wreckage, "but it will be part of the museum trust".

The wreckage is kept in the jail

The Mehrangarh Museum draws a large number of tourists - over 70,000 foreign visitors and 400,000 Indians, annually.

Hanwant Singh fielded candidates in the country's first general elections and gave the Congress Party a tough challenge.

He himself won a state assembly seat as well one in the Indian parliament.

But he died in the plane crash before the results were declared.

Noted film producer Shyam Benegal's film Zubeidaa highlighted the mistress's story. It was written by Zubeida's son Khalid Mohammed.

View the original article here

Museum seeks royal plane wreckage

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
24 February 2012 Last updated at 10:06 GMT Maharaja Hanwant Singh died in a plane crash in 1952 A museum in India's Rajasthan state has asked Jodhpur Central Jail to hand over the wreckage of an aircraft that crashed in 1952, killing Maharaja Hanwant Singh and his mistress.

The remains of the light aircraft were found in the jail's cellar last year, nearly 60 years after the crash.

Officials think the wreckage was kept in the jail because it was bad luck.

The museum is yet to decide what they will do with the plane's wreckage once they get possession of it.

The Maharaja of Jodhpur, Hanwant Singh, died in the plane crash with his mistress Zubeida while he was campaigning in newly independent India's first general elections in 1952.

The light aircraft, a Beechcraft Bonanza, was the flying maharaja's favourite.

Though he was married to royal princess Krishna Kumari, he spent his last days with Zubeida.

Popular museum

The wreckage was left unattended in the Jodhpur jail for decades.

According to the jail officials, the wreckage was found when staff there looked through a pile of rubble.

"First we thought it could be a wreckage from the Indo-Pak war, when Pakistan bombs hit the city and some inmates were killed. But later we found it is the wreckage of the late Maharaja Hanwant Singh's plane," a senior officer of the jail told the BBC.

The Mehrangarh Museum Trust, founded in 1972 by Maharaja Gaj Singh has sent a formal letter to the jail authorities seeking possession of the wreckage.

Jodhpur Jail Superintendent AR Niazi told the BBC the issue would be referred to the government for the final decision.

The director of the trust, Mahendra Singh Nagar, said it was not clear what they would do with the wreckage, "but it will be part of the museum trust".

The wreckage is kept in the jail

The Mehrangarh Museum draws a large number of tourists - over 70,000 foreign visitors and 400,000 Indians, annually.

Hanwant Singh fielded candidates in the country's first general elections and gave the Congress Party a tough challenge.

He himself won a state assembly seat as well one in the Indian parliament.

But he died in the plane crash before the results were declared.

Noted film producer Shyam Benegal's film Zubeidaa highlighted the mistress's story. It was written by Zubeida's son Khalid Mohammed.

View the original article here

Plane makes emergency landing at Newark Airport

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Newark Liberty Airport has reopened after a United Express flight from Atlanta made an emergency landing, forcing an hour-long shutdown.

There were no reports of injuries among the 71 people aboard.

Authorities say Flight 5124 landed around 6:20 p.m. Monday, shortly after the pilot was approaching the airport to land as scheduled and noticed a landing gear problem.

Newark firefighters were called to the scene, but found no smoke or fire aboard the plane.

A spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says the airport was closed shortly after the landing. Two of the airport's three runways reopened about an hour later.

Additional details were not immediately available.

View the original article here

Plane makes emergency landing at Newark Airport

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Newark Liberty Airport has reopened after a United Express flight from Atlanta made an emergency landing, forcing an hour-long shutdown.

There were no reports of injuries among the 71 people aboard.

Authorities say Flight 5124 landed around 6:20 p.m. Monday, shortly after the pilot was approaching the airport to land as scheduled and noticed a landing gear problem.

Newark firefighters were called to the scene, but found no smoke or fire aboard the plane.

A spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says the airport was closed shortly after the landing. Two of the airport's three runways reopened about an hour later.

Additional details were not immediately available.

View the original article here

Museum seeks royal plane wreckage

24 February 2012 Last updated at 10:06 GMT Maharaja Hanwant Singh died in a plane crash in 1952 A museum in India's Rajasthan state has asked Jodhpur Central Jail to hand over the wreckage of an aircraft that crashed in 1952, killing Maharaja Hanwant Singh and his mistress.

The remains of the light aircraft were found in the jail's cellar last year, nearly 60 years after the crash.

Officials think the wreckage was kept in the jail because it was bad luck.

The museum is yet to decide what they will do with the plane's wreckage once they get possession of it.

The Maharaja of Jodhpur, Hanwant Singh, died in the plane crash with his mistress Zubeida while he was campaigning in newly independent India's first general elections in 1952.

The light aircraft, a Beechcraft Bonanza, was the flying maharaja's favourite.

Though he was married to royal princess Krishna Kumari, he spent his last days with Zubeida.

Popular museum

The wreckage was left unattended in the Jodhpur jail for decades.

According to the jail officials, the wreckage was found when staff there looked through a pile of rubble.

"First we thought it could be a wreckage from the Indo-Pak war, when Pakistan bombs hit the city and some inmates were killed. But later we found it is the wreckage of the late Maharaja Hanwant Singh's plane," a senior officer of the jail told the BBC.

The Mehrangarh Museum Trust, founded in 1972 by Maharaja Gaj Singh has sent a formal letter to the jail authorities seeking possession of the wreckage.

Jodhpur Jail Superintendent AR Niazi told the BBC the issue would be referred to the government for the final decision.

The director of the trust, Mahendra Singh Nagar, said it was not clear what they would do with the wreckage, "but it will be part of the museum trust".

The wreckage is kept in the jail

The Mehrangarh Museum draws a large number of tourists - over 70,000 foreign visitors and 400,000 Indians, annually.

Hanwant Singh fielded candidates in the country's first general elections and gave the Congress Party a tough challenge.

He himself won a state assembly seat as well one in the Indian parliament.

But he died in the plane crash before the results were declared.

Noted film producer Shyam Benegal's film Zubeidaa highlighted the mistress's story. It was written by Zubeida's son Khalid Mohammed.

View the original article here