NTSB: Fan shaft failed on 787 during taxi test
The National Transportation Safety Board says a fan shaft failed on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner engine during a taxi test at Charleston International Airport.
The investigation into the failure of the engine on July 28 is ongoing. The engine was built by General Electric.
NTSB investigators last week went to a GE plant in Cincinnati where the engine was built to examine it. They found that a mid-shaft fractured and the shaft is undergoing detailed study and metallurgical inspections to determine why.
Investigators are also looking at manufacturing and assembly records for the engine.
Debris from the engine fell on the runway. A small fire ignited, forcing the airport to briefly shut down. Boeing said Aug. 8 it continues to work with the NTSB and GE on determine what happened. AP
NASA turns down Utah firm to develop space taxis
An aerospace company that employs hundreds of people in northern Utah has reacted with disappointment to NASA’s selection of three competitors to build small rocketships to take astronauts to the International Space Station.
NASA did not specify why it rejected Alliant Techsystems Inc.’s proposed Liberty rocket project when it announced the selections Aug. 3.
ATK is headquartered in Arlington, Va., with its aerospace division based in Magna, Utah.
In a statement, the company says it continues to believe its Liberty project provides the safest and most cost-effective crew and cargo transportation system, and it looks forward to talking to NASA about its decision.
The three companies selected are the Boeing of Houston, Space Exploration Technologies of Hawthorne, Calif., and Sierra Nevada Corp. of Louisville, Colo. AP
Iran’s navy says has no plan for naval reactors
An Iranian semiofficial news agency is quoting the country’s acting navy commander as saying that Tehran has no immediate plans to build nuclear naval reactors.
The Aug. 9 report by ISNA says rear Adm. Gohlamreza Khadem Bigham told the country’s Arabic language Al-Alam TV late Aug. 8 that while Iran possesses technology and capabilities to produce highly-enriched nuclear fuel for naval reactors, plans to produce either have not been on the “agenda” of the country or its navy.
Adm. Bigham also said that an upcoming U.S. naval maneuver in regional waters this September aims to pressure Iran, but he downplayed the possibility of a military conflict.
The West suspects Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies the charge. AP
