October 1, 2018 - No. 077 In This Issue MTU Maintenance Signs V2500 MRO Contract with Asiana Airlines Macao civil aviation authority publishes preliminary report of August incident AssuredPartners Acquires Regal Aviation Insurance and Lundy & Clark Leonardo DRS Wins $292M Army Maintenance Support Device Supply Contract Chorus Aviation wins heavy maintenance contract with Latvia's airBaltic FAA reauthorization bill urges review of oxygen mask design Some Air Canada employees to be banned from using pot on- and off-duty. F-35 crashes for the first time in the jet's 17-year history, pilot ejects safely EASA To Mandate Swaps Of Faulty EFB Component Dreamliners facing new inspections on Rolls-Royce engine flaws World's first ever Boeing 777 retires to an airplane museum in Arizona SpaceX Signs Deal To Help Japan's iSpace Reach The Moon With A Lunar Rover And Orbiter In 2020 And 2021 MTU Maintenance Signs V2500 MRO Contract with Asiana Airlines Seoul, September 27, 2018 - MTU Maintenance, the global leader in customized solutions for aero engines, signed a five-year V2500 contract with Asiana Airlines today. The contract covers the maintenance, repair and overhaul of 40 percent and engine trend monitoring for all of Asiana Airline and its subsidiaries' V2500 fleet. The deal is worth around 245 million euros. "We are delighted to have signed a contract with Asiana Airlines," says Michael Schreyögg, Chief Program Officer, MTU Aero Engines. "MTU Maintenance established a representative office in Seoul over a year ago and is successively expanding its presence worldwide. We take this agreement as a clear sign that our strategy of being close to the customer is appreciated." Asiana Airlines is a South Korean passenger and cargo carrier operating domestic and international flights for approximately 100 routes. The airline and subsidiaries have a combined fleet of 125 V2500 engines, including spares, operating on their A321 aircraft. "We are delighted to have strengthened our relationship with MTU Maintenance," says E-Bae Kim, Executive Vice President - Corporate Support, Asiana Airlines. "We have worked together on engine maintenance in the past and received excellent service throughout that period. Asiana Airlines looks forward to building on this successful history with the new V2500 agreement. We are sure that MTU Maintenance will continue to provide the highly-customized and intelligent MRO support we have come to rely on." MTU Maintenance provides MRO services to 35 percent of the world's V2500 fleet in Hannover, Germany, Vancouver, Canada, and Zhuhai, China - making it the number one service provider worldwide. The engine MRO specialist has over 19 years' experience on this engine family, has completed over 4,800 shop visits in that timeframe and serves over 90 V2500 customers. About MTU Aero Engines MTU Aero Engines AG is Germany's leading engine manufacturer, with core competencies in low- pressure turbines, high-pressure compressors, turbine center frames, manufacturing processes and repair techniques. MTU plays a key role in the new engine market through its partnerships in many international development, manufacturing and sales programs, to which it contributes its high-tech components. One third of the global fleet of passenger airliners relies on components supplied by MTU. MTU is one of the world's top 5 providers of maintenance services for commercial aircraft engines and industrial gas turbines. These activities are combined under the roof of MTU Maintenance. In the military sector, MTU Aero Engines is the lead industrial partner for almost every type of engine flown by the German armed forces. MTU operates affiliates around the globe; its corporate headquarters are based in Munich, Germany. About Asiana Airlines Asiana Airlines was founded in 1988 and has been awarded 5 stars by Skytrax for 12 consecutive years since 2007. Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, Asiana Airlines operates 77 international passenger routes to 64 destinations in 22 countries and 25 cargo routes to 26 cities in 11 counties. The airline is operating cutting-edge A350s with in-flight connectivity to popular destinations including Hanoi, LA, San Francisco, Seattle and London. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Asiana Airlines aims to cement its leading position in long-haul routes, commencing new direct flights to Venice and Barcelona in 2018. Asiana Airlines became a Star Alliance member in 2003. For more information, please visit flyasiana.com/C/KR/EN/index https://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12431743/mtu-maintenance-signs-v2500-mro- contract-with-asiana-airlines Back to Top Macao civil aviation authority publishes preliminary report of August incident MACAO, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Civil Aviation Authority of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) on Friday issued the preliminary report of an incident involving a Beijing Capital Airlines flight which took place on Aug. 28 at Macao International Airport (MIA). The report stated the factual information about the incident including the sequence of events, the damage to the aircraft, the weather and environment data. It also set out the direction for further investigation. The report said a Beijing Capital Airlines flight destined to Macao from Beijing encountered a hard landing at MIA on Aug. 28, when the aircraft touched down heavily on the runway. The flight captain conducted miss approach procedures and decided to divert to Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport, where the aircraft landed safely. There were a total of 157 passengers, three flight crew members and six cabin crew members on the plane. Five of the passengers encountered minor injuries during evacuation at the Shenzhen airport. The report added that the aircraft type is Airbus A320-214. The incident has caused damages to the nose landing gear, the forward fuselage and the two engines of the aircraft. As the aircraft is registered with the Chinese mainland, the investigation is jointly carried out by the civil aviation authorities of both sides. Macao's civil aviation authority has also invited the aircraft manufacturer Airbus as well as the civil aviation authorities of France where it is manufactured to take part in the investigation. Macao's civil aviation authority pointed out that the comprehensive investigation is still underway and the continuing investigation will focus on the wheel debris, the flight data, the flight performance, the crew training and qualifications, the weather and environment influences, the aircraft maintenance history, and the air traffic control procedures. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-09/28/c_137499581.htm Back to Top AssuredPartners Acquires Regal Aviation Insurance and Lundy & Clark LAKE MARY, Fla., Sept. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- AssuredPartners, Inc. is pleased to announce the acquisitions of Regal Aviation Insurance located in Hillsboro, OR and Lundy & Clark Insurance Group of Fort Lauderdale, FL. Both agencies specialize in the general aviation community and provide insurance to personal aircraft owners, maintenance shops, airports, and commercial operators of all kind. The combined acquisitions represent a reported $2.2 million in revenue. "Today's skies have a variety of exposures and we have built Regal Aviation to handle those in the best regard for our clients," said Regal Aviation's Jason Wissmiller. "With our specialized marketplace we wanted to ensure we had a partner who truly understands our industry and has built the proper infrastructure for the aviation sector" stated Rusty Wissmiller of Regal Aviation Insurance. Lundy & Clark's Daniel Lundy stated, "By joining AssuredPartners we will be able to collaborate with partner companies nationwide with the dedicated team AssuredPartners has invested in. We are proud to join the AP Aerospace team." "AssuredPartners is truly dedicated to partnering with the best of the Aviation industry throughout the country," said AssuredPartners President and COO Tom Riley. "Adding Regal Aviation and Lundy & Clark is a welcomed addition to our existing AP Aerospace platform. We are pleased to welcome the talented staff and respected clients to AssuredPartners." * For more information on Regal Aviation Insurance, please click here: https://www.regalaviation.com. * For more information on Lundy & Clark Insurance Group, please click here: https://www.lundyclarkinsurance.com. ABOUT ASSUREDPARTNERS, INC Headquartered in Lake Mary, Florida and led by Jim Henderson and Tom Riley, AssuredPartners, Inc. acquires and invests in insurance brokerage businesses (property and casualty, employee benefits, surety and MGU's) across the United States and in London. From its founding in March of 2011, AssuredPartners has grown to over $1 billion in annualized revenue and continues to be one of the fastest growing insurance brokerage firms in the United States with over 170 offices in 30 states and London. For more information, please contact Dean Curtis, CFO, at 407.708.0031 or dean.curtis@assuredpartners.com, or visit https://www.assuredpartners.com. https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/assuredpartners-acquires-regal-aviation- insurance-and-lundy-clark-1027574808 Back to Top Leonardo DRS Wins $292M Army Maintenance Support Device Supply Contract Leonardo DRS has won a potential five-year, $292.1M contract to provide rugged and semi-rugged variants of an updated maintenance support device to the U.S. Army. The Defense Department said Friday the company's network and imaging systems business will supply MSD version four systems to support the service's maintenance operations for military assets such as communications systems, missiles, aircraft and ground vehicles. The Army Contracting Command received six bids for the firm-fixed-price contract that runs through Sept. 28, 2023. The service uses MSD alongside virtual manuals to use applications and upload and download mission data or software for ground and aviation maintenance purposes. The technology is the sixth generation of the Army's at-platform multi-purpose standard automated test equipment. https://www.govconwire.com/2018/10/leonardo-drs-wins-292m-army-maintenance-support- device-supply-contract/ Back to Top Chorus Aviation wins heavy maintenance contract with Latvia's airBaltic Halifax - Chorus Aviation Inc. says it has signed a deal to perform heavy maintenance work for Latvia's airBaltic. Financial terms of the agreement were not immediately available. Under the deal, Jazz Technical Services will provide airframe maintenance for airBaltic's 12 Q400 NextGen aircraft. The work will be done at its facility at Halifax Stanfield International Airport. Jazz Technical Services is focused on heavy maintenance, repair and overhaul of Bombardier and Embraer aircraft. It is a division of Jazz Aviation LP, which is owned by Chorus. https://www.mromagazine.com/2018/09/28/chorus-aviation-wins-heavy-maintenance-contract- with-latvias-airbaltic/ Back to Top FAA reauthorization bill urges review of oxygen mask design The new FAA reauthorization bill, which passed the House on 26 September, includes a number of calls for the FAA to address common topics of debate when it comes to passenger safety and well- being, including forcing the agency to set minimum standards for aircraft seating. One key requirement is that the FAA review the design of aircraft oxygen masks within 180 days after the day of enactment. This provision, under Section 581 of the bill, follows the engine failure and decompression incident aboard Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 from which images were shared on social media showing some passengers donning their masks improperly. While Section 581 is brief, its impact will be significant if the Senate approves the bill. The Senate vote could take place as early as today, or be pushed out as the Kavanaugh deliberations take center stage. The provision could result in great expense for manufacturers of this equipment, for airlines, and for international regulators. The 180-day time limit is itself a short window to review the design and come up with alternatives. Changing a major functional element of safety equipment is not straightforward - new masks would need to be designed, prototyped, tested, proven, and manufactured, whilst the prior design would need to be replaced. Such an overhaul may not be limited to the US fleet. Because oxygen masks are common-design equipment, the new standard might be adopted by other regulators around the globe - if not immediately, then soon. Manufacturers, airlines and regulators would have to come up with an agreed timeframe to replace the units currently in service. That will be governed in part by supply; that is, how quickly manufacturers can build the new mask apparatus based on their manufacturing capacity, the availability of raw materials and sub-components, as well as a re-tooling of the equipment used to build the parts and assembly. There are oxygen masks overhead of every seat on commercial aircraft, so it is impossible to change them all at once. The process requires aircraft maintenance to remove the old equipment and install new units. As a result, there will be a mix of different types of oxygen masks on different aircraft within the same airline fleet, and from airline to airline. Would that be more or less confusing to passengers? There is a precedent for mixed safety equipment. Life jackets, for example, have different methods of donning - often as a result of different national regulations or the airline cabin safety team's specifications. The variation is limited by the FAA TSO (Technical Standard Order) but that is not universally adopted in other regions of the world. For example, the UK has its own specifications and a separate approval process for this equipment. There are precedents for expediting a global change of critical safety parts. One that is particularly notable is the order to change and reinforce flight deck doors after the 9/11 attacks, to prevent a similar flight deck incursion. Regulators prioritized the development, manufacturers pushed resources to build the doors quickly and airlines re-routed aircraft through maintenance facilities to install them immediately. It was an expensive and disruptive process, but one that was more than justified given the great tragedy that prompted it. Aviation could not allow that vulnerability to continue. Whether oxygen mask replacement is treated with the same urgency will be a judgment call, based on likelihood of use. A careful study of human factors in emergenciesmight guide a re-design, and help determine whether the design needs to be changed. 180 days might not be enough time for that process. Runway Girl Network reached out to the FAA for comment but had not heard back at the time of publication. Zodiac Aerospace said in a statement: "As world leader in oxygen systems, Zodiac Aerospace is closely following the topic, we are ready to cooperate and bring our expertise to the FAA." https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2018/09/30/faa-reauthorization-bill-urges-review-of-oxygen-mask- design/ Back to Top Some Air Canada employees to be banned from using pot on- and off-duty Air Canada said some of its employees will be banned from using marijuana both on- and off-duty despite recreational use becoming legal in Canada next month. The company said it has revised its alcohol and drug policy to include cannabis ahead of legalization on Oct. 17. "The safety of our customers and employees is our top priority," spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur said in an email. "As a result, employees working in safety-critical areas at the company, including flight operations and aircraft maintenance, will be prohibited from using cannabis and cannabis products at all times, both on-duty and off-duty. "We are acting out of an abundance of caution based on current understanding of the effects of these drugs, including their after-effects and the potential they can linger in the human system." All employees are banned from using recreational pot while on-duty or in the workplace, the company said, adding the policy will be reviewed regularly and updated as needed. "Air Canada is allowed to make those decisions," Transport Minister Marc Garneau said Friday. "They could be challenged, but they're allowed to make them. "From our point of view, from a safety point of view, we already have measures in place to ensure that the crew of an airplane - and I'm not just talking about the pilots; also the flight attendants - are fit to fly." The Canadian Aviation Regulations prohibit crew members from working while under the influence of alcohol, within eight hours of consuming alcohol, or if using drugs (illegal or legal) that impair their faculties and put safety at risk. CUPE spokeswoman Lisa Djevahirdjian said the union, which represents Air Canada flight crew, is aware of the new policy. "We are looking into this and working with other Air Canada unions to see whether it stands the test of the collective agreement," she said. WestJet told CityNews it is finalizing its cannabis policy and will share it with its employees by next week. https://edmonton.citynews.ca/2018/09/28/air-canada-marijuana/ Back to Top F-35 crashes for the first time in the jet's 17-year history, pilot ejects safely The U.S. military suffered its first crash of an F-35 aircraft in the 17 year history of the high-profile fighter jet program, the same day the Pentagon announced it had struck a deal with defense contractor Lockheed Martin to drive down costs for the next batch of planes to a historical low. The crash of the Marine Corps variant of the F-35, known as the F-35B Lightning II, occurred Friday at 11:45 a.m. outside Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina, according to the Marine Corps. The service did not give a suspected cause for the crash, saying the incident remained under investigation. "The U.S. Marine pilot safely ejected from the single-seat aircraft and is currently being evaluated by medical personnel," the Marines said in a statement. "There were no civilian injuries." The aircraft, which cost more than $100 million, belonged to Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, which trains Marine pilots for combat with the F-35. In the past, F-35 jets have made emergency landings, experienced in-flight incidents, including oxygen deprivation among crews, and suffered from engine fires and other failures on the ground. But this is the first time the military has suffered a full-blown crash of an F-35 involving the ejection of a pilot. A U.S. military official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation remained underway, said the Marine Corps initially classified the crash as a Class A mishap, which is defined as an incident resulting in the complete destruction of the plane, more than $2 million in damage or the fatality or permanent total disability of the crew. The Pentagon's deal with Lockheed Martin for 141 fighter jets comes amid persistent controversy over a weapons program that has become the most expensive the Defense Department has ever undertaken. The most common variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, known as the F-35A, dropped below $90 million per unit for the first time, to $89 million, a 5.4 percent decrease from the previous lot. The price per unit for the Marine Corps and Navy versions dropped to $115 million and $108 million, respectively. President Trump has pushed Lockheed Martin for lower costs and taken credit for hundreds of millions of dollars in savings, though the F-35 unit price was projected to decrease as the fighter jet transitioned from its development phase into production. The Pentagon has attributed an increase in aviation accidents to a mix of causes, including years of stopgap funding from Congress, aging equipment, strained maintenance crews and reduced flying hours for pilots. An investigation by the Military Times earlier this year found that Marine Corps aviation mishaps had jumped 80 percent over the last five years, an increase that came alongside similar trends in the Navy and Air Force. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has vowed to sort out the issues using additional funding the Pentagon has received in the coming year's $716 billion defense budget. Still, U.S. military officials have cautioned the incidents are the result of a range of issues that will take time to fix. On Friday, the Marines said they were working with authorities in South Carolina to secure the crash site and guarantee the safety of all personnel in the surrounding area. The service did not give any details about the pilot or what happened ahead of the crash. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/f-35-crashes-for-the-first-time-in-the- jets-17-year-history-pilot-ejects-safely/2018/09/28/9faaeff4-c341-11e8-8f06- 009b39c3f6dd_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.3e05f0d2dacc Back to Top EASA To Mandate Swaps Of Faulty EFB Component The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) plans to mandate swaps of a Fokker Services-supplied electronic flight bag (EFB) component linked to several cockpit smoke and fume events. In a draft airworthiness directive (AD) published Sept. 27, EASA proposes giving operators 12 months to swap universal serial bus (USB) receptacles made by Lone Star Aviation Corp. or Fokker and installed in more than a dozen types of aircraft. The USB components came as part of a Fokker Services supplemental type certificate (STC) installation or a minor modification, EASA explained. "Several occurrences on various airplanes have been reported of smoke and fumes in the cockpit, due to overheating" of the receptacle, EASA said. "Investigation results revealed that each of these events was caused by a short-circuit in the EFB charging cable." Fokker Services issued service bulletins this summer for the affected models, recommending installation of modified receptacles. Affected aircraft types include Airbus A320 family, A330 and A340; ATR42 and 72; Boeing 737, 757, 767, and 777, Bombardier CRJs and Dash 8s, and Fokker F27s, F28, F70s, and F100s. The 737 and Dash 8 installations were done under STCs, while the others were via minor modifications, EASA said. The draft AD's public-comment period runs through Oct. 25. https://www.mro-network.com/maintenance-repair-overhaul/easa-mandate-swaps-faulty-efb- component Back to Top Dreamliners facing new inspections on Rolls-Royce engine flaws Faulty Rolls-Royce engine blades are deteriorating faster than expected, prompting additional groundings of Boeing's 787 jetliners for early repairs. The discovery affects about 120 of the Trent 1000 turbines, or about 8 per cent of the global fleet, and has frustrated efforts to reduce the number of idled planes after a series of engine issues, a person familiar with the situation said. Fewer than 40 Dreamliners are currently grounded for immediate attention. Air-safety regulators will publish a formal requirement for repairs in coming weeks, said the person, who asked not to be named as no directive has been released. Rolls-Royce uncovered the part's shorter life-span in December, when Air New Zealand Dreamliners suffered in-flight turbine damage on successive days. The flaws add to Rolls-Royce's struggle with design faults to the engines, which have already prompted the company to record $1.5bn in charges. The engine maker also faces a blow to its image because the faults involve the high-profile 787, Boeing's most advanced model, leaving airlines rushing to find replacement aircraft for long-haul routes. Air New Zealand chief executive officer Christopher Luxon told shareholders on Sept. 26 that the engine problem, while not a safety issue, is the "biggest operational challenge" that has had a huge impact on his network and customers. Air New Zealand said it will cost the airline as much as $26 million in the current financial year. With as many as five of its 13 Dreamliners grounded at any given time, the carrier has had to lease three aircraft to make up for the shortage, he said in a letter to customers earlier. A spokeswoman for Japan's ANA, which has 65 Dreamliners powered by the Trent 1000 engines, said the carrier hasn't heard from the turbine maker about the latest development yet. The airline is in the process of replacing the affected blades and will wrap up talks with Rolls-Royce over compensation by March, she said Friday. The carrier has canceled more than a thousand flights between July and October. Design glitches have plagued the Trent program for two years and eaten into Rolls-Royce's share on the jet against rival General Electric. The intermediate pressure turbine blades -- which had already been flagged for replacement -- aren't lasting long enough to meet the previously set maintenance schedule. "We continue to proactively manage a number of known durability issues within our Trent 1000 fleet and have made good progress in redesigning and replacing affected parts," London-based Rolls-Royce said by email. The issue concerns a minority of 787 engines that haven't already had the relevant blades replaced and may cause "additional short-term disruption," it said. The European Aviation Safety Agency didn't return calls for comment, while the US Federal Aviation Administration said it's working with European regulators and Rolls-Royce on the issue. "Safety remains our top priority as we continue to work through the replacement of intermediate pressure turbine blades on Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 Package C engines," Boeing said in a statement. "Rolls-Royce already has replaced the blades on a majority of engines. Our team is fully engaged with Rolls-Royce, and deployed worldwide with customers to mitigate service disruption." Engine makers like Rolls-Royce typically foot the bill -- including for the leasing of replacement aircraft -- when design or production issues delay deliveries or force airlines to idle jets that are already in service. Rolls-Royce has been mitigating some of those costs by offering customers discounts on future maintenance contracts or engine purchases. Dreamliners affected by the latest findings already faced shop visits for remedial work, so the accelerated timeline for blade replacements won't necessarily increase the charges Rolls-Royce has already earmarked. Still, Rolls could face a fresh bill to compensate airlines for added flight disruption. The UK manufacturer has gone on a fence-mending campaign as customers for the engine -- including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways and Norwegian Air Shuttle -- have been forced to hire jets this summer as turbines go in for repairs. https://www.thenational.ae/business/aviation/dreamliners-facing-new-inspections-on-rolls-royce- engine-flaws-1.774910 Back to Top World's first ever Boeing 777 retires to an airplane museum in Arizona The world's first ever Boeing 777, which holds a special place in the history of commercial aviation, made its final ever journey last week to the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. The iconic airplane made its final flight from Hong Kong to Tucsonon 18 September, leaving behind a 24-year career in the sky. The airplane (line number WA001 and registered B-HNL) was the first ever 777-200 built by Boeing. Its maiden voyage was 12 June 1994 and it was used as a test airplane for several years before eventually joining Cathay Pacific's fleet in 2000. It was flown on regular passenger service until its retirement last week. Throughout its career, the jet performed 20,519 flights for the airline, racking up 49,687 hours of flying time in total. Cathay Pacific is keen to keep its fleet as modern as possible and is taking advantage of new technology. They're slowly retiring their Boeing 777 jets and will welcome the new 777-9 aircraft from 2012. Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Officer Rupert Hogg said: "As the world's very first 777, B-HNL holds a very special place in the history of both our airline and that of commercial aviation, and we are very pleased it will soon bring enjoyment to enthusiasts at its new home in Arizona. "Our 777-200 aircraft have served us exceptionally well over the last two decades, and as we progressively retire these over the months ahead, we eagerly look forward to welcoming the state- of-the art 777-9 aircraft into our fleet from 2021," he added. The Boeing 777 will now be on display alongside more than 350 aircraft, including an R-71 Blackbird spy plane, a Wright Flyer, a 787 Dreamliner and a massive B-52 bomber, in the Pima Air and Space Museum. The extraordinary aircraft museum traces the history of civilian and military aviation and is open to the public between 9am and 5pm daily. Nearby, the Aerospace Maintenance & Regeneration Group - aka the 'Boneyard' - is a vast graveyard for 4000 or so aircraft which are kept intact by the dry desert air and is well worth a visit for plane spotters. Bus tours cost US$7 and are only available through Pima Air and Space Museum. Call to book ahead. https://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/2018/09/28/worlds-first-ever-boeing-777-retires/ Back to Top SpaceX Signs Deal To Help Japan's iSpace Reach The Moon With A Lunar Rover And Orbiter In 2020 And 2021 Japan's iSpace, which is a company that deals with resource exploration and robotics, has signed a deal with SpaceX to help reach the moon with their payloads in 2020 and 2021. As Geekwire reports, these two lunar missions belong to a program called Hakuto-R. Hakuto in Japanese can be translated to "white rabbit," while the R is for reboot. When the new missions take place, SpaceX will be using its powerful Falcon 9 rocket to shuttle iSpace's lunar rover and lunar orbiter, so that on the first mission in 2020 the company will be able to deploy their spacecraft into a lunar orbit. Once the spacecraft is in orbit, iSpace will be using its second mission with SpaceX in 2021 to achieve a soft landing while depositing its rover on the moon to study the surface. SpaceX's president and CEO Gwynne Shotwell explained in a press release that the company is excited about this opportunity to help iSpace achieve its goal in collecting data from the lunar surface of the moon. "We are entering a new era in space exploration, and SpaceX is proud to have been selected by iSpace to launch their first lunar missions. We are looking forward to delivering their innovative spacecraft to the moon." Takeshi Hakamada, the CEO and man responsible for creating iSpace, noted that he feels his company and SpaceX have many things in common, not the least of which is their collective dream of sending humans out into space to eventually become an interstellar species. "We share the vision with SpaceX of enabling humans to live in space, so we're very glad they will join us in this first step of our journey." With 65 employees of iSpace in Japan, the United States, and Luxembourg, the company's plan to send its lunar orbiter and rover to the moon on two missions has so far received $95 million in funding in just the last year alone, all of which is promising with the year 2020 fast approaching. Besides helping iSpace to achieve their lunar landing in the coming years, SpaceX has also signed a deal with SpaceIL to take them to the moon in 2019, with the Seattle company Spaceflight lending a hand to support their efforts. And of course, there is also the journey planned for 2023 in which SpaceX will be taking Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa on a trip to the moon with a collection of artists, as the Inquisitr recently reported. With the recent deal that was struck between iSpace and SpaceX to head to the moon, the future of space travel has never been more exciting than it is right now. https://www.inquisitr.com/5093709/spacex-sign-deal-to-help-japans-ispace-reach-the-moon-with- a-lunar-rover-and-orbiter-in-2020-and-2021/ Curt Lewis