SVN Commercial Advisory Group has announced the recent completion of a $1.65 million transaction involving prime undeveloped acreage at the corner of 18th Street, N.E., and Santa Barbara Boulevard in Cape Coral.
Advisor Mary O’Malley, CCIM, represented the property seller, Event Horizon Realty in Palm Beach, Fla. This commercial parcel comprising 1.99 acres is earmarked for the development of a three-story self-storage facility, making it a valuable asset.
Collaborating with O’Malley on the transaction were Nick Malagisi, SIOR, of SVN Real Estate Advisors, and Hans Hardisty, CCIM, of SVN Hardisty Commercial. Their combined expertise was pivotal in the execution of this deal.
The new owner of the property is Shadowbrook Development, a real estate development and acquisition company headquartered in Longwood, Fla. Shadowbrook Development recognized the potential of this site, which is situated adjacent to a thriving residential area, ensuring a steady stream of potential customers for future commercial developments.
This land deal is another sign of the self-storage industry’s strength in the Sunshine State, with its growing population, inflow of seasonal residents and favorable regulatory policies.
A full-service commercial real estate brokerage firm, SVN Commercial Advisory Group works with large corporations, middle market businesses and individual entrepreneurial investors. The group provides advisory services for the sale, leasing and management of commercial properties. Advisors at SVN Commercial Advisory Group have deep experience working with many types of investment real estate. They serve the greater areas of Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. For more information on the SVN Commercial Advisory Group, visit suncoastsvn.com.
image: UW Medicine physician and scientist Dr. Michael A. Williams talks about medical research in neurology from his office at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He is one of the co-authors of a paper appearing in Science on human research ethics in commercial spaceflight.
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Credit: Randy Carnell, UW Medicine
New guidelines are needed to assure that research on human subjects performed on commercial spaceflights is conducted ethically, a panel of experts say in a commentary appearing in the September 28 issue of the journal Science.
Their paper is titled Ethically cleared to launch?
Private companies are expected to fly thousands of people into space in the coming decades. Those aboard will include workers and passengers who will have the opportunity to participate in research studies. Such research is not only essential to assure the safety of future space travelers but often also addresses critical issues of human health in general.
Buț current ethical rules used to govern research on human subjects do not directly address the unique circumstances of research aboard commercial spaceflights, according to a panel convened by Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.
“There has been a long tradition of astronauts from NASA and other national space agencies of volunteering for research, and the agencies have established tradition on how this research is done,” said Dr. Michael A. Williams, professor of neurology and neurological surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle and one of the paper’s co-authors. “But how such research is going to be done aboard commercial flights, where incentives might be different, hasn’t really been explored.”
The panel calls for formulating guidelines based on four anchoring principles. The first of these is social responsibility. Commercial spaceflight is possible because of a substantial public investment, they argue, so research conducted on commercial spaceflights should benefit society at large.
Second, research conducted on commercial spaceflights should aim for scientific excellence.
“Poorly designed, duplicative, and low- priority studies beget poor-quality data. They cloud the evidence base, endanger participants, and waste resources,” they write.
Third, research aboard commercial spaceflights should adhere to the principle of “proportionality,” which holds the risk of research should be minimized “to the extent possible, and proportionately balanced in relation to the anticipated benefits of the individual commercial space flight participants and to society.”
And, finally, the guidelines should promote the principle of “global stewardship” that assures that the “benefits of human space exploration be enjoyed by all.”
The authors acknowledge that their guidelines emphasis on importance of social responsibility differs from other ethical guidelines that give primacy to the research subjects’ autonomy in deciding whether to participate in a study, but they argue so few individuals are selected for spaceflight that participation should be encouraged.
“All prospective commercial space flight participants should be fully informed about the social value of any proposed research protocols and be encouraged to participate,” they conclude. “Incentivizing participation may be justified, so long as the incentive is calibrated with the risks and does not create undue inducement. Commercial companies may give preference to those commercial space flight participants willing to participate in research, but further ethical attention is needed to determine whether commercial space flight participants should remain flight eligible even if they decline research participation.”
NASA’s practices may serve as a model, Williams said. “At NASA, for any given mission an individual might be eligible to participate in as many and 40 to 50 studies, but they get to pick and choose the ones they want to participate in. That respects the principle of autonomy.”
The lead author on the Science paper is Vasiliki Rahimzadeh and the senior and corresponding author is Amy L. McGuire, both of the The Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor.
Method of Research
Commentary/editorial
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
Ethically cleared to launch?
Article Publication Date
28-Sep-2023
COI Statement
The ethical principles and their applications that comprise the framework outlined in this paper were produced after a workshop held at the Banbury Center, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. The authors recognize R. Leshan and the Banbury Center, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
for their combined financial and coordination support.
Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Louisville’s own Jack Harlow was spotted in Douglass Loop Thursday night, apparently shooting a commercial.
He could be seen sitting in a chair on the roof of Twig and Leaf restaurant at Douglass Boulevard and Bardstown Road.
A crowd gathered to catch a glimpse of the Grammy-nominated rapper and actor from Louisville.
It’s unknown what the commercial is for or if there are any other shoots planned around town.
Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
Cortez City Council members say they need to look out for environment and nearby residents
The stars represent the proposed rezoning areas for the Independent Logging Co. at 1050 Lebanon Road. Courtesy of Cortez City planner Nancy Dosdall
The Cortez City Council voted against rezoning 1050 Lebanon Road from commercial to industrial, making it more difficult for the Independent Logging Co. to continue with operations but giving peace of mind to nearby residents and ensuring that the Carpenter Natural Area continues to be environmentally sound.
After two years from applying, the husband-and-wife team of Anthony Moore and Mary Lancaster presented themselves during the City Council meeting Tuesday to explain why rezoning would be a beneficial decision for the city.
Before the community went in depth about the application, council member Patrick Coleman talked about how the process could be considered as a spot zone, if it were a smaller size. But the 10-acre parcel that nestles up to the Montview neighborhood and open space is too big for spot zoning.
Moore and Lancaster bought the vacant old drive-in movie theater property in 2021, thinking it would be perfect for their company to operate.
During a nearly four-hour City Council meeting, Moore and Lancaster presented their case to rezone the property from commercial to industrial while residents expressed their concerns and council members made their vote.
Cortez’s City Planner, Nancy Dosdall, mentioned that the rezoning policy declaration said, “For the purpose of establishing and maintaining sound, stable and desirable development within the city, the rezoning of land is discouraged.”
Lancaster began by reading a letter that stated how Moore is highly qualified because of all the service he has done for the community and how the business has kept account for the entire process of applying.
His accolades include being recognized during the Pine Gulch Fire that he helped extinguish and how he protected Grand Junction homes for 21 days.
“He’s made a name for himself as a firefighter and a logger,” Lancaster said. “His equipment is in excellent working condition for public service.”
Moore then took over and spoke with grandiose about his accolades as a track runner in Cortez’s high school and how that’s continued throughout his life as a wildfire fighter and mitigator.
“We are a resource that is needed in this community,” Moore said. “I’ve won medals. I’ve put out fires.”
To Moore and Lancaster, the 10 acre is the perfect piece of property since it’s accessible to the highway.
He explained that he tested the noise levels and that the company’s sounds wouldn’t impede the neighborhood because in comparison, the highway is next to the neighborhood.
Nostalgically he talked about his childhood and how he dreamed of having property like the 10 acres he owns and all the property he currently owns “ain’t for sale.”
Afterward, Lancaster shared the timeline to council members that showed “every step of every month of every year” about how they were engaged to get their application approved.
“It’s been very challenging to figure out the codes,” she said.
On top of the logistics, she pointed out that the San Juan National Forest is stressed and a “recipe for disaster,” which is why the rezoning should happen so ILC can adequately help the region.
She said they fought 17 fires in the past two years and the company removed 98 dead and dying semitrailer loads of trees from the forest.
In response, 24 citizens voiced their opinions on the rezoning application.
Jennifer Singer, who lives in the outskirts of Dolores, said that her group, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, enjoys the Carpenter Natural Area and that already nearby residents object to the noise pollution from the mill nearby.
“Please don’t change the zoning in the Carpenter Natural Area,” she said.
Carol Taylor, a nearby resident, said changing the zoning to industrial from commercial would bring adverse impacts. She said that proposed uses are incompatible with the area on noise and light pollution and fumes, and it impacts the quality of life.
“Proposed uses are incompatible in maintaining the serenity and character of Carpenter Natural Area,” she said.
Last, Eric Reiser, a resident of North Chestnut above the proposed property, said adverse impacts definitely would exist, and he asked the council to deny the application.
“There are better places for the company,” he said.
Before the City Council voted, they talked about how they hoped Moore’s six other properties could fulfill some of ILC’s needs and that going from commercial to industrial wouldn’t be the right move. They also said that although they trust ILC to be environmentally friendly, they don’t know how the next industrial operation on that land would handle the area and they needed to look out for the rest of the community when it comes to rezoning.
In response, Moore said it doesn’t matter if it’s industrial or commercial, as long as they can continue their operations.
“Right now what we proposed in our packet, that’s what we’re going to do,” he said. “It’s the perfect location. We are first responders, and we need a place to put our equipment.”
Mayor Rachel Medina said that if the council denied the rezoning, it doesn’t mean that nothing can happen on the land, but they do need to look out for the community.
“In the future, a temporary asphalt plant could happen, an animal shelter, an electrical plant, this would be impactful to the residents,” she said.
Acknowledging that, Moore said that if ILC can’t do everything that’s in the packet, he’ll be right back at the council and won’t stop trying to get his application approved, no matter how many times it takes.
“It’s my land,” he said. “We’d like to move forward tonight. We’ve been at this for two-and-a-half years.”
Council members denied the ordinance (1322 Series 2023) because the existing zoning is consistent as is and the proposed zoning is not compatible with the residential area.
Robert Tann/Summit Daily News
In Keystone’s River Run Village, hundreds of workers toil under towering cranes on a 320,000-square-foot development that project leaders hope will be the ski area’s new centerpiece.
Kindred Resort, a more than $300-million-dollar project set to open in 2025, will house 95 luxury condominiums, a 107-room hotel, restaurants, ski school, event space and more, all steps away from the River Run Gondola.
“We’ve all been excited for a project like this to come along,” said Shervin Rashidi, a co-founder of the development team. “Keystone hasn’t really had a true base center.”
When completed, the resort will consist of three, 52-foot-tall towers, making it an area landmark on a site that has been undeveloped for 50 years. The third company to attempt such a project, Kindred Resort has been a vision nearly 10 years in the making, Rashidi said.
“Everything’s been kind of scattered for the guest experience,” he said. “With this, we’re going to elevate that experience, centralize it.”
With an endorsement from Vail Resorts, which is set to operate the planned hotel under its hospitality wing, Rashidi said the project has remained on budget and on schedule. While inflation and supply chain issues since the COVID-19 pandemic have provided challenges, Rashidi said the development has been able to avoid some of the pitfalls of other projects.
“We did a good job with OZ Architecture when it comes to overall design. A lot of our walls and steel structure and so forth are pre-manufactured and then brought in,” Rashidi said. “So that’s helped us avoid a lot of those bigger supply-side issues.”
Kindred Resort is expected to open in phases, with its west tower condominiums and central tower hotel possibly opening within the first three months of 2025. Following that will be the east tower, which will house the resort’s highest-end units.
To date, nearly 70% of the planned residential units have been sold, Rashidi said, all ranging in price and size. A summer and fall release of seven homes included one- to four-bedroom units priced at $1.4 million to $4.5 million, respectively.
According to Marketing Director Amy Kemp, 77% of buyers are out-of-state, with some international. Just under a quarter are Colorado residents.
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While much of the building will be occupied for private use, developers said they made public, communal space a high priority for the project. Kindred’s centerpiece, a sprawling plaza between two of its three towers, will serve as a public courtyard where residents and visitors alike can enjoy outdoor restaurant seating, fire pits and lawn games — with Keystone’s mountainside serving as the backdrop.
“We keep calling it the living room of Keystone,” said Amy Kemp, the project’s marketing director.
Other publicly-accessible areas include a ground-floor ski school and rental shop as well as a spa on the east side. The resort’s various spaces, both residential and business, are divided between the three towers and connected by an underlying base. Project leaders said this helps to reduce any obstruction of surrounding views and provide more open space.
“We didn’t want to have this huge, heavy mass. We wanted it to fit into its environment,” said project co-founder Ryan Geller.
As part of Summit County’s building requirements, the project will also include off-site employee housing in Keystone, which is expected to provide roughly 50 beds.
Geller said he is optimistic the development will remain on track with hundreds of workers on site each day. Now on the cusp of realizing a vision nearly a decade in the making, project leaders said they believe Kindred Resort will serve as a landmark even beyond Summit County.
“We wanted something that was iconic for not just Keystone, but the entire ski industry,” Geller said.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States is taking the next steps to develop high-speed supersonic transport in the near future. Following extensive research into the technology needed and potential routes, the organization has commissioned two teams of industry experts to provide possible solutions.
What is the objective?
NASA’s research highlighted the commercial viability of supersonic flights, reaching between Mach 2 and Mach 4 (1,535-3,045 mph at sea level). This is over double the speed of the Concorde and several times more than today’s commercial jets, which travel at around 600 mph (roughly 80% of the speed of sound).
The research found around 50 established routes that are potential supersonic passenger markets. They consist of high-volume routes across the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as current regulations prohibit supersonic transport over land. NASA is separately working on its X-59 QUEEST demonstrator, which is scheduled to fly later this year, gathering data about sonic boom suppression with the aim of reforming existing legislation.
Photo: NASA / Darin Russell
In the meantime, the agency announced the next phase of its high-speed travel research, bringing along industry experts to devise a plan to make Mach 2-plus travel a reality.
Who is working on the project?
NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles Program has awarded two yearlong contracts to explore air travel possibilities, outline risks and challenges, and identify needed technologies for flight at speeds of up to Mach 4. The two teams will work separately to develop roadmaps of the technology required to realize these designs and create original designs for concept supersonic vehicles.
US aircraft manufacturer and defense supplier Boeing is leading the first team. It partners with aspiring supersonic aircraft builder Exosonic, GE Aerospace, Georgia Tech Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory, Rolls-Royce North American Technologies, and others.
Heading up the second team is Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems. Teammates include Blue Ridge Research and Consulting, Rolls-Royce North American Technologies, and another aspiring supersonic transport developer, Boom Supersonic. The two teams have a monumental task in front of them.
Simple Flying reached out to NASA and spoke with Jonathan Seidel, Chief Engineer in NASA Glenn’s Propulsion Systems Analysis Office, who shared the agency’s expectations from the teams:
“The Northrop Grumman team and the Boeing team are each working to identify unique solutions for a near-term high-speed vehicle as well as an advanced vehicle that could mature in the longer term. Though both were supplied with the same independent market research and contract requirements, each team has brought their own industrial experience to color this exciting solution space.”
Photo: NASA
Each group is tasked with developing a roadmap covering the various elements needed for high-supersonic travel, including airframe, power, propulsion, thermal management, and composite materials that can withstand stress.
What are they researching?
There are several vital factors affecting the viability of commercial high-speed travel. The greatest challenge lies in the efficiency and sustainability of powering an aircraft at Mach 2 to 4 speeds. The energy required to fly at supersonic speeds is exponentially larger than traditional air travel, requiring what Seidel refers to as “exotic solutions that optimize weight, performance, and a host of other disciplines to be efficient.”
Another aspect to be considered is how high-speed supersonic aircraft will blend with the existing civil aviation infrastructure. Flights into commercial airports are heavily regulated, and potential new services must meet a lengthy list of demands. Any potential project must account for factors such as keeping landing and take-off noise at certifiable emissions levels and runway lengths.
Research is also being undertaken into lowering the sonic boom, as overland supersonic operation would dramatically enhance demand by increasing the ability to reach more networked cities. The finished roadmaps will continue to guide supersonic flight following the end of the contracts, with NASA and its industry and academic partners maintaining the option to continue the research with their own investments. Mary Jo Long-Davis, manager of NASA’s Hypersonic Technology Project, noted how vital the roadmaps are to future generations:
“The design concepts and technology roadmaps are really important to have in our hands when the companies are finished. We are also collectively conscious of the need to account for safety, efficiency, economic, and societal considerations. It’s important to innovate responsibly so we return benefits to travelers and do no harm to the environment.”
Photo: NASA
According to NASA, the developed roadmaps will ideally lead to designs that both paint the landscape for commercial high-speed travel and embody a narrow field of actionable technologies for the greater community to concentrate on.
A quest to silence the sonic boom
In a separate research program, NASA is also looking to find a way to eliminate or at least dramatically reduce the sonic boom enough to allow overland supersonic flights. The agency is working with Lockheed Martin on a purpose-built supersonic aircraft, the X-59. This 99.7-foot-long, 29.5-foot-wide aircraft is powered by a single jet engine and flown by a single pilot. It is designed to operate at Mach 1.4 (925 mph), flying at 55,000 feet.
NASA will use the experimental X-59 to fly over US cities at speed and collect data on how people on the ground react to the sonic boom, which is estimated to be equivalent to the noise of a car door shutting in the test plane. The agency will then deliver that data to US and international regulators in an effort to encourage lawmakers to change antiquated rules regarding supersonic flight over land. Lori Ozoroski, project manager for NASA’s Commercial Supersonic Technology Project, explained how the two projects are related:
“We conducted similar concept studies over a decade ago at Mach 1.6-1.8, and those resulting roadmaps helped guide NASA research efforts since, including those leading to the X-59. These new studies will both refresh those looks at technology roadmaps and identify additional research needs for a broader high-speed range.”
Photo: Lockheed Martin
NASA hopes that the data can be used to develop new “sound-based rules” regarding supersonic flight over land, opening the door to many new opportunities for future generations.
Even with today’s economic challenges, commercial real estate continues to be a driving force in our region’s economic engine—from the closed deals to the realized developments that are shaping our city’s skyline, serving growing industrial needs, and providing multifamily housing. According to estimates from MSCI, in 2022, our region outpaced the nation in transactions with more than $42 billion in total commercial property investment. And, despite a drop in the first half of 2023, Dallas-Fort Worth still ranks second only to Los Angeles in closed deals, with more than $8 billion in recorded investments.
Even in uncertain economic conditions, commercial real estate leaders play an important role in advocating for public policies that support and grow the economy and industry. When CRE leaders advocate, it ensures that we have a seat at the table when it comes to industry regulation and the opportunity to participate in decision-making around the vitality of our region’s future.
Additionally, by actively advocating and working alongside our elected regional and statewide leadership, commercial real estate leaders can amend outdated policies and ensure that our region continues its national dominance as the epicenter for business growth and investment.The North Texas region is growing rapidly, so demand for accessible housing, efficient transportation, and up-to-date infrastructure is increasing. The policies and regulatory environment have to keep pace with that growth. Zoning, permitting, development codes, and other real estate-related policies must be forward-thinking and not reactionary.
At The Real Estate Council, we’ve witnessed firsthand how engaging in local and state-level advocacy both on behalf of and with our industry can impact our region’s economic growth vitality. While we do not engage in representing any one developer or project, we identify inconsistencies in regulations, we advocate for issues that have far-reaching consequences, and we work to resolve these issues for the entire commercial real estate industry.
For example, last year, the Dallas City Council approved the expansion of its Mixed Income Housing Development Bonus program. The program aims to incentivize mixed-income housing development across the city, increasing both market-rate and affordable multifamily housing stock within our city. While the original MIHDB program was successful, strong advocacy by the CRE industry led to many improvements, including stronger guidance around MIHDB fund governance; the introduction of a fee structure that pays into a fund that supports the City’s Comprehensive Housing Policy goals; more valuable bonuses to encourage program participation; and stronger non-discrimination language for housing voucher holders. With the changes, the MIHDB program is now a truly transformative tool available for developers and the City of Dallas to create fair, equitable housing for all city residents. This outcome resulted through years of engagement between TREC members and City staff, relying on experts in the multifamily industry to ensure a stronger policy that works for the City, the industry, and ultimately, the residents of Dallas.
In addition, over the past year, TREC advocacy efforts played a strong role in rewriting the economic development policy for the City of Dallas, strengthening our community’s recruitment and retention potential and prospects for accompanying development. We are also working with the city and community partners through the ForwardDallas program to completely rewrite the City’s comprehensive land use plan with a focus on equity.
At the state level, we monitored and engaged on over 130 bills that could impact the commercial real estate industry during this most recent legislative session. We were in constant communication with our state representatives to ensure that we protect private property rights, act on bills that impact local control, and support and improve legislation that may help improve local processes when our local governments fail to act. Examples of this action include the passage of House Bill 2071, which preserves Public Facility Corporations, an important tool used to incentivize the development of affordable housing, or the failure of House Bill 234, which would have unjustly infringed upon private property rights by instituting mandatory sales price disclosure for commercial and industrial properties and assigning a civil penalty for buyers who violated it.
We all want our region to maintain its momentum as an ideal place to live, work, and do business, and the City of Dallas’s vibrancy is critical to the region’s success. Our city is at a pivotal point in its path to continue this trajectory, and the future of the CRE industry will play a vital role in paving the way. By working together to advocate for public policy issues that impact our industry, we can promote long-term economic success for the City of Dallas and our region.
Linda McMahon is the president and CEO of The Real Estate Council, the largest commercial real estate organization in Texas, representing over 2,000 members and 650-member companies.
Author
Linda McMahon
Linda McMahon, president and CEO of The Real Estate Council, has been actively engaged in community development initiatives for 20…
NASA will host an in-person media opportunity at 8:45 a.m. EDT Tuesday, June 7, at NASA Headquarters in Washington with the agency’s SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts to discuss their recent mission aboard the International Space Station to benefit life on Earth and further exploration.
NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet returned to Earth in November 2021 after spending 198 days aboard the microgravity laboratory, conducting science and maintenance activities, scientific investigations, and technology demonstrations.
Crew-2 completed the agency’s second crew rotation mission to the space station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The mission set a record for the longest spaceflight by a U.S. crewed spacecraft. The international crew spent 199 days in orbit. The Crew-2 astronauts also served as part of space station Expedition 65/66.
The media opportunity will take place in the Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in the Mary W. Jackson building, 300 E. Street SW in Washington. Media interested in participating must RSVP by 5 p.m. on Monday, June 6 to: joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov.
Learn more about Crew-2’s mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/subject/19027/crew2
-end-
Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
A landmark partnership between NASA’s Stennis Space Center and Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, has concluded after more than two decades of dedicated and coordinated effort in testing the world’s most powerful hydrogen-fueled rocket engine.
NASA Stennis, located near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, was selected in 1997 as the location to assemble and test RS-68 engines to power the Delta IV rocket, a United Launch Alliance vehicle used for the U.S. Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Program. The decision paved the way for the first commercial partnership between the center and a commercial aerospace company, providing a model for future collaborations to serve NASA and all of America’s interests.
“The RS-68 program leaves a legacy that has proven invaluable to America’s space efforts,” NASA Stennis Director Rick Gilbrech said. “The work with Aerojet Rocketdyne really laid the groundwork for commercial partnership efforts of today. It has been a privilege to work with the company through these years to support the nation’s critical launch capabilities.”
The Reimbursable Space Act Agreement signed between NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne on May 18, 1998, ushered in many milestones over the duration of the partnership.
Along with assembling the engine, the company modified, maintained, and operated the B-1 Test Stand for testing of the RS-68 throughout a 25-year period as NASA Stennis became the first NASA center to lease its test facilities to a commercial company. With the close of the agreement, Aerojet Rocketdyne has returned the test stand to NASA.
In its original form, the RS-68 engine generated more than 650,000 pounds of sea-level thrust with its first flight launching November 2002. The evolved engine, RS-68A, capable of producing 705,000 pounds of thrust, first test fired at NASA Stennis in September 2008. Following completion of certification testing, the first flight with RS-68A engines launched in June 2012.
Additionally, the Delta IV rocket powered by RS-68 engines tested at NASA Stennis flew NASA’s Orion spacecraft for its first mission called Exploration Flight Test-1 in 2014 as NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket was under development.
The next time Orion flew into space came when SLS, powered by four RS-25 engines also produced by lead engine contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, lifted off during the successful Artemis I mission in 2022.
Mike McDaniel, Aerojet Rocketdyne general manager at NASA Stennis, has helped steer the RS-68 engine program since his arrival at NASA Stennis in 1999 and continues to lead the company’s RS-25 engine work on site. McDaniel noted that the same processes used for the RS-68 engine program have been incorporated into work on RS-25 engines at the facility.
Between military and NASA operations, RS-68 engines have a track record of 100 percent mission success. Aerojet Rocketdyne conducted the final RS-68 engine test at NASA Stennis in April 2021. Since that time, crews used a certification engine to maintain test stand and workforce readiness in the event any RS-68 engines needed retesting.
“The relationships formed, and freedom of information shared, are some of the highlights from the program,” McDaniel said. “Talking about how the test stand functions and what we are doing with the test stand to ensure we are taking care of a NASA asset, that communication – everything from the safety part of it, to the quality, to keeping open communication and trust – contributed to the success.”
Over the life of the RS-68 program, Aerojet Rocketdyne conducted 341 hot fire engine tests at NASA Stennis, recorded a total run time of 58,672 seconds, and delivered 77 flight certified production engines to power Delta IV launch vehicles.
The engines have powered 44 launches, including 15 heavy launch configurations using three core vehicles and three engines. The final Delta IV mission is scheduled for March 2024 using the last three RS-68 production engines.
“We met the customer schedule, met the customer cost, and the engines have delivered 100 percent mission success,” McDaniel said. “When you take that into account, it shows the success of the program at NASA Stennis.”
Governance & Risk Management
,
Patch Management
Limited Details Disclosed but Google said it is a Heap-based Buffer Overflow Bug
Google rolled out an urgent Chrome browser security update to address a zero day actively exploited by a commercial spyware vendor. The high-severity bug is the fifth zero day patched by Chrome this year.
See Also: Live Webinar | Cyber Resilience: Recovering from a Ransomware Attack
The tech giant in a Wednesday update announced a fix for the vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2023-5217.
The flaw is a heap-based buffer overflow issue in the VP8 compression format within libvpx library. Libvpx is a free software video codec library from Google and the Alliance for Open Media, also known as AOMedia. It is the VP8 video encoder for WebM, an open-for-all royalty-free media file format that reduces bitrate while retaining the visual quality.
A heap-based buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a dynamically-allocated portion of memory than the buffer can hold. Attackers can take advantage of this to exploit the system by manipulating data or creating a pointer to run malicious code.
Google did not provide further details about the vulnerability, only stating that it is aware of an exploit in the wild. “Access to bug details and links may be kept restricted until a majority of users are updated with a fix,” Google said. “We will also retain restrictions if the bug exists in a third-party library that other projects similarly depend on, but haven’t yet fixed.”
Google credited the discovery to Clément Lecigne of the company’s Threat Analysis Group. Maddie Stone, also a researcher at Google TAG, tweeted the flaw was “in use by a commercial surveillance vendor.”
The market for commercial spyware has boomed over the past decade. At least 30 vendors now offer tools designed to remotely retrieve smartphone text messages, surreptitiously activate microphones and obtain precise locations. Despite assurances from multiple vendors that they have strong controls in place to prevent their tools from being used inappropriately, civil society activists say such tools are regularly employed by authoritarian or repressive regimes (see: Apple Fixes Bugs That Infected Egyptian Politician’s iPhone).
The patch comes just weeks after Chrome fixed another in-the-wild exploited zero-day – CVE-2023-4863 (see: Google Fixes Chrome Zero-Day Exploited in the Wild). The previous bug was a buffer overflow vulnerability, as well.