Space Tourism - A Viable Industry?

      For most of the 20^th century space flight was only conducted by the most powerful governments and inaccessible to the average person. That changed in 1996 when the Ansari XPRIZE was offered to any team that could build a reliable and reusable spacecraft that could carry three or more people into space, twice within two weeks. Out of the 26 teams that competed the team financed by Paul Allen and led by Burt Rutan (Mojave Aerospace Ventures) emerged as the winners. The Ansari prize was important because it spurred investment into the private space industry and led to breakthroughs which make the industry worth over 2 billion dollars today. (Ansari, n.d.)

Brian Binnie with SpaceShipOne

      The FAA is the overseeing body that makes and enforces the regulations of space flight. There are a few regulations, mainly regarding safety, that dictate the basic requirements for commercial space flight. The laws are not very restrictive and the FAA seems to even encourage private space flight. The first step into private space flight was the signing of the Commercial Space Launch Act in 1984 that enabled private citizens to operate expendable launch systems. When I comes to the crew of vehicles their requirements are on par with those of airline pilots as they also have similar flight and medical requirements. 14 CFR 460.5 - Crew qualifications and training.

      I feel that the current laws are up to standard in safety and not particularly restricting to the private secctor. Adding too many restrictions could discourage potential private entities from pursuing the commercial space industry. Since there is less funding for NASA we should encourage citizens to pursue their goals so that the US can stay competative. It is encouraging that the government is currently in the process of utilizing commercial space flight companies to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station to end the nation's reliance on Russia. (FQtQ, 2014)

      The space tourism industry is headed for a very lucrative and successful future. The Ansari X prize competition has led the way to the further developement of the fast growing industry. The industry is very small now but increased funding and inovation will lead to more efficiency and affordability for the average person. A survey conducted by the The National Aerospace Laboratory in Japan concluded that there was widespread interest in space tourism with people even willing to spend a months salary for the opportunity to go into space. Space tourism is still in its beginning stages and the costs to go into space reflect that. Virgin Group, led by Richard Branson has already sold tickets to 150 people at the cost of $200,000 each. (Virgin, 2014) One day, perhaps in the next 10 years, the average person can fly into space for less than $10,000 but for a while the costs will remain high.

(n.d.). Ansari XPRIZE Home Page. Ansari Team Results | Ansari XPRIZE. Retrieved September 28, 2015, from http://ansari.xprize.org/teams

(n.d.). LII / Legal Information Institute. 14 CFR 460.5 - Crew qualifications and training. | US Law |LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved September 28, 2015, from                      http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/460.5

(2014, September 16). From Quarks to Quasars — A place for all things science.. NASA To Resume Manned Space Flight — From Quarks to Quasars. Retrieved September 28, 2015, from http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/nasa-resume-manned-space-flight/

(2007, July 17). USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com. USATODAY.com - Virgin sells space flight tickets for $200,000. Retrieved September 27, 2015, from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/biztravel/2006-07-17-virgin-spaceflight_x.htm

Pilots and Depression

On 24 March Germanwings Flight 9525 crashed on the side of a mountain range in the French Alps. The flight was on its way to Düsseldorf Airport in from Barcelona–El Prat Airport in Spain and piloted by Andreas Lubitz who purposely flew the Airbus A320 downward and caused the deaths of everyone on board including 144 passengers and 6 crew members. Lubitz was earlier treated for depression and was considered unfit to fly but he hid the information from his employers.

Andreas Lubitz was reported to have had a history of mental health problems that he hid from his employers. Investigators searched Lubitz’s apartment and reported that they had found torn-up notes indicating that the co-pilot was mentally unfit to fly as well as boxes of medication. In 2010 Lubitz was enrolled in a training program for Lufthansa Airlines and tried applying for a U.S. pilot’s certificate but he would also need a medical certificate. FAA documents show that he replied “no” on an application in response to a question asking whether he had been treated for any medical health illness but the response was later changed to “yes” by a medical examiner after discovering that he was treated for severe depression earlier. Lubitz was able to receive the medical certificate after his psychologist in Germany provided the FAA with a letter stating that he was completely recovered. The FAA then sent Lubitz a letter saying that he would receive the medical certificate but that he would be prohibited from flying if his depression returned.

Flight 9525 has not been the only case where mental illness has been a factor in aviation accidents. In 1982 Japan Airlines Flight 350 crashed on approach to Haneda Airport in Tokyo Bay. The cause of the crash was determined to be deliberate action by the pilot, Captain Seiji Katagiri. He was later found to be suffering from mental illness before the accident and was later found not guilty due to insanity.

The FAA monitors the health of pilots through a number of requirements. Pilots under 40 are required to have their medical certificates renewed annually while pilots over 40 have their certificates renewed every 6 months. There is currently no specific test of mental health done by the FAA According to the Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners, the FAA does not require examiners to perform a formal psychiatric evaluation but the Examiner should form a general impression on the mental and emotional health of the pilot. I feel that the current method of evaluating the mental health of pilots is not adequate for the 21^st century. Mental health is not always easily visible and requires more personal screening by medical professionals.

Accidents involving mental health are rare but when they do happen the results are usually deadly. Mental health problems will often go unnoticed and pilots suffering from mental illness may not only be afraid to come forward due to fear of losing their job but also due to embarrassment. I think that the main problem that will be prevalent throughout the aviation industry will be getting pilots to voluntarily admit deficiencies in their mental health status. Another problem will be the implementing of mental health tests. Some issues that I see coming are who should evaluate mental health, who should be evaluated, and will the costs outweigh the rewards?

Sources:

Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners. (2011, March 7). Retrieved September 21, 2015, from http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/aam/ame/guide/app_process/exam_tech/item47/et/

Käckenhoff, T. (2015, March 27). Torn-up sick notes show crash pilot should have been grounded. Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/27/us-france-crash-idUSKBN0MN11N20150327

Northam, J. (2015, April 30). Documents Show FAA Questioned Mental Fitness of Germanwings Co-Pilot Andreas Lubitz. Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/04/30/403356547/documents-show-faa-questioned-mental-fitness-of-germanwings-co-pilot-andreas-lub

Introduction Post

Hello, my name is Darien Hoskin and I am a student at Eastern Michigan University. Currently a senior I have started this blog for my Senior Seminar class in which I hope to become more knowledgeable and finally figure out what it is that I want after graduating. My major is Aviation Management Technology and I am due to graduate December 2016.

What originally got me interested in aviation is war history. All throughout middle school and high school history has been my favorite subject in school especially when learning about aviation in WW1 and WW2. As for a career choice I would say that my interest came from one of my friends Neal. As a senior at Thornton Township High School graduating seniors had a graduation requirement to choose a career field and shadow someone who was working in the chosen field then give a presentation for the class counselors. At the time I was interested in learning to fly helicopters so I went to Sun Aero Helicopters and was taught about flight and piloting by Neal for about 3 weeks. Since then I enrolled in Eastern Michigan University as a management student and am very happy with the choice I made.

There are a couple of ways that my future career choices could be affected and that is all dependent on where I go after commissioning as a 2LT in the Army. My hope is to continue my life in the National Guard and pursue a career in human resource management. My ultimate goal is to work for the Chicago Department of Aviation or become an operations supervisor at O’Hare or Midway. If there is a chance that I go active duty I will start working on my private pilot's license if money and time is available but continue with my main goals when I get out.

Topics that I would really be interested in for this class are human resource management, airport operations, and aircraft carrier operations.

Thanks for reading