Flights that briefly enter space could become widely available in a “number of years”, offering passengers the chance to fly from London to Sydney in under two hours.
The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority is investigating the effects of suborbital flights, which reach space but do not move quickly enough to stay there.
Instead, the flight will get to an altitude of around 100km before descending back down to its destination.
Seats on suborbital flights cost around £350,000 on Virgin Galactic at the moment, but are expected to become cheaper over time, making the option available to most eventually. There are several suborbital flight providers, including Blue Origin.
“Commercial suborbital space flights are now available for tourism and scientific research, and are ultimately anticipated to mature into extremely fast point-to-point travel, eg London to Sydney in less than two hours,” said a study published in the journal Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance.
The journey currently takes about 22 hours.
The research, conducted by King's College London and the RAF, studied the effects of suborbital travel on health.
Dr Ross Pollock, a lecturer in aerospace physiology at King’s, told The National the experience of suborbital flight was “nothing like what you would experience during a normal flight”.
There are two types of suborbital flight. One is a vertical launch from the ground and the other involves a spaceplane, where a spacecraft is attached to the bottom of a modified plane and released at high altitude.
During a vertical launch, passengers feel the g-force from chest-to-back, “as you would if you accelerated very quickly in a car”, said Dr Pollock.
“However, the acceleration would be much higher, ranging from approximately two to four times Earth’s gravity and lasting for up to two minutes. This will make your breathing feel harder but it will still be tolerable for most people.”
The effects of the second type of launch, from a spaceplane at high altitude, would be stronger for some.
Dr Pollock said: “With this launch you would also get the chest-to-back g-force but there would also be g-force in the head-to-foot direction (as fast jet pilots would experience) which would peak at 3.5 to four times Earth's gravity.
“This type of acceleration will, in many people, result in some visual changes where you lose some peripheral vision or have what we call grey-out where you start losing colour in your vision. In our research we also had one person lose consciousness.
“These changes occur because the blood is being forced away from your head and there isn’t enough oxygen getting to your eyes and brain. Fortunately these changes are very short — a matter of seconds — and as soon as the acceleration starts getting lower you will have full recovery and no lasting effects.”
The effects would occur on both launch and re-entry, said Dr Pollock.
They would both include a period of weightlessness similar to that experienced by astronauts, except, for them, it lasts only a few minutes.
“It would be much longer if you were to use if for travelling around the world,” Dr Pollock said.
He said his colleague, Prof Tom Smith, had been studying who should and should not fly on suborbital flights, in research funded by the CAA.
“We have found that the g-force you experience during suborbital flight is well tolerated in healthy individuals up to the age of 80 years old and the physiological response is relatively benign,” he said.
“Assuming someone has relatively good health they are likely to be able to take a suborbital flight, although further research is needed to determine whether this is the case for people with underlying health conditions.”
Dr Pollock said suborbital flights were likely to become widely available “a number of years” from now. Commercial suborbital spacecraft currently only have the capacity to perform short flights, lasting no more than 10 to 15 minutes with six people on board.
“To be able to do this as a form of transport for the general population will require a lot of development of the spacecraft and launch capabilities,” he said.
Dr Pollock said the cost will initially be expensive, but will come down over time.
Once suborbital travel is more widely available, it may even become standard for long-haul flights.
“But it will require much larger spacecraft allowing greater numbers of people to travel on a single flight,” added Dr Pollock.
Last year, a Chinese start-up announced it was developing a hypersonic spaceplane that will carry passengers from one country to another with suborbital flights. It could travel from Beijing to Dubai in an hour, instead of the nine hours it takes on a normal aircraft.
The spaceplane will take off vertically and can go up to speeds of 10,000kph, as it travels 7,000km across the edge of space and over to the Middle East in only 60 minutes.
The%20specs
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'Shakuntala Devi'
Starring: Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra
Director: Anu Menon
Rating: Three out of five stars
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
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PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
The specs: 2018 Jaguar F-Type Convertible
Price, base / as tested: Dh283,080 / Dh318,465
Engine: 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 295hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.2L / 100km
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed PDK
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 820Nm
Price: Dh683,200
On sale: now
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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Ronaldo's record at Man Utd
Seasons 2003/04 - 2008/09
Appearances 230
Goals 115
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
