04.02.2011
Can Russia rival the X-37B space plane with its own robotic spacecraft?
Moscow – Russia's reviving space industry might be working on its own version of the US Air Force's reusable unmanned space plane. After all, Russian space experts seemed surprised, a little alarmed, and possibly in awe of the American X-37B when it was successfully flight-tested from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on April 22.
The head of Russia's Space Forces, Lt. Gen. Oleg Ostapenko, dropped a tantalizing hint last week that suggested that Russian researchers were working on a similar design.
"Something has been done along these lines, but as to whether we will use it, only time will tell," General Ostapenko was quoted by the official RIA-Novosti agency as saying.
IN PICTURES: The X-37 space plane
The American X-37B, which spent seven months in orbit doing secret research before returning last December, is a remotely controlled, scaled-down space shuttle-like craft that appears to be dedicated mainly to military tasks.
Most Russian media coverage about the mini-shuttle was dominated by fear. Would the US use the enhanced orbital capabilities the space plane makes possible to undercut Russia's national security? Would the X-37B threaten Russian satellites or even install space-based antimissile weapons?
"The original idea of this space plane was to destroy the enemy's sputniks," says Vladimir Shcherbakov, deputy editor of Vzlyot (Liftoff), a leading Russian aerospace journal.
"It's a kind of space fighter. If your enemy loses all his sputniks which provide his communication, intelligence, navigation, etc. he will be in a panic, he'll be helpless. So it's critical, if you're going to build one, that you state what it's for and whom it's directed against," he says. "The Americans haven't declared who their X-37 is to be used against. They just say they're developing new technologies."
Mr. Shcherbakov says it's quite likely that Russia is working on its own space plane, since the Kremlin nowadays identifies successful space projects as key to boosting Russia's international prestige and has spent a lot more money on the once-moribund space industry.
"Nowadays there's more financing, so the search for cutting-edge projects that we can accomplish is going on intensively," he says. "When the Boeing X-37 was tested, it raised questions from the bosses about whether we were building one, too. But this is a secret subject in the US, and even more so here. So no one will tell you for sure."
The once-mighty Soviet space program virtually collapsed during the 1990s, and its only big remaining project is to act as a kind of "space taxi" to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station.
The USSR built a space shuttle, the Buran, which was modeled on the US version, but only managed to test it twice before the program was scrapped in 1993. The surviving copy of the Buran serves as a children's attraction in Moscow's riverside Gorky Park amusement center.
But with growing financial resources, Russian space scientists have a lot more ideas on their drawing boards these days. These include a nuclear-powered spacecraft that could carry cosmonauts to Mars, and a Pac Man-like nuclear powered space pod that could gobble up space garbage and perhaps be used to protect the Earth from asteroid collisions.
A functioning space plane might be useful for the Russians to service the new Glonass satellite network, Russia's answer to the American GPS system, which is still on track to launch this year despite a disastrous crash that cost the program three satellites last December.
Andrei Ionin, an independent space expert, says that Ostapenko's hint about a Russian version of the X-37B is hard to interpret.
"It is the logic of space research that both Russia and the US usually find themselves doing much the same things," he says. "They built a shuttle, we built a shuttle, and so on. But comments like Ostapenko's should be followed by demonstrations and proper official statements. As things stand, who knows what he meant? Perhaps it was just a bit of PR?"
IN PICTURES: The X-37 space plane
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Las Vegas Sands earns $273M in 4Q, falls short
LAS VEGAS – Soaring revenue in Macau and Singapore helped Las Vegas Sands Corp. end 2010 with a turnaround — profit of $273 million for the fourth quarter compared with a loss of $113.9 million a year earlier.
The company, led by billionaire CEO Sheldon Adelson, said its revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter that ended New Year's Eve was a record.
But that 56.9 percent increase left it short of the $2.05 billion analysts expected, and Sands' earnings of 34 cents per share fell short of the 38 cents analysts forecast on average, according to FactSet.
Sands shares fell $3.14, or 6.3 percent, to $47.14 after hours Thursday. They ended regular trading at $50.28, up 85 cents, or 1.7 percent.
Adelson told investors during a conference call that he sees no reason the company can't continue growing steadily.
"There's no reason to believe any fundamentals of our business are changing, so we have every expectation that this growth trajectory will continue," he said. "But make no mistake about it; we will not rest on our laurels."
Adelson said Sands' newest casino in Singapore is a perfect showcase for government officials in various countries that are considering allowing casino companies to enter their markets. He expects Sands to be favored to win bids to build resorts in Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
"We will continue to aggressively pursue new opportunities, which will fill our development pipeline and help us maintain our position as the pace-setter for growth in our industry," Adelson said.
Sands' profit compared with a loss of 17 cents per share during the same quarter in 2009.
Sands' quarterly revenue in Macau rose 13.1 percent to $1.09 billion, compared with $964.1 million during the fourth quarter of 2009. In Singapore, the company's Marina Bay Sands took in $560.4 million during the fourth quarter after opening in April.
Adelson said the Macau gambling market has surpassed expectations, and Singapore is showing great potential.
"Early estimates on the size of the market in Singapore have clearly been conservative," he said. "The Singapore market is still emerging, and as we near the completion of our property's original master plan — which includes its own subway stop in 2012 — the market is all but certain to grow."
Revenue also rose in Las Vegas and Pennsylvania. In Sin City, revenue grew 16.5 percent to $310.6 million, while revenue grew 45 percent to $83.4 million.
Sands said it had $3.04 billion in unrestricted cash, and $809.9 million allocated for construction in Macau and Singapore.
The company's total debt as of Dec. 31 was $10.14 billion, with $767.1 million due this year.
Adelson said the company is considering paying off the debt on its existing resorts in China, so it will only owe money on the resorts it is currently building.
"Having cash is better — and no debt," he said.
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Weather continues to cause havoc for US airlines
Airlines canceled thousands of flights again on Thursday, as weather continued to play havoc with the nation's air transportation system.
Airlines reported at least 2,000 flight cancellations. Just as Chicago O'Hare was digging out from a blizzard, Continental Airlines began canceling flights out of Houston, the biggest hub for United Continental Holdings Inc., which runs both airlines. Continental alone reported 1,000 cancellations on Thursday, mostly in Houston.
All Continental flights in Houston were stopped after 3 p.m. Thursday to get ready for ice expected there, said United Continental spokeswoman Megan McCarthy. Flights there aren't expected to resume until Friday afternoon, she said.
O'Hare International in Chicago reported 1,000 cancellations. The airport was digging out from a blizzard that had dumped 20 inches of snow. United canceled more than 500 flights; its first flights didn't operate until 9 a.m., McCarthy said.
Airlines have canceled at least 18,500 flights this week as they tried to keep their systems from getting overwhelmed by the storms.
The rate of cancellations this winter is likely to be the highest in 15 years. The disruptions come as airlines are trying to guard their newfound profits against rising fuel prices.
US Airways Group Inc. said it canceled 5 percent of its January flights, most of them because of weather. And 21 percent of the flights it did operate were late. Still, passenger revenue for each seat flown one mile rose 7 percent compared with January 2010.
Ice in Atlanta last month caused Delta Air Lines Inc. to cancel some 4,000 flights. It said it expects that to reduce first-quarter profits by about $30 million.
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