Category Archives: Progress

SCENERY HILL, Pa. - A landslide that cut off access in a Washington County neighborhood still has not been cleaned up.

Channel 11 first told you about the slide on Moore Lane in Scenery Hill in December.Snow, sleet and heavy rains caused the ground to give way

Homeowner Delbert Main said he is frustrated and that his home is in danger of being destroyed due to the landslide happening in front and behind the home.

It's threatening to push the house off the foundation and over this cliff, Main said.

Lorri Knotts driveway is now buried underneath all of the rubble from the slide. She said it has caused her to park her vehicle down the road and walk to her home or use another steep driveway on the other side of her home. Knotts said she is worried in case of an emergency.

We have a daughter. If my house burns, no ambulance can get up there, Knotts said.

Knotts told Channel 11 that she contacted North Bethlehem Township and was told it was Mains responsibility to fix.

Main is speaking with a Gateway engineer trying to find a solution to the problem.

2017 Cox Media Group.

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Months later, still no progress on cleaning up Scenery Hill landslide - WPXI Pittsburgh

Injuries on Metro "are the part of the iceberg that's above the water," said Robert Lauby, Federal Railroad Administration chief safety officer. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WASHINGTON After Metro injury rates ticked up last yearfor riders and workers, a federal safety expert called it disturbing that Metro did not seem to be making more progress.

Im wondering if were actually measuring the right things to determine safety on Washington Metro, because we have many unsafe acts that dont result in injuries, said Robert Lauby, Federal Railroad Administration chief safety officer, at Thursdays Metro Board meeting.

Lauby, who is also a Metro Board member, cited issues that Metro should also include in its annual safety report in addition to injury rates:

The injuries are the part of the iceberg thats above the water, Lauby said.

He did, however, note improvements in some areas.

I get the question all the time: Is safety getting better on Washington Metro? And I say, Yeah, I think it is, Lauby said.

Among notable changes is tracking more injuries tied to MetroAccess paratransit service, said Pat Lavin, Metro chief safety officer.

There were a number of incidents where an individual might have been transported to the hospital, was only observed and released they didnt count that as an incident, Lavin said.

From a reporting standpoint, it is reportable, so we went back, we looked at these incidents, and that drove the number of incidents much higher than they were originally reporting.

In addition to improved oversight for drivers, Lavin said, Metro is working on improved training for properly securing riders in wheelchairs in the paratransit vehicles.

On the rail system, Lavin said his highest priorities out of remaining National Transportation Safety Board recommendations are those tied to fire-life safety.

Major improvements to the ventilation fan systems would require significant investment. But in the interim, Metro is supposed to be working on a plan for how to use the existing systems during any emergencies.

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2017 WTOP. All Rights Reserved.

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Metro's lack of progress called 'disturbing' - WTOP

House Speaker Greg Hughes said that the downtown Road Home shelter, which houses up to 1,100 people nightly, will have a "hard close date" of June 30, 2019.

Senate President Wayne Niederhauser and Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox also spoke, reiterating that homelessness is a statewide problem.

The news was met with elation by Chris Sveiven, who lives less than 100 feet from the proposed shelter on Simpson Avenue, and has vocally opposed the site.

"It was like taking the soul of our little neighborhood," he said of the proposed shelter.

The city's resource center would have replaced Lit'l Scholars, a day care at 653 E. Simpson Ave, where Sveiven's 19-month-old son, Weston, is on the waiting list. The proximity to the preschool is part of why Sveiven picked and renovated his red-brick house in Sugar House.

He banded with neighbors to protest the site and credits that for the change in heart in the Simpson property being pulled from the list.

"If we wouldn't have gone and made as much noise as we did, there's no way they would have shifted back to two sites," he said. "To say I'm relieved is an understatement."

The Tribune will update this story.

Reporter Courtney Tanner contributed to this report.

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Live: State leaders discuss progress of homeless shelters construction - Salt Lake Tribune

WTNH Connecticut News (press release)

Lawmakers talk progress made in helping Connecticut homeless WTNH Connecticut News (press release) NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) Lawmakers and various organizations came together in New Haven about the progress that's being made in Connecticut to help homeless people. Non-profit organizations are asking state leaders to make sure they continue to ... and more »

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Lawmakers talk progress made in helping Connecticut homeless - WTNH Connecticut News (press release)

The Belgian side reached the round of 16 by the skin of their teeth following a dramatic late goal in the Russian city of St. Petersburg

Frank Ancheampongs Anderlecht left it very late to secure passage into the next round of the Europa League on Thursday against Zenit as they lost 3-1 on the night but qualified via the away goal after it ended 3-3 on aggregate.

Acheampong had a less than stellar game despite being the scorer of the two goals in the first leg. He lasted for 89 minutes and earned a yellow card in a game where he scored the lowest rating of any player on both teams.

The hosts took a three-goal lead via Giulianos brace that sandwiched Artem Dzyubas goal and thought they had it all wrapped up having upturned the 2-0 first leg deficit.

But there was to be late drama when Isaac Thelin nodded home on 90 minutes from one of the Belgians most sustained moments of pressure as elimination stared them in the face.

Instead it was the Russian team that crumbled under the enormous pressure after feeling they had done enough to progress into the round of 16 when they went up by three goals.

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Acheampong's Anderlecht survive Zenit scare to progress - Goal.com

Donald Trump's trans bathroom restrictions will stunt much-needed progress in school sports Quartz Bathrooms are once more a political battleground in America. US president Donald Trump's rollback of the Obama administration's policy on transgender bathroom use yesterday (Feb. 22) rescinds previous federal guidance that allowed transgender students ... Trump Rescinds Rules on Bathrooms for Transgender StudentsNew York Times all 2,174 news articles »

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Donald Trump's trans bathroom restrictions will stunt much-needed progress in school sports - Quartz

Marcia S. Smith

SpaceX's CRS-10 Dragon spacecraft successfully arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) this morning, a day late, but with none of the problems that arose in its first attempt yesterday. Meanwhile, Russia's Progress MS-05 spacecraft is continuing on its journey to the ISS and will dock tomorrow morning. Together, they are bringing 5.4 metric tons (MT) of supplies to the six person crew.

Dragon's first attempt was aborted yesterday because of a problem with its GPS navigational system. Dragon's on-board computers recognized an incorrect value in navigational data about the spacecraft's position relative to the ISS and automatically terminated the arrival sequence, placing itself into a holding pattern on a "racetrack" trajectory around the ISS while ground controllers diagnosed and fixed the problem. Other than the navigational error, the spacecraft was in perfect shape.

Dragon does not dock with the ISS, but is berthed to it. Once it reaches a point 10 meters from the ISS, astronauts use the robotic Canadarm2 to reach out and grab it. Once it is in Canadarm2's grasp, ground controllers move it over to a docking port and install it onto the port. In this case. Dragon was grappled by Canadarm2 at 5:44 am Eastern Standard Time (EST), a few minutes ahead of schedule. It will be berthed to the Harmony port at about 8:30 am EST today.

Launched on Sunday, also a day later than originally planned, this is SpaceX's 10th operational cargo mission to the ISS for NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract and is designated SpaceX CRS-10 or SpX-10. Dragon is full of 2.5 metric tons (5,500 pounds) of supplies, scientific experiments, and equipment. It will remain docked to the ISS for about a month and then return to Earth. Dragon is the only one of the four spacecraft (Russia's Progress, Japan's HTV, and the U.S. Dragon and Cygnus) that resupply ISS that is designed to survive reentry. Thus it can return the results of scientific experiments and equipment that needs repair or replacement.

SpaceX CRS-10 (SpX-10) Dragon captured by International Space Station's robotic Canadarm2, February 23, 2017. Photo credit: NASA

Russia's latest cargo spacecraft, Progress MS-05, was successfully launched yesterday. It docks with the ISS under its own power and is due to arrive at 3:34 am EST tomorrow. It is carrying 2.9 MT of propellant, oxygen, water, and dry cargo.

ISS is a partnership of the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan and 11 European countries. The crew members currently aboard are NASA's Peggy Whitson and Shane Kimbrough, Europe's Thomas Pesquet, and Russia's Andrey Borisenko, Sergey Ryzhikov, and Oleg Novitsky. Pesquet and Kimbrough were at the Canadarm2 controls this morning for the grapple.

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SpaceX's Dragon Arrives at ISS on Second Try, Russia's Progress Due Tomorrow - SpacePolicyOnline.com

Forbes

Despite Baidu's Progress, Wall Street Remains Mostly Negative Going Into Earnings Tonight Forbes Baidu, the Chinese search giant, is set to report earnings for its December quarter and for FY16 on Thursday after the closing bell. Wall Street consensus for Q4:16 earnings is for $0.90 per share on revenues of $2.67 billion for the December quarter ...

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Despite Baidu's Progress, Wall Street Remains Mostly Negative Going Into Earnings Tonight - Forbes

Derek Richardson

February 22nd, 2017

Soyuz-U launch vehicle together with the cargo transport spacecraft Progress MS-05. Photo Credit: Roscosmos

Lifting off under clear, blue skies at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Soyuz-U rocket completed its final launch by sending the Russian Progress MS-05 cargo spacecraft toward the International Space Station (ISS).

Liftoff took place at 12:58 a.m. EST (05:58 GMT) Feb. 22, 2017, from launch site 1/5, also known as Gagarins Startthe same launch pad that sent the first human, Yuri Gagarin, into space.

Progress MS-05 is moved to the horizontal position before being encapsulated inside the Soyuz-U fairing. Photo Credit: Roscosmos

After a flawless nine-minute flight into space, Progress MS-05, also called Progress 66P, separated successfully from the second stage of the storied Soyuz-U. Itwill spend two days, about 34 orbits, catching up with the ISS. Docking with the Pirs module is expected at around 3:34 a.m. EST (08:34 GMT).

The cargo ship is carrying about 5,400 pounds (2,450 kilograms) of supplies, consumables, and propellant. It will stay attached to the outpost until June before departing and performing a de-orbit burn to re-enter Earths atmosphere.

This was the first successful Progress launch since the ill-fated Progress MS-04 rocket. On that flight, due to a malfunction in that Soyuz-U rockets second stage, the spacecraft failed to reach orbit.

An investigation laterdeterminedthat a failure in the RD-0110 engines oxidizer pump had caused the whole assembly to disintegrate 22 seconds before achieving orbital velocity. While an exact root cause was not determined, investigators believe the pump was destroyed from either a foreign object or an improper assembly.

The Soyuz-U, the worlds longest-serving rocket, has been flying since May 1973. Since then, it has launched 786 times, including this final flight. While its record isnt perfect, it has completed 765 of its missions successfully. Additionally, in 1979, 47 Soyuz-U rockets launched, a record for the highest launch rate for any orbital-class rocket.

It is based on the iconic R-7 rocket design. The 167.7-foot (51.1-meter) tall Soyuz-U has a core stage with four strap-on liquid-fueled boosters, and a second stage. Each booster sports a single RD-117 engine that produces 188,502 pounds (838.5 kilonewtons) of thrust.

The core has an RD-118 that produces 182,770 pounds (813 kilonewtons) of thrust. The second stage has a single RD-0110 that produces 67,000 pounds (298 kilonewtons) of thrust. All of the engine types burn liquid oxygen and kerosene.

Soyuz-U launch vehicle together with the cargo transport spacecraft Progress MS-05. Photo Credit: Roscosmos

Seconds before liftoff, the core stage engine and also the four strap-on boosters ignited and throttled up to full power. Once the countdown reached zero, the launch mount released the rocket and it soared skyward, leaving behind the snow-covered Kazakh steppe where Baikonur is located.

About 20 seconds after leaving the pad, the rocket began pitching over toward its designated orbit. The boosters fell away after burning for about 118 seconds while the core stage continued to burn for nearly another three minutes.

At around 2 minutes, 39 seconds, the payload fairing jettisoned, revealing the Progress MS-05 spacecraft.

Two seconds after the first stage completed its burn, the second stages RD-0110 engine began to fire in what is known as hot staging. This means the engine ignites while the previous stage is still attached. Once ignition was confirmed, pyrotechnics between the two stages officially detached the core stage.

Using the lone RD-0110 engine, the second stage burned for another four minutes to place Progress MS-05 into a preliminary orbit. Eight minutes, 49 seconds after leaving Kazakhstan, the rocket completed its ascent. Seconds later, the spacecraft separated from therocket and deployed its solar arrays and antennas.

This completed the final chapter in the history of the Soyuz-U. It has since been replaced by the similar-looking Soyuz-2 and crew-rated Soyuz-FG rockets.

This was the 157th Progress mission since the cargo freighter design began flying in 1978. Back then, it was servicing the Salyut 6 space station. Progress MS-05 was the 68th of various models to be sent to the ISS.

Video courtesy of (Roscosmos)

Tagged: Expedition 50 International Space Station Lead Stories Progress MS-05 Roscosmos Russia Soyuz-U

Derek Richardson is a student studying mass media with an emphasis in contemporary journalism at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. He is currently the managing editor of the student run newspaper, the Washburn Review. He also writes a blog, called Orbital Velocity, about the space station. His passion for space ignited when he watched space shuttle Discovery leap to space on Oct. 29, 1998. He saw his first in-person launch on July 8, 2011 when the space shuttle launched for the final time. Today, this fervor has accelerated toward orbit and shows no signs of slowing down. After dabbling in math and engineering courses in college, he soon realized that his true calling was communicating to others about space exploration and spreading that passion.

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Soyuz-U completes swan song with launch of Progress MS-05 - SpaceFlight Insider

After the bell on Wednesday, Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) finally published its fourth quarter results. The company beat expectations on the top line, but reported a larger-than-expected non-GAAP loss. Additionally, while the company gave some Model 3 details, there still remains a lot of questions moving forward.

First, the company guided to 47,000 to 50,000 Model S and X units in the first half of 2016, showing that demand for these vehicles has definitely topped out at the moment. I've received many comments in my prior articles that Tesla would be increasing deliveries of these models, but that isn't the case. Tesla didn't provide any production guidance for this period, but the company was supposed to be past 2,400 vehicles sometime in Q4 2016.

Even on a 25-week basis, that would mean 60,000 units in the first half of the year, assuming no production improvements, and with the added vehicles in transit from Q4, Tesla should have been approaching this level. Obviously, demand is not where many think it is for the current vehicle lineup. Customer deposits also declined by nearly $30 million sequentially, despite the rise in vehicles in transit. US delivery numbers for January were sluggish, and the company is now facing a large hurdle in Hong Kong.

As for the Model 3, Tesla expects to start limited vehicle production in July and hopes to ramp production to over 5,000 vehicles per week in Q4, then past 10,000 a week sometime in 2018. Given that CEO Elon Musk previously said production of 100,000 to 200,000 Model 3 units this year, it seems that Tesla will not come close to the midpoint. Even if the company averages 5,000 units a week in Q4, that's just 65,000, and that much won't be produced in Q3. I'm guessing a range of 75,000 to 100,000 for the year is more appropriate.

Another troubling fact is that automotive gross margins fell by 280 basis points sequentially on a non-GAAP basis, when excluding SBC and ZEV credits. Part of this fall was due to autopilot revenues not being recognized until Q1 because of the delayed rollout. Tesla hopes to get back to Q3 2016 margin levels in the coming quarters, but the company was supposed to be at 30% for the S and 25% for the X by the end of 2016. With margins continuing to be well behind plan, one must wonder how profitable the Model 3 can really be.

As for capital expenditures, Tesla spent just $521 million in Q4, about half of what was previously forecasted. The company cited some shifting payment terms and efficiencies, but it has continued to spend less than expected. The company's cash balance increased in the period, partially thanks to the SolarCity acquisition. However, long-term debt also soared to nearly $6 billion. Total liabilities now stand at nearly $16.75 billion.

Tesla shares haven't done much in the after-hours compared to the expected roughly 6.5% move the options market was pricing in as there really wasn't much ground-breaking news. Tesla reported a 2016 year that missed several guidance points (deliveries, margins, non-GAAP profitability, capital raises, etc.), and 2017 guidance was not impressive for the S and X. While investors will certainly focus on the Model 3 ramp and launch of energy products, Tesla still has a lot to prove, especially given the recent surge in shares.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

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Tesla: Still Not Enough Progress - Seeking Alpha