FAA grants Houston Airport System space Launch Site License

The Houston Airport System has been granted a Launch Site License from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that enables Ellington Airport to establish itself as a launch site for Reusable Launch Vehicles, making it the 10th commercial spaceport in the United States.

Nearly two years after Houston City Council members gave their overwhelming support for the project, the FAA's formal approval opens the door for plans that could see Ellington Airport become a focal point for aerospace operations, such as the launching of micro satellites, astronaut training, zero gravity experimentation, spacecraft manufacturing and a host of other potential activities.

Situated near the Gulf of Mexico, and featuring more than 400 acres of land readily available for development, Ellington Airport is tailor-made for the requirements associated with an operating licensed Spaceport.

Southwest Airlines launches to Central America and flies new Caribbean route

Southwest Airlines inaugurated two international routes Saturday that brought new long-haul service for customers using two of the carrier's growing gateways, Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and William P. Hobby Airport in Houston. Each of the new routes is longer than 2,000 miles each-way and marks historic milestones for the carrier both by connecting Central America to the Southwest network of destinations and by offering its longest-ever nonstop scheduled service from any of Southwest's Texas Triangle of original cities of Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston.

Beginning Saturday, Southwest Airlines operates nonstop service between San Jose, Costa Rica, and Baltimore/Washington on a once daily basis, and Aruba and Houston seasonally, once every Saturday through Aug. 8.

At Houston's Hobby Airport, Southwest employees celebrated the first Aruba-bound morning departure. This is the first-ever international flying offered from Houston Hobby. This October, Southwest is scheduled to complete the construction of a $156 million international terminal project which will give Houstonians and Southwest customers from across the network access to more international destinations.

"This is just the beginning of a very big 2015 for our Houston employees and customers with an additional six destinations across three countries coming online at Hobby later this year,” said Teresa Laraba, Southwest's Senior Vice President of Customers.

EVA Air plans non-stop flights between Taipei and Houston

EVA Air will initiate non-stop flights between Taipei and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport on June 19, 2015. The airline will start the new service with three flights a week and increase frequency to four on July 1, 2015. The route will give passengers a comfortable way to fly from the Southwestern region of the United States to Taipei and, with just one easy stop, connect onward to major destinations throughout Asia, including Mainland China, Singapore and Vietnam.

EVA will serve the route with a brand-new Boeing 777-300ER equipped with Wi-Fi, the latest inflight entertainment system and SMS roaming service that passengers can use to send and receive short messages on their own mobile phones. The aircraft is scheduled for delivery in May 2015 and will be specially painted nose-to-tail with Texas-sized Hello Kitty and Sanrio characters. It will have 333 seats, configured with 39 in Royal Laurel Class business, 56 in Elite premium economy and 238 in Economy.

Interjet now arriving in Houston

Mexican airline Interjet has formally announced the start of operations for its direct Monterrey - Houston - Monterrey service starting on Oct. 23, with two daily flights Monday through Friday, and one daily flight on Saturdays and Sundays. This new service strengthens the company's plan of expansion and growth, thus consolidating its presence in the American market.

Houston is the main tourist destination in Texas; it's the fourth largest city in the United States and has a substantial medical infrastructure. In addition, it is considered the energy capital of the world, as well as the world's number one city in aerospace development. With world-class museums, shopping centers, an ample hotel offering, Houston is one of the most economically dynamic cities in the country.

Monterrey, for its part, is one of Mexico's most industrially developed cities, and one of the country's main centers of business, with significant hotel infrastructure.

"The City of Monterrey is extremely important to the Houston region for both economic and cultural reasons and this new nonstop flight makes it easier for our residents to strengthen business ties and maintain close connections with family and friends," says Houston Mayor Annise Parker.

With the opening up of this destination, Interjet will be servicing five major cities in the United States, thus allowing it to consolidate commercial and tourist ties between this key U.S. region and Mexico.

NASA aircraft in Houston skies for air pollution study this month

Two NASA aircraft equipped with scientific instruments will fly over the Houston area throughout September as part of a multi-year airborne science mission to help scientists better understand how to measure and forecast air quality from space.

The aircraft are part of NASA's five-year DISCOVER-AQ study, which stands for Deriving Information on Surface conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality.

One of the aircraft, a twin-engine Beechcraft 200 King Air (registration N529NA), will collect data for the DISCOVER-AQ study looking downward from an altitude of 26,000 feet. The plane's instruments will look down at the Earth's surface, much like a satellite, and measure particulate and gaseous air pollution.

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Coast Guard helicopter crew aids search for missing man in Texas boat collision

The U.S. Coast Guard, Port Arthur Fire Department and Jefferson County Sheriff's Department are searching for a 56-year-old man after his pleasure craft collided with a tug boat and barge about 500 feet west of Goat Island in Sabine Lake, Sunday.

Missing is John Tran of Bridge City, Texas.

The captain of tug Father Seelos contacted Vessel Traffic Service Port Arthur at approximately 3:30 p.m. EDT notifying them of the collision.

Coast Guard crewmembers are currently searching for the man aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Houston, and Station Sabine Pass's 25-foot Response Boat and 24-foot Special Purpose Craft. The Port Arthur Fire Department dive team and Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Marine Division are also searching.

[UPDATE - 9:32 p.m. EDT - Tuesday] - Deputies said late Monday they had found the body of John Tran, a fisherman who went missing after his boat and a barge collided. [Source: KHOU.com]

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