Special limited edition post office cover to mark solar eclipse

For the first time in 16 years, on Friday, a partial eclipse with the moon covering 92.8 percent of the sun will be seen over the Isle of Man. To mark the event, the Isle of Man Post Office will release a special limited edition cover to celebrate the eclipse.

The solar eclipse of 1999 saw only 88.2 percent partial coverage, making this year's potentially spectacular. Whereas, in the United Kingdom the proportion of the sun covered by the moon will increase towards the north, ranging from 84 percent in London to 89 percent in Manchester, 93 percent in Edinburgh, and 97 percent in Lerwick in the Shetland Isles.

The Post Office cover for the event includes three postmarks that show key times of the eclipse, as well as illustrating the moons passage over the sun. The cover is further complimented by three Dark Sky Discovery stamps placed on it from the Post Office's recently released Dark Sky Discovery stamp issue. 

Even if there is cloud coverage, a drop in light levels will be noticeable during the eclipse.

Timeline of events

• 4:42 a.m. EDT - Start of partial eclipse.
• 5:43 a.m. EDT - Start of total eclipse.
• 5:45 a.m. EDT - Maximum eclipse.
• 5:46 a.m. EDT - End of total eclipse.
• 6:50 a.m. EDT - End of partial eclipse.

Fast & Furious 7 goes airborne with Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, and Universal Pictures unveiled the luxury Fast & Furious Boeing 777 airliner at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Wednesday. Actor/producer Vin Diesel was on hand as Etihad Airways Flight 171 arrived from Abu Dhabi to kick off the global junket and world premiere of Furious 7. The film arrives in theaters on April 3.

The Fast & Furious 777 plane will fly the direct route between Abu Dhabi and Los Angeles, which Etihad Airways opened in June 2014. The airline is also a sponsor of the Furious 7 world premiere, which takes place in Los Angeles on April 1.

The Fast & Furious decal will remain on the plane for the next four to six months.

Etihad Airways began operations in 2003, and in 2014 carried 14.8 million passengers. From its Abu Dhabi base, Etihad Airways flies to 111 existing or announced passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas. The airline has a fleet of 111 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and more than 200 aircraft on firm order, including 69 Boeing 787s, 25 Boeing 777-X, 62 Airbus A350s and nine Airbus A380s.

Obama is 'the worst president in my lifetime,' says Dick Cheney

"I look at Barack Obama and I see the worst president in my lifetime, without question--and that's saying something," says former Vice President Dick Cheney in the April issue of Playboy magazine. "I used to have significant criticism of Jimmy Carter, but compared to Barack Obama and the damage he is doing to the nation--it's a tragedy, a real tragedy, and we are going to pay a hell of a price just trying to dig out from under his presidency."

Cheney on whether or not President Obama has undone the Bush administration's work:  "Oh absolutely,” Cheney said. “Where do you start?  The way Obama is functioning now, he's crippling the capacity of future presidents to deal with future crises.  It takes a long time to build up that military force.  And I am absolutely convinced there will be a future president--two or three times down the road, perhaps--who will be faced with a major crisis and will not have the military capability he needs to deal with it.  We are limiting the options of future presidents because of what is happening to the defense budget today. I can go on for hours. He has gone through defense secretaries; you know, he sort of chews them up and spits them out.”

Cheney on the Ferguson tragedy: "It's always a tragedy when there is a death involved and so forth. But it seems to me it's a clear-cut case that the officer did what he had to do to defend himself. He was perfectly within his authorities to take action. I don't think it is about race. I think it is about an individual who conducted himself in a manner that was almost guaranteed to provoke an officer trying to do his duty."

The April issue of Playboy hits newsstands on Friday.

Former NASA astronaut nominated to SCI Board of Directors

Service Corporation International (SCI), the largest provider of deathcare products and services in North America, announced Tuesday that it will nominate Ellen Ochoa to be elected to the SCI Board of Directors at the company's Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held in May.

Ochoa is the director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, a position she has held since 2013. She has served NASA as a manager, astronaut and engineer.  Earlier in her career, she researched optical systems for performing information processing at Sandia National Laboratories. Ochoa holds a Master of Science Degree and Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics from San Diego State University. She would serve on SCI's board in her personal capacity.

Ochoa has received numerous awards and honors, including the Harvard Foundation Science Award, Women in Aerospace Outstanding Award, the Hispanic Engineer Albert Baez Award for Outstanding Technical Contribution to Humanity, the Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award, and San Diego State University Alumna of the Year. She is a member of the Optical Society of America, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi honor societies. Ochoa currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (Houston Branch).

SES and Global Eagle Entertainment sign services deal on three satellites

Satellite operator SES and Global Eagle Entertainment, a worldwide leading provider of content, connectivity and digital media solutions to airlines, announced Monday they have signed important capacity deals for services on three SES satellites. These agreements are part of a strategic partnership to deliver in-flight connectivity and services to airline passengers around the world.

Under the latest agreements, GEE will utilize Ku-band wide beam and High Throughput Satellite (HTS) spot beam capacity aboard the SES-12, SES-14 and SES-15 satellites. The three spacecraft, currently under construction, are scheduled for launch in 2017.

SES-14 and SES-15 offer a complementary coverage over busy air travel routes across the Americas and North Atlantic regions, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, while SES-12 will serve the burgeoning aeronautical market across Asia and the Middle East. As GEE expands its services to new airlines and regions, it can quickly and seamlessly leverage capacity across the global SES fleet of more than 50 satellites.

“Our collaborative work with GEE is aimed at enabling this in-flight connectivity solutions leader to go anywhere it wants to grow and innovate to meet the needs of airlines and the connectivity demands for passengers on the move,” said Ferdinand Kayser, chief commercial officer of SES.

About SES-12, SES-14, and SES-15

SES-14 is a high-powered hybrid satellite with C- and Ku-band wide beam coverage and both Ku- and Ka-band HTS coverage across the Americas and North Atlantic region. SES-15 will provide complementary coverage over North America, enabling SES to serve its leading aeronautical customers and serve other traffic intensive data applications such as government, VSAT networks and maritime. SES-12 will expand SES’s capabilities to provide Mobility and HTS data connectivity services in the Asia-Pacific region, along with direct-to-home broadcasting and VSAT.

Century Downs Racetrack and Casino opens next month

Construction remains on budget and on schedule for Century Downs Racetrack and Casino, which is located four-and-a-half miles from Calgary International Airport and next to CrossIrons Mills, a regional shopping center that attracts approximately 12 million visitors annually.

The facility is expected to open on April 1, with a 0.7 mile racetrack, 550 gaming machines, a restaurant, bars and an off-track betting lounge.

XCOR Aerospace aims for more efficient and effective company with new CEO

XCOR Aerospace, Inc. announced Monday that executive John (Jay) Gibson II has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer and President of the company. Gibson succeeds Jeff Greason, who is transitioning to Chief Technology Officer. Greason will dedicate his time to development of the company's two-seat fully reusable liquid rocket-powered Lynx vehicle that takes-off and lands horizontally.

"After a thorough search for the ideal candidate, we decided on Jay Gibson," said Greason.

As CEO, Gibson leads XCOR Aerospace with locations in Mojave, Calif., and Midland, Texas, as well as subsidiary XCOR Space Expeditions in Amsterdam. XCOR will also be establishing its manufacturing facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Most recently, Gibson served as Senior Vice President, Global Mission Support for Beechcraft Corp. in Wichita, Kan. Additionally at Beechcraft he served as Vice President of the Special Missions Group and Vice President/CFO of the Defense unit. Prior to joining Beechcraft, he served as the Assistant Secretary of the United States Air Force, and as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

"With the commencement of the Lynx flight test program on the horizon, Jay's arrival allows this team to focus on getting Lynx in the air, moving forward on plans for our orbital vehicle, and transitioning XCOR to a more efficient and effective company,” Greason said.