Lufthansa Cargo strengthens its presence in West Africa

LUFTHANSA CARGO is integrating Lagos, Nigeria, into its network by launching twice-weekly MD-11 freighter flights from September, writes Thelma Etim, deputy editor.

The new services, which will take off from Frankfurt for the Nigerian city every Monday and Thursday, will also fly on to Johannesburg, South Africa.

The return leg will include a stopover in Nairobi, Kenya. “Another two weekly flights from Frankfurt to Johannesburg will also stop in Nairobi on the southbound leg,” says a company statement.

A total of 170 tonnes of capacity will be available to Africa customers. Lagos is an important destination for the oil and gas industry in particular. Urgently required spare parts and equipment for oil production facilities can now be transported even faster to Nigeria, and with greater flexibility, it adds.

“Adding Lagos to our freighter network considerably strengthens our involvement in West Africa”, emphasises Carsten Wirths, vice-president Europe and Africa at Lufthansa Cargo.

In Nigeria, the carrier also offers additional cargo capacity on board its A330 passenger flights to Port Harcourt and Abuja.

Lufthansa Cargo’s African network also serves Accra (Ghana), Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) and Luanda (Angola).

Source: http://www.aircargonews.net/news/single-view/news/lufthansa-cargo-strengthens-its-presence-in-west-africa.html

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Russian Cargo Ship Makes Fast Delivery to Space Station

A robotic Russian spacecraft filled with supplies for the six crew members on the International Space Station made an express delivery to the orbiting outpost on Wednesday.

The Progress 56 craft was launched atop a Russian-built Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:44 p.m. ET (3:44 a.m. local time Thursday). It hooked up with the space station's Pirs docking compartment just after 11:30 p.m. ET.

The Progress was loaded with about 5,700 pounds (2,587 kilograms) of food, water, propellant and other supplies for the station's Expedition 40 crew.

Historically, Progress ships have taken about two days to arrive at the station. Since 2012, however, the Russian crafts have been flying to the science laboratory in six hours or less. Astronauts and cosmonauts have also started taking these quick, four-orbit flights aboard the Soyuz capsules that deliver new crew members to the station.

A different Progress craft, dubbed Progress 55, left the space station on Monday to make room for the new cargo ship. Progress 55 is now flying a safe distance away from the orbiting outpost. It will perform a series of engineering tests before it intentionally burns up over the Pacific Ocean on July 31, according to NASA.

The space station currently plays host to a crew of six. NASA astronauts Steve Swanson and Reid Wiseman, European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst and Russian cosmonauts Max Suraev, Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev make up the Expedition 40 crew.

— Miriam Kramer, Space.com

Source : http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/russian-cargo-ship-makes-quick-delivery-space-station-n163516

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