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101-604: In 1957, Czechoslovak Airlines – ČSA (now Czech Airlines ), became the first airline in the world to fly a route exclusively with jet airliners, using the Tu-104A variant between Prague and Moscow. In civilian service, the Tu-104 carried over 90 million passengers with Aeroflot (then the world's largest airline), and a lesser number with ČSA, while it also was operated by the Soviet Air Force . Its successors included

202-531: A human mission to Mars . Over the last decade, flight surgeons and scientists at NASA have seen a pattern of vision problems in astronauts on long-duration space missions. The syndrome, known as visual impairment intracranial pressure (VIIP) , has been reported in nearly two-thirds of space explorers after long periods spent aboard the International Space Station (ISS). On 2 November 2017, scientists reported that significant changes in

303-416: A human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft . Although generally reserved for professional space travelers, the term is sometimes applied to anyone who travels into space, including scientists, politicians, journalists, and tourists . "Astronaut" technically applies to all human space travelers regardless of nationality. However, astronauts fielded by Russia or

404-724: A "spacewalk"), on 18 March 1965, on the Soviet Union's Voskhod 2 mission. This was followed two and a half months later by astronaut Ed White who made the first American EVA on NASA's Gemini 4 mission. The first crewed mission to orbit the Moon, Apollo 8 , included American William Anders who was born in Hong Kong, making him the first Asian-born astronaut in 1968. The Soviet Union, through its Intercosmos program, allowed people from other " socialist " (i.e. Warsaw Pact and other Soviet-allied) countries to fly on its missions, with

505-555: A contract with Dxim Tours, the largest Czech travel agency, extending their contract for another three years. In May 2010, ČSA withdrew its last Airbus A310 used for these services. Czech Airlines had codeshares with the following airlines: As of November 2024 , the Czech Airlines-branded fleet consists of the following aircraft: The entire fleet of Airbus aircraft with the Czech Airlines brand

606-549: A crewed spacecraft, several other nations have sent people into space in cooperation with one of these countries, e.g. the Soviet-led Interkosmos program. Inspired partly by these missions, other synonyms for astronaut have entered occasional English usage. For example, the term spationaut (French: spationaute ) is sometimes used to describe French space travelers, from the Latin word spatium for "space";

707-545: A flight to Havana using a Bristol Britannia turboprop leased from Cubana de Aviación . ČSA's transatlantic flights were code-shared with Cubana's services to Prague, and Cubana's crews provided initial training and assistance in the operation of the Britannia. From the late 1960s, ČSA used a range of Soviet-built aircraft and modified versions for its extensive European and intercontinental services, totalling some 50 international and 15 domestic destinations. The Britannia

808-713: A maintenance provider ordered the seizure of two Czech Airlines' ATR 72-500 in Prague over unpaid debts. Before the incident, near the end of the moratorium, majority owner Smartwings announced that Czech Airlines faced insolvency should it not receive state financial aid , but the aid raised controversy. That same month, the airline notified the Czech Employment Office that it might lay off its entire workforce of some 430 people. In March 2021, it added that it had no means to meet its financial obligations and filed for bankruptcy. In March 2021, ČSA announced

909-491: A minority share to Air France was a fiasco, and the French airline withdrew. Subsequently, Antonín Jakubše and Miroslav Kůla stabilized the company and enlarged its fleet. In September 2003, Miroslav Kůla was fired. New CEO and ex-minister Jaroslav Tvrdík agreed with the unions to increase wages by a third and announced an "unprecedented" enlargement of the fleet. In 2005, the financial situation sharply deteriorated. Although

1010-595: A new ownership structure. Prague City Air, founded under the aid of Smartwings shareholders Jiří Šimáně and Roman Vik, was created to own 70% of ČSA while current majority shareholder Smartwings retained 30%. As of late 2022, the airline also planned to rebuild its fleet and route network using Airbus A320 and newly acquired Airbus A220 aircraft. On 20 February 2024, Prague City Air s.r.o. purchased 49.92% shares in Smartwings a.s. from Rainbow Wisdom Investment Limited. Smartwings spokeswoman Vladimíra Dufková announced that

1111-531: A new parent company called Prague City Air s.r.o. owning 70% of the company, with Smartwings retaining the remaining 30%. On 26 October 2024, Czech Airlines became the parent (holding) company of Smartwings. As part of this transition, Smartwings took over the operational management of flights previously operated by Czech Airlines. The last scheduled flight of Czech Airlines was flight OK767 from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Václav Havel Airport Prague , operated by an Airbus A320-214 registered OK-IOO. Following

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1212-487: A pistol pointed at his head. In 1957, ČSA became the third airline to fly jet services, taking delivery of and putting into service the very first Tupolev Tu-104A that year. ČSA was the only airline other than Aeroflot to operate the Tu-104. The Tu-104A service that began in 1957 between Prague and Moscow was the first jet-only connection (other airlines used both jets and piston/turboprop aircraft). The airline's first transatlantic services started on 3 February 1962 with

1313-625: A researcher from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who flew on STS-9 in 1983. In December 1990, Toyohiro Akiyama became the first paying space traveler and the first journalist in space for Tokyo Broadcasting System , a visit to Mir as part of an estimated $ 12 million (USD) deal with a Japanese TV station, although at the time, the term used to refer to Akiyama was "Research Cosmonaut". Akiyama suffered severe space sickness during his mission, which affected his productivity. The first self-funded space tourist

1414-605: A subsidiary of the original Czechoslovakian Airlines. The division of Czechoslovakian Airlines ownership in 1991 between the governing bodies of the Czech and Slovak parts of Czechoslovakia had no connection to the split of Czechoslovakia two years later, in January 1993. The post-split Czechoslovakian Airlines became privatized in 1992. Air France and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development owned 19.1% of shares of

1515-538: A tendency to stall, a feature common with highly swept wings. Experience with the Tu-104 led the Tupolev Design Bureau to develop the world's first turbofan series-built airliner, the Tupolev Tu-124 , designed for local markets, and subsequently the more commercially successful Tu-134 . On 15 September 1956, the Tu-104 began revenue service on Aeroflot's Moscow- Omsk - Irkutsk route, replacing

1616-584: Is John Glenn , one of the Mercury 7 , who was 77 when he flew on STS-95 . The longest time spent in space was by Russian Valeri Polyakov , who spent 438 days there. As of 2006, the most spaceflights by an individual astronaut is seven, a record held by both Jerry L. Ross and Franklin Chang-Diaz . The farthest distance from Earth an astronaut has traveled was 401,056 km (249,205 mi), when Jim Lovell , Jack Swigert , and Fred Haise went around

1717-571: Is a Czech aviation brand and privately held holding company . Between 1923 and 2024, it operated as an independent airline and served as the flag carrier of the Czech Republic . Czech Airlines ended its own flight operations on 26 October 2024, handing them over to Smartwings while being repurposed into a holding company . ČSA is the fifth oldest airline in the world, after Dutch KLM (1919), Colombian Avianca (1919), Australian Qantas (1920), and Soviet/Russian Aeroflot (1923). It

1818-863: Is also where the Shuttle Training Aircraft is maintained and developed, although most flights of the aircraft are conducted from Edwards Air Force Base . Astronauts in training must learn how to control and fly the Space Shuttle; further, it is vital that they are familiar with the International Space Station so they know what they must do when they get there. The master's degree requirement can also be met by: Mission Specialist Educators , or "Educator Astronauts", were first selected in 2004; as of 2007, there are three NASA Educator astronauts: Joseph M. Acaba , Richard R. Arnold , and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger . Barbara Morgan , selected as back-up teacher to Christa McAuliffe in 1985,

1919-436: Is anticipated that remote guided ultrasound will have application on Earth in emergency and rural care situations, where access to a trained physician is often rare. A 2006 Space Shuttle experiment found that Salmonella typhimurium , a bacterium that can cause food poisoning , became more virulent when cultivated in space. More recently, in 2017, bacteria were found to be more resistant to antibiotics and to thrive in

2020-522: Is called an astronaut . The first known use of the term "astronaut" in the modern sense was by Neil R. Jones in his 1930 short story "The Death's Head Meteor". The word itself had been known earlier; for example, in Percy Greg 's 1880 book Across the Zodiac , "astronaut" referred to a spacecraft. In Les Navigateurs de l'infini (1925) by J.-H. Rosny aîné , the word astronautique ( astronautics )

2121-644: Is considered to be the first Educator astronaut by the media, but she trained as a mission specialist. The Educator Astronaut program is a successor to the Teacher in Space program from the 1980s. Astronauts are susceptible to a variety of health risks including decompression sickness , barotrauma , immunodeficiencies , loss of bone and muscle , loss of eyesight , orthostatic intolerance , sleep disturbances , and radiation injury. A variety of large scale medical studies are being conducted in space via

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2222-484: Is operated by Smartwings , an airline owned by Czech Airlines. Czech or Czechoslovak Airlines operated these aircraft types in the past: [REDACTED] Media related to Czech Airlines at Wikimedia Commons Cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek ἄστρον ( astron ), meaning 'star', and ναύτης ( nautes ), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by

2323-460: Is strictly defined as the navigation of outer space within the local star system , i.e. Solar System . The phrase tàikōng rén ( 太空人 , "spaceman") is often used in Hong Kong and Taiwan . The term taikonaut is used by some English-language news media organizations for professional space travelers from China . The word has featured in the Longman and Oxford English dictionaries, and

2424-616: The Airbus A319 and ATR 72 to be retired. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic , Czech Airlines announced in April 2020 the end of its already suspended sole long-haul route to Seoul . Thus its sole Airbus A330 was to be returned to lessor Korean Air by October 2020. Towards the end of January 2020, the airline announced a plan to expand and modernize the fleet, with the planned addition of four new Airbus A320s. However, due to

2525-887: The Boeing 737 , Airbus A310 and Airbus A320 . ČSA became a full member of the SkyTeam alliance on 18 October 2000. As of March 2007, the airline, with 5,440 employees, was owned by the Czech Ministry of Finance (56.92%), the Czech Consolidation Agency (34.59%), and other Czech institutions. On 1 January 2010, the whole non-office ground staff of ČSA was transferred to the ČSA Support subsidiary, now named Czech Airlines Handling S.R.O. In February 2010, ČSA sold off its duty-free shops to another entity. EU competition regulators began an investigation into Czech Airlines on 23 February 2011, stating that it doubted

2626-527: The Ilyushin Il-14 . The flight time was reduced from 13 hours and 50 minutes to 7 hours and 40 minutes, and the new jet dramatically increased the level of passenger comfort. By 1957, Aeroflot had placed the Tu-104 in service on routes from Vnukovo Airport in Moscow to London , Budapest , Copenhagen , Beijing , Brussels , Ottawa , Delhi , and Prague . In 1957, ČSA Czechoslovak Airlines became

2727-575: The International Space Station : The first NASA astronauts were selected for training in 1959. Early in the space program, military jet test piloting and engineering training were often cited as prerequisites for selection as an astronaut at NASA, although neither John Glenn nor Scott Carpenter (of the Mercury Seven ) had any university degree, in engineering or any other discipline at the time of their selection. Selection

2828-604: The Kármán line , at an altitude of 100 kilometers (62 mi). In the United States, professional, military, and commercial astronauts who travel above an altitude of 80 kilometres (50 mi) are awarded astronaut wings . As of 17 November 2016 , 552 people from 36 countries have reached 100 km (62 mi) or more in altitude, of whom 549 reached low Earth orbit or beyond. Of these, 24 people have traveled beyond low Earth orbit, either to lunar orbit,

2929-693: The Malay term angkasawan (deriving from angkasa meaning 'space') was used to describe participants in the Angkasawan program (note its similarity with the Indonesian term antariksawan ). Plans of the Indian Space Research Organisation to launch its crewed Gaganyaan spacecraft have spurred at times public discussion if another term than astronaut should be used for the crew members, suggesting vyomanaut (from

3030-846: The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) to address these issues. Prominent among these is the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity Study in which astronauts (including former ISS commanders Leroy Chiao and Gennady Padalka ) perform ultrasound scans under the guidance of remote experts to diagnose and potentially treat hundreds of medical conditions in space. This study's techniques are now being applied to cover professional and Olympic sports injuries as well as ultrasound performed by non-expert operators in medical and high school students. It

3131-474: The People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps astronauts and their foreign counterparts are all officially called hángtiānyuán ( 航天员 , meaning "heaven navigator" or literally " heaven-sailing staff"). Since 1961, 600 astronauts have flown in space. Until 2002, astronauts were sponsored and trained exclusively by governments, either by the military or by civilian space agencies. With the suborbital flight of

Tupolev Tu-104 - Misplaced Pages Continue

3232-724: The Sanskrit word vyoman meaning 'sky' or 'space') or gagannaut (from the Sanskrit word gagan for 'sky'). In Finland , the NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra , a Finnish American , has sometimes been referred to as sisunautti , from the Finnish word sisu . Across Germanic languages, the word for "astronaut" typically translates to "space traveler", as it does with German's Raumfahrer , Dutch's ruimtevaarder , Swedish's rymdfarare , and Norwegian's romfarer . As of 2021 in

3333-611: The Shenzhou 5 spacecraft. On 30 May 2020, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken became the first astronauts to launch on a private crewed spacecraft, Crew Dragon . The youngest person to reach space is Oliver Daemen , who was 18 years and 11 months old when he made a suborbital spaceflight on Blue Origin NS-16 . Daemen, who was a commercial passenger aboard the New Shepard , broke the record of Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov , who

3434-572: The Soviet Union are typically known instead as cosmonauts (from the Russian "kosmos" (космос), meaning "space", also borrowed from Greek κόσμος ). Comparatively recent developments in crewed spaceflight made by China have led to the rise of the term taikonaut (from the Mandarin "tàikōng" ( 太空 ), meaning "space"), although its use is somewhat informal and its origin is unclear. In China,

3535-577: The Tu-124 , Tu-134 , and Tu-154 . At the beginning of the 1950s, the Soviet Union's Aeroflot airline needed a modern airliner with better capacity and performance than the piston-engined aircraft then in operation. The design request was filled by the Tupolev OKB, which based their new airliner on its Tu-16 "Badger" strategic bomber. The wings, engines, and tail surfaces of the Tu-16 were retained with

3636-692: The dismemberment of Czechoslovakia in 1939 and splitting the country into three parts, the airline was dissolved. Following a coup in February 1948 , the Czechoslovak Communist Party suspended some of ČSA's western European and Middle Eastern routes and also gradually replaced much of the fleet with Soviet -built airliners, due to the embargo imposed by the West on the western-built aircraft spares and other equipment. The Ilyushin Il-14

3737-498: The planet Mars , may substantially damage the gastrointestinal tissues of astronauts. The studies support earlier work that found such journeys could significantly damage the brains of astronauts, and age them prematurely. Researchers in 2018 reported, after detecting the presence on the International Space Station (ISS) of five Enterobacter bugandensis bacterial strains, none pathogenic to humans, that microorganisms on ISS should be carefully monitored to continue assuring

3838-543: The " Vomit Comet ," the nickname given to a pair of modified KC-135s (retired in 2000 and 2004, respectively, and replaced in 2005 with a C-9 ) which perform parabolic flights. Astronauts are also required to accumulate a number of flight hours in high-performance jet aircraft. This is mostly done in T-38 jet aircraft out of Ellington Field , due to its proximity to the Johnson Space Center . Ellington Field

3939-546: The 100 kilometers (54 nautical miles) line, qualifying him by the international definition of spaceflight. Walker had joined the US Army Air Force but was not a member during his flight. The first people in space who had never been a member of any country's armed forces were both Konstantin Feoktistov and Boris Yegorov aboard Voskhod 1 . The first non-governmental space traveler was Byron K. Lichtenberg ,

4040-616: The APC Building, on the grounds of Václav Havel Airport Prague in Ruzyně , 6th district, Prague. On 30 December 2009, ČSA announced it would sell its head office to the airport for CZK 607 million. Before the insolvency application, in February 2021, Czech Airlines moved its headquarters to the Smartwings building at Prague airport. Since its transformation to a joint-stock company in August 1992, ČSA has never paid dividends. The sale of

4141-460: The Boeing 737 Max model found in early 2019, management decided that Czech Airlines would operate the ongoing Airbus Fleet while Smartwings would operate a Boeing fleet. In April 2019, the fleet experienced a reduction of three out of the four operating Airbus 319s. However, one of these was later reintroduced.   In March 2019, Smartwings announced that ČSA would undergo a fleet transition, with

Tupolev Tu-104 - Misplaced Pages Continue

4242-481: The COVID-19 pandemic, these plans were abandoned. In the early stages of the pandemic, the company's workforce declined from 700 to 300 employees, and by the end of the year, the active fleet declined from five planes to two, both of which were under lease, flying to only five European destinations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ČSA fell into insolvency , applying for a moratorium in August 2020. In February 2021,

4343-508: The COVID-19 pandemic. The airline operated a fleet of eighteen planes over the summer of 2017 to a total of fifty different destinations, including twenty-five distinct European and Asian countries, the most extensive coverage since the global financial crisis. From the fall of 2018 through the winter of 2019, Smartwings Group management eliminated many airline routes, including the Prague-Bratislava and Prague-Ostrava routes that

4444-448: The Czech shareholders now own 100% of the shares in both Smartwings and CSA Czech Airlines. In October 2024, Czech Airlines was restructured into a holding company, with Smartwings taking over all flight operations under both brand names. The Czech Airlines brand remains active, with two Airbus A320 aircraft in its livery currently in operation. Additionally, four Airbus A220 aircraft in Czech Airlines colors are scheduled for delivery in

4545-461: The Earth was John Glenn , aboard Friendship 7 on 20 February 1962. The first American woman in space was Sally Ride , during Space Shuttle Challenger 's mission STS-7 , on 18 June 1983. In 1992, Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space aboard STS-47 . Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was the first person to conduct an extravehicular activity (EVA), (commonly called

4646-533: The European Space Agency envisioned recruiting an astronaut with a physical disability, a category they called "parastronauts", with the intention but not guarantee of spaceflight. The categories of disability considered for the program were individuals with lower limb deficiency (either through amputation or congenital), leg length difference, or a short stature (less than 130 centimetres or 4 feet 3 inches). On 23 November 2022, John McFall

4747-514: The Moon during the Apollo 13 emergency. The first civilian in space was Valentina Tereshkova aboard Vostok 6 (she also became the first woman in space on that mission). Tereshkova was only honorarily inducted into the USSR's Air Force, which did not accept female pilots at that time. A month later, Joseph Albert Walker became the first American civilian in space when his X-15 Flight 90 crossed

4848-455: The Russian kosmonavt, such as the Polish : kosmonauta (although Poles also used astronauta , and the two words are considered synonyms). Coinage of the term космонавт has been credited to Soviet aeronautics (or " cosmonautics ") pioneer Mikhail Tikhonravov (1900–1974). The first cosmonaut was Soviet Air Force pilot Yuri Gagarin , also the first person in space. He was part of

4949-607: The United States, astronaut status is conferred on a person depending on the authorizing agency: On July 20, 2021, the FAA issued an order redefining the eligibility criteria to be an astronaut in response to the private suborbital spaceflights of Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson . The new criteria states that one must have "[d]emonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety" to qualify as an astronaut. This new definition excludes Bezos and Branson. The first human in space

5050-429: The aircraft to transport holiday-makers to Russia with a 4.5-hour flight time. Whilst the Tu-104 continued to be used by Aeroflot throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the safety record of the aircraft was poor in comparison to Western jetliners (16 of 96 aircraft were lost in accidents). The Tu-104 was unreliable, heavy, and very unstable with poor control response and an inclination to Dutch roll . Poor design aerodynamics of

5151-563: The airline has been flying since its inception. Soon after, profitable routes into select Russian cities were eliminated and immediately replaced by new routes operated by Smartwings.  Under the leadership of the Smartwings Group, the Czech Airline's fleet was planned to be transformed into a fully integrated Boeing 737 fleet, the same model that the Smartwings fleet used. However, due to technical and safety issues in

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5252-447: The airline sold its Airbus 320s, as it had become unprofitable to fly them due to low load factor and high maintenance costs. In the summer of 2015, the fleet consisted of seventeen planes: seven Turboprops, nine Airbus A319s, and one long-haul Airbus A330 that was leased to the airline by Korean Air. In 2016, the airline transported 2.26 million passengers, a 13% increase from 2015. The average load factor increased from 10% to 75%, and

5353-477: The airline, over which Korean Air had an option. In 2016, the airline returned to profit for the first time in several years. On 6 October 2017, Korean Air announced the sale of its 44 percent stake in Czech Airlines, which it had held for four years, to Travel Service. Travel Service by then owned 78.9 percent of ČSA. Czech state company Prisko owned 20 percent of ČSA. Travel Service later also acquired Prisko's stake, increasing its stake to 97.74%. In 2014,

5454-501: The airliner, but the new design adopted a wider, pressurised fuselage designed to accommodate 50 passengers. The prototype build in MMZ 'Opit' first flew on June 17, 1955, with Yu.L. Alasheyev at the controls. It was fitted with a drag parachute to shorten the landing distance by up to 400 m (1,300 ft), since at the time, not many airports had sufficiently long runways. The first serial TU-104 took off on 5 November 1955. The Tu-104

5555-653: The first Asian in space when he flew aboard Soyuz 37 . Also in 1980, Cuban Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez became the first person of Hispanic and black African descent to fly in space, and in 1983, Guion Bluford became the first African American to fly into space. In April 1985, Taylor Wang became the first ethnic Chinese person in space. The first person born in Africa to fly in space was Patrick Baudry (France), in 1985. In 1985, Saudi Arabian Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin AbdulAziz Al-Saud became

5656-437: The first American to ride to space on board a Russian launch vehicle, and thus became the first "American cosmonaut". In Chinese, the term Yǔ háng yuán ( 宇航员 , "cosmos navigating personnel") is used for astronauts and cosmonauts in general, while hángtiān yuán ( 航天员 , "navigating celestial-heaven personnel") is used for Chinese astronauts. Here, hángtiān ( 航天 , literally "heaven-navigating", or spaceflight )

5757-551: The first Arab Muslim astronaut in space. In 1988, Abdul Ahad Mohmand became the first Afghan to reach space, spending nine days aboard the Mir space station. With the increase of seats on the Space Shuttle, the U.S. began taking international astronauts. In 1983, Ulf Merbold of West Germany became the first non-US citizen to fly in a US spacecraft. In 1984, Marc Garneau became the first of eight Canadian astronauts to fly in space (through 2010). In 1985, Rodolfo Neri Vela became

5858-418: The first Mexican-born person in space. In 1991, Helen Sharman became the first Briton to fly in space. In 2002, Mark Shuttleworth became the first citizen of an African country to fly in space, as a paying spaceflight participant. In 2003, Ilan Ramon became the first Israeli to fly in space, although he died during a re-entry accident . On 15 October 2003, Yang Liwei became China's first astronaut on

5959-499: The first foreign customer to buy Il-62s from the USSR). ČSA operated a fleet of 21 Il-62s between 1969 and 1997, including six Il-62Ms. A ČSA-registered Il-62 and three Il-62Ms were used as official Czechoslovak and Czech government transports between 1974 and 1996. After absorbing the "heavier" part of Slov-Air and taking its Let L-410A Turbolet turboprop commuters into its fleet in the early 1970s, ČSA partner airliner Slov-Air became

6060-698: The first person in space twice. Space travelers have spent over 41,790 man-days (114.5-man-years) in space, including over 100 astronaut-days of spacewalks . As of 2024 , the man with the longest cumulative time in space is Oleg Kononenko , who has spent over 1100 days in space. Peggy A. Whitson holds the record for the most time in space by a woman, at 675 days. In 1959, when both the United States and Soviet Union were planning, but had yet to launch humans into space, NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan and his Deputy Administrator, Hugh Dryden , discussed whether spacecraft crew members should be called astronauts or cosmonauts . Dryden preferred "cosmonaut", on

6161-452: The first six Soviet citizens, with German Titov , Yevgeny Khrunov , Andriyan Nikolayev , Pavel Popovich , and Grigoriy Nelyubov , who were given the title of pilot-cosmonaut in January 1961. Valentina Tereshkova was the first female cosmonaut and the first and youngest woman to have flown in space with a solo mission on the Vostok 6 in 1963. On 14 March 1995, Norman Thagard became

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6262-818: The flight's departure, "Featured flight alert" notifications were sent out to users of the ADS-B flight tracker Flightradar24 application for flight OK767, the last flight of Czech Airlines. As of 2024, 2 aircraft fly under the Czech Airlines brand. ČSA was founded on 6 October 1923 by the Czechoslovak government as ČSA Československé státní aerolinie (Czechoslovak State Airlines). Twenty-three days later, its first transport flight took place, flying between Prague and Bratislava . It only operated domestic services until its first international flight from Prague to Bratislava and on to Zagreb in Yugoslavia in 1930. After

6363-501: The following tier levels: OK Plus membership, OK Plus Silver, OK Plus Gold, and OK Plus Platinum. The higher the card level, the greater the number of benefits passengers receive. CSA terminated its OK Plus program in October 2024, without implementing a replacement scheme. As of February 2021, Czech Airlines served four scheduled year-round and seasonal destinations including their home base at Václav Havel Airport Prague . This figure

6464-434: The grounds that flights would occur in and to the broader cosmos , while the "astro" prefix suggested flight specifically to the stars . Most NASA Space Task Group members preferred "astronaut", which survived by common usage as the preferred American term. When the Soviet Union launched the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin in 1961, they chose a term which anglicizes to "cosmonaut". A professional space traveler

6565-427: The immediate retirement of all ATR 72-500 aircraft, considerably shrinking its remaining fleet. At the end of August 2021, ČSA was operating just one Airbus A320 aircraft; the second was inoperable. As of summer 2022, Czech Airlines had reduced its network to just three scheduled routes. In 2023, the only route operated by Czech Airlines was from Prague-Paris. In June 2022, ČSA exited business restructuring under

6666-470: The kidnapped returnees as heroes who had not allowed themselves to be swayed by promises of capitalist opulence. Those who remained and requested political asylum in West Germany were proclaimed criminals for whom the Prague government vigorously requested extradition – in vain. The pilot from Brno was Josef Klesnil, a former Royal Air Force pilot with 311 squadron , who flew from Brno to Erding with

6767-468: The loss-making concern could return to viability and comply with European Union state aid regulations. In late 2012, ČSA Czech Airlines announced expansion plans and the resumption of long-haul flights in summer 2013 with Airbus A330 aircraft between Prague and Seoul. Starting in March 2013, it operated direct flights from Prague to Perm , Nice , Munich, Zurich , Seoul, and Florence . After stock sales to Korean Air on 10 April 2013, ČSA Czech Airlines

6868-464: The lunar surface, or, in one case, a loop around the Moon . Three of the 24— Jim Lovell , John Young and Eugene Cernan —did so twice. As of 17 November 2016 , under the U.S. definition, 558 people qualify as having reached space, above 50 miles (80 km) altitude. Of eight X-15 pilots who exceeded 50 miles (80 km) in altitude, only one, Joseph A. Walker , exceeded 100 kilometers (about 62.1 miles) and he did it two times, becoming

6969-450: The materials used: mahogany , copper , and lace . Tu-104 pilots were trained on the Ilyushin Il-28 bomber, followed by mail flights on an unarmed Tu-16 bomber painted in Aeroflot colors, between Moscow and Sverdlovsk . Pilots with previous Tu-16 experience transitioned into the Tu-104 with relative ease. The Tu-104 was considered difficult to fly, as it was heavy on controls and quite fast on final approach, and at low speeds displayed

7070-400: The near-weightlessness of space. Microorganisms have been observed to survive the vacuum of outer space. On 31 December 2012, a NASA -supported study reported that human spaceflight may harm the brain and accelerate the onset of Alzheimer's disease . In October 2015, the NASA Office of Inspector General issued a health hazards report related to space exploration , including

7171-521: The new company, while the Fund of National Ownership of the Czech Republic owned 49.3%. Czech Insurance Company owned 4.5%, the city of Prague owned 3.5%, and the last 2.3% was split evenly between three Slovakian cities: Bratislava, Kosice, and Poprad. After the breakup of the Czechoslovak Federation, the airline in May 1995 adopted its present name. By the late 1990s, most of its Soviet aircraft had either been sold to other airlines or retired (a number were preserved), replaced with Western models such as

7272-588: The notable exceptions of France and Austria participating in Soyuz TM-7 and Soyuz TM-13 , respectively. An example is Czechoslovak Vladimír Remek , the first cosmonaut from a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States , who flew to space in 1978 on a Soyuz-U rocket. Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian citizen to travel to space. He was launched aboard Soyuz T-11 , on 2 April 1984. On 23 July 1980, Pham Tuan of Vietnam became

7373-471: The only export customer for the Tu-104, placing the aircraft on routes to Moscow, Paris , and Brussels . ČSA bought six Tu-104As (four new and two used aircraft) configured for 81 passengers. Three of these were subsequently written off (one due to a refueling incident in India and another to a pilot error without fatalities). In 1959, a Tu-104 was leased to Sir Henry Lunn Ltd. ( Lunn Poly ) of London, who used

7474-724: The operating loss would have been twice as large. The gross margin did not even cover personnel expenses. In 2016, the airline handled 2.7 million passengers and announced a net profit of 241 million crowns. A new look for Czech Airlines was revealed in September 2007. The new logo was created by Michal Kotyza, who works for the airline. Czech Airlines offered buy on board service on some flights in addition to free service. The OK Plus frequent flyer programme gived passengers "OK Plus Miles" for flights with Czech Airlines, SkyTeam member airlines, other partner airlines or non-airline partners. OK Plus membership cards were available with

7575-579: The pitch-up phenomenon, prompting changes to the design of the aircraft and operating procedures, but the problem remained. Aeroflot retired the Tu-104 from civilian service in March 1979 following a fatal accident at Moscow, but several aircraft were transferred to the Soviet military, which used them as staff transports and to train cosmonauts in zero gravity . After a military Tu-104 crash in February 1981 killed 50 people (17 were senior army and naval staff),

7676-564: The position and structure of the brain have been found in astronauts who have taken trips in space , based on MRI studies . Astronauts who took longer space trips were associated with greater brain changes. Being in space can be physiologically deconditioning on the body. It can affect the otolith organs and adaptive capabilities of the central nervous system . Zero gravity and cosmic rays can cause many implications for astronauts. In October 2018, NASA -funded researchers found that lengthy journeys into outer space , including travel to

7777-487: The privately funded SpaceShipOne in 2004, a new category of astronaut was created: the commercial astronaut . The criteria for what constitutes human spaceflight vary, with some focus on the point where the atmosphere becomes so thin that centrifugal force , rather than aerodynamic force , carries a significant portion of the weight of the flight object. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) Sporting Code for astronautics recognizes only flights that exceed

7878-529: The sale of two ATR aircraft improved operating results by CZK 198 million, the operating loss was almost half a billion Czech crowns and the Government of Jiří Paroubek replaced Jaroslav Tvrdík with Radomír Lašák. The airline generated further operating losses, despite revenues of CZK 2.1 bn from the sale of almost all real estate and CZK 1.2 bn from aircraft sales. In 2005–2010, ČSA generated an operating loss of CZK 3.4 bn; without long-term asset sale revenues,

7979-600: The term astronaut for members of its Astronaut Corps . By convention, an astronaut employed by the Russian Federal Space Agency (or its predecessor, the Soviet space program ) is called a cosmonaut in English texts. The word is an Anglicization of kosmonavt (Russian: космонавт Russian pronunciation: [kəsmɐˈnaft] ). Other countries of the former Eastern Bloc use variations of

8080-616: The term became more common in 2003 when China sent its first astronaut Yang Liwei into space aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft. This is the term used by Xinhua News Agency in the English version of the Chinese People's Daily since the advent of the Chinese space program. The origin of the term is unclear; as early as May 1998, Chiew Lee Yih ( 趙裡昱 ) from Malaysia used it in newsgroups . For its 2022 Astronaut Group ,

8181-436: The three aircraft landed near Munich instead of at Prague; the first from Brno , at 08:20, the second from Moravská Ostrava at 08:40, and the third from Bratislava at 09:20. Two-thirds of the people on board were unwilling participants and later returned to Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovak Communist government commissioned a 'flight to freedom' book, stage play, and film (all bearing the name Kidnap to Erding ) which celebrated

8282-619: The total number of deaths is 939, without the addition the Borispol Airport 1976 incident. Shot down or bombed airplanes are not in the total. Data from Tupolev Tu-104: Aeroflot's first jet, General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists http://www.airforce.ru/content/english-pages/2344-interview-civil-aviation-pilot-hsu-v-m-yanchenko/ Czech Airlines Czech Airlines (abbreviation: ČSA , Czech : České aerolinie, a.s. )

8383-470: The total number of flights increased by 9%. In the same year, the airline ordered six A320 Neo models, which was later reduced to three in 2019, and then converted into three orders for the Airbus A321XLR model instead at the beginning of 2020, with plans to launch North American Routes. Manufacturer Airbus planned to deliver the planes in 2023 and 2024. However, the airline cancelled the order due to

8484-517: The type was permanently removed from service. The last flight of the Tu-104 was a ferry flight to Ulyanovsk Aircraft Museum on 11 November 1986. Data from: According to the American Flight Safety Foundation , between 1958 and 1981, 16 Tu-104s were lost in crashes out of 37 aircraft written off ( hull loss rate = 18%) with a total of 1140 fatalities. From this listing of crashes due to mechanical or pilot error,

8585-501: The upcoming months. On October 26, the last flight of ČSA took place, as it took off in the evening from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris to Prague Václav Havel Airport . This was the last flight under what has become to be known as its iconic "OK" flight call. In 2016, Czech Airlines head office moved to Evropská Street in 6th district , Prague, Vokovice district to lower overhead . Czech Airlines formerly had its head office,

8686-402: The wings resulted in a propensity to stall with little or no warning and a dangerous tendency to pitch up violently before stalling and entering an irrecoverable dive. Due to the fear of inadvertent stalls, aircrew flew approaches above the recommended approach speed, landing at 270–300 km/h (170–190 mph), nearly 50 km/h (31 mph) faster. At least two accidents were attributed to

8787-455: The world's first to have a captain, Ján Mičica, slain at the controls by a hijacker, during a hijacking to West Germany. The aircraft involved, OK-ADN, is currently displayed in an open-air aircraft museum in Martin, Slovakia . On 1 January 1991, Czechoslovakian Airlines split into two companies: Czechoslovakian Airlines, which would become Czech Airlines, and Slov Air, which had previously been

8888-487: Was Dennis Tito on board the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TM-3 on 28 April 2001. The first person to fly on an entirely privately funded mission was Mike Melvill , piloting SpaceShipOne flight 15P on a suborbital journey, although he was a test pilot employed by Scaled Composites and not an actual paying space tourist. Jared Isaacman was the first person to self-fund a mission to orbit, commanding Inspiration4 in 2021. Nine others have paid Space Adventures to fly to

8989-470: Was Václav Havel Airport Prague . When, in 2018, 97.74% of Czech Airlines was bought by the privately owned Smartwings , ČSA became a part of the Smartwings Group. The remaining 2.26% of ČSA was owned by insurance company Česká Pojišťovna. ČSA filed for bankruptcy in March 2021 and went through an extensive business restructuring, exiting in June 2022. As of 2022, ČSA was under a new ownership structure with

9090-456: Was 25 years old when he flew Vostok 2 . Titov remains the youngest human to reach orbit ; he rounded the planet 17 times. Titov was also the first person to suffer space sickness and the first person to sleep in space, twice. The oldest person to reach space is William Shatner , who was 90 years old when he made a suborbital spaceflight on Blue Origin NS-18 . The oldest person to reach orbit

9191-443: Was Soviet Yuri Gagarin , who was launched on 12 April 1961, aboard Vostok 1 and orbited around the Earth for 108 minutes. The first woman in space was Soviet Valentina Tereshkova , who launched on 16 June 1963, aboard Vostok 6 and orbited Earth for almost three days. Alan Shepard became the first American and second person in space on 5 May 1961, on a 15-minute sub-orbital flight aboard Freedom 7 . The first American to orbit

9292-523: Was down from 33 routes in summer 2019. Flights were operated mainly in Europe, with Beirut being the sole remaining Middle Eastern destination. ČSA offered more than 110 destinations and 45 countries from Prague, but none of the long-haul service via its codeshare partners. As of October 2024, routes to Paris and Madrid are operated by Smartwings under the Czech Airlines brand using two Airbus A320 aircraft in Czech Airlines livery. In June 2007, ČSA signed

9393-550: Was initially limited to military pilots. The earliest astronauts for both the US and the USSR tended to be jet fighter pilots, and were often test pilots. Once selected, NASA astronauts go through twenty months of training in a variety of areas, including training for extravehicular activity in a facility such as NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory . Astronauts-in-training (astronaut candidates) may also experience short periods of weightlessness ( microgravity ) in an aircraft called

9494-453: Was owned by Czech Aeroholdings a.s. (56%) and Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd. (44%). On May 14, 2013, Czech Airlines Extraordinary General shareholders' meeting elected Cho Won-tae as a new member of its supervisory board. Cho replaced Petr Matousek, who resigned from his position on the supervisory board. This personnel change took effect on 1 June 2013 as a result of Korean Air's equity purchase. In April 2015, Travel Service Group bought 34% of

9595-450: Was powered by two Mikulin AM-3 turbojets placed in the wing roots (resembling the configuration of the de Havilland Comet). The crew consisted of two pilots, a navigator (seated in the glazed "bomber" nose), a flight engineer, and a radio operator (later eliminated). The airplane raised great curiosity by its lavish "Victorian" interior – so-called by some Western observers – due to

9696-547: Was replaced with long-range Ilyushin Il-18D turboprops at this time, and transatlantic routes were established to Montreal and New York City in addition to Havana. Along with the Il-18D, aircraft in ČSA's fleet included the short-range Tupolev Tu-134 , medium-range Tupolev Tu-154 , and long-range Ilyushin Il-62 . As with several other airlines, the Il-62 was the first long-range jet airliner to be put into operation by ČSA (also

9797-468: Was selected to be the first ESA parastronaut. With the rise of space tourism , NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency agreed to use the term " spaceflight participant " to distinguish those space travelers from professional astronauts on missions coordinated by those two agencies. While no nation other than Russia (and previously the Soviet Union), the United States, and China have launched

9898-515: Was the establishment of the annual International Astronautical Congress in 1950, and the subsequent founding of the International Astronautical Federation the following year. NASA applies the term astronaut to any crew member aboard NASA spacecraft bound for Earth orbit or beyond. NASA also uses the term as a title for those selected to join its Astronaut Corps . The European Space Agency similarly uses

9999-429: Was the first airline in the world to fly regular jet-only routes (between Prague and Moscow ). The airline ran a frequent flyer programme called "OK Plus" about the airline's International Air Transport Association designation, as well as the term of approval ; OK also featured prominently in its previous livery , and was the prefix of Czech aircraft registrations. It was a member of the SkyTeam alliance. Its hub

10100-636: Was updated and built under licence in Czechoslovakia as the Avia-14. In 1950, ČSA became the world's first victim of a mass hijacking. Three Czechoslovak Douglas DC-3 airliners flown to an American air base in Erding , near Munich, stirred the world on both sides of the "burnt through" Iron Curtain and the case intensified the Cold War between East and West overnight. On the morning of 24 March,

10201-543: Was used. The word may have been inspired by "aeronaut", an older term for an air traveler first applied in 1784 to balloonists . An early use of "astronaut" in a non-fiction publication is Eric Frank Russell 's poem "The Astronaut", appearing in the November 1934 Bulletin of the British Interplanetary Society . The first known formal use of the term astronautics in the scientific community

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