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The immune system is usually seen as our ally in fighting disease, but in the case of coronavirus, it can sometimes turn into our foe. A phenomenon known as a cytokine storm has been implicated in many fatal cases of Covid-19, and several drugs are currently being tested to calm this storm and raise patients’ chances of survival. These drugs are known as anti-C5 drugs as they prevent a molecule named C5 from triggering the complement system to produce cytokines, which are known to cause inflammation in the body. Over-activation of cytokines (also known as a cytokine storm) has also...

In the 1970s, the Air Force launched a Minuteman ICBM launched from a C-5 Galaxy. Hold on, what!?!? That was my reaction upon learning that the above sentence is true. In 1974, the Air Force decided that it could turn C-5 Galaxy airlifters into flying SSBNs. Yup, Air Force planners thought the missile would be tougher for the Soviets to take out with a preemptive strike if it was already aboard a moving target like a C-5 versus sitting in a stationary missile silo. So, they loaded a Minuteman into a C-5 that parachute-dropped the 60-foot tall missile out of...

The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) Center has rated the Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] C-5M as "effective, suitable and mission capable" based on results from OT&E testing completed in January 2010. The OT&E phase spanned four months, evaluating various performance aspects to validate the capability and reliability of the C-5M. These positive test results enable the Super Galaxy to continue to support critical missions flown in support of world-wide operational contingencies. "The C-5M test was a resounding success because of teamwork between the test team, the user, the contractor and the program office," said Col. John Scorsone, Director...

Re-engining of the US Air Force's oldest Lockheed C-5 Galaxy strategic airlifters has been cancelled by the US Department of Defense after a steep increase in the project cost of the programme. The USAF's 62 C-5As will no longer be modernised under the reliability enhancement and re-engining programme (RERP), which replaces the TF39 engines with General Electric CF6-80C2s and upgrades other systems. Lockheed will still re-engine 47 newer C-5Bs and two C-5Cs operated for NASA. Including three that have already undergone avionics upgrades and re-engining to become C-5M test aircraft, this will give the USAF a total of 52 modernised...

Re-engining of the US Air Force's oldest Lockheed C-5 Galaxy strategic airlifters has been cancelled by the US Department of Defense after a steep increase in the project cost of the programme. The USAF's 62 C-5As will no longer be modernised under the reliability enhancement and re-engining programme (RERP), which replaces the TF39 engines with General Electric CF6-80C2s and upgrades other systems. Lockheed will still re-engine 47 newer C-5Bs and two C-5Cs operated for NASA. Including three that have already undergone avionics upgrades and re-engining to become C-5M test aircraft, this will give the USAF a total of 52 modernised...

WASHINGTON — Argentina barred US C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft from landing or overflying during a Latin American tour by US President George W. Bush for fear they would get stuck there, the secretary of the US Air Force said yesterday. "This is really a slap in the face to your America’s air force," Michael Wynne, the service’s top civilian, told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee weighing the air force’s US$110.7 billion fiscal 2008 budget request. The C-5 fleet is built by Lockheed Martin Corp., the Pentagon’s biggest supplier. Designed to carry outsize and oversize cargo, it is one of the...

MARIETTA, Ga., June 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The newly modernized Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - News) C-5M Super Galaxy took to the skies for the first time today from Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga. This modernized C-5M safeguards the U.S. government's capability to move massive amounts of cargo as the workhorse for the U.S. Air Force global reach mission and ensures the most cost effective, viable strategic airlift resource for America through the year 2040. "This unique aircraft has provided the U.S. Air Force and our nation with an incredible capability since it first started supporting our country's strategic air...

6/13/2006 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill (AFPN) -- The results of an investigation into the C-5 Galaxy crash at Dover Air Force Base, Del., on April 3 found that human error was the cause, Air Mobility Command officials released today. The accident investigation board determined the pilots and flight engineers did not properly configure, maneuver and power the aircraft during approach and landing. Following a normal takeoff and initial climb, the C-5 aircrew observed a No. 2 engine “Thrust Reverser Not Locked” indication light. They shut down the No. 2 engine as a precaution and returned to Dover AFB....

Say Hello To The C-5M It's cheaper... more capable, and more dependable. That's what Lockheed-Martin says about the latest generation of C-5 Galaxy transports, the first of which was shown off at the company's plant in Marietta, GA this week. Lockheed reports the C-5M "Super Galaxy", a modernized version of the venerable C-5, features new engines and new avionics. Its GE CF-6 engines -- developed in the commercial sector -- are capable of 22-percent more thrust, resulting in a 30-percent shorter takeoff roll and a 38-percent faster climb to initial altitude. Perhaps even more importantly... the Super Galaxy can carry...

5/5/2006 - DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AFPN) -- One month after a C-5 Galaxy crash-landed less than a mile short of the runway here, recovery operations are proceeding on schedule, officials said. All 17 people on board survived the April 3 crash. “We started the recovery effort the same day of the mishap and have been working every day since,” said Maj. Rob Triplett, the 436th Maintenance Squadron commander and director of the mishap recovery effort. “Safety has been our number-one priority. Our team’s primary focus, besides safety, was to preserve vital evidence for the safety investigation board.” An...

4/4/2006 - SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) -- A veteran C-5 Galaxy pilot said all 17 people survived the April 3 plane crash at Dover Air Force Base, Del., mainly because the pilot did his job. Col. Udo McGregor said the “100 percent reason” everyone aboard survived the crash was because the pilot did a wings-level landing. “The survivors are survivors because he put it on the ground wings level,” said the colonel, commander of the 439th Operations Group at Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass. The transport took off from Dover at about 6:20 a.m. bound for Spain and Southwest Asia. On...

4/4/2006 - DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Air Force officials released the names of the 17 survivors of the C-5 Galaxy crash here April 3. Survivor names, base and medical conditions are as follows: Capt. Brian Lafreda, Dover, fair Lt. Col. Robert Moorman, Dover, fair Lt. Col. Harland Nelson, Dover, fair Master Sgt. Timothy Feiring, Dover, released Master Sgt. Michael Benford, Dover, fair Master Sgt. Brenda Kremer, Dover, released Chief Master Sgt. David Burke, Dover, released Chief Master Sgt. George Mosley, Dover, released Tech. Sgt. Henry Fortney, Dover, released Senior Airman Scott Schaffner, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, released Tammy Lucas,...

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del., April 4, 2006 – Seventeen people are in various stages of recovery after surviving a C-5 aircraft crash less than a mile from Dover Air Force Base's southern perimeter yesterday. "Our crew did a spectacular job of landing the airplane in its location," said Air Force Col. Chad T. Manske, 436th Airlift Wing vice commander and current acting commander of the wing. "Thankfully, there were no fatalities or injuries, and by the grace of God the aircraft didn't explode." The C-5B Galaxy broke apart into three major pieces at 6:42 a.m. in a grassy...

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2006 – All 17 people aboard survived the crash of an Air Force C-5 Galaxy transport jet at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Air Force officials reported. No official information was available on the condition of the survivors, who are members of Air Force Mobility Command's 436th Airlift Wing and the Air Force Reserve's 512th Airlift Wing. Both units are based at Dover. The jet crashed short of the runway at 6:30 a.m. while attempting to return to the base shortly after takeoff, reportedly because of mechanical problems. The huge aircraft broke into three pieces -- the...

No details per ABC radio

SPACEPLANE SHELVED? For 16 years, Aviation Week & Space Technology has investigated myriad sightings of a two-stage-to-orbit system that could place a small military spaceplane in orbit. Considerable evidence supports the existence of such a highly classified system, and top Pentagon officials have hinted that it's "out there," but iron-clad confirmation that meets AW&ST standards has remained elusive. Now facing the possibility that this innovative "Blackstar" system may have been shelved, we elected to share what we've learned about it with our readers, rather than let an intriguing technological breakthrough vanish into "black world" history, known to only a few...

Boeing’s decision finally to launch its first major 747 derivatives in nearly 20 years sets the scene for a battle at the high-value top end of the commercial airliner market and throws down the gauntlet to arch-rival Airbus to deliver on its promise that the all-new A380 will dominate the sector. The US manufacturer expects the arrival of its stretched updated passenger and freighter 747 models to constrain sales of the 555-seat A380 to fewer than 500 over the next two decades. This would be achieved by taking more than half of what Boeing projects will be a 900-unit market...

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE - To about 1,000 Warner Robins Air Logistics Center workers, the vision of the future includes 112 C-5 aircraft bristling with state-of-the-art guidance, navigation and communications systems, new engines and more than 70 modifications to the airframe and subcomponents. That possibility seemed more like a pipe dream a few years ago as airlift advocates called for mothballing at least 60 C-5s - the older "A" models - in favor of buying more C-17s, the newest of the Air Force transports. But the vision seems a little less murky today, although major hurdles remain before it becomes...

EDWARDS AFB - Aviation buffs, grab your cameras. The Edwards Air Force Base Open House and Air Show returns today for a two-day run after a two-year absence. Gates open today and Sunday at 7 a.m., with the flying set to run from 10 a.m. to about 4:30 p.m. each day. Parking and admission are free. Among the featured aerial acts are the newest addition to the Air Force arsenal, the F/A-22 Raptor and the B-2 stealth bomber. In keeping with tradition, Chuck Yeager will open the air show, this year flying a P-51 Mustang similar to the one he...

FORT DIX, N.J. (AFPN) -- C-5 Galaxy aircrews must tape over some white lights in the cockpit of their huge aircraft before missions into a “blacked out” environment when they must use night vision goggles. Sometimes crews use flashlights or even pull circuit breakers and light bulbs for other light systems to minimize the visual “wash out” effects lights have on their sensitive goggles. Then Air Mobility Battlelab innovators here came up with a solution. This week, command officials at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., approved use of the C-5 Aviator Night Vision Lighting system. This is a portable “clip-on”...