plane

The Boeing 747 that the Emir of Dubai uses as a private plane is so luxurious that even the pilot’s controls are made of gold

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When we talk about private jetsluxury is already inferred in that same concept, but even within something as exclusive as that, there are airplanes and then there is he Boeing 747 of the emir of dubaia separate category that makes a normal Gulfstream look like a regular bus. Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, emir of dubaidid not limit itself to converting one of the largest airplanes in the world into a flying mansion, it also extended the luxury to the pilot cabin, with the engine control knobs, flaps and brakes covered in gold. Aviation youtuber Sam Chui had access to the interior and documented in detail everything he found aboard this flying palace that has all the luxury and comforts of a five star hotel designed both to satisfy the government needs of its owner, as well as those of the entire entourage that accompanies him. A jumbo jet with a double identity The base of this mobile mansion is a Boeing 747-400 Combi, a variant of the commercial jumbo jet that combines a large passenger area in the front, with cargo capacity in the rear. This duality allows it to transport the head of state, his team and the cargo (luggage, vehicles, etc.) they need on the same flight, something that clearly differentiates it from other private jets. more “modest.” The most striking element of the interior is the majlis, the traditional Arab reception room, adapted in the form of a huge open space in the central part of the plane in which there are a series of very comfortable seats for the president and his governing council. At the front, just below the cockpit, is the master bedroom, which looks more like a the luxury hotel suite than to a cabin at 10,000 meters above sea level. The lighting is warm, the bathroom and faucets are goldand it has a shower that you don’t expect to find on a plane. In the rear, a large dining room serves as a meeting room with capacity for 26 people, turning the plane into a valid space for negotiations or state dinners. On the upper deck there are eight minisuites with large reclining seats for VIP passengers, and a section with business class seats for the staff who accompany the emir on each trip. When luxury reaches the cockpit Most private jets reserve luxury for the passenger and limiting the cockpit to a more practical and austere function. That doesn’t happen on the emir of Dubai’s plane. Just like published LuxuryLaunchesin this private jet right down to the throttle levers, aerodynamic brake controls and flaps They have a gold finishturning each maneuver into a symbolic gesture and reminding pilots what type of aircraft they are flying. The Combi configuration of the aircraft allows cargo to be carried in the rear, including specific containers for the emir’s horsessomething consistent with the sheikh’s well-known love of horse riding. The plane has a range of about 13,500 kilometers, enough to connect Dubai with any part of the world without stops. The sheikh has at least two Boeing 747s like this one. According to Mallorca DiaryIn March 2026, one of them landed in Palma de Mallorca, generating all kinds of speculation about its destination. In Xataka | The Emir of Dubai bought a 500 million superyacht but discovered that it had a serious problem: there was no mobile coverage inside Image | Wikimedia Commons (Ukrainian Government), Sam Chui

May your next plane be even older… and you won’t even realize it

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A commercial airplane can carry out more than 60,000 cycles takeoff and landing throughout its useful life, as long as it passes extremely strict periodic inspections. In fact, some aircraft fly for decades, accumulating millions of kilometers without this affecting their safety. Because in aviation, time is not measured in years as much as in maintenance. The big secret of flying in 2026. This week they remembered a piece of information from CNN. Commercial aviation has been operating for decades with a reality that is rarely perceived from the seat: many of the planes that fly through the skies are not new, although they may seem that way. The reason? Thanks to constant maintenance and interior renovations, aircraft of more than 20 or even 30 years can offer a completely modern viewing experience. The passenger sees screens, new seats and renovated cabins, but not the fuselage or its age. That disconnection between appearance and reality is key to understanding what is happening now. Increasingly older. The average age of commercial aircraft is already between 20 and 25 yearsand is slowly increasing due to supply chain issues, delays in manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing and difficulties with engines and components. In fact, there are models delivered in the 90s that international routes continue to operate without the passenger realizing it, because airlines invest in renovating interiors instead of replacing aircraft. In many cases, maintaining an older aircraft It is much more profitable than buying a new one, especially when the availability of parts and engines allows it. The result is a global fleet that ages silently while appearing otherwise. War enters the scene. And here appears an actor who comes to complicate everything a little more, because the conflict in the Middle East has introduced a new factor that aggravates this trend: rising prices and uncertainty of the fuel. With the Strait of Hormuz affected and the jet fuel prices skyrocketEuropean airlines face months of high costs and potential supply problems. Even with a ceasefire, the recovery of energy flows will be slow, with refineries damaged and shipping routes altered. In this context, each operational decision becomes dominated by the cost of fuelwhich is one of the biggest expenses of any airline. Why this extends the life of older aircraft. Because when the fuel it becomes more expensiveairlines prioritize reducing investments and maximizing use of already depreciated assets. Although newer aircraft are usually more efficient, their acquisition cost and limited deliveries mean that they are not always the immediate option. In parallel, the production delays and in the delivery of new models they force older aircraft to continue operating for longer than expected. The Iran war, stress even more the energy market and global logistics, reinforces this dynamic: replacing aircraft becomes more difficult just when maintaining them is most necessary. Between cost and perception. CNN recalled that airlines have perfected the art of making people invisible the age of their fleetsfocusing the investment on what the passenger perceives directly. We’re talking about new seats, lighting, entertainment systems and redesigned cabins that allow a decades-old plane to compete in experience with one fresh from the factory. At the same time, the slowness in the delivery of new interiors (which can take years) make even these improvements arrive more slowly. Thus, passengers continue to fly on increasingly older aircraft without being aware of it, while the industry adjusts costs in an increasingly demanding environment. The “new” will be more relative. Ultimately, the combination of geopolitical tensionsindustrial shortages and pressure on costs point to a scenario in which the actual age of aircraft will continue to increase. The war in Iran has not only affected the price of fuel, but has revealed the fragility of the global energy and logistics system on which aviation depends. Consequently, the “secret” of the airlines will be prolonged: We will fly on older planes than we imagine, without realizing it, because the priority is no longer renewing fleets at the ideal pace, but rather keeping them operational in an increasingly uncertain and crazy expensive world. Image | RawPixel In Xataka | Global air traffic has a problem: Ukraine and Iran have created a funnel that is driving up prices In Xataka | If you have a trip planned to Vietnam or Japan this year we have good and bad news for you

The US has rescued its most “brute” plane for an impossible mission

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The 30 mm cannon an A-10 It can fire almost 4,000 projectiles per minute and its sound is so characteristic that soldiers identify it before even seeing the plane coming. In fact, for decades it has been one of the most recognizable symbols of air support in combat, although its withdrawal had already been decided. The war in Iran has resurrected it. Which means the return of the A-10. At this moment there are dozens of A-10s that have put heading to the Middle Eastand among military analysts that can only be due to one thing: that the United States has rescued its most “brute” plane for a mission that it seems impossibleand that points directly to a change in the nature of war. Because the Warthog It is not an aircraft designed for clean campaigns from high altitudes or for technological wars at a distance, but rather for flying low, “dirty” and shoot a few meters of the enemy supporting troops in direct contact. His massive deploymentalso in the twilight of its operational life, suggests that Washington is no longer thinking only about degrading Iranian capabilities from the air, but in scenarios where there will be soldiers on the ground who will need close, constant and brutal coverage. Distances in war. Hours before the deployment was known, they went viral some images of A-10s making unusually long strafing passes in Iraq (of more than 9 seconds), which gave an idea that they are not a technical anecdote, but rather a clue to what is changing on the battlefield. This type of use (long, less precise and unusual shots) only makes sense for dispersed, dynamic and close targets, as groups of combatantsnot infrastructure. That is, scenarios where the plane acts almost like aerial artillery in direct support of troops, reinforcing the idea that the conflict is evolving towards more chaotic, closer and less controlled confrontations. What the A-10 fits with. It we count yesterday. At the same time that these planes arrive, the United States does not stop to accumulate troopsspecial forces and logistics capabilities in the region, preparing operations that would no longer be only aerial but also incursions on the ground. The options being considered (from assaults on coastal installations to the taking of strategic enclaves like Kharg Island or missions for capture nuclear material) fit perfectly with the type of support that offers the A-10: close, persistent coverage designed to protect soldiers in high-risk situations. The plane thus appears as the missing piece to complete a hybrid war scenario that mixes air attacks with limited but intense ground operations. The strategic contradiction. All this occurs in parallel to a political speech from Washington increasingly contradictorywhere there is talk of ending the war in weeks while deployments are prepared that point just in the opposite direction. The possibility of closing the conflict without reopening the Strait of Hormuz reveals that the United States wants to limit its involvement, but the media accumulation (troops, drones, electronic warfare and now A-10) indicates that it is preparing for escalation if negotiations fail. In other words, we are facing a strategy that tries to keep all options open, but that in practice increases the risk of a deeper and longer war. Point of no return. If you like, on the whole, all the signs seem to converge in the same direction: the conflict is entering a phase where distance is no longer sufficient and direct contact points to be inevitable. The A-10, with its ability to operate at low altitude and punish nearby targets for long periods, symbolizes that shift toward a harsher warmore physical and more dangerous. In any case, it does not guarantee the success for the United States (in fact, his presence suggests how difficult what lies ahead will be for his troops), but it does confirm that Washington is preparing for a scenario where missiles and bombings will no longer be enough, but rather the ground will have to be held under constant fire with those thousands of soldiers that have been arriving in the Middle East. Image | US AIR, United States Air Force In Xataka | By launching more than 850 Tomahawks a month, the US was going to lose its war with Iran. So he has changed ammunition: thousands of soldiers In Xataka | The US had 17 irreplaceable “radar” planes: now it has 16 planes and many reasons to worry in Iran

the exhibition ended with the plane in flames

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If you’ve ever flown within Europe on a short or medium-sized journey, there’s a good chance you’ve spent several hours inside a Airbus A320. This model has become one of the most common aircraft on the continent and is part of the daily landscape of airports and airlines. Today it is difficult to imagine European air transport without it, but there was a time when he A320 was an absolute novelty that was just beginning to be shown to the public. One of those first public flights took place in 1988 and was intended as a demonstration for spectators, press and guests. It was also the first flight with passengers on an Airbus A320. The plane belonged to Air France and was part of the first units of the model. That presentation was to serve to show the new Airbus aircraft in a simple maneuver on a small airfield. What should have been an exhibition ended up becoming one of the most remembered episodes of the early years of the A320. The premiere that went wrong and went down in history The demonstration was part of an aeronautical event held at the Habsheim airfield in eastern France. Air France agreed to participate in the exhibition and took advantage of the occasion to publicly display its new Airbus A320 in the company’s colors. The plan was to perform a flyby at very low altitude on the runway with the landing gear deployed so that attendees could observe the plane before it continued its trajectory. The flight did not depart directly from that small airfield. The plane had taken off from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport and subsequently flew to Basel-Mulhouse, where a press conference was held before boarding. According to Aviation Safety Networkwhen the device took off again it had 130 passengers and six crew members on board. Among the occupants were journalists and people who had won a seat on the flight through a lottery. In the cockpit were two commanders with extensive experience within Air France. One of them was heading the company’s training division and the other was involved in the introduction of the A320 into the airline’s fleet. Three minutes after takeoff, with the airfield already in sight, the pilot began the descent which had to place the plane at the altitude planned for the maneuver. However, the decline continued below that level. According to data collected later in the investigation, the plane first passed about 50 feet (about 15.20 meters) and just a few seconds later it descended to about 30 feet (about 9.15 meters) above the ground. At that moment the power was increased to try to overcome the maneuver, but the reaction came too late. At that point, the room for maneuver was minimal. As we can see in a videothe Airbus A320 continued to advance at very low altitude until skim the treetops located at the end of the Habsheim airfield. The accident ended with the plane engulfed in flames in front of those attending the aeronautical event. After the accident, an investigation was opened in which Air France and Airbus participated together with the Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la sécurité de l’aviation civile, the BEA, the French body in charge of investigating air accidents. The objective was to accurately reconstruct what happened during the maneuver and determine why the plane had ended up hitting the trees located at the end of the airfield. In its report, the BEA pointed out several factors that, combined, explained the accident. Among them, he mentioned carrying out an overflight at a height lower than that of the obstacles present in the area, a very low speed during the maneuver and the late application of the power needed to start the comeback. According to the investigation, this combination of circumstances left the plane without sufficient margin to regain altitude before reaching the tree line. Commander Michel Asseline rejected part of the investigation’s conclusions. In his defense, he maintained that both he and the other pilot, Pierre Mazières, had only received the flight plan on the morning of the accident. He also stated that the crew did not have maps of the aerodrome or detailed information about the configuration of the flight field where the demonstration was to take place. Asseline also questioned the interpretation of the moment in which the comeback attempt was attempted. According to your version, the fly-by-wire control system of the A320 would have prevented the application of power and lifting the plane with the necessary speed. In addition, he went on to claim that the black box data could have been manipulated and that four seconds were missing from the recording. Despite these allegations, the case ended up going to court. The judicial process ended with several convictions for involuntary manslaughter. Commander Michel Asseline, the first officer, two Air France officials and the president of the flying club that organized the event were found guilty. The case put an end to one of the most controversial episodes of the early years of the Airbus A320. As time went by, the relationship between Air France and the A320 continued to develop normally. According to data from ch-aviationthe airline currently operates about 40 Airbus A320-200. It also previously flew another 61 A320-200 and 13 A320-100, the variant involved in the 1988 accident. Today the A320 remains one of the most common aircraft on short and medium-haul routes within Europe. Images | Wikimedia Commons In Xataka | China has just found a hole in the US’s quietest weapon: an algorithm has hacked its B-2s in Iran

that of buying a plane ticket before it costs an arm and a leg

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If you were planning to buy a plane ticket, we have a warning: it is better that you do it as soon as possible. That’s what the price of jet fuel indicates. The cost of oil for this type of use has skyrocketed since a new war broke out in the Middle East. Following the US and Israeli attacks and Iran’s response, the supply chain has become so stressed and strained that it does not bode well for the future. 2$25.44. It is the figure that has set the record and that tells us about the nervousness that is beginning to be experienced with the supply of fuel for airplanes. Those $225.44 was the price that barrels of jet fuel reached last Wednesday in Asia, they point out in Reuters. That figure was an anomaly that ended up rebounding but it gives an idea of ​​how the market is working. “It’s absolute chaos,” June Goh, an oil market analyst at commodities company Sparta, told Reuters. Financial Times. “We never expected that jet fuel could be twice the price of crude oil,” he explained. years ago. Specifically, four. Since 2022, the price of jet fuel has not been so expensive in the case of Europe and two years if we talk about Asia and the United States. The problem is not so much that “equality” in price. The problem is that it seems that we have already put on the tie and now it is time to tighten the knot. Because it is calculated that 40% of jet fuel that reaches Europe does so through the Strait of Hormuz, currently collapsed between vessels seeking to avoid an enclave over which missiles, drones and fighters fly over in search of targets to bomb. Why is this happening? Jet fuel is more delicate than fuel intended for passenger cars, so it can only be processed in refineries. Europe has reduced its refineries in recent years, something that It already affected the rise in diesel prices in the early stages of the Ukrainian War. And Asian refiners are seeing crude oil supplies disrupted by fighting in Iran and nearby countries. In Saudi Arabia, some refineries have had to suspend operations due to the attacks, according to Barron’s. From China, furthermore, They are already limiting fuel exports outside the country to prioritize the internal market. And it is calculated that 13% of the oil that China buys abroad comes from Iran. That is to say, there is less oil reaching the refineries and some oil companies are considering taking enormous detours to avoid the dangers of Hormuz. Right now, it’s not just that oil is having more trouble getting there. The thing is there are deposits closing because there are no means to transport them to the refineries. In OilPrice They point out that Iran has already had to stop deposits because there is no outlet for its production. And Kuwait could be the next to enter the same situation, according to Financial Times. And most of the oil to be refined in Europe comes from Kuwait. And dwarf tanks. Another pressing problem is that the tanks that hold airplane fuel are small because they require very specific conditions, according to Goh of Sparta. This causes the need for replacement to be high and, therefore, the price of fuel affects this market more. Therefore, the perfect storm is forming. There is oil that does not leave the fields, countries limiting exports, companies looking for solutions to save the Strait of Hormuz and a storage space sensitive to any break in the supply chain. There are already notices. To all of the above we must add that part of this fuel is staying in the Middle East to try to provide service to all the planes that are looking for a space to take off from airports that, right now, are chaos. According to Financial Timesqueues to refuel are causing delays and some companies are choosing to refuel before reaching their destination so as not to do so in the busiest places. The most affected in Europe, everything indicates, will be the low-cost companies, which are the ones that play the hardest with their profit margins. In Bloomberg They report that WizzAir already points out that this increase in prices will make it lose 50 million euros. This means that in their forecasts for 2026 they would go from earning 25 million euros at the end of the year to losing it. Photo | Nicholas Susilo In Xataka | An airline has completed the first transatlantic flight using sustainable fuel. The problem: there is not enough

The new fighter that Sweden is preparing is a “plane of airplanes”

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Swedish intelligence is clear: The conflict between Ukraine and Russia will expand across the old continent next year. Given this scenario, Sweden just signed a contract to renew its latest generation fighter for a totally different concept: a key “plane of airplanes” in the first line of defense of a Europe that still He is not very clear how to defend himself. Because Ukraine is not the only front: the threat of United States annexation of Greenland is still in the air. The contract. The Nordic country has hired Saab for 282 million dollars to develop the program Koncept för Framtida Stridsflyg (KFS, Concept for Future Combat Aviation) called to rejuvenate its fleet: KFS will be the basis of the roadmap to rejuvenate its air combat capabilities in the long term. The project started in March 2024 as Vägval Stridsflyg and after financing, it is in the development and first demo phase. Context. Within the old continent, Sweden is a particular case in air defense due to its location: despite be neutral in the Cold Warthe threat of the USSR was just around the corner, in the Baltic. Since then, maintaining strategic sovereignty has been a national priority for the Nordic country. In fact, and although it participated in the Team Tempest program led by the United Kingdom, got off the boat when this evolved into the Global Combat Aviation Program (GCAP) that integrates the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan to go it alone. Because Sweden has been building its own fighters for decades, Draken to the current Gripen E passing through Viggen. After years of service and development behind them, Gripen is already looking for a replacement for 2040. Why is it important. The implications it brings are relevant, both from a technological and geopolitical point of view at the state and continental level: Because it is not a new aircraft, it is a new concept that could redefine the standard of combat aviation. The security context is urgent, as indicated by the information from the Swedish intelligence services and the recent entry of the Nordic country into NATO. For Sweden, it would consolidate its aeronautical defense industry in the long term, reinforcing its commitment to military technological sovereignty. For Europe, if consolidated it would be the continent’s third new generation fighter program along with the FCAS (France-Germany-Spain) and the GCAP (UK-Italy-Japan). Three different projects and the question of interoperability. How this “plane of airplanes” works. What Sweden wants to replace the Gripen is a distributed combat concept. Thus, the fighter’s function is fragmented into different specialized platforms coordinated in real time by artificial intelligence. Although in a simplified and accessible way we have referred to it as “plane of airplanes”, in reality it is sixth generation “system of systems” with a different architecture: This is a manned aircraft that governs a constellation of specialized drones under a centralized AI. Risks and weaknesses. The challenge is enormous for Saab, which has already tried Helsing’s Centaur AI (German) on a real flight with the Gripen E to manage tactical decisions in combat. Of course, the Nordic company has never built a stealth fighter life-size: its background is two small research drones the size of a car, the SHARC and the FILURdating back to the 2000s. On the other hand, although Centaur’s first tests are promising, they are far from validating the use of AI in combat in real conditions. Finally, the project is so ambitious in technical and economic terms and the time window is so long that a medium-sized country like Sweden facing it alone runs the risk of being overwhelmed. In Xataka | “It’s not what we need”: Germany has just put the finishing touches on Spain’s great military dream, the European anti-F-35 is disappearing In Xataka | Europe’s great Achilles heel is not its armies, it is its plugs: NATO’s warning to shield our electrical network Cover | saab

The fastest private plane in the world is now ready to fly, covering non-stop intercontinental routes and less jet lag

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Few aircraft projects raise as much expectation as that of the Bombardier Global 8000 because he who It will be the fastest civil aircraft in the world since the Concorde It has some characteristics that leave people open-mouthed and others, such as the promise of ending jet lag, that arouse some skepticism. And furthermore, it is rigorously complying with its roadmap to go from becoming an ambitious prototype in testing to being a certified commercial reality: a few days ago completed its international certification process and can now operate without restrictions in the European sky. He Bombardier Global 8000 breaks records. In its test flights, one of its aircraft reached a Mach speed of 0.941, even exceeding Mach 1.0 (Mach. 1.015) in a dive, making it the first aircraft within its commercial people transportation category to break the sound barrier in a controlled and sustainable manner. And also, in the fastest civil jet in active service. However, his certified maximum operating cruising speed is Mach 0.95, exceeding its own expectations and leaving behind others like the Gulfstream G700 or the Dassault Falcon 10X. This is possible thanks to its engines GE Passport and its aerodynamics. Its propulsion system is optimized for a high bypass ratio and thermal efficiency, enabling long flights. Its wings have a design Smooth Flĕx Wing critical: it is a variable profile structure that optimizes lift both when flying at low speed and at cruising speed. This minimizes resistance and improves stability against turbulence. With intercontinental capacity. Precisely its surname 8000 comes from its autonomy: it is capable of flying 8,000 nautical miles, about 15,000 kilometers. Again, its engines and design are largely to blame. If we take into account its range and speed, in practice it means that it is practically capable of linking two cities in the world without the need for stopovers. It is no longer that it can connect New York with Hong Kong, it is that compared to the traditional commercial flight it could save almost two hours. Goodbye to damn jet lag? As if flying from one end of the planet to another non-stop and in less time was not enough, the Bombardier Global 8000 promises minimize jet lag through pressurization and systems engineering. Go ahead something: the jet lag It’s not just lack of sleep and jet lag, it’s also an effect of air pressure. While a standard commercial airliner maintains cabin pressure equivalent to 6,000 – 8,000 feet, the Global 8000 maintains it at only 2,900 feet (about 880 meters) even when flying 41,000 feet. This means more oxygen in the blood of people traveling, so fatigue is reduced. Likewise, it integrates the Soleil System LED circadian lighting based on the dynamic position of the sun depending on the destination. A most exclusive aircraft. This aircraft does not skimp on details to optimize flight or comfort. Thus, it has a HEPA filtration system that renews the cabin air in less than 90 seconds, it has very comfortable a priori Bombardier patented Nuage seats with zero gravity position, four private suites with king-size beds and there is no shortage of shower on board. Beyond its innovations and luxuries, it has something essential from a practicality point of view: its design allows it to operate in small airports and even on wet and bad runways, so it can land or take off in up to 2,050 airports. According to Bombardier, this marks the difference with the competition. The interior of one of its exclusive suites ready to fly. As we mentioned in the intro, the Bombardier Global 8000 already has everything to fly. After the envelope validation phase which took place between 2021 and 2023 where the company verified that elements such as the wing and the stabilizers supported transonic shock waves without losing structural integrity, they moved on to the testing and certification phase. First Transport Canada, then the FAA American and a couple of weeks ago, the European, which opens the doors to accepting deliveries in the United States and Europe. However, the first customers of the launch have already begun to receive their units from 2025. By the way, those who own the previous model, the Global 7500, you can upgrade it to the new Global 8000. In Xataka | The largest plane in the world has just broken its record for flight hours: its real mission is even more ambitious In Xataka | The whale of the skies says goodbye: the Airbus Beluga ST retires after years transporting other aircraft parts Cover and images | Bombardier

China has spent 2025 putting things into orbit. Now they have gone further by launching a reusable space plane

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Where I said ‘Mars’, I say ‘Moon’. For years, Elon Musk and SpaceX have maintained that colonize Mars It was humanity’s next great leap. While others (and NASA itself) considered the Moon still interesting, SpaceX looked down on her. Until recently, whenThe company has taken a step back recognizing that colonizing the Moon is easier than Mars. And of course, on the other side of the world we can have an explanation: China has the Moon in its sights. And they have just done another test with their mysterious reusable ship. The test. Last Saturday, and in the most aseptic way possible, China launched a reusable spacecraft. This was confirmed by the state news media Xinhua through an release Which leaves more questions than answers. Officially, we only know that, from one of its multiple launch bases, the country launched the vehicle on the back of a Long March-2F rocket. Mission? “The experimental spacecraft will carry out technological verification of reusable spacecraft, providing data and technical support for the peaceful use of space.” What technologies? Why do you want to know that, good night. TOP SECRET. This vehicle it’s not new. In fact, this would be the fourth trip since 2020 of an experimental ship whose characteristics are being kept in a state of absolute secrecy. On the first trip, this model would have been orbiting the Earth for two days. In 2022 it was launched again and returned in 2023 after 276 days going around. And in September 2024 there was another launch that returned after 268 days. As we say, the secrecy is total, so we do not know what type of vehicle it is, but there has been speculation that it may be the answer to the X-37B robotic vehicle of the United States Air Force. Neither Reuters nor Xinhua comment that it could be the Shenlong, the Chinese ‘Divine Dragon’ which is the competition of the aforementioned X-37B. Because if we talk about reusable rockets like SpaceX’s Falcon, China also has an answer: the LandSpace. They don’t stop throwing things. Beyond the reusable ship, China has gotten right into the space race. Like Europeis another of the countries that seeks space sovereignty, and one of the toughest tests was carried out at the beginning of December. To test the overload capacity of its systems and analyze whether they can handle several missions at the same time, in early December, China completed four space missions in four days. In total, there were 80 orbital launches in 2025, surpassing the previous record of 68 launches and achieving with this proof of this something only within the reach of the current SpaceX. And it seems that 2026 has started as last year ended. Target: Moon. Among China’s medium-term objectives is to take astronauts to the Moon before 2030. They want to compete against the NASA and its Artemis mission for establish a research base on the satellite while they finalize the building your own space station. The Moon has become that last piece of cheese on the plate, but instead of giving it up, the great powers want to get hold of it. Reason? Its great value to carry out experiments to expand sovereignty on other planets, but also with regard to resources that can be exploited and sent to Earth refers. Image | Baijiahao In Xataka | We have not known for 10 years what the US fighter jets saw in the sky. Until a Chinese copy has appeared

The train is eating the plane in Spain for a very simple reason: airports exhaust us

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Although Renfe has given us some somewhat tortuous months in terms of its service, AVE delaysthe truth is that the train continues to be a very important means of transport in Spain, and there are many who prefer it to the plane. Factors like railway liberalization and the fierce price war Among the different railway operators they have also been especially favorable to this preference. According to Renfe data to which El País has had access82% of travelers choose the train over the plane. And this from an environmental point of view is good, since as the media reminds us, this represents an annual savings in emissions that reaches 512,926 tons of CO₂, equivalent to removing about 250,000 combustion cars from circulation for an entire year. Growth. The seven main routes, which connect Madrid with Barcelona, ​​Seville, Malaga, Valencia, Alicante, Galicia and Asturias, have experienced growth of up to 66% in the number of travelers in the last three years, according to the data provided by the railway operator. Numbers. Between September 2022 and August 2025, the Madrid-Barcelona corridor has gone from 7.5 to 8.9 million travelers. Madrid-Valencia rose from 4.4 to 5.3 million, while Madrid-Málaga jumped from 2.1 to 3.5 million, being the corridor with the most relative growth. According to account In the middle, these figures also include the users of Ouigo and Iryo, the private operators that have entered into competition after the liberalization of the sector. The three hour rule. “As soon as the train offers a competitive travel time of less than three hours, demand shifts massively to the railway instead of the plane,” explains Adrián Fernández, director of Sustainability and Energy Efficiency at Renfe, to El País. Fernández presents the case of Madrid-Barcelona, ​​since when the journey lasted seven hours, only 15% of the passengers chose the train; Now, with a two and a half hour trip, that proportion reaches 83%. Where do new travelers come from?. Just like collect In the middle, the International Union of Railways estimates that 50% of current high-speed users come from the plane, 20% abandon the car, and the remaining 30% correspond to induced trips, referring in the latter to trips that were not made before having the AVE. Savings Breakdown. The middle collect Renfe calculations based on European Commission methodologywhich state that the Madrid-Barcelona route avoids the emission of 185,856 tons of CO₂ per year. According to these data, Madrid-Seville saves 76,874 tons, and Madrid-Málaga reduces emissions by 72,121 tons. Adding the connections with Galicia, Valencia, Alicante and Asturias, the total amounts to 512,944 annual tons of CO₂. The equivalent in cars. To measure this figure, the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE) esteem that each car traveler emits 121 grams of CO₂ per kilometer, as points out The Country. Considering that a vehicle travels about 11,200 kilometers per year in Spain with an average occupancy of 1.5 people, the savings are equivalent to removing 252,325 cars circulating throughout the year. Challenges. Although the train is more sustainable, Cristina Arjona, Greenpeace mobility spokesperson, counted to El País that “to encourage its use even more it must also be the most competitive in price, since sometimes it is still more expensive than the plane.” “As high speed reaches new corridors, as soon as times are competitive, people decide to use the train en masse, with quotas of 80% and 90%,” account Fernandez in the middle. Now the challenge for operators is to extend this network to more territories and ensure that the offer of frequencies and prices remains attractive. In Xataka | Aragon finally solves the great bottleneck for its Pyrenean dream: joining Navarra and Catalonia by highway

In the middle of the ocean, 250 passengers on a plane learned that one of them was a stowaway. One shaped like a rat

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There are few things that can surprise you when you fly at 10,000 meters high in the middle of the ocean. The problem (the big problem) is that when something surprises you in that context, it is not usually a pleasant surprise. And much less if what surprises you is a rat. Can you imagine the feeling? We assume that something similar is what the 250 passengers They were flying from Amsterdam to Aruba, a small island in the Caribbean. The return trip, which passed through the nearby island of Bonaire, had to be suspended by the company itself, forcing passengers to wait one more night until the return plane was ready. A rat at 10,000 meters high By the time the plane wanted to arrive in Aruba, each and every one of the passengers on the KLM plane that was making the journey had already found out what was happening. Among his dreams of paradisiacal beaches and days of relaxation, the image of a rat had slipped in. Specifically, the rat shown by the videos recorded by the passengers themselvesmoving between the curtains that separate the seating categories or the overhead compartments, as can be seen in the images of the Dutch media Of Telegraaf. Click on the image to go to the Instagram post Evidently, the Dutch media has echoed the matter. According to RTL“the passengers remained calm and the crew did not lose sight of the animal at any time.” In Dutch News They point out that it took KLM 36 hours to hunt the animal after it was first seen. And that was the main problem why the return flight was cancelled. Once the rat was caught, the company had to leave more than 250 passengers on the ground in order to carry out a thorough cleaning and disinfect the entire interior of the plane. Asked if passengers traveling on board can request some type of compensation, experts pointed out Telegraaf which was complicated since it was an exceptional situation and they would have to prove that the airline was the real culprit for the entry of the rat. They explain that they could request a compensation economic if the study of the facts shows that the rat sneaked onto the plane into the compartments in which the catering is transported, but they affirm that it is complicated that this could have happened like this. Photo | Florian van Duyn and Nikolett Emmert In Xataka | In 2019, Iberia lost a dog before flying. Now the European Justice says that it is worth the same as a suitcase

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