Space Shuttle Atlantis, the United States' last serviceable manned spacecraft, launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:26am local time Friday.
American Airlines on Thursday applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation for authority to fly nonstop from Dallas/Fort Worth to Rio de Janeiro three times weekly beginning this Fall.
China is expected to become the world's number two plane market as it will require some 5,000 new commercial airplanes valued at $600 billion over the 20 years, Boeing projected on Wednesday.
The US Department of Transportation on Monday awarded slots for four airlines to operate routes to Portland, San Juan, Austin and San Francisco out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.