Things To Do In SW Florida

With its manufacturing practices under scrutiny, its machinists on strike and losses piling up, Boeing is said to be considering selling parts of its fabled space business. But few industry analysts think Boeing will put its extensive El Segundo, California, satellite operations on the table.

New Boeing Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg said during a recent earnings call that the aerospace giant was considering shedding assets outside of the company’s core commercial aviation and defense businesses, adding that Boeing was better off “doing less and doing it better than doing more and not doing it well.”

That could mean that Boeing sees no future for its troubled Starliner spacecraft, which was developed to service the International Space Station. The Arlington, Virginia, aerospace giant also has been trying to exit its United Launch Alliance joint launch venture with Lockheed Martin. Both programs face stiff competition from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which recently announced it was moving its headquarters from Hawthorne to Brownsville, Texas. read more

WASHINGTON — The breakthrough came last month, about 600 miles above Earth.

For the first time, the Pentagon’s Space Development Agency used lasers to more securely transmit data at light speed between military satellites, making it easier to track enemy missiles and if necessary shoot them down.

It was a milestone not only for the Pentagon. This was a defining moment for a certain up-and-coming military contractor that had built key parts of this new system: Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

SpaceX over the past year started to move in a big way into the business of building military and spy satellites, an industry that has long been dominated by major contractors like Raytheon and Northrop Grumman as well as smaller players like York Space Systems.

This shift comes as the Pentagon and U.S. spy agencies are preparing to spend billions of dollars to build a series of new constellations of low-Earth-orbit satellites, much of it in response to recent moves by China to build its own space-based military systems. read more

Sure, your Halloween decorations haven’t started collecting cobwebs yet. But now we are all in for the November-December holiday season at Central Florida’s theme parks and attractions.

We’ve compiled a list of seasonal activities — arranged by start date — and thrown in a few not-so-holiday occasions for your planning purposes.

This list probably will grow once the sugar rush of Oct. 31 passes. So consider this a sampler, and stay tuned. (We didn’t try to wrangle New Year’s Eve events yet. They’re so 2025.)

• Nov. 2: Aquatica water park’s Beach Nights promotion features holiday movies on Saturday evenings through Dec. 21. (Included with regular admission.)

• Nov. 2: Jungle Cruise shifts into holiday mode and becomes Jingle Cruise at Magic Kingdom.

• Nov. 4: Blizzard Beach water park reopens at Walt Disney World.  (Typhoon Lagoon closes Nov. 3.)

• Nov. 8: SeaWorld Orlando’s Coasters After Dark – Christmas Edition, an after-hours, extra-ticket event, will happen six select nights through Dec. 13. Participants will have access to seven thrill rides amid holiday lighting. read more

Princess Cruises may have stepped up its ship game with the debut this year of Sun Princess now sailing out of Port Everglades, but the details within the massive vessel are what make it stand out.

The first in the line’s new Sphere class of ships arrived to its Fort Lauderdale winter home in October to begin seven-night Eastern  and Western Caribbean itineraries. The exterior notably shows off not one but two “spheres” in the form of a bulbous center of the ship that is home to the main atrium within, but also “The Dome” atop the vessel, which is home to the ship’s avant-garde aerialist performances.

The sphere-theme continues within at the main theater called The Arena, which can transform from a normal stage production to a theater-in-the-round experience.

It’s within these spaces and others on board the 177,882-gross-ton ship that can carry more than 4,300 passengers that the line has cooked up a bevy of new experiences that set it apart from the rest of the fleet. Here are 10 of the best. read more

Walt Disney World has announced a massive renovation and expansion to the resort’s popular Swan and Dolphin hotels, creating the park’s largest event space.

The three-hotel complex includes the Dolphin Resort, the Swan, and the Swan Reserve, which are located next to each other adjacent to Epcot. The expansion announced Wednesday will deliver an additional 120,000 square feet of meeting space, bringing the total amount of event space up to 469,000 square feet, GrowthSpotter reported.

The 4-star hotel complex is owned by Tishman and managed by Marriott.

The additional meeting space will be built in a new two-story annex building constructed on a portion of a parking lot next to the existing convention space at the Dolphin Resort. A rendering provided by Disney indicates that the new space will have a design and color scheme consistent with that of the existing convention building, allowing it to integrate into the existing structure.

The new building will be connected to the current convention space. (Handout from Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin) read more