Pratt & Whitney aims to slash handling times for engines with an overhaul shop it and China Eastern Airlines have begun building in Shanghai. The plant, which will handle only CFM56 engines, will be Pratt & Whitney’s first major overhaul facility in China. “This was a very, very logical move for us to make” in developing an Asian strategy, says James Keenan, general manager of Pratt & Whitney’s engine maintenance business.

China’s first lunar probe, Chang’e 1, will face its next challenge Feb. 21, when an eclipse will leave it without solar power for 5.5 hr. and freeze its systems at extremely low temperatures. Up to now, the spacecraft and the ground-based system that directed it into lunar orbit have performed at least as well as designed, according to official statements.

The credit crunch will push airlines into leasing more aircraft, rather than buying them, says Asian lessor BOC Aviation, which has strengthened its own financial firepower in anticipation of garnering more business. Financing aircraft with loans was fairly cheap a year ago, but is becoming increasingly difficult and costly as banks struggle to maintain cash reserves amid the credit market dysfunction caused by the U.S. sub-prime mortgage collapse.