SAN FRANCISCO — Inspectors for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will know by May whether Kakuda Space Center (KSPC), the research group’s leading site for rocket engine development, will require major refit work following the devastating earthquake which struck northeast Japan in March.
Bell Helicopter has flown its demonstrator for the OH-58 Block II, which the company is proposing to meet the U.S. Army’s Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) requirement to replace the Kiowa Warrior. Flown for the first time on April 14 from Bell’s Xworx research and development facility in Fort Worth, the Block II is re-engined with Honeywell’s 1,000-shp-class HTS900 turboshaft to improve the OH-58’s hot-and-high performance, and meet the Army’s requirement to hover out of ground effect at 6,000 ft. altitude on a 95F day.
NASA has dished out generous helpings of seed money to four companies for work on commercial crew vehicles in the second round of its Commercial Crew Development (CCDev-2), advancing a total of $269.3 million to mature concepts for private spacecraft to carry astronauts to the International Space Station and other low-Earth-orbit destinations.
JUNO ARRIVES: Juno, a Jupiter-bound science probe built for NASA by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, has arrived in Florida for launch preparations. The solar-powered probe is targeted for liftoff on Aug. 5 on board an Atlas 5 rocket. The cruise to Jupiter will take five years. Upon arrival, Juno is expected to enter an elliptical polar orbit for a year-long study to help answer questions about the planet’s formation, evolution and structure, including whether Jupiter has a solid core. Spacecraft processing is being handled by Astrotech in Titusville, Fla.
ARMY General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, Calif., was awarded on April 8 a $173,458,076 fixed-price-incentive-fee contract for the procurement of low rate initial production in support of the Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft system. The work will be performed at Poway, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2014. One bid was solicited and one received. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting authority (W58RGZ-11-C-0099).
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) laid down a marker with his proposal to cut the U.S. budget deficit by $4.4 trillion over 10 years. Ryan’s bold plan focuses on curtailing entitlements such as Medicare and Medicaid, while sparing the Pentagon from cuts and the rich from tax hikes. U.S. President Barack Obama fired back on April 13 with his own plan to reduce government borrowing by $4 trillion over 12 years. But the Democratic leader’s proposal would both raise taxes on the wealthy and cut security spending — to the tune of $400 billion.
U.S. planners fear physical or kinetic destruction from cyberoperations — a phenomenon demonstrated by a tragic example of cyberfratricide that occurred in Siberia in 2009.
Honeywell’s RQ-16 T-Hawk “perch-and-stare” micro unmanned aircraft has completed its first missions over the damaged reactors at Japan’s earthquake-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) has released video from a T-Hawk hovering at low altitude over the ruined reactor buildings, providing more detailed views of the damage than previous helicopter and unmanned aerial system overflights.
NEW DELHI — Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) are gearing up to launch five satellites by the end of this year, including the advanced remote-sensing Resourcesat-2 on April 20.
JSPOC STOPPED: The U.S. Air Force is pausing upgrade work on its Joint Space Operations Center, says Air Force Space Command chief Gen. William Shelton. The JSPOC oversees monitoring of roughly 20,000 orbiting objects and notifies operators of potential satellite collisions. That number is expected to triple by 2030. But the JSPOC has been lacking in technology.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) APR. 21 — The Wings Club Luncheon featuring Calin Rovinescu, President & CEO, Air Canada, The Yale Club, New York. For more information call 212-867-1770 or go to [email protected] Apr. 25 — Greater Washington Aviation Open 23rd annual golf tournament, Lansdowne Golf Resort, Lansdowne, Va. For more information email [email protected], or go to www.gwao.org
BENGALURU, India — India’s Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) recorded revenues of Rs 5,550 crore ($1.23 billion) for its fiscal year 2010-11, a 6.3% jump over the previous fiscal year. The company achieved exports of $41.69 million, an increase of 76% over last year’s $23.65 million.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA’s prime space shuttle contractor, United Space Alliance, told employees April 15 that half of them will need to find other jobs this summer. The official notification was long expected, as the shutdown of the 30-year-old shuttle program has been under way for several years. “We’re starting the process,” USA spokeswoman Kari Fluegel says. “We’ll take self-nominations [for layoffs] first, then determine who else needs to go.”
RIO DE JANEIRO — Launcher and pad preparations to boost the Ukraine-built Cyclone-4 from Brazil’s Alcantara launch center are entering their final phase, with the goal of completing the qualification liftoff next year. Discussions between Ukraine and Brazil to jointly work on a Delta II-class launcher and launch site in northern Brazil date back to the 1990s and have been officially underway since 2003.
TILTROTOR TECH: Bell Helicopter has teamed with V-22 partner Boeing to propose an advanced tiltrotor for the U.S. Army’s Joint Multi-Role (JMR) Medium technology demonstration. The Army plans to award three to five $3-4 million contracts in May for 24-30-month configuration studies that are planned to lead to two competing flight demonstrators later this decade. JMR Medium would demonstrate technology for a rotorcraft family to replace the AH-64D, UH-60M, AH-1Z, UH-1Y and MH-60R/S after 2025.
BENGALURU, India — The Indian Air Force (IAF) has begun laying the groundwork for the formation of Tejas fighter squadrons, although it still awaits the delivery of two test aircraft from the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL).
Lockheed Martin’s Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system successfully tracked and engaged an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) target using data from a remote AN/TPY-2 radar during an April 15 test off Hawaii, the company confirms. This marked the Aegis BMD system’s first engagement against an IRBM as well as the first time the system used a launch-on-remote capability, the company says, which allows the Aegis BMD system to employ remote sensors to detect threats as early in the flight as possible.
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is preparing for another set of field tests that could be used to develop underwater laser communications capability. The NRL completed its first undersea laser-generation field demonstration in May 2010 and will look to expand on those tests this June, says Ted Jones, a civilian physicist and team research leader for the NRL plasma physics division.
