KOCHI, India — Ignis Aerospace is partnering with Lectromec of the U.S. and India’s Radel to analyze the safety and effectiveness of aircraft wiring systems. Developing or maintaining a wiring system involves more than just ensuring all aircraft components are connected; it is also about minimizing the number and weight of wires, addressing routing needs and determining co-location and arc hazards.
While U.S. Global Positioning System satellites have proved to be a boon for precision attacks and other military operations, some military units are trying to stop relying so heavily on the system and employ other tactics, especially in navigating through unknown terrain. GPS issues have arisen during recent conflicts in mountain valleys and urban areas, U.S. Marine Corp. Lt. Col. (ret.) James Lasswell said March 15 during the NAVEXFOR 2011 conference for expeditionary forces.
HOUSTON — Three U.S. and Russian astronauts ended a 159-day mission to the International Space Station early March 16 as their Soyuz TMA-0M1/24S spacecraft parachuted safely into wintry Kazakhstan. Expedition 26 crewmembers Scott Kelly of NASA and cosmonauts Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka were greeted by helicopter search-and-rescue crews, minutes after landing northeast of Arkalyk at 3:54 a.m. EDT, or 1:54 p.m. local time. All three appeared to be in good shape as they were pulled from their descent module, which had rolled onto its side.
STAYING POWER: U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made no secret of his intent to leave office this year after an unusually long stay in the Pentagon’s top spot, but aerospace and defense business analysts at Capital Alpha Partners in Washington note that his tour of duty could last through building the fiscal 2013 defense budget — meaning added influence in defense spending and, potentially, even less impact by his immediate successor.
Fuji Heavy Industries is checking with suppliers that have suffered serious damage from Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami, while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries report normal operations.
KOCHI, India — India’s government-owned Cochin Shipyard Ltd. (CSL) is gearing up for an expansion budgeted at Rs 500 crore ($111.1 million). According to CSL sources, the expanded facility will be able to accommodate ships weighing 5,000-6,000 tons. “The work for the proposed ship-lift facility would come up in the next 1-2 years, and we hope to ease the traffic in the port,” a senior official says. “The Indian navy’s Indigenous Aircraft Carrier [IAC] work is now under way at one of the dry docks at CSL.
A new generation of highly accurate mini-weapons is being developed for small, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for use against personnel and light vehicles. One factor in development is the need to weaponize small UAVs such as the RQ-7 Shadow from AAI Corp., in use by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, which cannot carry a 100-lb. Hellfire missile.
SIKORSKY COLLIER: Sikorsky Aircraft and the X2 Demonstrator Team have won the 2010 Robert J. Collier Trophy “for demonstrating a revolutionary 250-knot helicopter, which marks a proven departure point for future helicopters,” the National Aeronautic Association announced March 15. The Collier Trophy will be presented at the 100th Anniversary Collier Dinner, this year on May 5 in Arlington, Va.
SHRIVENHAM, ENGLAND — As the U.K. Defense Ministry tries to reform its acquisition process, the chief of defense materiel worries that personnel cuts could lead to an erosion of key skills. “We will have to strive not to lose good people,” Bernard Gray tells a Royal United Services Institute acquisition reform conference.
Northrop Grumman’s board of directors has approved the spin-off of its wholly owned subsidiary Huntington Ingalls Industries to Northrop stockholders, subject to final U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) clearance, the company confirmed March 15.
Canada’s MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) will begin developing a commercial satellite-refueling business under a $280 million agreement with Intelsat that will include launch of a Proton-class servicing spacecraft and a test mission on a disused communications satellite.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA reopened Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39A for work March 15 following a fatality at the shuttle launch pad the day before.
A dress rehearsal for the second flight of the X-51A Waverider hypersonic scramjet engine demonstrator is scheduled for March 16, with the B-52 mothership to fly the launch profile planned for the actual flight, slated for March 22. The second X-51A will attempt to fly the same profile as the first vehicle, which flew for 143 sec. under scramjet power on May 26, 2010, before telemetry was lost and the flight was terminated prematurely. Leaky seal
PARIS — Europrop International (EPI) and Airbus Military will reach agreement over compensation on engine-related delays with the A400M airlifter “within weeks” following progress between partner nations and management agency Occar toward a finalized, redefined program, a senior official says.
Approval for the final two low-rate initial production (LRIP) batches of Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft is on the agenda for a Defense Acquisition Board meeting planned for March 16. Flight testing of the upgraded airborne early-warning aircraft, with its new electronically scanned APY-9 radar, is 91% complete and the overall system development and demonstration program is 96% complete, says U.S. Navy Capt. Shane Gahagan, Hawkeye program manager.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — A NASA Office of Inspector General investigation is ongoing after the discovery of 4.2 grams of a “white powdery substance” in a NASA facility at the Kennedy Space Center on March 7, officials said March 15. “Law enforcement personnel field tested the substance, which indicated a positive test for cocaine. The substance now is at an accredited crime lab for further testing,” Kennedy Space Center spokesman Allard Beutel tells Aviation Week.
DESIGN ISSUE: A “design artifact” unique to a new electrical starter/generator configuration is the likely cause of the in-flight dual generator failure on F-35A test aircraft AF-4 on March 9, according to the Joint Program Office (JPO). The newer engine-driven generator is installed on test jets AF-4, BF-5 and CF-1, as well as low-rate initial production F-35As AF-6 and -7, which remain grounded. The other aircraft — AF-1/2/3 and BF-1/2/3/4 — have the older generator configuration.
Boeing is eyeing opportunities to expand its military space business despite being left out of the government’s plans to implement a satellite block-buy approach under the U.S. Air Force’s Evolutionary Acquisition for Space Efficiency (EASE) procurement strategy.
The U.S. Air Force plans to compete its Common Vertical Lift Support Program (CVLSP) for up to 205 helicopters for ICBM-field security and executive transport, addressing concerns raised by earlier comments suggesting the service might push for sole-source procurement of Sikorksy HH-60M Black Hawks.
Senate lawmakers pressed high-level NASA witnesses during a Capitol Hill hearing March 15, skeptical that the agency is taking its most recent authorization bill seriously. “Five months have passed since the law’s passage, and we’re still waiting for signs that the agency will comply,” Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) said at the outset of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee hearing.
HOUSTON — NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency on March 14 signed a two-year, $753 million agreement extending the purchase of Soyuz spacecraft for the transportation of U.S., European, Japanese and Canadian astronauts to the International Space Station through June 2016.
The U.S. Seventh Fleet has temporarily repositioned the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its other ships and aircraft away from Japan’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant after detecting low-level radiation in the air and on its aircraft operating in the area. The source of this airborne radioactivity is a plume released from the power plant as a result of Japan’s massive earthquake and tsunami, officials said.
CAPE CANAVERAL — A United Space Alliance (USA) worker died March 14 after falling off Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, where shuttle Endeavour is being prepared for an April 19 launch. Emergency medical personnel were unable to revive the man, identified as James D. Vanover, an engineer for shuttle contractor USA. NASA canceled all work at the pad for the rest of the day and offered counseling and employee assistance to workers. The incident is under investigation, NASA said in a statement.
LONDON — Dassault Aviation and BAE Systems will work together to address future Franco-British medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft requirements. The two companies have been in talks for several months after Paris and London laid out plans to make the MALE UAV requirement a cornerstone of their cooperation agreement finalized in November.
