STUDENT SCRAMJET: Aerospace engineering researchers and students at the University of Virginia will display a hypersonic “scramjet” engine prototype March 19. The research team is preparing to unveil an engine that can travel at five times the speed of sound, along with a two-stage sounding rocket, on the front lawn of the university’s Thornton Hall.
The U.S. Air Force has terminated funding for an infrared search and track (IRST) upgrade for its F-15C/D fleet as part of the service’s push last year to produce savings for the Pentagon’s fiscal 2012 budget.
CAPE CANAVERAL — A classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) lifted off aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta 4 rocket on March 11. The 211-ft.-tall Delta 4 blasted off at 6:38 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Launch Complex 37. The rocket used a single common booster core with a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) RS-68 main engine; two Alliant Techsystems GEM 60 solid rocket motors; a PWR RL10B-2 upper-stage engine; and a 4-meter-dia. upper stage and composite payload fairing.
Aviation associations and avionics manufacturers have joined other transportation sectors in launching a coalition to tackle the jamming threat from plans to expand wireless broadband coverage of the U.S. using a satellite spectrum adjacent to that of the Global Positioning System. GPS is a key component of NextGen satellite-based air traffic control.
SPOTTING FAKES: Government and industry must forge a closer relationship to halt the surge of counterfeit parts in aerospace programs, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) says in a recent report. “Unlike other industries, counterfeiting in the aerospace industry may have life-or-death consequences,” AIA says. “All stakeholders from industry and government must work together to effectively reduce the introduction of counterfeit parts into the aerospace supply chain and minimize their impact.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) mar. 14 - 15 — 19th Annual International Conference on ISO 9000 & QMS, “The World’s Leading Conference on the ISO 9000 and Related Standards,” Grand Hyatt Riverwalk Hotel, San Antonio, Tex. For more information go to http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=885231
BENGALURU, India — India’s Strategic Forces Command (SFC) on March 11 test-fired the nuclear-capable Prithvi II missile and Dhanush ballistic missile from separate locations off the Orissa coast. Dhanush—the naval variant of Prithvi—was tested at 10:03 a.m. India standard time from a warship anchored off the Puri coast, while the Prithvi II was test-fired from Launch Complex-3 at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur at 11:00 a.m.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — Fresh on the heels of shuttle Discovery’s return from its final spaceflight, shuttle Endeavour reached the launch pad on March 11 for preparations to deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space Station during the STS-134 mission. The launch, scheduled for 7:48 p.m. EDT on April 19, will be the 25th and last flight of OV-105, the replacement orbiter for Challenger that first flew in 1992.
HOUSTON — International Space Station crewmembers Catherine Coleman, Paulo Nespoli and Scott Kelly returned the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s H-II-Transfer Vehicle (HTV-2) Kounotori to its original berthing port during robot arm operations on March 10. The spacecraft was berthed to the Harmony module’s Earth-facing port by the astronauts following a Jan. 27 rendezvous.
The Royal Australian Navy is moving to acquire a fast multi-hull commercial ferry to help bridge a gap between its worn-out amphibious assault force and the commissioning of new ships in the middle of the decade. Austal Chief Executive Andrew Bellamy confirms that one of the company’s unsold 102-meter (334-ft.) trimarans is an option. Defense Minister Stephen Smith says the navy also could acquire a catamaran—presumably from Australia’s other major fast-ferry builder, Incat.
MARSHALL SUPPORT: NASA has awarded a potential $99 million, five-year contract to AL-Razaq Computing Services of Houston for acquisition and business support services at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The contract, effective April 1, includes a one-year base period and options for four one-year extensions. The company primarily will support Marshall’s office of procurement and that of the chief financial officer.
The scientific community has U.S. Navy submarine operations and data to thank for a truer picture of how climate change is affecting the world’s polar regions. Now, though, the service needs to tweak its anti-submarine warfare (ASW) methods to better prepare for the effects of the climatic changes in those regions, according to a National Academies report released on Thursday, “National Security Implications of Climate Change for U.S. Naval Forces.”
TERMINATED: U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has terminated all active contracts with Georgia-based Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow, Inc. (ASFT). The president of ASFT and a Navy systems engineer have been charged with bribery of a public official in connection with “an alleged ongoing kickback scheme involving approximately $10 million of naval funds,” the service says.
HOUSTON — With the lengthy assembly of the U.S.-led International Space Station nearing completion this year, NASA is leading an unprecedented effort to expand the use of the orbiting laboratory by other domestic agencies, academia and the commercial sector under the National Laboratory status established by Congress.
F-22 PREP: “The F-22s at Langley [AFB, Va.] are being updated right now with the latest versions [of] avionics, low observable treatments and engine mods so they can respond immediately if required for the Libya operation,” says a veteran fighter pilot who is a regular visitor to Langley. Undoubtedly, the Raptors’ electronic surveillance systems are being updated with electronic order of battle and ground forces movement information collected by E-3 Awacs, E-8 Joint Stars and RC-135W electronic surveillance aircraft, which have been flying near the coast of Libya.
While the U.S. Navy intends to cut down on the number of ships it will purchase over the coming three decades, the service’s updated shipbuilding plans will require more money to support the fleet, according to a recent analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). CBO notes that the recent Navy 30-year shipbuilding report—issued in February and covering fiscal years 2011-40—contains “some significant changes in the Navy’s long-term goals for shipbuilding.”
NO FLY: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter flight testing has been halted while Lockheed Martin and the Joint Program Office investigate the cause of a dual generator failure and oil leak in flight that took place March 9. The affected aircraft, F-35A test jet AF-4 at Edwards AFB, Calif., returned to base safely.
DEAD ENGINE?: Connecticut Rep. John Larson (D) and high-profile Sen. Joe Lieberman (I) are publicly encouraging Defense Secretary Robert Gates to exercise his authority to end the General Electric-Rolls Royce F136 alternate engine program for the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) now that Congress appears to be dropping its support for the powerplant. “Now that both the House and Senate have shown that they plan to cancel the alternate engine, it is time we bring this wasteful and unnecessary program to an end,” Lieberman said March 9.
END MEADS: Now that the Pentagon plans to exit the Lockheed Martin Medium Extended Altitude Air Defense System (Meads) in 2014, the National Taxpayers Union is calling on defense officials and lawmakers to immediately terminate the program. The watchdog group said March 9 that there likely would be termination penalties of $500 million to $1 billion for ending the program, but they argued that Washington could swing a better deal than expected with Lockheed, Italy and Germany.
Significant climate changes in the Arctic region are creating a potential military, economic and geopolitical battle zone for which U.S. naval forces appear to be woefully unprepared, according to a new report by the National Academies. The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard should substantially upgrade parts of their fleets to prepare for the disputes over boundaries, natural resources and travel routes that will likely result from the thinning and shrinking polar cap ice coverage caused by climate changes, according to the report, released March 10.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the aerospace and defense (A&D) industry could heat up this year as companies grapple with declining or flattening defense budgets and reposition themselves for future growth, analysts at investment bank Houlihan Lokey say. A&D companies are cash rich, with access to as much as $189 billion in funding capability, which includes the measure of cash on the balance sheets as well as access to capital for acquisitions, says Jean Stack, director in Houlihan Lokey’s aerospace, defense and government group.
