April 12-13, 2011 Miami Beach Convention Center Miami, FL Take your military maintenance and sustainment efforts to the next level! Focus on warfighter readiness and join us as we blend the requirements of a distressed economy with a nation at war. www.aviationweek.com/events
HOUSTON — Discovery’s astronauts surveyed the heat shielding on the shuttle’s wing leading edges and nose cap on March 7, after departing the International Space Station (ISS) for the last leg of the fleet leader’s final journey into orbit. Discovery undocked at 7 a.m. EST, as the two spacecraft sailed more than 200 mi. over the Western Pacific Ocean.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Mar. 7 — SpeedNews Aerospace Raw Materials and Manufacturers Supply Chain Conference, Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills, Calif. For more information go to www.speednews.com MAR. 8 — Aviation Week Laureate Awards, Andrew Melllon Auditorium, Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.aviationweek.com/events
HOUSTON — With their assembly and supply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) extended by two days, Discovery’s six astronauts hustled on March 4 to offload new science gear from the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) they delivered, including the final Express payload rack.
LANDING JOBS: About 20 cities are competing to become the home of the Atlantis or Endeavor space shuttles after they retire this year, with an announcement expected as early as April 12, according to Houston promoters. Houston, home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, and New York’s Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum both have publicly lobbied for an orbiter. According to Houston’s boosters, the shuttle would lead to an annual increase in the regional economy of $46 million, with a total of 750 jobs created.
SAN FRANCISCO — For the second time in two years, a payload fairing that did not open during an Orbital Sciences Taurus XL launcher’s ascent has cost NASA an Earth sciences satellite mission. Liftoff from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., at 2:09:43 a.m. PST March 4 was nominal and “exactly on time” for the four-stage, solid-fueled Taurus XL 3110 that was carrying the $424 million Glory mission, says NASA Launch Director Omar Baez. But then Glory and the two upper stages of the Taurus XL launcher fell into the southern Pacific Ocean.
The decision by EADS North America not to protest its loss in the $35 billion U.S. Air Force KC-135 replacement refueling tanker contract competition is largely being based on its adjusted price, which came in a full 10% above that of rival Boeing, according to senior company officials.
MILITARY COMMERCIAL: After the final space shuttle flight later this year, NASA managers probably will continue the practices started by President Dwight Eisenhower of choosing military pilots to make up at least some of its astronaut corps. Early commercial crew vehicles are likely to be capsules, and most U.S. astronaut time will be spent on the International Space Station (ISS), so there will be little call for the piloting skills required to fly an orbiter back through the atmosphere to a runway.
MYSORE, India — India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is doing extensive research to counter low-intensity chemical warfare—such as the deliberate contamination of air or water—and bioterrorism. Leading the work is DRDO’s Defense Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) in Mysore. DFRL Director A.S. Bawa tells Aviation Week the lab has developed a test kit for detection of four different groups of pathogenic microorganisms like the salmonella, E. coli, shigella and proteus.
MYSORE, India — India’s Defense Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) is working on new foods for military personnel that are expected to enhance performance and reduce stress. Top DFRL scientists are testing plant extracts on white mice before they are incorporated into any final product. “We take extracts from plants with anti-fatigue features,” a source says. “We have noticed that the mice [that] are fed with the extracts swim for a longer time.”
NEW DELHI — The shortlist for the six contenders for India’s Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) program is to be announced in the first week of April. Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik had declared at Aero India on Feb. 10 that he was optimistic that price negotiations would start within a few weeks and a deal could be signed by September, “provided dissatisfied vendors do not put a spoke in the wheel and delay proceedings.”
LOST WAGES: A shutdown of the federal government would not immediately affect national and domestic security efforts, but government contractors — including a historically large force supporting the Pentagon — could be irreparably affected, trade advocates warn.
General Dynamics executives are expressing concern over the lack of orders for the M1A2 Abrams tank after 2013, which leaves a gap until modernization orders slated to begin in 2016. Mike Cannon, senior vice president for ground combat systems, tells Aviation Week that “we are very, very concerned about the tank industrial base, because it’s unique . . . we have nothing to keep that base going between 2013 and 2016.”
BENGALURU, India — Indian aerospace powerhouse Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) is bracing for top management changes, as many senior officials prepare for retirement. With multiple programs set to push the company’s order book beyond the $22.22 billion mark this year, insiders are wary of what these changes could mean to the company’s fortunes. Their fear is that the lack of a firm succession plan might hurt the company. This will be the first time in its 70-year history that HAL will see so many top-level personnel changes in a span of six months.
NO GO: Bad weather forced Cape Canaveral range officials to call off an attempted launch of the U.S. Air Force’s second X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle on March 4. Easterly winds gusted up to 28 kt. and a line of rain clouds continued to run over the launch pad right through the mission’s second window of the day, which opened at 5.27 p.m. EST. The next launch attempt was due for March 5. The Boeing-built orbital demonstrator is due to be boosted on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from the Space Launch Complex-41 launch pad.
ENGINE TROUBLE: Pratt & Whitney is examining an F135 engine that was removed from the test stand at the Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tennessee after a “potential assembly issue” was discovered during a post-run inspection. The conventional-takeoff-and-landing/carrier-variant configuration ground-test engine, FX633, was being run to extend the life of “flight-test-unique hardware” to support the extended development program for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The engine operated normally during the test run, Pratt says.
GLONASS GO: Russia launched a new navigation satellite, the Glonass-K, on a Soyuz 2.1b launcher on Feb. 26. It was the first Glonass launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. Glonass‑K is a new-generation satellite for Russia’s global navigation space system. It was developed by Reshetnev Co. using an unpressurized, three-axis-stabilized Express-1000K platform. The spacecraft weighs 935 kg (2,060 lb.) versus 1,450 kg for the Glonass-M series currently in orbit.
LONDON — The U.K. National Audit Office (NAO) is giving the government a mixed review in its execution of the Eurofighter Typhoon project, noting that steps have been taken to improve management but more needs to be done. The main area of criticism is that the strike fighter will not be able to fully carry out air-to-ground roles until 2018. That issue is particularly important because the Tornado GR4 fleet is being reduced.
COUNTER WASTE: The U.S. military’s sprawling complex built up over the last decade to address improvised explosive devices (IEDs) could be centralized if Washington follows the advice of non-partisan congressional auditors. In a March 1 report, the U.S.
ROME — Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, Finmeccanica’s chairman and CEO, warned that 2010 was to be a difficult year for the Italian aerospace and defense giant and indeed that was the case, even if year-end results beat early financial guidelines. Finmeccanica’s revenues grew 2.9% to €18.7 billion ($26 billion) compared to 2009, with a stable adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and amortization (EBITA) of €1.59 billion. Net profits plummeted 22.4% to €557 million due to restructuring costs.
PASSING GRADE: After a high-profile Washington debate last year on the future of U.S. nuclear forces and missile defenses, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee, said March 2 that the Obama administration is making “solid progress” in implementing its European Phased Adaptive Approach and appears to keeping its promise to fund upgrades to the U.S. nuclear weapons infrastructure.
ISR AUDITED: The U.S. Defense Department’s myriad collection of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems could see significant reductions in duplicative efforts if leaders and lawmakers follow the recommendations of a sweeping new congressional audit.
