NASA is both a bureaucracy of too much and of too little, according to Inspector General (IG) Paul K. Martin’s 2010 annual report outlining the 52-year-old space agency’s top management and performance challenges. It is the latter that is perhaps best known, including the challenge of transitioning from the space shuttle to a commercial space transportation initiative for moving cargo and astronauts to and from orbit, as well as corralling a recently disclosed, $1.5 billion cost overrun for the James Webb Space Telescope.
Sukhoi plans to hand over a new batch of Su-34 fighters to the Russian air force by year-end. The aircraft are currently undergoing flight testing at the Novosibirsk NAPO assembly facility, company officials say. Although they would not specify the total number, four aircraft are believed to be involved. This will be the first batch to be handed over since the contract signing in 2008, which calls for the delivery of 32 fighter bombers through 2013. The air force already operates five Su-34 strike aircraft from the preproduction batch.
Los Angeles—The U.K. government has been briefed by Boeing on its ongoing production line rescheduling for the C-17, and given detailed options for potential acquisition of an eighth airlifter.
Three U.S. and Russian astronauts, the last members of the International Space Station’s Expedition 25 crew, will descend to Earth four days early to accommodate a request from the Kazakhstan government to clear the airspace around the capital of Astana, host for a summit of the 56-member Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe on Dec. 1-2.
PARIS—SES Astra has agreed to provide technical support for initial operation of Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system. An affiliate, Astra TechCom Space Services, agreed to provide engineering and in-orbit testing support to SpaceOpal, a joint venture of the German space center unit DLR GfR and Finmeccanica’s Telespazio. Last month SpaceOpal was awarded a contract to develop Galileo services.
A high-tech coastal surveillance system that can detect movement up to 20 km. (12.5 mi.) offshore is ready for installation in India. The system was indigenously developed by Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) and will be used by the Indian coast guard. The entire data link will be networked to a command-and-control center in New Delhi. The Phase 1 order is worth Rs 600 crore ($132.4 million).
NASA plans to release this week a draft cooperative agreement notice for a non-profit organization to manage the U.S. portion of the International Space Station it does not need for its own programs.
Los Angeles AFB, Calif.—Hardware changes are unlikely to be necessary for the second Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite prior to its launch based on the findings of an anomaly review into why the liquid apogee engines (LAE) on the first of the Lockheed Martin satellites failed, says David Madden, who oversees military satellite communications programs for the Air Force.
Los Angeles AFB, Calif.—U.S. Air Force officials say the sensor payload on the first-of-a-kind Space-Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) satellite is performing beyond expectations, as the first images from the satellite continue to flow to operators on the ground.
METALS MERGER: Specialty metals supplier Allegheny Technologies (ATI) has reached a deal to buy Ladish for $778 million, equally divided between cash and stock. The acquisition would broaden ATI’s position in the aerospace supply chain by allowing the Pittsburgh-based company to sell complex aerospace parts made by Ladish, a supplier to Rolls-Royce, GE Aviation and Pratt & Whitney. Wisconsin-based Ladish derives 90% of its sales from jet engines, airframes and helicopters, and 55% from outside the U.S. It will operate as a unit of ATI.
Zhuhai, China—The CALT Long March 7 medium-heavy space launcher will go into production in 2014, according to current plans, completing a new family of Chinese rockets with new fuels and engines. The Chinese rocket, sized between the Long March 5 and 6, will offer up to 720 tons (1,590 lb.) of liftoff thrust from six engines fed by liquid oxygen and kerosene.
ZHUHAI, CHINA—China’s version of the Yak-152 basic trainer, the L-7, is due to complete its first flight next month. The piston-engine aircraft is making its first public appearance here at Airshow China. The aircraft is designed to replace the ChuKiao-6 in the Chinese air force (Plaaf) inventory.
Bengaluru—India’s state-run Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) has announced that it will double its investment in research and development (R&D) activities. The company, which until last year invested 4-5% of its turnover in R&D, is expected to devote 8-10% in the next two years. BEL’s R&D director, I.V. Sarma, told Aviation Week on Nov. 16 that the additional investment would be made available for critical areas like radars, command and control systems, and electro-optics.
PARIS—Germany has approved a plan to kick off development of the space segment of Eumetsat’s Meteosat Third Generation weather satellite system, setting the stage for final approval by all the Eumetsat states next month.
TOKYO—Japan’s Hayabusa sample-return probe collected and returned material from the asteroid Itokawa in its troubled seven-year mission, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) reports. Analysis of some 1,500 particles of material found in the sample-return canister reveals that “most of them were judged to be of extraterrestrial origin, and definitely from Asteroid Itokawa,” JAXA says in announcing the findings.
LONDON—BAE Systems is heading a proposal team to provide part of the U.K.’s Military Flying Training System (MFTS) program. BAE Systems has teamed with Swiss aircraft maker Pilatus, along with Gama Aviation and the Babcock International Group, to bid for a basic training portion of the MFTS. The aircraft on offer would be the PC-21.
With Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) construction costs under greater control, the Navy is again thinking about splitting the fleet purchase between the contractor teams. “The Navy wants to split its buy of Littoral Combat Ships between a steel monohull developed by Lockheed Martin and the Marinette shipyard, and an aluminum trimaran developed by the Austal shipbuilding company of Australia,” said Lexington Institute defense analyst Loren Thompson.
NO START: Republican Sens. John Kyl (Ariz.) and Jim Inhofe (Okla.) announced Nov. 16 that they do not favor ratification of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start) during the lame-duck session of Congress. “When Majority Leader Harry Reid asked me if I thought the treaty could be considered in the lame-duck session, I replied I did not think so given the combination of other work Congress must do and the complex and unresolved issues related to Start and modernization,” said Kyl, who has been seen as the key Republican voice in passing the treaty.
Lightsquared’s bid to become the first U.S. hybrid mobile satellite service to enter operation has passed a key milestone with launch of its first satellite.
TOKYO—Resolution of structural faults has cleared the way for the beginning of series production of the Kawasaki Heavy Industries XC-2 airlifter next fiscal year after a delay of more than two years caused mainly by a need to reinforce the fuselage structure.
Bengaluru—India’s Kemrock Industries and Exports Ltd. (KIEL), which makes reinforced polymer composites, signed a partnership with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) on Nov. 16 for a joint venture. The new firm will develop, manufacture and market aerospace-grade carbon fiber pre-pegs, along with its associated pre-pegs for defense and aerospace programs in India.
Zhuhai, China—Chinese rocket manufacturer CALT will boost production of its Long March 3 launcher following an order for 20 units from sibling company China Great Wall Industry Corp. A separate order for eight DFH-4 satellite buses will support the current production rate for that spacecraft by manufacturer CAST, also a corporate sibling of China Great Wall. All three companies belong to national space contractor CASC, so the two deals, together worth 15 billion yuan ($2.26 billion) and announced at Airshow China, are internal group transactions.
TOKYO—Japan is expected to soon issue a long-awaited request for proposals for its F-X fighter competition, despite a media report that the country has settled on the Lockheed Martin F-35 as a future combat aircraft. In a rare piece of recent good news for the Joint Strike Fighter program, the Mainichi newspaper reported on Nov. 8 that the ministry planned to request “procurement costs” for the F-35 in its Fiscal 2012 budget request, covering the period from April 1, 2012.
