TESTING, TESTING: The Russian air force is planning infrastructure improvements to its flight test ranges in preparation for state trials of the Sukhoi T-50 prototype for its next generation fighter program, known as PAK FA. The T-50 is presently anticipated to fly by the end of 2009 and — notionally at least — enter service in 2015. A meeting was held recently at the Ahktubinsk flight test center to discuss infrastructure requirements for the test program.
WGS READIED: Following its Jan. 20 arrival at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., via C-5 aircraft, the U.S. Air Force’s second Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) satellite will now undergo verification testing and encapsulation into the nose cone of a launch vehicle in preparation for launch. At Atlas V is scheduled to boost the satellite March 9. Boeing is on contract to produce six WGS satellites. The first has been operational over the Pacific for more than a year.
ARIANE LAUNCH: New Skies NSS-9 and Eutelsat’s Hot Bird 10 have begun processing at Kourou, French Guiana, in preparation for a scheduled Feb. 12 launch atop an Ariane 5 ECA booster. The mission, which also will carry France’s Spirale early warning demonstrator, will be the first of the year for Arianespace.
WAIVER SAVER: A White House waiver has eased the concerns of Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) about the nomination of Raytheon lobbyist William J. Lynn III to be the top deputy at the Defense Department (Aerospace DAILY, Jan. 23). Levin delayed a committee vote on Lynn until the White House clarified whether stringent new conflict of interest rules issued by President Barack Obama would bar Lynn from making key Pentagon decisions. But Levin said Jan.
PLAYING HOST: An alternative avenue for researchers who need time in space for microgravity experiments has been opened by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) aboard its planned DragonLab spacecraft. CEO Elon Musk says SpaceX will fly DragonLab flights in 2010 specifically to support “mainstream” microgravity researchers taking part in the Heinlein Trust Microgravity Research Competition. Traditionally, researchers vie to gain a payload slot aboard the space shuttle.
COASTAL PLANE: Bombardier has delivered the first of two 415 Maritime Patrol aircraft to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA). Ordered last June, the 415MP is a variant of Bombardier’s amphibious water bomber most commonly used for firefighting. Malaysia’s aircraft remain equipped for that mission, but also carry two side-looking airborne radars, a forward-looking infrared radar and an airborne maritime surveillance system. Under the contract, the second 415MP must be delivered by June 2010; a company official said a more definite date had not been set yet.
HASC VACANCY: The 111th Congress is just getting started and already the House Armed Services Committee is going to have a vacancy. New York Gov. David Paterson picked Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) Jan. 23 to fill the Senate seat vacated by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) when she became Secretary of State. Gillibrand, who represents an upstate district along the Vermont border, sits on the strategic forces and terrorism and unconventional threats subcommittees.
FIRE, BRIMSTONE: The British Royal Air Force (RAF) has deployed operationally a dual-mode variant of the MBDA Brimstone anti-armor weapon. The modified variant, known as the Dual Mode Seeker (DMS) Brimstone, was developed to meet a Defense Ministry urgent operational requirement. The missile uses the original version’s millimeter-wave radar, but adds a semi-active laser seeker. This provides the weapon with far greater utility for close air support missions. RAF Tornado GR4 aircraft being operated from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar already are flying with the DMS Brimstone.
In the fourth and largest F-22 deployment so far, a squadron of the U.S. stealth fighters has shifted from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, to Andersen AFB, Guam. Another 12 fighters from Langley AFB, Va., flew to Kadena AFB in Okinawa, Japan, earlier this month.
TOKYO — The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has a new tool for analyzing global warming following the Jan. 23 launch of the Greenhouse gases Observing Satellite, or GOSAT. GOSAT and NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) satellite, due for launch Feb. 23, will map the real-time distribution of greenhouse gases. JAXA says GOSAT alone can provide coverage of 56,000 real-time data points around the globe, updating every three days.
Senior NASA managers won’t decide until March whether to release one of the two space shuttle launch pads at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for the first flight test of the follow-on Ares I crew launch vehicle.
INDRA’S OUTLOOK: Despite some expected slowdown in business activity, Spanish aerospace and defense electronics provider Indra expects to book more orders in the coming year than deliveries, expanding its backlog. The company also is promising to maintain double-digit earnings margin. The focus for the year will be on international markets. Total revenue should grow 5-7 percent, the company says, with business outside Spain stronger than that.
NEW DEAL: The scheduled Feb. 2 launch of the 3,130-pound NOAA-N Prime spacecraft will end the long heritage of NASA launching polar-orbiting weather satellites on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The new Lockheed Martin satellite also will be updated — in addition to an advanced data recording system, it will carry an search-and-rescue tracker with greater bandwidth, both provided by the French space agency CNES. Mission cost, including the spacecraft and instruments, launch, technical support and a 14-month launch delay is $564 million.
SPACE SUBCOMMITTEE: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), will be chair of the House Science subcommittee on space and aeronautics in the new Congress, replacing Mark Udall (D-Colo.), who has moved to the Senate. In that position, she will be a key player in overseeing NASA and the U.S. civil space program. Beginning her second term representing the Tucson area on Capitol Hill, Giffords is a “blue-dog Democrat” who has promoted fiscal conservatism. She is married to shuttle astronaut Mark Kelly, commander of the STS-124 space station assembly mission last year.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicated new calendar listing.) Jan. 28 — Wichita Aero Club luncheon featuring Craig Fuller, President of Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, Airport Hilton Hotel, Wichita, KS. For more information call 316-641-5962, e-mail: [email protected]
The U.S. Air Force is planning to deploy its first MC-12W Project Liberty aircraft in April to support ground forces in combat. The service is purchasing 37 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft, based on the Hawker Beechcraft King A350 or 350-ER platform.
Pictures from the Gaza Strip show what looks like flaming baseballs bouncing around a courtyard among vehicles with “UN” and “Ambulance” painted on them. Israeli officials say that the open courtyards of schools, hospitals and other buildings were used by Hamas as mortar and rocket launching sites.
ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. Air Force faces key challenges in its drive to stay ahead in electronic systems, but the dangers of failing to outpace the enemy have been underlined by last summer’s massive cyber attack on Georgia that preceded Russia’s incursion into the breakaway South Ossetia region.
Initial results from a European study suggest most of the technology required for a Mach 3-6 transport aircraft is viable, but the results also caution that sonic boom mitigation remains a problem.
Forty-two senators joined Sens. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) in signing a Jan. 16 letter of support for continued F-22 production. The DAILY reported on the letter in the Jan. 20 edition.
PARIS – Airbus is facing much more than just contractual and schedule challenges in its A400M military airlifter program, as the aircraft may need massive re-engineering work to achieve its performance targets.
SOFTWARE SUPPORT: The U.S. Army has awarded Northrop Grumman a contract potentially valued at $71.2 million over three years to provide software engineering support to Headquarters, U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army (HQUSAREUR/7A). Support will cover mission critical defense systems including command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) systems serving U.S. Army, Coalition and NATO operations.
