ATLAS III RETIRES: Lockheed Martin's Atlas III rocket had its sixth and final flight in the early morning hours of Feb. 3 when it launched a classified National Reconnaissance Office satellite from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The flight marked the 75th consecutive successful flight for the Atlas series since 1993, including Atlas II, III, and V launches. Lockheed Martin has now phased out all the earlier Atlas rockets in favor of the Atlas V, which the company developed for the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle. The final Atlas II launch occurred Aug. 31, 2004.
The International Space Station's Expedition 11 crew has a "lengthy list" of experiments to conduct that will help enable long-duration missions by astronauts beyond Earth orbit, according to NASA Station Science Officer John Phillips. Phillips and Expedition 11 commander Sergei Krikalev will fly to the ISS onboard a Soyuz rocket on April 15. During their stay, "we will emphasize science that will lead us to go farther and longer into space," Phillips said during a press conference Feb. 3.
Raytheon's net sales increased 12% for both the fourth quarter of 2004 and the full year, boosted largely by military sales, the company reported Feb. 3. Raytheon's fourth-quarter net sales reached $5.7 billion, compared with $5.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2003. Fourth-quarter profits reached $245 million, compared with $205 million in 2003. "This is our fifth consecutive quarter of predictable financial performance," Raytheon Chairman and CEO William Swanson said in a statement.
USAF VISION: Gen. John Jumper, U.S. Air Force chief of staff, conveyed his vision for the service during a meeting of Air Force officials Feb. 1 in San Antonio, Texas, according to a spokeswoman for the general. Topics discussed at the summit included the integration of air and space operations.
The House Science Committee Republican caucus late Feb. 1 held its organizational meeting for the 109th Congress and chose chairs for its four subcommittees. The caucus re-elected Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers (R-Mich.) as chairman of the Environment, Technology and Standards Subcommittee, and Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) as chairman of the Energy Subcommittee. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) was elected chairman of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, which oversees NASA, replacing Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), who was term-limited.
Bruce Murray is retiring as chairman of the board. Neil deGrasse Tyson will replace Murray. Bill Nye has been named vice president. Laurie Leshin has been named to the board of directors. Leshin is the Dee and John Whiteman Dean's Distinguished Professor of Geological Sciences and director of the Center for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University.
Raytheon Co.'s GBU-10 Paveway laser-guided bomb, which had a troubled series of tests in late 2004, achieved a perfect score in a new round of tests, according to an industry source.
Although U.S. Air Force testers have rated the F/A-22 Raptor's performance as operationally "effective" (DAILY, Feb. 2), the stealthy fighter still needs better diagnostic software, parts reliability and interior and exterior lighting, the service said Feb. 2. Other areas needing improvement include maintenance instruction documents and flight-line procedures to assess the aircraft's radar signature, the Air Force said. 'Potentially suitable'
SAN DIEGO - The U.S. Navy's ability to fund fleet modernization depends on it making major changes in the way it develops and procures ships, retired Vice Admiral Arthur K. Cebrowski told the AFCEA/U.S Naval Institute West 2005 conference here Feb. 1. Citing a report he sent to Congress on Jan. 31 - his last day as the Director of the Department of Defense's Office of Force Transformation - Cebrowski said an alternative business model is needed to provide the Navy with the capable fleet it needs.
Northrop Grumman Corp.'s fourth quarter 2004 profits increased 31%, to $294 million, compared with $224 million reported for the same period of 2003. The company's net income for 2004 rose 28%, to $1.1 billion, from $866 million in 2003, the company said Feb 2.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The Malaysian government is considering acquiring the Airbus A400M to replace the aging fleet of 12 Lockheed Martin C-130s currently used by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). Ministry of defense officials have been in talks with Airbus Military to buy the aircraft since Airbus parent EADS made an offer during the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace show in September 2003.
Despite charges from the mothballed U.S. Air Force 767 tanker aircraft lease-buy deal, which helped put Boeing's fourth quarter 2004 profits in a steep dive, the company reported revenue increases from its Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) segment.
John Gannon has retired as staff director. Ben Cohen will replace Gannon. Cohen has been deputy general counsel for the Defense Department since Jan. 1, 2002.
Sens. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), the leaders of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said Feb. 1 that the full committee will handle oversight of the Transportation Security Administration.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is planning a second industry day Feb. 11 for the Walrus cargo-carrying hybrid airship program. Walrus is intended to demonstrate the feasibility of a large hybrid airship capable of carrying a complete Army Unit of Action from "Fort to Fight," according to DARPA. The future vehicle would be able to bring 500 tons of cargo across intercontinental distances into unprepared landing sites, including water landings.
George R. Melton has been named CEO and president. Gus Yiakas, who is being succeeded by Melton, will continue to serve as chairman of the board of directors.
A panel of witnesses from outside NASA debated the future of the Hubble Space Telescope during a hearing on Capitol Hill Feb. 2, endorsing options ranging from shuttle or robotic servicing to flying the telescope's replacement instruments on a new spacecraft. The debate took place against a backdrop of rumors that NASA has cut all funding for Hubble servicing from its fiscal year 2006 budget, and plans only to fund a disposal mission to de-orbit the telescope safely (DAILY, Jan. 25). NASA's budget will be released Feb. 7.
SIMULATOR INSTALLED: VirTra Systems Inc. of Arlington, Texas, has successfully installed an IVR-180 series simulator for the U.S. Air Force, the company said Feb. 1. The simulator, which includes recoil weapons, was installed last week at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. The simulator will be used to train in marksmanship, room-clearing, convoy maneuvers and combat readiness.
