Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute will become the second U.S. organization to conduct vaccine research on the International Space Station (ISS) under a new Space Act Agreement with NASA. Under the nonreimbursable agreement, a team headed by Cheryl A. Nickerson, an associate professor of life sciences at the university, will continue work started on the space shuttle that takes advantage of the effects of microgravity on infectious micro-organisms to produce vaccines against disease. The Arizona State group joins Astrogenetix Inc.
With bidders lining up for a slew of Indian short-range air defense contracts, European missile-maker MBDA is taking an unusual approach to secure sizable deals. Rather than drawing on an existing system, MBDA is gambling by promoting a developmental surface-to-air missile system for army, navy and air force requirements.
The focus of the investigation into why Air France Flight 447 crashed into the Atlantic a year ago is starting to change now that safety experts have begun evaluating information from the Airbus A330-200's flight recorders. Questions surrounding human factors are moving into the spotlight as the investigation further unfolds, with concerns of turbulent weather and pitot-tube icing shifting into the background.
Lockheed Martin Chairman/CEO Robert J. Stevens spoke with AW&ST Editor-in-Chief Anthony L. Velocci, Jr., and Senior Business Editor Joseph C. Anselmo about the company's fourth consecutive first-place finish in Aviation Week's Top-Performing Companies study. Stevens also addressed how he is positioning the company for a leaner defense environment as well as criticism of Lockheed Martin's performance on the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program.
Air Platforms Saab Aeronautics Avionics/Flight Management/Control Systems Woodward Governor Turbine Systems Civil/Military Training & Support Services Raytheon Technical Services Forgings/Castings/Precision Components Precision Castparts Investment Cast Parts Information Technology Mantech International Land, Missile & Sea Weapons Systems Oshkosh Defense
In the wake of the bin Laden raid, Islamabad is turning a cold shoulder to a program for U.S. military personnel to train Pakistani soldiers in counterinsurgency operations. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen says, “We are not going to zero,” but he notes a “very significant cutback in trainers.” Prior to the raid, the program was expanding. Now, Pakistan's leadership, including the military and intelligence brass, are smarting from Washington's unwillingness to notify them prior to the May 2 raid.
European industry cost estimates are putting pressure on the ExoMars program while NASA budget cuts are forcing a redesign of key elements of the flagship U.S.-European cooperative space project. The European Space Agency (ESA) is negotiating €200 million ($287 million) in hardware cost reductions with European contractors supporting a multibillion-euro ESA-NASA mission that would send robotic science probes and terrestrial rovers in search of life on Mars by the end of the decade.
A two-stage Ukrainian Zenit-2S booster and a Russian Block-DM-SL upper stage is at sea en route to Long Beach, Calif., for the resumption of flight operations by Sea Launch in the third quarter of this year. The first Sea Launch hardware since the company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection departed the port of Oktyabrsky, Ukraine, May 31. “Sea Launch has 10 Zenit 3SLs on order, covering . . . launches through the end of 2013,” says Kjell Karlsen, Sea Launch president.
Rajiv Shah has been named chief executive officer of IBS Group, Welwyn Garden City, England. He was chief executive of the securities and capital markets business unit of Wipro Technologies.
JAXA's drop tests, described in “Quiet Booms” (AW&ST May 23, p. 13), demonstrated something besides validating techniques for use in designing a low-boom supersonic transport. By reaching Mach 1.43 on descent from 21 km (13 mi.) altitude, and Mach 1.7 from 27 km, the tests inadvertently demonstrated that future aerospace vehicles do not need heavy turbojets and complex mechanically activated bypass ducts to transition to supersonic speed with further air-breathing ramjet acceleration prior to a final rocket boost to reach Earth orbit.
After a second-place finish in last year's TPC study, a superb operating performance pushed Cubic to the top spot of companies with revenues of $1-5 billion, besting a formidable group of peers. The company's showing was bolstered by three strong product lines: electronic ticketing and transportation, virtual training programs and battlespace simulation for mission support. A record backlog of $2.5 billion could underpin further gains in 2011. “The numbers suggest this result is not an accident,” says TPC Project Manager Michael K. Lowry.
David N. Siegel has been tapped by the board of Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Holdings to become its lead independent director. He was chairman and chief executive officer of Xojet.
Peter M. Bowler has been named to the advisory board of AISystems of Toronto. He was the chief executive officer of American Eagle Airlines and was a senior officer of American Airlines before retiring.
The U.K. has set up a cyberoperations group as it further expands its activities in cyberwarfare. “Cyber will be part of a continuum of tools with which to achieve military effect, both defensive and otherwise, and will be an integral part of our armory,” says Nick Harvey, the minister of state for the armed forces.
The European Aviation Safety Agency has granted type certification to the ATR 72-600, the latest upgrade to the twin turboprop. Royal Air Maroc is due to be the first operator of the aircraft. ATR expects to deliver about 11 -600s this year. The airline has ordered four 72-600s and two 42-600s. The EADS/Finmeccanica joint venture is still working on receiving type approval for the 42-600. Flight trials of that type began in March 2010.
Contracts to study a prototype long-range strike weapon that could be flight tested in 2016 are imminent. This work could lead to development of scramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missiles able to engage time-critical, high-value and highly defended targets. The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has laid out a road map that calls for flight test of the long-range strike weapon against a fixed target in fiscal 2016 and a mobile target in fiscal 2019.
“123xyz” asks: Do flight data recorders record faulty data from faulty sensors? We imagine investigators correlate and triangulate all available information . . . or do they? Meanwhile, “David Sullivan's” take: The last chapter will be the French court deciding the pitot tube manufacturer was liable. It will be easier than teaching basic flying skills to the French . . . was the type of refrain that predominated.
AeroSvit Ukraine Airlines has received its first Boeing 767 winglet modification from Boeing Shanghai. This is the first winglet mod, which included changes to the pylon and a heavy maintenance check, for the airline from the joint venture of Boeing, Shanghai Airport Authorities and China Eastern Airlines. Boeing Shanghai also has signed a five-year contract for heavy maintenance and engineering services for Bangkok-based Business Air, an all 767 operator.
David K. “Bob” Edmonds has joined McLean, Va.-based ITT Corp. as vice president of U.S. Air Force relations for the company's Defense and Information Solutions segment. He was senior vice president of government operations and strategy at Syndetics.
“Pappy” says: Perhaps a SecDef with an engineering background would . . . be less likely to be taken in by overly optimistic marketing . . . while “SteveC” notes: He's taking longer than Oprah to get out.
TPC RESULTS This year's rankings of publicly traded aerospace and defense (A&D) contractors are the result of a composite scoring of four equally weighted performance categories that place significant emphasis on operating excellence. Category weightings are based on results of two surveys conducted by Aviation Week with senior management of companies generating annual revenues greater than $1 billion. The four categories are:
Hidden among hills, mostly in tunnels, hundreds of North Korean heavy artillery pieces stand ready to rain thousands of shells a minute onto Seoul. For decades, the big guns have been the biggest threat that South Korea has had to face. More recently a new one has become more prominent in the South's strategic calculations: an uncertain number of nuclear warheads of uncertain performance and reliability, potentially fitted to ballistic missiles fired from heavily protected sites in the far north of the Korean Peninsula.
