The European Space Agency has inaugurated a ground station in Kiruna, Sweden, that together with a second facility in Kourou, French Guiana, will serve to track, monitor and control the Galileo satellite navigation system. Separately, the European Union selected Prague as the home of the Global Satellite Navigation System agency, which is responsible for implementing the Galileo and Egnos GPS augmentation system programs.
After giving the green light to its third-generation Meteosat network, Eumetsat is now weighing design options for a follow-on polar-orbiting system. Like the present polar network, it will be run in close cooperation with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Defense Department.
Jan. 4-7—49th Annual American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aerospace Sciences Meeting. Orlando (Fla.) World Center Marriott. Also, Feb. 9-10—14th Annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference. Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington. Call +1 (703) 264-7500, fax +1 (703) 264-7551 or see www.aiaa.org Jan. 17-19—Civil Air Navigation Services Organization’s Middle East Conference. Park Rotana Hotel, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. See www.canso.org
Emergent rules on aircraft export credit financing threaten to drive up costs to airlines and could trigger job losses at manufacturers in a future downturn, industry officials warn.
The Northrop Grumman/Bell Helicopter Fire-X demonstrator is executing a series of flight trials following its first unmanned flight Dec. 10 in Yuma, Ariz., just days after arriving there for flight testing.
I consider your article “Cargo Clampdown” (AW&ST Nov. 15, p. 32) to be criminally irresponsible. The detailed photograph of Richard Reid’s shoe bomb could be of great assistance to any aspiring bomb-maker. I am aware of the arguments for free speech and freedom of the press, but I am also aware of the need for basic common sense, in understanding the value that this type of information can be to terrorists.
Enabling technologies for a new satellite launcher and medium-lift helicopter and an aero-engine demonstrator are among the projects set to benefit from the first stage of a €35-billion ($46.2-billion) French government bond issue intended to help stimulate the country’s sputtering economy. The program, presented in late 2009 and approved by lawmakers in mid-year, recently moved into the implementation phase. Thirty work package proposals have already been submitted, says Rene Ricol, the government’s director for public investment.
Boeing test engineers were planning to complete a high-blow pressurization test of RC001, the first 747-8 Intercontinental, Dec. 17-19, marking a milestone on the road to the start of flight tests.
The problem the global air cargo industry faces in securing its freight is the same that plagues regulators worldwide: How does an industry set one set of standards for security when rules and processes differ country-by-country, and technology capabilities differ airline-by-airline.
Nicolas Ferri has been appointed VP-Latin America and the Caribbean for Delta Air Lines . He joins Delta from the Oneworld airline alliance, where he was VP-sales and marketing.
Gerald Weber, Airbus executive VP-operations, a member of the Airbus Executive Committee in Toulouse and the head of Airbus Operations in Hamburg, will leave the company at the end of March. He has held senior managerial positions at Audi, Autolatina and Volkswagen-Tabaute in Brazil and was director-central manufacturing-engineering at Volkswagen in Wolfsburg, Germany.
The U.S. Army and Air Force are continuing to field intelligence-collection equipment—especially for detecting and following individuals on the battlefield—to support intensifying operations in Afghanistan.
An unmanned aerial vehicle belonging to the Mexican government crashed in El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 14, according to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. An NTSB spokesman said officials received a call from a “concerned citizen” and recovered a “mini UAV.” A CBP spokesman said the agency is “working collaboratively with other federal agencies and the government of Mexico to return it.”
Test failures, budget cuts to the Missile Defense Agency and low worker morale at MDA are all indications that the Obama administration is weakening U.S. missile defense efforts, complains James Inhofe (R-Okla.) during a Senate debate on ratification of the New Start nuclear arms treaty with Russia. This is reflected, says Inhofe, “in MDA’s ranking of 223 of 224 for employee satisfaction and commitment in the 2010 Best Places to Work survey of Department of Defense agency subcomponents.”
Globally, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects 2011 to be much tougher for airlines than last year as fuel costs continue to rise and added capacity is beginning to affect load factors and yields. IATA predicts a combined industry profit of $9.1 billion for 2011, which is equivalent to a margin of just 1.5%. Director General/CEO Giovanni Bisignani believes airlines will be burdened with $17 billion more in fuel costs and can no longer expect the strong improvement in average yields experienced in 2010.
Southwest Airlines will substitute 20 of its Boeing 737-700 orders for the larger 737-800 aircraft, with the first delivery scheduled in March 2012. Southwest, which has 23 737-700 deliveries scheduled in 2012, says it expects to convert most of them to -800s as it replaces its -300 series aircraft. The carrier has another 19 firm orders for the -700 scheduled for delivery in 2013.
Thales has agreed to acquire SESO, a France-based supplier of very high-precision optical, electro-optical and opto-mechanical components with 80 employees and €12 million in annual revenues. SESO supplies key European space programs, including the CSO very high-resolution optical satellite network that will replace France’s Helios 2.
Mike Brand has been appointed VP-787/commercial airframe entry into service for Goodrich Corp. Dave Castagnola, VP and general manager-programs and manufacturing at Goodrich’s Aerostructures business, succeeds Brand as president of the company’s Landing Gears business.
As he pilots International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) into a new era, CEO Henri Courpron faces a myriad of challenges: a negative debt outlook, restocking an aging narrowbody fleet, fending off smaller, more nimble competitors, and a parent company that is looking to sell off non-core assets. On top of that, there is the long shadow of Steven Udvar-Hazy.
A broad-based, 19-member Future of Aviation Advisory Committee created by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood defies early expectations merely by reaching a consensus. Now, the question becomes how many of the 23 recommendations presented to LaHood on Dec. 15 will have an impact. The committee reached accord, in part, by punting on some of the most contentious issues.
Aeroflot is pressing ahead with fleet renewal plans even as the carrier faces the reality that one of its new aircraft, the Superjet 100, will miss its 2010 delivery target.
