Resilient domestic demand is supporting a resumption of aircraft ordering by Indian airlines, a bounce-back after three years of distress. India’s airlines were among the most active in big fleet orders early in the decade, particularly in long-haul transports, and the market was a nursery for startups. But Indian carriers struggled with market overcapacity by the time the recession began gripping the industry in late 2008.
International Space Station managers are eager to return to science, and normalcy, after Expedition 24 flight engineers Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson finished repairs to the crippled cooling system last week, completing their third spacewalk devoted to the task in 10 days.
USAF Maj. Gen. Stephen P. Mueller has been nominated for promotion to lieutenant general with assignment as vice commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein AB, Germany. He has been director of the Air Component Coordination Element of Air Combat Command, Kabul AB, Afghanistan. Brig. Gen. Leonard A. Patrick has been appointed commander of the Kandahar Air Field for U.S. Forces Afghanistan. He was commander of the 502nd Air Base Wing, Air Education and Training Command, Lackland AFB, Texas. He has been succeeded by Brig. Gen. Jeffrey B.
Amy Butler (NAS Patuxent River, Md., and Washington)
U.S. Navy officials are preparing for the formal operational evaluation of the $2.6-billion Northrop Grumman Fire Scout program this fall in advance of the unmanned reconnaissance rotorcraft’s second deployment, scheduled for next year.
NASA’s Ames Research Center and the Mavericks Civilian Space Foundation, both of Moffett Field, Calif., are collaborating on developing a high-altitude, high-velocity air- sampling system for biological experiments. Mavericks is to collaborate with NASA on development and operation of airborne science platforms to carry biological sampling devices that can retrieve microbes, algal spores, viruses and other life forms.
Sept. 13-15—13th AIAA/ISSMO Multidisciplinary Analysis Optimization Conference and 10th AIAA Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations (ATIO) Conference. Fort Worth, Tx. See www.aiaa.org Sept. 13-16—Society of Flight Test Engineers’ 41st Annual International Symposium. Gaylord Convention Center, National Harbor, Md. See www.sfte.org
Floridians are ramping up calls for federal support of the legacy space sector now that a compromise plan for NASA is moving through Congress. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) wants to spur commercial space projects with tax breaks and other incentives with a new law. He plans to introduce a Commercial Space Jobs and Investment Act to create up to five enterprise zones across the country—but especially around the Kennedy Space Center—as “magnets” for commercial ventures. To be eligible, states would have to show that they have been affected by a loss of space-related jobs.
Recent airline industry financial indicators recall a quotation often attributed to 19th-century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli: “There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Throughout 2010, year-over-year passenger traffic and revenue numbers suggest the industry is seeing strong results so far this year, although the reality may be a bit more complicated.
The European Aviation Safety Agency has granted Ruag the type certificate for the Dornier 228NG. The milestone should clear the way for first customer delivery to an undisclosed Japanese client on Sept. 23. Japanese aviation safety authorities are in the process of validating the work the European agency has undertaken. Ruag acquired the rights to the program after Fairchild Dornier declared bankruptcy in 2002.
Organizers of a multinational intelligence-sharing demonstration say tactical benefits will ensure its survival in 2011 despite the budget-cut threat to its current host, the U.S. Joint Forces Command.
The board of Thai Airways International and Thailand’s cabinet have granted approval for the national carrier to buy eight Boeing 777s and seven Airbus A330s. The first two A330s are to be delivered next year.Most of the A330s and 777s will be delivered in 2012, and the final units in 2013. Thai aims to order more widebodies because in its second phase of expansion, 2015-20, it plans to add 30 aircraft to replace older ones and account for market growth.
Steven Chung, an aviation finance lawyer, has joined Hughes Hubbard as a partner in the firm’s Washington office from Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy. He has been succeeded by Gary Klein of Klein Landau & Romm.
Flight-testing of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter here is running almost three times faster than expected, forcing program officials to accelerate follow-on support testing to keep pace.
In Israel, there are some unique and very specialized needs that will shape the future of unmanned air systems (UAS) development. “UAS are the future and will play a major role in asymmetric warfare [against stateless and military insurgent groups], as well as in high-intensity conflict,” says Yair Shamir, chairman of the board at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
Separate technology paths and differing threats are defining how Israel, China and the U.S. are tackling development of missile defenses, a must-have capability in an era of rapidly proliferating, precision-guided ballistic weaponry.
AsiaSat Executive Chairman Peter Jackson says first-half results for the Hong Kong-based satellite operator are “encouraging.” “The recent global economic downturn had relatively low impact on our industry and on AsiaSat in particular,” he said. Revenues were up 27% year over year to HK$690 million ($89 million), with profit attributable to equity holders up 21% to HK$305 million.
The National Academies decadal survey panel on astronomy and astrophysics recommends that NASA seek collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) in developing a space-based wide-field infrared survey telescope (Wfirst) to be launched in 2020—the survey’s top large-scale mission priority. ESA is considering a satellite called Euclid that would perform many of the same functions as Wfirst. “We would encourage NASA to see if the Europeans are interested, now that they know what we’re thinking of,” says Martha Haynes, vice chair of the survey panel.
Ron Gunnarson (see photo) has become vice president-marketing communications for the Hawker Beechcraft Corp. , Wichita, Kan. He was director of marketing.
Defense companies may be moving their executives closer to the capitol, but members of the National Aircraft Resale Association have decided to shutter their headquarters at Reagan Washington National Airport, part with long-time leading executive Susan Sheets and move to Grapevine, Tex., near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. “A lot of it is driven by cost,” says Steve Gade, chairman of the group, whose membership includes 31 aircraft brokers and dealers and 65 associates.
It was a pleasure to read that the nuclear rocket program Nerva (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application), developed by Westinghouse Astro Nuclear Laboratory and Aerojet General, still represents the best rocket technology for deep-space travel. As NASA’s Stanley Borowski says in “Leave it to Us” there is not a vehicle today that can perform as well as the Nerva engine (AW&ST Aug. 9, p. 22).
The National Research Council is urging NASA to develop and launch a $1.6-billion wide-field infrared survey telescope in 2020 that would spend at least five years searching for planets beyond the Solar System and exploring the effect of dark energy on the evolution of the universe.
The director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is in the early stages of engaging industry on a series of projects worth billions of dollars that will shape the nation’s defense architecture, but he continues to struggle with contractors building unreliable products.
Robert Wall (London), Bettina H. Chavanne (Washington)
China’s growing military prowess goes beyond work on ever-more-advanced missile systems—the Pentagon also expects it to become a stronger force in the export market as its industry develops increasingly sophisticated technology.
Roger Sperry (see photo) and Tarek Ragheb have been promoted to regional senior vice presidents-international sales for the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. , Savannah, Ga. Sperry was division vice president for South America and the Far East, while Ragheb was division vice president for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Shannon Taylor Iwanski (see photo) has been promoted to director of initial phase procurement from senior manager of advanced procurement for the Gulfstream G650.
Mike Kahn has been appointed senior vice president of Minneapolis-based Alliant Techsystems and president of Baltimore-based ATK Missile Products. He was executive vice president of the Aerospace Systems Group.
