The U.S. spends about $4 million each year searching for near-Earth objects (NEOs), according to a new National Academies report, but this is insufficient to detect the majority of NEOs that may present a tangible threat to humanity. The majority of this funding supports the operation of several observatories that scan the sky searching for NEOs. “Impacts on Earth by near-Earth objects are inevitable,” the report says.
In a spate of August lawmaking, Congress is rushing two more unmanned aircraft into the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) fleet. Under the roughly $600-million bill passed last week, Congress appropriates $32 million for UAVs through September 2012. The agency counts six General Atomics Predator Bs now, including one that was re-engineered specifically for maritime sensing in a joint program with the Coast Guard, which like CBP is part of the Homeland Security Department.
Lawrence Prior has been named executive vice president of BAE Systems Inc. ’s Service Sectors for BAE Systems, Arlington, Va. He was president/chief operating officer of the ManTech International Corp.
The Air Force’s logic of requiring the proposed Light-Attack and Armed Reconnaissance (LAAR) aircraft to have two seats so that it can do double duty as an advanced trainer escapes me (AW&ST July 26, p. 59). Given that the two-seat AT-6B can only carry 3,350 lb. of external stores it would seem to make sense to produce a single-seat version of the LAAR aircraft as well. Eliminating the second ejection seat and streamlining the canopy would provide performance enhancements that pilots would find useful in combat.
Based on an improved second half of 2009, some studies of world freight markets anticipate a rebound in 2010, but when consultants at Oliver Wyman surveyed air cargo executives they found an abundance of caution.
NASA is taking its first steps toward meeting the Obama administration’s goal of sending astronauts to visit an asteroid by 2025, surveying possible targets and brainstorming how to make the trip possible. Although the agency knows of 44 near Earth objects (NEO) in orbits that could be accessible with a heavy-lift rocket roughly equivalent to the canceled Ares V, only three meet NASA’s current criteria for a human visit.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s bold move to slash Pentagon overhead costs (p. 20) is overshadowing a smaller but important initiative by the government to hand off more work to private industry. On Aug. 6, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) awarded 10-year contracts totaling $7.3 billion to two publicly traded satellite operators to supply imagery for the U.S. intelligence community and Defense Department. DigitalGlobe Inc. of Longmont, Colo., received a $3.5-billion award, while GeoEye Inc. of Dulles, Va., won a $3.8-billion contract.
USAF Brig. Gen. Ian R. Dickinson has been appointed director of communications and information/chief information officer at Air Force Space Command Headquarters, Peterson AFB, Colo. He has been commander of the 81st Training Wing of Air Education and Training Command, Keesler AFB, Miss. Brig. Gen. Margaret H. Woodward has been named commander of the 17th Air Force, U.S. Air Forces Africa and U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein AB, Germany. She has been vice commander of the 18th Air Force of Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill. Brig. Gen. James K.
In the “Field of Dreams” article (AW&ST July 26, p. 63) about Oshkosh 2010, the annual EAA fly-in event, you report that more than a half-million people were expected to attend. That gives the impression that more than a half-million individuals would be present. I don’t think this number is accurate. I’ve been told that if you purchased a pass for the seven days of the event and passed through the gates each day, you would be counted as seven separate attendees. If so, this would tend to inflate the number of people who actually purchase tickets.
Wanda Austin President & CEO, The Aerospace Corp. R.C. Benson Dean of the College of Engineering, Virginia Tech Daphne Dador Workforce Manager, AIA Christopher Dowell Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. Kathryn Fosha Northrop Grumman Corp. Don Giddens Dean of the College of Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology Garth Henning NASA Ed Hoffman Director of Appel, NASA Mohammad Noori Dean of California Polytechnic University Anita Rebarchak Pratt & Whitney
Loral Space & Communications says it is exploring the possibility of beefing up or selling its Space Systems/Loral satellite manufacturing unit. In a U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission filing made public on Aug. 9, Loral said “it is evaluating other strategic alternatives” for SS/L in addition to an initial public offering for up to 19.9% of stock announced in the second quarter. Despite financial improvements, SS/L remains significantly less profitable than Loral’s Telesat satellite operating affiliate.
Staying Put Or Moving On? Nearly half of young professionals anticipate staying in the aerospace and defense industry for their entire careeer. And while more than a third plan to stick with their current employer, the majority anticipate switching at some point.
Rolls-Royce has received type certification from the Brazilian civil aviation authority and European Aviation Safety Agency for the AE 3007A2, the 9,440-lb.-thrust engine that is to power Embraer’s Legacy 650 large executive jet.
Sept. 10—Webinar on Strengthening Warfighter Protection and Response to Irregular Warfare. Sept. 28-30—MRO Europe. London. Sept. 29-30—MRO Military Europe. London. Oct. 21-22—Lean Six Sigma for MRO. Dallas. Nov. 1-3—A&D Programs Conference. Phoenix. Nov. 2-3—A&D Supply Chain Conference. Phoenix. Nov. 2-4—MRO Asia Conference and Exhibition. Singapore. Dec. 1-2—A&D Finance Conference and Exhibition. New York. Feb. 1-2—MRO Middle East 2011. Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
I 100% disagree with reader Capt. Clyde Romero, Jr.’s, pretense in “Buy American at a Cost” (AW&ST Aug. 2, p. 8). I can see no real advantage between a stick and a yoke. The last time I flew I got the impression that both operated in the same fashion. The World Trade Organization ruling is one reason to continue to operate our military forces with Boeing refueling aircraft. The company has built an aircraft that has lasted 50 years as a viable refueling platform. Why stray from that kind of reliability and expertise? The KC-X is not a carbon copy of the 767.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates may be trying to pare back the military industrial complex surrounding the Pentagon (see p. 20), but aerospace and defense contractors continue to try to get their executives closer—literally. Lockheed Martin subsidiary Savi Technology says it will relocate its headquarters to Alexandria, Va., so it can “be closer to its expanding base of public-sector and commercial customers.” The move from Mountain View, Calif., comes just months after Northrop Grumman chose Falls Church, Va., for its new HQ.
The North American aerospace and defense (A&D) industry landscape has profoundly changed since the prerecession days of 2007. The economic downturn and escalating competition have led industry players to increase their emphasis on operating efficiencies, effective post-merger integrations and new alliances. But these adjustments are destined to have little impact unless the industry tackles several of its most pressing and interrelated human capital issues.
So what’s the best career? We looked at hiring trends, base pay, promotions and diversity to look at the best options overall, for women and for underrepresented minorities.
Delta Air Lines will be moving its international flights to a newly expanded terminal at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport in May 2013 and will have more room for its aggressive growth there, if all goes as planned in a $1.2-billion project to expand Terminal 4.
John G. Morgan, Jr., has become a senior global strategist for Toffler Associates , Manchester, Mass. He was chief strategy officer for the Sensis Corp.
Key House members want Congress to hold off on roughly $100 million in 2011 assistance to Lebanon’s armed forces, the LAF. In the wake of an LAF firefight with Israeli soldiers along Lebanon’s southern border, the lawmakers allege that Beirut is too complicit with Hezbollah.
A $104-million impairment charge for Galaxy 15, which went out of control in April, helped drive Intelsat into a $180-million net loss for the second quarter. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization dropped $183 million to $339 million and revenues declined to $635 million, from $642 million a year earlier. Intelsat anticipates Galaxy 15 will lose Earth lock before year-end, shutting down all onboard electrical systems, but it remains unclear if the spacecraft can be restarted.
Personal interest was the most important factor in career selection for both professionals and students. Money was a bigger motivator for professionals than for students, who place more emphasis on parental encouragement than those already in the workforce.
Disposing of a large number of aircraft may not appear to be a sign of health, but for the aircraft leasing sector such moves could indeed signal the end of a two-year crisis that threatened the core of the industry. As the lease sector, which is critical to aircraft makers such as Airbus and Boeing, emerges from the economic downturn, concerns over contraction that hung over the industry for months have faded. Although the balance of power among some of the competitors has shifted, the dominant players remain largely unchanged.
The ongoing discussion in these pages on saving tire wear by pre-spinning the landing gear wheels takes me back to 1948 when I was an apprentice at the Vickers-Armstrongs Aviation Co. near London. A Vickers Wellington aircraft there had pockets glued to the sides of the main landing gear wheels. These half-cup-shaped pockets had their open face on the bottom of the wheels, with the less draggy rear facing cups on the top, much like in some anemometers. Clearly folks were worrying about pre-spinning landing gear wheels for a long while.
