Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is beginning pre-launch checks of the first fully operational Dragon spacecraft destined to be launched under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The demonstration will be the first of up to three COTS flights set up under plans made in 2006 designed to encourage private companies to develop commercial space transport capabilities. The test flight is a critical step on the path to proving the feasibility of commercial resupply to the International Space Station.
Most students ranked defense and national security as desirable career fields, but 44% saw aerospace as desirable. An interest in aircraft, defense and space was an important motivator for more than 70%. Salary was important to just over a third.
Boeing is assessing whether to protest the U.S. Air Force’s $450-million contract award last week to Raytheon for the Small Diameter Bomb II. Deliveries of the 250-lb. GBU-53/B are slated to begin in 2013.
Small, concept airplanes often inspire big dreams, only to be dashed again and again, delivering to their hopeful backers frustration and disappointment, frequently accompanied by lawsuits and ridicule. Adam Aircraft, ATG, Avocet, Century, Safire, Visionaire are just a few of the more recent programs that have flickered, some to fly, but all to fail. Despite that sad, familiar history, the visionaries keep coming, sure that theirs is the aircraft that will soar to success. And some will.
The U.S. aerospace and defense industry is anxiously anticipating a wave of retirements that has been looming for years, and wishing that the restless, ambitious group of 20-somethings looking for more exciting opportunities would come up with an “app” to model what the next five years will bring.
Nuevo Grupo Aeronautico continues to insist mainline carrier Compania Mexicana de Aviacion’s (CMA) bankruptcy protection filing is not affecting MexicanaClick or MexicanaLink, its low-cost and regional affiliates. Between press releases and Twitter blasts, it insists they “are independent carriers and therefore are not affected by CMA’s situation.” How exactly that is possible as sales slide and what bankruptcy would mean for sister company Mexicana MRO Services are unclear. It remains to be seen which of them, if any, would be able to stand on its own.
CFM International has won FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency certification for its CFM56-7BE engine to upgrade Boeing’s 737 Next-Generation series. Flight tests are to begin in the fourth quarter, leading to a service entry in mid-2011. Together with Boeing’s aerodynamic improvements, the new engine is expected to decrease fuel burn 2% and reduce maintenance costs by up to 4%.
Richard A. Madamba has been appointed senior vice president-aerospace and defense for Ametek Inc. , Paoli, Pa. He was vice president/general manager for maintenance, repair and overhaul. Madamba will be succeeded by Gregory P. Young, who was president/general manager of Texas Aero Engine Services.
The July 31 failure of a coolant pump module assembly on the International Space Station has NASA managers and engineers re-evaluating their strategy for keeping the orbiting space laboratory flush with critical spare parts as the space shuttle retires.
Franklin Cardenas has been promoted to vice president-global engine aftermarket from managing director for Latin America for Donaldson Co. of Minneapolis. He succeeds Joseph Lehman, who is now vice president-global operations. Michael Trevino has been appointed director of global commercial aerospace sales for Donaldson Aerospace and Defense . He was director of sales for Donaldson Valencia.
The European Commission will conduct a more detailed assessment of the proposed merger of Greece’s two largest airlines, Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines, after a cursory look raised red flags on antitrust grounds. The EC says its “initial market investigation indicated that the proposed merger could raise serious competition concerns, in particular because the merged entity would have very high, if not monopolistic, market shares on all domestic routes and on a number of international routes where both parties operate.” Brussels will decide by Dec.
Unmanned aircraft responding to calls for fire support from ground controllers, who directly command their sensors and weapons, could become reality if a Pentagon demonstration of advanced close air support technology is successful. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Precision Close Air Support (PCAS) program aims to develop a kit that enables joint tactical air controllers to take command of sensors and weapons on manned and unmanned aircraft to increase the speed and accuracy of fire support for ground forces.
Final 2009 traffic figures from Airports Council International offer no surprises. Worldwide airport passenger counts were down 1.8% to 4.8 billion from 2008’s 4.9 billion, while cargo tonnage was off 7.9% to 79.8 million metric tons. The Middle East fared best—7.7% passenger gain—while Europe and North America were off 5.4% and 5.2%, respectively.
Sept. 10—Strengthening Warfighter Protection and Response to Irregular Warfare Webinar 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, UAE
USAF Maj. Gen. Frank K. Kisner has been nominated for promotion to lieutenant general with assignment as commander of NATO Special Operations at Shape Headquarters in Belgium. He has been commander of Special Operations Command Europe/director of special operations, U.S. European Command, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany. Maj. Gen. James O. Poss has been appointed assistant deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) at USAF Headquarters at the Pentagon.
India and Russia continue their long-standing cooperation in space with top-level talks on possible human missions. Meeting in Moscow last week, Anatoly Perminov, head of Russian space agency Roscosmos, and D. Radhakrishnan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), discussed ways Roscosmos and RSC Energia—builder of Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft—could help India’s nascent human-spaceflight effort.
I love the new look of the magazine. Kudos to Art Director Lisa Caputo and her staff. As a subscriber for more than 40 years, I appreciate the cleaner lines and the easier ability to peruse the pages.
Malaysian budget airline AirAsia has deferred the delivery of seven A320s to 2015 from 2011, citing infrastructure constraints at its hub in Kuala Lumpur. Last year the airline announced a four-year deferral in the delivery of 16 aircraft scheduled for 2010 and 2011 for the same reason. With the deferment, AirAsia will receive eight aircraft in 2011 and nine in 2015, with no penalties imposed by Airbus for the changes.
Donald L. Cook has been sworn in as deputy administrator for defense programs of the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration . He was managing director/CEO of the Atomic Weapons Establishment in the U.K. and has been director of the Microsystems and Engineering Sciences Applications Program Center at the Sandia National Laboratories.
While airline capacity growth has generally been keeping pace with traffic this year, a few signs are emerging that supply of seats may be starting to climb too fast. Through the first half of 2010, passenger capacity on international routes returned “at a rate more or less matching the expansion in demand,” according to a financial report from the International Air Transport Association. But in June, capacity rose at a faster rate than demand—increasing 10% year-on-year versus a 6% hike in traffic.
Singapore low-cost carrier Tiger Airways and Thai Airways International have sealed a partnership to launch a joint-venture budget airline in Bangkok. Thai Tiger Airways, with registered capital of 200 million baht ($6.2 million), expects to begin flying in first-quarter 2011, serving domestic and regional markets. It will be 51% owned by the Thai flag carrier and its affiliates, with the remaining 49% stake held by the Singaporean airline.
Franklin Cardenas has been promoted to vice president-global engine aftermarket from managing director for Latin America for Donaldson Co. of Minneapolis. He succeeds Joseph Lehman, who is now vice president-global operations. Michael Trevino has been appointed director of global commercial aerospace sales for Donaldson Aerospace and Defense . He was director of sales for Donaldson Valencia.
Don Stockton (see photo) has become CEO of Hampson Industries plc ’s tooling operations, and based at the company’s Odyssey Industries Inc. in Lake Orion, Mich. He was an executive with the Precision Cast Parts Corp.
Vadim Radunsky has become president and James Demers international sales director of Smiths Connectors North America . Radunsky was president of London-based Hypertronics, a Smiths Interconnect Business, while Demers was military and aerospace business development director of Smiths Connectors North America.
