USAF Col. (ret.) Robert F. Wright, Jr., has become senior vice president of the Military and Intelligence Group of Integral Systems Inc. , Columbia, Md. He was commander of the Space Innovation and Development Center at Schriever AFB, Colo.
Northrop Grumman is to demonstrate autonomous aerial refueling of a Global Hawk unmanned aircraft at high altitude from another Global Hawk acting as a tanker. The company has a 24-month, $33-million contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (Darpa). Two NASA-operated Global Hawks will be used for the demonstration: AV-1 fitted with a refueling probe and relative-navigation system; and AV-6 with a hose-and-drogue unit. Flight tests will begin in mid-2011. The probe-equipped aircraft will be the tanker, “pushing” fuel to the receiver.
A single control list, a single licensing agency, a single enforcement office—President Barack Obama’s vision of a revamped control regime that streamlines U.S. exports and creates jobs—faces a test this year when the administration seeks legislation from Congress to enable the sweeping changes.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is wasting no time mounting its new civil polar weather satellite program for a first launch in 2014, while the agency’s former partner on Npoess, the U.S. Air Force, moves at a slightly more measured pace toward orbiting a system in Fiscal 2018. Though plans are not yet firm for both systems, Northrop Grumman, prime contractor for the dismantled National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (Npoess), has a lot to lose.
It is not yet clear how much potential savings can be produced from a U.S. Air Force and Navy memorandum of agreement to establish procedures for collaboration on the Global Hawk and Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs. Signed June 12 by the service chiefs of staff, the goal is to gain efficiencies through commonality and interoperability of the Northrop Grumman aircraft. Both vehicles are built on the same airframe, though differences in sensors and other requirements exist.
European Union emissions allowance (EUA) prices were range-bound in June, holding within a price range established in May. EUAs for delivery in December 2010 closed at €15.42 ($18.80) per metric ton on June 28, up from €15.13 on June 1, according to Platts’ assessments. The price range established during that period held comfortably within May’s range of €14.71 to €16.20.
The European Union’s growing involvement in space appears set to challenge once again the European Space Agency’s purchasing rules, while raising the larger issue of how the two organizations should share funding responsibilities. ESA’s procurement guidelines are based on “geographic” or “fair return,” meaning that member states that invest in missions receive a corresponding share of revenues. This posed no problem as long as the agency remained the center of the European space community.
Congress has passed yet another short-term extension of the FAA’s operating authority, although lawmakers claim they are getting closer to agreement on a long-term reauthorization bill. The extension is for one month through Aug. 1, providing funding and expenditure authority for the aviation trust fund and other programs. House and Senate negotiators had hoped to reconcile their respective versions of the reauthorization bill before the previous extension expired July 3.
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Gulfstream Aerospace has launched its fourth G650 into the certification flight-test program for its top-of-the-line business jet. A fifth and final test craft—being outfitted now—is expected to join the fleet later this year. The test program will involve 1,800 hr. of flights, and had accumulated 240 hr. by late June. Test aircraft have flown at the model’s maximum takeoff weight of 99,600 lb. and achieved Mach 0.925, its maximum operational Mach number, at 42,500 ft.
The World Trade Organization’s ruling last week on the U.S. case against the European Union on illegal subsidies for large commercial aircraft gave lawmakers—and executives—on both sides of the Atlantic reason to celebrate and cause for concern, setting the stage for the next act in this long-running dispute.
Cheryl L. Janey (see photo) has been appointed vice president-communications of the Northrop Grumman Corp. ’s Information Systems Sector, Reston, Va. She was vice president-operations for the sector’s Civil Systems Div.
The general aviation industry is notorious for its continuous exchange of people and ideas, so it seems only appropriate that Cessna should be awarded a Piper. Specifically, Cessna Aircraft Co. is this year’s winner of the Piper General Aviation Award.
It has the wing span of a regional jet, yet is hand-launched by a team of three and designed to stay aloft for up to three months on solar power. Qinetiq’s Zephyr is at one extreme of the persistent unmanned-aircraft spectrum—small payload, high altitude, ultra-long endurance.
Joe Davis (see photo), who is general manager of Saddle Butte Systems, has received the National Defense Industrial Association ’s 2010 Edward M. Greer Award. It honors contributions or service to the U.S. Defense Department in the area of integrated logistics support engineering and its implementation in maintenance and product support.
Michael Bruno (Washington), Bettina H. Chavanne (Washington)
Whether Congress follows through is far from clear, but the rhetoric inside Washington is building toward spending cuts and systemic changes to the national security budget after a decade of record amounts that some say left the U.S. military little better off.
South Korea will obtain a geostationary weather satellite capability thanks to COMS-1, a multi-purpose spacecraft launched on June 26 with Arabsat 5A atop an Ariane 5 ECA rocket. Built for Korean space agency KARI by EADS Astrium, COMS-1 features a submetric-resolution multispectral optical imager that will provide early warning of hazardous weather conditions as well as long-term data for seasonal weather forecasting and climate-change monitoring. The spacecraft also carries an ocean color sensor and an experimental Ka-band communications payload.
When it comes to the tanker imbroglio, I believe I have a solution. First, the U.S. government awards Boeing the contract—with the proviso that they build it in the soon-to-be-closed Long Beach, Calif., plant where the C-17 is built. Also, the U.S. allows an increase in the price commensurate with the Airbus A320 government subsidies as determined by the World Trade Organization. This way we get our own subsidized work distribution project similar to the one EADS has with the A400M. U.S.
U.S. Army Col. Jeffrey N. Colt has been nominated for promotion to brigadier general. He is commander of the Joint Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center of Excellence, Indian Springs Airfield, Creech AFB, Nev.
Lynn Malmstrom has been named CEO of McClellan-based California Shock Trauma Air Rescue . He succeeds Joseph F. Cook, who has retired. Malmstrom was chief financial officer.
Robert Anton has become senior vice president-component services for Air France Industries . He succeeds Pierre Bosse, who has been named deputy CEO of Air France subsidiary airline Regional. Anton was vice president-product, strategy and development of Air France Industries’ Component Services Div.
Gary Hodak has been named director of technical services for the King Aerospace Commercial Corp. , Addison, Texas. He was director of avionics at the Associated Air Center.
