William L. Jones (see photo), who is senior staff scientist/sub project manager for the Advanced Extremely High Frequency program in the Microelectronics Product Center within the Space and Defense Products Div. of the Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp.’s Aerospace Systems Sector, has won the National Society of Black Engineers ’ Lifetime Achievement in Aerospace Award for “technical excellence, leadership and contributions to the engineering field.”
NASA’s workhorse space shuttle orbiter Discovery is set to deliver a load of science racks and other gear to the International Space Station (ISS) for long-term operations, as assembly gives way to research on the orbiting laboratory.
Harold W. McGraw, Jr., who began his career as a book company sales representative in the firm founded by his grandfather, James H. McGraw, and went on to lead McGraw-Hill’s rapid growth as a diversified global company through the dawn of the Digital Age, died at home in Darien, Conn., on March 24. He was 92.
In response to Prof. (Emeritus) Eugene E. Covert’s letter “Goal of Zero Accidents is Unrealistic” (AW&ST Feb. 15, p. 8), of course this goal is unrealistic, that is why you set goals high. Perfection is unattainable, but in my safety career in academia, industry and the government—in research, laboratory, pilot plant and full-scale chemical plant environments—it is just this attitude that a management committed to safety has to overcome.
Accelergy expects to deliver 100% synthetic jet fuel to USAF for evaluation, beginning late this year. The Houston company has agreed with Montana-based camelina provider Great Plains Oil & Exploration to blend the plant oil with liquefied coal to produce the fuel. Accelergy says a pilot “coal-and-biomass-to-liquid” plant is under construction at the University of North Dakota’s Energy & Environmental Research Center and will begin producing biojet fuel in the third quarter.
ViaSat plans to issue 5.5 million shares of common stock to help fund rollout of its 125-Gbps. high-speed Internet satellite. ViaSat-1 is to be orbited in early 2011 to provide additional capacity for broadband operator WildBlue Communications, which was acquired by ViaSat in December, and scope for future growth (AW&ST March 15, p. 51). About 2.5 million shares are to be sold by ViaSat
Two of the British Royal Air Force’s Hawk Red Arrows display team aircraft were involved in a collision March 23, resulting in the destruction of one of the jet trainers. One pilot was forced to eject immediately after the impact, while the other aircraft was landed safety. Neither of the pilots sustained serious injuries. The incident occurred during training using the Kastelli Greek AFB on Crete.
Known as an engineer’s engineer and a leader committed to continuous investment in the future of his corporation’s workforce, Ronald D. Sugar was honored as the first recipient of the Aviation Week Laureate for Workforce Commitment. Sugar is chairman emeritus of the Northrop Grumman Corp.
High-energy lasers have made significant advances in the past year, notably the shootdown of a ballistic missile target by the Airborne Laser (ABL) testbed in February. But while chemical lasers can be enormously powerful—megawatt-class in the case of ABL—doubts surround their usefulness as weapons.
Anthony J. Reardon, who has been president/chief operating officer of Ducommun Inc. of Los Angeles, is now also CEO. He succeeds Joseph C. Berenato, who remains chairman. Dean M. Flatt has been appointed to the board of directors. He is retired president of the Honeywell International Aerospace Project.
Elinor Smith Sullivan, an aviatrix who set altitude and speed records and was known as the “Flying Flapper,” died of kidney failure on Mar. 19 in Palo Alto, Calif. She was 98. Smith took her first airplane ride at age 6. A few months after soloing at age 15, she set an altitude record of 11,889 ft., At 16, she became the youngest licensed pilot on record and had Orville Wright finalize her Federation Aeronautic Internationale license.
Satellite communications operators think the U.S. government’s new national broadband plan could help stimulate satellite broadband and mobilesat services, but say its impact will be limited and in some cases even detrimental to industry growth.
U.S. airlines and the Defense Department are hoping a strategic alliance will accelerate the availability of alternative fuels, helping both of them meet aggressive goals for increasing energy security and reducing environmental footprint. Under the alliance, signed on March 19 in Washington, the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC)—the Pentagon’s fuel buyer—and the Air Transport Association are forming three joint teams to tackle key challenges to developing a domestic supply base for alternative fuels.
European Union emissions allowance (EUA) prices were little changed in March, holding firmly within a price range established in February. EUAs for delivery in December 2010 closed at €13.18 ($17.59) per metric ton of CO2 equivalent on March 22, compared with €12.77 on Feb. 22. The intra-month price range in March was from €12.90 to €13.55.
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) director, Army Lt. Gen. Patrick J. O’Reilly, is living up to his reputation as a taskmaster. Last week, he announced at the Eighth Annual U.S. Missile Defense Conference that he is withholding funding from at least one contractor for shoddy work, but he did not name names. Coleman Aerospace, owned by L-3 Communications, is the culprit, according to a missile defense program insider.
Amid a major political rift between Israel and the U.S., the Israeli air force has signed a contract to buy three Lockheed Martin C-130J transport aircraft. Under the $210-million contract, the aircraft will be delivered in 2013-15 and replace three of Israel’s C-130E/Hs, some of which are more than 40 years old.
Lufthansa is determined to win the right to compete with Alitalia on the domestic “golden route” linking Milan Linate Airport with Rome Fiumicino Airport. Under an Italian government decree, Alitalia won a three-year monopoly on the route. The action is unfair according to Lufthansa Italia chief Heike Birlenbach, who argues that the government should open competition to several airlines. To that end, Lufthansa is now exploring legal grounds upon which it could win approval to operate from Linate.
Glynn Germany has become space weather technical lead for the Space Control and Remote Sensing Unit of the Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. , Albuquerque, N.M. He was interim director for the Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research at the University of Alabama-Huntsville.
Embraer expects aircraft deliveries to decline this year, with the regional jet and executive aviation businesses still suffering from reduced demand. Still, the Brazilian aircraft maker sees positive developments. Management says fourth-quarter 2009 airline investment activity suggests order intake will be higher this year than the 23 regional jets booked in 2009.
Neal Blue discusses the desire for wideband down at higher rates, “which is undetectable and therefore doesn’t require encryption” (AW&ST March 1, p. 52). He restates this assertion in a discussion of stealth and future generations of UAVs. Blue adds that radar and infrared detectability do not “count too much.”
Intelligence agencies and military cyber-commands are at the tipping point in their switch from surveillance at the speed of electricity to combat at the speed of light, and parsing messages sent via high-volume fiber optics is a key to this transformation.
USAF Col. Michael J. Moran (see photo) has been named commander of the Space Development and Test Wing at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Kirtland AFB, N.M. He was commander of the Atlas Systems Group at Los Angeles AFB.
Sikorsky is to establish a UH-60/S-70 Black Hawk helicopter training center in Colombia, at Melgar AFB, to provide pilot training for the country’s armed forces as well as other military customers in Latin America. To be equipped with a full-motion simulator, the center will be structured as an offset program and intended as the launching point for development of maintenance, repair and overhaul services, and a training center for fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, says Sikorsky Aerospace Services.
General Electric is optimistic that tests of an improved turbine will show it is on target to close the 787’s fuel-consumption performance gap, revealed during evaluations of the initial GEnx-1B engine.
Negotiators try to put the best face on the long-awaited second stage of U.S.-EU open skies deal signed last week. But the agreement delays resolution of contentious issues with promises of movement later—on U.S. restrictions on foreign ownership and control of U.S. airlines and on Europe’s tough standards on aircraft noise. Washington vows to try to get Congress to raise the current 25% legal cap on non-U.S. ownership of voting stock in American carriers.
