Airbus appears to be running head-on into another major development program problem, with its A350 twin-widebody already at risk of significant schedule delays and cost overruns, even before the first aircraft has come together.
NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavour lights up pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center on the last night launch of the shuttle era. The 130th space shuttle mission delivered the Italian-built Tranquility node and its seven-window cupola to the International Space Station, after a one-day weather delay to a Feb. 8 liftoff at 4:14 a.m. EST.
In a $4.7-million offset deal, Boeing has contracted with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) to provide weapons bay doors for eight P-8I maritime patrol aircraft. In January 2009, HAL became Boeing’s first export customer for the 737-based P-8 program.
British Airways’ fledgling OpenSkies venture is adjusting its strategy, and is now targeting Washington for further expansion. The airline says it will start taking bookings this month for five-times-weekly service between Paris Orly and Washington Dulles International Airport that it plans to launch on May 3 with Boeing 757- 200s. When OpenSkies launched its Paris-New York service, expansion plans focused on adding European destinations. Amsterdam was the first target, but low demand led the airline to cancel it.
Boeing Defense Australia will continue its engineering support for the Royal Australian Air Force’s fleet of F/A-18A/B Hornets. The 30-month, $1.5-million contract requires Boeing to deliver repair plans for faults uncovered during Hornet maintenance. The company also continues to perform upgrades for the aircraft .
Obituary:Former Rep. Charles Wilson (D-Tex.) died Feb. 10 in Lufkin, Tex., from cardiopulmonary arrest. He was 76. Wilson, who was a 1956 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a retired Navy lieutenant, served in the House of Representatives from 1973-96, sitting on various committees but most notably the appropriations panel. Institutionalized in Charlie Wilson’s War, a book by George Crile that was made into a Hollywood movie of the same name, Wilson helped promote and funnel covert U.S. support for the Mujahideen against the Soviets in Afghanistan.
A blockbuster contract with Intersputnik has landed Eutelsat in the thick of a geopolitical row. The government of Georgia alleges that the Paris-based operator caved into Russian pressure in late January by signing a lucrative 16-transponder lease deal with Intersputnik and reneging on a deal to carry a Georgian station—First Caucasian—that had recently gone on the air.
Moscow has kicked off its 2010 arms sales campaign by finalizing deals with Libya and Vietnam to buy advanced hardware. Tripoli signed a $1.8-billion purchase agreement that includes acquisition of six YAK-130 advanced jet trainers for delivery in 2011-12, in addition to tanks. Libya has also expressed interest in acquiring 12 Su‑35s, the latest Sukhoi fighter in production; four Su-30MK2s, as well as the advanced S-300PMU2 air-defense system. Vietnam’s weapons package, valued at around $1 billion, includes 12 Su-30MK2s for delivery starting next year.
NASA’s rotorcraft research is focusing on technical challenges, which—if overcome—could open the door for regional jet-size vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) aircraft to operate quietly and efficiently between city centers.
As Iran’s defiance over its nuclear weapons program heightens, Tehran has unveiled a new satellite launch vehicle (SLV), which experts say could be the basis for a future intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
AirAsia will begin operating from a fourth national base this year after agreeing to buy into and rebrand a Vietnamese airline. The move strengthens AirAsia’s lead in Southeast Asia over Jetstar and Tiger Airways as the three Asia-Pacific no-frills groups race to set up multinational franchise chains. Malaysia’s AirAsia Bhd. will buy 30% of VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Co.
Chengdu Airlines, the recapitalized and renamed United Eagle Airlines, has been granted an operating license. United Eagle was privately run but, as Chengdu Airlines, it is now a government outfit, owned by state companies that include Sichuan Airlines and commercial aircraft builder Comac.
Israel Aerospace Industries is planning to launch another TechSAR satellite in 2012 capable of producing all-weather images like the one at right, part of a set from neutral undisclosed sites collected with the TechSAR launched in January 2008. This summer, Israel also plans to launch its next reconnaissance satellite—Ofeq 8—in an effort to boost its intelligence-gathering capabilities against Iran.
USN Capt. Randall M. Hendrickson, who has been selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), has been named deputy director of the Missile Defense Agency in Washington. He was head of theater missile defense in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
Martin McCarthy (see photo) has been named vice president-Europe, Middle East and Africa for Crane Aerospace & Electronics , Lynnwood, Wash. He was vice president-strategy for Europe.
Joseph LaMarca, Jr., has been appointed vice president-communications for Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin ’s aeronautics business. He held the same position at Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth.
Graham Warwick (Washington), Douglas Barrie (London)
Selection of a consortium offering S-92 helicopters for a 25-year, £6-billion ($9.4-billion) U.K. search-and-rescue program is a boost for Sikorsky’s bid to secure international and commercial business to balance its growing sales to the U.S. military.
Cash and clout are the fundamental building blocks needed to support the grand vision for the U.K.’s space sector, according to the initiative proposed by industry, academia and civil servants. Government ministers will make an initial response to the “U.K. Space Innovation and Growth Strategy” report within the coming month . However this will only begin to answer the key concern of increased funding to support the road map.
In May, a French court will decide whether two Continental Airlines maintenance technicians or a clutch of retired French civil aviation officials and Aerospatiale executives are to blame for the crash of an Air France Concorde, near Paris, on July 25, 2000. Aerospatiale, Sud-Aviation’s successor, has since been merged into EADS.
Quintin Cairncross has been named as operations director of ExecuJet Middle East . He was director of flight training for Grob Aerospace and deputy chief flying examiner for Emirates.
Washington is generating a lot of talk about partnerships with Europe since President Barack Obama took office last year, but there is not much focus on how Europe and its industrial base fits into the overall defense framework in theU.S., says Jeff Bialos, a partner at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan and a former deputy undersecretary of Defense for industrial affairs. “I believe that the Defense Dept. needs to engage much more deeply with the EU,” Bialos said during a Feb.
Malaysia Airlines and Pratt & Whitney have agreed to open a nacelle repair facility in Kuala Lumpur within the next two years. The 50-50 joint venture will be part of Pratt’s Global Services Partners maintenance network to support overhauls of CFM56 and V2500 engines, as well as Pratt’s own line .
Steve Squyres, who is the principal investigator for the two Mars Exploration Rovers—which have been on the red planet for six years—and the Mars Exploration Rover Team, have won The Planetary Society ’s Thomas O. Paine Award for the Advancement of Human Exploration of Mars. Paine was a society director for many years and NASA administrator at the time of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. The award recognizes achievement in advancing human exploration of Mars.
Prof. (Emeritus) Eugene E. Covert Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Concord, Mass. )
Regarding Mark E.J. Fay’s letter , debating Pierre Sparaco’s comment—“although the ideal zero-accident objective has proven to be unrealistic, including in the U.S. . . .”—(AW&ST Jan. 4, p. 10; Nov. 30, 2009, p. 51), I believe the goal of zero accidents is unrealistic. Accidents will always happen.
