Despite differing environmental tailwinds, the U.S. and Europe appear set to begin exploring paths toward a cooperative framework for Earth observation similar to the ones being adopted for other space undertakings.
President Barack Obama still has not charted a course for NASA on human spaceflight, but Norman Augustine, the head of the panel that reviewed NASA’s Constellation program for a return to the Moon, tells House and Senate panels the “program of record” is not viable at current funding levels. For $3 billion more a year, there are several options that would get humans out of low Earth orbit (AW&ST Sept. 7, p. 26). While the Constellation goals can be pursued at that higher funding level, Augustine says doing so would produce “three or four” gaps in U.S.
Fatigue is universally recognized as a major threat to aviation operations and affects people working as pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and air traffic controllers, among other related occupations. This week’s special report on fatigue (see p. 42) examines the combined efforts of industry, regulators and scientists to minimize the dangers of fatigue. Cover design by the AW&ST Art Dept.
The British Defense Ministry will likely decide by the end of this month how to plug its military airlift gap; additional strategic and tactical aircraft seem the likely choices. The ministry’s Investment Appraisal Board is scheduled to consider shortly options on bolstering the capability shortfall. These include an additional Boeing C-17, as well as further Lockheed Martin C-130s, both new-build and second-hand aircraft. The options are believed to cover the acquisition of refurbished C-130Es from Saudi Arabia.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, says the process the Pentagon uses to evaluate complex weapons programs is itself too complicated and needs more input from military officers. “The Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS) is much too complex and needs to be revised,” he says.
Erickson Air-Crane is developing new flight controls for the S-64F Aircrane heavy-lift helicopter that promise pilots greater safety margins and stability as they maneuver payloads of up to 25,000 lb. with little margin for error.
Damage to the fan on an F135 engine during ground testing at Pratt & Whitney is not expected to further delay flight testing of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Program officials say they can meet planned training and initial operational capability dates, provided all 12 development test aircraft are delivered within the next 12 months.
Sept. 29—Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle’s “Trends in Aviation.” Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce. See http://seattletradealliance.com Sept. 29-30—ASD-Network/Defense IQ’s Close Air Support 2009. Bloomsbury Hotel, London. Call +31 (20) 486-1286, fax +31 (20) 486-0216 or see www.asd-network.com Sept. 29-30—SAE 2009 Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Symposium. National Transportation Safety Board Training Center, Ashburn, Va. Call +1 (724) 776-4841, fax +1 (724) 776-0790 or see www.sae.org/events/training/symposia/adsb
Wesley G. Bush will become CEO of Northrop Grumman Corp. at the start of 2010, ascending to a position for which he has long been groomed. Chairman and CEO Ronald D. Sugar, a 29-year veteran who has led the 120,000-employee defense contractor since 2003, will step down on Dec. 31 and retire six months later. The 48-year-old Bush joined TRW—which was acquired by Northrop Grumman in 2002—as a systems engineer in 1987. He was president of the Space Technology Sector from 2003-05, chief financial officer from 2005-06 and most recently president and chief operating officer.
The New Orleans Aviation Board is beginning the year-long process to privatize Louis Armstrong International Airport, following FAA approval last week of the board’s initial application under the agency’s demonstration project. The board will ask potential bidders to report on their financial and technical qualifications by Dec. 31. Bidding is scheduled for the spring, followed by submission of a final application to the FAA next fall.
On Sept. 8, Comac, a Chinese government-backed consortium based in Shanghai, unveiled its C919 narrowbody concept at the Asian Aerospace show in Hong Kong, signaling China’s entry into the heart of the commercial aircraft segment. The objective is to beat Boeing and Airbus to market with a next-generation narrowbody that offers the latest technology in engines, avionics and materials, with a 10% reduction in operating costs versus today’s 737s and A320s. Comac is aiming for the entry to service in 2016.
Lockheed Martin demonstrated automated convoy route reconnaissance using its Sniper targeting pod on a USAF F-16 at the recent Empire Challenge exercise at Nellis AFB, Nev., and NAS China Lake, Calif. The ability to record high-definition infrared images in flight and stitch them together post-mission—to provide a view of the complete route—was shown during the joint and coalition exercises. Lockheed Martin is developing the capability to automatically mosaic images in real time for data-linking to the ground.
Boeing’s F-15E Radar Modernization Program has received the designation AN/APG-82(v)1 from USAF. The addition of Raytheon’s APG-82 radar will provide the strike fighter with active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar technology. Radar reliability will be increased by nearly 20 times, and maintainability, sustainability and performance will be enhanced, while support costs will diminish, according to Boeing. Raytheon continues to add new modes to its fighter-size AESA arrays to cover seagoing, cruise missile and very small and slow ground targets.
The first of the British Army’s re-engined Lynx helicopters, the AH Mk. 9A, was flown last week, with four of the type to be delivered later this year. Twelve of the rotorcraft are being refitted with the LHTEC CTS800-4N engine to improve hot-and-high performance, with delivery to be completed by 2010. The plan is to upgrade all 22 of the Army’s Mk. 9s. The CTS800 replaces the Gem engine. The helicopter’s gearbox is also is being modified, as is the upper superstructure and rear fuselage.
Lockheed Martin is working with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems to fly a version of the F-35’s stealthy electro-optical targeting system (EOTS) on the Avenger unmanned aircraft in the latter part of 2010. Mounted behind faceted sapphire windows, the mid-wave infrared sensor would reduce the swept-wing, jet-powered UAV’s radar signature compared with that of the conventional external EO/IR turret on a Predator or Reaper.
President Barack Obama is making substantial changes to plans started by his predecessor to establish ballistic missile defenses in Europe, and they will have major ramifications for interceptor manufacturers Boeing and Raytheon. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, USMC Gen. James Cartwright, say findings of a congressionally mandated review, as well as adjustments in the intelligence assessment of the missile threat from Iran, underpin the decision.
Letters from lawmakers keep flying on Capitol Hill over the Air Force’s pending KC-X tanker competition (see p. 20). The World Trade Organization’s preliminary decision on U.S. complaints of government subsidies of Airbus spurred Boeing boosters in Congress to urge executive-branch officials to reframe the procurement, although the Air Force and other Pentagon officials have said it does not pertain to KC-X.
Raytheon is developing an X-band ship radar system to guide the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) to its target. The device, called SPY-5, would replace target-illuminating systems with a passive phased-array, continuous wave system theoretically able to guide 12 ESSMs to their target at the same time. The system uses the existing 2-kw. transmitter, with slight modifications. Since the power level is not being increased, the baseline SPY-5 would not improve on ESSM’s ability to engage lower radar cross-section targets.
Bombardier broke ground in Mirabel, near Montreal, for its CSeries aircraft program. The Sept. 15 ceremony was specifically for facilities to produce the first CSeries test aircraft, but plans call for a 860,000-sq.-ft. complex where the CSeries family will be built. The new aircraft’s entry into service is scheduled for 2013.
NASA has exercised the second of two options on its Kennedy Space Center payload-processing contract with Boeing Space Operations Co., bringing the total value of the work to $824.8 million. The latest Checkout Assembly and Payload Processing Services contract option will be worth as much as $156.5 million to the Boeing subsidiary for the next three years. It covers management and technical services for all KSC payload processing.
American Airlines last week rolled out the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Secure Flight program. Passengers making reservations on the mainline, or on American Eagle and AmericanConnection flights, will be required to supply additional information for the program that is designed to streamline the TSA’s watch-list process. Required information includes full name as it appears on government-issued photo ID, date of birth and gender.
AirTran Airways plans to add nonstop service to Aruba to its list of winter destinations. Pending Aruban government approval, the carrier on Dec. 19 is scheduled to offer one weekly round-trip flight between its Atlanta hub and the island; and starting Feb. 13, 2010, one weekly round trip from Orlando, Fla.
USAF Col. (ret.) Michael R. Gallagher (Hillsboro, Ore.)
We have now experienced two major wing design failures in transport aircraft: C-17 and 787. With the C-17, aircraft were in flight test when the static test wing broke in the mid-120% range, short of the required 150% standard. Flight tests continued with restrictions to stay well below the failure stress load. It would be interesting to know why Boeing did not elect to conduct a first flight on the 787 earlier with limited testing at low stress levels.
ALTA, the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Assn., last week released its 2009 capacity analysis of 509 airports (in terms of numbers of flights) and 2,252 city-pairs (in terms of available seats). Comparing 2008 with the previous year, Rio de Janeiro-Sao Paulo was the busiest city-pair in the Latin American-Caribbean region, with 86 daily round-trip flights—more than double the capacity of the runner-up, Mexico City-Monterrey, Mexico.
The European Space Agency is mulling procurement of a sixth Sentinel satellite for Europe’s Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) network that could be the first devoted to defense and security applications. The five existing Sentinels, which will form the backbone of GMES, are earmarked for ocean and land imaging and environmental monitoring. The exact nature of the mission for the new satellite, dubbed Sentinel S, is still being defined, says Volker Liebig, ESA’s director of Earth observation.
