Boeing says issues caused by a stringer trim machine at the Alenia 787 fuselage barrel production site in Grottaglie in Italy are forcing it to reinforce early units with patches and to add extra plies to future production barrels. The manufacturer does not yet have a schedule for the re-start of production of barrels, which was halted in late June following the discovery of “wrinkles” in the skin close to the join area between the Alenia-built Sections 44 and 46.
The bigger the enterprise, the bigger the headache keeping track of it all. “The fundamental problem we have is information overload,” says Joseph Hafner, Boeing’s senior manager for engineering software for structures and standards. “It’s hard to find things.” That is especially true of the thousands of parts that have been created or refined over the years by in-house designers or vendors working for the company’s commercial and military airplane programs.
Aside from the obvious technical feat of establishing an outpost on the Moon or Mars, figuring out how to grow food there for astronauts is no easy task. With resources precious, astronaut-farmers will want to make everything in the food chain count. That is not the case on Earth. As little as 10-20% of cultivatable food on Earth is edible. The rest—plant stems, leaves, etc.—is waste that farmers typically burn or compost, options not likely available for astronauts.
Panama’s Copa Airlines has expanded a maintenance agreement with Singapore Technologies Aerospace’s Panama Aerospace Engineering (PAE) facility in Panama City to include 26 Embraer 190s in addition to 28 Boeing 737-700/-800s. Copa was the launch customer for ST Aero’s first venture into maintenance, repair and overhaul services for airlines in Latin America when it opened in Panama three years ago. That agreement covered only 737s.
Faced with low yields, slowdowns in their respective markets and tighter competition, Air India and Thai Airways International are following similar restructuring strategies aimed at pumping up the domestic services of low-fare subsidiaries. “There is a cash-flow problem,” explains Air India Chairman and Managing Director Arvind Jadhav. “The magnitude of our debt burden and rising cash deficit in a falling market necessitates aggressive financial restructuring.”
Air China will take a big step toward controlling Cathay Pacific, buying up more shares in a transaction that largely consolidates the Chinese state-controlled holdings in the Hong Kong airline. The stock purchase may be Air China’s penultimate move on Cathay Pacific’s share register. The next step could be a decisive takeover, although no one is saying when that will happen.
Amy Butler (Huntsville and Redstone Arsenal, Ala. )
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is readying the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system for its most challenging flight test next month, which will include countermeasures and what program officials say will be more complex engagement geometry.
I have been following the congressional and NTSB hearings related to regional airline safety. Regional carriers do train and operate at the same level as the major network airlines. These crews are qualified far above the federal minimums and put through extensive and comprehensive training programs.
Small satellites are often seen as potential competition for unmanned aircraft in the race to provide commanders in far-flung regions on-the-spot services, such as intelligence-gathering or communications relays. With far more operational experience, UAVs have the edge. Army Lt. Gen. Kevin Campbell, the Space and Missile Defense Command chief, has some advice for the space cadets, though: Small satellites must be as responsive and persistent as UAVs to gain the trust of field commanders.
Air France-KLM has withdrawn from the privatization process for Czech Airlines, citing difficult economic conditions. The process leaves only a Czech investor group in the running. Air France-KLM signaled it is still interested in working with its SkyTeam alliance partner, but suggested Czech Airlines would first have to regain its financial health before Air France-KLM will consider a takeover.
The fourth quarter will see U.S. domestic capacity fall close to levels not seen since the last quarter of 2001, directly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The Air Transport Assn. (ATA) estimates that domestic capacity for U.S. carriers will be 12.47 billion available seat miles (ASMs) per week in the fourth quarter, down from 12.75 billion for the same period in 2008 and 14.2 billion in 2007. In the fourth quarter of 2001, carriers flew just 12.14 billion ASMs per week. For international markets, the picture is not much better. U.S.
A British Royal Air Force Chinook was destroyed Aug. 19 in Afghanistan as the result of an engine fire shortly after takeoff during operations near Sangin. The aircrew made an emergency landing just over a half-mile from the takeoff site, and all four personnel were recovered by a second helicopter. The Chinook reportedly came under fire as it departed the landing area. The Chinook was then destroyed by a “coalition air strike” to stop it falling into the hands of the insurgents.
Leisure carrier Viva Macau is counting on steadier growth rates from a convention-and-events crowd now that the former Portuguese colony south of Hong Kong is coming off a binge in hotel construction. “We have a unique niche here as growth of our markets is linked to the opening of new resorts,” says Viva Macau CEO Reginald MacDonald.
Bombardier plans to install the enhanced vision elements of its Global Vision cockpit upgrade for the Global 5000 and Global Express XRS business jets in the next three months, following completion of initial test flights of the Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion-based system on an XRS. Bombardier intends to certificate the enhanced flight deck for both aircraft by June 2010, with the first customer aircraft due to be delivered early in 2011. The complete suite will include four 15-in.
NASA plans to conduct a final full-scale firing test of the Alliant Techsystems-built attitude control motor, which should clear the way for the last element of the Orion launch abort system to be sent for tests at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. With the exception of the attitude control motor, all the major elements for the first test have arrived at White Sands, including the first test crew module, which was flown to nearby Kirtland AFB, N.M., by C-17 on Aug. 19.
After achieving “first light” in flight of the 747-400F-based high-energy Airborne Laser (ABL), developed for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, Boeing officials say they expect to shoot down a ballistic missile target using the weapon later this year, as planned. The system has had myriad technical hurdles, setbacks and cost overruns, but the Boeing team is looking forward to finally engaging a ballistic missile target with the goal of destroying it in boost phase. ABL is the Missile Defense Agency’s primary boost-phase project.
Donna Bethea-Murphy, vice president-regulatory engineering for Iridium Satellite, Bethesda, Md., has been elected chair of the Satellite Industry Assn.
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. will use its new second-generation UK-DMC2 multispectral imaging satellite to help map sub-Saharan Africa under a contract awarded last week to affiliate DMCii. Launched on July 29 with another second-generation spacecraft, Deimos-1 (AW&ST Aug. 3, p. 31), the 22-meter-resolution UK-DMC2 makes it possible to map large areas within a much tighter timescale than earlier 33-meter-resolution imaging birds. The European Space Agency, which is funding the mapping campaign, wants all 48 countries in the region to be covered by September 2010.
The northernmost U.S. space launch facility has a perfect record, which it is hoping to maintain and build on with additional, quick-turn capacity. Construction is under way on a rocket motor storage facility here that, once completed, is intended to give the Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC) the capability to stack, fuel, program, launch and track a satellite-carrying missile within 24 hr. of mission go-ahead.
Italy and the European Space Agency hope veteran Italian cosmonaut Roberto Vittori can get one space shuttle flight under his belt before the fleet retires next year or in 2011. An Italian air force colonel, Vittori has been designated by ESA and the Italian space agency (ASI) to fly as a mission specialist on STS-134, which is to be launched either in July or September 2010 on Discovery or Endeavour, respectively. The final scheduled shuttle mission, STS-134, is to carry the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the ISS.
The six astronauts and cosmonauts who make up the full-size crew of the International Space Station are set to receive a load of hardware this week designed to make their orbiting outpost a working microgravity research facility.
France’s Egis has been awarded a contract, in partnership with Steria of the U.K., to help define, vet and validate concepts and prototypes, and provide management assistance for portions of Europe’s Sesar air traffic management implementation program managed by France’s air navigation services (DNSA). DNSA, a member of the Sesar Joint Undertaking, is responsible for development of en route airspace, terminal maneuvering area and airport operational activities.
The first Russian-built Antonov An-148 was on display at the show, during which the Ilyushin Finance Co. agreed with state-owned Vnesheconombank on a memorandum of understanding that could lead to the financing of up to 70 aircraft. Russia’s Rossiya airline has six aircraft on a firm order. An-148s are being produced by the Voronezh-based VASO production plant in cooperation with Ukraine’s Aviant company.
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