Oliver Bootz has been appointed vice president-business development of CSafe , Dayton, Ohio. He was vice president-sales and customer support of Zodiac Aerospace.
I can understand why there would be an interest in liquid oxygen/liquid methane propulsion for lunar missions (AW&ST July 13, p. 16); liquid methane is next to liquid hydrogen in performance, while being superior in storability and density. But I don’t understand why hypergolic propellants (methylated hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide) would be possible contaminants of lunar landing areas. There is no indigenous life to be harmed, nor is anyone likely to be breathing contaminated vacuum.
Ulrich Ogiermann, who is president/CEO of Cargolux Airlines International, has been elected chairman of The International Air Cargo Assn. , and Michael Steen, chief marketing officer of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings as vice chairman. New directors are: Issa Baluch, chairman of Swift Freight International and Air Cargo Trader; James R. Edgar, regional marketing director of Boeing Commercial Airplanes; Brad Eyster, director of industry affairs of UPS; Chris Leach, chairman of Air Charter Service; T.
John Duval, director of operations, planning and development for Beverly (Mass.) Municipal Airport, has become chairman of the Alexandria, Va.-based American Assn. of Airport Executives . Also elected recently are: Jim Bennet of Washington, first vice chairman; Kelly Johnson of Bentonville, Ark., second vice chairman; and Bruce Carter of Moline, Ill., secretary/treasurer. James Elwood of Aspen, Colo., is first past chairman; and Krys Bart of Reno, Nev., second past chairman.
Winds of change have blown into Washington with the new Obama administration and Dan Murphy likes the feel of them. Murphy, a retired U.S. Navy vice admiral, is chairman and CEO of Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK), a scrappy manufacturer of ammunition, precision weapons and space propulsion and satellite systems. He believes Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s new emphasis on near-term warfighting requirements aligns well with ATK’s emphasis on weapons systems that are affordable and can be rapidly fielded—or, as Murphy bluntly labels them: “good enough.”
Neelam Mathews (New Delhi), Douglas Barrie (London)
When Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited the shipyard responsible for converting the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov for the Indian navy at the beginning of last month, he suggested there would be “serious consequences” if Moscow failed to deliver.
Jeffry D. Frisby, who has been president of the Triumph Aerospace Systems Group , Wayne, Pa., now also will be chief operating officer. He succeeds Richard C. Ill, who has been president and now will be chairman/CEO. David Kornblatt has been promoted to executive vice president/chief financial officer from senior vice president/CFO.
ProtoStar Ltd.—a Bermuda-based company set up by a group of U.S. satellite and finance executives to acquire existing geostationary satellites and run them for profit—has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware and plans to sell its spacecraft to cover its debts. The company operates ProtoStar I and II, Space Systems/Loral and Boeing spacecraft, respectively, for the Asian direct-to-home market.
Israel Defense Forces is considering the purchase of an unmanned aircraft for evacuating injured people, with Urban Aeronautics’ ducted-fan Mule the leading candidate, according to the IDF’s Medical Corps. Urban Aeronautics is preparing a prototype for flight this year, with an operational version accommodating two stretchers and an attendant to be available in 2012. The Medical Corps says the Mule’s narrow width will allow it to land in urban areas inaccessible to helicopters.
Rolls-Royce is preparing to test an upgraded version of its venerable T56 turboprop to boost performance of the Lockheed Martin C-130, as well as cut fuel consumption by up to 12%.
Lockheed Martin has added spoilers to the outer wing panels of the F-35C carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter to avoid a wing-drop phenomenon that plagued development of the Boeing F/A-18E/F. Wing drop can occur when maneuvering at transonic speed and high turn rate, when shocks set up at slightly different locations on the left and right side, creating a lift gradient that causes one wing to drop and the aircraft to roll out of the turn.
Sukhoi’s Superjet 100 is now well into flight testing, with the first three prototype aircraft participating in the program. The third aircraft was flown for the first time at the end of July. The first two, the second of which is shown on the cover, have amassed more than 270 flights totaling 700 hr. The Superjet program is a key element of Russia’s effort to reinvigorate what was an ailing commercial aircraft sector (see p. 48). Sukhoi photo.
Telecom satellite companies continue to buck the downward growth trend that has gripped most sectors of the aerospace industry. Last week, SES and Eutelsat, the No. 2 and 3 operators, both reported strong revenues and earnings, reflecting the strong showing of satellite manufacturers EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space the week before (AW&ST Aug. 3, pp. 32-33).
Scientists hope that data from the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) on NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity will help them decide if this unusual dark stone is a meteorite. It certainly looks like one, based on its color, pitted texture and size. At 2 ft. across, the stone—nicknamed Block Island—is larger than most “cobbles” found on the planet’s surface. Opportunity spotted Block Island to its rear on July 18 as it was skirting a dune field on its year-long trek to Endeavour Crater.
The air force of Morocco is to receive $30 million in Lockheed Martin-built Sniper advanced targeting pods via a foreign military sales agreement with the Warner-Robins Air Logistics Center in Georgia.
R. David Carlton (see photo) has been appointed vice president/associate corporate general counsel/counsel for the Northrop Grumman Corp. ’s Technical Services Sector. He has been the sector’s associate sector counsel.
Israeli officials in Tel Aviv say they have completed testing a specialized version of Israel Aerospace Industries’ long-endurance, medium-size Heron unmanned aerial vehicle.
With long-term production assured, the Eurofighter consortium faces another round of battles as it tries to convince its core stakeholder governments to embark on two major capability upgrades for the Typhoon.
Bombardier Aerospace has received a firm order from an undisclosed airline for five Q400 Next Generation turboprop aircraft plus five options. The five-aircraft order is valued at $159 million, and up to $332 million if options are exercised. Bombardier says that as of Apr. 30, it had delivered 245 of the 362 Q400/Q400 Next Gens on order. The fuel-efficient transports seat 70-80 passengers, have a cruise speed of 360 kt. and feature an active noise and vibration suppression system.
NASA’s Kepler Exoplanet hunting observatory’s instruments are working so well that they have given astronomers their first image of the glow of a hot gasbag planet larger than Jupiter as it circles the backside of a star. The star, HAT-P-7, and its companion planet, P-7B, are located about 1,000 light years from Earth. Their existence was known but the precision of Kepler’s observation has encouraged astronomers as they undertake a planned three-year mission to look for Earth-like planets—exoplanets—circling stars in the Cygnus-Lyra region of the Milky Way.
I disagree with David Birken’s argument that selling the F-22 to foreign countries would even the playing field. That would be true if the U.S. were to sell the F-22 to Russia or China. The only countries currently interested are Japan and Australia, and the likelihood of conflict with them is zero. The only concern would be technology leaks from these countries to others, but with an export version of the aircraft, this concern would be addressed even if these countries should see revolutions similar to that of Iran in 1979.
The right-hand scale for a graphic describing lift capabilities of various spacecraft capable of reaching the International Space Station was incorrectly labeled (AW&ST Aug. 3, p. 30). The measurement is kilograms.
Graham Warwick (Washington), Bettina H. Chavanne (Washington)
“Unmanned aircraft are unmanned only in name” is becoming the mantra of operators as they wrestle with the increasing demands on today’s unmanned systems. That could change with new U.S. acquisition rules designed to encourage competition and innovation in the manpower-intensive ground segment.
William Duncan (see photo) has been named director of international strategic business development for the Boulder, Colo.-based SimAuthor Inc. subsidiary of Qinetiq North America’s Systems Engineering Group . He was director of Teledyne Controls’ Flight Data Monitoring and Analysis Simulation and Services.
Latvian space scientists and astronomers will work more closely with the European Space Agency under a cooperation agreement signed last month. Among facilities expected to benefit from the new arrangement are the Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Center, the Bruker Baltic company, which makes semiconductor detectors, and the University of Latvia’s Institute of Physics. The Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry already is collaborating with Astrium on cryogenic insulation.
