Boeing has been tapped by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to build a spin mechanism that will allow the Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) observatory’s key instrument—a radiometric and high resolution radar—to rotate smoothly and continuously (AW&ST June 15, p. 145). The instrument will measure surface soil moisture and the freeze/thaw cycle to benefit scientists studying regional and global water cycles in order to understand the processes involved in water, energy and carbon cycles. A launch date is expected to be set in 2010-13.
With overhead cranes lifting fore and aft fuselages into place, the first 747-8 Freighter, RC501, went from a pair of bare wings last week to a joined airframe in the Building 40-22 assembly bay in Everett, Wash.
In the article “Nearing Burnout” (AW&ST June 29, p. 35), I see that the Defense Dept. is still concerned about inadequate investment in the solid rocket motor (SRM) industrial base. A report to Congress warns that the SRM industry is in jeopardy of losing its capability to design and produce new-generation motors. Some call the SRM industrial base a “national strategic asset.” The White House and Congress can throw billions of dollars at an unprofitable, uncompetitive U.S. auto industry that is not a strategic asset. But the SRM industry is barely breathing.
Two of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s new Boeing KC-767 aerial refuelers fly in formation over the U.S. just prior to delivery. The JASDF also operates a new squadron of E-767 AWACS aircraft. Both are part of the foundation of an expeditionary force that can defend outlying Japanese islands against occupation, the mainland against cruise missile attack, or participate in international activities such as anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean or humanitarian relief.
Release of the NASA review panel’s report on the launch failure of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) mission does not move the agency any closer to deciding how to replace the mission, but a decision is expected by early fall.
Ryanair has decided to redeploy 16 London Stansted-based Boeing 737-800s to other locations during the coming winter season, leaving 24 aircraft at the facility. The reason for the shift? The airline is citing Stansted’s high airport charges and Britain’s air passenger duty tax on tickets, which is due to increase in November. The move represents a 40% reduction in capacity, or 670 flights. Ten routes will be canceled and 30 more will see frequencies reduced.
Sweden’s airport and air traffic control service LFV and SAS Scandinavian Airlines last week conducted a test of low-power continuous descents into 12 airports across the nation as part of an effort to save fuel and reduce noise and emissions. The “green” approach, implemented on a small scale at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport, reduces carbon dioxide emissions for each descent by at least 150 kg. (330 lb.), according to the airline and LFV. The technique has been developed and refined since 2006.
Larry Dufraimont, who is director of flight test and flight operations at the Bombardier Test Flight Center, Wichita, Kan., has received the Trans-Canada Trophy from the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute . He was honored for achievements in air operations.
Raytheon officials say a round of recently completed captive carriage flight tests prove its trimode seeker design is mature enough for entry into the Small Diameter Bomb II completion. The U.S. Air Force is expected to release a formal request for proposals by the end of July. Captive carriage tests for 2.5 weeks in late spring included those of a seeker unit mounted on a UH-1 helicopter. Raytheon is expected to compete with a Boeing/Lockheed Martin team to develop the 250-lb.-class weapon capable of striking moving targets through bad weather.
South Korea has requested the potential $1-billion purchase of eight Sikorsky MH-60S helicopters equipped for airborne mine countermeasures missions. The South Korean navy also had been evaluating the AgustaWestland AW101. The MH-60s would be equipped with acoustic, magnetic and laser mine-detection sensors, a mine neutralization system and a 30mm. gun that fires supercavitating projectiles.
A six-man crew has completed a 105-day ground simulation intended to show the ability of astronauts to undergo the long confinement and heavy scientific workload that will be required during a manned mission to Mars. The simulation, at a specially designed isolation facility in Moscow, began on Mar. 31 and included four Russian cosmonauts and astronauts from France and Germany. It was intended as a precursor to a full 520-day mission simulation to start in early 2010 under ESA’s Mars 500 program.
The Airport Surface Detection Equipment-Model X advanced ground radar system is helping controllers to improve runway safety at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), a Continental Airlines hub. The system, which was commissioned this month, shows controllers the location of aircraft and vehicles on runways and taxiways.
The FAA is seeking comments on a potential rule that would require development of a Safety Management Systems (SMS) by providers of aviation products and services under Parts 21, 119, 121, 125, 135, 141, 142 and 145. The FAA’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking does not propose specific regulatory changes. Rather, the FAA aims to establish a rulemaking committee that would assess public comments on the proposal and make recommendations for a possible SMS rule. The FAA is accepting comments on Docket No. 2009-0671 on or before Oct. 21.
After two decades of service that have seen it image the equivalent of the Earth’s total surface 46 times, Europe’s Spot 2 is headed for retirement. The spacecraft, launched in 1990, will be removed from its low-Earth trajectory on July 30 and left in a harmless orbit from which it will reenter the atmosphere 25 years hence. Spot Image, which operates the satellite, can still call on Spot 4 and 5 until Spot 6 and 7 are deployed in 2012-14.
Airbus has delivered the first A319 off its Tianjin assembly line in China. The 144-seat aircraft has gone to Deer Air and is the 21st of the type the airline operates, Airbus says. The aircraft is powered by International Aero Engines V2500 turbofans. Airbus last month delivered the first A320 from the facility, which currently assembles just those two types. The aircraft maker plans 11 single-aisle deliveries from the plant this year, growing to an eventual rate of four aircraft per month.
The Senate debate over developing a second engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter took a twist when lawmakers adopted language to keep the General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136 out of the Fiscal 2010 defense budget. Congress has frequently added money for the F136 over Pentagon objections, but on July 23, the Senate adopted an amendment to halt the program. The amendment’s author, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), a fierce advocate for Connecticut employer Pratt & Whitney’s F135 engine, says the Defense Dept. “neither wants nor intends to use” any engine but the F135.
I could not agree more with your editorial on the U.S.’s critical aerospace capabilities (AW&ST July 13, p. 62). “It is not clear if the Defense Dept. will act in time to preserve them.” The U.S. has gone from a country that once had a half-dozen or more aerospace companies capable of designing and fielding major aircraft weapons systems, to a country that takes 20 years and billions of dollars to field less than 200 front-line aircraft.
Avanti Communications Group and Arianespace last week signed a contract covering the launch of the first Hylas broadband telecommunications satellite, using either an Ariane 5 or Soyuz launcher. The satellite had been due to be launched using SpaceX’s Falcon 9, but delays to this program prompted the switch. The Hylas launch is anticipated in the second quarter of 2010.
At a discussion on the potential fighter gap faced by the Navy and Marine Corps in the next decade, Vice Adm. (ret.) Robert Dunn, president of the Assn. of Naval Aviation, was asked about the future of unmanned aircraft on aircraft carriers. Dunn said he and fellow carrier pilots in the mid-1950s looked at their Grumman F-9F Cougars and speculated they would be the last manned aircraft the Navy would fly.
Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon will provide the U.S. Navy with six-month concept studies for an Air and Missile Defense Radar described as a “scalable, solid-state radar suite” for combat surface ships. The system would blend S-band radar (mid-frequency for long range), X-band (high-frequency for precise targeting) and a radar suite controller.
France’s MBDA has concluded a framework agreement with Poland’s Bumar group to jointly supply hardware for the nation’s future air defense capability. The system will use elements of MBDA’s short-range Vertical Launch MICA and medium-range Aster 30 missiles along with radar, command-and-control and other subsystems developed by Warsaw-based Przemyslowy Instytut Telekomunikacji (PIT) and Radwar.
Dassault plans to complete the basic definition work for its next Falcon business jet by year-end, but will not formally take the product to market for another 18 months.
Lockheed Martin has passed the first of three Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellites it is building for the U.S. Air Force out of thermal vacuum testing at its Sunnyvale, Calif., facility. Thermal vac is a hot/cold stress testing simulating a 14-year life cycle in space to validate the satellite’s systems. Prime contractor Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, the payload uilder, now move on to final integration and system tests in preparation for a 2010 delivery.
Manufacturing workers at Bell Helicopter’s Fort Worth area plants voted on July 22 to end a six-week strike and sign a new four-year contract, after the company made concessions. Bell says it remains on schedule to meet 2009 delivery commitments, and believes it is still on track for 2010. The Fort Worth plants make dynamic systems and other components for military and civil rotorcraft assembled in Amarillo, Tex., and Mirabel, Quebec.
