U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Air and Marine achieved two agency firsts using Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to patrol the land and water border between Canada and New York State. CBP Air and Marine demonstrated the capability to fly and operate three UAVs simultaneously via satellite in the National Airspace System. On June 20, CBP launched two of its six General Atomics Predator UASs from their bases at Grand Forks, N.D., and Sierra Vista, Ariz.
Asia Broadcast Satellite has agreed to purchase an inclined-orbit South Korean telecom satellite, Koreasat-2, in order to provide additional capacity until a new spacecraft ordered last month is ready. To be renamed ABS-1A and moved to 75 deg. E. Long., where ABS-1 is located, Koreasat-2 carries a Ku-band payload comprising 16 fixed satellite service and six direct broadcasting service transponders.
China Eastern Airlines has raised 7 billion yuan ($1 billion) with a sale of shares to its state majority owner. However, it is not clear whether the transaction merely executed previously unannounced additions to the airline’s capital or introduced a new phase of the recapitalization process that began late last year. As a result of this transaction, the government owns 75% of China Eastern, up from 60%. China Eastern shareholders’ funds have been negative during the past year, with debt exceeding assets on the balance sheet.
Engineer Jeff Linder (left) explains the liquid oxygen damping system he devised to Bohan Bejmuk (right), a member of the White House panel reviewing options for U.S. human spaceflight, during a visit to the Marshall Space Flight Center.
Ad Astra Rocket Co. has powered the first stage of its experimental Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (Vasimr) to spaceflight levels using a superconducting magnet to contain its superhot plasma. Tests in Houston used a low-temperature superconducting magnet manufactured by Scientific Magnetics of the U.K. Designed for a nominal operating temperature of -268C, the unit boosted the magnetic field in the company’s VX-200i test rig tenfold over that delivered by a temporary water-cooled magnet, permitting the full-power test.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, N.Y., has tapped Boeing to demonstrate improved situational awareness, visualization and automated course-of-action for networks during cyber attack. The $1.2-million effort will involve analyzing network operations, developing processes and apply tools to improve network command and control.
Yemenia has warned it may walk away from its commitment for Airbus A350s citing unhappiness with how French officials have acted in the wake of the crash of one of the airline’s A310s this month. Meanwhile, search crews have detected signals from cockpit voice and flight data recorders from IY626, which crashed with 153 people on board with only one survivor.
The U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a $23-million contract for 12 extended-range Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (Jassm-ERs). The stealthy cruise missiles are designed with 500-naut.-mi. range. Six will be used in developmental flight tests and the remaining six are slated for operational testing, says Alan Jackson, Jassm program director for development at Lockheed Martin. Meanwhile, program officials are preparing for Lot 6 acceptance flight tests likely next month of the baseline Jassm. Poor reliability in earlier flights of this 200-naut.-mi.
Fears of procurement near-paralysis may be premature, but U.K. government reassurances of “business as usual” are unlikely to dispel industry worries over the impact of the defense review process. A full-blown Strategic Defense Review (SDR) was finally set in motion last week; however, it will not actually occur until the next Parliament, post-general election, in 2010. Bob Ainsworth, the secretary of state for defense, announced the initiative on July 7, although the groundwork was undertaken by his predecessor, John Hutton, who resigned on June 5.
The U.S.-European Ulysses solar probe is silently orbiting the Sun like a comet, after controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory switched it off June 30 to end its mission. Launched on the space shuttle Discovery in October 1990, Ulysses was the first spacecraft to orbit over the Sun’s poles, circling Earth’s star every six years after achieving solar orbit with the help of a gravity assist from Jupiter in 1992.
The first Ares I first stage solid rocket motor, a five-segment variant of the twin four-segment motors that boost the space shuttle off the launch pad, is undergoing final preparations for a late-August hot-fire test at ATK’s facility in Promontory, Utah. Dubbed Developmental Motor-1, it will be static-fired at about the same time an expert panel studying the future of U.S. human spaceflight presents its findings on Ares I and alternative crew launchers to the White House.
A doubling of oil prices since February to almost $70 a barrel is putting a new squeeze on airlines, which already are coping with a plunge in demand for air travel and double-digit declines in yields. British Airways Chief Executive Willie Walsh believes the recent whiff of recovery in global economic conditions could send crude prices to the $80-100 range. If that happens, global airline industry losses this year could top the International Air Transport Assn.’s current estimate of $9 billion.
Aeroflot Russian Airlines says its new terminal at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport will be in service by year-end. Terminal 3 is intended to ease connections between domestic and international flights, whose gates are now spread over different areas of the airport, and serve as the Russian hub for eight other airlines that, like Aeroflot, are members of the SkyTeam alliance. According to Aeroflot general director Vitaly Savelyev, the airline has specified a guaranteed connection time of at least 40 min. (see related story, p. 33).
Eumetsat has approved a plan to contribute €63 million to the Jason-3 ocean altimetry satellite, preparing the way for a development go-ahead by year-end. The spacecraft—the third in the Topex-Poseidon/Jason series—will be needed to replace Jason 2, which was launched last June. The Eumetsat funding package, one third more than initially foreseen, was part of a compromise that also saw the European Space Agency and European Union chip into the €252-million Franco-U.S.-led undertaking.
Sikorsky’s coaxial-rotor X2 Technology demonstrator returned to flight on June 30, after modification to prepare the helicopter for high-speed flight tests. Two flights totaling 1 hr. included the first full engagement of the tail-mounted propulsor, which is designed to propel the aircraft to 250 kt., twice the speed of a conventional helicopter. The X2 completed a series of accelerations and decelerations between the hover and 52-kt. forward airspeed.
If the economic downturn failed to dent the performance of Europe’s aerospace and defense manufacturers in 2008, this year will be another matter. Figures released July 2 by the European A&D lobbying group ASD show the sector’s turnover increasing in 2008, up 2.5% to €137 billion ($192 billion).
U.S. military officials say they expect to have enough personnel and new computing power in place by October to warn U.S. and foreign satellite operators of possible collision hazards to their roughly 800 maneuverable platforms.
Indonesia’s space agency has launched a small domestic rocket to an altitude of 50 km. (31 mi.) as another step in plans to orbit a satellite by 2014. Measuring 6.2 meters (20.3 ft.) in length, the RX-420 was launched from West Java on July 2. The Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (Lapan) plans to build a more capable rocket by combining the RX-420 with a smaller RX-320 rocket launched last year. It also will send two piggyback payloads into orbit on an Indian launch vehicle next year.
Alenia Aeronautica has rolled out the first of 18 refurbished and upgraded former Italian air force G.222 tactical transports purchased by the U.S. for the Afghan National Army Air Corps. First flight is scheduled for August, with deliveries to begin in September.
The Droid Works, a startup headed by Helen Greiner, co-founder and former chairman of consumer robotics pioneer iRobot, has received a grant of nearly $100,000 from the National Science Foundation to develop technologies to enable unmanned aircraft to navigate inside houses and buildings.
All Nippon Airways is strengthening its position in parcel delivery services in Japan by merging Overseas Courier Service and All Express (Allex) as of Aug. 1. The carrier took a 34.5% stake in OCS in March; it created Allex with two Japanese freight forwarders in April 2008 to provide next-day deliveries to neighboring Asian countries. The new company will use the OCS brand and operate as a regional freight integrator out of Okinawa’s cargo hub, which is due to open in October.
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) is a general aviation hero since he introduced legislation that would direct the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to include general aviation representatives on rulemaking committees that develop industry security measures. The bill, which has seven co-sponsors from both parties, specifically cites the TSA’s controversial Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) proposal—requiring aircraft with maximum takeoff weight of more than 12,500 lb.
Globalstar—buoyed by new financing—will be the first of the next-generation low-Earth-orbit mobile satellite service (MSS) constellations to reach the market. A $738-million package completed last week should allow the Milpitas, Calif.-based company to complete the manufacture, delivery and launch of the Globalstar second-generation satellite system and network and ground facilities, plus long-lead items for spare spacecraft.
Four months after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (Darpa’s) longest-serving director, Tony Tether, was given his marching orders by the Obama administration, the agency has a new leader. Regina Dugan, CEO of security systems company RedXDefense, was given the job by the Defense Dept.’s new director of research and engineering, Zachary Lemnios. This will be Dugan’s second stint at the Pentagon’s high-risk, high-payoff research agency.
The Air France Flight 447 accident is highlighting safety concerns about the Airbus A330 and its involvement in four incidents since October 2008 related to anomalies in flight-deck automation. The NTSB, which has long been concerned with automation’s role in accidents, is investigating two events that occurred this year:
