Germany’s OHB Technology expects new domestic space projects, a possible satellite navigation win, and growing satellite launcher business to generate a big upswing in sales and earnings this year, after a strong 2008.
Astrium Space Transportation has submitted a proposal to supply two additional Automated Transfer Vehicles in the event the International Space Station (ISS) partners agree to extend the life of the facility beyond 2015. The European Space Agency is currently committed to providing five or six ATVs to the ISS under a barter with partner nations in return for funding utilities on the station and space shuttle services until the orbiters retire next year.
Boeing and Raytheon have each been awarded U.S. Navy contracts worth almost $7 million for the preliminary design of a 100-kw.-class free electron laser (FEL) demonstrator, as a step toward a megawatt-class directed energy weapon. The all-electric FEL is a leading candidate for ship-based missile and air defense because it can operate over a wide range of wavelengths.
Maiden flight of the first carrier-capable F-35C Joint Strike Fighter, Aircraft CF-1, has slipped to December from October because of parts deliveries. The U.S. Navy’s F-35C is the last of the three JSF variants to fly. Despite the slip, Lockheed Martin says the schedule still supports the overall flight-test plan and initial operation capability in 2015.
The Royal Air Force is pushing ahead with development of an aircraft-protection system, with a technology demonstrator program set to get underway. Selex Galileo will direct the four-year effort leading to a Common Defensive Aids System (CDAS). The goal is to devise a common approach to protecting the air force’s transport and rotary-wing fleets. Elements of the work may also carry over to fast-jet protection. The project is intended to begin by year-end and would conclude toward the end of 2013.
As the German military looks for a new air surveillance radar system, Rheinmetall and BAE Systems have joined forces to bid. Rheinmetall would function as the prime, offering the BAE Systems Commander-SL radar system already in use with the Royal Air Force. The German defense procurement agency in February issued a request for proposals for the so-called ARED project, which is to provide radars to cover Germany’s air space. Up to six radars would be procured. Fielding is set for 2012. The program cost is estimated at €100 million.
The AirLock system can program keys to open locks by flexible time/day schedules, according to the company, and one, some or all of the locks and keys can be assigned both start and expiration dates. Access grants can be easily removed from the cylinder, if needed. When a key is placed in a lock, the event is recorded by both lock and key. The record holds time, date and authorization info.
The world’s largest orbiting camera has returned its “first light” images of a star field in the Cygnus-Lyra region of the Milky Way, including this telescopic view of a star called TrES-2 with a known Jupiter-sized planet orbiting it every 2.5 days.
Robert Wall (Paris), Michael Mecham (San Francisco)
Reality is starting to catch up with Airbus and Boeing, as airlines defer deliveries, putting pressure on both aircraft makers to adjust production plans. What’s clear is that neither has gone far enough.
The three-stage ballistic missile North Korea launched Apr. 5 went higher and farther than originally believed. The Taepodong-2 missile traveled 3,230 km. before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. The rocket’s flight path indicated it was carrying a satellite and separated in its final two stages, South Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee said last week. “The performance of this vehicle was far better than we realized,” says Charles P. Vick, a senior technical analyst with Globalsecurity.org.
Use of Boeing/Insitu’s Scan Eagle unmanned aerial vehicle, flown from the USS Bainbridge to monitor Somali pirates’ treatment of a hostage U.S. ship captain on board the pictured lifeboat, showed both strengths and weakness.
After devoting several years to market analysis, equipment evaluation, pricing structures, service areas and operational planning, former American Airlines Chairman and CEO Robert Crandall has decided to ground Pogo, his startup very-light-jet charter operation, before it ever left the ground. He says he is returning what remains of the seed money to investors. “I feel badly about it,” he said Apr. 15. “It’s just one of those ideas that didn’t work out.”
SkyTeam and Vietnam Airlines have signed a preliminary agreement that starts the process for the carrier to join the alliance in 2010. Hanoi also gave the carrier permission to buy 10 Airbus A321s.
William R. Johnson, who is chairman/president/CEO of the Pittsburgh-based H.J. Heinz Co., has been named to the board of directors of UPS . He succeeds Ben Verwaayen, who is CEO of Paris-based Alcatel-Lucent.
Moustafa T. Chahine, a senior research associate at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., is among the new members elected to the Washington-based National Academy of Engineering . He was cited for leadership in determining the structure and composition of the Earth’s atmosphere from space observations. Also elected was Claire L.
Safran has seen a slight growth in first-quarter revenue, but its vital aerospace propulsion business was down 4.4% partly due to last year’s strike at Boeing. Adjusted for scope and exchange rates, the decline in aerospace propulsion figures was even greater at 7.7%, but it remains Safran’s largest unit, at €1.3 billion ($1.72 billion) in sales. Services helped offset some of the decline in engine sales.
The U.S. Army is short of meeting its annual requirement to train helicopter pilots by about 300, says Gen. Martin Dempsey, who oversees the service’s Training and Doctrine Command. With high demand for helicopters in Iraq and Afghanistan, this shortage is frustrating commanders abroad who have enough airframes to accomplish their missions, but lack the crews to fly them. Crew training has been hindered by insufficient funding in personnel accounts.
The Northrop Grumman-led Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI) team has wrapped up full-scale ground operations drills. In this dry run, the team assembled a full-scale, flight-similar booster using inert rocket motors and flight-qualified structures to validate all interfaces with the booster, ground support equipment and facility structures. The Missile Defense Agency is funding KEI’s development; Raytheon is the team lead for interceptor development; and Orbital Sciences heads booster integration and preparation of range ops.
You repeatedly say biofuels’ big CO2 benefit results from the fact that they absorbed CO2 while growing and will produce a 40-60% savings over petroleum when measured through the full harvesting, refining and burning cycle. Look at the big picture! What do you think the biomass absorbed before being buried and converted into petroleum? CO2 credit trading is just another regulatory invention that should be scrutinized just like stock derivative trading.
Italian defense export license applications are on the rise, indicating continued growth in overseas sales that were already up 39% last year to €1.77 billion ($2.33 billion). Italian companies last year also filed for 1,880 licenses representing €3 billion in orders, a 28.5% increase over the prior year, not including multinational programs such as the Eurofighter Typhoon and NH90 helicopter.
Michael P. Jackson has been named to the board of directors of AirTran Holdings Inc. He is president/founder of Firebreak Partners and was deputy U.S. Homeland Security secretary.
Technology has matured to commercial availability, data standards are close to approval, and by year’s end Airbus and Boeing could be instructing suppliers to put radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags on aircraft parts.
One year after establishing an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) task force, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is continuing his push by outlining up to six new platforms that will be funded in his Fiscal 2010 budget proposal.
