The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Malaysia’s coast guard, has taken delivery of the first of two Bombardier 415MP amphibious aircraft. Malaysia is the launch customer for the specialized airplane, which is a variant of the Bombardier 415—the only aircraft specifically designed for aerial firefighting, the company says. Malaysia’s 415MPs will be equipped with a surveillance suite that includes two side-looking airborne radars, one forward-looking infrared radar and an airborne maritime surveillance system.
The Obama administration favors a “worldwide ban on weapons that interfere with military and commercial satellites,” but not on research into protecting valuable space assets or developing defenses against ballistic missiles. Shortly after President Barack Obama took office, his new White House web site posted a defense policy “agenda” that promised to restore U.S.
NASA is likely to use economic stimulus package funds to accelerate the Orion/Ares I shuttle follow-on vehicles and Earth-observation missions already in the pipeline. But beyond that, the agency will probably have to wait for top-line Fiscal 2010 budget figures from the Obama White House late this month for clues on how to proceed. This week, the Senate is set to take up its version of the stimulus package that passed the House Jan. 28 with a little more than $600 million for NASA.
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space has completed testing of flight software for command-and-control functions of GEO-1, the first spacecraft in the Space-Based Infrared System network to provide early warning of missile launches. The tests were conducted Jan. 2-27.
Praia de Botafogo, #228, 3rd Floor Rio de Janeiro, RJ 22250-906 Brazil Tel. (55-21) 2121-9381; Fax (55-21) 2121-9321 www.starone.com.br Brasilsat B1 Broadcasting, business services, Internet access, multimedia, telecommunications, VSAT networks. Orbital location is 70° W. Carries 28 C-band transponders. 2006 EOL. Brasilsat B2 Broadcasting, business services, Internet access, multimedia, telecommunications, VSAT networks. Orbital location is 65° W. Carries 28 C-band transponders. 2007 EOL.
Using two terrestrial telescopes, scientists have confirmed that Mars emits significant quantities of methane during the spring and summer when warmer temperatures may be melting ice holding the gas below the surface. The discovery, reported in Science Express, has heightened interest in the phenomenon, which also has been observed by Europe’s Mars Express orbiter (AW&ST Oct. 11, 2004, p. 25). In both cases, the observations of methane coincided with evidence of water, raising the possibility that the emissions are the by-product of subsurface lifeforms.
Northrop Grumman has been tapped by the Air Force Research Laboratory to handle a series of airborne information management demonstrations of the Advanced Information Management System (AIMS), which is geared to provide soldiers with improved access to information in tactical environments. It is considered to be the next step in the two-year effort to move AIMS from the laboratory to the field. The $3-million AIMS contract covers info management requirements of the U.S. Defense Dept.’s Objective Gateway program.
2230 E. Imperial Highway El Segundo, CA 90245, USA Tel. (310) 535-5000; Fax (310) 535-5225 www.directv.com DirecTV 1R Direct-to-home TV broadcasting. Orbit location is 101° W. Carries 16 active and four spare Ku-band transponders. 2014 EOL. DirecTV 4S Direct-to-home TV broadcasting. Orbital location is 101° W. Carries 48 Ku-band transponders. 2016 EOL. DirecTV 5 Direct-to-home TV broadcasting. Orbital location is 72.5° W. Carries 32 Ku-band transponders. 2016 EOL.
Air Force Bell Helicopter Textron 430 (1) Bell Helicopter Textron OH-58A (8) Bell Helicopter Textron UH-1H (2) Bell Helicopter Textron UH-1H Huey II (8) CASA C-212-400 (3) Enaer T-35B (4) Piper PA-31 (1) Schweizer 333 (3) Army Bell Helicopter Textron OH-58A (9) Robinson Helicopter Co. R22 (4) Robinson Helicopter Co. R44 (2) Bell Helicopter Textron 206A (2)
Last year was one of the most challenging for the global airline industry, faced with record fuel prices and recession-induced traffic declines, notes Air Cargo Management Group in its International Air Freight and Express Industry Performance Analysis 2008. Freight traffic levels, which had a modest year-over-year increase at the beginning of the year, turned negative starting mid-year. The international express sector had average annual growth of 9.5% since 1992 and 6.3% since 1997. In mid-2008, the sector grew only 1.4%, to reach 2.1 million shipments daily.
Weakening demand in Asia’s two hottest markets, India and China, has prompted Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) to pull back on some services until springtime. ANA’s cutbacks begin in February and will continue “for the time being.” They include suspending services from Osaka’s Kansai International Airport into the northeastern Chinese cities of Dalian and Shenyang and decreasing the number of flights from Tokyo’s Narita Airport to Mumbai, India’s financial capital, and to Shanghai, China’s financial hub. JAL began slimming services Jan.
The Royal Air Force is introducing into service a dual-mode version of its Brimstone air-launched missile, following the resolution of technical issues that hit initial test shots of the weapon. Developed under a Defense Ministry urgent operational requirement (UOR), the Dual-Mode Seeker (DMS) Brimstone is already deployed with the Tornado GR4 force at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. The first operational mission with the weapon was flown in December.
1500 Eckington Place, NE Washington, DC 20002, USA Tel. (202) 380-4000; Fax (202) 380-4500 www.xmradio.com XM-1 (Roll) Direct broadcasting. Orbital location is 85.1° W. Carries two S-band transponders. BSS-702 model. Launched 2001. XM-2 (Rock) Direct broadcasting. Orbital location is 115° W. Carries two S-band transponders. BSS-702 model. Launched 2001. XM-3 (Rhythm) Direct broadcasting. Orbital location is 85.1° W. Carries two S-band transponders. BSS‑702 model. Launched 2005.
USAF announced six possible candidate home bases for its new Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC): Barksdale AFB, La.; F.E. Warner AFB, Wyo.; Malmstrom AFB, Mont.; Minot AFB, N.D.; Offutt AFB, Neb.; and Whiteman AFB, Mo. USAF says each base must meet one overarching requirement: “current performance of a significant operational function associated with strategic nuclear forces” in addition to a laundry list of other capabilities. USAF intends to make a final decision by the end of June.
