The price of EU emission allowances (EUAs) under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme fell for most of November, before finding support in the latter half of the month as oil prices began to stabilize. EUAs for December 2008 delivery held broadly steady in the first few days of November, holding mostly in a range of €18-19 ($23.04-24.32) per metric ton of CO2 equivalent.
Boeing has warned its employees to expect job cuts of potentially more than the annual attrition rate of 4-5% beginning early in 2009, citing challenges across its commercial and defense businesses including delayed programs and contract awards, expected slower military spending and the impact of a global recession on airlines.
WestWind Technologies is beginning construction of a new Aircraft Modification & Integration Center in Alabama at the Huntsville International Airport. The facility will help the company meet increased demand for aviation services at the U.S. Army’s Redstone Arsenal and is designed to accommodate every type of rotorcraft in the Army’s inventory as well as airplanes up to the size of C-130s, says Roger Messick, chief operating officer.
There are increasing indications the AgustaWestland Future Lynx will emerge comparatively unscathed from the British government’s present round of budget deliberations. While numbers for both the Royal Navy and Army will likely be trimmed, the program is now expected to go ahead. There are also suggestions that some of the Army’s Lynx helicopters may be re-engined.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. continues its drive to turn the launch-vehicle market on its head with the first full-duration firing of the nine-engine first stage for its medium-lift Falcon 9. Partially funded with seed money from NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation System (COTS) effort, Falcon 9 is a big step up from the privately developed, single-engine Falcon 1 that finally flew Sept. 28 (AW&ST Oct. 6, p. 41). The Nov. 22 static firing on the SpaceX vertical test stand in McGregor, Tex., lasted 178 sec.—simulating an actual mission.
Amy Butler (Washington), Graham Warwick (Washington)
Pentagon enthusiasm for the F-35 program appears to be solidifying, with the Navy offering up money to meet a shortfall in funding in Fiscal 2009 and Defense Dept. leadership mulling a budget boost for production. The show of support comes as the F-35 is embroiled in a domestic debate over continued production of the F-22.
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) will have to wait longer for critical military equipment as delays loom for the EADS KC-30 refueling tanker and uncertainty continues over the schedule for the Boeing 737-based Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft.
Technological advances and a new global standard are shifting the dynamics of the simulation and training business. No longer will the training provider tell the customer: “Here’s the simulator, decide what to do with it.” The customer will say, “Here’s how we want to train our pilots. Give us the products to accomplish our training tasks.”
Aurora Flight Sciences has completed limit load testing of the wing designed for the Orion HALL hydrogen-powered, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle. The single-piece cantilevered beam structure, which spans 132 ft., features composite spars and skins, but the ribs are a mix of aluminum alloy and composites. The structure withstood loads up to 1.5 times (150%) the highest aerodynamic load the wing is expected to encounter during its service life. The wing was built and tested at Aurora’s facility in Columbus, Miss.
Dec. 8-9—Technology Training Corps’ Space Security & Defense Conference. MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas. Call +1 (310) 563-1223, fax +1 (310) 563-1220 or see www.technologytraining.com Jan. 5-8American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ 47th Annual Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition. Orlando (Fla.) World Center Marriott. Call +1 (703) 264-7500 or +1 (800) 639-AIAA, fax +1 (703) 264-7551 or see www.aiaa.org
Space industry executives are calling on President-elect Barack Obama’s new administration to establish a “clear and robust national space policy” as a top priority to help the U.S. compete globally against growing international commercial and military space capabilities.
John Greenhalgh has become director of Middle East/Africa operations for the International Products and Services unit of ITT Communications Systems , Fort Wayne, Ind. He was head of business development for ITT Defense Ltd., Basingstoke, England.
Acting FAA Administrator Bobby Sturgell has declared the initial segment of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast receivers in South Florida operational and said ADS-B is ready for nationwide deployment. However, the fate of this deployment and the larger NextGen ATC modernization effort remains in limbo.
Prof. Darryll J. Pines has been named dean of the A. James Clark School of Engineering and Nariman Farvardin Professor of Engineering at the University of Maryland , effective Jan. 5. He has been chairman of the Aerospace Engineering Dept. since 2006.
Despite financial uncertainties, Europe will forge ahead with a sharply expanded civil space program that will consolidate its place in science and Earth observation, while moving it into key new areas of activity.
A Chinese space delegation is in Washington this week to continue space cooperation discussions with NASA. One U.S. objective is to discuss Chinese participation in NASA’s Aeronet atmospheric aerosol detection program, says NASA Assistant Administrator Michael F. O’Brien. Aeronet sensors in about 35 countries measure atmospheric content from the ground and compare it with similar information from satellites.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are prompting simulator manufacturers to exploit a range of technological advances to enable U.S. Army and Canadian helicopter pilots to train and rehearse missions as realistically as possible. At the forefront of the latest improvements are capabilities to train pilots how to land safely in brownout conditions or on sloped surfaces and fly low for self-protection as well as how to plan air assault missions with realistic views of terrain and targets.
An extended Gates tenure as Defense secretary also could turn the Army’s Aerial Common Sensor Aircraft (electronic surveillance and attack) back into a joint program with the Navy. The Navy left the ACS program and started its own EP-X effort to field an EP-3E replacement. “These modest numbers of airplanes—20s and 30s—are $20-30 billion kind of packages [with unit] purchase prices of $500-700 million,” says Young. “I think those are the kind of issues that . . . will continue to need attention [and not] rubber-stamping unique service requirements.”
The U.S. Air Force is standing up a fourth operational B‑52 squadron to work under the newly announced Global Strike Command as part of sweeping restructuring efforts to rejuvenate its nuclear capability.
Boeing restarted CH-47 helicopter and V-22 fuselage production on Nov. 26, five days after both assembly lines were shut down following discovery of debris in the fuel system in a V-22 fuselage. The Defense Contract Management Agency demanded corrective action after discovery of the plastic cap during a quality inspection. In May, cut wires and a misplaced washer were found in CH-47s on the line.
Global telecom satellite operator SES and EchoStar Corp. are moving ahead with a plan to deploy a new spacecraft over Mexico to meet hot North American demand for direct-to-home video and broadband.
After years of steady growth, regional aircraft sales will begin flattening in about a year and stay that way until 2014-15 as carriers work their way through the current global financial crisis and the industry adjusts to shifts in capacity, according to Forecast International (FI).
The National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita (Kan.) State University is making available its Virtual Reality Center on a special web site. The VRC performs interactive visualization and simulation for design and collaboration in areas including concept, engineering, certification, manufacturing and marketing, says Fernando Toledo, VRC manager.
Sea Launch has taken delivery of Italy’s Sicral 1B military communications satellite as it proceeds to a January 2009 launch on board a Zenit-3SL rocket. The spacecraft was built by Thales Alenia Space and partly financed by sister company Telespazio in return for access to the satellite’s capacity. In addition to ensuring strategic and tactical fixed/mobile communications for the Italian armed forces, the new spacecraft will offer enhanced hardening compared to the existing Sicral 1A, launched in 2001.
Robert Randall has been appointed Midwest U.S. marketing manager for the Universal Avionics Systems Corp. , Tucson, Ariz. He was executive director of sales and marketing at Shadin Avionics.
