NASA has been granted the authority to continue purchasing trips to the International Space Station (ISS) on Russian Soyuz launch vehicles throughout the projected gap in U.S. human spaceflight capability between the planned 2010 retirement of the space shuttle and the introduction of the Orion spacecraft, or as late as July 2016.
Frank Morring, Jr. (Glasgow, Scotland), Michael A. Taverna (Glasgow, Scotland)
NASA’s partners on the International Space Station are developing their plans for future participation in human exploration beyond low Earth orbit with a keen eye on the 10-year history of the orbiting laboratory.
Malaysia has chosen Eurocopter as the preferred bidder to replace its fleet of Sikorsky S-61 helicopters. If the government awards a contract, Eurocopter will supply an initial batch of 12 EC725 Cougars out of a potential total requirement for 50 helicopters.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) has started hot-fire tests of the RS-68A upgrade to the main engine for the United Launch Alliance Delta IV space launch vehicle with a 40-sec. burn at Stennis Space Center. Engineers are analyzing data from a Sept. 25 test that was the first in a 12-month test series that will use three different engines. The RS-68A is designed to boost thrust on the three-engine Delta IV Heavy more than 100,000 lb. by raising the sea-level thrust of the basic RS-68 from 660,000 lb. to more than 700,000 lb.
The picture of the Lockheed/ Schweizer QT-2 quiet airplane provided by S.J. Deitchman triggered a recollection of my discovering a disassembled later version of this aircraft in storage at the former Tanner-Hiller Airport in Barre, Mass., in the early 1990s.
The City of Chicago has accepted a $2.521-billion bid from Midway Investment and Development Co. (Midco) for a 99-year lease of Midway Airport. City Council and federal approvals are required before Midco begins managing the South Side facility. Midco was formed by Vancouver Airport Services, Citi Infrastructure Investors and John Hancock Life Insurance Co.
The German parliament’s economics committee has given preliminary approval to a lunar orbiter. Government and industry officials say the committee late last week voted €300 million ($414 million) to begin work on the mission. The research ministry will also contribute funding, which is to be finalized when the overall 2009 budget is approved in November, officials said. The 2-metric-ton spacecraft, to be built by EADS Astrium and OHB System, will be Europe’s first probe to the Moon since the European Space Agency’s Smart-1 in 2003-07.
NASA has awarded Boeing a two-year, $650 million sole-source contract to continue to deliver and integrate components and software for the ISS. Boeing has been the prime ISS contractor since 1995. The new contract, which runs through September 2010, includes management of station subsystems and specialized ground-based engineering work.
Sikorsky has teamed with Carson Helicopters to modernize the S-61 Sea King, about 620 of which remain in civil and military service worldwide. Pennsylvania-based Carson has developed replacement composite main and tail rotor blades, which provide a combined 2,300-lb. lift increase, and a Sagem glass cockpit upgrade.
European Space Agency (ESA) engineers are confident that problems affecting its ambitious BepiColombo Mercury mission can be fixed, enabling the joint European-Japanese project to go forward.
Several prominent flight departments, including Lehman Brothers’, are being reduced in size or eliminated altogether as a result of negative business developments. But at least one department—operated by Anheuser-Busch—may undergo changes as a result of the company’s acquisition by InBev SA of Belgium for $52 billion, considered a premium. During the takeover process, the use of business jets by Busch executives came under scrutiny; InBev does not operate such aircraft. Now, Busch’s St.
Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, who has been Air France-KLM deputy CEO, is scheduled to become CEO of the company and its Air France subsidiary Jan. 1. He will succeed Jean-Cyril Spinetta, who will remain chairman of both Air France-KLM and Air France.
Paul Mifsud, vice president-government and legal affairs for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and Rebecca MacPherson, the FAA assistant chief counsel for regulations, have won the U.S. Federal Bar Assn. ’s Transportation Lawyer of the Year Awards.
Rima Saleh has been appointed vice president-sales and services of SkyLink USA , Dulles, Va. She was senior vice president-sales and services for Gemini Air Cargo Inc.
Chinese astronaut Zhai Zhigang uses hand holds to maneuver along the exterior of the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft during the first extravehicular activity (EVA) for China’s manned space program. The EVA was performed over Africa and Eurasia Sept. 27 during the second day of the mission, which ended with a safe landing in northern China’s Inner Mongolia region the next day. Zhai wore a Chinese “Feitian” spacesuit while astronaut Liu Boming remained inside the depressurized orbital module in a Chinese Orlan suit, one of 3-4 Orlans purchased by China several years ago.
American Sensor Technologies’ digitally compensated, AST20HA high-accuracy pressure transducer complements its existing OEM and Hazardous Area pressure-sensing products. This model is intended for use in applications requiring high-performance over a range of operating conditions. The AST20HA is suitable for such venues as test stands, hydrogen filling stations, and military/aerospace vehicles and equipment. The design features real-time thermal compensation and linearity correction, enabling it to work in dynamic temperature environments, according to the company.
Stan Kaplan’s letter “Engineers Need Appreciation” (AW&ST July 21, p. 10) hit home. I spent my career at Hughes Aircraft Co. and watched it be destroyed by MBAs and accountants. These MBAs and accountants totally ignored Howard Hughes’s philosophy that it was engineering and scientific talent that keeps a technical company great. I watched as these idiots made silly “cost-cutting” changes such as only cleaning the rest rooms once per week or vacuuming the floors once per month. They closed an exit gate early to save money on a security guard.
After a protracted and sometimes contentious period of development, Honeywell’s Primus Epic integrated modular avionics architecture system is in the cockpits of an increasingly broad range of business aircraft, including one helicopter.
Canadian charter startup SwiftJet has ordered five Diamond D-Jets, with options for 10 more, for delivery beginning in 2010. The three-passenger single-engine jets will be used for same-day return charters within 500-mi. of the Toronto area.
EADS Astrium has inked a long-term framework agreement with Antrix, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization, to launch the company’s Earth-observation satellites on India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. The agreement will allow Astrium to take advantage of the PSLV’s relatively low-cost launch prices for this highly competitive market.
The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency and Sukhoi have signed an agreement to identify potential Korean participants in the Superjet 100 aircraft program. The South Korean group also will be involved in marketing and promoting the regional jet at home and in Southeast Asian markets. The memorandum of understanding was signed by Igor Vinogradov, the first vice president of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co., and Cho Hwan-eik, president of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra).
Embraer’s 37-year-old application aircraft, the Ipanema, has a new lease on life as green as the crops it sprays. Developed in the late 1960s by Brazil’s Instituto Tecnologico de Aeronautica with financing from the country’s agriculture ministry, the Ipanema first flew in 1970 and was awarded certification the following year. Thereafter, production was turned over to the newly formed Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A. (Embraer).
Sens. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) are trying to rein in the Homeland Security Dept.’s power to randomly search the laptop computers of travelers entering the U.S. The lawmakers’ Travelers Privacy Protection bill would stipulate that Homeland Security agents must have “reasonable suspicion” of illegal activity before searching the contents of laptops or other electronic devices carried by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The bill also would prohibit profiling travelers based on their race, ethnicity, religion or national origin.
