In a high bay here, Northrop Grumman Space Technology is trying to figure out how to fold the James Webb Space Telescope’s tennis court-size Sun shield so it can be deployed safely after the mission’s 2013 launch.
Both U.S. presidential candidates, Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), support extension of the space shuttle program by one or more additional flights to limit the gap in U.S. manned launches after 2010. During recent campaign stops in Florida to discuss their aerospace positions, they also called for an acceleration of the Ares/Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) development.
USAF Col. Teresa A.H. Djuric is one of nine colonels who have been promoted to brigadier general. She is commander of the 50th Space Wing of Air Force Space Command (AFSC), Schriever AFB, Colo.; Carlton D. Everhart, 2nd, inspector general at Headquarters Air Education and Training Command, Randolph AFB, Tex.; Terrence A. Feehan, commander of the Nuclear Weapons Center of Air Force Materiel Command, Kirtland AFB, N.M.; Samuel A. R. Greaves, commander of the Launch and Range Systems Wing of Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB; Russell J.
More than 60 civilian fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft participated in an aero-medical evacuation of about 150 patients from the Gulf Coast ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Gustav, according to the Assn. of Air Medical Services. The aircraft participated in state or federal evacuation efforts or as part of an individual hospital’s evacuation plan, according to the group. After the storm passed, the same aircraft were assigned to return the patients to the Gulf Coast.
Mark Sindone has become director of customer service, Michael E. Glover director of development of original equipment manufacturer and strategic alliances, Dave Spector senior director of aftermarket integrated flight deck sales and Jacob Ward as Southeast U.S. sales manager, all for the Avidyne Corp. , Lincoln, Mass. Sindone was director of customer logistics at AGL Resources Inc. in Atlanta, while Glover was director of commercial air transport for Innovative Solutions and Support, Exton, Pa. Spector was associate director of business development for Gen-Probe Inc.
Virgin Atlantic is emerging as a potential bid partner for London Gatwick Airport, should it come onto the market. Airport operator BAA may have to sell two of its London airports as a result of a ruling by the British Competition Commission. The airline says it is open to offers from potential bidders to join a consortium.
The U.S. Army plans to complete testing for a new digital data link for its hand-held Raven UAV by the end of Fiscal 2009, says Tim Owings, deputy project manager for unmanned aviation systems for the Army. Interference with the existing data link was tied to a series of “fly-aways,” which sometimes resulted in loss of the aircraft. Of more than 1,000 Ravens in Afghanistan and Iraq, about 30 have been lost. As more commercial communications move back into Iraq, this new data link will operate in different bands, reducing the likelihood of future interference there.
Michael Del Checcolo (see photo) has been appointed vice president-engineering of the Raytheon Co. ’s Integrated Defense Systems, Tewksbury, Mass. He was vice president of the IDS Engineering Advanced Technology Directorate.
The global airline industry’s prospects for recovery are receding due to the likelihood of more huge losses in 2009, according to the International Air Transport Assn. Even if oil prices continue to swing in the airlines’ favor, any cost cuts are destined to be overshadowed by steadily worsening demand.
Britain is nearing a decision on how to replace its primary manned electronic intelligence platform, the BAE Systems Nimrod R1, with three options in consideration: acquisition of the U.S. RC-135 Rivet Joint, refitting the present R1 aircraft with an improved electronic intelligence (Elint) payload or using the Nimrod MRA4 airframe as the basis for its Elint aircraft.
Singapore’s Changi Airport has commissioned a simulator to train airport emergency officers in fighting aircraft fires. Developed by Singapore’s Chartered Asia Technology Enterprise, the full-scale simulator instructs personnel in the application of fire-suppressing foam and dispatch of firefighting equipment under various day/night emergency scenarios, including various weather conditions.
The decline in oil prices from nearly $150 a barrel to less than $110 has provided urgently needed relief to the world’s airlines and their slumping stocks, fueling optimism that the industry’s darkest days are behind it. But now carriers are facing a new challenge: slumping demand as U.S. economic malaise begins to spread across the oceans.
The U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch is urging the FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to take swift action to prevent a “previously unforeseen threat”—ice accretions in jet fuel restricting fuel flow on Rolls-Royce Trent 800/Boeing 777 and other engine/airframe combinations. The AAIB’s recommendations were published Sept. 4 in a progress report on its probe of the Jan. 17 crash landing of a British Airways 777-236ER at London Heathrow Airport.
Qantas, already striving to restore public confidence in airline safety following a series of white-knuckle events, will undergo closer scrutiny as additional audits ordered by Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority get underway. One CASA audit targets the effectiveness of Qantas’s maintenance system in managing and implementing airworthiness directives. The safety agency’s aim is to make certain that programs outlined in the directives are actually in place on the aircraft. The audit is expected to take three weeks to complete.
Kunpeng Airlines, one of China’s largest regional operators, has taken delivery of the first of five Embraer 190s it ordered in July from the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer. The regional jet can transport 98 passengers in a two-class configuration. Kunpeng, which is undergoing fleet and network expansion, last month moved its operations base to Zhengzhou from Z’ian. The Chinese carrier, a joint venture between majority owner Shenzhen Airlines and the U.S.’s Mesa Air Group, launched operations in September 2007.
Your editorial (AW&ST Aug. 18/25, p. 94) implies that Darpa (and, one assumes, BBN) invented the Internet. Would it not be fair to recognize the significant role that CERN (The Swiss-based Nuclear Research Organization) played in the creation? CERN conceived and operated a European research organization network long before ARPAnet, along with a set of connectivity standards that, lo and behold, are now international interconnectivity standards.
Singapore’s Changi Airport will upgrade its Terminal 1 to improve passenger flow through a new centralized departure immigration portal. It will add 105 ft. of services area along older sections of the C and D piers to improve passenger waiting areas and add a curbside rain shelter for arriving passengers under a S$500-million ($348-million) contract signed with Takenaka Corp. The work is to be completed in the third quarter of 2011.
NASA astronauts may have to abandon the International Space Station at the end of 2011, given the dwindling time left Congress to decide whether to continue paying for seats on the Soyuz capsule in the wake of the Russia-Georgia conflict. Administrator Michael Griffin tells CBS News he’s very pessimistic Congress will extend authority to buy the seats—needed for both access to the station and crew rescue—soon enough for the Russians to produce them once the shuttle stops flying (see p. 32). Compounding the problem are anticipated delays in NASA’s follow-on to the shuttle.
Tory Baker (see photo) has been promoted to vice president/chief financial officer from vice president-finance/treasurer of the Nordam Group , Tulsa, Okla.
The new U.S.-Poland ballistic missile defense agreement and declaration on strategic cooperation still needs some refining, says acting Under Secretary of State for International Security and Arms Control John Rood. One issue is a proposed Patriot antimissile battery. Rood says deployment will begin as soon as the necessary agreements are reached with the Poles, and that could begin next year. The goal is to garrison a U.S. Army Patriot battery in Poland by 2012.
Any lingering industry hope that Japan would release a fighter request in the next few weeks was dashed by the resignation of the country’s prime minister. However, Tokyo may still push ahead with a request for proposals in the next six months.
Porter Airlines of Toronto, which serves seven destinations in eastern Canada, will acquire its 15th and 16th 70-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprops by converting options from a 2006 order.
The U.S. has quietly lifted sanctions against China Great Wall Industry Corp., the Chinese government’s international aerospace trading company accused by the Treasury Dept. in 2006 of supplying ballistic missile technology to Iran. Great Wall sells Chinese telecommunications transponders and other components and markets commercial launches on Long March boosters such as the CZ-3A (see photo).
