Lockheed Martin and Aerojet report success in a demonstration of the High-Power Hall Current Thruster electric propulsion system to be used for orbital transfer and station keeping for the Lockheed Martin/Northrop Grumman Transformational Satellite Communications System (TSAT). Hall thruster technology offers thousands of hours of operational life instead of the minutes that conventional chemical thrusters provide. TSAT’s technology is a higher power evolution of a system for the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite fleet.
Guam is the only part of the U.S. that’s single-digit flying hours from all the potential hot spots in Eastern Asia and the Western Pacific. It is, in fact, home to the westernmost military facilities on U.S. territory. Andersen AFB, because of its size and range of specialized services, can sustain long-range, unmanned aircraft along with airlifter, tanker, fighter and bomber fleets.
A News Breaks item in the issue of July 7 (p. 26) was incomplete. In addition to ATK, L-3 Coleman Aerospace, Orbital Sciences Corp. and Space Vector also won the right to compete for as much as $250 million in launch services under the U.S. Air Force Sounding Rocket Program-3. The vehicle pictured with the item is Orbital’s Medium-Range Target (MRT) pathfinder vehicle, with an ATK Castor IV-B motor. The photo should have been credited to Orbital.
The article “New-Age Anti-Collision” (AW&ST July 14, p. 163) provides a good description of the “sense and avoid” challenges facing both the unmanned aircraft community and federal regulators charged with aviation safety and airspace management.
Launch of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), the first robotic precursor mission under President Bush’s plan for moving human space exploration beyond Earth orbit, will be delayed until after he leaves office. Also on hold until February or early March 2009 is the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (Lcross), a piggyback payload added by Ames Research Center. Launching in place of the NASA missions on an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., will be a classified Defense Dept. spacecraft, sources say.
The seventh application of Blended Winglets—and the first for a wide-body airframe—is in flight testing by Aviation Partners Boeing on an American Airlines 767-300ER. Boeing has 10 airline customers and commitments for 130 shipsets. Certification is expected in November, with service entry in December. The winglets, which are 11 ft. tall, are manufactured by GKN Aerospace and were installed at American’s Kansas City, Mo., maintenance base using a modification kit from LMI Aerospace, Contour Aerospace and Honeywell Consumable Solutions.
Volvo Aero suffered a 7% drop in sales in the second quarter due to the weak dollar and weaker aftermarket business, although sales for commercial engine components were up. The engine company eked out a 0.2% operating margin, down from 5% the year before, in part because of heavy research and development outlays. Volvo Aero saw order bookings in component work grow by 12%. On a constant-dollar basis, the backlog actually grew 29%.
BOC Aviation will extend its use of Rockwell Collins avionics on 47 more Airbus A320s. The Singapore-based leasing company (owned by the Bank of China) raised $1 billion more last year to invest in new aircraft to lease to airlines, adding to the $6 billion worth of aircraft it already manages, said Managing Director and CEO Robert J. Martin at the Farnborough air show. BOC has 51 A320s on order; it began specifying Rockwell Collins navigation, communications and surveillance systems in 2002.
A report by the International Mars Architecture for the Return of Samples working group (iMARS) concludes that a mission to bring back soil and rock samples is scientifically justified and technically feasible, although several enabling technologies would have to be developed and delicate science-engineering trade-offs resolved before a program could be launched. The group, which includes members from the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia, says the mission would require separate launches for a lander/rover/ascent vehicle and orbiter/return module.
Aerojet has conducted another test of the solid-fuel motor that will jettison the launch abort system (LAS) being developed for NASA’s Orion crew exploration vehicle, generating more data for a full-up test of the abort system at the end of the year. NASA termed the test, which occurred July 17 at Aerojet facilities in Sacramento, Calif., a success. The first test of the motor was done in April, and one more is planned.
The U.S. Navy is reprogramming nearly $13 million in Fiscal 2008 to address threats posed by new capabilities in anti-ship missiles employed in the Pacific region. About $7 million will provide an active/passive sensor simulator that will help the Navy to develop countermeasures for new missiles that use both passive and active guidance seekers. Another $5.8 million is requested for this fiscal year to help develop the “high-power, broadband, millimeter-wave power amplifiers needed for countermeasures systems to defeat this emerging threat.”
The Assn. of Asia-Pacific Airlines reports its members carried just 1.4% more passengers in June (12 million) than in the same month a year ago. International revenue passenger kilometers grew by just 2.5% and rose 3.6% for the first half of 2008 compared to 2007. The average international load factor fell 1% to 77.3% as capacity growth picked up to 3.9%.
Mark Johnson has become CEO of Lufthansa Technik subsidiary AERO Alzey . He succeeds Peter Kamenz, who has left the company. Johnson was commercial manager of Lufthansa hub in Frankfurt.
French railway SNCF is proposing a venture with Air France-KLM that would offer fast-train feeder service to the airlines’ major hubs in Paris and Amsterdam. The offer is intended to head off a possible collaborative move by Air France-KLM and Veolia Environment, announced in early July, and to prepare for liberalization of European rail traffic in 2010. It would allow the carrier to capture some of the short-haul traffic it has been losing to high-speed rail while freeing up slots for higher-margin long-haul traffic.
USAF Gen. Duncan J. McNabb has been named commander of U.S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Ill. He has been Air Force vice chief of staff. Lt. Gen. William M. Fraser, 3rd, has been nominated for promotion to general and assignment as vice chief of staff. He has been assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Lt. Gen. William L. Shelton has been appointed chief of warfighting integration and chief information officer in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force at the Pentagon.
The European Commission’s competition authority plans to rule by Aug. 25 on the proposed Air France-KLM takeover of the remaining 50% in Martinair. The airlines submitted their request to competition authorities late last month. The initial review will determine if there are any objections. If not, the deal can go through. If there are objections, a more detailed review will follow, requiring 90 working days.
In reading Pierre Sparaco’s dissection of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustainment of the Boeing tanker protest (AW&ST July 7, p. 61), I’m struck by his attitude of “we’re better than that here in Europe.”
Having failed to unload its Spanair arm, the SAS Group now is trying to streamline operations at the Spanish carrier. One step in that direction is the decision to sell its tourism operator, Club Vacaciones. Having to hold on to Spanair isn’t good news for the SAS Group.
The U.K. may be on the brink of embarking on development of the Chinook Mk4, but other critical elements of its core rotary program remain in disarray. The Defense Ministry is delaying by at least 12 months launch of the assessment phase of its Future Medium Helicopter program, with the overall competition phase a minimum of 18 months late.
AgustaWestland has signed a contract with the Qatar government for the sale of 18 AW139 helicopters. The deal, worth in excess of €260 million ($413.4 million), includes crew training and initial logistic support and spares.
Regarding Prof. T. Nejat Veziroglu’s letter “Hydrogen, Future Airline Fuel?” (AW&ST June 12, p. 12), hydrogen is not a viable aircraft fuel for these reasons: •It has to be in the liquid state. Even then, it is about 4.5 times as bulky as jet fuel for equal energy content, so there is a tankage volume problem. There would not be enough room in the wings.
Capt. Dave Carbaugh of The Boeing Co. has received the Aviation Week & Space Technology Distinguished Service Award from the Alexandria, Va.-based Flight Safety Foundation . He was recognized for his career-long achievements in aviation safety, including work to promote flight safety awareness, training, standard operating procedures, and tools for pilots and maintenance technicians. Carbaugh is considered an expert on airplane tail strikes, inflight upset recovery, wake turbulence, controlled flight into terrain, and approach and landing accident reduction.
Embraer has completed another round of selections for its new Legacy 450/500 midsize business jet line. Heroux Devtek will supply the landing gear, Pacific Scientific the electrical power system, Meggitt the bleed system and Intertechnique the oxygen system. The thrust control and rudder pedal systems will be provided by SKF and the insulation by Polyfab. FACC will provide the interior, BE Aerospace the passenger seats and Goodrich, the pilot seats.
Frederick W. Reid has been appointed president of Bombardier Aerospace ’s Flexjet and Skyjet, effective Aug. 25. He will succeed Michael McQuay, who is now president of Bombardier Aircraft Service Centers. Reid has been CEO of Virgin America and was president/chief operating officer of Delta Air Lines.
