European astronauts who helped set up the Columbus laboratory module earlier this year expect daily life on the orbiting facility—and training for those preparing to serve there—to change once assembly is completed and a six-person crew settles down to scientific experimentation.
Richard B. Lewis, 2nd, has become executive director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lean Advancement Initiative . Thomas Farmer, who is president of Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, has been named industry co-chair.
General Electric is launching an advanced “eCore” engine-technology strategy aimed at countering Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan but, along with CFMI partner Snecma, is backing away from its plan to make an open rotor development decision in 2011.
USAF Brig. Gen. Stanley E. Clarke, 3rd, has been appointed assistant deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and programs at the Pentagon. He has been deputy director of the Air National Guard. Col. Carlton D. Everhart, 2nd, has been selected for promotion to brigadier general and appointment as deputy director for intelligence and air, space and information operations for flying training at Headquarters Air Education and Training Command, Randolph AFB, Tex. He was the command’s inspector general.
I understand the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), like every other agency or company, is trying to maximize its effective use of equipment and personnel. But in the article “Explosive Mitigation” (AW&ST June 23, p. 59) John M. Doyle writes: “That might indicate TSA is wasting time and effort looking for explosives that—while dangerous to those in close proximity—are too small to bring down an airplane.” Is this to suggest there is a limit on acceptable size for flying in an aircraft cabin?
The first batch of scientific papers from the Jan. 14 flyby of NASA’s Messenger (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) reports the discovery of huge volcanoes on the closest planet to the Sun, and settles once and for all the question of what produces Mercury’s magnetic field.
Ciel Satellite of Canada says it has received final approval from Industry Canada to develop six new orbital slots. The slots, which received a preliminary green light in June 2007, include a pair of Ka-band positions at 91 deg. and 109.2 deg. W. Long., three 17-GHz. BSS slots at 91, 103 and 107.3 deg. W.; and a 17-GHz. BSS position at 138 deg. W.
TAP will be evaluating inflight passenger communications services for the next six months on operations of one of its Airbus A319s to European cities. The Lisbon-based carrier introduced Mobile OnAir Swift Broadband service this month. Passengers will be able to send and receive voice calls and e-mail and text messages on BlackBerry-type devices and mobile phones. The system allows the flight crew to control length of time and mode of service (text or e-mail) being offerred to passengers.
David Seymour has been appointed vice president-technical services for US Airways . He succeeds Hal Heule, who will be retiring Sept. 30 as senior vice president-technical operations.
Delivery of Martian water ice to the Phoenix lander’s organic chemistry instrument remains the highest priority task for Martian surface operations this week.
The June 16 and 23 issues had outstanding Viewpoints by Robert Crandall and Alan Stern. They were forward-looking, tackled important issues and presented different ideas. Perhaps as important I agreed with each of the writers. I hope for more stimulating ideas.
Pratt & Whitney is formally launching its common core-derived future engine family at the Farnborough air show under the PurePower banner, with the first members being the PW1000G geared turbofan (GTF) and the PW800 business jet engine.
Anthony L. Velocci, Jr. (New York), Douglas Barrie (London)
When industry professionals and government representatives are gathering at Farnborough from around the world July 13-18, there will be justifiable cause for celebration: Britain’s notable contributions to aviation; the 60th anniversary of the Farnborough air show; and commemoration of 100 years since the first powered flight in the U.K. by Samuel Cody. But this celebratory mood may be muted by a near-term industry outlook that is mixed, to say the least.
BAE Systems is expected this week to unveil its Mantis long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle concept using the platform of the Farnborough air show. The UAV design is intended to meet intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance requirements, and could be a competitor to the General Atomics Predator B for U.K. Defense Ministry procurements.
Kenny Bieker has become manager of facilities for the Salina (Kan.) Airport Authority . He was a construction manager for the BWR Corp. at the Salina Municipal Airport and Airport Industrial Center.
Rob Powers has been named senior vice president-human resources of Textron Systems , Wilmington, Mass. He was head of human resources at the Textron Financial Corp.
Space ministers will meet at the European launch center in Kourou, French Guiana, next week in an attempt to draw up an agenda for reinvigorating Europe’s slumbering space program.
Ron DiLeo has been appointed senior vice president-marketing and sales, Joe Laughlin vice president-North America sales, Chris Vukelich vice president-distribution and eCommerce, Tracy Sandford vice president-marketing and Jonathan Rossman manager of revenue management, all for the OpenSkies division of British Airways . DiLeo was senior vice president/general manager of business travel in Europe for American Express, while Laughlin was vice president-sales for United Airlines. Vukelich was a senior executive with British Airways, Hilton International and Travelport.
Pratt & Whitney started flight tests of its 30,000-lb.-thrust GTF demonstrator on the eve of the Farnborough show. The sortie kicks off a planned 40 hr. of trials on a company-owned Boeing 747SP testbed and follows 250 hr. of Phase 1 and 2 ground testing that began in November 2007.
Russian experts will get a look at a pyrotechnic bolt they hope will aid their investigation of separation anomalies on the past two Soyuz reentries, after a touch-and-go extravehicular activity (EVA) at the International Space Station July 10. The two Russian members of ISS Expedition 17 sliced into the thermal insulation on their Soyuz TMA-12 lifeboat with a serrated knife to photograph a latching mechanism and remove the explosive bolt.
Neil Getter has become executive vice president of the Willis of New York Inc. subsidiary of Willis Group Holdings. He was a regional practice leader and senior account executive for Aon.
