An article on NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (Sofia) in the May 19 edition (p. 72) stated that the 747-based configuration includes a Raytheon-designed pressure bulkhead. The unit of Raytheon that designed the bulkhead was acquired by L-3 Integrated Systems in 2003.
AeroVironment is to build a flapping-wing UAV weighing less than 10 grams (0.35 oz.) under the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) program. Designed to fly indoors and outdoors, carrying a 2-gram payload, the “biologically inspired” NAV will flap its 3-in.-span wing to hover and fly. A rudimentary version is to be demonstrated under the company’s six-month, $636,000 Phase 2 contract, after which Darpa can extend the work by 18 months to allow prototype flights.
Douglas Hillman has been named president/CEO of the Aerosonic Corp. , Clearwater, Fla. He was vice president/general manager of the Kearfott Guidance and Navigation Corp.
I am greatly disheartened by the number of letters to the editor dismissing climate change as a myth, and dismissing the impacts of aviation on carbon dioxide emissions.
Mitchell B. Waldman (see photo) has become Washington-based director of acquisition policy for the Northrop Grumman Corp. He was national security adviser to then-U.S. Sen. Trent Lott.
Carbon fiber wings for air-launched, disposable unmanned air vehicles are being manufactured by KaZak Composites using an automated pultrusion process that produces constant cross-section composite parts at two-thirds the cost of a manual layup process. Dry fiber is wrapped around an airfoil-shaped mandrel, injected with resin and pulled through a heated die that compresses the material into shape and cures the part. The company is manufacturing the wings for Boeing’s Scan Eagle Compressed Carriage UAV.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has indicated that a decision on building a second aircraft carrier to complement the Charles de Gaulle is likely to be pushed back two or three years. The defense white paper being reviewed by the French Parliament did not take a position on the carrier, known as PA2, suggesting that Sarkozy would announce a decision himself in June, when the white paper is to be released.
ICO Global Communications has filed its final milestone certification with the Federal Communications Commission confirming that two-way voice and data links between its ICO G1 satellite and mobile terminals are now operational. ICO G1, launched on Apr. 14, is the first in a new wave of hybrid satellites intended to serve mobile TV, navigation and other high-speed mobile service. One of the largest commercial satellites ever, and the first to use ground-based beam forming, the spacecraft is to go into operation next year, after trials.
French police last week held former EADS co-CEO and Airbus boss Noel Forgeard in custody over allegations of insider trading. A criminal investigation is underway to assess if several current and former executives sold EADS shares on knowledge of A380 assembly problems, which eventually delayed the program and caused the company share price to plummet. The French stock market regulator, the AMF, is conducting a parallel investigation.
Singapore’s Tiger Airways is joining the list of budget airlines that are charging for all check-in baggage. Passengers will be allowed 7 kg. (15 lb.) of carry-on bags, plus a handbag and laptop, but will have to pay S$5 ($3.70) for up to 15 kg. of check-in luggage, rising to S$40 for 40 kg.
The Phoenix Mars lander’s powerful arm and complex mini-labs are being readied for digging and analysis of soil and water-ice samples near the Martian North Pole after an action-packed landing May 25 that opens a new chapter in high-payoff robotic exploration of the red planet. The U.S. now operates three complex stations on Mars—Spirit and Opportunity on opposite sides near the equator, and Phoenix at 68.22 deg. N. Lat. above the Martian Arctic Circle. (For the latest Phoenix mission information, go to: phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/gallery.php)
China will use its newest, most advanced weather satellite to forecast conditions for the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing, but the dual-use spacecraft also will benefit the Chinese military. A Long March 4C carried the Fengyun-3 (FY-3) from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi Province on May 27, and it entered its polar orbit 27 min. later, according to the Xinhua news agency. The spacecraft is expected to deliver images with a spatial resolution of 250 meters and temperature accuracy of 0.1F, according to the agency.
MiG General Director Anatoly Belov is confident the company will succeed in selling the Russian air force a modernization package for its fleet of MiG-29 Fulcrums, as well as an additional order for new-build MiG-35s. He believes MiG could book 300-350 combat aircraft sales—both export and domestic—in the next 10 years. The MiG chief says Algeria, which sent back some MiG-29 SMTs earlier this year, is still reviewing a number of options, including the MiG-35.
South Korea may buy surplus Boeing AH-64D Apache Block Is, which first entered service with the U.S. Army Aviation in 1999, at an estimated cost of about 1 trillion won ($970 million).
The U.S. Army is ready for initial production of five Lockheed Martin Enhanced AN/TPQ-36 counter-fire target acquisition radar, having finished a critical design review of the system. Plans call for delivery of two EQ-36 radars to the Army by summer 2009, followed by a third and fourth that autumn. The fifth system would be delivered early in 2010. The radar can detect, classify, track and locate enemy indirect fire from mortars, artillery and rockets in either 90- or 360-deg. modes.
The airline industry is complaining about the Homeland Security Dept.’s decision to hold a hearing June 13 on a proposed rule to require airlines and cruise lines to collect biometric data from non-U.S. citizens leaving the country. A coalition of travel industry groups, including the Air Transport Assn. (ATA) and the International Air Transport Assn., regional airline groups and tour operator associations, called on the department to extend the 60-day comment period past the June 23 deadline.
British Prime Minster Gordon Brown has announced that the U.K. is to ban use of cluster weapons still in inventory. A multinational conference in Dublin last week was expected to agree to a proposal banning the use of cluster weaponry. The U.S. did not attend the conference, nor did China, Russia or Israel.
Aircraft noise and politically sensitive basing options may become decisive factors in Norway’s selection process for a new fighter aircraft to replace the country’s Lockheed Martin F-16s. New information received from the two remaining contenders (Lockheed Martin’s F-35A and Saab’s enhanced Gripen-N) indicates that one (understood to be the F-35) is “significantly more noisy” than the other, senior government and military sources here say.
Barry Rempel, who is president/CEO of the Winnipeg (Manitoba) Airports Authority, has been elected chairman of the Canadian Airports Council for two years. William A. Restall, president/CEO of Saskatoon (Saskatchewan) Airport Authority, has been elected vice chairman. Rempel succeeds Jim Cherry, president/CEO of Aeroports de Montreal, who remains on the council board of directors. The other directors are: treasurer, Calgary (Alberta) Airport Authority President/CEO Garth F.
European Union emission allowance (EUA) prices in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme powered up to a fresh two-year high of €26.65 ($41.84) per metric ton of CO2 equivalent on May 27, dragged up by new all-time highs on world crude oil prices achieved the previous week. EUAs for December 2008 delivery on the European Climate Exchange eased from a 12-month high of €25.80 per metric ton on May 12 to close at €24.46 per metric ton on May 14.
Richard F. Dusek has been named head of the Aerospace and Military Div. of EDAG Inc. , Auburn Hills, Mich. He was the company’s director of engineering.
India’s Jet Airways took delivery of its seventh Airbus A330-200 last week as part of a total order for 15. The aircraft—in 220-seat, two-class configuration—will be flown on new routes to serve Hong Kong, and on expanded services to Europe and the Middle East. The carrier will not be looking at additional orders, given cost-cutting at the airline and spiraling fuel prices, according to Naresh Goyal, Jet Airways chairman.
EADS has named 28 companies as preferred suppliers for engineering services as part of a broader company move to streamline its supply chain. Four of the first-tier partners are from India, the rest are European Union-based. EADS says it spends around €2 billion on engineering services annually.
Amy Butler (Washington), Graham Warwick (Washington), Robert Wall (Berlin)
The U.S. Air Force is inching toward starting a competition for a Next-Generation Unmanned Aerial System (NG-UAS) to handle a mix of intelligence gathering and attack missions by 2015. Some Air Force officials refer to this effort as a replacement for the MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Reapers currently in production. But the service is also looking for improved performance.
The head of the U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command is adding an upgrade for the KC-10 refueling fleet to his list of tanker priorities. Gen. Arthur Lichte’s top focus is to begin fielding the KC-45A tankers and start retiring aging KC-135s as soon as possible. That’s being held up, however, by Boeing’s protest of the Air Force decision to award Northrop Grumman/EADS North America the contract to develop a next-generation A330-based tanker over Boeing’s 767 proposal.
