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.
Jim Young has been appointed vice president-distribution, sales and marketing and Tom Bacon vice president-planning and revenue management for Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. Young was an executive with Continental Airlines and Intercontinental Hotels Group, while Bacon was vice president-planning for Mesa Air Group.
The fuel price surge is forcing even highly profitable Qantas Airways to ground some aircraft while minimizing the use of others and canceling the delivery of one. The company is initiating some staff reductions. Capacity will fall by 5% and cuts to international operations are expected to be announced this week.
Russia and Ukraine appear to be closing in on a long-awaited project to restart production and approve an upgrade package for the giant An-124 Ruslan freighter. Antonov General Designer Dimitri Kiva says a new business plan is being discussed with the Russian and Ukrainian governments and Russia’s United Aircraft Co. (UAC), which would be entrusted with the job of restarting the final assembly line in Ulyanovsk and developing the upgrade would extend the aircraft’s service life 80%.
USAF Cols. Jeffry F. Smith and John R. Ranck, Jr., have been selected for promotion to brigadier general. Smith has been named director of strategic capabilities policy for the National Security Council in Washington. He was deputy director for operational planning, policy and strategy/deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and requirements at USAF Headquarters at the Pentagon. He has been succeeded by Ranck, who was chief of the Program Integration Div./deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and programs at the Pentagon.
Travelers at key U.S. airports will notice advancements in security technology this summer. The TSA is installing more than 200 advanced X-ray detection systems, as well as whole-body-imagers that will take the place of physical pat-downs. The 28 Smiths Detection’s Advanced Threat Identification X-ray (Atix) units at Denver International Airport are replacing all conventional X-ray explosive detection systems at the facility. It is the largest deployment of advanced units to date.
Eugene Gray (see photo) has been appointed director of business development and marketing for Shadin Avionics , St. Louis Park, Minn. He was director of business development for the Aerospace and Government sector of Silicon Graphics Inc.
Charles D. Mayer (see photo) has been appointed vice president-marketing for the Hawker Beechcraft Corp. , Wichita, Kan. He was director of marketing, media and advertising for Maserati North America.
