Jin Ju, minister-counselor for science and technology at the Chinese Embassy, says he doesn’t spend much time on space cooperation. “We have very low expectations, and we don’t expect any results,” he says. He cites “lack of trust” as the roadblock in the U.S., and blames it on a media message that China is a threat to U.S. interests. “China is lonely and isolated in the international space community,” Jin says. “Just like in school, a city boy looks down upon the boy coming from Texas or Alabama.
TAP Portugal is continuing its aggressive expansion strategy in spite of concerns over high fuel prices and a slowdown in the European economy. The Lisbon-based airline plans to increase its capacity this year by another 10% after receiving more Airbus A330-200s for its long-haul network. The Star Alliance member has deployed the aircraft on new routes to Brasilia and Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and says it is already enjoying high load factors and good yields.
James Culmo (see photo) has been named vice president of Bethpage, N.Y.-based Airborne Early Warning/Battle Management Command and Control-Navy Programs for the Northrop Grumman Corp. He succeeds Thomas Vice, who is now vice president of Integrated Systems Eastern Region. Culmo was the program’s integrated product team deputy and director of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye and NC-130H Risk Reduction programs. Patricia McMahon (see photo) has become deputy of the Integrated Systems Eastern Region.
The Italian coast guard is buying a third ATR 42 maritime patrol aircraft to join the two that are already in use. The third is due to be fielded in early 2010, according to prime contractor Alenia Aeronautica. The current contract covers the ATR 42 turboprop purchase, with a follow-on arrangement still required to install and integrate the mission system. To date, Alenia has booked orders for 10 ATR 42MPs from Italy’s coast guard and customs police, the Nigerian air force and the Libyan General Security Corps.
USAF Maj. Gen. Frank Gorenc has been named director of air and space operations at Air Combat Command (ACC) Headquarters, Langley AFB, Va. He has been commander of the Air Force District of Washington, Andrews AFB, Md. He will be succeeded by Brig. Gen. Burton M. Field, who has been commander of ACC’s 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, Balad AB, Iraq. Brig. Gen. Jonathan D. George has been named principal assistant deputy administrator for military application/deputy administrator for defense programs in the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration in Washington.
Eurocopter has delivered the first EC225 to a U.S. customer after receiving FAA type certification late last month. Era Helicopters is scheduled to take eight of the heavy twin-turbine helos—four this year, two next year and two in 2010. The FAA granted the type certificate on Jan. 30 to the 11.2-metric-ton Super Puma. European certification was obtained in July 2004, but the process with the FAA did not begin until 18 months later when the first U.S. customer was secured. The order was announced at the Helicopter Assn.
The NTSB is investigating what caused a United Airlines Airbus A320 to veer off Runway 19 during landing at Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Feb. 25. Flight 267 came to rest in 3 ft. of snow at a 90-deg. angle to the runway. One inflatable slide did not deploy during the evacuation of six crew and 119 passengers. No serious injuries were reported.
United Space Alliance contractor layoffs at the Kennedy Space Center between 2008-11 are likely to total about 3,500 out of the center’s 15,000-person workforce as the space shuttle program ends, a NASA assessment is expected to report this month. Some of those job losses should be recovered later as shuttle follow-on programs mature, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin says.
Alfred T. Spain, a former senior vice president-operations for JetBlue Airways, has been named to the board of directors of the Pinnacle Airlines Corp.
In warfare, the effectiveness of communications is a life-or-death issue. It is why the efficient establishment of links among our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines is one of the first orders of business in the field. It is also why we at home must do more to support the use of the latest technologies among our troops.
He may be the most unpopular U.S. President in modern history, but investors in defense stocks owe thanks to George W. Bush. Shares in the Pentagon’s leading contractors have appreciated dramatically as U.S. military spending reaches levels not seen since World War II. Even with the overall stock market’s recent swoons, shares in Lockheed Martin Corp. are up 247% since Bush was elected in 2000, while L-3 Communications Holdings has risen 242%, General Dynamics Corp. 167%, Northrop Grumman Corp. 125% and Raytheon Co. 121%.
A Boeing, General Electric and Virgin Atlantic team has flown a Boeing 747-400 from London Heathrow to Amsterdam Schiphol, marking the first commercial aircraft flight using biofuel. One of the aircraft’s General Electric CF6 engines was operating a kerosene-biofuel blend during the Feb. 24 1-hr. flight. The biofuel, provided by Seattle-based Imperium Renewables, was made up of babassu oil (derived from the nut of the Brazilian babassu tree) and coconut oil. The fuel underwent 28 hr. of ground trials using a CFM56 turbofan at GE’s site in Peebles, Ohio.
Orbital Sciences Corp. has targeted the Delta II-class government launch services market to flesh out its winning proposal in NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) recompetition, looking to launch scientific and military payloads as well as supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).
The Flight Safety Foundation is partnering with the International Air Transport Assn. (IATA) to address the growing shortage of pilots and other aviation personnel. Efforts will include development of global standards for implementation of the Multi-crew Pilot License. The MPL is an ab initio program developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization to train first officers more quickly and at less cost than traditional training. By 2010, it is to become the airline training standard. The fast-track program has created concerns throughout industry about safety.
Neelam Mathews (New Delhi), Andy Nativi (New Delhi)
India’s private aerospace industry is reaping offset rewards as foreign manufacturers position themselves for about $30 billion in defense contracts due to be awarded over the next five years.
Onboard imagery from Japan’s Kizuna, the Wideband InterNetworking engineering test and Demonstration Satellite (Winds), confirms deployment of one of its twin solar arrays after launch Feb. 23 from the Japan Aerospace Research Agency’s (JAXA’s) Tanegashima facility on an H-IIA. Billed as the world’s fastest Internet satellite, Kizuna’s two Ka-band multi-beam transmission antennas are designed to enable Internet speeds of up to 1.2 Gbps. through a direct link to a 5-meter (16.4-ft.) ground antenna; another 45-cm.
RAK Airways, in a deal with Boeing valued at about $300 million list, will acquire four Boeing 737-800s and hold rights for two more. RAK (Ras al-Khaimah) Airways was established in February 2006 and is the United Arab Emirates’ fourth national carrier. Ras al-Khaimah, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, is undergoing an ambitious expansion plan aimed at attracting international businesses and tourists, and the carrier’s mission is to support that growth.
International Launch Services has been chosen to orbit S2M, an S-band mobile service satellite acquired from Space Systems/Loral by S2M, an Abu Dhabi-based startup. The 15-metric-ton, 20-kw. spacecraft will serve the Middle East and North Africa.
Dassault Aviation is rushing to raise output and increase outsourcing to meet a rising tide of Falcon Jet orders without risking overcapacity if the market turns soft.
NASA’s planned Ares V heavy-lift vehicle still doesn’t have the lift it needs to send astronauts back to the Moon, and must be beefed up from its present configuration to get the job done. Ares engineers are studying several options for adding more than 10 metric tons to the throw-weight of the big rocket—already conceived as the largest launch vehicle ever built.
Douglas Barrie (London Heathrow Airport), Robert Wall (London Heathrow Airport)
Counter-arguments range from not in my backyard to not in anybody’s yard, while some proponents paint images of an economic backwater if the expansion is rejected.
China Eastern Airlines, fighting off a hostile bid for control from the parent of Air China, has rejected the offer as not legally binding. But no one expects that rejection to deter China National Aviation Corp. from pursuing its campaign to consolidate two of the country’s Big Three airlines. Looking for other ways to strengthen its ailing business, China Eastern says it will expand code-sharing with rival Shanghai Airlines, itself regarded as a likely takeover target.
I could not help but smile while reading Craig Covault’s article “Moon Stuck” (AW&ST Jan. 21, p. 24). In the claims of the have-nots, I was reminded of language from our business development and marketing folks: grandiose words, thin on rationale; just take our word for it. But NASA Administrator Michael Griffin speaks the language of engineering: logical, practical, shaped by experience.
Airbus has signed up BOC Aviation to buy five Airbus A330-200F freighters. The leasing company, formerly called Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise, says it’s the first time it has committed to taking a freight aircraft directly from a manufacturer. “This order reflects our confidence in strong future demand for wide-body production freighter aircraft,” BOC Aviation CEO Robert Martin says. It brings the A330-200F order book to 77 aircraft, after MatlinPatterson signed for six in January.
Michael Pollack has been named vice president-sales and marketing for Psi Systems Inc. , Germantown, Md. He was vice president-government sales at Advantech Satellite Networks.
