Clayton M. Jones, chairman/president/CEO of Rockwell Collins, has been elected this year’s chairman of the Arlington, Va.-based Aerospace Industries Assn. He succeeds William H. Swanson, chairman/CEO of the Raytheon Co. Robert J. Stevens, chairman/president/CEO of the Lockheed Martin Corp., was elected vice chairman. Marion C. Blakey was elected president/CEO and Ginette C. Colot secretary-treasurer. Members of the board of governors executive committee are: James F.
Cole Hedden (see photo) has been promoted to vice president/chief operating officer from vice president/head of the Business Innovation and Execution Group of L-3 Communications and Thales Co.’s ACSS of Phoenix.
The work done by space shuttle Discovery astronaut Scott Parazynski late last year and all of NASA plays second fiddle to a space program that destroys a satellite (AW&ST Jan. 7, p. 61)? Perhaps you turned the final selection over to the editor at Time magazine? He made the same empty argument about “not an honor.” What were you thinking?
New data from Japan’s Selene Moon probe validates two more of its instruments—the Lunar Radar Sounder (LRS) and the Laser Altimeter (LALT). Both will feed into the first comprehensive map of the Moon. The LRS captures and calculates 5-MHz. radio waves that bounce back after penetrating a few kilometers beneath the lunar surface. Japanese space agency JAXA says LRS data taken over the eastern Mare Imbrium between Nov. 20-21 supports the probable existence of alternating beds of lava, volcanic ash and ejecta blankets.
Development of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet will cost 150 billion yen ($1.4 billion), of which the government will finance about 30%. Mitsubishi will decide in March whether the project is feasible.
A News Breaks column item says French President Nicolas Sarkozy is studying how to reinforce France’s efforts in Afghanistan, either through training or other means (AW&ST Nov. 12, 2007, p. 26). I urge Sarkozy to do so by having France join the NATO countries that are actually fighting in Afghanistan, such as Canada and the U.K. Perhaps France could thus shame, if such a thing is possible, the non-fighting NATO allies into carrying more of the burden.
Astronauts Dan Tani and Peggy Whitson will venture out of the International Space Station Jan. 30 to replace a piece of hardware believed to be responsible for a triple circuit breaker trip that has crippled a key solar array mechanism. The Expedition 16 crewmates have already retrieved the spare bearing motor roll ring module—known as the “broom”—from unpressurized storage and, by happy coincidence, Tani has actually trained on replacing it (AW&ST Jan. 7, p. 27). Their 6.5-hr.
The U.S. Marines have demonstrated they can use Swift Engineering’s Killer Bee tactical UAVs as communications relays to link remote, separated ground units. The fourth-generation vehicles were configured in the field with relay payloads based on Enhanced Position Locating Reporting System, SecNet 11 and MeshNet that provided data, voice, video and command capabilities in rugged terrain. Two UAVs were deployed sequentially to provide over-the-horizon comms.
Adam Aircraft, a piston-twin and very light jet manufacturing startup company, announced it would immediately cut 300 of its 800 employees to reduce costs while it seeks to secure $75-150-million in long-term financing through Citibank. Cash flow is tight at Adam because of the slow production rates of its A500 piston twin and several delays in the A700 VLJ development program. Only eight A500 aircraft have been delivered to U.S. operators since FAA type approval was obtained in May 2005.
International Launch Services is building a second processing facility on its launch site at Baikonur, Kazakhstan, to enable two simultaneous Proton M launch campaigns. The move parallels steps by archrival Arianespace to meet demand (AW&ST Jan. 14, p. 21). ILS landed 17 orders worth $1.5 billion in 2007, bringing the total order book to 22 missions, says ILS President Frank McKenna.
Socata faces a critical year for assuring its future, as it hands over the first TBM 850 fitted with a glass cockpit and possibly launches a new general aviation program. The EADS unit is in talks with potential partners to begin work on an aircraft with eight or more seats to augment its six-seat TBM 850, says Jean-Michel Leonard, Socata chairman and CEO. “We believe that we have the competence, capability and credibility on the market to do more” than the TBM 850.
Regarding Boeing’s plan to use electric power for gear retraction on the 787 (AW&ST Nov. 26, 2007, p. 49), I flew the Boeing 247D, which also used electric motors for gear retraction, for Avianca in the late 1940s. There was no automatic shut- off; when the pilot heard the motors start to load up, the gear handle was returned to neutral. What goes around comes around.
European Space Agency chief Jean-Jacques Dordain says ESA is talking with China about using the Shenzhou capsule to carry its microgravity experiments. Europe already uses Russian Foton capsules, but even the arrival of ESA’s Columbus orbital facility (see below) will not be sufficient to meet demand, scientists say. China is already working with ESA on the DoubleStar solar exploration and Chang’e lunar missions.
Mark A. Cancilla (Global Director, Commercial Transparencies)
Michael Mecham’s excellent article about electrochromic windows (AW&ST Nov. 26, 2007, p. 54) shows that interest in the technology is crossing markets, with manufacturers of jetliners, regionals and business jets keen on their application. I appreciated the opportunity to talk about PPG Aerospace supplying Boeing 787 window shades, but want to clarify two points.
Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center believe they have duplicated the failure mechanism that has delayed launch of the space shuttle Atlantis, making it more likely the STS-122/1E mission can get underway to the International Space Station with Europe’s Columbus laboratory. The failure produced an intermittent open circuit in the pass-through connector that draws information from engine cutoff sensors in the shuttle’s liquid hydrogen tank, raising the risk the engines would cut off prematurely or run dry (AW&ST Dec. 17, 2007, p. 25).
The Vietnamese government will sell 10-20% of Vietnam Airlines to a foreign strategic investor and other stock in the company to public shareholders, retaining 70-80% for itself. The airline says it will expand its fleet to 110 aircraft in 2020 from 45 now.
Jet Airways will lease another five Boeing 737s from BOC Aviation, a Bank of China unit formerly known as Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise. The aircraft will be delivered beginning in March 2010 and will be leased for 10 years.
Boeing’s third announced delay in the 787 program puts first flight at least nine months behind schedule and means first delivery is as much as a year off the original mark. The company cannot predict when it will start work on the first delivery aircraft or when final assembly will begin on the five remaining airplanes needed to achieve FAA certification. Despite its production problems, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Scott Carson emphasizes that the airplane’s technical advances remain on track. So far, there’s no reason to doubt him.
Russia has given the long-awaited OK for Italy’s Alenia Aeronautica to take a 25% stake in the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co., now developing the Superjet 100 regional jet. The holding comes with a single share above the 25% threshold, giving Alenia the control it sought. But the special status also required a dispensation from President Vladimir Putin, because it breaches Russia’s foreign ownership limits. With the arrangement expected to be approved this summer, Alenia gets to name two of seven SCAC board members.
Honeywell plans to offer consulting services to help operators qualify to fly Required Navigation Performance procedures. Business jet operators and airlines have to be certified by the FAA to fly RNP with Special Aircraft and Aircrew Authorization Required, which uses GPS to allow precision guidance during approaches. RNP can help aircraft fly safely into airports in mountainous areas and also is being used at congested airports.
The J2-X powerpack being readied for testing at the Stennis Space Center bears a serial number on the engine skirt that identifies this hardware (or at least parts of it) as having special historical significance with a 40-plus-year heritage. Engine J-2103 was the engine attached to the Skylab space station when it was first built as a rocket stage (S-IVB-212) in 1967. Two years later, the engine was removed when the stage was converted to the orbital workshop of Skylab. NASA has made good use of the preserved hardware.
Korea Aerospace Industries will focus on Asia and Latin America for sales of its KT-1 trainer and light attack aircraft, judging that insurgencies make those regions the strongest markets for such aircraft. The manufacturer aims to sell 200 of the turboprop aircraft by 2015, says a company executive.
The U.S. has been conducting network warfare and information operations since the 1992-95 war in Bosnia, but improvements in computer technologies, algorithms and encryption are making enemy networks increasingly tough to penetrate and exploit. Moreover, other countries are “getting just as much capability [as expensive U.S. systems] because they are leveraging more commercial products,” says Rance Walleston, director of BAE Systems’ information operations initiative. A major cost saver is that “everybody else does the research for them.”
Marc Raimondi has become director of communications in Washington for the Harris Corp. He was spokesman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement section of the U.S. Homeland Security Dept.
