The STS-120 Discovery mission carrying the Node 2 interface module for the European Columbus and Japanese Kibo laboratories should be able to launch on schedule about Oct. 23, even with external tank bracket foam repairs. The oxygen feed line bracket foam liberation problem that caused slight damage to two Endeavour tiles during the STS-118 launch is now well understood.
NATO is struggling to convince member states to provide the necessary personnel for its NATO Response Force. A restructuring of the six-month rotating standby force may ensue to deal with the issue for the long term.
Lockheed Martin delivered the 100th F-22 Raptor to the U.S. Air Force last week. It is assigned to the 90th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, as one of the 20 that are to be delivered by the fall of 2008. The company also pocketed a $119-million Air Force contract for Atlas V launch services as part of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program that is to orbit Advanced Extremely High Frequency-2 satellites.
Kuwait has successfully performed live firing trials with its new Amoun ground-based medium- to short-range air defense systems, supplied by Rheinmetall Italy and MBDA. The event, on a firing range some 100 km. west of Kuwait City, involved the launching of five MBDA-supplied Aspide radar-guided medium-range missiles plus six short-range target engagements by Rheinmetall’s 35-mm. air-defense guns. All four of Kuwait’s Amoun batteries took part in the firings, but the focus was on the two new systems ordered in 2002 and delivered recently.
Anti-aviation protesters—who are riled by London Heathrow Airport’s planned expansion and attracted ample media coverage in the middle of a quiet August—succeeded only in exacerbating environmental misunderstandings about the airline industry.
The FAA’s 18 King Air 300 flight inspection aircraft cockpits are getting a face-lift. The first aircraft retrofitted with a Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 integrated avionics system rolled out at the FAA’s Oklahoma City facility this month, and the rest of the installations will occur over the next three years. Modifications beyond the avionics will extend the life of the King Air 300s for a total cost of $32 million, compared to the $90 million it would have cost to replace the fleet with new aircraft, the FAA says.
The NASA/JPL Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity are driving again on Mars after surviving electrical power shortages, caused by global dust storms that have swept the planet since July. Opportunity drove dozens of feet back to the rim of Victoria crater last week. The rover took this false color mosaic that preserves details, but sharply distorts elevation to make it falsely appear that the rover is on a hill.
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plan to strengthen their satellite ties in the coming fiscal year, with the re-establishment of an effort modeled after the Operational Satellite Improvement Program (OSIP) of the 1970s. The OSIP “explicitly placed NASA in the role of technology developer and NOAA in the role of sustaining satellite operations,” says a recent report to Congress. Under the new program, NASA and NOAA jointly would define instrument requirements for Earth-science spacecraft.
Andrew Brandenburg (see photo) has been named general manager of Circor Aerospace subsidiary Loud Engineering and Manufacturing, Ontario, Calif., and Tom Sharpes sales manager of another Circor subsidiary, Circle Seal Controls, Corona, Calif. Fei Lu (see photo) has been appointed vice president-finance of the Corona-based Circor Aerospace Products Group. He was division controller for the St. Gobain Performance Plastics Corp.
Pratt & Whitney picked up a $60-million advanced acquisition contract for Lot 2 low-rate initial production of six F135 JSF engines and two spares each for the Air Force and Navy.
Capt. Jurgen Raps has become executive vice president-operations at Lufthansa German Airlines. He succeeds Capt. Carl Sigel, who will return to the cockpit. Raps has been chief pilot/senior vice president-flight operations.
Two recently launched U.S. startups, Virgin America and Skybus, sit on the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of product offerings, but both young airlines exude confidence in their charted paths. Meanwhile, low-cost stalwart Southwest is recognizing that the pillars that have sustained its 34-year profitability streak need tweaking to keep it competitive in an industry in constant flux (see p. 46).
The Navy’s LHA replacement amphibious assault ship and the Air Force’s B-2 radar modernization program have helped push up the total costs of major defense acquisition programs by almost $4.3 billion to slightly less than $1.7 trillion. The LHA-R suffered a six-month delay for design and construction and an eight-month delay in delivery to August 2012. A $202-million cost increase offset industrial damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. The B-2 was victimized by a mandated change to the frequency spectrum where the radar was supposed to operate.
A research satellite orbited by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) in April has collected data on the plume of a rising missile that ultimately may play into boost-phase defense sensing and tracking. The Near Field Infrared Experiment (Nfire) spacecraft collected images of a modified Minuteman II with a target payload launched Aug.
Low-fare Norwegian carrier Air Shuttle ASA has ordered 42 Boeing 737‑800s. The deal is the largest Boeing has received this year for the 737NG family and the largest ever by a Scandinavian carrier. The carrier recently leased 11 -800s. All will have Blended Winglets.
The Royal Australian Air Force has fitted its AP-3C Orions with a Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL) to transmit full-motion video to ground troops. Those stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan have long placed such footage high on their priority list. The use of TV sensors on P-3s has seen the U.S. Navy and RAAF Orions pressed into an overland role in recent years, where they provide convoy protection and help detect ambushes or insurgents emplacing improvised explosive devices.
The Moroccan and French governments are in talks about financing the sale of Rafale fighters to the North African country. Technical discussions over the fighter sale are concluded, but Morocco is struggling to find the money to pay for the buy. Moreover, Dassault Aviation Chief Executive Charles Edelstenne confirms talks are underway with Libya about sale of the multi-role fighter.
Douglas Barrie (Zhukovsky, Russia), Alexey Komarov
Airframers MiG and Sukhoi are vying to interest the Russian air force in a stealthy strike unmanned combat air vehicle. The MiG program is one of the two competing designs that will be presented to the Russian defense ministry as a UCAV for the air-to-surface role. MiG is the first to unveil its unmanned combat air vehicle concept. Russian air force chief, Col.-Gen. Alexander Zelin, says the development of combat-capable unmanned platforms is a priority.
Strong demand from aircraft makers has prompted an expansion at Mitsui Seiki, a Japanese builder of extremely high-precision machine tools. The company says it has opened a 17,000-sq.-ft. building at its Saitama plant as the first-stage of the expansion, with two more production bays each of 50,000 sq. ft. to follow in June 2008. After all of the new production space is on line, the company plans to build 45 to 55 machine tools a month, up from its present monthly rate of 20 to 30. The company told Aviation Week & Space Technology this year (AW&ST June 25, p.
Officials at Midwest Air Group are working out the mechanics of its transformation from a publicly traded company to ownership by TPG Capital, a private investment group, and stakeholder Northwest Airlines.
Emergency inspections of more than 2,000 Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft are underway to detect loose hardware in slat track assemblies that could lead to the type of fire that obliterated a China Airlines aircraft. Upon receipt of the Aug. 28 FAA Emergency Airworthiness Directive 2007-1852, operators of 737-600/ -700/‑800/-900 aircraft had 10 days to verify—either by detailed inspection or borescope techniques—that the hardware of each main slat track downstop assembly is properly installed.
These three Hubble Space Telescope images show the rings of Uranus—which were discovered in 1977—approaching an edge-on view from Earth that occurs only every 42 years. In the Aug. 14 image at the right, glare from Uranus itself overwhelms the view of the edge-on rings across the planet’s face, leaving only the spikes above and below, surrounded by residual glare.
