Sheldon Meth (see photo) has become chief technology officer of the System Planning Corp. , Arlington, Va. He was program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Tactical Technology and Virtual Space Offices.
Alenia Aeronautica is ramping up C-27J production as demand for the tactical airlifter continues to grow among NATO members and export customers. The company expects to produce 18 aircraft by year-end for its four customers—Italy, Greece, Lithuania and Bulgaria. The need for airlift is such that Alenia tried to get the Italian air force to defer some deliveries to allow aircraft to be diverted to other customers. However, Italy said it could not allow further postponements.
The House appropriations lawmakers take a gentle approach in their Fiscal 2008 spending bill to the troubled Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (Jassm), built by Lockheed Martin. Having dipped to a reliability of 58%, USAF has refocused the program to fix a series of reliability problems, including a GPS dropout issue that interferes with the missile’s guidance system. Despite the problems, the House members propose only a $34-million reduction to Jassm’s procurement account, leaving $167 million for purchase of units in Fiscal 2008.
The European Commission has approved a joint venture between SES Astra and Eutelsat to jointly provide an S-band mobile TV service. The service, to use a pair of S-band transponders on Eutelsat’s W2A satellite, is to be fully available by 2009, but partial coverage using a ground ancillary terrestrial component network could begin next year (AW&ST Nov. 6, 2006, p. 36).
Boeing and Goodrich have extended a long-term agreement through 2012 for Goodrich to be the exclusive provider of original equipment and after-market landing gear for the 737, 747, 767 and 777. The gear are made at Goodrich facilities in Ohio, Tennessee, Washington, Canada and Poland.
As lifelong space travel and science fiction enthusiast, I am always interested when the two come together. I was struck by the NASA/JPL rendering (AW&ST July 9, p. 27), which is a conceptual cousin of the Wernher von Braun-inspired Mars Ship lander shown in the film Conquest of Space. It, too, featured a lander that later launched a return rocket—in a very similar view. The von Braun influence on NASA has emerged in many unexpected places.
Disturbing developments during the past month overshadow the success of NASA’s STS-117 mission in June, in which astronauts dealt admirably with adversity as they continued building the International Space Station. These developments raise serious questions about NASA’s plans to sustain and use the ISS once construction is complete.
Lockheed Martinworkers from the Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans stow space shuttle external tank No. 120 in a special enclosed barge July 24 prior to shipping it to Kennedy Space Center, Fla. A commercial tug was scheduled to deliver the barge and its 154-ft.-long cargo to KSC on July 29 after a 925-mi. voyage. There the tank will be stacked with the shuttle Discovery for the STS-120/10A International Space Station assembly mission in October, which will deliver the second pressurized node where the European and Japanese laboratory modules will be attached.
NASA will begin a major new search for life on other planets this week when it launches the $420-million Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Lockheed Martin Phoenix Mars lander. Planned for a predawn liftoff Aug. 3 on a Delta II, Phoenix is the first mission since the Viking landers 30 years ago to carry hardware specifically devoted to detecting life’s clues beyond Earth (AW&ST June 11, p. 56).
And speaking of the CFM56, BOC Aviation, the former Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE) that was bought recently by the Bank of China, has selected current-generation CFM56-5Bs to power seven firm orders it has for the Airbus A320 family, and 10 options. The firm order is valued at $95 million over the life of the product.
U.S. refusal to supply Lockheed Martin F-22s for Japan’s current fighter requirement has prompted Tokyo’s defense ministry to propose a stealth technology demonstrator, ensuring it will be more independent of Washington in future programs.
The first Embraer Phenom 100 (No. 99801) completed its first flight July 26 at the manufacturer’s Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, headquarters. Test pilots Antonio Braganca Silva and Eduardo Alves Menini, and flight test engineer Marcelo Toledo Basile said all maneuvers and tests were “performed as planned.” The event occurred two years after Embraer’s launch of the Phenom 100 very light and 300 light jet program.
The chief advocate for Reliable Replacement Warhead program for nuclear weapons says he’s not proposing a new weapon design, just a newer, safer, tamper-proof package of the old ones. In fact, Thomas P. D’Agostino, acting Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, the man with responsibility for designing, producing and maintaining safe, secure and reliable nuclear weapons, says he just wants to study the idea.During the Cold War, nuclear weapons were built for maximum yield and minimum weight.
The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded Raytheon a $23.2-million contract to provide AN/AQS-20A mine-hunting sonar engineering services and support. The award—an option to a 2005 contract—puts the current value at $139 million. AN/AQS provides critical capabilities in support of mine-clearing ops in both deep ocean and littoral waters by enabling detection, classification and localization of bottom, close-tethered and volume mines. Engineering and support services will be performed out of the company’s IDS Maritime Mission Center in Portsmouth, R.I.
The Australian International Air Services Commission has approved Virgin Blue’s request to operate nonstop flights between Australia and the U.S. starting in late 2008. The company says it will initially attract 12% of the market with the 10 weekly services that it plans. The competitors are Qantas and United, with Singapore Airlines still hoping for approval. The Virgin Blue Group has just unveiled the name of the new long-haul carrie—V Australia—selected by judges from 6,000 entries in a country-wide contest to name the airline.
The Mars rover Opportunity, nearly starved of electrical life by a dust storm that has blocked sunlight for a month, is beginning to see positive solar array margins. If that trend continues, it would enable the rover’s descent into the scientifically rich Victoria crater by early August, says John Callas, Mars Exploration Rover project manager. But that depends on whether the dust storm is really abating or whether Mars will attack with a fourth surprise dose of impenetrable dust haze, further blocking sunlight for solar array power.
A trio of key generals have been nominated for top U.S. Air Force posts by Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Gen. Kevin P. Chilton was named to the top post at U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt AFB, Neb.; Lt. Gen. Claude R. Kehler was nominated for promotion to general as chief of Air Force Space Command at Peterson AFB, Colo., and Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula—who won early fame early in his career as a war planner during the 1991 Iraq war—has been assigned as deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance at USAF headquarters in Washington.
American Airlines has introduced its next-generation business-class seat manufactured by Recaro. The seat lies flat to a length of 76 in. and features a forward tracking capability that allows the seat to move in the upright position. Interlocking tray tables expand work or dining area. The first Boeing 777 to be equipped with the seats began flying this month. Not to be outdone, United Airlines has unveiled its new “United Business” service that includes lie-flat beds for overseas flights in business class.
EADS says the AirTanker consortium it heads has issued an offer aimed at raising £2 billion ($4 billion) to help fund the U.K.’s Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft program. If the offer is successful, it could reinforce chances of closing a deal for the multi-billion-dollar private financing initiative with the U.K. defense ministry toward year’s end.
German air traffic control supplier Comsoft has been selected by Airports Authority India to provide an aeronautical message handling system (AMHS), including air traffic navigation routers and terminals, for Sahar International Airport in Mumbai. Installation is to be completed by early 2008. AAI said it will undertake further AMHS installations throughout the country; Comsoft says it will be an active bidder. AMHS transmits flight plans, meteorological data, notices to airmen and other data between aeronautical stations in a standardized format.
Lockheed Martin snagged a $33.1-million contract add-on to procure Aegis BMD Block 2004 capability for one of Japan’s Kongo-class Aegis destroyers. Work is to be completed by 2009.
Defense installations aren’t the only ones that are hard to shut down. The FAA believes it needs to reduce the number of ATC facilities in order to increase system efficiency, but House lawmakers want to stymie all such efforts. An amendment blocking all consolidation was tacked on to the House transportation and housing appropriations bill—oddly, despite opposition from Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
