It's only 213 mi. from London to Paris, but when it comes to issues such as competitiveness and efficiency, the English Channel is starting to look wider than the Atlantic Ocean.
Chinasat 5B was the second commercial satellite launch of the year for Long March (AW&ST July 9, p. 32). The first was Nigcomsat 1, built by China’s CAST, which was launched in May.
SES says its new Astra 1L Ku-/Ka-band spacecraft has deployed to its orbital slot at 19.2 deg. E. and is ready to enter routine service. Launched on May 5, Astra 1L will reinforce demand at SES’s prime DTH neighborhood while allowing the redeployment of two existing spacecraft in that area to new slots. Astra 2C will migrate to the 28.2 deg. E. position, which the operator is developing to serve fast-growing U.K. and Irish markets, while Astra 1E will move to 23.5 deg. E., which is intended to serve DTH users across Europe.
EADS Astrium should pass up the chance to make an aircraft for space tourism. On one hand, the aviation industry is worried about the environment but on the other, it floats ideas such as the spaceplane. How green can that be? It’s hypocrisy that EADS’s political masters clamor for improved aircraft emissions while engineers cook up one more idea for heating up the atmosphere. Ditto for Richard Branson and his space tourism “vision” for Virgin Galactic.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officials are downplaying the importance of NASA’s aging Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) satellite to hurricane forecasting, saying its loss wouldn’t significantly affect predictions of when and where the storms make landfall. Mary Kicza, assistant NOAA administrator for satellite and information services, tells the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee that data on hurricane winds akin to that gathered by QuikSCAT can be obtained by aircraft.
Attributing last year’s $44-million loss to increased competition, fuel prices and war, El Al Israel President Haim Romano admits 2006 was a “rough year.” However, he hopes new aircraft, including two Boeing 777s; flat-bed seating in first- and business-classes on its 747-400s and 777s; a state-of-the-art business lounge at New York JFK International Airport, and new check-in services at Tel Aviv will help El Al regain profitability. The carrier is continuing its focus on fleet and route expansion and increasing customer service. Leading the airline’s U.S.
The U.S. Defense Dept. says it will cease operations in Germany at Buedingen (2008), Gelnhausen (2008), Darmstadt (2009), Hanau (2009) and Turley Barracks in Mannheim (2007), and return the facilities to the host government. The closures are expected to affect about 3,000 military, U.S. civilians and local employees.
The Pentagon’s Joint Requirements Oversight Council executive committee is finally expected to weigh in on USAF Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley’s controversial proposal to shift management of all unmanned aerial vehicles operating above 3,500 ft. to his service. The group of top brass was scheduled to meet on the issue, which has been opposed by the Army, Marine Corps and Navy, late last week. Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England is said to support the idea of a single manager for UAVs, but has stopped short of naming the Air Force for that role.
Iridium Satellite LLC has released a request for information seeking potential partners who might be interested in helping design, build and deploy its Iridium-Next second-generation mobile satellite system. The proposed new network would feature higher bandwidth data transmission, enabling enhanced voice and short messaging service, and could also include navigation units, inter-satellite links and other secondary payloads.
U.S. Air Force has established a training range tailored to the hunt for improvised explosive devices (IEDs), says Col. Jeff Eggers, director of Unmanned Air System Transformation. The range, at Nellis AFB, Nev., contains simulated threats and allows pilots to experiment with tactics on how to find and destroy IEDs.
French executive shuttle startup L’Avion plans to add a second aircraft to meet strong demand for its all-business class Paris Orly-Newark, N.J., run, after just six months of operation. Company executives say the Boeing 757-200 used on the route is now flying 78% full for its six weekly rotations, more than double the figure in the early weeks and 10% above initial projections. A second aircraft will enable L’Avion to double the number of frequencies available to its clientele, which is evenly split between U.S./European and business/leisure travelers, executives say.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency has declared a round of ground tests to validate the fire control loop to engage a boosting ballistic missile from the Airborne Laser a success. During flight tests, ABL used its beacon lasers to track a target representative ballistic missile on an aircraft in parallel flight, and for the first time employed a surrogate high-energy laser through its nose-mounted turret. The surrogate laser emitted from the ABL’s modified 747-400 freighter is low-power.
Elbit Systems is instituting a new revenue target after having effectively reached its $2-billion goal set a decade ago. Through a wave of acquisitions, Elbit has transformed itself into Israel’s primary publicly traded aerospace and defense contractor. Now, Elbit President/CEO Joseph Ackerman says he’s ready for the next stage. The stated sales target is $3 billion annually. Revenue this year should reach around $1.9 billion, and backlog could top $4 billion for the first time.
Airbus and Boeing are booking orders at a pace that, if maintained, will enable them to surpass the numbers they achieved in 2005, when records were blown out of the water. One of the big questions for the remainder of the year is whether the torrid rate of order intakes can be sustained to achieve a new high for the industry.
Lufthansa will move its operations in Moscow from Sheremetyevo to the privately run Domodedovo airport as part of the larger shift for all Star Alliance carriers. Operations from Domodedovo will begin in April. Lufthansa also signed an agreement to make AiRUnion a strategic partner. It is an alliance of domestic operators led by KrasAir. Both sides agreed to a joint route network with an aim to optimize transfer traffic through Moscow. The arrangement with AiRUnion, which also uses Domodedovo, puts the carrier group on track to become a Star Alliance member.
The U.K. Defense Ministry is to try out the BAE Systems Herti unmanned aerial vehicle in an operational environment. The Herti could be deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan for experimental trials in support of ongoing British military operations.
Airbus is still facing some serious behind-the-scenes discussions with its most important customer about design details of the Airbus A350XWB. Steven Udvar-Hazy, chairman/CEO of International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC), confirmed on the sidelines of the Boeing 787 roll-out in Seattle that he is still not happy with the A350 set-up. “There are engineering teams working at Airbus on what can be changed,” he revealed. Udvar-Hazy has voiced concerns about the way Airbus plans to build the composite fuselage.
Safran’s first-half sales in the aerospace business were up 11.3% (compared to 2006 results), reaching €4.9 billion. The increase was driven particularly by 15.5% growth in the engine business (or 22.6% on a constant dollar basis). Sales would have been higher if not for delays in the Airbus A380 program. But the company’s overall sales growth was held back to 4.7% due to continued problems in the commercial communications segment, where sales fell 22.2% compared to the first six months of last year.
Besides having a good week with its Trent 1000 hanging from the 787 at Boeing’s rollout ceremony, Rolls-Royce also added new customers. Royal Brunei Airlines will use Trents to power four 787-8s it is leasing, and the Nakash Group ordered engines for two 787-9s on behalf of Tel Aviv-based Arkia Israeli Airlines (see p. 28).
Norway's Avinor has ordered 70 high-definition liquid crystal displays for controller workstations from Eg-Electronic GmbH. of Wolfratshausen, Germany. The FD2K-2824 displays provide 2048 X 2048-pixel resolution (2k X 2k) and will replace Sony CRTs at several Norwegian ATC centers. Avinor, a limited company owned by the Norwegian government, provides ATC services in that country. The German electronics company is one of the world’s largest suppliers of 2k X 2k displays for ATC use, according to President Christian von Stuelpnagel.
Northrop Grumman has won a $408-million contract add-on from the U.S. Navy for procurement of three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye pilot-production aircraft. First flight of the new aircraft with its 360-deg. AESA radar is expected in mid-August. Work is to be completed by August 2010. The company also pulled in a $32-million contract to provide maintenance and upgrade work for the fleet’s E-2C and C-2A aircraft.
The Mars rover Opportunity has emerged unharmed from a fierce regional dust storm on Mars, and could begin its descent into Victoria crater as early as later this week, says John Callas, Mars Exploration Rover project manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Just a note to express the fury that swept over me upon seeing the photo accompanying Pierre Sparaco’s “Errors in Taste” article (AW&ST May 21, p. 59).
