Frank Morring, Jr. (Washington), Michael A. Taverna (Paris)
Engineers and managers on three continents will spend the coming weeks hashing out the final assembly schedule for the International Space Station, now that all of the basic elements are in place on orbit for the final buildout. Although all of the station's major moving parts are in place and the way is clear to begin adding more pressurized modules, a disagreement between the European Space Agency and its contractors has thrown Europe's plans for its station contributions before the end of the year into disarray.
Three more companies have signed up with NASA to take part in the Commercial Orbital Space Transportation System (COTS) program, which is spending almost $500 million in seed money to spur a private-sector route to the International Space Station. SpaceDev, Spacehab and Constellation Services International won't get any of that money, which has already been split between SpaceX and Rocketplane Kistler (AW&ST Oct. 9, 2006, p. 66). But the three entrepreneurial space businesses will get information from NASA on the U.S.
Updating investors, United Airlines says it expects mainline unit revenues to be 2.75-3.25% higher in the second quarter, which ends June 30, than in the same quarter a year ago, while mainline unit costs excluding fuel and special items will increase no more than 0.5%. This suggests an improvement over last year's second-quarter operating profit of $260 million. United announced it will hire pilots this year for the first time since 2001, taking applications in the summer and putting the first pilots into scheduled flights as soon as December.
The potential adoption of stringent international noise standards for commercial helicopters in the next five years is driving airframe manufacturers to develop and implement new rotor designs and to seek alternative propulsion systems that eliminate tail rotors altogether.
After several unsuccessful tries, the Russian helicopter industry is attempting a new breakout into the international market. Rosonboron says it is in discussions with Eurocopter for a light helicopter in the 2-3-metric-ton category, and with AgustaWestland for a light-/ medium-lift machine in the 4-ton class. AgustaWestland executives were circumspect, saying talks were at a "very preliminary stage." But Eurocopter chief Lutz Bertling suggests a deal could be ready this week.
Honeywell and Pratt & Whitney have joined forces to develop a new 3,000-shp. turboshaft under the U.S. Army's Advanced Affordable Turbine Engine (AATE) technology demonstrator program. The engine, which will compete with a proposed powerplant from General Electric, is targeted at future versions of the Boeing AH-64 Apache and Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, both currently powered by the GE T700. AATE is aimed at fuel-burn savings of 25% as well as a 65% increase in power-to-weight ratio.
Boeing is using a training center sponsored by the state of Washington to prepare the 800-1,200 factory workers it expects to employ on the 787 program. The school, which includes a five-week core curriculum followed by five weeks of hands-on job simulation training, opened last September and is pledged to Boeing exclusively for five years. It is part of a package of commitments the state made in 2003 to assure that Boeing wouldn’t shift final assembly of the 200-300-seat jet to another state.
India's top conglomerate Tata Group--with a defense-related business estimated at $500 million+--is looking at consolidating many of its entities under a single defense rubric. This is in reaction to the "most favored defense companies" status likely to be awarded by the government to companies including Tata Motor, Tata Power and L&T that would allow them to manufacture weapon systems and high-end defense equipment. It will also facilitate technology transfer from foreign players, limited, so far, to the defense private sector units.
First blood has gone to Rolls-Royce in the battle to develop a new 10,000-lb.-thrust-class turbofan following its selection by Dassault Aviation to power the Falcon super midsize (SMS) business jet. The win over stiff competition from General Electric, Honeywell, Snecma and Pratt & Whitney Canada also gives Rolls-Royce a headstart in the race to fulfill a host of emerging applications in the 6,000-25,000-lb.-thrust market, ranging from light business jets to next-generation single-aisle airliners under study by Airbus and Boeing.
In an unprecedented step, the FAA and European Commission say they will back transatlantic flight trials by Boeing, Airbus and a half-dozen airlines to show how new methods can cut fuel burn, noise and emissions.
Airbus has received airworthiness approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency for use of cell phones and e-mail devices on its aircraft. Airbus and Air France plan to start consumer trials with the system. Service will be limited to e-mails at first, but later opened to voice communications. Air France then will decide what type of service to offer more broadly. EASA also cleared the A318, powered by Pratt & Whitney PW6000 engines, for steep-approach operations at airfields such as London City Airport.
General Electric is gearing up for a vital blade-out certification test of the GEnx-1B engine due in late July and has begun building the first modules for the initial ship-set which is expected to fly on the Boeing 787 in the fourth quarter. The test, in which one of the 18 composite fan blades will be released while the engine is running at full power, is one of the last hurdles GE faces before completing certification, “which we’re still tracking toward in the fall,” says GEnx General Manager Tom Brisken.
The U.S. government has approved the Raytheon Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (Amraam) C7 variant for sale internationally. Allies previously bought the C5, though the newer model contains modern disc-shaped electronics rather than longitudinal cards and software. Raytheon officials say the C7 is nearing the end of operational testing, and 10 missiles are being produced per week.
Bell Helicopter Textron's Model 429 is on track for certification in the third quarter of 2008. The twin-engine aircraft's flight test envelope has been expanded to 20,000 ft. and maximum speeds have reached about 200 mph. A second pre-production prototype has been delivered to Bell's flight test facility and is scheduled to fly for the first time in July.
Embraer's entry into the very light jet market, the Phenom 100, has made its debut at the manufacturer's headquarters at Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil. The first Phenom 100, which rolled out June 16, will undergo ground testing for several weeks in advance of the first flight, which is scheduled for mid-July. Embraer launched the Phenom program in May 2005, cut the first metal one year later and mated the fuselage and wing in late March 2007.
Europe’s aerospace and defense industry is in relatively good shape. But in the space realm, serious funding support has to emerge in the coming months to sustain that sector. Order intake will also have to pick up if last year’s results are to be repeated.
Len Polizzotto (see photo) has become senior executive for strategic business development and marketing for the Draper Laboratory, Cambridge, Mass. He was corporate vice president-business development and marketing for SRI International.
GE Aviation will conclude study work on "how and if we integrate" parts of its business by early 2008, following its recent acquisition of Smiths Aerospace, says John Ferrie, president for systems at GE Aviation. "There are one or two bits that might be better off within as part of the systems business," he adds.
Germany has acquired 42 more NH90 tactical transport helicopters, and Belgium eight, raising the total number of orders to 503. The German purchase, which includes 30 for the army and 12 for the air force, complements a previous order for 80 rotorcraft placed in 2000. The German army has received four NH90s to date. The Belgian buy, to be split by the army and navy, includes two options.
Facing a future with stronger U.S. airline competition, Copa Airlines CEO Pedro Heilbron realized 10 years ago that the Panama-based carrier "wasn't good enough" being average. But after partnering with Continental Airlines, building a network of nonstop flights, and expanding its operations across the Americas, Heilbron now heads an airline that has boosted revenue by $850 million since 1997 and maintained a 90% or better on-time performance for the past five years.
Rolls-Royce posted $15.1 billion in engine orders last week, largely on the strength of a flurry of Airbus A350XWB purchases. So far, Rolls has the only engine offering on the A350XWB. But Rolls also booked a large number of Trent 500 orders. Qatar Airways' orders alone brought $5.6 billion in turbofan sales.
Paul Lightsey, a mission system engineering staff consultant for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at the Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo., has won the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal. The medal is NASA's highest award to a non-agency employee. Two other Ball employees have won the NASA Exceptional Service Medal: Randy Coffey, CloudSat program manager; and Steve Long, the CloudSat mission operations lead. All were cited for accomplishments on critical space exploration and scientific discovery missions.
James D. Royston has been promoted to president from executive vice president of Houston-based Spacehab Inc. Michael Bowker has become chief operating officer, Roscoe M. Moore, 3rd, executive vice president/chief strategic and technical officer, and Brian H. Harris vice president-business development. Bowker was president/CEO of Astrium North America and had been vice president-business development of Spacehab. Moore has been a member of the board of directors and is a lawyer and astronautical engineer.
Thomas L. MacKenzie (see photo) has been appointed Arlington, Va.-based vice president-naval programs for the Northrop Grumman Corp. He was corporate director of navy programs.
