Ball Aerospace expects to begin integrating NASA's Kepler planet-finding spacecraft in August, and has already bonded this Schmidt Corrector to the mounting ring that will hold it about 3 meters in front of the 1.4-meter primary light-gathering mirror. There it will correct spherical aberration in the main mirror once the spacecraft is in orbit, staring at a field of 100,000 stars and measuring their brightness every half-hour to detect transiting planets.
French space industry leaders are again urging Europe to develop a quick-response capability to meet future threats against reconnaissance satellites and other space assets. Bernard Molard, vice president of defense and security at EADS Astrium, proposes a system based on Helios 2 imaging spacecraft technologies and the new M51 ICBM. This system could replace existing capacity with a 150-kg. (330-lb.) polar-orbiting minisatellite capable of providing global coverage of the Earth within two weeks.
The British Defense Ministry and Rolls-Royce are discussing funding development of a turbofan engine core intended to support follow-on work from the Taranis unmanned combat air vehicle demonstrator program. The U.K.'s Taranis program will lead to a flying demonstrator in 2010. Taranis 1, as it is sometimes called, will use a Rolls-Royce Adour 951. This choice of engine for the technology demonstrator program (TDP) placed basic design constraints on the airframe.
USAF Maj. Gen. Arthur B. Morrill, 3rd, has been appointed vice director of the Defense Logistics Agency, Ft. Belvoir, Va. He has been director of logistics and sustainment at Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Morrill will be succeeded by Brig. Gen. Francis M. Bruno, who has been director of logistics at Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, Hickam AFB, Hawaii. Brig. Gen. Michael J. Basla has been named vice director of C4 Systems for the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. He has been director of C4 Systems at Headquarters of the U.S.
A study comparing last-minute fares offered by Southwest Airlines to those provided by online travel agency Orbitz provided economist Volodymyr Bilotkach with the evidence he suspected: Airlines prefer to sell tickets through their own web sites because it's less costly for them. But there's also an opportunity to cash in, especially for travelers who look for fares close to the time of their flight.
Integration of the Lockheed Martin Hellfire anti-tank missile on the Tiger HAD attack helicopter will now proceed, after Eurocopter awarded the required contract to the U.S. missile supplier. The cost of the 54-month direct commercial sale isn't being disclosed. The laser-guided Hellfire and its M299 missile launcher will begin ground testing on Tiger in October, with flight trials expected in March. The pact includes several inert missiles and 80 M299 missile launchers.
The FAA is proposing an airworthiness directive that would require inspection of ground blocks GD261 and GD264 on certain Boeing 737-600/-700/-800/-900 aircraft for corrosion. It also would require measuring the electrical bond resistance between the ground blocks and aircraft structure, and separating the ground wires for the fuel boost pump circuit between the blocks. The action follows a report of random flashes of the six fuel pump low-pressure lights and intermittent operation of the fuel boost pumps.
The contentious redrawing of the seniority list for ex-America West pilots and the veteran group from US Airways is posing a tricky challenge for the Air Line Pilots Assn. International. Crewmembers from US Airways believe the proposed list, based on a decision last month by arbitrator George Nicolau, will shut out many experienced first officers from achieving captain. They have lodged hundreds, possibly thousands of complaints to ALPA's Executive Council, a 12-member body of elected officials.
Dick Paul, who is vice president-strategic development and analysis for the Boeing Phantom Works, has become chairman of the Industrial Research Institute, which is devoted to enhancing the effectiveness of technological innovation in industry.
Open a good book on global warming and in its index you will find references to a wealth of data and analysis from NASA Earth sciences flight programs and scientists, as well as to their contribution to the growing awareness and understanding of risks our planet faces from greenhouse gases.
The two Russian members of Expedition 15 to the International Space Station finished installing 17 aluminum panels designed to protect the Zvezda service module from micrometeorite and orbital debris (MMOD) strikes.
Boeing captured a $258-million long-term logistics contract for support of 44 U.S. Marine Corps T/AV-8B Harrier aircraft, while Lockheed Martin weighed in with a $133-million deal for P-3C sustainment. Boeing received a $51.8-million contract add-on through foreign military sales to Canada for a C-17 sustainment partnership program. Canadian Forces C-17s will become part of a worldwide fleet for which Boeing will provide mainten-ance, upgrades and sustainment.
Patrick Forrey, President (National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. , Washington, D.C. )
Regarding your editorial "Turning Up the Heat Isn't Shedding Any Light" (AW&ST May 28, p. 78), so long as you are keeping a count of our press releases, controllers issued 12 in the few months prior to the start of contract talks with the FAA in 2005 and 71 in the last two years of then-FAA Administrator Jane Garvey's term--when we enjoyed a high level of collaboration with the FAA and productive labor relations.
Alcoa has entered the merger and acquisition market in a big way to help assure that it will have an adequate supply of raw materials to continue to meet rising demand in various markets including aerospace. But Alcan or other companies could make a counter bid to buy Alcoa, so the issue is far from settled.
China Southern Airlines has become the first Chinese carrier to be ranked among the world's 10 biggest. The airline was the ninth biggest in the world last year, according to IATA. And it will experience growth this year, too. The company, which is already No. 1 in China, says it will carry 60 million passengers this year, 22% more than last year. Competitor China Eastern remains in talks with Singapore Airlines and Singaporean state investment fund Temasek, which are interested in securing a strategic stake in that carrier, China's third-largest.
John S. Carr, Immediate Past President (National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. , Avon, Ohio)
In "Turning Up the Heat Isn't Shedding Any Light," you say the National Air Traffic Controllers Assn.'s (Natca) campaign is troubling because it "raises questions among travelers about the safety of the ATC system." That's like saying the problem at Abu Ghraib was that someone had a camera!
The Fleet Reserve Assn. has launched an online survey to elicit input from active duty and Reserve personnel in the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard assessing their familiarity with the legislative process. The results will be shared with senior enlisted advisers and other military leaders in the hopes of creating a cogent approach to government agencies and lawmakers regarding service-related issues. See http://www.fra.org/onwatch
Brian Reid has become vice president-aircraft certification, engineering and interior design and Ken Farsi director of aircraft certification at Landmark Aviation's Associated Air Center at Dallas Love Field.
You ran a photo of an Airbus A380 flying over the Washington Monument, in the U.S.'s most restricted airspace, where no civil aircraft have been allowed to fly since 9/11 (AW&ST May 21, p. 59). Since 9/11, only military aircraft, supposedly protecting "assets," have been allowed to fly over the nation's capital.
Alexander Weis has been named chief executive of the Brussels-based European Defense Agency, effective Oct. 1. He will succeed Nick Witney. Weis has been deputy national armaments director in the German Defense Ministry. Carlo Magrassi and Adam Sowa have been appointed deputy chief executives, effective Jan. 1. Magrassi will oversee strategy and Sowa agency operations. Magrassi has been the EDA's armaments director, while Sowa has been deputy national armaments director in the Polish Defense Ministry.
Kenneth Krieg, U.S. undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, announced his resignation June 6. Krieg's resignation, which has long been expected, becomes effective July 20 or on the confirmation of his successor, whichever comes first, the Defense Dept. said. Pentagon officials say "he leaves the department to concentrate on his family." But Krieg has expressed unhappiness in the position for a while. The growing cost of the conflict in Iraq repeatedly has derailed modernization and transformation plans.
J. Edward Fox has been named assistant Homeland Security secretary for public affairs. He was assistant administrator for legislative and public affairs at the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The NTSB and FAA are seeking the cause of a June 4 crash of a Cessna Citation II (N550BP) into Lake Michigan shortly after its departure from Milwaukee General Mitchell Airport. The air ambulance, owned by Toy Air and leased by the University of Michigan Health System, was en route to an airport near Detroit to deliver organs for transplant. About 5 min. after departure, the pilot declared an emergency and requested a return to the airport.
NASA exploration engineers are working to a September 2013 initial operating capability (IOC) for the Orion crew vehicle, defined as a full-up flight with a crew to the International Space Station for rendezvous, proximity operations, at least one docking and other orbital shakedown tests. But at current funding levels, there is only a 50-50 chance of making that date. The odds improve to two out of three if the date is March 2015.
Safran's Sagem Defense and Security unit is reported to be considering a missile alliance with MBDA. Under the arrangement, MBDA could market Sagem's AASM standoff precision weapon--which is due to enter service on French Rafale fighters at the end of the year--in export markets and help develop new spinoffs.
