Despite a continuing interest in building a fixed lunar outpost at one of the Moon's poles, NASA still plans to be able to collect rocks and regolith from anywhere on the satellite's surface under the lunar-exploration architecture being developed. Planetary scientists polled by the National Research Council stress the importance of "diversity" in lunar samples, and see a "dichotomy" between their needs and NASA's plans (see p. 32).
India's Aviation Corporation Program, set up by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency and India's Ministry of Civil Aviation, will support a series of air traffic and air space management initiatives to help India's lagging infrastructure catch up with its booming air traffic.
The U.K. Defense Ministry is to introduce elements of its Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicle program into service early under an urgent operational requirement. The UOR, worth £55 million ($108.7 million), includes the Hermes 450. The system will be used to support ongoing U.K. deployments, including those in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Articles in the June 4 issue on pp. 24 and 26 cited USAF Col. Robert Newberry's rank incorrectly and misidentified Lt. Col. John MacDonald, USAF Sbirs lead at Lockheed Martin's Sunnyvale, Calif., facility.
U.S.-based Adam Aircraft has sold 50 of its A700 very light jets to Hainan Zhong Hang Tai General Aviation Airlines, which it describes as the Chinese operating entity of Ameritech Aerospace. Despite long-standing difficulties in operating non-scheduled flights in China, the company says it sees immediate opportunities for growth in charter and air taxi services.
The NTSB, lawmakers and regulators are seeking faster ways to implement the board's "Most Wanted" safety recommendations and adopt new accident-prevention methods. The groups are often at odds when it comes to rule-making. But they found common ground in the desire to enhance safety at a June 6 House Aviation Subcommittee hearing on the status of the board's Most Wanted List of aviation safety improvements.
Robert Genise has become CEO of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise. He was president/CEO of Boullioun Aviation Services and had been managing director of Chemical Bank's London-based Special Finance Group.
John Jarman has become vice president/general manager of BAE Systems' San Diego-based command, control, computing and intelligence systems business. He was vice president/deputy general manager of BAE's National Security Solutions.
It's been a long and difficult road, but Pratt & Whitney PW6000 engines are now in service. Airbus delivered the first of 20 PW6000-powered A318s ordered by LAN Airlines in 2005; they will be put into service on the carrier's domestic network. LAN is the launch customer for the engine. The aircraft/engine combination received its FAA certification May 25, following approval by the European Aviation Safety Agency in December.
The Royal Malaysian Air Force, which is compiling a considerable shopping list, says it may seek more Sukhoi Su-30MKM fighters if it can't get the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets (see photo) that it has been seeking for the past seven years. The country expects the 16 remaining Su-30MKMs it has purchased to arrive by the end of the year, joining two that have been delivered.
Qantas's budget offshoot Jetstar reports it is negotiating to place a "long-term big order" for Airbus aircraft, presumably more A320-family jets to operate alongside those it already flies, mostly on domestic routes, beginning in 2009. The airline has committed to Boeing 787s for long-haul operations and plans to phase out the A330s it is flying as interim equipment. Jetstar also says Qantas is looking for more Asian franchisees, following the parent company's agreement in April to buy 30% of Vietnam's Pacific Airlines.
The International Air Transport Assn. is predicting a $5-billion profit for airlines in 2007, a revision of the original $3.83-billion forecast, based on stronger than expected economic growth in Asia and Europe. Industry has made "tremendous progress" in the past year and profitability is encouraging, but $5 billion is "peanuts," considering the airlines are a $470-billion industry, said Director General Giovanni Bisignani at IATA's meeting in Vancouver last week.
Thales Alenia Space says it's close to clinching a deal with the European Space Agency and NASA to modify a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module so it can be permanently moored to the International Space Station once the shuttle is retired.
French defense research agency Onera is reinforcing its commitment to industry and European projects as it continues efforts to integrate its activities more closely with those of other agencies, institutes and academe.
A New Jersey fifth-grader will get a taste of the future this summer as winner of a Lockheed Martin-sponsored essay competition, a part of its national Space Day initiative. Victoria Geyer's entry earned her a spot at Space Camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. See http://www.spaceday.org. And BAE Systems has launched a nationwide competition offering a team of students the chance to be "test pilots for a day" at their Military Air Solutions site in the U.K. where they will fly the Typhoon simulator.
NASA plans to launch the final scheduled mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope on Sept. 10, 2008, which should free Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center for the start of modifications to accommodate the next-generation Ares I crew launch vehicle. The servicing mission will replace batteries, gyros and other gear to keep the telescope operating at least until 2013; install two new instruments; repair at least one other, and install a docking ring for a deorbit motor or perhaps a future servicing vehicle (AW&ST Apr. 30, p. 22).
Defense Secretary Robert Gates is worried about who's at the controls, at least for the Allies, in the Afghanistan conflict. Noting during a visit last week that there is a new U.S. ambassador as well as some new military commanders, Gates wondered aloud about the level of coordination. "One of my concerns is that we have 42 countries and 12 [nongovernment organizations] out here, and I want to find out if there's anyone really creating an overall strategy or coordinating their activities."
A key Japanese government department plans to allocate ¥40 billion ($330 million) in subsidies for a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries project for a large regional jet, greatly increasing the likelihood of the country finally establishing itself as a supplier of commercial aircraft. With Boeing 787-based carbon-fiber construction and new engines, the proposed Mitsubishi aircraft could present a serious challenge to Embraer, Bombardier and two other companies developing such jets, Sukhoi and China's Avic I.
Algeria's national airline is headed for a major makeover, trying to grow beyond its modest roots and build a more robust overseas network while also gaining airline alliance credentials. The effort is part of a larger restructuring that will see the carrier set up as subsidiaries its domestic, cargo, maintenance and other operations. The process is already underway and by year-end the first of those units should be up and running, says Cherid Rachid, adviser to the Air Algerie CEO.
As U.S.-European global-warming differences bubble toward September's International Civil Aviation Organization general assembly in Montreal, the European Commission and its airlines duke out the inclusion of commercial aviation in the coming emissions-trading system, which takes effect in 2011.
Kuwait Airways is trying to expand, both its route structure and its fleet, with seven Airbus A320 and 12 Boeing 787 aircraft from lessors. The carrier is also establishing a code-share agreement with Ukraine International Airlines. The relationship will apply to flights between Kuwait City and Kiev, starting June 20. Ukraine will operate the flights.
Eutelsat has acquired 100% of Mexican telecommunications satellite operator Satmex for an undisclosed sum, in partnership with local investors Miguel Aleman and Clemente Serna. Satmex had been on the block since a reorganization last year.
The U.K. will delay service entry of the Joint Strike Fighter by three years, to 2017, and is exploring options for further postponing the Harrier GR9's retirement. The ministry had been planning to introduce the Joint Combat Aircraft, as the U.K. refers to the Lockheed Martin F-35, into service in December 2014. British industry officials close to the program suggest the latest delay has resulted at least in part from budgetary issues related to Equipment Program 07 deliberations.
