In a sign of how well things seem to be going for Boeing Co. these days, even its chief competitor is betting on it. Airbus CEO Louis Gallois and a European journalist wagered Champagne last week over whether Boeing would deliver its first 787 to Japan's All Nippon Airways within a month of the May 2008 due date. Gallois is betting that his U.S. rival will.
SpaceX has been granted U.S. Air Force rights to operate future Falcon commercial launches off Cape Canaveral's massive Launch Complex 40, a former Titan IV pad. But the agreement covers ground use of the pad, not specific permission to fly SpaceX launch vehicles off the pad. Those discussions are still underway with USAF. SpaceX itself is still keeping its options open for use of facilities near Kwajalein Island in the Pacific or Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
Robert J. Clanin has been named to the board of directors of JetBlue Airways. He is the retired senior vice president/ chief financial officer of the United Parcel Service.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) has long been known for breakthroughs--unmanned aerial vehicle technology, for example--and it is equally notorious for some flops, such as the Total Information Awareness (TIA) data mining effort it began after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. TIA ignited a backlash from civil libertarians and Congress, which shut down the program. But apparently Director for National Intelligence Mike McConnell wants a piece of the action.
Major U.S. airlines are looking at the pages of their low-cost competitors in hopes of finding new revenue generators following a financially disappointing first quarter.
The European Union next month will issue the first call for aerospace proposals under its latest research funding initiative, the 7th Framework Program. One issue to watch will be the extent of Russian involvement. The Europeans and Russia have been trying to foster greater collaboration and, recently, a delegation of EU representatives, researchers and industry went to Russia to discuss expanding the relationship.
Telesat Canada plans to launch its Nimiq 5 spacecraft on a Proton Breeze M in 2009 under a contract with International Launch Services announced Apr. 26. The Space Systems/ Loral spacecraft will carry 32 K u-band transponders to deliver direct-to-home links from its orbital slot at 72.7 deg. W. Long. The Canadian company used another ILS Proton Breeze M to orbit its Anik F3 on Apr. 10 (AW&ST Apr. 16, p. 24).
A News Break item on Eurofighter Typhoon weapons development (AW&ST Apr. 9, p. 18) misstated the manufacturer of the IRIS-T air-to-air missile. Diehl BGT Defense leads the consortium.
A secret National Reconnaissance Office dual satellite ocean surveillance mission to track potential terrorist movements at sea and Chinese and Iranian ship tactics is being developed for liftoff June 14 here on an Atlas V, say intelligence sources. The National Ocean Surveillance System (NOSS) flight is designated NRO L-30. "We're on track for a mid-June launch of the Atlas V," says Lt. Col. Kent Nickle, director of operations for the 5th Space Launch Sqdn. of the 45th Space Wing here. He did not address the secret ocean surveillance payloads, however.
Chittur Venkatasubban and Ken Minks have been named Engineering Fellows at the Hawker Beechcraft Corp., Wichita, Kan. Venkatasubban is considered an expert in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in the Advanced Design Dept. and has been instrumental in the adoption of Navier-Stokes CFD technology for the aerodynamic design and analysis of airplanes, especially Hawker and Beech models. Minks is manager of the Materials and Process Laboratories.
Raytheon won a $30.1-million contract add-on for the upgrade of 268 Aim-9M Sidewinder air-to-air missiles for Pakistan, Malaysia and the Republic of Korea as well as 229 circuit card assembly kits for Canada. The company also was awarded a $59.4-million contract add-on for lot 7 production of the Aim-9X tactical missiles for the U.S. Air Force and Navy, Finland, Singapore and Switzerland. The Army added a $32.5-million contract for Excalibur Block IA-1 projectiles.
The crippled Hayabusa probe is officially on its way back to Earth, but its journey will be uncertain. The spacecraft has only one of four ion-propulsion engines and one of three reaction-control wheels working properly. Faced with this challenge, Project Manager Junichiro Kawaguchi of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) says, "It will not be a sweet situation, but it doesn't mean we can't bring it home in June 2010."
Michael Mecham (Atlanta), Neelam Mathews (Hyderabad, India)
Lufthansa Technik is teaming with the developer of Hyderabad's new airport to develop a medium- and heavy-check overhaul center for Airbus A320 and Boeing 737s, becoming the first foreign maintenance, repair and overhaul specialist to enter the Indian market.
American Airlines plans a 2008 in-house start of a two-year upgrade of its fleet of 124 Boeing 757s. Modifications will include new economy-class seats, interior sidewalls, liquid crystal display monitors and digital media file servers to improve entertainment system quality. Two first-class seats will be added, bringing the total to 24. Suppliers have not been selected. The 757 upgrade is part of a $500-million fleet rehabilitation program for cabins in 777, 767-300 and 767-200 aircraft, representing 40% of American's fleet.
Three months after China's politically surprising and technically dazzling test of an antisatellite missile, Washington remains spooked. Now, in what appears to be a deft move to deflect interference in its operations and budget planning, the U.S. Air Force has very publicly launched a new study--one preceded by years of similar but ignored efforts--of how to protect its space operations.
Britain's ability to develop an unmanned combat air vehicle is emerging as a key question while the defense ministry ponders whether a program would meet the present 2018-20 target date to fulfill part of the air force's Deep and Persistent Offensive Capability.
Delta Air Lines says it will be the first U.S. carrier to offer passengers an option to contribute to a tree-buying fund to offset carbon emissions when they purchase tickets online. The program is run with the Conservation Fund and is set to begin June 1.
Cold-War-like tensions are back, on a small scale. Russian President Vladimir Putin says he will suspend his country's obligations under the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe treaty, due in part to opposition to U.S. plans to base ballistic missile defenses in Eastern Europe. In his annual address to Russia's Federal Assembly Apr. 25, Putin also cited lagging Western ratification of amendments to the 1990 treaty and said the issues should be addressed by the NATO-Russia Council. If results are unsatisfactory, Russia could pull out of the treaty altogether, Putin said.
European Commission leaders appear to be closing in on a solution that would allow private industry to negotiate a long-stalled deal to run the Galileo satellite navigation system.
Scientists analyzing the first 3D images of the Sun returned by NASA's twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (Stereo) spacecraft believe the extra detail they are getting will help them hone their ability to forecast dangerous solar storms. With a separation in their orbits around the Sun of only about 4 deg., the satellites already have produced spectacular 3D images of the wispy corona, where violent solar weather originates, at higher resolution than previous observatories.
