Moves in France and Italy to reinforce and expand military satellite communication networks and prepare a new generation of space-based reconnaissance networks could generate momentum for a comprehensive European space program.
ABX Air reported strong fourth-quarter results and $90 million in annual net earnings, nearly tripling earnings over the previous year. Quarterly earnings increased to $68.9 million from $9 million in 2005, driven by improved performance against service-related goals under its commercial agreements with DHL.
I've been reading your coverage of the tragic Gol Airlines 737-800/Legacy 600 midair crash on Sept. 29 and the subsequent sad events. One of the issues that is not being discussed in this and other midair collisions is the exact nature of GPS tracking. Until my retirement last summer, I flew a range of transoceanic airplanes from the DC-8 and the 747 Classic to the MD-11.
You can now register ONLINE for AVIATION WEEK Events. Go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences or call Lydia Janow at +1 (212) 904-3225/+1 (800) 240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada Only) Apr. 17-18--MRO Military, Atlanta. Apr. 18-19--MRO Conference, Atlanta. Oct. 17-18--MRO Asia, Shanghai. PARTNERSHIPS Mar. 21-- Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Space Age, Unesco, Paris. Apr. 9-12--National Space Symposium, Colorado Springs. Apr. 30-May 2--RFID Journal Live, Orlando, Fla.
Ulf G. Goranson, retired executive chief engineer of the Structures Laboratories and Technology Standards organization at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, has received the 2006 John W. Lincoln Award from the U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Goranson was cited for his work to advance the technology associated with aircraft structural integrity. The award is named for the late John W.
When the Air Transport Assn. damned the FAA's user-fee proposals with faint praise, calling them no more than "a good step forward," and when general aviation interests argued that user fees aren't needed in the first place, they touched a nerve at FAA headquarters. "If you think that the first step is all this represents--that we have time to burn, that our current system works just fine--watch what happens when the taxes expire and the [aviation] trust fund dwindles," Administrator Marion Blakey warns in a speech to the Royal Aeronautical Society.
Investigators probing the Jan. 30 explosion of a Sea Launch Zenit-3SL booster are focusing on a possible malfunction in the engine's liquid oxygen (LOX) system. The vehicle's LOX/kerosene RD-170 engine, built by Russia's Energomash, burns oxygen-rich, and the blockage of an oxygen line or pressurization failure in the oxygen system is being evaluated as a potential cause of the accident. Also being studied is the timing of the malfunction in relation to the capabilities of the Zenit's fault protection software.
One big and very rare bonus investigators have in their search for the cause of the Gol Airlines 737-800/Legacy 600 collision is a brand-new and intact Legacy jet airplane with its fresh-out-of-the-box avionics available for analysis. Most people will acknowledge air traffic control shortcomings as a significant factor in this event. But TCAS is supposed to be there to fill the safety breach in just such situations.
Russia is boosting its strategic nuclear missile forces and says it may revisit plans for medium- and short-range missiles--a reflection of its opposition of U.S. efforts to extend missile defenses further into Europe. Poland and the Czech Republic are nearing a decision on whether to host a radar and interceptors that the U.S. considers important to the expansion of the coverage of its ground-based, mid-course defense (GMD) system to better handle threats from the Middle East, specifically Iran. It appears likely that this request will be granted.
Astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria and cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin used bolt cutters and wire ties to get a malfunctioning radar-navigation antenna out of the way on the International Space Station yesterday, freeing one of two Russian Progress vehicles docked at the station to depart in April. Working in Russian Orlan spacesuits, the pair spent 6 hr. 18 min. clambering around the Russian Zvezda service module in the fifth and final extravehicular activity (EVA) of their Expedition 14 mission.
A revamp of the Khrunichev space center should streamline production processes and quality control problems, promises International Launch Services, which markets the center's Proton launch vehicle. The reorganization is aimed at improving the Proton production rate and particularly that of the Block M upper stage. On Feb. 3 President Vladimir Putin OK'd Khrunichev's merger with four key suppliers--Block M manufacturer Isaev Chemical Engineering (KhimMash); Moscow Enterprise for Equipment Configuration (Dlina); Polyot, and the Voronezh Mechanical Plant.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and Gulf Helicopters based in Doha, Qatar, plan to establish an Aviation Center of Excellence in the Middle East. The facility would provide maintenance support, spare parts, training and other services to commercial and government helicopter operators in the region. Sikorsky and Gulf Helicopters would perform fleet management and operate a customer support service focusing on depot-level maintenance on both rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft. In addition, Gulf Helicopters will buy a second S-92 for VIP transportation.
The U.S. Coast Guard and Congress are adjusting the service's Deepwater recapitalization contract with a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to institutionalize more accountability. But buried under the pile of criticism in Washington over the embattled program are new maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) being rolled out this year, representing aviation successes that could benefit from potential additional spending.
Saab this year hopes to largely wrap up restructuring activities linked to recent acquisitions, and in the process expects to adhere to its 5% growth target (excluding acquisitions) and 10% operating margin, according to CEO Ake Svensson. This year should be relatively stable for the company, with increasing focus on gross margin performance. No major contracts are expected, rather a steady stream of smaller deals. In 2006, Saab concluded an 8-billion Swedish kronor ($1.1-billion) contract with Pakistan to supply the Erieye early warning radar on Saab 2000s.
A defective rigid heat shield that caused the failure of the first test-firing of the indigenously developed intermediate-range ballistic missile Agni-III last year may undergo its seAcond test in May or June, according to M. Natarajan, scientific adviser to the Indian defense minister. "This [fault] has now been rectified . . . . We have realized the need for a flexible heat shield," he said.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded a $21.9-million contract to Northrop Grumman for risk-reduction work on the Alternative Infrared Satellite System (Airss), which is designed to improve space-based missile warning capabilities and provide the Pentagon with an alternative to buying more costly Space Based Infrared System spacecraft. Already, Raytheon and SAIC are developing competing sensor design concepts for Airss.
Helicopter operators are moving closer to reaping the benefits of ADS-B--a system that will "take the National Air Space and extend it out over the Gulf of Mexico."
The U.S. Air Force is confident a weapon designed for use in urban areas will produce the small, targeted amounts of collateral damage needed to kill insurgents without risking harm to nearby populations.
Hiring started out strong this year with airlines adding 867 new pilot positions in January, according to AIR Inc., an Atlanta-based career information service. Domestic airlines led the hiring with 393 posts, with majors following at 297 new jobs. Out of 102,085 pilots employed industry-wide, 6,608 are on furlough, 5,863 of them with majors. American leads the furlough count at 2,812, or 30.8% of its active pilots, followed by United, with 823, or 12% of its active pilots. AIR Inc.
Bruce D. Parker has become chairman/CEO of AirNet Systems Inc., Columbus, Ohio. He succeeds Joel E. Biggerstaff, who has resigned. Parker has been an AirNet director and is a retired senior vice president/chief information officer of United Airlines.
The tentative agreement between Comair and its pilots' group calls for 7.75-13% pay reductions and commits 40% of new uncommitted aircraft from parent Delta Air Lines to Comair in the first year of the contract. Under the four-year contract, Comair would be assured of 30% of the unassigned aircraft in the second year and 20% in the third year, but assurances would be void if Comair is sold. The agreement also maintains the current 15 70-seat aircraft fleet plan through Jan. 1, 2011. Pilots would receive a 1.5% pay increase each year for the next three years.
Controllers are maneuvering the five NASA/University of California Themis auroral research spacecraft into alignment within their 1,250-117,000-mi. elliptical orbits, following launch from Cape Canaveral Feb. 17 on a United Launch Alliance Delta II booster (see photo). It is NASA's first five-satellite mission, and the first to investigate how Earth's auroras are triggered by the storage and release of energy in the magnetosphere.
SES has improved return on equity to 13.5%, up from 11.2% in 2005, and raised net profit 14%, to €436 million ($573 million) on sales of €1.6 billion (up 28.4%, or 7.4% without New Skies). Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization im- proved 22.6% to €1.08 billion, and EBITDA margin on sales of services, due to strong cost-cutting, rose to 10.5% (see p. 44).
