Rolls-Royce in the next few months will firm up design and supply-chain issues for the TrentXWB to power the Airbus A350. By then, it should also be clear what competition the engine maker will face on the new twin widebody.
WHILE IT MIGHT TAKE ONLY ONE MAN-YEAR to write software code that can be certified to the FAA's DO-178B Level A standard for avionics, it could take 6-10 man-years of effort to complete certification, depending on how familiar software engineers are with RTCA/DO-178B processes. Gurjot Singh, CEO and president of San Jose, Calif.-based LynuxWorks Inc., says it could easily cost $6-10 million to certify software that cost just $1 million to develop.
The U.S. and France plan to conclude a broad-ranging space cooperation agreement, setting down mutual responsibilities and liabilities in the many areas in which they collaborate. The pact, to be signed next month, is intended to facilitate cooperation by replacing multiple ad-hoc accords.
William B. Scott's article "Contract of Trust" seemed to imply that the Blue Angels represent something unique or special in the military (AW&ST Nov. 13, p. 48). If that were the case, they would be nothing more than the equivalent of an expensive and thrilling high-wire circus act. Fortunately, they are much more.
Lou Nemeth has been named vice president-training delivery and standards for Montreal-based CAE's commercial aviation training business. He was a line pilot, instructor pilot, pilot training manager and courseware developer for US Airways.
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) scientists have developed a process for training common honeybees to detect vapors emitted by TNT, C 4 and other explosives and propellants. By harnessing their exceptional olfactory sense, honeybees could alert troops to the presence of deadly improvised explosive devices in combat zones, the researchers believe. The "proboscis extension reflex"--analogous to a bee sticking out its tongue--is a natural response to nectar.
The compelling evidence that water exists on the surface of Mars discovered by Mars Global Surveyor will focus new robotic and manned exploration strategies for the planet. Most immediately, it could accelerate development of a rover that would be the first U.S. spacecraft in 30 years geared specifically to search for alien life.
Regarding G. Scott Hubbard's Viewpoint (AW&ST Nov. 20, p. 70), through treaties or its unsurpassed military might, the U.S. government should back up private title to portions of the Moon. Providing clear title to any private entity willing to colonize, a grant would be a powerful incentive toward long-term colonization of the Moon. Its poles contain most of the known water on those bodies. The motivation for the companies that pursue the goal and capitalize would be the attainment of water rights at the poles.
Michael A. Heffron has been appointed president of BAE Systems Electronics and Integrated Solutions, Nashua, N.H., effective Jan. 1. He will succeed Walt Havenstein, who has been named prresident/CEO of BAE Systems in the U.S. Havenstein will succeed Mark Ronald, who will be retiring.
Britain's Atomic Weapons Establishment is to examine the country's present nuclear warhead to determine whether its life can be extended or if a successor weapon should be developed. The U.K. last week said it intended to participate in the U.S. Trident D5 Life Extension (LE) program and to develop a new ballistic missile submarine to maintain its strategic nuclear deterrent. This will replace the Vanguard class of ballistic missile submarine by the mid-2020s.
An "Integrated Stage 2" for AirLaunch's QuickReach rocket was installed recently in a vertical stand at the company's Mojave, Calif., test site in preparation for liquid-oxygen and propane cold-flow testing. A series of short- and full-duration firing tests will follow shortly, according to AirLaunch officials. By October, the company had completed 32 engine firings on a horizontal test stand, validating the rocket's vapor pressurization system. The air-launched QuickReach booster is part of the U.S.
Regarding your Air Transport story "Tough Love" (AW&ST Nov. 20, p. 35) which detailed the US Airways ramp and equipment issues at Philadelphia International Airport, while a problem for this carrier, it is not the major operational issue facing the airlines that operate there.
Stephen Cambone, undersecretary of Defense for intelligence and a Donald Rumsfeld protege, says he will resign at the end of the year. The hatchet man for Rumsfeld's transformation policy, Cambone became a lightning rod for many unhappy military program officials.
Success begets success. After the Air Force showed its first Space-Based Infrared System (Sbirs) sensor images from a highly elliptical orbit last month, senior civilians at the Pentagon are agreeing to provide additional funding for more sensors and satellites, according to industry and Defense Dept. sources. Program Decision Memorandum No. 4, which should be out by Dec.
Globalstar is proceeding with plans to deploy a second-generation satellite voice/data network, the latest in a growing crop of hybrid broadband mobile satellite systems, and the first in low Earth orbit.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) will be the first carrier operating with an FAA-approved weather radar that automatically alerts pilots of imminent encounters with turbulence. Both passengers and crew have been injured on flights in which jetliners experience sudden, and sometimes violent, movements at altitude due to turbulence. The risk of such injuries is apt to be lower on aircraft that have the FAA-approved radar.
Peter Flory has become NATO assistant secretary general for defense investment. He was assistant U.S. Defense secretary for international security policy.
Virgin Atlantic Airways this month will assess efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by towing aircraft to runways and thereby reducing engine run time. The move comes as a follow-up to a promise by Virgin Chairman Richard Branson to move to more environmentally responsible operations. The trials at London's Heathrow and Gatwick Airports are being supported by the BAA airport authority and NATS air traffic management provider, and will involve Virgin 747-400s. A follow-on test phase is planned in the coming months.
MARKET FOCUS Top Boeing salesman cautions on expectations for 2007 12 NEWS BREAKS 'Integrated Stage 2' installed for AirLaunch's QuickReach rocket 18 Thales in deal to buy Alcatel-Lucent space and homeland security businesses 18 Customers want Airbus to commit more engineering resources to A400M 20 TSA continues to evaluate passenger body-scanning machines 22 Leonard Greene dies, co-founder of Corporate Angel Network 22 WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS
Bruce Karatz and Ratan N. Tata have been named to the board of trustees of Rand, Santa Monica, Calif. Karatz is chairman/CEO of KB Home, while Tata is chairman of India-based Tata Sons Ltd.
U.K. Defense Procurement Minister Paul Drayson, visiting Washington this week, will ask questions about Joint Strike Fighter technology sharing and has a mysterious Plan B available in case he doesn't like the answers. He is scheduled to meet with the Pentagon's acquisition chief, Kenneth Krieg, and possibly with Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, and if things work out badly--or if the U.S. hedges--the U.K. almost certainly will defer into 2007 signing the F-35 production sustainment and follow-on development memorandum of understanding.
Bigelow Aerospace is ready for the January launch of its Genesis II inflatable space module on a converted Russian ICBM as the company continues the successful orbital test of its first subscale module. The Bigelow flights are pioneering the development of privately financed inflatable manned space modules, while also providing business for a new commercial spaceport at a Soviet-era SS-18 ballistic missile base.
The study group issues a blistering indictment of intelligence in and about Iraq. Human intelligence in the field is improving but isn't as effective as it should be for lack of U.S. personnel who speak Arabic or understand the culture. Because of business-as-usual career rotations among military personnel, the panel is told, there are fewer than 10 analysts at the Defense Intelligence Agency who have more than two years' experience analyzing the Iraq insurgency.
Airbus will have to commit more engineering resources to the A400M military airlifter program to rein in "critical risk areas" and preserve its schedule, customers are concluding after EADS briefed them on the results of a study of the project's status. The report suggests there are "significant" challenges to meeting first flight in March 2008 and other scheduled milestones. The risks are "systems design (in particular electrical harnesses), maturity of military mission systems, engine modifications, remaining work to be done on the final assembly line."
