Conrad F. Newberry, professor emeritus at California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, and at Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, Calif., has been selected to receive the Distinguished Service Award from the Reston, Va.-based American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is being recognized for "ceaseless efforts to enhance aerospace system design education, and for five decades of leadership in aerospace engineering technology, education and career development.
The new Kennedy Space Center director will be William W. Parsons, who will succeed the retiring head Jim Kennedy in January. Parsons has been deputy director since early 2006. As space shuttle program manager, Parsons led the return-to-flight activities for the agency after the Columbia accident. He previously was Stennis Space Center director and deputy director of the Johnson Space Center.
The Transportation Dept.'s suspension of its attempt to loosen restrictions on foreign investment in U.S. airlines sets in motion a chain of events that threatens "serious disruption" of antitrust-immunized global alliances, says Jeffrey Shane, undersecretary for policy.
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Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin's top JSF official, says it's his opinion that the U.S. Air Force is still planning to buy 1,763 F-35s despite comments a couple of years ago that the service might acquire only about 1,400 as a cost-saving measure. "There are lots of rumors that they may cut back 300-400 airplanes," Burbage says. "It could happen. That's the way the U.S. is going--smaller and smaller force structure. If it comes in at 1,400, those 363 airplanes are going to be out there in 2024.
Donald J. Boucher, Jr., and Albert C. Hoheb, Jr., have been promoted to principal engineers at The Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, Calif., and James D. Rochier to principal director at the firm's office at Offutt AFB, Neb. Boucher was systems director for sensors and ground systems, while Hoheb was director of the Technical Education Dept. at the Aerospace Institute. Rochier was principal engineer for the company's U.S. Strategic Command Operations.
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. has concluded a memorandum of understanding with EADS to jointly define long-term cooperation in various segments of the aerospace and defense market. The joint study, to be carried out over the coming months, follows a series of big investment plans recently announced to help bring India into the EADS orbit (AW&ST Sept. 4, p. 30). Projects could involve helicopters, notably India's planned 10-ton helicopter project, and air transport aerostructures. HAL is a major supplier of door assemblies for Airbus aircraft.
As your article implies, the key question of the crash of Comair 5191 will be: How did the crew process the information available to them so their mental model convinced them they were on the correct runway? The corollary question is: How do crews process cues and manage tasks to gain and maintain situational awareness, what errors do they make, and how can we prevent those errors? These questions may never be answered since NASA has gutted research money at its Ames center in California for this type of study.
Asian low-cost carrier Tiger Airways intends to select the location for a second operating base by year-end. The airline presently operates out of the dedicated budget terminal at Singapore's Changi airport. Tiger is also looking to further expand its fleet of narrow-body Airbus A320s, with up to another eight aircraft to be ordered.
British defense and aerospace engineering company Cobham plc saw its orders rise by 24% in the first half of the year to £865.5 million ($1.63 billion) compared with the same period for 2005. Sales, however, were nearly flat at £517.2 million.
Qatar Airways has confirmed its order for 20 Boeing 777s--14 -300ERs and 6 -200LRs. The deal was set to be announced in July, but Qatar pulled back at the last minute even though Boeing has been carrying the order on its books for some time. The first -300ER is to be delivered in November 2007. The carrier last week also accepted the first of 10 Airbus A340-600 High Gross Weight aircraft, optimized for operations in the hot Middle East.
Edelstenne says he is still awaiting clarification from the Indian government before bidding Dassault's Rafale for a 126-unit advanced combat aircraft requirement. The decision, he indicates, will depend on whether India sticks to an open competition, or opts for a government-to-government deal, and whether the specifications call for a multirole or air interdiction aircraft.
BAE Systems used a strong set of interim financial results as the platform to continue to defend its decision to exit Airbus--despite a far lower than anticipated share value--and strategy of focusing on its core defense business. Company sales for the six-month period that ended June 30 were up 21% to £8.214 billion ($15.52 billion) compared to the same span in 2005. Operating profit was also up to £653 million from £488 million. The results also reflect the integration of U.S. land systems manufacturer United Defense.
The U.K. is on the brink of launching a full-scale unmanned combat air vehicle demonstrator, with government and industry near agreement on funding the effort. The program, to be announced in the next few weeks, is viewed as critical to the long-term future of the British defense aerospace sector, and is a key effort for BAE Systems. Along with examining the strike role, the program will also explore strategic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) applications of long-endurance low-observable unmanned aerial vehicles.
Use of non-lethal weapons--in particular, focused microwave beams from new radars like those on the F-22 and F-35--still is under review by Pentagon medical experts, says Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne. He vouches for the operational effectiveness of high-power microwaves when employed against people, but says the U.S. dare not apply them in combat without first having proven their non-lethality in law enforcement use involving U.S. citizens. "If the first people you use it on are the enemy, then. . . they will cry out that you have hurt them medically," he says.
To submit Aerospace Calendar Listings, Call +1 (212) 904-2421 Fax +1 (212) 904-6068 e-mail: [email protected] Sept. 20--Wings Club Luncheons. Speaker: Embraer Chairman/President/CEO Mauricio Botelho. Yale Club, New York. And, Sept. 27-Luncheon in Seattle. Speaker: Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Scott Carson. Museum of Flight, Seattle. Call +1 (212) 867-1770 or see wingsclub.org
U.S. Army Brig. Gen. (ret.) Edward M. Harrington has been appointed national aerospace and defense area relationship director for KPMG in Washington. He was an independent consultant and had been director of the Defense Contract Management Agency.
The recent liftoff of a Delta IV carrying classified payloads marks a new chapter for the $4-billion Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6) at Vandenberg AFB on California's central coastline. The June 27 launch has given SLC-6 its most important role in four decades at Vandenberg. Along with serving the now-canceled manned Orbiting Laboratory and Titan III programs, SLC-6 also was to be the West Coast launch site for the space shuttle. However, the shuttle has never filled its role of putting classified payloads into polar orbits.
The Netherlands has signed up to use EADS Paradigm's next-generation Skynet 5 satellite system, scheduled to begin deployment at the end of the year. The Dutch defense ministry concluded an agreement Sept. 8 to obtain direct access to secure X-band communications bandwidth on Skynet 5 and the Skynet 4 fleet starting on Jan. 1. The arrangement complements an existing interim agreement. Capt.
Patrick J. Kelly has been named to the board of directors of the AAR Corp., Wood Dale, Ill. He is CEO of Resource One and managing director of KMK and Associates.
The third India-U.S. Economic Summit on bilateral trade, which began last week in New Delhi, was overshadowed by the controversy surrounding President Bush's support for India's civilian nuclear development program. U.S. Ambassador David C. Mulford said: "We hope the Senate will vote this month. If there is Senate action, we believe there will be a large majority . . .
Lockheed Martin has won a $589-million contract from the U.S. Air Force to manage its air operations centers (AOC) around the globe. As the AOC weapon system integrator, the company will provide systems engineering, risk management and expertise on how to help third-party developers fold technology into the architecture.
Italy desperately needs a new generation of tankers, multi-role fighters and unmanned aircraft--with their links to network-centric operations--that can both protect the homeland from illegal immigration and smuggling as well as project airpower as part of an international force.
