While I have visions of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) bouncing back into the air after initial contact with the ground (as in Mars Rover landing animations), I'm sure the system depicted on the June 19 cover is designed to deflate and transmit reduced g-forces to the CEV. It would seem though that a big, complicated system is required to decelerate this multi-ton vehicle and protect the astronauts. Perhaps there is another way.
A Bordeaux-based facility to simulate nuclear warhead explosions will double as a research asset to establish the southwestern region of France as a global center in laser and optics technologies. The facility, whose target vessel is shown, is to enter operation in 2011 (see p. 122). Although the primary user will be the ministry of defense, 15% of operating time will be available to outside users, in particular an adjacent research cluster known as the Laser Road.
Gary Yomantas (see photo) has become executive officer of the Minebea Co. Ltd., Chatsworth, Calif. He has been president of subsidiary New Hampshire Ball Bearings and general manager for the Americas of affiliate NMB (USA).
Not all Pentagon programs need to move at the glacial speed of the biggest-ticket items, says John Young, Jr., the Pentagon's director of defense research and engineering. Young allows that "some degree of program process and rigor" is appropriate for high-end acquisitions.
Diamond Aircraft is targeting certification of its new surveillance aircraft for early next year and it is working on a version for unmanned operations.
Robert Wall and Michael A. Taverna (Paris), Douglas Barrie (London)
Boeing is on track to blow rival manufacturer Airbus out of the water in terms of order intake this year. It is outselling its competitor by a four-to-one margin. Airbus and Boeing officials generally see the market as balanced as long as the two remain in a 60-40% band. But with Boeing net orders through July 5 standing at 480 aircraft, and Airbus's through June 30 at 117, the European aircraft maker has a busy six months ahead to get back in the game.
Gerald F. Fitzgerald, Jr., has been appointed to the board of directors of the AAR Corp., Wood Dale, Ill. He is president/chairman of Cornerstone Bancorp and LaSalle Bancorp Inc.
Even as budget pressures at the Pentagon intensify, Lockheed Martin President and CEO Robert J. Stevens says the company is maintaining its edge. Lockheed Martin reaped $19.4 billion in prime contracts in Fiscal 2005 alone. Despite being known for the aircraft produced by the aeronautics sector--including the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes and the $276-billion multinational Joint Strike Fighter--the systems and information technology group outstripped aeronautics' sales by $7 billion last year, and Stevens plans to continue aggressively pursuing work in this area.
Eric P. Roy has been named executive vice president of AircraftLogs.com, a subsidiary of Stewart-Ratcliff Aviation Services Inc., Columbus, Ohio. He is a former executive vice president of AirNet Systems.
Last year's record orders for Airbus and Boeing nearly doubled the backlog for both and will put the industry on a vast capacity expansion over the next five years as the deliveries play out. In the Asia-Pacific region, this boost is a payoff to increased liberalization and reflects the advent of budget carriers.
USAF Lt. Gen. William M. Fraser, 3rd, has become assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. He has been vice commander of Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va. ANG Maj. Gen. Craig R. McKinley has been nominated for promotion to lieutenant general with assignment as director of the National Guard Bureau at USAF Headquarters at the Pentagon. He has been assistant deputy chief of staff for plans and programs at USAF Headquarters. Maj. Gen. Allen G.
The Aircraft Mobile Access Platform is constructed of heavy-duty aluminum, designed to be lightweight and mobile. Urethane wheels allow it to be positioned in the work area by one person. A hand-operated winch can adjust the ladder to heights for accessing tail and engine structures in most aircraft, according to the company. Tie-off points at the top of the platform allow for up to two users and provide 100% tie-off from the ground up. Custom heights and designs are available. Flexible Lifeline Systems, 15325 W. Hardy Road, Houston, Tex. 77060 or www.fall-arest.com
Chris Charnley has become vice president-sales for Canada and Latin America, Don Dwyer vice president-global commercial sales and Jeff Anastas sales director for the Middle East, India, and South and Central Asia for the Wichita, Kan.-based Raytheon Aircraft Co. Doug Brantner has been named vice president and Skip Madsen general manager of Raytheon Aircraft Services.
Continuing evidence of the comparative health of the U.K.'s aerospace sector is provided by this year's government "Value Added Scoreboard." The study, fronted by the Trade and Industry Dept., is an attempt to identify wealth creation by company and by sector, both at the British and European levels. Figures for the aerospace sector show its value-added contribution increased by 5%. The sector is the 17th largest in the U.K.'s 800 overall companies, contributing 2% of the total U.K. value-added, according to the report.
Christopher DiSantis has become vice president-manufacturing innovation for the Cleveland-based Hawk Corp. He will remain president of the Hawk Precision Components Group.
The FAA says an en-route traffic flow initiative will reduce the need for airport ground-delay programs during this summer's thunderstorm season. The Airspace Flow Program (AFP) was introduced in early June and already has helped cut delays, according to the FAA and Air Transport Assn. When the AFP is activated, it imposes delays only on flights that are routed through severe weather. This is a much more targeted approach than ground-delay programs, which affect all arriving flights at a specific airport, regardless of whether they are routed through the storm area.
The full U.S. Senate is expected to take up an amendment to the Fiscal 2007 NASA appropriation that would "pay back" the agency $1 billion in funds drawn from other programs to return the space shuttle fleet to service. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (Md.), ranking Democrat on the appropriations subcommittee that funds the space agency, and Sen.
NASA and its international partners can start the difficult job of finishing the International Space Station as early as next month, thanks to the gritty efforts of spacewalkers Mike Fossum and Piers Sellers. The spacesuited pair grunted and strained to repair a critical piece of station-assembly gear, wrestling with sluggish bolts and tight workspaces to clear the ISS mobile crane for a 16-flight sequence that the partnership hopes will double the size of the station and its full-time crew over the next four years.
It almost seems cyclical that every so often someone complains about the costs of humans in space versus machines. It is undoubtedly true that robots are much cheaper than humans, but some perspective needs to be recognized.
Chris Glaeser has become vice president-safety and Paul McElroy director of internal communications for Alaska Airlines. Glaeser was director of flight safety, quality assurance and industry affairs for Northwest Airlines. McElroy was an editor at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Daniel Ball has been named interiors manager of Elliott Aviation, Moline, Ill. He was head of interiors installations in Challenger 300 and Global Express aircraft for the Bombardier Aerospace facility in Tucson, Ariz.
The intense robotic self-inspections conducted on Discovery as part of shuttle flight test objectives exceed those done on last year's shuttle return-to-flight mission, but their penalty on crew time combined with other essential tasks will remain a challenge for future flights. A nationwide NASA/contractor imagery and analysis team of about 100-150 engineers was involved in time-critical inspection work early in the flight and at the mission's end.
Air New Zealand is looking to aircraft size to help it fight high fuel costs. Beginning in October, ANZ will introducing Boeing 777-200ERs as replacements for 747-400s on flights from Auckland to Los Angeles and Los Angeles to London. It is discontinuing twice-weekly seasonal flights from Los Angeles to Christchurch and suspending operations from Auckland to Singapore. The larger 747-400s will return to the Auckland-Los Angeles-London route during the December-January high tourist season.
