George Torres (see photo, p. 10) has been appointed head of communications of ATK Thiokol, Magna, Utah. He was director of communications at the Boeing Space and Communications Group.
Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) has completed repairs to the Hypervelocity Ballistic G-Range and declared the facility fully operational. An accident in November 2004 damaged a pump, two coolers and a large valve when hydrogen gas ignited in the vacuum ducting. AEDC has now installed a series of hydrogen gas sensors in the upper-level ducting and added a nitrogen-purging system to provide an inert atmosphere. AEDC uses the G-Range to conduct kinetic energy lethality and high-impact testing.
A German federal court has cleared the way for the construction of a new international airport at Berlin-Schoenefeld, rejecting claims by neighbors and environmentalists. However, the ruling drew mixed reactions as the court imposed a total curfew from midnight to 5 a.m. and severe restrictions on flight operations from 10 p.m. to midnight. Several carriers said Berlin operations could become uneconomical if they can no longer fly after 10 p.m. The Schoenefeld facility is scheduled to open in 2011.
In 1990, you published an article about a top secret U.S. Air Force hypersonic nuclear bomber, followed in 1991 with one about the top-secret "TR-3 Manta" reconnaissance plane. Neither airplane has emerged, and you have not retracted the stories.
Demonstrators have accused Thailand's billionaire prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, of forcing Thai Airways International to reduce frequencies and suspend routes to enable budget carrier Thai AirAsia to gain additional traffic. Thai has denied that it gave up routes from Bangkok to Hong Kong, Taipei and Singapore to Thai AirAsia. The prime minister is embroiled because his family firm, Shin Corp., owned 49% of Thai AirAsia.
Two regional airports opened last week in southern Japan. On Kyushu island, a $10.24-billion-yen ($870.4- million) offshore facility replaces one located 5 mi. inland that had a 1,600-meter (5,249-ft.) runway. The new airport's 2,500-meter runway will allow regional flights. It is expected to handle 1 million passengers annually. The airport's debut also saw the startup of regional carrier Star Flyer using three A320-200s. Its initial services are to Tokyo. Meanwhile, Tanegashima island, which is home to Japan's space launch center, has a new airport, too.
The Canadian Space Agency has awarded McDonald, Dettwiler Associates a C$7-million ($6.7-million) contract to carry out conceptual design and definition for a fleet of small satellites to complement the existing Radarsat C-band radar imaging family early in the next decade. The next Radarsat spacecraft, Radarsat-2, is set to be orbited in December from Baikonur.
The Greater Toronto Airports Authority has signed an agreement with a subsidiary of U.S.-based Verified Identity Pass Inc. to develop Canada's first private sector registered traveler program. Using a biometric smart card, passengers enrolled at Toronto Pearson International Airport could access a dedicated security lane at screening checkpoints. The plan is subject to approval by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority and Transport Canada. Verified ID operates the only registered traveler program in the U.S. at Florida's Orlando International Airport.
Greece will not exercise an option to buy 10 additional Block 52+ F-16 fighters from Lockheed Martin. The option was in addition to 30 F-16s already on order for its air force.
Electronically scanned radars are capable of some stunning, but closely held, intelligence and weapons effects. The system designed for Australia's new Wedgetail aircraft is no exception.
USAF Col. (ret.) Michael R. Gallagher (Sacramento, Calif.)
Lee Gaillard's alarmist response to the A380 wing test results falling 3% short of requirements is not warranted. The C-17 wing failed at more than 20% short, due to an engineering miscalculation that was resolved with a straightforward design change and clever fix for wings that had been built prior to the test.
Market Focus 11 Analysis confirms A&D companies are behind many IT acquisitions News Breaks 18 Some F-22s face potential frame strength problems 18 China's Hongdu flies L-15 fighter trainer candidate for first time 19 Lockheed Martin to begin systems testing on Poland's first F-16 20 Space shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motor undergoes evaluation 21 Spain and its NATO allies to gain global, secure X-band capacity
The delay of the STS-121 space shuttle launch to no earlier than July 1-19 will enable the program to clear a number of issues that had been threatening the May schedule even before the decision that engine cutoff (ECO) sensors had to be replaced forced the slip. One of four hydrogen sensors in the Discovery mission's external tank (ET) shows an electrical tendency that could possibly cause it to fail in a propellant "dry" indication (AW&ST Mar. 6, p. 33).
The Avion Capital Ltd. joint venture that provides financing to Airbus customers is expanding. Joining Airbus Financial Services, Calyon and KfW IPEX-Bank are DVB Bank and Natexis Transport Finance, the aircraft maker says.
Northrop Grumman's Killer Bee, under development as a multi-mission, joint-service family of scalable UAVs, is designed to provide surveillance and force protection (AW&ST Mar. 7, 2005, p. 50). The version demonstrated last week at USAF's UAV Battlelab at Creech AFB, Nev., has a 9-ft. wingspan and carries electro-optical and infrared sensors. The UAV's ability to provide real-time streaming video and precision targeting info to warfighters was highlighted.
Next week's simulated evacuation of an Airbus A380 marks one more step in the aircraft's march toward certification. The scheduled Mar. 26 test, to be jointly monitored by the European Aviation Safety Agency and the FAA, is expected to prove that 871 passengers and crewmembers can safely exit the double-deck mega-transport in no more than 90 sec., using only half of 16 doors, and in complete darkness. The unprecedented demonstration is required in preparation for the A380-800's certification in the fourth quarter of the year.
It's not surprising that Singapore Aero Engine Services Ltd. regards the Trent 1000--an engine choice on the Boeing 787--as "the next logical step" for its engine repair lineup. SAESL is Rolls-Royce's biggest Trent engine service center.
The first of 48 F-16s ordered for the Polish air force flew Mar. 14 at Lockheed Martin's facilities in Fort Worth. The airplanes, configured to Block 52+ standards, are scheduled for delivery beginning later this year and will be the most advanced versions of the fighter within NATO. Irma Sipple, director of the Poland F-16 program for Lockheed Martin, says the first fighter will be flown to Edwards AFB, Calif., next month for a series of systems-specific tests.
You can now register ONLINE for Aviation Week Events. Go to www.AviationNow.com/conferences or call Lydia Janow at +1 (212) 904-3225/+1 (800) 240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada Only) Apr. 25-27--MRO USA Conference & Exhibition 2006, Phoenix. May 16-17--MRO Military Europe, in conjunction with ILA air show, Berlin. Sept. 19-21--MRO Asia Conference & Exhibition, Xiamen, China. Oct. 24-26--MRO Europe Conference & Exhibition, Amsterdam. Nov. 13-15--Aerospace & Defense Programs, Phoenix.
Aero Vodochody has completed its 100th S-76C airframe, Serial No. 624, for Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. Aero has been supplying helicopters, excluding dynamic parts and final interiors, to Sikorsky since 2000, and says volume is increasing in the double digits each year. Although the Czech manufacturer has been striving to diversify its aerostructures business, Sikorsky still accounts for 90% of its sales in this area.
The U.S. Air Force and Britain's Royal Navy have awarded Raytheon a $346-million contract to supply Block IV Tactical Tomahawk cruise missiles. This is the third installment of a multi-year contract that could total $1.6 billion. Fiscal 2006 production calls for 473 missiles, 65 of which are the torpedo tube-launched variant for Britain.
Bruce Chudoba (see photos) has been promoted to principal director from associate principal director in the Electronic Programs Div. of the National Systems Group of The Aerospace Corp.'s Chantilly, Va., office. Christopher T. Knapp has been promoted to principal engineer in the division from senior engineering specialist supporting the GPS program at the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles AFB and East Coast national-security space offices. In the Rosslyn, Va., office, Allan W.
The first Boeing 767, referred to as VA1, is in storage in the desert near Victorville, Calif. Sometime before Apr. 30, this aircraft is to be chopped up and hauled away.
Lockheed Martin and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers are readying the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for seven months of aerobraking set to start the end of this month, after it was captured about the planet on Mar. 10. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is to begin a two-year science mission in November, followed by two years of relaying data from surface craft that will likely be augmented by more science observations. The spacecraft is well-supplied with propellant and could last until the middle of the next decade.
As NASA gears up to return humans to the Moon, a pair of U.S.-funded instruments picked to fly on India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter next year will continue the search for water at the Moon's poles and other surface resources that might support lunar bases one day. The U.S. instruments--an 8-kg. synthetic aperture radar and a sensitive imaging spectrometer--will work with others provided by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the European Space Agency and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences to refine lunar maps dating back to the Apollo era.
