NASA has scuttled its planned Dawn mission to visit two of the largest asteroids in the Solar System, Ceres and Vesta, after an independent review came up with different cost estimates from those reached by the already-overrunning project. Formal notification of the decision was underway as Mary Cleave, associate administrator for science, was defending the agency's science program at a House Science Committee hearing against charges NASA has cut too many small space missions like Dawn (see p. 34).
The Netherlands National Airspace Laboratory (NLR) will help determine the future of Reykjavik Airport in Iceland. Reykjavik serves as an alternate destination in support of the country's Keflavik international airport and is one of a limited number of choices where the capital city could expand. The NLR is being commissioned to study options, including closure.
Unsettled labor contracts at Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines and their regional affiliates are complicating reorganization efforts under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, while generating considerable heat.
A report by the British Civil Aviation Authority and Office of Fair Trading on airport slot trading recommends the introduction of additional rules to reduce the risk of anti-competitive behavior. Proposals on the reform of European Union slot-trading regulations are expected later this year.
Raytheon Aircraft Co. has received FAA certification for the Hawker 850XP. The twin-engine business jet features winglets the company says increase range by 100 naut. mi. Other improvements include an 8% increase in time-to-climb and faster cruise speeds.
Northrop Grumman has won a $63.9-million USAF contract to provide APG-68(V)9 airborne radars for F-16 Block 52 aircraft flown by the Hellenic Air Force. Delivery of 33 systems will start in 2007. Seven countries have now purchased the radar as standard equipment.
It has won rave reviews from passengers for its leather seats, seat-back satellite TVs and friendly crewmembers. But low-cost carrier (LCC) JetBlue Airways has the dubious distinction of being one of the most negatively viewed airline stocks on Wall Street. Following a flat performance in 2005, shares in the New York-based airline have tumbled nearly 22% on the Nasdaq exchange since the start of the year.
The FAA is developing its plan for rolling out Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) nationwide over the next 20 years and the agency's Joint Resources Council is expected to review it for an investment decision this summer. FAA officials briefed members of the RTCA's Air Traffic Management Advisory Committee on the four-phase plan on Feb. 24. The first phase would focus on "ADS-B out" or the transmission of aircraft GPS positions to air traffic controllers on the ground.
Sighting reports from fighter pilots, civilian contractors and an Air Force security police officer provided enough information about a super-secret "black" spaceplane to develop a technical profile of the vehicle. Both manned and unmanned versions may have been test-flown and operated during the last 16 years.
Britain is pondering fundamental reform of its approach to defense acquisition, with a potentially far-reaching report to be submitted to government ministers this May. The study's spotlight falls on two ministry departments, the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) and the Defense Logistics Organization (DLO). One option certain to be considered is whether to merge the two.
The National Institute for Aviation Research's (NIAR's) Crash Dynamics Laboratory has certified its first seat for use in commercial helicopters (see photo). The customer, East/West Industries of Ronkonkoma, N.Y., specializes in designing and manufacturing seats and ejection seat subsystems. To meet demand for research and certification work, NIAR has installed a sled built by MTS Systems Inc., capable of testing seats across a wide range of g-force loadings to meet FAA regulations. Six new crash dummies have been added to the seven already in service.
Australian defense planners will be buying Lockheed Martin's stealthy, long-range Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile in its first international sale. Jassm will give greater survivability and lethality to the country's fleet of F/A-18s and replace its aging F-111 strike aircraft, which will retire by 2010.
User fees, that is. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta asked hundreds of civil aviation professionals attending last week's FAA forecast conference to hold off criticizing the much-anticipated FAA plan for financing the air traffic control system in the future. Mineta didn't mention user fees, but FAA Administrator Marion Blakey has all but acknowledged that such fees will be the centerpiece of the plan.
The German government has cleared the integration of Germany's LFK into European multinational MBDA, paving the way for the two missile makers to merge. The European Commission had approved the merger, which will create a company with annual sales of 3.4 billion euros and 11,000 employees.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter should join a family of spacecraft at the planet at the end of this week to aid in the search for water with yet sharper observations, work with the Mars rovers, provide relay services for future landers, and find new landing sites.
The Joints Chiefs of Staff vice chairman, Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, insists that China not build aircraft carriers (AW&ST Feb. 6, p. 23). How would the U.S. react if a top Chinese officer demanded that America not build carriers and only have forces to provide for its genuine security needs? Is it little wonder the U.S. finds it difficult to win friends, or don't you care anymore?
Holloman AFB, N.M., has been selected as a preferred alternative location for stationing USAF's new F-22A stealth fighters. It was picked for its good flying weather, proximity to ranges, facilities for stealth aircraft and community support, say USAF officials. The first operational F-22 unit is stationed at Langley AFB, Va.
Arne Haak (see photos) has been promoted to vice president of finance/ treasurer from director of corporate finance and Kirk Thornburg to vice president-maintenance and engineering from director of engineering for AirTran Airways.
Inquiry boards being formed by the Russian government and International Launch Services will attempt to determine what caused a Proton M rocket failure that lifted a telecommunications satellite owned by the Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat) into improper orbit.
Kazakhstan's Kazcosmos company is proposing to use a Soviet-era anti-satellite (ASAT) system as the basis for a satellite launcher. Dubbed Ishim, the system would use the MiG-31D variant of the Foxhound developed for the ASAT system, and also apparently the missile originally intended for satellite interception. Two MiG-31D prototypes were built for the program, which progressed as far as a test-launch of an inert missile.
The Eurofighter Typhoon consortium hopes to ink a long-delayed series of contracts later this year that should spell out future upgrades, satisfy U.K. demands for more capability early, and set the course for integration of the Meteor air-to-air missile.
Douglas L. Maine has been named to the board of directors of Minneapolis-based Alliant Techsystems. He is retired general manager of the IBM Consumer Products Industry Div.
James L. Cameron (see photos) has become corporate vice president/president of the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Washington-based Technical Services Sector. He was vice president/general manager of the Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based Defensive Systems Div. of the company's Electronic Systems Sector. Cameron has been succeeded by Robert L. Del Boca, who was vice president-infrared countermeasures and laser systems.
Engineers at Iridium Satellite LLC have hired the services of a Silicon Valley simulation firm to help them deal with the problems of controlling and upgrading the company's 77 low Earth orbit communications satellites, all of them slightly different.
Delta Air Lines' January operating report filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York shows the carrier had a net loss of $300 million (including $87 million in restructuring items) for the month, compared to a net loss of $314 million in the same month last year. In addition, the airline said it ended the month with $2.1 billion of unrestricted cash, had cut mainline capacity by 7.8% and hedged about 26% of its planned February fuel requirements at an average $1.75/gal.
