Flying the space shuttle may be difficult, but that doesn't mean human spaceflight will always be so challenging, expensive and risky that it should only be done by the government. Indeed, the world is on its way toward a future full of private human spaceflight. And nowhere was the enthusiasm more evident than at the annual EAA AirVenture gathering in Oshkosh, Wis., last week.
Robotics engineers are studying the performance of quick-reaction computer commands generated virtually overnight to guide the unwieldy Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) to potential damage sites on Discovery last week without causing more damage to the orbiter's delicate thermal protection system (TPS).
The European Space Agency reports that it has concluded contracts to build the ground segment of the Vega light launcher and develop ground infrastructure and a new Soyuz 2-1b launch vehicle for Europe's spaceport. The award, with Vitrociset of Italy, will enable Vega to make its first flight from the facility in late 2007. The first Soyuz launch from the spaceport is expected in the second half of 2008.
New understanding about the environment on Mars and the ability of living organisms to survive in extreme conditions means NASA should develop new ways to sterilize landers bound for the Red Planet. Otherwise, says an expert panel of the National Academies' National Research Council, there is a chance Earth-born life could contaminate Mars and complicate future attempts to detect native life there. "Ongoing Mars missions have shown that the planet may have environments where some Earth microbes could grow," says Princeton University's Christopher F.
Strong Airbus deliveries and better currency rates are improving EADS' 2005 financial outlook, but during the rest of the year the company's new management team still faces a number of challenges.
The British government's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) wants to examine concerns over the potentially distorting effect of the proposed sale of a regional airport to one of the main shareholders in the area's primary airport. The OFT has asked the European Commission that it be allowed to consider the sale of Exeter regional airport in southwest England, to a consortium comprising Macquarie Airports and Spain's Ferrovial Aeropuerts. Macquarie, an equity fund specializing in airport investment, already has a 30.8% stake in Bristol airport in the same catchment area.
Austrian Airlines Group expects to post a full-year loss after suffering significantly deteriorated results in the first half of 2005. Austrian--which comprises Austrian, Austrian Arrows and Lauda Air airlines--reported a 106.6-million-euro ($128-million) operating loss through June, down from a 27-million loss a year earlier. Revenues were up 2.8% at 1.08 billion euros. The company attributed this to escalating fuel prices and overcapacity in key markets resulting in weak load factors.
The British Defense Ministry has formally introduced the Raytheon/ Lockheed Martin Javelin anti-armor missile into service, four months ahead of the original schedule. Some British forces in Iraq may have already deployed with the weapon, even before it officially entered service.
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The Ukrainian government has formed the Antonov national aircraft-building corporation, integrating the ANTK Antonov design bureau, the Kharkiv state aircraft manufacturing company, the Kiev-based Aviant state aircraft manufacturing and 410th civil aviation aircraft repair plants, and the Ukrainian aviation technology research institute. The controversial restructuring led to the resignation of Petr Balabuev, the 74-year-old chief of the Antonov design bureau.
Finmeccanica is continuing its effort to strengthen its aerospace and defense activity with a 270-million-euro ($324-million) move to acquire Italian information technology company Datamat. The company is involved in aerospace and defense applications. Finmeccanica has already taken a 52.7% capital stake in Datamat. Finmeccanica plans to gain control of the remaining shares, which represent about 40% of Datamat's capital. In the process, Finmeccanica will eliminate a competitor that has beaten it in Italian defense programs.
U.S. airports want more federal assistance toward the $4-5 billion it will cost to install in-line explosives screening systems, improvements airport officials believe could save the government billions of dollars in labor costs.
The arrival of Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles in the Middle East to support operations there may be late--and not just fashionably late. Industry sources say the Air Force's testing community wants to hold up the deployment about a month in order to continue some demonstrations. The suggestion has nonplussed some in the military. The UAV has previously supported operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and intelligence collectors are at a premium as U.S. forces continue to defend against opposing forces and insurgents.
Thailand and Colombia are in talks with the Pentagon to acquire Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawks. The potential $46-million Thai deal would be for two of the helicopters to support the navy. Colombia is in talks to take eight under a $100-million deal for the country's counterdrug operations.
The shuttle Launch Control Center team here modified its procedures to continuously monitor both the oxygen and hydrogen engine cutoff (ECO) sensors in the external tank prior to launch July 26. With the new procedures in place, the team was ready to stay ahead of any situation with the unexplained ECO hydrogen sensor anomaly that caused a launch scrub July 13. The problem did not reappear and Mike Leinbach, shuttle launch director, joked that the situation switched from an "unexplained anomaly" to an "unexplained resolution" after about 12 days of testing.
Jim Haas, Boeing's lead marketer on the 787, learned firsthand what Washington is like last week when somebody palmed a sample of the new airplane's composite material he had passed around the room during a presentation at the National Press Club. "I shouldn't have brought something that was pocket-sized," he quipped, shaking his head. The D.C. press corps was exonerated when the sample fell from the belongings of a State Dept. employee as she exited the building. An innocent mistake, she explained.
Boeing and Science Applications International Corp. awarded four contracts to three companies to begin development of two classes of UAVs for the U.S. Army's Future Combat System program. The winning designs are to be fielded in 2014 with the first fully-equipped FCS brigade-sized combat teams. The awards, ranging from $3-5 million each, went to Piasecki for its Air Scout for Class II; and for the larger Class III to Teledyne Brown's Prospector, AAI's Shadow III and Piasecki's Air Guard.
Arianespace says continued problems with launcher preparation systems will delay liftoff of Shin Satellite's Ipstar-1 (Thaicom-4) satellite until Aug. 11. The mission has already been postponed several times since its initial scheduled launch on July 8.
Patriarch Partners, a New York-based financial firm, has acquired a controlling interest in MD Helicopters of Mesa, Ariz., a manufacturer of turbine-powered, light helicopters. CEO Henk Schaeken says the recapitalization provides "sufficient working capital" to continue production, fill existing orders and improve customer support. He says a key initial goal is to restore customer confidence in the company's ability to support production aircraft. RDM, a Netherlands-based company that bought the helicopter product line from Boeing in 1999, retains a minority interest.
In 2003, advanced metals supplier Ladish Co. eked out a profit that was barely enough to pay a junior janitor: $19,000. Like other industrial manufacturers with large fixed costs and a heavy reliance on aerospace customers, Ladish's business went off a cliff during the downturn that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Sales dropped 30%, profits dried up, and its stock declined from more than $15 a share in 2001 to less than $5 in 2003.
Since their landing, I have been awestruck by the pictures from the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. The series of three pictures of the dust devil moving across the Martian surface are incredible. That dust devil is very similar to the ones of the Southwest U.S. (AW&ST June 20, p. 64). I have a suggestion for future Mars rovers: install a microphone so we may hear the wind blow across Mars. If I were a scientist studying the geology of Mars, a microphone on a rover would allow me to hear the sound the wheels make as they move over the Martian surface.
Missile Defense Agency chief Lt. Gen. Henry (Trey) Obering says the U.S. has spent $92.5 billion on missile defense technologies since 1983. And, although a fully deployed system on alert remains elusive, he says the money is worth it and he's convinced the U.S. now has a "better-than-zero" chance of countering a North Korean attack--versus no chance without the funding--so things are looking up. "That confidence will improve over time," he said to defense reporters last month.
Having spent most of my 21-year career as an airline pilot flying routes worldwide, I read "Alertness Warning" (AW&ST July 11, p. 46) with a sense of deja vu.
Meghan Allen has been appointed Washington-based director of legislative affairs for the United Space Alliance. She was director of congressional relations for Gencorp/Aerojet.
