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.
General Electric, Airbus and Goodrich Aero have frozen interface designs for the GEnx turbofan for use on the yet-to-be-launched Airbus A350. The test schedule calls for engine certification in 2007, flight tests in 2009 and service entry in 2010. Rolls-Royce also is expected to have a version of its Trent 1000 on the A350, although negotiations are still ongoing with Airbus. GE has opted for a more direct derivative of its Boeing 787 GEnx engine, while Rolls wants to tweak the fan to optimize performance for the A350.
Fuel costs kept Northwest Airlines deep in the red and shaved AirTran Airways' profits in the second quarter, but Northwest's future hinges on events in the next few months. Flying 4.4% more capacity during the quarter than a year ago, Northwest spent 58.3% more on fuel, a $291-million cost increase that accounted for a $180-million operating loss and a $279-million net loss not counting unusual items. The corresponding amounts for the same quarter in 2004 were $52 million and $78 million, respectively.
Senior British Defense Ministry officials will meet next month to review a core element of the U.K.'s digitization program, and possible future development. The ministry's Investment Approval Board (IAB) will consider progress on a key part of the 2.2-billion-pound ($3.85-billion) Bowman digital communications system. The ministry is also beginning to mull potential ways ahead for elements of digitization beyond the present Bowman effort, under the rubric of the Command Battlespace Management (Land) concept.
Dassault Systemes has revised its outlook for 2005, saying it expects revenues to expand 15-16% over 2004 figures, rather than the 12-14% projected earlier. Net earnings, excluding exceptional items, are also forecast to rise faster than anticipated.
On their bad days, when airline executives rack their brains for ways to break free of deep financial losses and labor troubles, they might think they're in the wrong business.
Italy, France and several neighboring countries are discussing a military/civil broadband satellite mission that could be Europe's first common milsatcom program.
International Aero Engines is launching an engine initiative that marries upgrades and maintenance support. The so-called V2500 "Select" effort is designed with an eye toward capturing business particularly from aircraft lessors and low-cost carriers, says IAE President Mark King. Those are seen as the increasingly dominant forces in the large narrow-body market, where IAE with its V2500 versions competes against CFM International's CFM56 engine family. IAE argues its venture should maintain the engine's asset value and thus its appeal to lessors.
The Air Transportation Stabilization Board approved new terms for the government-guaranteed loans of prospective merger partners US Airways and America West Airlines. America West has a balance of $300 million remaining on its $429-million January 2002 loan, backed by a $380-million federal guarantee. Its payments will continue without change at $42.9 million every six months through Sept. 30, 2008. US Airways' billion-dollar loan from March 2003, with $900 million guaranteed, stands at $708 million.
Despite billions spent on aviation security since Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. airports remain vulnerable to explosives in carry-on luggage or hidden under a passenger's clothing, according to some industry and government officials.
Korean Air, which runs the world's largest commercial airline cargo operation, reported a 57% increase in cargo traffic to China during June and a 10% rise to Europe, compared with the same period a year earlier. But overall cargo traffic decreased 2% because of lower shipments to Japan, the U.S. and Southeast Asia. The carrier's passenger traffic was up 12% in June, thanks to strong international traffic, led by a 28% increase on China routes.
Southwest Airlines is adding an online reservations tool that includes a Senior Fares category. Fares are capped at $129 one-way for travelers more than 65 years old to all 60 destinations, not counting taxes or airport and security fees.
At Lockheed Martin Corp.'s headquarters in Bethesda, Md., executives rolled out second-quarter results that wowed Wall Street. Net income was up 56% from a year earlier, to $461 million ($1.02 a share), profit margins rose, and the company increased its earnings estimate for the full year. "What a quarter," marveled JSA Research analyst Peter J. Arment. "Way above expectations."
Orbiter Discovery and the STS-114 crew lift off July 26 from the Kennedy Space Center, bound for the International Space Station and returning the space shuttle to flight 2.5 years after the Columbia accident. At 3,700 mph. and 28 mi. altitude, an Ecliptic Enterprises television camera mounted on the Lockheed Martin external tank imaged (inset photo) a large chunk of debris separating from the tank, a serious flight safety risk. (See p. 20.) Liftoff photo by William G. Hartenstein; inset from AP/Wide World.
Northrop Grumman's RQ-8 Fire Scout UAV has fired two test rockets, a key step toward arming the autonomous unmanned helicopter. The company wants to prove the UAV's ability to perform strike missions in addition to intelligence-gathering and combat rescue missions.
The European Defense Agency in September expects to invite up to five bidders for each of its two unmanned aircraft technology studies. The relatively modestly funded initiatives--each contract will be worth no more than 750,000 euros ($904,000)--are the first in a series of UAV activities EDA is expected to take on. One focuses on digital line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight communication for long-endurance UAVs, the other on so-called sense-and-avoid technologies to allow unmanned aircraft to operate in civil airspace.
John Hamre, CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a well-regarded former deputy Defense secretary, says it's time for a new set of defense reforms. The think tank has rolled out a new study--"Beyond Goldwater-Nichols," done in league with the Pentagon and other agencies--that says service chiefs ought to be given back acquisition authority and the up-or-out policy (get promoted or leave the military) should give way to a more flexible system for retaining talented military people.
Charles H.W. Edwards has become president/ CEO of AeroBox Composite Structures, Rio Rancho, N.M. He was executive vice president/chief operating officer.
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) Oct. 18-20--MRO Europe. Estrel Hotel & Convention Center, Berlin. Nov. 8-10--MRO Asia, Suntec City, Singapore. Nov. 14-16--A&D Programs & Productivity Conference, Phoenix. PARTNERSHIPS Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Seminars:
Low-cost Brazilian airline Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes has ordered 30 additional Boeing 737-800s, increasing its firm orders for the 737s to 60. Gol says it plans to use the new jets to expand routes in Brazil and to other South American nations. Deliveries are scheduled over six years starting in 2006. Gol, which has captured more than one-quarter of the domestic passenger market in Brazil, also is a partner in a project to start a low-cost domestic airline in Mexico next year (AW&ST July 11, p. 48).
