A planned merger of the space activities of Alcatel and Finmeccanica has been approved by the European Commission. The companies said the merger is now expected to be completed on July 1, subject to final legal and financial technicalities. Finmeccanica stated that it had concluded a series of deals redefining and downscoping its relationship with BAE Systems in the defense electronics sector.
A new U.S. Air Force Warfare Center is being created by integrating elements of the Space Warfare Center and Air Warfare Center, according to USAF Space Command officials. Headquartered at Nellis AFB, Nev., the new center will belong to Air Combat Command and may also incorporate some information-warfare capabilities. Units will not be relocated, and no facilities will be closed. The integration should be completed by Oct. 1.
Those nibbling fare increases intended to offset part of the airline industry's fuel cost explosion may be having an effect: For the fourth consecutive month, Continental Airlines reports a year-over-year increase in unit revenue (revenue per available seat mile). The carrier estimates its system-wide April increase at 2-3%, compared with April 2004, and it has calculated the March increase at 4.6%. The April gain, arising from improved yields as well as a higher load factor, probably would have been higher if Easter had fallen in April instead of March.
Larry J. Crawford has been promoted to head of the Space Dept. at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md. He was associate department head. Crawford succeeds Michael D. Griffin, who is now NASA administrator.
Lockheed Martin Corp. and the Australian unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturer Aerosonde have formed a strategic alliance. Aerosonde hopes to heighten its profile in the U.S. through the venture, and Lockheed Martin hopes it will help it clinch a piece of the growing market for small UAVs. In addition, Lockheed Martin will purchase Aerosonde aircraft and services for demonstrations.
Edward D. Horowitz (see photo) has been named president/CEO of SES Americom, Princeton, N.J. He was founder of EdsLink and was executive vice president-advanced development of Citigroup.
Air-India Express, India's first international budget startup, launched service in late April from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to Abu Dhabi. Initially, Air-India Express plans to operate 43 flights to the Middle East, with 31 from Kerala's three airports, using three leased Boeing 737-800s. Fares are 20-40% lower than full-service airlines flying the same routes. The carrier's market is Indian contract workers in the Gulf countries.
Former astronauts Robert S. Walker and Bernard Harris have joined the board of advisers of Constellation Services International Inc., Alexandria, Va. Walker is chairman of Washington government relations consulting firmWexler & Walker, while Harris is president/CEO of Vesalius Ventures Inc.
Netjets' European operation is in discussions with its U.S. counterpart to obtain one of its Gulfstream G550 business jets to meet emerging demand in Europe for ultra-long-range missions. A G550 is one of 10 airplanes the fractional ownership operator will place into service in Europe during the next two months, although officials of NetJets Europe say they could use one other type of business jet immediately. NetJets Europe also is interested in the Dassault Falcon 7X in support of long distance flights.
Arinc Managed Services has acquired TechMart, an information technology staffing and vendor management company based in Annapolis, Md. TechMart has experience filling government and commercial IT positions for software development, systems support, help desks and maintenance. The unit of Arinc Inc. provides services to the core markets served by the company such as aviation, airports, government and defense. TechMart founder Ralph P. Riddle has been named director of a new AMS service unit, Arinc Staffing.
Two New England congressmen are trying once again to pass a bill that would require screening for explosives in all cargo carried by passenger and cargo planes. For the third year in a row, Reps. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) are introducing mandatory air cargo screening legislation. Their attempt to include 100% screening for airliner cargo in the Fiscal Year 2004 Homeland Security Dept. appropriations bill passed in the House but was dropped in the Senate.
The flight test and safety goals of the Discovery return-to-flight mission, now set for mid-July, will require rapid corroboration of ascent imagery and other data to fulfill rigorous engineering oversight reforms mandated by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB). Several new management and engineering teams staffed with NASA and industry engineers and materials scientists from across NASA and the contractors will sort and compare launch data during the first five days of the 13-day mission.
India's polar launch vehicle inaugurated the country's second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Center on the Bay of Bengal on May 5 by boosting Cartosat-1, a stereoscopic imaging satellite with 2.5-meter resolution into a 618-km. (3,830-mi.) high polar orbit. The 1,560-kg. (3,432-lb.) Cartosat-1 was carried into orbit by the ninth launch of the India Space Research Organization's PSLV launcher.
A case of mass amnesia in the control tower at Haneda airport in Tokyo on Apr. 29 put two Japan Airlines flights on approaches to a runway closed for repairs, despite protests from both cockpit crews that a Notice to Airmen (Notam) warned them the runway was unavailable.
US Airways reduced non-fuel unit costs 15.6% in mainline operations during the first quarter of 2005, but higher fuel prices and fare competition kept the Chapter 11 carrier in the red. The company reported a $201-million operating loss for the quarter, compared with a $143-million loss in the same period of 2004, as mainline fuel costs increased 55.8%. Personnel costs were down 27.7%, and the carrier secured ratification during the quarter of new labor concessions totaling $1 billion per year over five years.
The Air Force will recompete the production and installation of the Boeing C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) to overhaul the cockpits of more than 500 USAF airlifters. Boeing won the contract in 2001, but the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that former Air Force acquisition executive Darleen Druyun unfairly influenced the decision. Druyun is serving a prison sentence arising from unlawful job talks with Boeing while she was still overseeing the company's work for the Air Force.
In 2007 the U.S. Air Force plans to begin evaluating a towed airborne simulator aimed at improving operational test capabilities for aircraft missile warning systems, including detection of plumes generated by man-portable air defense weapons. U.S. military and airline officials view Manpads as a serious threat that has been used by terrorists to hit commercial and military transports, and these concerns are helping to fuel development of improved plume detection capabilities.
The quest to find concealed explosives in Iraq is making progress, but the pace is so slow that both military and aerospace industry officials openly fret about the lack of a definitive solution.
NASA's new administrator says schedule won't be the only consideration when the agency chooses a launch vehicle to get its planned Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) off the ground. Possibilities include modifications of the Atlas V and Delta IV, and a new vehicle derived from space shuttle components (see p. 32). "As far as I'm concerned, it's all about the money," Michael Griffin says.
Additional observations have convinced astronomers the object they were "99% sure" was the first extrasolar planet directly imaged from Earth is just that. Using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, the international team that reported the discovery near the constellation Hydra last year has concluded the planet and its brown dwarf star are moving together and gravitationally bound. Follow-up observations to the original VLT discovery by the Hubble Space Telescope added weight to the original call (AW&ST Jan. 24, p.
Leaders of four of the teams planning to revamp the U.S. air traffic system foresee using highly networked, wireless information technology to help create unprecedented flexibility. Along with tripling ATC system capacity by 2025, the goal is to cut operating costs by 25% and even streamline ground-based infrastructure so that a passenger can go from curbside to aircraft cabin in just 30 min., says Charlie Keegan, director of the Joint Planning and Development Office.
MTU reported a 40% surge in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2004, to 214 million euros ($274 million) on sales of 1.9 billion euros (+2.1%). Combined with a 35% increase in adjusted operating cash flow, the higher profits led to a halving of bank debt. With debt down still further, to 86%, at the end of the first quarter, the privately held company is in a good position for an initial public offering, according to analysts. However, the company says "all options, short- and long-term, remain on the table."
It has been a quiet flight test program for the 777-200 Longer Range because the hard work's already been done. But a spurt of orders is drawing attention to Boeing's belief in the important role of its newest 777, as the twin-engine family of upper mid-sized aircraft celebrates its 10th birthday in commercial service on June 7.
