Michael D. Griffin, Space Dept. Head, Applied Physics Laboratory (Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Md. )
While I appreciate the flattering article (AW&ST Mar. 21, p. 28) in connection with my nomination by President Bush to be the next NASA administrator, I would like to set the record straight in connection with my role in the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization's Clementine mission.
Kistler Aerospace hopes to begin commercial launch and reentry operations with its K-1 two-stage-to-orbit reusable rocket in the first quarter of 2007, targeting the International Space Station (ISS) resupply and Pentagon "prompt launch" markets as well as typical launch-services offerings.
Greg Geyer (see photo) has become vice president-operations/site manager of the Chandler, Ariz., facility of Crane Aerospace & Electronics. He was vice president-manufacturing operations for the Harris Microwave Communications Div. in San Antonio.
Airport expansions in Japan are making it easier for carriers to operate as they serve Asia's busiest national market. They also underscore how readily the Japanese adopt passenger-friendly security techniques and the latest in electronic gadgetry to improve airport operations. Two recent projects are outstanding in this regard: the new Central Japan International Airport (Centrair) in Nagoya, and Tokyo's busy Haneda airport (AW&ST June 14, 2004, p. 40).
The FAA continues to investigate a Feb. 19 incident in which a British Airways Boeing 747-400 with 351 passengers operated from Los Angeles to the U.K. with three engines. Shortly after takeoff, the No. 2 RB211-524 GH engine surged and the flight crew elected to proceed to the U.K. (AW&ST Mar. 14, p. 68). According to a BA official, the airline responded to the FAA's Mar. 10 letter of inquiry, which requested "various details on procedures and policy." Airline officials also met with the FAA in Washington late last month to discuss fallout from the incident.
The NTSB has good news: The skies are growing safer, with U.S. civil aviation accidents in the transport, air taxi and general aviation categories declining in 2004. Preliminary safety board statistics released last week show that the number of accidents dropped to 1,715 in 2004 from 1,864 in 2003. Total fatalities also decreased, to 635 from 695.
Delta Air Lines will contract out heavy maintenance of four aircraft types--Boeing 757s and 767s to Air Canada Technical Services of Vancouver and MD-88s and MD-90s to Avborne of Miami. The carrier said the outsourcing will reduce costs by 34%, saving a total of about $240 million over five years. It also will account for some of the 1,600-2,000 jobs that must be shed by Delta's Technical Operations organization as part of the elimination of 6,000-7,000 positions announced last September.
Leadership of the U.S.' military and intelligence space offices is undergoing its first major turnover since the Pentagon spearheaded a massive reorganization shortly after George W. Bush became President (see p. 50). As a leadership vacuum opens, some lawmakers are demanding a reorganization of those key offices, which guide billions of dollars worth of spending annually. This flurry of activity has left onlookers wondering what is ahead for the future of space asset management, particularly in the Air Force and at the secretive National Reconnaissance Office.
The U.S. Coast Guard is dropping the Bell/Agusta AB139 helicopter from its massive Deepwater modernization program in favor of upgrading existing Sikorsky HH-60 Jayhawks. The decision comes at a sensitive time for Sikorsky, which is still reeling from a January loss to a Lockheed Martin team to build the next fleet of presidential helicopters. AgustaWestland and Bell Helicopter Textron are prominent members of the winning team in that heated competition. Bell/Agusta officials are stunned by the decision.
Officials in the Pentagon's transformation office are already claiming success from their responsive satellite initiative because it has opened doors toward interagency collaboration and, possibly, the establishment of a foothold for small satellites, which could eventually carry a variety of government payloads. And all this before the first payload has lifted off.
BAE Systems also has formed an alliance with QinetiQ to identify wider commercial applications and business opportunities for its defense and aerospace technologies. The six-month agreement operates on a shared risk and rewards basis: QinetiQ is charged with identifying, validating and developing market-ready plans for 2-4 promising technology solutions, as well as helping to drive their initial commercialization.
A presidential commission says measurement and signature intelligence (masint) is "unjustly overlooked" by management, and recommends the director of national intelligence, soon to be John Negroponte, oversee those efforts. Masint often gets short shrift as a result of "neglect or disinterest" from the Defense Intelligence Agency, which is now in charge of it, according to the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the U.S. Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction.
If you're working as an avionics technician for a U.S. low-cost carrier, you can breathe a sigh of relief because you probably have the most secure job with the most growth potential in the airline business right now.
Continental Airlines flight attendants, who are represented by the International Assn. of Machinists, are the only employee group that last week failed to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement with the airline. Pilots, mechanics, dispatchers and simulator engineers all agreed to implement their respective contracts allowing for reduced pay and benefits. The reductions, along with those already achieved by the airline, are expected to yield about $418 million in annual pay and benefit savings for Continental--a majority of the airline's goal.
Northrop Grumman delivered the first five units of an enhanced internal electronic countermeasures system to Boeing for use on the South Korean air force F-15K, the latest version of the fighter that began flight testing in early March. The AN/ALQ-135 is a fully automatic, internally mounted electronic combat system that manages multiple threats simultaneously, prioritizing the most imminent dangers. This iteration of heritage AN/ALQ-135 systems replaces multiple processors with a PowerPC-based system that offers speed and memory enhancements.
Siberian operator UTair has agreed to purchase two ATR 42-300 twin-turboprops operated by Continental Airlines, and is negotiating with ATR for training/maintenance services. Deliveries are to begin in June. The company says it may take up to 15 ATR 42s.
Nicholas D. Lappos has been named vice president-government programs for Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah, Ga. He was director of the VXX helicopter program at the Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.
Pentagon officials say the cost of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq still hovers around $5 billion per month. The Pentagon has spent $159 billion alone to invade and occupy Iraq. Another $22 billion has been spent to continue Operation Noble Eagle combat air patrols over major U.S. cities.
Meanwhile, Raytheon picked up a $25.9-million contract from the U.S. Navy to build 22 turret units and associated equipment by mid-2007 for a Multi-Spectral Targeting System to support the Predator UAV.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Douglas Barrie (London)
The conflicting requirements of low-cost and high-stealth aircraft remain unresolved. However, there may be a solution in new concepts offered by engine builders who suggest cutting costs by building more stealth into the propulsion systems and less into the airframe.
Finmeccanica reported a net profit of 548 million euros ($712.4 million) for 2004, up from 199 million euros in 2003. Order backlog grew by more than 3.5 billion euros. Net debt increased by 115 million euros to 371 million euros. Company officials last week said they expect increased demand for commercial aircraft and growth in the defense portfolio this year. However, executives also are considering disposal of further noncore assets or seeking outside financing to help pay for anticipated consolidation activities.
Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have used the Spitzer Space Telescope to make the first direct measurements of light from extrasolar planets. The dips in these graphs represent the drop in infrared light levels when the planets TrES-1 (top) and HD 209458b passed behind their stars. The Spitzer's infrared detectors were able to measure the difference in IR levels when the stars eclipsed the "hot Jupiters"--gas giants that reradiate the heat from their suns back into space.
Experts at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory plan to use computer enhancement this summer to sharpen images of the comet Tempel-1, to compensate for poor focus left in the Deep Impact probe's high-resolution imager after residual moisture was baked out.
Its future may not be as bright as the signature orange on the vertical stabilizer and nacelles of its aircraft, but low-fare carrier EasyJet may be on the verge of emerging from its financial turbulence of last year. At least that's the view of analysts at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), who note that "for the first time, we are hopeful that [fiscal 2005 earnings per share] may prove to be the bottom."
