Closed-loop life support is one of the critical technologies needed for eventual human exploration of Mars and beyond. Now NASA reports crewmembers on the International Space Station will begin testing new water recycling technology for deep space exploration by about 2008, the latest estimated launch date for the new Water Processor Assembly (WPA) under development by Hamilton Sundstrand and Marshall Space Flight Center.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Raytheon a $158-million contract for production of AIM-9X dogfight missiles. The USAF would receive 178 of the missiles, the U.S. Navy 93, Poland 178, Denmark 60 and South Korea 41.
ROCKWELL COLLINS HAS EQUIPPED about 40 aircraft with controller-pilot data link communications (CPDLC) and says it has 50 more systems on order. The equipment is being used in operations over Eurocontrol's Maastricht ATC area but no longer in Miami Center now that the FAA has canceled a similar project. Jim Grace, data link program manager at Rockwell Collins, says CPDLC sales could accelerate if Europe mandates the system by 2009.
Smart-1, the European Space Agency's first Small Mission for Advanced Research in Technology, has demonstrated that solar-electric propulsion can get a spacecraft to the Moon. The 370-kg. (814-lb.) spacecraft entered lunar orbit on Nov. 15 after a spiraling journey from low-Earth orbit that consumed 59 of the 82 kg. of xenon propellant on board for its xenon-ion engine. Overall, Smart-1 orbited the Earth 332 times since its Sept. 27, 2003, launch on an Ariane 5.
India's space program, built up on a shoestring during the past 41 years to benefit the poor and the military at home, is poised to take on a larger role beyond the subcontinent. From launchers to spacecraft to lunar orbiters, India is pushing its largely indigenous space industry into the international arena as buyer, seller and potential exploration partner.
Continental Airlines, the last of the Big Six U.S. legacy carriers to ask employees for concessions, says it needs $500 million in annual pay and benefit cuts, effective Feb. 28, 2005. The company intends to meet with each work group to develop reductions in pay and benefits and increases in productivity, with pay cuts accounting for about half the savings. Continental says it will improve profit-sharing and retain bonuses for on-time performance and perfect attendance. Top executives have agreed to cuts in pay and bonuses.
It's a familiar story: A dynamic, low-cost American airline with a strong balance sheet, healthy profits and a robust stock. It flies domestically, using only Boeing 737s, and is rapidly expanding its route network.
James R. Wertz, who is president of Microcosm Inc., El Segundo, Calif., has received the Space Systems Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He was cited for his work on "the first Earth/Sun/Moon autonomous navigation system on the TAOS mission; the first fully autonomous onboard orbit control system on the UoSat-12 mission; and for creating the Scorpius ultra low-cost launch vehicle program."
A new U.S. company is preparing to usher an Israeli-made countermeasure system through the FAA certification process and market the system initially to U.S. business jet and air cargo operators. It has yet to be seen how the FAA will handle the requested certification of the Flight Guard countermeasures system being installed on El Al aircraft now. The system is halfway through the Israeli civil aviation certification process (AW&ST May 17, p. 41), but must be certified by the FAA to be operated by El Al or U.S.-registered aircraft in U.S. airspace.
In their new business partnership, Airservices Australia and SITA Inc. aim to foster a regional network of satellite-based ATC surveillance in the Asia-Pacific region with the goal of cutting costs and improving safety.
Spacecraft engineers in India are proud of an old photo that shows their first geostationary communications satellite loaded on a bullock cart. Later launched on an Ariane rocket, the Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment (Apple) satellite was built to help bring the benefits of a space infrastructure--communications, weather forecasting, land-use remote sensing--to citizens who might not have expected to use technology more advanced than the bullock cart in their lifetimes.
New York's Museum of Modern Art is featuring a fan blade from the General Electric GE90-115B engine in its Architecture and Design collection. MOMA acquired the blade for the beauty of its three-dimensional aerodynamic design. The nearly 4-ft.-long blade is forged of carbon fiber polymeric material and a titanium leading edge that gives it a distinctive black color. Twenty-two such fan blades pull air into the engine. The curved design enables the blades to withstand supersonic airwaves generated during flight. The GE90 powers Boeing 777s.
World News Roundup 18 C-17, Global Hawk, AFATDS and DAGR win awards at conference 19 America West considering offer for ATA aircraft in Chicago 19 Boeing reiterates it expects 200 com- mitments for 7E7 by year-end 20 Preflight of new Ariane 5 ECA slips until early next year World News & Analysis 24 X-43A tests to continue with military, but NASA's role becomes unclear 27 Major review focuses on stream- lining USAF combat power
Several airlines at London Heathrow Airport are looking for a services provider to replace insolvent Swissport UK, a subsidiary of Swissport International. The company employed 750 staff. Airlines hit by the failure were: Aer Lingus, El Al Israel Airlines, Icelandair, Cyprus Airways, Swiss, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Hellas Jet, Middle East Airlines, Air China and Turkish Airlines, according to the British Airports Authority.
GenCorp rejected a $770-million takeover offer from shareholder Steel Partners II, calling the $17-a-share bid "inadequate," and proceeded with planned stock and debt offerings. On Nov. 17, GenCorp priced a public offering of 7.5 million shares of its common stock at $16 per share, a sale that is expected to raise $114 million. GenCorp also priced a public debt offering of $80 million.
Arianespace says the preflight of its new Ariane 5 ECA heavy-lift launch vehicle, initially slated for this month, will slip until early next year because of delays in final system verifications.
The TSA's final order requiring airlines to deliver passenger name record data for Secure Flight (formerly Capps II) passenger-screening system tests this winter makes no concessions to privacy groups. The agency denies that it's invading anyone's privacy and promises a "robust redress program" to handle complaints from passengers who believe they have been unfairly singled out for additional screening.
The U.S. Army has completed flight tests of a Patriot PAC-3 system against two ballistic missiles arriving at the same time. One target destroyed was a Storm, and the other was a Patriot that represented a short-range ballistic missile. Two PAC-3s were fired in quick succession during the test at the Army's White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
The FAA needs to do a better job of overseeing its 13,400 designated representatives in the field, says a U.S. Government Accountability Office report released last week. These individuals are responsible for pilot flight tests, inspection of repairs, approval of designs for parts and the conduct of aeromedical examinations. Although the GAO found no safety problems, it faulted the agency for its inconsistent oversight and incomplete databases. The GAO report cited the high workload for designees and inadequate training for FAA monitoring staff.
A thorny debate finds French and German authorities at odds over the need to further consolidate the European aerospace and defense industry. For the French government, combining EADS and electronics giant Thales would create a world-class champion, generate substantial economies of scale and boost overall competitiveness. In contrast, Germany is far from being convinced by such a scenario and bristles at a French tendency to seek a commanding influence on the European scene.
Oliver Towers has been appointed London-based vice president-strategy for Smiths Aerospace. He has been seconded from Rolls-Royce to the U.K. Trade and Industry Dept. as project director for the aerospace innovation and growth team and was vice president-aftermarket for corporate and regional airlines at Rolls. Catherine Gridley has been named president of Smiths' customer services business, Clearwater, Fla. She succeeds Michael Steel, who will head the mechanical systems business. Gridley was president of customer services in the Americas.
The Pentagon is in the final stages of defining its new strategy in the long-running saga to replace U.S. Air Force KC-135 refuelers, while prospective competitor EADS is further closing the gap between it and rival Boeing. At the same time the tanker program claimed another casualty last week. Michael Sears, former Boeing chief financial officer, pleaded guilty to criminal wrongdoing, which was unearthed as part of a broader investigation into the then-proposed $23-billion lease of 100 Boeing KC-767s tankers for USAF.
U.S. space exploration managers and representatives of 18 other space agencies around the world have started groping toward ways to coordinate their work in an international space exploration program aimed at getting humans to Mars. It promises to be an arduous process. During three days of workshops here last week, officials from NASA's exploration systems office gathered information on their international counterparts' capabilities and plans, in an effort to meld them into their own work on the space exploration goals set by President Bush in January.
Swiss International Air Lines in the third quarter posted its first earnings before taxes. The SF20-million ($17-million) profit, up from losses of SF62 million for the same quarter of 2003, confirms the validity of the carrier's strategy and indicates that sustainable profit could be achieved next year, says a company official.
