Soyuz TMA-5 commander Salizhan Sharipov, a Russian air force colonel, smoothly switched to manual control during final approach to dock with the International Space Station Oct. 16, when the Kurs automatic docking system began to exceed approach-velocity limits. The cause is under investigation, but cosmonauts say switching from auto to manual on approach is not unusual and has occurred routinely over the past 35 years with Salyut stations and Mir as well as the ISS. As planned, approach avionics initially steered the Soyuz toward the aft of the station.
Lockheed Martin has assembled a broad-based industry team to compete for the U.S. Air Force's $600-million Air Operations Center Weapon System Lead Systems Integrator program, which is aimed at streamlining Air and Space Operations Centers. Today's AOC includes 48 different systems and 50 communications interfaces, but they're not seamlessly networked in a consistent architecture. The Lockheed Martin team comprises Raytheon, SAIC, IBM, L-3 Communications and several domain-expert companies.
Former American Airlines CEO Robert L. Crandall has been named winner of the Arlington, Va.-based National Aeronautic Assn.'s Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy. The award is presented annually to "a living individual for significant public service of enduring value, as a civilian, to aviation in the U.S." Crandall will be cited for leading the airline industry as it learned how to deal with competition for customers and looking for ways to cut costs after the deregulation of 1978.
Regarding innovative tactics being developed for active electonically scanned array (AESA) radar employment, Maj. Mike Benham is quoted as expressing a desire for a means to carry a greater missile loadout on the F-15 (AW&ST Oct. 4, p. 50). I believe I have the solution to this need.
The FAA has issued final certification of the Cessna Citation Model 525B CJ3 business jet on Oct. 15. Approval was granted after completion during the previous week of 150 hr. of flying FAA function and reliability tests.
NTT DoCoMo, the big Japanese mobile phone service provider, is the latest to reach agreement with Connexion by Boeing's inflight broadband service for laptop applications. The agreement means subscribers to DoCoMo's Mzone wireless local area network service can use their same user identification and passwords in flight for wireless laptop Internet services and be billed by Mzone. The service is to begin on Oct. 22 on Lufthansa flights but will be picked up by All Nippon Airways when its Connexion services begin in November. Japan Airlines makes its Connexion in December.
The U.S. Navy is preparing to issue to Alliant Techsystems a major contract for delivery of AAR-47 missile warning systems for the U.S. and foreign military and sales customers. In addition to Fiscal 2005 orders, the contract would have options that run through Fiscal 2009. The base period is for 50 new missile warning receivers and 82 upgrade kits, to be delivered by December 2005. The total contract could cover 566 new AAR-47s and 342 upgrade kits, with deliveries completed by December 2006.
The airlines' love-hate relationship with Washington continues. Even as Continental Airlines CEO Gordon Bethune complains to securities analysts about how the recent corporate tax bill "shows how dysfunctional Congress has become"--it contained goodies for just about every industry except aviation--he welcomes interest on Capitol Hill in ways to transform defined-benefit pensions into cheaper defined-contribution instruments, like 401(k) accounts, in ways that cash-strapped airlines can handle.
The disastrous outcome for USAF of the Cope India exercises is being explained by "they ran tactics that were more advanced than we expected." Initial air combat results in Vietnam were 3:1 in favor of the enemy because USAF was not ready. In the Bekaa Valley debacle in Lebanon, where the Israelis had no losses in an extended campaign, we were devastated. At that time I suggsted we use the State Dept. to negotiate the terms of engagement so our airmen would not be surprised. Now, I suggest we reallocate the remaining F/A-22 budget to the State Dept.
Robert D. Ferrucci has been promoted to vice president-engineering and quality from director of engineering programs at Keystone Ranger Holdings Inc., Berwyn, Pa.
The U.S. Marine Corps enters the new fiscal year with the daunting challenge to reverse a sharp spike in aviation accidents, offsetting an otherwise positive trend for U.S. military aviators. In Fiscal 2004, which ended on Sept. 30, the Marines experienced 18 Class A mishaps for a rate of 5.26 accidents per 100,000 flight hours. It marks the worst year for the Marine Corps since 1990, and a spike from last year when the service suffered 11 Class As.
An orbital testbed set for launch on Tuesday is designed to demonstrate autonomous orbital rendezvous technology that may find wide application in U.S. robotic spacecraft as NASA shifts its focus to deep-space exploration.
Launch of a vast Franco-Italian multimission frigate program intended to support land attack cruise missiles will again be deferred, although design differences that have long plagued the program have basically been resolved.
Southwest Airlines beat Wall Street's third-quarter earnings forecast by 25%, but that's just the start of the perennially profitable airline's good news. These days, it rarely loses. As oil prices skyrocket to $55 a barrel, delivering what may prove to be a knockout blow to some airlines, Southwest's management team is looking pretty deft. Thanks to an elaborate hedging operation, the low-cost carrier has locked in more than 80% of its estimated fuel needs through 2005 at $24-25 a barrel.
Online pilot hiring information service FLTops.com is offering a free job bank. It is aimed at flight departments that do not use an online applicant database, such as smaller regional airlines and corporate operators. Companies pay for the job bank search, so the service is available at no cost to pilots. Applicants' names remain confidential until job-seekers respond to a prospective employer. Pre-registration for the job bank is required and may be made at www.fltops.com.
Andy Roberts has been promoted to executive vice president-operations from senior vice president-technical operations for Northwest Airlines. He has been succeeded by Kris Bauer, who was vice president-base maintenance operations. Succeeding Bauer will be John Bendoraitis, who was managing director of Minneapolis/St. Paul line maintenance operations. Tim Griffin, who has been executive vice president-marketing and distribution, also will oversee sales and customer relations.
Eurocopter will supply reengining kits for 95 U.S. Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphins--another successful coup by the helicopter builder, and its parent company EADS, in the U.S. military market.
Robert Wall (Washington), Michael A. Taverna (Paris)
Efforts by France and Germany to persuade other European Union members to drop a 15-year-old embargo on defense sales to China could spark a new transatlantic quarrel and cause relations to deteriorate further.
The chances for deployment of a vast global observing system capable of systematically monitoring and forecasting changes in climate, crop yields, air quality and other environmental parameters appear unexpectedly good, following a meeting in Brussels late last month.
NASA scientists are using an airborne version of the infrared sensor on its Terra Earth-observation satellite to monitor thermal activity in and around Washington's Mount St. Helens, which has been sputtering of late. In this image--taken with the Modis/Aster Airborne Simulator, a version of the high-resolution infrared imager on Terra--bright red indicates hot spots in the volcano's crater, while blue represents snow on its slopes and a smoke plume that blew out of the crater on Oct. 11. The instrument was mounted in a Cessna Caravan.
Snecma and EADS are exploring a possible merger of their liquid launcher engine and satellite ion propulsion activities. The merger would create a single European player with a full space propulsion product line and sufficient economies of scale to meet development requirements and compete with international rivals. Such economies of scale are considered vital for future launcher programs and the international space exploration initiative, Snecma executives say.
