Brian O'Keeffe of Australia, long considered an expert in the field of air navigation systems, has received the Edward Warner Award from the Montreal-based Interntional Civil Aviation Organization. O'Keefe has been credited with playing a key role in the development of future air navigation systems worldwide and its successor, communication, navigation and surveillance/air traffic management.
Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity are continuing to find new evidence of past water at their landing sites, say rover investigators at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. New data from Spirit, which is now perched in the Columbia Hills, indicate that unlike the Gusev Crater valley floor below, the much older higher terrain has been altered by water.
In the Oct. 4 issue, the system involved in a U.S. Navy review was misidentified (p. 24). The study looked at whether to buy a second targeting pod to augment Raytheon's Atflir.
Morgan Advanced Ceramics 10-in. metal-spun foil is a cost-effective alternative to traditional foils, the company says. Manufactured from a variety of alloys, including Pd-based, Cu-based and Ni-based (AMS 4777), the foil can be produced in strips up to 10 in. wide with a thickness of 0.002 in. and can be cut into custom preform shapes. The foil is adaptable to aerospace applications where a brazed assembly with a large cross section is needed, including brazing heat exchanger assemblies, assembling and repairing compressor vanes, stators and hushkits.
Alcatel Space says it has signed up additional operators for its DSL-in-the-sky broadband access network, and has started commercial operation of the network with the Satlynx venture set up by SES Global, Gilat and Alcatel. The new users are Divona Telecom of Tunisia and an unnamed Middle Eastern operator, which join Nanjing Toptry China Spacenet Co. and Satlynx as operators of the two-way satellite system. DSL-in-the-sky is designed to afford very-high-data-rate transmissions (45 Mbps. down and 2 Mpbs.
Singapore's Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has launched a voluntary, non-punitive and confidential incident reporting system. Sincair (Singapore Confidential Aviation Incident Reporting System) will collect information relative to events and safety deficiencies that might not otherwise be reported. According to the AAIB, the information will allow others to learn from the incidents and thus enhance safety. The reporter's identity is confidential, and the information stored in a database.
Marotta Controls Inc. has designed, developed and qualified its Model MV604C 3-way/2-position solenoid valve for the landing gear of the Airbus A380. The valves were contracted by Mecaer, part of the team developing landing gear for the mega-transport. The Model MV604C will actuate a unique steering system on the main gear, enhancing A380's maneuverability on the ground, the company says. The privately held U.S.-based company has facilities in the U.K. and Ireland.
If the National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. had three wishes, they'd be for hiring more controllers at Chicago Tracon. The boss, the FAA, on the other hand, wishes to hire more supervisors. Natca, which has long maintained the Tracon is understaffed, slammed the agency's operational assessment of facility (a.k.a. C90) which was released last week. The evaluation, conducted Jan. 21-Feb.
Raytheon Aircraft Co. is creating a Special Missions Aircraft organization to expand the airframe manufacturer's presence in that segment. It will have responsibility for sales, development, production and support. The chief focus will be to ensure that Special Mission operators experience seamless interaction between the four distinct departments. The stand-alone division will be led by Vice President John Brauneis, who will retain his responsibility for commercial and government contract activities.
Europe's Arianespace and the Indian Space Research Organization are near final consensus on an expansion of their backup launch agreement to cover the Geostationary Space Launch Vehicle, according to both organizations. Arianespace already has an arrangement to use the less powerful Polar Space Launch Vehicle as a backup launcher for its payloads. Meanwhile, Arianespace may get a chance to loft 50 nanosats at once in 2007 if a proposal by Russia's space agency is approved. Weighing about 1 kg.
Boeing Phantom Works made the first flight of the A160 Hummingbird helicopter drone since a crash last October, and operated it at a much larger range of rotor speed than before. The company is building five new versions of the drones and plans to start flying them early next year under its contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is partly funded by the Army. After initial development is completed, the program will move to Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.
Raytheon has bought privately held, San Diego-based Photon Research Associates Inc. The company works on physics-based modeling, simulation and analysis and will report to Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems.
Although the recent expansion of the European Union into Central and Eastern Europe is expected to create significant growth opportunities for the business aviation community, even greater growth is predicted from Russia, whose economy is again on the upswing, driven by surging oil prices. "Russia is really starting to move; it will be one of our top prospects in the years to come," says Charles Edelstenne, chairman/CEO of Dassault Aviation, which has sold a dozen aircraft, mostly high-end models, in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Lockheed Martin and MacDonald Dettwiler will build the unmanned spacecraft NASA needs to robotically service and eventually deorbit the Hubble Space Telescope. The space agency's Goddard Space Flight Center awarded Lockheed Martin Space Systems a $330.6-million contract to develop the Hubble Robotic Vehicle Deorbit Module. Delivery is due within 30 months.
Beginning on Dec. 1, Delta Air Lines will end the code-share agreement it has held with SNCF-French Rail since 2001. The French national rail system operates trains from the station at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport to 12 European destinations.
Oman has selected the RTM322 to power 20 NH90 helicopters acquired last month. The Omani decision makes the country the first outside of Europe to order the Rolls-Royce Turbomeca engine, which already equips eight European NH90 fleets. It follows the recent award of a civil type certificate for the 2,428-shp. 01/9 version, the latest iteration of the RTM322. The Omani purchase will be for the upgraded variant.
World News Roundup 26 Merger of Belgian carriers reinforces European consolidation trend 26 Deep airline cost cuts and anguish taking their toll in executive suites 27 Two firms to build spacecraft NASA needs to service, deorbit Hubble 27 India rebuffs complaint about helicopter sale to Nepal 28 US101 completes first flight with CT7- 8E engines, large-screen displays 28 Willis M. Hawkins dies, a principal designer of C-130 World News & Analysis
Efforts are underway to speed acquisition of multirole fighters to "ensure that the Indian air force's squadron strength is not alarmingly depleted," Air Chief Marshal S. Krishnaswamy said late last week. Following a review some years ago, the IAF had asked for its strength to be increased to 45 squadrons from 39.5. British Secretary of State for Defense, Geoff Hoon, in Delhi for a three-day official visit, emphasized the need for coproduction of defense equipment and on programs for joint military training.
Japan's aerospace exploration agency (JAXA) plans to relinquish the in-house role it has followed in launch vehicle and spacecraft development to give more work to private industry. JAXA's predecessor agencies had handled all development work up to integration, which was farmed out to industry. Now, JAXA will expect industry to develop hardware from the beginning to meet government specifications, says JAXA Vice President Kaoru Maniya. The first project probably will be a new launcher, but eventually JAXA will hand off satellite development, too.
Canada has delayed a contract signature for its maritime helicopter because of an AgustaWestland protest. Sikorsky's S-92 won the competition, but AgustaWestland is claiming unfairness in the source-selection process. A court hearing is planned for Oct. 26.
Alitalia has reached agreement with labor unions and the Italian government over layoffs required to ensure the carrier's survival. The agreement grants furloughed employees two years of unemployment benefits. It also provides for the spinoff of Alitalia's ground services business. The measures were the final elements in a 400-million-euro ($488-million) recovery plan, which is subject to European Union approval.
J.E. (Sandy) Murdock has become senior vice president-administration/ general counsel of the Washington-based National Business Aviation Assn. He has been a lawyer in private practice, specializing in aviation affairs.
THE U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK has approved about $60 million in financing to export 10 Sikorsky S-76C+ helicopters and spare parts to Lider Taxi Aereo, based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The Exim Bank is issuing the loan directly to Lider, which provides offshore transport to oil platforms. The company will use the helicopters to fulfill a five-year service contract with Petrobras and other customers in support of offshore oil and gas exploration and operations, as well as transport within Brazil.
