James McIntyre, who is president of aerospace marketing and advertising firm Romeo Oscar Inc. of Montreal, has been elected to the board of directors of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, Wetaskiwin, Alberta.
Tamara Kolda (see photo), a researcher at Sandia National Laboratories in California, has been named to receive a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the U.S.' highest honor for scientists and engineers embarking on an independent research career. She is an applied mathematician and computational scientist who was cited for contributions in optimization, nonlinear equations, tensor decompositions, graph algorithms, parallel computing and the design of scientific software.
Randy Znamenak (see photo) has become vice president-sales and marketing of Stevens Aviation, Greenville, S.C. He was sales and marketing manager for Cessna's Citation Service Centers.
More than $800 million in work to support extravehicular activity (EVA) on the space shuttle and International Space Station will be managed by Hamilton Sundstrand in Windsor Locks, Conn., under a new contract from NASA that consolidates previous EVA contracts. The work includes integrating new EVA requirements, performing sustaining engineering for spacesuits and EVA hardware, including tools and crew aids. The five-year contract covers work being done under separate contracts by Hamilton Sundstrand, United Space Alliance, Oceaneering Space Systems and ILC Dover Inc.
Over the last decade, airlines and investors have benefited from the growing use of Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates to finance fleet expansion. But matters usually got complicated if an airline defaulted. Troubled airlines can lose valuable aircraft, as investors have prior rights and may sell the assets. Even with ironclad protections at work, investors might not do well, either.
Art Stephenson (see photo), retired director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, has been named to the advisory board of the Starsys Research Corp., Boulder, Colo.
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Chair- man N.R Mohanty says the Indian company is exploring taking a 5% stake, worth about $22 million, in the Sukhoi-led Russian Regional Jet program. EADS Co-CEO Philippe Camus adds that his company, too, could take a share in the twinjet project as part of a broad push into the Russian market. Last week, French Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed that France will grant a refundable loan to Snecma Moteurs, which has already signed on as a risk-sharing partner, to help fund the RRJ's new SaM146 powerplant.
Three years beyond its estimated design life, the NASA/Ball Aerospace QuikSCAT (Quick Scatterometer) satellite remains healthy and continues to return critical global climate data, say program officials. QuikSCAT data have improved two-to-five-day weather forecasts and warnings, particularly at sea, NASA says. Its image of Hurricane Frances is shown here.
Also, Alliot-Marie confirmed that France will participate in the NATO mission, approved last week, to help train Iraqi military and police forces. However, she insisted that no French instructors will be among the 300 or so personnel to be dispatched to Iraq. Instead, French training will be dispensed from neighboring countries.
Lockheed Martin has received a $259-million contract for 153 Patriot PAC-3 missile four-packs and other associated equipment. The company also scooped up a $50-million contract to provide program upgrades, production sustainment, integration and testing for the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (Jassm). The contract mentioned weapons data link and Safe and Arm (S&A) fuze (phase three).
The Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) is to undergo a radical revamp, extending to the Farnborough air show. A strategic review unveiled last week was a response to "disenchantment" among SBAC members. The review calls for a shakeup of the managerial structure, along with far greater focus on identified, and defined, goals. The length of the show likely will be reduced, with the report underscoring the need to reach a deal with the organizers of the Royal International Air Tattoo, with which there is a schedule conflict.
A mix of multilayered inflatable "soft goods" composed of advanced aerospace materials and more traditional aerospace aluminum structures and avionics are being integrated in heavily guarded Bigelow Aerospace buildings and outdoor test facilities at the company's 50-acre site here. Bigelow has about 120,000 sq. ft. of floor space under roof and several outdoor test facilities.
Robert A. Coleman has been promoted to president/chief operating officer of the ManTech International Corp., Fairfax, Va., from president of its Information Systems and Technology Div. Succeeding Coleman will be Joseph Fox, who has been the division's senior vice president. Eugene C. Renzi has been appointed corporate senior vice president. He has been corporate executive vice president and president of ManTech's Defense Systems Group.
As part of its 2004-05 winter service, Japan Airlines will capitalize on the Feb. 17 opening of Chuba International Airport in Nagoya by inaugurating a daily Boeing 777-200ER flight to Paris, three-times-weekly 767 services to Guangzhou, China, and increased frequencies to Manila, Bangkok and Busan, South Korea. Chuba is being promoted as a cargo hub, and JAL agrees. It's starting three new freighter services a week via Anchorage to New York and Atlanta as well as New York and Los Angeles. It also will increase services from Tokyo to Honolulu.
The State of Illinois is hoping that groups competing to finance and build a third Chicago airport will join in a common enterprise. One group, supported by U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.), has taken a major step forward by securing a development contract for the Abraham Lincoln National Airport near University Park. LCOR Inc., of New York, and SNC-Lavalin, of Canada, have committed to financing a $200-million project to construct a five-gate terminal, a 10,000-ft. runway, taxiways and parking lot.
Regarding your articles "Irreconcilable Differences" and "Transatlantic Quarrel" (AW&ST Sept. 6, pp. 24 and 26), I agree with Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher's attempt to end Airbus' state aid.
America's national missile defenses also are on Lieberman's mind. "We are under what will be an increasing threat of missile attack," he says, and missile defense is a realistic program to invest in because of the money being put into developing ballistic missile capabilities around the world. On the other hand, people shouldn't expect too much from it. "I regret that the testing program has not gone to a further point," Lieberman says.
Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher suggests that a heads-of-state agreement on information security might help break a technology transfer deadlock that threatens to scuttle collaboration in defense and other high-technology business with major partners, particularly in Europe. Stonecipher says high-level guarantees about how to handle sensitive data and to whom it can be entrusted could convince congressional critics to move forward on making the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITARs) more flexible.
NHIndustries saw its multinational helicopters program rack-up milestones in rapid succession last week. Two production NH90s took first flights. The NH90-TTH, destined for the Italian army, took-off from an Agusta facility at Vergiate (Italy) Airfield, for a 30-min. flight-time trial. The Finnish army-bound NH90-TTT (shown) began its test run at about the same time, but from a Eurocopter airfield in Marignane, France, and remained in flight for more than 1 hr. Deliveries will begin in 2005.
SCALING MEMORY DEVICES TO MAKE THEM EVEN SMALLER is just as necessary as shrinking logic devices, but researchers will detail at IEDM how much harder it is. In addition to the main memory types--dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM) and flash--some developments in magnetic RAM and ferroelectric RAM, and other concepts will be discussed. Debate on two widely used memories--flash and SRAM--will continue.
The U.K. Defense Ministry is being criticized by Parliament's Public Accounts Committee over what the latter views as unnecessary shortages of key equipment during the war with Iraq. While recognizing the ministry deployed 46,000 personnel for Operation Telic in half the time it took to deploy a similar-sized force for the Persian Gulf war, this also exposed stock shortfalls in certain critical areas. These included nuclear, biological, and chemical protection kits.
Engineering group Smiths' preliminary financial results shows sales rising 7% to 2.67 billion pounds ($4.8 billion), with pre-tax profit up 6% to 350 million pounds. Its aerospace business recorded a 7% sales growth, with an improvement in the commercial sector.
