The 3.5-ton Japanese Space Communications Corp. (SCC) Superbird 6 is being maneuvered into geosynchronous orbit over the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean, where the satcom will employ a new K a-band steerable beam antenna for high-definition television and high-speed commercial data services to the Asia-Pacific region.
Robert Wall (Eglin AFB, Fla. and Washington), Douglas Barrie (Eglin AFB, Fla. and Washington)
Senior U.S. Air Force officials are scrambling to assess how quickly they can add an electronic attack capability to the Miniature Air-Launched Decoy after passing up the feature only a year ago.
After a slow start, commercial transport orders are showing signs of life for Airbus and Boeing, indicating the duopoly will have a tight race this year. Their sales forecasts are similar at about 250 aircraft, and they expect to deliver a combined 580 airplanes.
The Pentagon wants relief from legislation enacted last year that blocks it from contracting with airlines that are not "effectively controlled by U.S. citizens" because of bureaucratic difficulties the law imposes. Of particular concern is a requirement that the Pentagon keep track of where an airline earns its revenue--in the U.S. or abroad--even though that data usually isn't available. The Pentagon wants the Transportation Dept. to determine an airline's citizenship instead. The U.S.
In further signs of the globalization of the aircraft systems supply chain, Airbus selected L-3 Communications to supply the flight data and cockpit voice recorders for the A380 transport, while Boeing tabbed Cobham of the U.K. to provide fuel pump and valve subsystems for the 7E7 Dreamliner.
JetBlue Airways has something that rival airlines want, and it's not the NCAA basketball finals on a seatback at 35,000 ft. It's market share, and other airlines are attacking JetBlue by adding capacity. "We underestimated the level of competitiveness out there," said JPMorgan analyst Jamie Baker, who cited industry capacity in JetBlue markets that is expected to increase 21% in the second quarter (up from an earlier projection of 16%) and 19% in the third quarter.
Having been forced to retire under the FAA's Age 60 Rule, I find myself kept out of many suitable aviation positions by Public Law 100-238. This law requires applicants for federal law enforcement positions to be appointed before reaching their 37th birthday, because federal law enforcement officers must complete 20 years of service by their mandatory retirement age of 57 to be eligible for retirement benefits.
State-owned Merpati Nusantara Airlines is to be privatized, but the Indonesian government hasn't decided how much of its stake to give up. President Hotasi Nababan wants to sell 51% to raise 1.5 trillion rupiah ($174 million) to finance the purchase of 20 new aircraft, add routes and cover severance payments for 7,500 employees. But "it is unlikely that the 51% we requested to sell would be approved," he said. The government might sell 40% to keep majority control. He said some foreign airlines have expressed interest but declined to say which.
Travel industry and airline associations are concerned that the expansion of the US Visit program could put a damper on international visits to the U.S. by the summer of 2005 if the system bogs down. The program, to take digital fingerprints and photos of all passengers traveling on visas arriving at 115 U.S. airports, has caused few delays so far. But the Travel Industry Assn. of America (TIA) points out that this only applies to about eight million visitors per year, and the first four months of operation haven't been in a peak travel period. The Homeland Security Dept.
Russia is preparing to launch three men to the International Space Station on Apr. 19--a Russian and an American who drew the Expedition 9 assignment only in January, and a Dutch astronaut who will spend nine days on the station before returning with the Expedition 8 crew.
NASA'S exploration systems office, starting to refine its planning to give industry and international partners roles in President Bush's Moon/Mars exploration project, is looking to the Missile Defense Agency for ideas. Craig Steidle, the associate administrator in charge of developing exploration hardware, says MDA managers "actually do more in the line of what we need to do" in international cooperation than the Joint Strike Fighter program, another Pentagon template for the NASA work (AW&ST Mar. 8, p. 27).
The $3 million being provided by U.S. Defense Dept. to SpaceX for the first launch of the Falcon I booster is a discounted price for procurement of the flight, as opposed to funding directly related to development of the launcher (AW&ST Mar. 29, p. 48).
You can now register ONLINE for Aviation Week Events. Go to www.AviationNow.com/conferences or call Ryan Leeds at +1 (212) 904-3892/+1 (800) 240-7645 (U.S. and Canada Only) Apr. 19--FAA/JAA Regulations: Collision or Harmonization, Atlanta, www.aviationlearning.com/mro. And, Apr. 21-22--Blended Training Solution Experience, Atlanta, www.aviationlearning.com/mro Apr. 20-22--MRO USA/MRO Latin America/MRO Military. Cobb Galleria Centre, Atlanta. May 17-19--Aerospace & Defense Finance Conference. CS First Boston Headquarters, New York.
ILC Dover, which has developed a majority of the spacesuits worn by NASA astronauts as well as the impact air bags used on the Pathfinder, Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers, is making a major effort to develop inflatable wings for aeronautical applications. Recently the company and NASA tested wings with a 6-ft. span on remote-controlled aircraft at the University of Maryland and the University of Kentucky.
In a separate move, the U.K. joined France, Germany and Spain in signing a new tax agreement to facilitate tax revenue sharing between subsidiaries operating in different European nations. Airbus says it will be one of the first companies to benefit.
THE NEW PIPER AIRCRAFT is offering the Avidyne FlightMax Entegra Integrated Flight Deck for the Piper 6XT, 6X, Saratoga II HP and Saratoga II TC. The installation features the EXP5000 primary flight display (PFD) with integrated air data and altitude/heading reference system, and the EXP5000 multi-function display (MFD). The PFD incorporates flight information and an electronic horizontal situation indicator along with engine gauges and autopilot functions.
Eugene Juba has been appointed vice president-finance and James Schear vice president-safety within the FAA's Air Traffic Organization. Juba was chief financial officer at Washington-based EKA Systems and had been vice president-financial planning and analysis at US Airways. Schear was deputy assistant administrator of aviation operations at the Transportation Security Administration and had been chief pilot, manager of flight operations, FAA examiner and captain for US Airways. Barbara Edwards has been named deputy assistant FAA administrator for civil rights.
Now we know the financial hit a company takes when it is under federal investigation for alleged financial improprieties. In the case of Titan Corp., that loss is approximately $200 million, which is how much less Lockheed Martin Corp. says it will now pay for Titan. At $20 a share instead of the original offer of $22, plus assumption of debt, the total value of the deal drops to $2.1 billion from about $2.33 billion.
SES Americom has received U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval to acquire the assets of Verestar, a Fairfax, Va.-based company offering managed satcom services, particularly to government customers--an area in which Americom is expanding rapidly--for $18.5 million. Verestar has a workforce of 225 and operates four teleports in the U.S. and one in Switzerland. Customers include Connexion by Boeing.
Contractors are preparing for a change of heart on the U.S. Navy's budget-paring decision to strip intelligence-gathering from its Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) options. The focus had been primarily on anti-submarine and anti-ship missions. Both Boeing and Lockheed Martin, the prime contractors competing for MMA, have quietly continued work on plans for a specialized intelligence version of the aircraft that would recapture capabilities of the Navy's EP-3E and Air Force RC-135V/W Rivet Joint.
It won't be the "trusted traveler" program airlines once hoped for, but the Transportation Security Administration will try out a "registered traveler" system this summer. Seeking a contractor to conduct a 90-day pilot program at 3-5 not-yet-announced U.S. airports, the agency said it would look for 5,000-10,000 volunteers willing to provide personal information and fingerprint or iris-scan biometric identification to speed their passage through airport security screening. It will use the pilot program results to formulate the next move.
Even as the Transportation Security Administration takes baby steps toward a passenger-friendly "registered traveler" program (see p. 15), it is hauled into federal court in Seattle in an American Civil Liberties Union challenge of the agency's once-secret No-Fly List of people who are to be detained and questioned before being allowed on a flight.
The news that there will be no additional shuttle missions to the Hubble Space Telescope is disappointing, but it is impossible to argue with the safety reasons. A possible alternative is for NASA to use the new gyro packages and updated instruments intended for the Hubble, combined with the backup mirror from the original construction of the telescope and other backup hardware, to assemble a new telescope. That should account for many of the most expensive components.
