California-based Sensor Systems Inc. has been awarded a contract by Boeing to supply S65-8282-136 UHF/SATCOM/GPS antennas for the C-17 Globemaster III military transport.
An 11-lb. aircraft flew 1,888 mi. across the Atlantic this month, re-creating the 1919 flight of Royal Air Force pilots John Alcock and Arthur Whitten-Brown, and provisionally setting records for distance and endurance.
CHC Helicopters has been awarded a $13.42 million contract renewal by Southeast Asia's Total Exploration and Production Co., to provide one Sikorsky S76A++ helicopter for five years.
I was intrigued by Capt. Walt Bates' letter about the performance benefits of exhaust from an aircraft air-conditioning system reenergizing the boundary layer (AW&ST June 2, p. 6). He has recorded benefits from a single valve. How much greater could the benefits be if the air-conditioning flow was exhausted through small vents optimally set around the periphery of the rear fuselage? If this feature were incorporated into a new design, the cost would be minimal and we would have a win-win-win situation.
The Russian air force is putting in place a credible upgrade road map for tactical combat aircraft, while at the same time its strategic aviation units may have begun to take delivery of a long-awaited conventional land-attack missile capability.
LEGO SATS The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland AFB, N.M., wants some concepts for rapid-prototyping of space systems based on a kind of space "LEGO" system. Also dubbed "protosats," the LEGO-type satellites would be based on a small family of building blocks from which any complex spacecraft structure could be built. The protosats could, for example, be panels that contain mechanisms for engaging connections automatically when two panels are joined.
The U.S. Army next year plans to launch development of a mobile high-power laser that could be used to shoot down rockets, artillery shells, unmanned aircraft and other targets. The multimillion-dollar project, being pursued in cooperation with Israel, is the outgrowth of years of effort on the Tactical High Energy Laser (Thel), a large testbed built at the White Sands (N.M.) Missile Range. Thel shot down Katyusha rockets and an artillery round and spurred interest in a mobile version (M-Thel). The target set will be greatly expanded for the mobile system.
Deutsche BA will perform component repairs on outboard flap carriages for FLS Aerospace's fleet of 16 Boeing 737-300 aircraft, under an 18-month, $400,000-contract.
STRENGTHENING TIES Senior Indian and U.S. military officials have decided to establish a high-level dialogue on defense technology security issues and to hold a missile defense workshop in India in the next six months. India has also agreed to participate in 2005 in the Pentagon's Roving Sands air and missile defense exercise. The discussions are part of a broader warming of relations between New Delhi and Washington in the past few years that has led to a resumption of joint exercises that had not taken place for decades.
Wichita's aggressive campaign, "Fair Fares," now over a year old, had low-fare air service as its goal. Officials wanted to broaden the choice for consumers and obtain the benefits of competition on fares in general. Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport authorities wanted to halt the "leakage" of travelers to other regional airports, primarily Kansas City (Mo.) International Airport, served by Southwest Airlines.
POWERING THE X-45C Boeing has selected Windsor Locks, Conn.-based Hamilton Sundstrand as a key supplier for the X-45C/CN, the Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) being developed in the joint unmanned combat air system (J-UCAS) program to meet both U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy UCAV demonstration requirements. The company will provide systems for primary electric power generation, flight-critical electric power generation and electric power conversion. No dollar figures have been released as yet.
One in five U.S. households with television now receives service through direct-broadcast satellites, according to the Satellite Broadcasting and Com- munications Assn., which cited a study by McKinsey & Co. The latest numbers posted by DirecTV and Dish Network show 11,560,000 subscribers for DirecTV and 8,800,000 for EchoStar-owned Dish. The percentage of customers disconnecting each month is reportedly lower for satellite service than terrestrial cable.
Of the aerospace industry's three principal engine suppliers, Rolls-Royce plc has been the least affected by the sharp drop in commercial aircraft demand. Most of its engines in service are very modern, so haven't been parked and are only just approaching their first overhaul. This means the relatively high number of deliveries in the last few years has more than offset the retirement of Rolls-powered aircraft. (United Technologies Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney unit, whose engines tend to power the oldest passenger jets, has been the hardest hit.)
KLM PACKS FLIGHT BAG ON 777 Boeing joined fuselage sections this month on its first 777-200ER for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. The aircraft is the first in production to incorporate the Class-3 certified Jeppesen Electronic Flight Bag, which provides cockpit crews with computer access to flight manuals, weight-and-balance data, flight charts, weather maps and other information that are commonly carried as paper documents. KLM has four -200ERs on order and has leased six more. The aircraft is to be delivered in October.
COMMUNICATION COOPERATION OTE, one of Finmeccanica's newest additions, is poised to receive an Italian government contract worth more than 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) to develop and field an advanced joint GSM communication network linking the Italian police, Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza paramilitary and police forces. These forces, of 272,000 personnel combined, have traditionally balked at relinquishing local power for intercompatibility. But following Sept.
Senior Editor Craig Covault (foreground, left) reviews checklists in the cockpit of the Orbital Sciences Corp. Lockheed L-1011 "Stargazer" launch aircraft prior to firing a Pegasus XL booster off Cape Canaveral to place the Sorce solar observation satellite in orbit (see cover). From left are Elbert Harris, backup pilot; Bill Weaver, command pilot; Bob Taylor, flight engineer; and Don Moor, copilot. The flight deck crewmen are all former Lockheed test pilots who fly the aircraft under contract to OSC.
Orbital Sciences Corp. Lockheed L-1011 launch aircraft flying off Cape Canaveral, Fla., drops the 52,000-lb. Pegasus XL winged booster carrying the NASA Sorce solar observation spacecraft (see p. 56). In this picture sequence, the Pegasus first stage ignites with 163,000 lb. thrust, in the bottom view. NASA photos by Robert A. Rivers and V. Eric Roback flying in a Langley Research Center T-38 chase aircraft.
NODE SATS Tucked away in the cargo compartment of a Russian Progress resupply vehicle set for launch to the International Space Station this week are the first elements of an MIT experiment that will see "satellites" the size of bowling balls maneuvering inside the station's Unity node.
There is little schedule margin left as the Pentagon pushes to meet its goal of next year fielding an initial missile defense system to protect the U.S.
Barry Eccleston has been appointed Phoenix-based vice president-propulsion systems for Honeywell. He was vice president-commercial aerospace for Europe, and has been executive vice president-business development for Fairchild Dornier and president/CEO of International Aero Engines.
BOMBS AWAY B-2s have expanded their ability to drop bombs in two separate test events. Most recently, a B-2 flying over the Utah Testing and Training Range at Hill AFB dropped two 5,000-lb. GBU-28B/B bombs. The weapon features GPS guidance in addition to laser guidance, and represents an enhancement of the GBU-28A/B that is only laser-guided. B-2s already were able to drop 5,000-lb.-class weapons, although those were only GPS-guided. Integration of the latest weapon required only a software update. Earlier this month a B-2 dropped 80 inert 500-lb.
INSAT DELAY India's Insat-3E, which was delayed from its scheduled Sept. 3 Ariane launch from Kourou, French Guiana (AW&ST Aug. 18, p. 21), needs at least three weeks more time so a few components in the communications payload can be retested. The suspect components--solid-state power amplifiers (SSPAs)--were delivered at least two years ago by Mitsubishi Electric Corp. The retests have become necessary following a quality alert by the manufacturer of the parts.
TRIGGER HAPPY Saab Bofors Dynamics will develop the proximity fuze for the ramjet-powered, beyond-visual-range Meteor air-to-air missile. The $55-million (SEK450-million) contract springs in part from Saab's decision earlier this year to become involved in Meteor. The deal also includes options for production of the missile. Meteor also features an impact fuze. Both operate in conjunction with a blast fragmentation warhead.
Frontier Airlines has concluded an order for an additional 15 124-seat Airbus A319s set to be delivered in 2004-08. In the shorter term, Frontier will take delivery of 14 A318/A319s from leasing companies.
