Defense Dept. efforts to enhance software development are now moving into new territory as software and systems engineering processes are integrated into one method for improving productivity. It was in the mid-1980s, as software defects became all too common, that the Pentagon realized something had to be done to improve the development process. Defense agencies and contractors were going about software development in a haphazard fashion, relying on "software cowboys" to get the job done rather than engineers adhering to a structured process.
The HT-4100 tachometer is small, thin and weighs less than 4ounces. Ergonomically designed to fit into the hand, the unit can be carried in a shirt or pants pocket. Measurement set-up can be completed by applying a small piece of reflective tape marker or reflective paint to the surface of the object being measured. For operation, aim the unit's red light beam at the reflective marker; an on-target indicator light flashes when targeting is correct.
It's amazing how the "fly till you die" crowd suddenly gets religion as they hit their mid-fifties. Where were these whiny parasites 15 or 20 years ago when a change in retirement age would have had a dramatic impact on their careers? Most were silent. With seat stagnation at most of the major carriers, and thousands of pilots on the street via furloughs, now is not the time to tinker with a rule that has served this profession well, and kept the flying public out of harm's way.
STRATOFLOATER Japan's National Aerospace Laboratory launched an unmanned, helium-filled airship this month that soared to 16,400 meters (53,800 ft.) in a study of long-endurance use of such vehicles in the stratosphere. Built by Fuji Heavy Industries, the airship was launched from the Pacific Ocean city of Hitachi, about 100 km. (62 mi.) northeast of Tokyo, and was recovered 40 km. offshore about two hours later after venting its gas. Weighing 500 kg. (1,100 lb.), it measured 47 meters long by 12 meters in diameter.
LOOSE LIPS NASA is buying a secure voice teleconferencing system for its Washington headquarters, in part to ease the use of reconnaissance satellites, ground-based optical trackers and other highly classified military and intelligence hardware to inspect orbiting space shuttles to ensure they are safe for reentry. Pressed by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, the civilian space agency already has inked an agreement with the Pentagon's National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) for the work.
CAPT. WILLIAM R. TYMCZYSZYN I had hoped we'd fly together again someday, but I didn't know just when. Then a sense of something special came over me as I released the brakes on our venerable DC-10 to begin pushback from a gate in Toronto. I felt like someone had entered the cockpit, and his presence startled me.
Is aircraft air a health problem? We don't need arcane theories or difficult measurements to answer the question. Just look at the people who have the greatest exposure to cabin air--flight attendants and pilots. Do they have significantly more illness or respiratory problems than the rest of us?
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory's human effectiveness directorate is asking for white papers and estimated costs of a creative program to enhance the ability of operators and decisionmakers engaged in information warfare, thereby allowing the U.S. to dominate such encounters. The directorate wants to look at hardware, software and training devices as well as tactics, techniques and procedures. These aids are to be used by information warfare units, air operations centers and the joint forces air component commander.
Aeroflot Russian Airlines has signed a 10-year agreement with Snecma Services covering the pay-by-hour maintenance of 36 CFM56-5B turbofans. The engines will power the Russian carrier's Airbus A319s and A320s, scheduled to enter service between October 2003 and December 2004.
SIMPLIFYING SECURITY Multiple computer security sign-ins and passwords are a nuisance everywhere. But coordinating different networks to accept a single sign-in/password isn't easy, so the aerospace industry often lives with the problem. But Southwest Airlines and Boeing have achieved a common sign-in/password system for the airline's intranet and the proprietary fleet configuration/maintenance data that it keeps with MyBoeingFleet.com.
Even though the Lybian government of Muammar Qadhafi accepted "responsibility for the actions of its officials" in the 1988 bombing of Pan American Flight 103 in a three-page letter to the U.N. Security Council last week, the White House plans to keep U.S. sanctions against Lybia in place. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell responded to the news, saying the U.S. will not oppose the lifting of U.N. sanctions. Lybia said it helped bring two suspects in the bombing to justice and is committed to cooperating in the fight against terrorism. However, the U.S.
TROUBLE IN SPACE Satellite Radio's two Boeing-built broadcast satellites over the equator south of the U.S. are experiencing faster than normal loss of solar power owing to degradation of reflectors that concentrate sunlight (AW&ST Sept. 23, 2002, p. 60). Both satellites are part of a batch of six Boeing BSS 702 models launched between December 1999 and May 2001 in which normal end-of-life power is predicted to occur after roughly three years in space instead of the typical 12 years. To cope with the expected power loss, XM signed a contract with Sea Launch on Aug.
Barantec was awarded FAA certification for a cockpit door access control keypad, and says this is the aviation industry's only certified keypad for flight deck doors. By utilizing a patented solid-state design based on the piezoelectric effect, the company is able to manufacture totally sealed, all-metal products that have no moving parts and, as a result, long life. The company worked with Timco Aviation Sales of Greensboro, N.C., to develop software for the product.
The SpaceShipOne photographs (AW&ST Apr. 21, p. 64) appear to be retouched or modified. The rocket nozzles visible in three separate photos are clearly either computer-generated additions or extremely poorly done mockups. The nozzles in the photographs on pp. 64-65 are not even close to the actual nozzles shown on pp. 69 and 73. If those simple pictures are faked, what else is fake? Are all of the inflight pictures fake as well? Do any of the photos show actual flight hardware?
Aerospace and defense companies have scaled back some information technology projects, but canceled relatively few outright, as the vendors of the leading tools focus on ways to knit the entire enterprise together in their latest offerings.
I must say that government studies and more school programs to promote interest in careers in aerospace will not work. As a midlevel engineer who left the industry five years ago, I have to point out that it was the wild mood swings in the industry that gave me reason to change careers. Engineers as a group tend to be more risk-averse than others, so despite the rewards of designing, building and making it fly, these are offset by the worry of not having a job after the program ends.
STN ATLAS SPLITS BAE Systems and Rheinmetall DeTec have finally struck a deal over the breakup of their STN Atlas joint-venture electronics company. BAE held 49% of STN, with 51% owned by Rheinmetall. The restructuring will see STN Atlas split into two companies: Atlas Elektronik, a naval sysyems business to be wholly owned by BAE, and Rheinmetall Defense Electronics, which covers air and land systems, to be held by Rheinmetall.
A White Paper from Japan's Defense Agency says the threat of international terrorism or a ballistic missile attack is far greater than a Cold War-style invasion, signaling a rethinking in spending away from the country's traditional defensive stance.
PEGASUS FIRES SCISAT A 330-lb. Canadian satellite designed to study chemistry tied to ozone distribution in the upper atmosphere is undergoing checkout in polar orbit following its launch Aug. 12 on a Pegasus XL winged booster. The SciSat 1 spacecraft was placed into a 400-mi. orbit inclined 73.9 deg. following its drop launch from the Orbital Sciences Corp. L-1011 carrier aircraft flying over the Pacific Ocean about 100 mi. off the central California coast. The flight marked the 21st Pegasus success in a row extending back to 1996.
In a bid to make the V-22 tiltrotor more affordable, the Pentagon plans to spend about $360 million during the next several years to improve how the Marine Corps and Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) aircraft are built, and to reach a price of $58 million per copy in 2010.
Robert Wall (Washington), Craig Covault (Cape Canaveral)
Overwritten requirements, excessive monitoring and misguided organizational changes have taken their toll on the creativity and effectiveness of the National Reconnaissance Office, complain former representatives of the agency that builds U.S. intelligence satellites.
