Engineers from the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia's RSC Energia are working on a "win-win-win" concept that would use a European Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) as the basis for a pressurized International Space Station facility where Russian scientists could conduct research.
No individual or organization deserves the blame for the space shuttle Columbia accident, but your Washington Outlook item "Slamming Shuttle Safety" (AW&ST May 19, p. 23) places most of the blame where it belongs.
Four hundred million dollars is being earmarked by the British Defense Ministry to set up and run a battle lab to develop and support its Network-Enabled Capability over the next decade. Under the banner of the "Niteworks" program, the ministry and industry will use the lab as a means to explore and build up elements of a network-enabled concept of operations.
Lockheed Martin has received a patent for a near-zero-erosion, net-molded ceramic rocket nozzle throat for solid rocket motors. The new ceramic material promises to improve solid rocket motor price and performance compared with state-of-the-art 4D carbon-carbon material.
Kjeld Binger, who is chairman of Mexico City-based Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, also will be interim president/CEO, following the resignation of Frantz Guns. Binger also has been CEO of Copenhagen Airport Development International.
Michael A. (Tony) McVeigh, Boeing Senior Technical Fellow (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Robert Wall reports on Bell's efforts on applications of active flow control (AFC) to tiltrotor download reduction (AW&ST May 26, p. 30). There is no mention of Boeing, so I want to set the record straight.
Sikorsky Aircraft selected the CMA-2082M flight management system (two per aircraft) and CMA-2088 emergency control panel for the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter. The company estimates it will supply those systems for 1,200 aircraft as part of an upgrade program. Total value over the life of the program is about $110 million. The company already supplies the CMA-2082A avionics management system and CMA-2088 emergency control panel for the UH-60Q and HH-60L medevac helos for the U.S.
The U.S. House has unanimously approved the four-year, $58.9-billion "Flight 100" FAA reauthorization bill for system capacity enhancements and modernization of the air traffic control system (AW&ST May 19, p. 43). HR 2115 aims to improve air service to small communities, provide better security training for flight attendants and authorizes a study of aircraft cabin air quality.
This series of low-cost, modular absolute encoders is suited to severe electrical (EMI) and physical (high temperature, vibration and moisture) environments. The units will convert any shaft input to BCD or binary information corresponding directly to the shaft angle with an accuracy of ±1 pt. in 1,000.
Philip Davies has been named senior account manager for Europe and North America for Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., Guilford, England. He was an engineer and business development manager for Logica.
Frank Cepollina (see photo), deputy associate director for the Hubble Space Telescope Development Project at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He was recognized for his pioneering satellite servicing techniques that have been used to correct the telescope's initially blurry vision.
THE FAA HAS AWARDED GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE a Supplemental Type Certificate to install BAE Systems' AN/ALQ-204 Matador infrared countermeasures in the company's G550 and G500 business jets. Gulfstream President Bryan Moss said the system, which is designed to thwart attacks from anti-aircraft missiles, can be retrofitted into the Gulfstream V and is approved for the smaller G400 and G300 aircraft. In related news, Gulfstream will provide two G300s to charter operator Royal Jet based in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
CAE has signed a two-year, $6-million contract with two renewable two-year terms to provide CRJ200 full-flight simulator training for Midway Airlines pilots.
Alfred J. Graser, general manager of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, has received the American Assn. of Airport Executives' Distinguished Service Award. He was honored for his more than 25 years of experience in management, operations, maintenance and security positions at two New York airports. He had been general manager of LaGuardia Airport, which also is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Also, Jeanne M.
QATAR AIRWAYS FIRST INTO IRAQ After flying mercy missions into Iraq, Qatar Airways has become the first carrier to operate commercial services into that country in 12 years, said CEO Akbar Al Baker. The A320s will primarily serve the international aid community. The carrier's initial services are twice weekly from the United Arab Emirates to Basra, but it is planning flights to Baghdad. Al Baker said he expects Qatar Airways to break even next year, seven years after its relaunch.
The SunBarrier SPF 30 sunscreen towel contains enough sunscreen to protect the face, neck, hands and ears from sun exposure to ultraviolet rays. The individual packs will fit into a tool belt, pocket or toolbox. The product is resistant to water and sweat, and the quick-drying, non-greasy formula will not make hands or tools slippery. SunBarrier is geared for maintenance personnel and others working outside for prolonged periods of time, such as line maintenance technicians at airports. LPS Laboratories, 4647 Hugh Howell Road, Tucker, Ga. 30085.
The company has introduced customer manufactured domes, windows and lenses fabricated from sapphire or ALON (aluminum oxynitride) for military and commercial applications. Manufactured to specifications that provide 2000 Knoop hardness, they are suitable for high-speed missile domes, detectors, sensors and viewports. The company is capable of producing finishes to <1nm RMS for sapphire and <4nm RMS for ALON. Domes and lenses up to 6-in.-dia. are available in either material, and windows up to 10- and 16-in.-dia. from sapphire and ALON, respectively.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY has acquired nine single-engine Diamond DA20-C1 trainers and 11 DA40-180 Diamond Stars aircraft for its flight-training program. The two-seat DA20 and four-seat DA40 are replacing obsolete trainers that "don't represent today's technology," said Paul Craig, aerospace chairman at the college. Diamond aircraft also are being used at the U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Empire Aviation and Utah Valley State College. MTSU has 638 students majoring in aerospace.
Senior Space Technology Editor Frank Morring, Jr., got a close look at the International Space Station's Node2 at the Alenia Spazio plant in Turin, Italy, just before it was shipped to Florida last month for launch preparation. When the pressurized node is docked, ISS will have reached its "U.S. core complete" milestone and be ready to receive its European and Japanese laboratory modules.
Roy R. Russell, a pioneer in both academic and industrial aerospace training, died on June 11 of multiple complications following a long illness. He was 85. Russell was instrumental in developing the educational foundation that made California a center of aerospace. He founded three college-level aviation programs--which included flight training and one of the first FAA-approved jet and helicopter maintenance courses in the state--and was recognized as California's Outstanding Aviation Educator in 1980.
Milton Carroll and James C. Flagg have been named to the board of directors of Houston-based Eagle Global Logistics Inc. Carroll is chairman of Instrument Products Inc. of Houston, while Flagg is a certified public accountant and associate professor of accounting at the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University.
I respect the views of John A. Eney, having known him during the time he was with the Navy's LTA project in the 1970s and '80s, but I disagree with his conclusion. Airships do have a problem of wanting to float, but airplanes have a tendency to fall. Airships can and will fill a void in air transportation in the 21st century. Hover control problems are being solved and will make airships viable for transportation, primarily for cargo and forestry operations.
This expansion bay increases archive or RAID capacity for its Model 80 series disk recorders. The chassis, integrated with the Model 80, is used in range applications such as missile, flight and sonar tests, as well as satellite and space applications. The new bay can accommodate removable RAID or system disk drives for security applications. The unit can be retrofitted in the field and is compatible with any half- or full-height SCSI devices. It is usable with an SCSI floppy, 8-mm. tape and removable archive drive.
Thomas G. Romary has been appointed vice president-marketing of Alaska Airlines. He was vice president-consumer marketing at Seattle-based RealNetworks. Stephen B. Jarvis has been promoted to staff vice president for e-commerce and distribution. He has headed development of the e-commerce division.
