Donald W. Vanlandingham, retired chairman of the Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., has been named to the board of directors of UQM Technologies Inc., Frederick, Colo.
IATA LOOKS TO 'BOLD CHANGES' Airline executives last week pried the lid off industry's Pandora's box of crises and painstakingly examined the chances, and the conditions, for future survival.
Philadelphia International Airport has added four gates to Terminal D in a $20-million expansion that includes a larger baggage claim area and concession space. Air Tran Airways, based at Terminal D, has increased services at Philadelphia, adding daily nonstop flights to Boston in late May.
In a move with far-reaching implications, European transport ministers last week cleared the European Commission to negotiate a multilateral open skies agreement with Washington. The European Union (EU) transport ministers council, meeting on June 5, gave the go-ahead for the commission to enter into discussions with the U.S. with the aim of creating an Open Aviation Area. The agreement eventually would supplant existing bilaterals between the U.S. and individual EU states.
Japan's Satellite Information Center has begun image reception tests of the country's first two of four optical/radar reconnaissance satellites that were launched in late March (AW&ST Apr. 7, p. 32). North Korean ballistic missile tests prompted development of the satellites, but the initial image tests were of domestic targets to confirm resolution and filming/transmission capabilities. From mid-month, they will begin reconnaissance over North Korea and other areas.
IMMUNE DEFICIENCY The government should enact rules to indemnify industry against lawsuits in case homeland security technologies fail, argues Northrop Grumman chief Ron Sugar. Defense contractors already enjoy such protection, and Sugar maintains that unless similar exemptions from litigation are afforded on the home front, the introduction of technologies could be stifled. "No company is in a position to expose itself to unreasonable liability and the risk of litigation," the company exec says.
Australia is reacting strongly to a May 29 incident involving a passenger wielding two 6-in. sharpened wooden stakes who tried to break into the locked cockpit of a Boeing 717. Justice and Customs Minister Chris Ellison wants Qantas to place sky marshals on board and to conduct full-body searches of domestic passengers, but the airline's CEO, Geoff Dixon, reckons that a raft of new security measures could do more harm than good. The incident occurred on Qantas Fight 1737 on May29 from Melbourne to Launceston, Tasmania.
William B. Scott (Colorado Springs), Craig Covault (Cape Canaveral)
HIGH GROUND OVER IRAQ As U.S. officials assess how military and commercial space resources contributed to combat successes in Iraq and Afghanistan, it appears that a long-sought goal of integrating "space" with air, ground and maritime operations is being realized.
Code Shares Advance From something old to something new and a few points in between, code sharing is inching forward as one of few areas of U.S. commercial aviation growth. Something old: The U.S. Transportation Dept. made final on May 30 its approval of code sharing by American Airlines and British Airways, to which it gave a tentative go-ahead seven weeks earlier (AW&ST Apr. 14, p. 59).
MUSES-C'S NEXT STEP Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science reports the start of individual tests of the four ion electric engines that will power Muses-C. Full operation of all four engines is set for mid-month. The Muses-C explorer is to touch down on asteroid 1998 SF36 in two years and return samples to Earth in 2007 (AW&ST May19, p. 40).
TSA Hiring Jumble Lawmakers honed in last week on the "convoluted and confusing" process of background checks for Transportation Security Administration job applicants that allowed some to be hired as passenger and baggage screeners even though they had criminal records.
Mars or Bust Europe has successfully embarked on its first mission to Mars, leading a renewed international effort that will see a record six spacecraft on or above the red planet by early next year.
SORCERERS' APPRENTICE? The U.S. aerospace and defense industry is dealing with an aging workforce, just as the Defense Dept. is with its civilian workers. Accenture, a consultancy that counts some of the largest aerospace-defense companies as its clients, is taking initiatives with technology to help fill in when expertise walks out the door for retirement. It is no longer possible to develop aircraft, ships and other weapon systems by following the apprenticeship model of having a young engineer work closely with an older mentor.
Further to the plea for more rigorous testing on the Airbus A300-600, I believe it is essential for the National Transportation Safety Board to include investigation of the tail assembly of American Airlines Flight 587 (AW&ST Apr. 14, p. 6).
The tax bill that President Bush recently signed into law boosting the bonus depreciation to 50% from 30% for property acquired after May 5 but before Jan. 1, 2005, could jump-start sluggish business jet aircraft sales, according to JSA Research analyst Peter Arment. The increase in the first-year depreciation allowance is a significant financial incentive to order aircraft now, he said.
THURAYA-2 UNDERWAY The Sea Launch Commander vessel and its companion Odyssey Launch Platform left their Long Beach, Calif., homeport for the equatorial Pacific in advance of the planned June 10 floating launch of the Thuraya-2 telecommunications satellite. The mission was scheduled to begin after a 72-hr. countdown at the launch site, located on the equator at 154 deg. W. Long. Built by Boeing Satellite Systems on its big 702 bus, Thuraya-2 will deliver mobile voice and data services across a region centered on the Middle East.
Ronald G. Sabbagh has been promoted to vice president from director of software development and special projects for New York-based L-3 Communications. Claude R. Canizares, who is associate provost at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Bruno Rossi professor of experimental physics--overseeing the Lincoln Laboratory--has been appointed to the board of directors. He succeeds John E. Montague, who has resigned.
Power-by-the-Hour he U.S. Navy is negotiating a power-by-the-hour service agreement with Rolls-Royce in the hope of boosting engine reliability for both the E-2C airborne early warning aircraft and the T-45C trainers.
Loral Space & Communications will initiate a reverse split of the company's common stock at a ratio of one-for-ten, effective after the close of business on June 13, resulting in a new par value of 10 cents a share. On June 16, the company's common stock will be trading again on the New York Stock Exchange.
BAD AIR DAY Is, or isn't, the "air" in airliners making us sick? Last week's House aviation subcommittee hearing on the quality of aircraft cabin air aimed to find out from expert witnesses. Passengers and crews have long been concerned about the health risks of cabin air, with the focus of late on the transmission of contagious disease in flight, namely severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Air Transport Assn. President and CEO James C.
Doubler Hides Crack Afactual report published last week focuses extensively on fatigue cracks on the fuselage of China Airlines Flight 611, a Boeing 747-200 that came apart at the top of climb on May 25, 2002. The cracks emanated from a repair of tail-strike damage that occurred in 1980. The repair is on a pressurized section of the fuselage, on the aft belly where the fuselage upsweep starts.
ATV FINAL OFFER Meanwhile, ESA has completed negotiations with EADS Launch Vehicles on a contract to provide eight production Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) space tugs for the International Space Station. Human spaceflight director Jorg Feustel-Buechl said a firm and final offer for the vehicles is expected soon, with a contract award to follow in principle this summer.
Losing Thrust Congress is hearing that inadequate government support for research into space launch technology threatens reliable U.S. access to Earth orbit in general, even as key members worry that NASA's plans for human spaceflight rely too heavily on keeping aging space shuttles in operation.
