A software programming or computer error is being investigated as the cause of the Russian Soyuz TMA-1 spacecraft's unexpected shift into a ballistic, rather than the planned guided-lifting reentry mode, resulting in the Station Expedition 6 crew landing 285 mi. short of their recovery zone after an 8-9g plunge into the atmosphere. The findings of a Russian investigation into the incident are important for future TMA operations--especially those planned for return of the space station's new Expedition 7 crew in October.
The Hubble Heritage Project of the Baltimore-based Space Telescope Science Institute, with Keith Noll as principal investigator, has won the annual Klumpke-Roberts Award of the San Francisco-based Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The award recognizes contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy. The team produces images from existing Hubble Space Telescope archived data and from new observations.
FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey named David B. Bruce Johnson as director of the agency's Air Traffic Service. Johnson succeeds Bill G. Peacock, who retired earlier this month. Linda M. Schuessler, who was named deputy director, succeeds Jeff Griffith, who retired last year.
SOS LOANS FOR JAPAN'S AIRLINES Japan's government is expected to extend emergency low-interest loans to All Nippon Airways and the Japan Airlines Group because of the travel impact of the SARS virus and Iraq war. However, the amount is uncertain. JAL has the biggest exposure because its international route network is the largest. Its international travel during the "Golden Week" spring holiday was off 48% from last year, although domestic travel was the same. JAL is forecasting a six-month loss of $756 million; ANA expects to lose $176 million (see p. 44). After the Sept.
328JET ACTIVITY In transactions valued at $44 million, Air Omega UK is buying two and leasing two Fairchild Dornier 328JETS for passenger service in Germany. The company's affiliated Air Omega Germany in Altenburg operates three Embraer EMB-120s in cargo service. Two of the aircraft, previously in service with another carrier, will be delivered this month under a lease with Ozark Management Inc.
Raytheon Co.'s Space and Airborne Systems received a $8-million contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) to design and demonstrate the first synthetic aperture laser radar tactical imager. Also, Raytheon will develop Darpa's adaptive wing technology for its cruise missile mission vehicles under a $4.1-million contract.
In a victory for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Supreme Court of the Philippines has sided with the government and voided a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract for Terminal3 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila, the country's biggest infrastructure project.
THE U.S. AIR FORCE WILL OPEN BIDDING FOR a Joint Mission Planning System in early August. The task of the contract, potentially worth $1 billion, will be to replace existing systems with a centralized software development and common set of components that can be used by aircraft, precision-guided munitions and some ground vehicles. A baseline system is to be fielded by the end of fiscal year '04, and introduced first on the F-15E.
One of several operations nodes in U.S. Northern Command's new headquarters building at Peterson AFB, Colo., the Situation Awareness Center receives information from multiple sources, including cable TV news outlets (see p. 52). Military personnel and an interagency representative monitor and disseminate information about air, land and maritime events that could affect homeland security throughout the Northcom area of responsibility. Photo by USAF SSgt. Larry Holmes.
PAIRING TO PARE At present, the Air Force's three overhaul centers--Hill AFB, Utah; Tinker AFB, Okla.; and Robins AFB, Ga.--are losing money on their execution build, partly because of inefficiency and partly because of the difficulties of supporting aging platforms. But over the next three years, the AFMC's set-aside for depot infrastructure improvements is $150 million per year. Besides building improvements, the funding will cover training and equipment, according to Gen. Lyles.
CSAR SHIFT The U.S. Air Force's Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) mission will move from Air Combat Command to the service's Special Operations Command on Oct. 1. The transition is intended to consolidate management and take advantage of similar aircraft and missions, according to Maj. Gen. Richard A. Mentemeyer, USAF's director of operations and training. In the past, attempts to bring special ops and CSAR together have been problematic. Though the missions appear similar, there are some incompatibilities, according to critics (AW&ST Mar. 11, 2002, p. 60).
BACK FOR TESTS Boeing and Johnson Space Center managers have decided to return at least one International Space Station solar array system from the Kennedy Space Center to California for a deployment test. This test will serve as an indicator whether the remaining 11 arrays at Kennedy should also be sent back for similar tests and refurbishment. Station managers have been concerned that the array panels could stick together once deployed in space owing to the length of time they have been packaged, coupled with launch delays caused by the Columbia accident.
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board will cite serious deficiencies in NASA's overall safety program as a root cause or significant contributing factor to the loss of the space shuttle Columbia and her crew. Investigators believe these deficiencies involve a lack of effectiveness about how NASA has carried out the government's responsibility for broader oversight, when it transferred more specific vehicle quality control duties to the United Space Alliance (USA) under the Space Flight Operations Contract (SFOC).
Europe remains on track to launch its Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) in September 2004, a tentative capability that could ease Russia's burden as the sole freight hauler for the International Space Station if the space shuttle remains grounded longer than NASA hopes.
Russell H. Jones has been promoted to senior vice president/chief investment officer/treasurer from vice president/ treasurer of the Kaman Corp., Bloomfield, Conn.
U.S. Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.) noted that airlines should be regulated "as a publicly necessary public utility" (AW&ST Apr. 21, p. 21).What a concept! Why didn't anybody think of that sooner? The deregulation argument reached its peak in 1978 when Congress, in its infinite wisdom, decided the airlines and particularly the American public were better served not being regulated. So, the Civil Aeronautics Board went away.
The European Union is giving the U.S. until the fall to fix export tax laws before imposing $4 billion in World Trade Organization-authorized sanctions. The EU last year won a WTO ruling that tax breaks Washington devised to aid exports by U.S. companies violate global trade rules. U.S. lawmakers are promising to address the issue soon, although warning that sanctions would harm bilateral relations.
INVESTMENT DIVIDENDS Embraer finds its investment in advanced and high school education programs is paying off in a bumper crop of well-qualified engineers and workers for its aircraft manufacturing efforts. The Brazilian company started a postgraduate program for engineers nearly two years ago and the first class has graduated from the 18-month program. The classes of 200 each are able to obtain M.S. degrees from a number of engineering subjects.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has selected Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. to produce components for eight additional F-2 aircraft in a $160-million order.
The Homeland Security Dept. will study NASA's highly successful coordination of more than 130 federal, state and local agencies in the Columbia accident debris search for lessons on how to carry out similar coordination to respond to terrorist attacks. NASA and federal managers believe the Columbia debris recovery was the single largest organized ground search effort ever carried out, said David W. Whittle, chairman of NASA's Systems Safety Review Panel and head of the NASA Mishap Investigation Team in the Shuttle Program Office.
Only seven months old, U.S. Northern Command is rapidly expanding its links to other federal agencies, conducting realistic exercises to prepare for both terrorism and natural disasters, and has provided military support for a number of real-world events.
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ALSO IN JAPAN NASDA said it will postpone launch of the weather/air traffic control MTSAT-1R satellite from this summer to next January or February on an H-IIA booster. Officials did not report the cause of the delay. The satellite is being built by Space Systems/Loral, which has not shipped the satellite and declined to comment, citing contractual obligations. But while MTSAT-1R is being delayed, a major Japanese commercial program is moving forward. Japan's JSAT Corp. has selected Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems to build the JCSAT-9 communications satellite.
Rolf-Christian Andersen has become vice president-internal auditing of Swiss International Air Lines. He was head of audit for Zurich Financial Services.
