The AsiaSat 4 spacecraft, a Boeing 601 model, was scheduled to be launched Apr. 11 from Cape Canaveral on board a Russian-powered Lockheed Martin/International Launch Services Atlas III booster. The total mission cost is $240 million. The satellite is to provide broadcast, broadband media and direct-to-home services to Hong Kong and the overall Asia-Pacific region.
Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has paid about $6.6 billion in cash and stock to take a controlling interest in Hughes Electronics, fulfilling his long-time goal of acquiring entree into the U.S. pay-TV market for his Fox Entertainment Group via the Hughes DirecTV unit.
Searchers in central Texas have have moved just west of the main Columbia debris field in the hope critical pieces of the space shuttle's left wing may have fallen there. If so, it could round out the growing body of evidence that the wing disintegrated during reentry because a loose piece of insulating foam cracked a critical heat-shield component during launch.
In a move that has thrown potential bidders off balance, Britain's National Air Traffic Services has shelved competitive procurement of a key element of its next-generation air traffic system, preferring to pursue a collaborative effort with Spain and Germany. National Air Traffic Services (NATS) was in the early stages of competing for a successor to its National Airspace System (NAS), used at both West Drayton and Swanwick centers, as well as for its en route center in Prestwick, Scotland.
LASER LINKS Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems has teamed with Ball Aerospace to develop satellite laser links designed to meet the U.S. government's growing need for high-bandwidth capacity for military communications. The team plans to act as a merchant supplier in marketing technology it believes will boost satellite relay capacity by a factor of 10 or more, enabling the network-centric warfare concept by allowing "near-immediate access to information." Ball plans to apply its expertise in remote sensing, acquisition, and pointing and tracking to the team effort.
WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP 18 Murdoch buys major interest in Hughes Electronics 18 Reinforced cockpit doors now in about 10,000 aircraft 19 Carlyle-Finmeccanica team tapped to buy FiatAvio WAR IN IRAQ 22 One key to taking Baghdad: 'Finesse air power' 23 Aggressive tactics, shrinking tanker force offer challenges 26 Marine air ops clear opposi- tion for ground force 28 B-1 crew makes another at- tempt on Iraq's leadership
Nothing warms the heart of an airline or OEM maintenance executive more than a technology that works. That's particularly true for technologies that make the hard become easier, the scattershot become organized, and the unproductive become, well, somewhat less so.
PLAY TOGETHER NOW Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld promulgates a Transformation Planning Guidance document that formalizes his approach to revamping warfighting capability in the Defense Dept. The document envisions no "right answer," but lays out a process of innovation with checks and balances and solicits critiques from various offices. But don't think Rummy's turning into a softie. The plan spells out the roles and responsibilities of senior military leaders and the military services in one place for the first time.
WEATHER RADIO XM Satellite Radio will use its S-band mobile service to send up-to-the-minute weather data to aircraft, ships and emergency vehicles in a new subscription service to be launched this summer. Using the same mobile antenna XM uses for pay-radio delivery to cars and trucks across the U.S., and small, low-cost receivers, the new service will deliver graphical weather information like that seen on commercial television stations to a variety of mobile customers. Weather Works Inc.
RST SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH HAS TESTED a low-cost phased array antenna with broadband operation, high-power handling capability and low DC power consumption. It could improve airborne tactical military communication by simultaneously providing high data rates to ground, air and satellite receivers, according to the company. Instead of using more expensive solid-state phase shifters, its beam scanning is controlled by electronically perturbing micro-strip lines to introduce a progressive phase shift between adjacent antenna elements. Beam scans of ±26 deg.
David M. Wing has been promoted to executive vice president/chief financial officer from vice president/controller of the ATA Holdings Corp. He succeeds Kenneth K. Wolff, who has retired. Wing has been succeeded by Wisty B. Malone, who was director of financial accounting.
This cable tie installation tool is for subminiature through standard cross-section cable ties. Pneumatic, push-button operations allows the PTS to automatically tension and cut off the cable tie quickly. No special training is needed to operate the tool. It was designed to reduce operator fatigue through use of a cushioned handle and controlled tip ejection that retains the cut-off tip. A tension adjustment knob and fine adjustment knob are located at the rear of the tool. The narrow nose improves visibility and access to bundles in confined areas.
Another short-notice attempt to kill Iraq's leadership, using a B1 out of Oman, was an early success for the nascent network-centric system of warfighting being introduced by the U.S. Within 12 min. of its assignment, the crew dropped four GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs)--two penetrators and two with 25-millisecond delayed action fuzes--on two aim points about 100 ft. apart in a residential area of Baghdad.
CHANGE IN PLANS US Airways and Airbus have agreed to restructure a previous order for aircraft as part of the carrier's emergence from bankruptcy. Under the new plan, the airline would receive 10 A330-200s instead of one A330-300, three A319s and 15 A320s. US Airways has 13 A321s and six additional A320s on order. Deliveries of the 29 transports are scheduled to occur in 2007-09.
SARS WARS As of late last week, airlines were continuing to make cuts in capacity because of decreased demand for international travel (particularly in the Asia region) stemming from the rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). For passengers concerned about flying to Southeast Asia, which has been among the hardest hit areas, Singapore Airlines (SIA) is allowing a one-time change of confirmed reservations for departures through June 30 on SIA or SilkAir. Travel, however, must be completed by Nov. 30, according to SIA.
The Scotch-Brite cleaning pad, made of a textured non-woven web surface coated with a non-abrasive polymer, cleans dirt and residue from the exterior of aircraft. The design increases the wet friction created by the cleaning pad, improving cleaning efficiency, according to the company. The pad conforms to aircraft surfaces and can be used in conjunction with pressure wash systems. In addition, the company says it will not alter or harm high- or low-gloss coatings. It is available in three ready-to-use sizes. 3M Aerospace, 3M Center, Building 220-8E-05, St. Paul, Minn.
Alitalia is embarking on a major revamp of its maintenance, repair and overhaul business to allow it to remain an important player in the industry. Despite the relatively small size of its MRO and engineering activity, it's considered strategic, and there are no plans to spin it off, said Ugo Cucciniello, who heads the Alitalia Engineering & Maintenance group. With annual revenues of 600 million euros ($640 million) and 4,600 employees, the group is barely a third the size of industry leaders such as Lufthansa Technik.
THUMB ON THE SCALE Government intervention as well as good fortune enabled Airbus to overtake Boeing and Bombardier to outsell Embraer, the Brazilian manufacturer's CEO, Mauricio Botelho, tells reporters here. The U.S. Export-Import Bank helped finance $2.9 billion in Boeing international sales in 2001, while comparable aid to Airbus in Europe totaled $4.2 billion, Botelho says. And Canada out-aided Brazil, $3.4 billion to $1.2 billion.
he third time was a charm for American Airlines and British Airways. The Oneworld alliance partners, which applied unsuccessfully twice during the past decade for a transatlantic code-share alliance immune from U.S. antitrust laws, won tentative Transportation Dept. approval Apr. 9 for a non-immunized deal. If the department makes its tentative approval final--after allowing one more round of protests from opponents and another rejoinder from AA-BA, all by Apr. 21--the carriers will be free to implement complex, world-spanning code shares:
The advent of highly complex space systems, such as Transformational Communications and Space-Based Radar, is forcing major changes in military system-acquisition processes. As a result, the U.S. national security space community is shifting its focus from disparate "programs" to "architectures" that can accommodate a variety of networked, interoperable platforms.
DAUPHINS TO GREECE Eurocopter will supply five AS 365 N3 Dauphin 2 helicopters to the Greek merchant marine. The 47-million-euro ($50-million) deal, which includes one option, will enable day/night surveillance ops, starting with the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. The merchant marine already operates four Eurocopter AS 332 C1 Super Pumas.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn. (AOPA) last week voiced vigorous opposition to requests by the Defense Dept. and the Secret Service to expand temporary flight restrictions around the President to 30 naut. mi. from 10 naut. mi. A senior AOPA official said the increase is unwarranted by security threats, and urged Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to reject the request. The Secret Service and Defense Dept. have sought the increase for more than a year, according to AOPA.
