Following a widespread walkout by controllers from 47 of Russia's 120 air traffic control centers, the country's Ministry of Transport and controllers' union have settled a wage dispute. Beginning Jan. 1, controllers working high-density traffic sectors received a 26.72% pay increase; and those in other sectors,15.72%, with an unspecified increase to follow later this year. Under Russian law, labor strikes are prohibited for ATC controllers, so the union utilized a "hunger strike" tactic in late December to demand a twofold pay increase.
The U.S. Marine Corps has awarded a $135-million contract to BAE Systems RO Defense to produce M777 lightweight 155-mm. howitzers to be used for the MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft.
Aerospace companies including Airbus, Honeywell and BAE Systems use Flowmaster software to simulate fluid flow in fuel, hydraulic and environmental control systems. The Flowmaster Group worked with Honeywell Normalair-Garrett to add models of a hydraulic power transfer unit and bootstrap reservoir to version 6.3 of Flowmaster, and a jet pump model has been added as well to improve fuel system simulation. Another new feature is a "master controller" that allows global variables to be changed.
NASA's decision in Fiscal 2002 to gut its rotorcraft research funding is reverberating in the Pentagon. The Army has had interest in a next-generation utility system, called the Future Utility Rotorcraft. But without NASA's funding, that effort has stalled. NASA's elimination of rotorcraft funding "has hurt the Army," complains a senior service official. Army officials would like to see NASA get back into the rotorcraft business since they have historically drawn on both the agency's and their own R&D funds to develop new systems.
Boeing is modifying B-1B bombers to carry a greater variety of smart weapons in the Conventional Mission Upgrade Program, which includes replacing the six computers in the avionics, navigation and weapons systems with four more powerful units, each with a pair of PowerPC processor cards. The new computers employ Green Hills Software's Integrity real-time operating system to take advantage of multiple-target capabilities and other new features, and programming will be done in Ada with the company's AdaMulti development environment.
In an effort to quickly process low-risk passengers and identify high-risk individuals who may pose a threat to national security, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service is proposing changes in who must file manifest data, and how. Essentially, the INS' proposed rule implements Section 402 of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002--which requires electronic delivery of manifests to the INS beginning Jan. 1, 2003. Previously, manifest data were gathered and input manually, and electronic filing was voluntary.
An inquiry board investigating the failed inaugural launch of an upgraded Ariane 5 EC-A on Dec. 11 has conditionally cleared the basic booster for an early return to service, but recommended design and testing/validation changes that could idle the EC-A for up to a year. The report, released on Jan. 6, blamed the mishap on tube cracks in the active cooling system used to prevent the Ariane 5 EC-A's new Vulcain 2 engine nozzle from overheating, and a failure to adequately model loading to which the nozzle would be subjected to during flight.
America West last week launched a three-week trial in which it will offer to sell food to coach passengers on longer flights from Phoenix. The menu will vary from snacks for $3 to chicken Kiev for $10, and the airline will let passenger response determine whether to expand or drop the service.
This new generation of superabrasive vitrified diamond and CBN grinding wheels employs a patented bonding process that uses hollow glass spheres rather than traditional aluminum oxide as filler material to provide additional strength to the bond post, creating a porous wheel finish that resists loading and burning. This allows higher feed rates for improved machine throughput and higher wheel speed for improved metal removal rates.
WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP Malaysia approves flag carrier's Airbus purchase Malaysia Airlines to acquire six A380s when pricing is established 395 WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS Milspace will be a major player in "gulf war 2" Shift to operational focus bulked up contribution to combat 398 Israel's Arrow successful in multi-launch demo Ballistic missile defense can acquire, prioritize several targets at once 399 China adds science ops to manned effort
The XtendaCam series pole cameras are slender, hand-held instruments to illuminate and view inaccessible areas (over walls and barriers, on roofs, under cars, etc.), and deliver video to any monitor or recorder. Central to the design of the product is a 1.6-lb. carbon-fiber composite collapsible pole that telescopes from about three ft. to nearly 12 ft. Interior cabling is designed for quick deployment and snag-free operation. Camera and lamps are aimed manually on a locking ball swivel, and fit through holes as narrow as 2.5-in. in diameter.
The shuttle Columbia is set for launch on a 17-day Spacehab science mission carrying diverse microgravity and educational payloads, along with Israel's first astronaut--a situation forcing the most intensive security measures against terrorist attack ever implemented for a U.S.-space mission. The flight is scheduled for liftoff Jan. 16, between 10 a.m.-2 p.m. EST, into a 150-naut.-mi. orbit inclined 39 deg.
Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) has developed a career-management plan aimed at ensuring the nation nurtures a strong cadre of military space professionals. The plan has been forwarded to Air Force headquarters, and funds were expected to be earmarked in the Five-Year Defense Plan to educate and train a future Air Force space contingent. It covers officers, enlisted personnel and civilians assigned to AFSPC and the National Reconnaissance Office, as well as USAF astronauts serving with NASA.
Custom Reprints: Custom Reprints (minimum order 1,000). Phone: 212-512-4170; Fax: 212-512-6243; Email: [email protected] Black and White Photocopies: Contact: Copyright Clearance Center; Phone: 978-750-8400; Fax: 978-750-4470; Web address: www.copyright.com Please note that the maximum number of copies granted for commercial use is 500. Schools may obtain permission to make up to 1,000 copies for classroom use. Fee per copy is $2.85 per copy.
The British Defense Ministry has rebuffed overtures from BAE Systems which would have seen an early introduction into service of an improved Hawk jet trainer in advance of the ministry's proposed Military Flying Training System in 2007. BAE Systems and the defense ministry are struggling to hammer out an agreement covering the mandating of an improved version of the Hawk, the 128, as the advanced jet trainer element of the Military Flying Training System (MFTS).
The company has developed three automatic three-stage 12- and 24-volt maintenance chargers for general aviation aircraft. Models 12112, 12041 and 24021 produce high-frequency pulses causing the sulfuric acid crystals known as "sulphation" to unbond. This allows the sulfuric acid to return to the cell's electrolyte, says the company. With desulphated "clean" plates, the battery will charge more quickly, be capable of delivering its full power, and have extended life. The unit's second stage "floats" the battery at full charge, without overcharging it.
The MAG3 line of machining products is designed for production of mid-sized, monolithic aerospace components, and is aimed at providing small- to medium-sized aerospace job shops with an economical means of competing in the aerospace structural machining market. The MAG3 can produce 80% of the aluminum structural components typically utilized in commercial and military aircraft, says the company. OEMs and first-tier suppliers have traditionally dominated this market, one reason being the high-price barrier of acquiring necessary equipment.
This line of ZIF (zero insertion force) circuit board retainers, coldwalls, heat frames and SEM cages for high-density electronic packages meet performance objectives set by military and commercial uses for electronic system applications for aircraft, missiles and spacecraft.
The Raytheon Co. has received a $96.2-million work order from the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command for production of the AIM-9X Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missile. Raytheon will also perform modifications in a $6.7-million follow-on contract for the SEA RAM Weapon System in cooperation with the U.S. Navy.
BAE Systems Controls has joined with DDC-I to develop Score-653, a software development environment for safety-critical embedded systems, joining Wind River and Green Hills among others. Score-653 will produce code that works on BAE's CsLEOS real-time operating system, and will be based on DDC-I's Score multi-language (Ada and C) development environment (AW&ST Jan. 17, 2000, p. 403).
China has begun to integrate substantial science operations into its Shenzhou manned space flight development effort much earlier than did the Soviet Union and U.S. at the start of their manned programs in the 1960s. The 7,000-lb. reentry module of China's Shenzhou 4 development vehicle returned to Earth safely Jan. 5, while the spacecraft's 3,500-lb. orbital module remains in orbit transmitting Earth resources microwave sounder data.
NTSB investigators have found no indications of malfunctions in the engines and propellers of a Beechcraft A100 King Air that crashed Oct. 25, killing Sen. Paul Wellstone and seven others. The twin-engine airplane crashed short of the runway at an airport in Minnesota during a nonprecision instrument approach (AW&ST Nov. 11, 2002, p. 18). Toxicological reports on both pilots revealed no evidence of drugs or alcohol.
