Aviation Week & Space Technology

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.

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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.

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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.

This vacuum hoist lifting system lets one person handle awkward and bulky loads without bending, reaching or stretching. The lifter features a lightweight vacuum head that is equipped with a vacuum gauge, quick release, check valve and fingertip controls on the handlebar that are fully integrated with the hoist. The lifter is powered by a remote vacuum station, and has a frame with two adjustable vacuum pads. Providing capacities up to 2,000 lb., the lifter is available with an extruded aluminum or steel frame.

The French army has awarded a three-year contract to Industria Aeronautica de Portugal to overhaul Puma transport helicopters.

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Rockwell Collins has signed a competitive partnership agreement with EADS for avionics sourcing. The long-term agreement is designed to permit improved conditions of supply while providing Rockwell Collins with access to opportunities across the EADS product line, which includes Airbus passenger transports, airlifters and helicopters. Honeywell, Hamilton Sundstrand and Thales are among companies that already have signed similar agreements with EADS.

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The DGA French armaments agency has awarded a follow-on contract to EADS Launch Vehicles covering the 2003-05 development phase of the M51 nuclear warhead ballistic missile. The M51 would gradually replace the M45 on board the French navy's nuclear-powered submarines and is scheduled to become operational in 2010. EADS is the primary contractor, while G2P, a joint venture between Snecma Moteurs and SNPE, has overall responsibility for the propulsion system. The M51's weight at liftoff is 110,000 lb., but its range remains classified.

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The U.S. Air Force has reorganized its 20th Air Force security forces to increase efficiency and improve and control units charged with protecting nuclear missile sites. As of Jan. 1, forces were consolidated into groups at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., Malmstrom AFB, Mont., and Minot AFB, N.D. Previously, security personnel had been under operations and mission support groups--essentially a matrix-type organization.

Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp. has been awarded options for the FY03 close combat tactical trainer visual systems by the Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation. The $10-million contract includes components and installation services for several CCTT M1A2, M2A2, M2A3, FIST-V and DI trainer configurations.

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It is "clear from intelligence that the [smallpox] genie is out of the box"--no longer the exclusive possession by Russia and the U.S.--and the technology and materials to use it as a weapon may have migrated to North Korea and then on to Iraq. So says Col. Erik A. Henchal, the commander of the Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Henchal believes two key bio-threats to troops in the Middle East are Ricin (easily made from castor beans) and anthrax. However, Ricin doesn't lend itself to broad application, and the U.S. is prepared for anthrax.

Russia has completed a major launch surge that since late 2002 has orbited 14 spacecraft from eight countries, including four Russian military satellites. The missions have involved five launches, three of them from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and two from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwest Russia. One of those missions involved the Dec. 30 launch of a Proton M from Baikonur carrying the Canadian Nimiq 2 communications satellite (AW&ST Jan. 6, p. 27).

Paul Graziani, president/CEO of Analytical Graphics Inc., Malverne, Pa., has received the CEO of the Year Award and Marcus C. Hansen, president of Lockheed Martin Management & Data Systems, King of Prussia, Pa., the Enterpriser Award, from the Eastern Technology Council in partnership with Pricewaterhouse Coopers. The awards are given to technology industry leaders to recognize achievement in Greater Philadelphia.

Aloha Airlines plans to increase services to the U.S. mainland and Pacific destinations now that it has completed a $45-million loan package. The Air Transportation Stabilization Board late last month backed the package by issuing a $40.5-million loan guarantee to the privately held carrier.