Patrick Thomas Biltgen of the Georgia Institute of Technology is one of 17 undergraduate and graduate students of science and engineering who have won $8,500 scholarships from the Titusville, Fla.-based Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. The other winners are: David Joseph Diaz, Harvey Mudd College; Jacqueline A. Hardgrove, Miami University; Maranda McBride, North Carolina A&T University; Jason D. Surratt, North Carolina State University; Kimberly M. Stanek, North Dakota State University; Eric S.
Michelin's Near Zero Growth radial tire is scheduled to obtain certification by year-end. It is expected to initially equip the 380-seat A340-600 with other Airbus and Boeing aircraft types to follow in quick succession, according to company executives. Development of Near Zero Growth (NZG) tires began in the mid-1990s and became a high priority following the Air France Concorde crash in July 2000. Tests confirmed that wing and fuel tank puncture risks tied to tire blowouts could be eliminated by the new radial tire.
Designed for material handling and manufacturing operations, the BOD-66M analog laser sensor allows low-cost, long-range continuous measurement of parameters such as distance, height and length in industrial applications. With a sensing range of 200mm. to 2m. and resolution of <5mm., the BOD-66M is suited to roll diameter monitoring, height detection and sorting of parts and boxes, and level detection of fillers or vertical boxing machines. The unit employs laser triangulation to determine distance to objects.
A preproduction Gulfstream V-SP made its first flight July 18 at Gulfstream Aerospace facilities in Savannah, Ga. During the 5-hr. flight, pilots John O'Meara and Al Morris, along with flight test engineers Jim Winkelman and Bill Osborne, flew the aircraft at altitudes up to 51,000 ft. and speeds of Mach 0.955. FAA certification is tentatively scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year, with initial customer delivery one year later.
Scientists at India's Defense Research and Development Organization developed an integrated field shelter as protection from biological and chemical agents and nuclear particles, provided the shelter is sited an unspecified distance from ground zero. The shelter can accommodate 30 people for 96 hr., DRDO Chief Controller R.V. Swamy said. Tests were conducted near the sea, and in desert and mountainous terrains. The shelter is designed as a command-and-observation post and communication center.
A Bristow Helicopters Sikorsky S-76 crashed in the North Sea on July 16, with all 11 crewmembers and passengers presumed dead. So far, five bodies have been recovered. According to a statement from Bristow, the helicopter ``inexplicably ditched into the sea'' as it approached the oil rig on which it was to land.
LaBarge will supply subsystems for its Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array radar system for the Northrop Grumman Corp. Electronic Systems Sector, under a $9-million contract. The military airborne surveillance system enables the radar to simultaneously track air and sea targets.
Mark Donegan, who has been president/chief operating officer of the Precision Castparts Corp., Portland, Ore., also will be CEO. William C. McCormick, who has been chairman/CEO, is resigning as CEO but will remain chairman.
German investigators are looking at work-rule compliance and potential system deficiencies at Swiss air traffic control provider Skyguide, as well as cockpit procedures, to determine what caused the midair collision between two commercial jets over southern Germany on July 1. Traffic in the region is handled by Skyguide. The aircraft--a DHL Boeing 757 (A9C-DHL) and a Bashkirian Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 (RA-85816)--collided over the northern shore of Lake Constance near the town of Ueberlingen close to Akabi waypoint. All 71 on both aircraft died.
A National Research Council panel has breathed new life into the planned but unfunded New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. The group declared such a mission the top priority for planetary exploration exclusive of Mars in the decade to come and noted that work already done on New Horizons enhances the mission's technical readiness. NASA has opened talks with New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern on implementing the recommendation, according to Colleen Hartman, director of the Solar System Exploration Div.
Space shuttle management is assessing hydrogen fuel line repair options that could return the orbiters Columbia and Atlantis to flight status as early as October or November, and Endeavour by November or December. The preliminary plan based on the fuel liner data collected so far is to focus on flying the cracked liners ``as is,'' pending additional reviews, or repairing them in place as opposed to cutting out and replacing the pipe sections. Two cracks were found in Endeavour lines last week, indicating the problem is generic to the entire four-orbiter fleet.
A joint venture of EADS, BAE Systems and Finmeccanica/Alenia Aeronautica has been awarded a 45-million-euro ($44.1-million) contract to upgrade 18 defense strike Panavia Tornados operated by the Italian air force. The mid-life upgrade includes installation of next-generation navigation and communications systems and the capability to carry GPS- and laser-guided bombs and stand-off weapons. The program is scheduled to be completed in 2004.
You can't ground pilots or aircraft or repress the flying spirit for long. In the 10 months since Sept. 11, the U.S. general aviation sector is returning to the flight lines determined to build a more positive image and hold on to a corner of the sky. ``Pilots were uncertain as to when, if ever, [general aviation] would come back. For the first time, we comprehended we might lose that gift of flight. When you have the risk of loss of something that precious, you value it even higher,'' said John King, co-chair of King Schools Inc., multimedia training experts.
Low-fare carrier JetBlue Airways reports a 110% increase in June traffic to 595.8 million revenue passenger miles compared with 283.2 in June last year, based on a capacity increase of 98.5%. Available seat miles for the month increased to 695,016 from 350,191 last June. JetBlue had a system-wide load factor of 85.7% for the month, 4.8 points above last year, and a 100% completion factor compared with 99.96% in June 2001.
The Navy will use the first of five new radar threat simulators to help train pilots of tactical aircraft to identify and counter enemy missile or artillery threats. The mobile remote emitter simulator, designed by Northrop Grumman's Amherst Systems unit in Buffalo, N.Y., simulates a variety of emissions and can be towed from site to site by pickup truck, much like the portable threats it simulates. The tactical training range at Patuxent River, Md., has received the first simulator. Other units are slated for the Navy's Atlantic Test Ranges, also at Patuxent River.
Details emerging from China are gradually exposing the secretive approach maintained by the Chinese to house and train its new astronaut corps in preparation for Shenzhou manned space flights as early as next year. In addition, the orbital module section of the Shenzhou 3 unmanned test vehicle for the manned spacecraft design continues to maneuver in space following its launch Mar. 25.
The nation's weapons laboratories are backing a congressional drive to equip the proposed Homeland Security Dept. with a focused science and technology office. As a bevy of congressional panels rushed to meet their July 12 deadline for submitting language to create the new department, officials from Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories endorsed provisions in pending House and Senate bills that would place the science and technology (S&T) office under a separate director.
Sport aviation in the U.S. is experiencing increasing demand for personal flying as a potential alternative to the major airlines, but industry officials fear that overzealous security measures will escalate the cost of flying and suffocate future growth. In the wake of the attack on America last September, an increasing number of non-pilots are considering learning to fly and either buying or building their own airplanes, according to the Experimental Aircraft Assn. (EAA).
The U.S. Marine Corps is evaluating what to do with its CH-53E heavy-lift helicopters to keep them going well into the future. The service-life-extension program (SLEP) could cover an engine enhancement, improved main rotor blade and cargo system, elastomeric rotor head, common cockpit, structural life-extension and self-protection upgrades. Which of those seven efforts will be carried out is still under review, a USMC official said. One hot candidate appears to be the engine upgrade, though.
NASA/Langley Research Center plans to crash test a Fokker F28 jet transport to determine the effects of impact dynamics on large airframe structures. According to a NASA official, the airframe is tentatively scheduled to be tested in the second quarter of 2004 at Langley's Impact Dynamics Research Facility (IDRF). The agency has received proposals to determine exactly what crash concepts should be studied, including a systems approach to crashworthy aircraft designs and crash-resistant fuel systems, and contracts are scheduled to be awarded by August.
Ever since a schizophrenic passenger overpowered the cockpit crew of an All Nippon Airways 747-400 in 1999 and killed its veteran pilot, Japan's commercial air transport industry has debated the terms under which such passengers should be denied boarding. The industry's initial answer was to severely restrict or ban the access of known mental patients to commercial flights, much to the dismay of social activists and human rights organizations.
USAF Lt. Gen. (ret.) Donald L. Peterson is scheduled to become executive director of the Arlington, Va.-based Air Force Assn. on Aug. 1. He will succeed John A. Shaud. Peterson was deputy Air Force chief of staff for personnel.
