U.S. defense officials have begun a two-pronged response to the attacks on New York and Washington. They are helping national intelligence agencies determine who is responsible and simultaneously readying forces to deal out retribution.
Space Systems/Loral will build DirecTV-7S, a high-power spot beam satellite for extending local channel services in the U.S. A SS/L 1300, the spacecraft is to be completed in the second half of 2003, although a launcher has not been named. The satellite will be built to be reconfigured in orbit so it can operate with varying bandwidths either from 101 deg. W. Long., DirecTV's primary orbital slot, or 119 deg. West. In the former.
The Integrity real-time operating system gives designers of MIPS32-based defense systems a secure, reliable, royalty-free target environment for deploying their applications. Integrity builds a firewall between the kernel and user task, preventing errant or malicious tasks from corrupting user data, the kernel, interprocess communications, device drivers and other tasks. It also guarantees the availability of system resources in both the time and space domain, making it more advanced in this area than other operating systems that employ simple memory protection schemes.
Like a casual flick of a finger on a stack of dominoes, terrorist-pilots sent a Manhattan landmark tumbling into hell. On 8:45 a.m. on Sept. 11, American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767, with 65 passengers and 11 crewmembers onboard, crashed into the North Tower (No. 2) of the World Trade Center.
Leigh Orlov has become senior vice president-worldwide field operations for NetVendor of Atlanta. He was senior vice president-sales and services of Neoforma Inc., San Jose, Calif.
Mark McCulloch has been appointed CEO of the XTRA On-Line Corp. of Dallas. He succeeds William S. Diffenderffer, who was also chairman. Diffenderffer has resigned but remains a director. McCulloch was senior vice president/chief technical officer.
Offering 60% faster cutting performance, the ability to cut metal 25% thicker and an up to 400% longer tip life than the previous model, the new Spectrum 375 CutMate air plasma cutter from Miller Electric Mfg. Co. replaces the Spectrum 300 CutMate. The new machine minimizes nuisance trips, withstands a 15% voltage drop (a 50% improvement) and expands work area because it can use an extension cord up to 133 ft. long. The Spectrum 375 CutMate weighs 49 lb., operates on 115 or 230 volts power, and has a suggested list price of $1,475.
Engineers at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Ohio are preparing to test a pulsed plasma thruster (PPT, shown) on the EO-1 Earth science testbed in hopes the old technology will prove useful in an era of small spacecraft that need to be controlled with great precision. First used on satellites in the 1960s, PPTs are essentially a spark plug that generates a plasma ``slug'' when it arcs across a solid propellant.
The AirForce 400 air plasma cutter cuts any electrically conductive metal faster, cleaner and with less stress on the operator than flame cutting or mechanical methods. According to Hobart Welders, it cuts 60% faster, cuts metal 25% thicker and its tip lasts up to 400% longer. It includes an extension cord up to 133 ft. long to reduce the possibility of tripping the circuit breaker. Even at that length it is less susceptible to nuisance trips because it draws 20% less current than the company's previous model.
Don't expect builders of super midsize business jets to be singing the blues at this year's National Business Aviation Assn.'s annual convention in New Orleans.
Greg Atchison has become assistant general manager of the Seattle center of FlightSafety Boeing Training International. He was senior manager for corporate program management and contracts.
Jetline Engineering, an ITW company, has developed what it says is the first microprocessor-based arc length control system for GTAW AC or DC. The microprocessor control uses a proven welding environment design coupled to a reliable slide actuator. The arc length control measures the actual arc voltage of either a GTAW or plasma welding arc and makes mechanical adjustments to maintain the predefined arc length or voltage. The ball screw slide actuator gives accurate mechanical control and a weight capacity of 40 lb. to handle large torches and wire feed heads.
John Sponyoe has been named chairman, and Conny Kullman will remain CEO, of the now-privatized Washington-based Intelsat. Wolfgang Wagner of Germany will be deputy chairman. Sponyoe is CEO of Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications. Others appointed as directors are: Brian Dailey, vice president-Washington operations for Lockheed Martin; Herbert Baptista Fiuza, consultant for Sky Brasil and Distel Holding SA; Hans Fjosne, chief technical officer of Telenor Broadband Services of Norway; Serge Fortin, president for global markets of the Teleglobe Communications Corp.
RAYTHEON CHARTER AND MANAGEMENT HAS ENLARGED its charter fleet of business jets to include a Gulfstream IV-SP based near Miami; a Cessna Citation SII at Grand Junction, Colo.; a Mitsubishi Diamond Jet at Montgomery, Ala.; and a Beechjet 400A in Nashua, N.H. Company president Gary Hart said it is ``aggressively looking for and adding heavy jets with international capabilities'' for long-distance missions. Raytheon Aircraft Charter bases its fleet chiefly on the East and West coasts and near the cities of Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta.
Air travel in the U.K. and Middle East was severely disrupted in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the U.S., with industry officials here uncertain what the long-term effect will be. However, airline officials believe that once the FAA allows regular operations, they should be able to resume normal service almost immediately. Because outbound flights from the U.S. were canceled, there are aircraft in both the U.S. and U.K. standing ready to reinitiate service.
Richard A. Dandurand has been appointed chairman of the EDAC Technologies Corp., Farmington, Conn. He was CEO and succeeds John J. DiFrancesco, who has resigned. Dominick Pagano, Ronald Popolizio and Joseph Lebel have been named to the board of directors.
More than 1,000 people employed by the former McDonnell Douglas Corp. may be entitled to back wages and pension payments, as well as restoration of lost health benefits, following a ruling in their favor recently by a federal district court in Tulsa, Okla. The judge determined that the company closed a Tulsa plant that produced F-15 tail components in 1993 to avoid paying millions of dollars in benefits. The company argued that business considerations were behind the decision.
September 11, 2001. It was a day of unbelievable sorrow for all Americans, a day of high alert for the entire U.S. military and darkest day in the history of commercial aviation. Airlines had long been targets of terrorists, but now they became weapons of mass destruction.
On Sept. 11, 2001, the day terrorists turned commercial transport aircraft into weapons of destruction and America turned itself into a no-fly zone, U.S. airlines put their economic problems aside and focused their efforts on getting back in the air again. But resuming operations is a much taller order than suspending them.
Europort Vatry, which initially intended to remain an all-cargo hub, is now attempting to become Paris' third airport. Although Vatry is located 100 mi. east of Paris, its candidacy could change the course of events in the French government's long-overdue decision to forge additional runway capacity to complement Paris-Orly and Charles de Gaulle. The matter is expected to be resolved next month.
Security at U.S. airports is destined to become significantly tighter in the aftermath of last week's terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, but experts maintain that key improvements can be implemented now to reinforce detection throughout the security architecture.
Bill Tanis has been named general manager of sales and marketing for Million Air Charter Teterboro (N.J.). He was president of the U.S. division of ALG Aero leasing.
John D. Lawrence has been named director of international trade policy and William Primosch director of international business policy for the Washington-based International Assn. of Manufacturers. Lawrence was president of the Hudson Group Inc., while Primosch was an international government affairs consultant.
Link Simulation and Training has been chosen by the U.S. Air Force to provide training and support for its C-141 Total Training System. The program will rotate C-141 pilots, navigators, flight engineers, loadmasters and maintenance personnel through the course at six different bases for initial qualification as well as upgrade and proficiency training. Aircrews will use four Weapon System Trainers at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; March AFB, Calif.; Memphis Air National Guard Base, Tenn., and East Coast Training Location at McGuire AFB, N.J.
Japan Air Commuter Co. has selected the Bombardier Q400 turboprop regional aircraft for its YS-11 fleet replacement program. The (U.S.) $105-million order for five aircraft includes an option for an additional plane.
