AS DIFFERENTIAL-GPS SPREADS across the U.S., receivers near electric power lines could suffer interference. Enertech Consultants studied the potential problems for the medium-frequency broadcast stations operated by the U.S. Coast Guard in the 283.5-325-KHz. marine radioband, which is being expanded inland across the country as a Nationwide D-GPS (NDGPS) network. Interference is generated by corona discharges caused by conductor flaws and gap discharges from broken insulators during dry weather.
Robert Johnson, executive vice president/chief operating officer of Honeywell International, has been named to the advisory board of Entrada Software Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz.
George W. Perkins has been named vice president/general manager of the Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Naval Systems Div. of the Northrop Grumman Corp. Electronic Sensors and Systems Sector in Baltimore. He succeeds Robert P. Iorizzo, who is now sector president. Perkins was director of business operations for the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command.
The U.K.'s Defense Aviation Repair Agency is seeking civilian and overseas contracts, and to become more commercial has awarded a 20.5-million-pound ($29.5-million) contract for new infotech systems to Cap Gemini Ernst&Young. The systems are based on Baan Aerospace&Defense software and replace legacy systems inherited from the Royal Air Force's Maintenance Group Defense Agency and Naval Aircraft Repair Organization.
Boeing Satellite Systems, which has a long association with building satellites for PanAmSat Corp. and JSAT Corp., has been selected to build a model 601HP that will serve both of them from an orbital slot at 127 deg. W. Long. (see illustration). The satellite will carry 24 active transponders each in C- and Ku-band. Its C-band capacity will be known as Galaxy XIII and operated as part of PanAmSat's Galaxy cable system for the U.S. cable industry. It replaces Galaxy IX, a Boeing 376 that will be moved to a new position and continue to provide services.
Bernard Frattini has become chief executive and Tom Nolan vice president-sales and marketing of SkyTeam Cargo USA, a joint venture of Air France, Delta Air Lines and Korean Air. Frattini was vice president-North America for Air France Cargo. Nolan was general manager of national accounts for Delta Air Logistics.
Photograph: Photograph: HUBBLE DEEP FIELD Ed Weiler, the original chief scientist on the Hubble project, says this image collected in 342 exposures over a 10-day period is scientifically the most important ever made by the telescope ``bar none.'' ``It's still the deepest picture ever taken of the universe, and it will be until the Next-Generation Space Telescope,'' says Weiler, now associate NASA administrator for space science. Some 1,500 galaxies are visible, including the oldest ever seen.
Toby Bright has been appointed vice president-business strategy and marketing for BCAG in Seattle. He was Brussels-based vice president-sales for Europe and Russia. Bright has been succeeded by Heiner Wilkens, who was president/CEO of Cargolux Airlines.
Top leaders of the U.S. Air Force have decided against funding Lockheed Martin's X-33 reusable launch vehicle prototype and Boeing's X-37 orbital maneuvering vehicle demonstrator, effectively killing the X-33 and putting the X-37 in intensive care.
Northrop Grumman has been selected to continue development of an airborne system--involving 2-4 aircraft--that can hit moving targets with low-cost bombs from beyond the range of many of today's anti-aircraft missiles, according to government officials.
ISO 14001 certification for environmental stewardship was presented to Miami International Airport for its fuel storage facility operation. MIA is the first U.S. airport to obtain the certification. Miami-Dade Aviation Dept. developed written procedures for all operational areas that are likely to handle potential pollutants and trained its employees accordingly.
Two regional fixed/mobile satellite projects in Asia are switching their focus to fixed services in a further sign of deteriorating mobile satellite communications fortunes.
A chagrined White House switched hurriedly into high-speed denial mode after senior officials leaked word to reporters that Washington would sit still for Chinese missile modernization and an eventual resumption of nuclear testing if Beijing keeps its shirt on about missile defense. Bush spinmeister Ari Fleischer hastened to ``explain'' that although the Chinese would get the same briefing on planned missile defense tests accorded to allies and Russia, the Administration certainly would not take China's missile modernization or breach of the nuclear moratorium lying down.
The Boeing Co.'s new world headquarters opened for business in downtown Chicago last week, and a banner signed by 175 employees was suspended on the renovated building near the Chicago River. Boeing employees usually sign a banner for display on the first airplane built to launch a new model. But one tradition that is now gone is 85 years of being headquartered in Seattle. Chairman and CEO Phil Condit spoke of a new launching pad for the company, and he also signed the banner along with Illinois Gov. George Ryan and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.
A small tornado dips toward the surface beyond a NASA DC-8 at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station. The aircraft, part of a multiagency fleet of planes and unmanned aerial vehicles in Florida to probe hurricanes during the 2001 storm season, was undamaged when a line of severe thunderstorms spawned the twister early on the evening of Aug. 18. NASA has detailed the flying laboratory for the fourth Convection and Moisture Experiment (Camex 4), which will combine airborne and satellite sensor data for a top-to-bottom picture of tropical storms (AW&ST Aug. 13, p. 33).
A maiden flight was completed last week in New Zealand of an adaptation of the half-century-old Fletcher/Cresco design of agricultural sprayer/light utility aircraft for that most modern of recreational activities--skydiving and sport parachuting.
The most significant improvements in satellite navigation capability since the initial GPS launch in 1978 will commence in 2003, with the scheduled launch of Lockheed Martin's first Block IIR-M satellites. For the first time, civil users will have signals broadcast on two frequencies--giving increased accuracy through the ability to correct for atmospheric errors, a capability that U.S. and allied military users have always had.
Top Russian space managers have settled a lingering dispute over who gets to use a valuable Earth-facing docking port on the International Space Station, redesigning Russia's half of the ISS to accommodate the two contenders. Both RSC Energia's Enterprise Module and the FGB-2 module under construction at the M.V. Khrunichev plant would be accommodated on Russian-side nadir ports, under a reconfiguration approved by the Russian Space Agency and its principal station contractors.
Northrop Grumman Corp. plans to reduce its workforce in Southern California by about 500 people, starting this month and continuing through July 2002. The reduction, which will involve only administrative and support personnel, is part of the company's effort to consolidate Litton operations it acquired earlier this year. No engineers or technicians will be affected by the layoffs.
Midway through the comment period on options to curb demand at New York LaGuardia Airport, the FAA is seeking ``market-based'' ideas on how to avoid congestion and delays at other airports in the longer term. Market-based measures, intended to affect airline decisions by changing their operating costs, include slot auctions, congestion pricing, peak-period surcharges, off-peak discounts and flat fees instead of charges based on aircraft weight. All are under consideration at LaGuardia, as are administrative initiatives such as regulating aircraft size.
Robert Leduc, who is executive vice president/chief operating officer of Pratt&Whitney, East Hartford, Conn., also will be president of the Large Commercial Engines business. Stephen Finger, who is president of the Military Engines business, also will be executive vice president-engineering and operations.
PerkinElmer Inc. is preparing to exit the aerospace industry by seeking a buyer for its $252-million Fluid Sciences business unit. Separately, Lockheed Martin Corp. last week closed the sale of its IMS Corp. to Affiliated Computer Services Inc. for $825 million. The transaction completed the divestiture of those business units identified by Lockheed Martin as candidates for potential sale following a comprehensive strategic review announced in 1999.
An F-22 Raptor made a precautionary landing at the U.S. Navy's Pt. Mugu, Calif., airfield on Aug. 23 after the test pilot shut down an engine inflight. The aircraft was conducting a rehearsal for an upcoming test mission off the California coast when oil loss was detected in an Airframe-Mounted Accessory Drive (Amad). Standard procedures called for shutting down the associated engine and landing when feasible. A loose fitting on an Amad oil line was repaired at Pt. Mugu, but a return flight to Edwards AFB was delayed until Aug. 28 by heavy coastal fog.
