CombiMatrix Corp. will supply active biochips and related technology to NASA for biological research on the International Space Station under a new license deal between the company and the agency's Ames Research Center. The miniaturized test sites, based on semiconductor fabrication techniques, will allow astronauts on the station to conduct experiments, analyze the results and restructure the work based on those results, all without returning to Earth.
The Bush Administration's reviews of U.S. nuclear policies and posture comes at a critical time as senior scientists and government officials express concern about an unacknowledged strategic defense deficiency: the nation may already be close to unilateral nuclear disarmament. Some of those experts believe U.S. nuclear capabilities, while still robust, are far weaker than citizens have been led to believe.
The maiden launch of Japan's H-IIA improved booster, slated for Aug. 25, is a crucial test--not only of the nation's ability to bounce back from a string of disappointments but also of the country's 16-year, $3.25-billion bid to thrust itself into the increasingly competitive commercial launcher market.
NASA and its rocket engine contractors on the Space Launch Initiative (SLI) hope to build on 30 years of experience designing and flying the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) as they develop propulsion for the shuttle's replacement, instead of heading off in a totally new direction.
THE JOHN D. ODEGARD SCHOOL OF AEROSPACE SCIENCES at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks has acquired a Level 6 flight training device (FTD) specifically for training pilots to fly the Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet. The FTD will be used in conjunction with flight management system and virtual flight deck trainers as part of the school's transition course to fly jet airplanes.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has secured a patent for a ``modular cargo aircraft pneumatic launch tube'' that could turn standard USAF C-141B, C-5A or C-17A transports into space launch platforms. The modular system would allow switching between the launch-vehicle carrier and normal cargo configurations in less than a day, according to Ken Hampsten, the launch tube inventor. Hampsten heads the AFRL Space Vehicle Directorate's Advanced Space Transportation Branch.
The most critical wiring upgrades and structural inspections needed to keep shuttle orbiters Discovery and Endeavour safe can be done at the Kennedy Space Center, even though other changes that would be done at Boeing's Palmdale, Calif., facility may be delayed (AW&ST Aug. 13, p. 32). One of the primary upgrades that can currently only be done at Palmdale would be the addition of new glass cockpits like those already added to Columbia and Atlantis.
The newest U.S. weather satellite has reached its operational orbit and, as a result, has a new name. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-M (GOES-M) reached geostationary orbit Aug. 12, and was redesignated GOES-12. Launched July 23, the spacecraft took 20 days and nine motor firings to reach its checkout position at 90 deg. W. Long. NASA, which managed procurement of the spacecraft, will test it for about 45 days there.
In a reversal of fortunes, a Texas appeals court has ruled that a jury erred in awarding $5.8 million to a pilot who claimed he was fired by American Eagle after refusing to fly his ATR 42 in severe icing conditions in November 1996 out of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Under a ``take-nothing'' judgment rendered on Aug.
The FAA has issued a final rule that will upgrade FAR Part 145 regulations governing certification of approved repair stations. In the wake of strong protests from general aviation groups, the agency revised its original proposal that Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn. officials claim would have increased costs for aircraft owners. The final version eliminates a series of provisions that AOPA claims were designed for large facilities with hundreds of mechanics, but were impractical for small shops that have only a few employees.
One of the most important subjects in our lives is also one of the most poorly understood--deterrence. The word's origin is the Latin terre, meaning to frighten. The concept is as old as human history: to prevent the taking of an action by fear of the consequences.
NASA and Boeing Satellite Systems are in the final stages of negotiating terms for the agency to accept the TDRS-H tracking and data relay satellite (shown in the factory before its June 2000 launch), which has fallen short of its performance objectives in orbit (AW&ST July 9, p. 35). The problem with the satellite's new multiple-access receive antenna was traced to an electrostatic interaction between the antenna and a thermal blanket that hampered five of the 18 communications functions on board. The spacecraft's 15-ft.
Bombardier's Continental joined the growing number of corporate aircraft in the super midsize cabin category with the first flight of its Honeywell AS907-powered aircraft on Aug. 14.
Mark Donegan has become president/chief operating officer of the Precision Castparts Corp., Portland, Ore. He was president of the subsidiary Wyman-Gordon Co., Millbury, Mass.
After a $200-million investment over 15 years building a major overhaul center here, Air China and Lufthansa German Airlines are ready to sign an even longer joint operating agreement that will extend their present ownership of Aircraft Engineering Maintenance Co. (Ameco) when it expires in 2004.
Russian companies demonstrated a series of military aircraft upgrades at the Moscow air show, including new MiG-29 and Su-30 versions, but Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov says this is the last round of modifications before work starts on a fifth-generation fighter.
Mercury Computer Systems' RACE systems has been selected by Northrop Grumman Corp. for use in the FAA's Weather Systems Processor presently utilized at midsize airports.
HONEYWELL AEROSPACE ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS plans to use a Jeppesen flight-planning engine to generate flight plans for corporate operators of aircraft equipped with their Airborne Flight Information Service (AFIS). AFIS is Honeywell's secure data link global communication service that uses ground-based VHF and satellite links. It works through an aircraft's flight management system to enable aircraft operators to stay in touch with their fleet, better organize flight operations and give planning assistance that will reduce pilots' turnaround time.
Southwest Airlines saved $20.4 million during the second quarter by fuel hedging--buying crude oil and heating oil contracts that serve to offset increases in jet fuel prices--but the technique may boomerang in the future, the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Southwest has agreements in place to hedge about 80% of its estimated jet fuel needs for the rest of 2001, 47% of 2002's total and ``small portions'' of 2003-05, and it expects its third-quarter price to be less than the second quarter's average, 74.96 cents per gallon.
Overbearing safety and environmental regulations, the imposition of questionable security measures and a crumbling infrastructure are strangling the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, according to laboratory executives.
IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THIS YEAR, ``THE BE A PILOT'' program has received more than 18,400 requests from consumers for a certificate entitling them to an introductory flight for only $49. A key part of the initiative is a new series of learn-to-fly ads being aired on select cable TV channels. In addition, the organization is revising its Web site (www.beapilot.com) to include more content and a virtual flight scenario.
A student team from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., took first place in the annual National General Aviation Design Competition sponsored by the FAA, NASA and Air Force Research Laboratory. The winning design featured a Cessna 182 Skylane retrofitted with a turbocharged, reciprocating diesel engine that burns jet fuel. Second place went to a Pennsylvania State University team for its four-place turbofan-powered ``Defiance'' and third place went to a University of Virginia group for its ``Vector Evolution'' design.
Steve D'Onofrio (see photo) has been named director of design engineering for the ITT Industries Avionics Div., Clifton, N.J. He was manager of digital design engineering.
Bush Administration reviews of U.S. national strategic policies and plans may produce a startling recommendation later this year: develop, build and deploy a new nuclear weapon, according to Energy Dept. and Pentagon officials.
