Updated ``Maple 7'' mathematical software is available from Waterloo Maple (www.maplesoft.com). The latest version has new differential equation solvers, complete units and dimensions management and better connection to the Web. The Maple Application Center is a trading spot for free software (www.mapleapps.com). . . . Northwest Airlines is connecting to its vendors and marketplaces with webMethods software (www.webmethods.com), which allows the carrier to deal with the variety of computer platforms of its trading partners.
WHILE U.S. COMPANIES AND GOVERNMENT regulators wrangle over the pros and cons of using ultrawideband devices for aerospace applications, the Pentagon is capitalizing on UWB technology for terrestrial purposes. In mid-July, the Defense Dept. awarded a $3-million, 15-month Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrator contract to develop a through-the-wall surveillance radar for use in urban warfare. Time Domain Corp., one of several companies advocating targeted applications for UWB devices, will serve as prime contractor for the ACTD program.
American Airlines and Vietnam Airlines have signed a marketing agreement to code share between the U.S. and Vietnam over Paris and Tokyo. The first phase of collaboration will enable American to place its AA code on Vietnam flights between each of two points in Vietnam--Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City--and Tokyo Narita and Paris Charles de Gaulle airports. Vietnam will place its VN code on American flights between Paris and five U.S. points--Boston, New York, Miami, Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth--and between Tokyo and Seattle, San Jose, Chicago and DFW.
Honeywell Aerospace Co. expects to resume an aggressive acquisition program in the wake of the failed General Electric merger, while forging ahead with the development of some notable new products, including the next generation in the 900-series jet engines.
EADS Co-CEO Rainer Hertrich criticized the first budget proposal of the European Union's Sixth Framework Program for Research, saying it only allocated 1 billion euros ($885 million) to aeronautics, space and air traffic management research, when 2.2 billion was needed during the 2002-06 time frame. Hertrich, who is also the current president of the European Assn. of Aerospace Industries, said only one quarter of all civil R&D spending in 2000 was financed by EU governments, compared with around 50% in the U.S.
A team of engineers from Alenia Spazio, Telespazio and the European Space Agency has repositioned the Artemis technology satellite in a circular parking orbit, bringing the spacecraft within reach of a full recovery to geostationary orbit. The team performed three burns of Artemis' chemical propulsion system on July 22-24, circularizing the orbit at an altitude of about 31,000 km. (19,375 mi.). Earlier, the satellite had been raised to a 31,000-km. elliptical orbit, without substantially modifying the initial perigee of 590 km.
Thales Avionics has been selected to supply critical avionics and electrical systems for the Airbus A380 that are among the most innovative features of the ultra-wide-body transport. Thales last week said it won contracts for the cockpit display system (CDS), in cooperation with its partially owned subsidiary Diehl Avionik Systeme, and the variable frequency electrical power system, in association with TRW. The contracts follow an award for the aircraft's integrated modular avionics (IMA), also in collaboration with Diehl, announced at the Paris air show.
Albert Lee Ueltschi, chairman/CEO of FlightSafety International of New York, has been selected to receive the 2001 American Spirit Award from the Washington-based National Business Aviation Assn.
The American-Russian accord in Genoa to consult on the links between offensive and defensive missile arsenals has triggered an intense congressional debate about the future--and very meaning--of strategic deterrence. Key members of the Senate's Democratic majority challenge President Bush's claim that limited missile defenses, combined with mutual U.S./Russian offensive rollbacks, will vacate the 50-year-old deterrence doctrine of mutual assured destruction (MAD).
The U.S. Army has approved low-rate initial production of six Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer-Aviation (Avcatt-A) reconfigurable manned simulators, to be built by Link Simulation and Training.
ACTEL CORP. IS SHIPPING THE FIRST of its RTSX-X family of radiation-tolerant field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), designed for satellite and high-altitude air vehicle applications. The company's 32,000-gate RT54SX32S array demonstrated 63 MeV.-cm.2/mg. protection, greatly exceeding the standard requirement for satellites of 37 MeV.-cm.2/mg. When heavy ions and high-energy protons strike an integrated circuit, semiconductor material is ionized, changing the state of digital memories and processors--a disruption called a single event upset (SEU).
The recently completed Fleet Battle Experiment (FBE) India will likely prove to be a major milestone for the Hairy Buffalo program. It was the first time the Navy fielded a complete airborne system for finding and striking time-critical targets. The Hairy Buffalo aircraft was able to beam high-quality imagery and brief messages with target coordinates to Navy and Air Force aircraft and an Army ground station. Until now, aircraft weren't really considered a targeting cell within the surface warfare network.
The economic downturn has had little effect on deliveries of piston-powered light airplanes or business jets in the second quarter, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Assn. (GAMA). Companies delivered 157 jets and 470 piston-powered aircraft during the period, compared with 152 and 465 units, respectively, in last year's quarter. Billings totaled $2.3 billion. To date, manufacturers have shipped 1,284 aircraft compared with 1,317 in the first six months of 2000, but billings rose 2.8% to $4.4 billion.
French and U.K. officials are optimistic that modifications to the Concorde will permit reinstatement of the supersonic transport's airworthiness certificate early this fall. The Anglo-French Concorde Working Group, a panel created to coordinate and review the modifications, said last week that manufacturers and safety authorities were working intensively to ``finalize conclusions'' of the testing campaign so that applications for reinstatement could be filed by Aug. 15.
Embraer is in hot pursuit of a U.S. airline to become the launch customer for its 70-110-seat ERJ-170/-190 regional jet family. To whet airline executives' appetites for the jets, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer has been trucking a cabin mock-up across the U.S. this summer. The traveling show reached New York last week, the 11th stop in a 12-city tour that started in early June. So far, no U.S.
The shuttle STS-104 crew landed the orbiter Atlantis here late on July 24 after being delayed a day by bad weather. The crew completed their 200-orbit flight to install and demonstrate the International Space Station's new Boeing/NASA airlock module.
BAE SYSTEMS HAS GAINED a $1.8-million contract to develop a flight-worthy prototype collision avoidance system for the U.S. Navy using automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) technology. The purpose of the new midair collision avoidance system (MCAS) is to reduce the likelihood of such accidents during training between tactical aircraft, which are not equipped with the civil traffic-alert and collision avoidance systems (TCAS). ADS-B relies on a squittered message from a Mode-S transponder, which transmits the aircraft's GPS location.
Officials here are signaling that they will rejigger U.S. tax code to come into compliance with World Trade Organization rules. An interim report by the WTO last month opined that certain tax credits designed to encourage exports amounted to prohibited subsidies--worth some $4 billion a year to exporters like Boeing. In a carefully worded statement last week, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said, ``In seeking a resolution, we are focusing on how to promote America's economic interests while meeting our WTO obligations.'' And, Rep.
Lockheed Martin Corp. has reported sharply higher earnings for the quarter ended June 30, easily beating most Wall Street estimates. In contrast, Rockwell Collins posted basically flat profits for the same period. LM earned $144 million, or 33 cents a share, compared with $42 million, or 11 cents a share, a year ago. Sales were $5.96 billion, down from $6.21 billion at the end of the second quarter in 2000. Per-share earnings for 2002 are expected to rise 20% from 2001 levels.
Alcatel Space has posted a net loss of 1.2 billion euros ($1 billion) in 2000, according to reports, in part because of provisions for depreciation in Loral, in which it had a 3.5% holding prior to this year, and Globalstar, in which it has a 1.85% stake through a joint venture with France Telecom affiliate Tesam. According to the report, revenues dropped to 1.3 billion euros, from 1.4 billion euros in 1999. Although Alcatel does not break out space unit results, the decline was attributed to low 1999 satellite orders.
Rudy F. de Leon, who was deputy Defense secretary, has been appointed senior vice president-Washington operations for Boeing. He also was under secretary for personnel and readiness and under secretary of the Air Force.
Goodrich Corp. received a $300-400-million contract to build evacuation slides for the Airbus A380. Up to 18 will be needed per aircraft. Goodrich also holds a $2-billion contract to develop the main landing gear, and a $300-400-million contract to develop the fuel nozzle for the A380's Rolls-Royce Trent engine.
Navy officials here say that beneath the Hairy Buffalo P-3C's plain, commonplace exterior is an aircraft a generation ahead of anything else flying in the service.
Like their large-capitalization brethren, smallcap aerospace/defense companies generally have been meeting Wall Street's earnings expectations for the second quarter. For the most part, they also have been outperforming the broader market, with valuations expected to hold up through the end of the year as companies continue to focus on niche acquisitions that can add revenue andbacklog to their existing business bases.
