General Dynamics Information Systems has won a $3.2-million work order to provide a data storage system for the active electronic scanned array fire-control radar on the U.S. Navy's F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet aircraft and other radar system improvement programs.
Space shuttle managers will decide this week whether Atlantis will launch as early as July 12 carrying the large airlock module for the International Space Station or whether shoulder-pitch joint problems with the new ISS Canadian arm will force the mission to be flip-flopped with a Discovery logistics flight in early August. Discovery would also swap the ISS second and third crews. The ISS crew was last week testing the arm to determine its health for the critical airlock installation.
French and European space leaders are launching a drive to generate support for key civil space programs to be submitted for approval later this year and for formulation of a common military space policy. Government and industry officials meeting at French National Assembly hearings on space policy last week signaled they intended to use U.S. President George W. Bush's position on a number of issues, in particular the environment and missile defense, to help galvanize support for these programs.
Tom Wilson, Jr., has become manager of national security space of Swales Aerospace, Beltsville, Md. He was staff director of the Commission to Assess U.S. National Security Space Management and Organization in Washington.
THE FLIGHT SAFETY FOUNDATION'S CORPORATE Advisory Committee (CAC) is studying the feasibility of implementing flight operational quality assurance (FOQA) programs for operators of business aircraft. FOQA already is used by major airlines in the U.S., Europe and Asia to identify trends that affect safety of flight, but such programs have generally not been embraced by business aviation.
Chastened by his dot.com experiences, Peter Berghammer, former vice president of marketing at Avolo, the Seattle-based exchange, is applying some ``e-ideas'' at a startup he's founded, Capernio Corp. of Huntington Beach, Calif. Berghammer isn't interested in open industry exchanges--he's skeptical about the survival of non-aligned exchanges--but thinks there's a lot of use for private exchanges.
This series of Italcoppie-brand RTD probes are temperature sensors designed for harsh operating conditions and corrosive environments. The IKE series of platinum RTD probes has a one-piece molded design with a vulcanized cover protecting the sensor exterior, including the vulnerable transition area where sensor and cable are joined. They are available with either Pt 100 or Pt 1000 sensing elements and a choice of IEC Class B or Class A accuracy descriptions. The 2.5-mm.-dia. outer cable has ambient temperature limits of -50C to 105C.
European companies are advancing the state of the art in space propulsion at all levels of performance, from the cryogenic Vulcain 2 engine that will help an uprated Ariane 5 lift two big broadband satellites at once to tiny thrusters designed to move nanosatellites around with minute puffs of pressurized gas.
The Egyptian Civil Air Authority's long-awaited independent analysis on the crash of Egyptair Flight 990 off Nantucket, Mass., on Oct. 31, 1999, is complete. The report was delivered to the National Transportation Safety Board last week. There's no sign that U.S. and Egyptian authorities have resolved their differences. Look for the NTSB to link the crash to a deliberate act by a crewmember, while the ECAA is likely to point to a mechanical problem with the Boeing 767's elevator control system.
David Dieterle (see photo) has been appointed vice president-business development of Pittsburgh-based BAA USA. He was vice president-retail operations.
Douglas H. McCorkindale, chairman/ president/CEO of the Gannett Co., has been named to the board of directors of the Lockheed Martin Corp., Bethesda, Md.
The French government is attempting to thrash out a multiyear spending plan that affords sufficient resources for the modernization of France's new professional army and its contribution to Europe's rapid reaction force while allowing for current fiscal realities.
Six governments are poised to launch a program to cooperate on advanced technologies which could be inserted into existing military aircraft and form the basis for next-generation systems by 2020. The so-called European Technology Acquisition Program (ETAP) is aimed at closing the gap with the U.S. on critical technologies, including stealth, and could form the basis for a European competitor to the U.S. Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).
Stanton D. Sloane, who has been executive vice president of Lockheed Martin's Management and Data Systems, will now head the navigation systems unit based in King of Prussia, Pa., of Lockheed Martin's Space Systems.
Harris Corp. has received a $300-million contract from the Air Force Electronic Systems Center for new ground satellite terminals that will enable commanders to communicate seamlessly around the globe using a variety of military and commercial spacecraft. The new lightweight Ground Multi-Band Terminals are to replace older mobile quad-band terminals that could not work with the full range of spacecraft now aloft.
The U.S., with its worldwide intelligence-gathering capability, is viewed with suspicion by many, even when its intentions are humanitarian. A big concern for U.S. Air Forces in Europe, which need to operate throughout Africa on relief and aid missions, is how to keep tabs on what's going on without being involved in activity that could be construed as spying.
Even though many pilots underwent IFR training using government charts, they've developed a preference for flying with Jeppesen charts. King Schools has released a two-video series covering Jeppesen charts in depth. Volume 1--En route, Departures&Arrivals and Volume 2--Approaches were created for pilots familiar with U.S. IFR rules, and present a review of the meaning of the symbols used on the charts and tips on how to use the charts to their full advantage.
A White House call for reinvigorating the U.S. military has gone virtually unheeded. Forces, infrastructure and funding for Europe have all sustained cuts as Washington focuses on Eastern Asia. U.S. Air Forces in Europe is struggling to realign its few remaining bases, manpower and training facilities. Yet, the demand to conduct military and humanitarian operations in the Middle East and Africa is growing. The loss of training ranges and airspace in Western Europe is compounding the strain. U.S.
Government spending on the European Space Agency's share of the International Space Station will leave almost one-third of the cost of using it unfunded, so ESA and its industrial partners are looking for ways to fill in the shortfall with paying customers.
Tnemec has introduced its Series 237 Power-Tread flooring system, a multipurpose broadcast, slurry broadcast or mortar-applied floor-topping system designed for warehouses and industrial manufacturing or processing facilities. It offers flexibility as a primer, mortar or broadcast flooring system, for either a new floor or a retrofit job. It protects against impact, abrasion and chemicals. The material also offers contractors and facility owners easy mixing ratios, shorter cure times and a longer pot life.
The Portable Pro-Pen can provide identification and traceability of large or heavy parts in hard-to-reach areas. It marks a wide variety of materials and surfaces, including machined, flat, concave and circular, and can mark horizontally and vertically. The system is supplied with a battery pack and can also run off 110- or 220-volt current; it is self-contained and equipped with a screen, detachable keyboard and integrated software so a separate PC is not required. There is an optional Ni-Cad battery, rapid charger and Windows RS-232 cable for downloading marking files.
NASA is funding 10 rapid studies of Mars missions to ``jump start'' work for a full-fledged competition next year. In March, the agency received 43 responses to its request for proposals to refine concepts for a Mars Scout mission for possible launch in 2007. Scout missions, which are to cost less than $300 million, are intended to complement the agency's core missions to the red planet.
Thomas Herring has become vice president-integrated systems for BAE Systems Controls, Johnson City, N.Y. He was vice president-national upgrade programs and display systems at BAE Systems Advanced Systems, Greenlawn, N.Y.
