European Space Agency scientists are preparing to send an armada of advanced spacecraft to the second Lagrangian point (L2), a spot about 1 million mi. from Earth in the direction away from the Sun where the thermal and radiation environments are ideal for long-distance observations.
Craig Dickson has been appointed executive vice president-business development and Louis Joubert general manager for high-performance display products for Luxell Technologies Inc. of Toronto.
The BAE Systems-led Horizon consortium has entered into a partnership with the British Royal Air Force to market spare aviation maintenance and ground-crew training capacity. The consortium, which also includes GKN Westland and Rolls-Royce, is targeting the commercial sector, as well as other armed forces. Horizon estimates the project will generate 11 million pounds ($16 million) in revenues over the next five years. The project is set to begin operations this fall.
Nickel-clad copper wire for use in temperature-rated electronics and other applications with long-term thermal requirements is available from Anomet Products. The wire combines the conductivity of copper and the corrosion resistance of pure nickel. Designed for applications requiring superior oxidation resistance, especially at elevated temperatures, it can be supplied as wire and rod from 0.01-1-in. O.D. in a standard 27% nickel ratio with a conductivity of approximately 70% IACS.
These full extension shelves have a cantilevered monorail attached to the top of the unit. Employing this system helps reduce the possibility of back injuries caused by maneuvering heavy assemblies, parts and components such as engines, molds, dies, fixtures and spare parts. The units require less floor space and eliminate two or three steps in material handling. That's because the shelves roll out, so the needed part can be picked up with the overhead hoist and then moved directly to the work area. Proper Storage Systems, 2200 Highway 90 East, Seguin, Tex. 78155.
David Kitchings (see photo) has been named president of McKinney (Tex.) Aerospace. He was chief operating officer and succeeds Ron Kitchings, who will remain on the board of directors.
Able Engineering has completed acceptance testing of the first set of solar arrays for the next-generation GPS IIF satellites. The arrays were designed, built and tested by Able under a multi-year contract to Boeing. Each set of silicon-based solar cell Puma arrays provides in excess of 1,650 watts of power. Each array consists of three deployable panels and a yoke support assembly, measuring a total of 5.6 ft. wide X 25.6 ft. long when fully deployed.
Scott Dickson has been appointed president of Vanguard Airlines. He succeeds Jeff Potter, who has become executive vice president/chief operating officer of Frontier Airlines. Dickson was vice president-planning and revenue management of Grupo TACA.
The market for Boeing's planned Sonic Cruiser aircraft design and its possible derivatives could reach into the thousands, although the company expects to be building the current wide-body models for decades to come, according to Boeing officials. Alan R. Mulally, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said the potential market for Boeing's planned Sonic Cruiser design--in its initial form and in possible follow-on models--could range as high as 3,000-4,000 aircraft in the next 15-20 years.
Tight budgets, growing competition and industry consolidation, margin erosion, workforce shortages and training issues--all are neck-and-neck in the industry's rankings of the greatest challenges facing the aerospace aftermarket, according to a joint Computer Sciences Corp.-Aviation Week&Space Technology industry poll.
Elizabeth T. Solberg has been appointed to the board of directors of Midwest Express Holdings Inc. She is regional president/senior partner in Fleishman-Hillard Inc., Kansas City, Mo.
General Electric Co. may yet salvage its proposed acquisition of Honeywell Inc. in the face of European Commission (EC) demands for increasingly stiff concessions (see p. 89). On the other hand, it is not inconceivable the deal could go down in flames. For different reasons, General Dynamics Corp.'s proposed acquisition of Newport News Shipbuilding also has encountered serious problems. As of last Thursday, the deal appeared dead in the water, according to people close to the transaction. Northrop Grumman Corp. is acting as spoiler.
Mark Ogren has been appointed senior vice president and Bruno Pouilleau vice president, based in Paris, for Jouve Data Management, Irvine, Calif. Ogren was vice president-sales and marketing, while Pouilleau was manager of aerospace marketing and business development.
Kevin Mulloy has become vice president-strategy and business development of Washington-based Intelsat. He was a partner in the consulting firm of McKinsey&Co.
R.G. Smith, a design engineer for Douglas Aircraft and noted aviation artist, died at home in California on May 29. He was 87 and had a rare form of Parkinson's disease. Smith's art is found in the Pentagon, Naval Aviation Museum and many other locations where aviation is appreciated. His illustra- tions span the period from the flight of the Curtiss Pusher to that of the Boeing F/A-18. Smith's painting of a Boeing F4B-3 was on the cover of this magazine's ``U.S. Naval Aviation at 90'' issue on Apr. 9. Many other of his paintings illustrated inside pages of that issue.
John Brady has been named chief financial officer of the Time Domain Corp., Huntsville, Ala. He was CFO of Hungarian telephone company Matav and deputy CFO of Danish telephone companyTeledanmark, both owned by SBC/ Ameritech.
Elizabeth Contreras Eisenstat has been appointed vice president-service to industry for the Colorado Springs-based Space Foundation. She was senior vice president/chief operating officer of Sykes Communications.
Ingo Roehle (see photos) from the DLRL German aerospace research agency has won first prize and Alexandre Bresson from the Onera French aerospace research agency second prize in the Assn. of European Research Establishments in Aeronautics' and Pratt&Whitney 2001 joint science award program. Roehle's prize recognized a thesis covering the application of laser diagnostic techniques to turbo-machinery facilities. Bresson was recognized for a study devoted to quantitative imaging techniques in laser-induced fluorescence applied to turbulent flows and combustion.
British Airways has sold its low-cost subsidiary Go to 3i Group, a venture capital company for a total of 110 million pounds ($150.7 million). Barbara Cassani will remain as chief executive of the three-year-old carrier which is based at Stansted London airport.
Kenneth H. Guss (see photo) has become CEO and Jack Faherty (see photo) chief financial officer of the Senior Aerospace Group, Sharon, Mass. Launie Fleming has been named chief executive of Senior Aerospace-SSP.
Sweden's civil aviation authority LFV is giving airline passengers the opportunity to use the Internet to choose their international flight based on its potential impact on the environment, through a special database at www.lfv.se. A traveler may also assess the amount of emissions that would be released into the atmosphere during that particular flight.
Michael N. Beckstead has been appointed president/general manager of AAR Distribution, Elk Grove Village, Ill. He was group director of business development for the Honeywell Aerospace Services Group.
Designers testing antenna performance can now access a new application note from Giga-tronics, ``Using the 12,000A for Antenna Measurement.'' Created for use with the company's 20-GHz. microwave synthesizer, it describes and diagrams techniques and equipment requirements for both far- and near-field measurements. It applies to systems with applications in satellite transmission, aircraft navigation and electronic defense.
