A number of senior-level space posts are about to be filled. Heading the list of people to replace Keith Hall as director of the National Reconnaissance Office is Albert E. Smith, Lockheed Martin's executive vice president for space systems. Over at the Pentagon, Air Force Gen. Thomas S. Moorman (ret.), former commander of Space Command and vice chief of the Air Force, is considered the frontrunner to replace Arthur Money as assistant secretary of Defense for command, control, communications and intelligence.
Boeing is talking to airlines about another increase in maximum takeoff weight for the Longer-Range 747-400 in order to improve the aircraft's competitive position and meet customer requirements. The program, launched last November, was not affected by Boeing's recent decision to stop development work on the 747X, a family which included larger and more capable 747 derivatives.
Airbus Deutschland wants to create close to 1,600 jobs in its seven facilities across Germany, as it begins ramping up production. Jobs will be added through the end of this year, bringing the workforce to 16,516. The company is responsible for final assembly of the A319 and A321, plus the new A318. The Hamburg plant is set to roll out an average of 13 A319 and A321 aircraft per month this year on two integrated assembly lines, up from 12 per month in 2000. The rate is set to jump to 18 or more per month by the end of 2002, as A318 final assembly begins.
EADS and BAE Systems plan to fly a British Airways Concorde to validate modified fuel tanks reinforced with Kevlar liners. Also, DERA German aerospace research agency is set to begin, by May, fuel ingestion tests based on data provided early this year by ground tests performed at Istres air force base, southern France, by an Air France aircraft.
Snecma last week formed Hurel-Hispano to unify the group's French and British engine nacelle and thrust reverser businesses. The new company becomes the third largest player in its segment and expects to grow rapidly, including in aftermarket sales, according to company executives.
Nearly $1 billion in Canadian robotics hardware, essential for continued assembly of the International Space Station, is shown undergoing final assembly in the Space Station Processing Facility here. Final prelaunch checkout has been completed on the MacDonald, Dettwiler Space and Advanced Robotics 58-ft. space station remote manipulator system (SSRMS), folded in its shuttle launch cradle (above). The ``Canadarm-2'' is now loaded in the shuttle Endeavour for launch on Apr. 19.
Aerojet has reported a successful hot fire test Mar. 8 of the first-stage booster attitude control system (ACS) thruster pack for the National Missile Defense system's Ground-Based Interceptor. The company began preparing for the test last August at its Sacramento, Calif., headquarters and conducted shock testing of the thruster pack last December. Aerojet is to build 17 ACS shipsets in the next three years to support Boeing's integration of the NMD.
Rapid Imaging Software has devised a new spacecraft-oriented map projection for its LandForm flight visualization tool. The ``LandForm Orbital Projection'' varies from the plate carre projection by having the map-globe contact line shifted from the equator to the inclined path of the satellite, matched at the ascending node for each orbit (see drawing). This makes a more intuitive display from the satellite point of view and, because the distortion is small near the path, the map may be useful for picking landing spots, among other things.
An FAA type certificate was granted for installation of Safe Flight's N1 computer on both the Cessna Citation CJ1 and CJ2 business jets. Available as a factory option, the computer can be installed at Cessna Service Centers on a retrofit basis. Programmed with the Airplane Flight Manual performance values, the N1 computer helps maximize performance by displaying real-time target N thrust settings for takeoff, climb, cruise and go-around. Installations also include Cessna Bravo, Citation V, Ultra, Encore, Excel, UC-35A, Beechjet 400A and USAF/Boeing RC-135 aircraft.
This is the first 1000-volt radiation-hardened power MOSFET, according to the company. The IRHY7G30SE rad-hard MOSFET improves power management circuits and high-frequency switching systems in satcom systems by minimizing component count. Typical applications include traveling wave tube amplifiers, which are used to amplify microwave signals in satcom systems. The company says the highest voltage-rated rad-hard MOSFET before this was a 600-volt device. This lets designers accommodate safe derating conditions and not lose functionality. International Rectifier, 1000 N.
In a chart on p. 27 of last week's issue, outlining the , the photo of CEO James F. Albaugh should have been placed with the Space and Communications business, which he heads, and the photo of CEO Gerald E. Daniels should have been placed with the Military Aircraft and Missile Systems business, which he heads.
There are some topics within the aerospace industry that deserve more attention than others, such as aeronautics research within the U.S. and internationally. Just when I thought the U.S. industry might not respond to the aeronautical gauntlet thrown down by Europe in its ``Vision for 2020'' (AW&ST Mar. 15, p. 70), it appears Boeing is indeed going to rise to the challenge. Boeing's announcement of its plan to develop a new commercial aircraft capable of flying at higher than 45,000 ft.
Sagem predicts it will generate a 10% rise in defense sales this year followed by a 15-20% jump in 2002-03, despite slow billings in the first quarter. Last month, the second-largest French defense contractor announced orders for 50 Sigma laser gyro inertial guidance systems from the South Korean navy, and an undetermined number of Sigma INS units and other avionics hardware for Brazil's Mirage 50 modernization program. Along with an INS on-condition maintenance award from the French air force, the contracts were worth FF500 million ($70 million).
Norm Thompson has been named vice president-Australian sales and Paul Donovan vice president-New Zealand and Pacific island sales for Air New Zealand. Thompson was general manager of the New Zealand Domestic, Trans-Tasman and Southwest Pacific Unit of ANZ, while Donovan was New Zealand regional manager for Qantas Airways.
The National Transportation Safety Board is as unhappy as ever with the FAA's lethargic acquisition of new technology. Carol Carmody, the board's acting chairman, zeroed in last week on the agency's slow advance with airport surface detection equipment (ASDE) for low-traffic airports, and its equally retarded deployment of the Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS), which is supposed to alert air traffic controllers to imminent runway incursions.
Donald K. Schwanz has become president/chief operating officer of the CTS Corp., Elkhart, Ind. He was president of the industrial control business of Honeywell Inc.
India will soon have its first air force base in the Indian Ocean. An 11,500-ft.-long airstrip, allowing wide-body operations, is to be completed in two months at Port Blair, Nicobar Islands. The action follows reports of Beijing setting up a surveillance post on Myanmar's tiny Coco Islands, 45 km. from the northern tip of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The Mars Odyssey team includes a greatly expanded role for the NASA Langley Research Center. During the 1970s, Langley led Project Viking, the nation's most ambitious Mars program. Its participation in Odyssey represents a renaissance of Mars mission activity at the sprawling Hampton, Va., facility. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory requested greater Langley involvement following the loss of the Mars orbiter and lander spacecraft in 1999, said Richard Powell, Langley technical lead for the Odyssey mission.
Edward S. Campion has been appointed news chief in the Office of Public Affairs at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. He was manager of newsroom and television support of the Johnson Space Center's human space flight efforts with the space shuttle and International Space Station programs.
Susan R. Stahl has been promoted to vice president-marketing and sales from head of sales and marketing for the Raisbeck Stage 3 System of Raisbeck Engineering of Seattle. She succeeds Tom Halvorson, who has retired.
Larry Powell has been promoted to material leader for the Airframes and Engines Center of Excellence from corporate materials manager for Honeywell Engines consignment material for Garrett Aviation Services, Tempe, Ariz. Greg Thomas has been promoted to material leader for the Modifications, Completions and Avionics Center of Excellence from parts support leader.
Jeff Cousins has been appointed vice president/general manager of the Twin Commander Aircraft Corp., Arlington, Wash. He was general manager of Byerly Aviation, Peoria, Ill.
Regional commanders-in-chief and service chiefs are often deemed among the most powerful players in Pentagon power struggles, but curiously they have very little control over some issues near-and-dear to their hearts. ``People like me are expected to stand up and defend the V-22 when, by law, we have very little to do with how we acquire it,'' moaned Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James L. Jones. Most of these acquisition decisions are made in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Capt. Rick Maloney has been appointed vice president-flight operations for United Airlines. He will remain system chief pilot and was director of line operations.
