Carolyn Griner, deputy director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., received her second NASA Distinguished Service Medal, upon her retirement at the end of 2000 after 36 years of service. Griner played major roles in numerous NASA programs, including liftoff of the Saturn 5 rocket that carried Americans to the Moon; launch of the initial elements of America's first space station, Skylab; 100 space shuttle missions, and delivering science in space on Spacelab missions.
Forty years after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to fly in space, national policy, economics and technology have combined to bring all the major space-faring nations together on the International Space Station. The 40-year history of manned spaceflight, and its links to the future, are highlighted in this Aviation Week&Space Technology special report.
The Federal Communications Commission has adopted a First Report and Order providing for sharing of the Ku-band spectrum between geostationary orbit, non-geostationary orbit and terrestrial telecom systems. The move, which follows a recommendation by the ITU WRC-2000 Conference in Istanbul in June, paves the way for licensing NGSO systems, including Alcatel/Loral-led SkyBridge, one of the main proponents of the move.
James D. Fowler, Jr., has been appointed senior vice president/director of human resources for ITT Industries Inc., White Plains, N.Y. He was Washington-based director of government relations before becoming president of the Executive Leadership Council in Washington.
AirTran Airways, the low-fare carrier once known as ValuJet Airlines, reported a 70.2% load factor for 2000, setting a new annual record for the carrier. AirTran's traffic, measured by revenue passenger miles (RPMs), grew 31.4% in December 2000, compared with December 1999. Despite continued high fuel prices, AirTran managed to enplane an additional 1.1 million passengers in 2000, for a total of 7,566,986. For the year, AirTran flew 4.11 billion RPMs, an increase of 18.5% over 1999.
Executives from nine commercial U.S. launch sites have formed the National Coalition of Spaceport States to ensure inland, entrepreneurial space facilities ``have a voice in national policy,'' according to an organizer. Issues of common interest include flight safety, standards, FAA regulations, unfair advantages if national launch ranges are turned over to private or other nongovernmental entities and commercial space legislation. Although other states--such as Florida, California and Alaska--are expected to join, its first meeting on Dec.
Peter Berghammer has been appointed vice president-marketing for Seattle-based Avolo. He was director of worldwide communications for Fairchild Fasteners.
British Airways is reviewing security procedures following a Dec. 29 incident in which a passenger burst into the cockpit of a 747-400 with 380 people on board en route from London to Nairobi. The Kenyan tried to seize the controls and during a struggle with the flight crew the autopilot was disengaged and the aircraft plummeted. The crew managed to restrain the man and regain control of the aircraft, which landed safely in Nairobi about 2 hr. later. Four passengers sustained minor injuries.
Engineers and managers at more than a half dozen NASA centers are developing a host of new technologies to enable humans to return to the Moon, set off for Mars or rendezvous with distant space telescopes in need of servicing. These efforts dovetail with NASA's new long-term plan for humans in space, which envisions stepping-stone missions that reach ever farther from Earth.
US Airways Express carrier Potomac Air, which will become DC Air if the government approves the proposed United/US Airways merger, planned to begin scheduled service late last week. The regional airline will fly between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Charleston, W. Va.; Greensboro, N.C.; and White Plains, N.Y., using 37-seat Bombardier Dash 8-200s.
Paul L. Green has become deputy executive director/chief operating officer of Los Angeles World Airports. He was director/CEO of the Marine Div. of the Washington State Transportation Dept.
The French government has awarded Thales (Thomson-CSF) a FF1-billion ($142-million) follow-on contract to supply and support the Martha air defense command and control system. Designed to simultaneously control short, very short and medium-range air defense networks and to interoperate with other French and allied command and control systems, Martha will fill a key requirement in support of Europe's rapid reaction force. Thales is already providing systems to allow Martha to interface with Roland and Mistral weapon systems under a separate contract.
Hal Heule has become senior vice president-technical operations, Capt. Joseph Chronic vice president-flight operations and Jacqueline La Vista vice president-inflight services for America West Airlines. Heule was executive vice president of Strand Associates Inc., Genesee, Colo. Chronic was a captain with Trans World Airlines, and La Vista was vice president-customer service for American Trans Air.
Lockheed Martin has installed the lift fan into the X-35B short takeoff/vertical landing version of its Joint Strike Fighter demonstrator, and is to soon start testing it and other hardware in preparation for a first flight scheduled for around the middle of the year. Several short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) activities are at key points:
Thomas Connelly (see photo) has been named vice president-technical services of the Flight Services Group, Stratford, Conn. He was director of maintenance.
Regional jet manufacturer Fairchild Dornier has completed the first tests on the 728JET full-scale flight control test rig, or ``Iron Bird.'' Initial tests on the aircraft-size frame successfully demonstrated aileron and multifunction spoiler actuators, which are meant to represent primary and secondary flight control systems, landing gear and thrust reverse operations. The system will be used in conjunction with a cockpit simulator to assist engineers during certification of the 70-seat 728JET. In September 2000, assembly activities on the first 728JET began.
J. Michael Morgan (see photo) has been named manager of the Huntsville, Ala., aircraft products plant of PPG Industries. He was manager of value focus for flat glass automotive products at the PPG research center near Pittsburgh.
The Clinton Pentagon seriously understates how much force the U.S. would have to marshal if Taiwan and China went to war, a new Rand threat analysis cautions. But the think tank says a Bush Pentagon should provide the island with advanced weapons, like Amraam and improved sensors, rather than entirely new weapons systems, as some lawmakers urge. War gaming a cross-strait clash, Rand found that a single wing of U.S.
Malaysia's Transport Ministry says five foreign companies have bid for the government's 29.02% stake in debt-ridden Malaysia Airlines. KLM and Swissair, the latter through its parent company SAirGroup, have bid for the share. Industry sources say Qantas may resurface as a possible suitor, but it would likely get the cold shoulder because of Australia's past criticism of Malaysia's internal affairs.
F. Albert Landwehr, Jr., has been named to the board of directors of LASV Enterprises Inc. of Houston. He has been manager of corporate development and manager of financial operations for the Federal Express Corp.
An unusual combination of factors--sharp new tactics by labor and management, an unprecedented victory by one pilot group last year, rising fuel prices and uncertainty about the nation's economy--are making for especially turbulent times early in 2001 as U.S. airlines wrestle with dozens of contract negotiations.
A new critique of Pentagon efforts to develop air-breathing hypersonic systems has found the U.S. lacks the focus to dominate this potentially high-payoff technology and is at risk of quickly falling behind other countries.
Charles Mees has been promoted to vice president from senior director of information systems and Angie Shermer to vice president-employee services from vice president-sales and recruiting for Atlantic Coast Airlines Holdings, Dulles, Va.
