Jim Jannette has become director of marketing for the Space Foundation of Colorado Springs. He was senior communications and public affairs manager for McDonnell Douglas at the Kennedy Space Center and director of public affairs at Patrick AFB, Fla.
Today there is no pot of gold in space, no ``killer app,'' no next big thing that will make the moneymen of Manhattan and Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong open their purses to finance the 21st century equivalents of the expeditions that sailed from Europe 500 years ago in search of spice, silk and El Dorado. The Cold War is over, and the moneymen of Capitol Hill and the Kremlin see a dwindling political percentage in funding space missions for national prestige and passive aggressive saber-rattling.
Controversial scope-of-work issues that are dividing members of the Air Line Pilots Assn. International have been deferred to a committee for study and a report on the development of new policies and procedures.
And the torrid pace of innovation in manned space projects continues: Within weeks, the world will witness the first pizza delivery in space. That's when a Russian Progress resupply ship will fly to the International Space Station carrying Pizza Hut's newest delicacy--the Insider pizza, with cheese and sauce between two layers of crust.
Helicopter Textron has signed a six-year outsourcing contract with IBM, valued at $70 million, that makes IBM the sole provider of the helicopter maker's desktops, notebooks and servers. Chief Information Officer Sandi Walker said one reason to outsource the entire personal systems operation was the need to standardize its equipment. Bell is to replace 5,500 Dell and Compaq systems at its facilities in Texas and Mirabel, Quebec, with Thinkpad T20/X20s and NetVista A40 systems. It will add 300 IBM Intellistation M Pro graphic workstations for Bell's server environment.
The European Space Agency has begun a pair of programs under which a light launch vehicle and new-generation solid rocket motor will be designed and built, ending a long internal dispute that threatened harmony within ESA.
Groundbreaking for the new Udvar-Hazy annex of the National Air and Space Museum at Dulles International Airport has begun. Completion date for the 710,000-sq.-ft. facility is set for December 2003, the centenary of controlled, powered flight. The center takes its name from Steven F. Udvar-Hazy of International Lease Finance Corp., who donated $60 million last year to the project.
For some clouds, finding the silver lining can be a real challenge. Just ask Orbital Sciences Corp. (OSC), whose signature project--Orbcomm Global LP--in mid-September filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The satellite-based message and data service needs to find investors willing to infuse the company with capital to cover its operating expenses until reaching cash flow break-even, and Orbcomm's huge debt burden of about $171 million has turned many potential ones away.
With a broadening telecommunications system and budding imaging network, Turkey is manifesting growing space ambitions--not only in satellite operations but in design and production as well.
Beal Aerospace Technologies Inc. last week ceased operations in the wake of NASA plans to subsidize development of human-rated vehicles the company's chief official claims would compete directly with its BA-2C heavy-lift booster system.
French brake systems manufacturer Messier-Bugatti is seeking more business in the U.S. But Boeing prefers mature, service-proven systems while Airbus Industrie favors new technology to act as marketing assets, said Yves Leclere, Messier-Bugatti chairman and CEO. The company has been approved by Boeing as a second-source supplier for the 767-200/300.
Sabena Belgian World Airlines' long-lasting efforts to restore profitability only produced short-lived results. An all-new plan, which is scheduled to be implemented rapidly, is expected to slash costs for the troubled carrier by nearly $350 million/year, according to newly-appointed Chairman/CEO Christoph Mueller. He added that, despite a robust traffic growth, Sabena is suffering from increasing competition, soaring fuel prices, the euro's unfavorable exchange rates against the U.S. dollar and massive investment in an all-Airbus fleet set to replace aging aircraft.
Bob Brazier has been promoted to vice chairman from president/chief operating officer of Airborne Express. He has been succeeded by Carl Donaway, who was promoted from senior executive vice president-field and air services. Lanny Michael has been appointed senior vice president/chief financial officer. He succeeds Roy Liljebeck, who has retired. David Billings has been named senior vice president/chief information officer. Harvey North has been promoted to vice president from director of human resources. He succeeds Dick Goodwin, who plans to retire.
Thomas H. Weidemeyer, who has been senior vice president-transportation and enginzeering/president of UPS Airlines will become chief operating officer of UPS following the retirement of Charles L. Schaffer at year-end. D. Scott Davis, who has been vice president-finance, will become senior vice president/chief financial oficer, succeeding Robert J. Clanin.
Andy Beal folded his hand last week. But before pulling out of a high-stakes game to develop a big space launch vehicle, Beal is estimated to have spent nearly $200 million (see World News&Analysis). Beal Aerospace of Frisco, Tex., once employed 200 people in the largest private rocket development effort in history. Beal was one of a handful of entrepreneurs betting they could make space transportation more like air transport--in other words reliable and low-cost. Most of the other startups are struggling financially, if not technically.
A Russian Ilyushin Il-18 military transport crashed in mountainous terrain 25 km. east of Batumi, Georgia, in fog on the night of Oct. 25. The 100-seat, four-engine turboprop is a type designed in the 1950s and produced until 1969. There were reported to be 64 passengers and 11 crew on board, all of whom were believed to have been killed in the crash, which is under investigation by Russian and Georgian officials.
The U.S. Marine Corps plans several enhancements and additional tests for the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor to resolve remaining problems with the aircraft, which was declared partially operationally effective and suitable by an independent test team.
More than 260,000 passengers passed through Southwest Florida International Airport in September, making it the busiest September in the airport's history. More than 3.9 million passengers have used the airport so far this year. During 1984, the airport's first full year of operation, the passenger count for the year was 1.3 million.
Belgium's BarcoView, previously known as Barco Display Systems, and South Korea's Samsung Electronics Div. plan to jointly become major players in flat panel displays developed for air traffic control systems. The two companies recently unveiled a ``strategic partnership'' formed in mid-1999 to invest in development, marketing and production of high-resolution displays. Joel Maelfeyt, BarcoView business development manager, said the alliance will focus exclusively on Isis, a large liquid crystal display.
Gary Scott has been appointed president of FlightSafety Boeing in Seattle. He succeeds T. Wakelee Smith, who has left the company. Scott was vice president-finance and business strategy for the Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group's Commercial Aviation Services.
EADS-Sogerma, a France-based unit of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., and Northrop Grumman agreed on Oct. 26 to form EADS Aeroframe Services, a maintenance, repair and overhaul company, at Chennault International Airport in Lake Charles, La., to focus on large commercial transports.
A Sea Launch Zenit-3SL placed Thuraya-1 into orbit Oct. 21 from a floating mid-Pacific equatorial launch site. A Boeing Satellite Services (formerly Hughes) 702 GEM spacecraft, Thuraya was built for a United Arab Emirates firm under a $960-million turnkey contract. It will provide mobile telephone services across North Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Operations are to begin in the first quarter of 2001. Thuraya reports orders for more than 140,000 handsets and expects to sell 400,000 by the end of 2001.
NASA's reworked Mars exploration plan calls for a sample return mission no earlier than 2011 or 2014, slipping an attempt to bring back rocks and other material from the red planet once again. But in unveiling its new plan last week, the U.S. space agency emphasized the program is now more resilient and benefits from the hard lessons it learned in the wake of the failures of two missions in a row in 1999.
The U.S. Transportation Dept.'s recent order that airlines notify passengers of a possible cheaper fare on their Internet sites does nothing beyond what the carriers agreed to last year, but could expedite the process. ``We are reminding airlines of their obligation to give complete and accurate fare information to consumers,'' said Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater. ``This continues our effort to improve the flight information available to travelers.''
William Walthall has been appointed group vice president-engineered products in the Engineered Industrial Products segment of the BFGoodrich Co., Charlotte, N.C. He was president of the Safety Systems Div.
