The Star Alliance plans to launch its new, online communication link between member airlines' computer systems starting in October. The system, dubbed StarNet, is intended to act as a translator between the alliance's 13 members and their respective information technology systems. While today airlines have only very limited access to each others' passenger and operational data, Star believes it can greatly enhance passenger service by establishing links that would make the introduction of new computer systems unnecessary.
Hughes Space and Communications will build at least three more ICO satellites in addition to modifying 11 of the spacecraft already in production at Hughes following the restructuring of New ICO. The overall contract, with an estimated value of more than $700 million, assures New ICO, formerly ICO Global Communications, of a full constellation of spacecraft when commercial service begins in 2003.
U.S. intelligence officials are noting with interest the speed of Iran's nuclear program. ``We are very concerned about the fast pace of the Iranian nuclear program,'' says A. Norman Schindler of the CIA's nonproliferation center. ``Iran is seeking nuclear-related equipment, material and technical expertise from a variety of foreign sources, especially in Russia,'' he tells a Senate panel. The spooks are mum about when Tehran will have a nuclear weapon.
The U.S. and India have agreed to expand bilateral civil aviation and high-technology trade, solidifying commitments ordained last March. The civil aviation pact is inclusive, aimed at fostering more flights and greater passenger traffic between the two countries, as well as heightened airline competition to drive down fare prices, Jaswant Singh, India's minister of external affairs, said after the American/Indian summit here Sept. 15.
Doug Bain has been named senior vice president/general counsel of the Boeing Co. He will succeed Ted Collins, senior vice president-law and contracts, who is scheduled to retire on Nov. 1. Bain was vice president/general counsel.
CPU TECHNOLOGY IS DEVELOPING a compatible system on a chip (CSOC) under a $45-million U.S. Navy program. It will allow the Navy to take advantage of rapid processor changes to upgrade its AN/AYK-14 standard computer while remaining compatible with existing software so no changes would be required. In the past, a hardware upgrade too often required at least some modification of application or test software. The Navy contract follows two USAF awards for CSOC for embedded processors for the F-16 radar.
Time was when military pilots made up the hiring pool for airlines. Things are different now. An Air Inc. survey of 2,000 pilots who were hired by major airlines in the 12-month period ending June 1 showed 66 % of them were trained in the civil sector and 54% in the military. The Atlanta-based firm provides career information to pilots. The survey indicates the average hiring age for pilots from the military is 33.5 years, and that their hiring age ranges 21-52 years.
Military planners recognize they will have to rely on existing munitions as their staple in future conflicts, even as researchers focus their attention on the next generation of weapons. The armaments now being fielded, such as the GPS-guided Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) or the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (Jassm) that's still in development, will require upgrades to stay effective in higher threat environments and as they take on new missions.
The SeaWinds instrument on the QuikScat satellite can detect winds typical of a tropical depression up to nearly two days earlier than conventional weather observations, according to NASA and NOAA researchers. The instrument is capable of looking through cloud cover that can obscure tropical storms and measuring the velocity and direction of winds at the surface of the ocean.
In their struggle to find ways to destroy chemical and biological weapons, munitions experts are turning to new fuzes and warhead designs to provide answers where, so far, there have been few solutions.
Recruiting and retaining engineering talent, particularly in the software field, remains a concern in many, but not all, areas of the space industry. The military has trouble getting the talent it needs. Besides the lure of dot.com riches, demographics play a role, said Deputy Defense Secretary Rudy de Leon. He spoke at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' Space 2000 conference held here Sept. 19-21. Talent drain was touched on by many of the speakers.
Despite the dominance of regional jets in the short-haul market, officials of Avions de Transport Regional expect to continue business in what has become a niche market for turboprop-powered transports. Regional carriers will continue to order an average of 60-70 aircraft per year, and ``our goal is to produce 25-35 ATR 42s and ATR 72s annually,'' said Chief Executive Antoine Bouvier. ATR is scheduled to be restructured into a single corporate entity instead of the loose industrial grouping that includes Alenia/Finmeccanica and EADS.
Both U.S. and British war planners see unmanned aircraft as an attractive option to carry both conventional and directed energy weapons beginning some time during the next two decades.
The Air France Concorde that was immobilized on the apron at New York Kennedy International Airport returned to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport on Sept. 21. DGAC French civil aviation authorities approved the French flag carrier's request to ferry the aircraft to its home base despite the Franco-British decision to suspend the supersonic transport's airworthiness certificate. ``We explicitly told DGAC the Concorde flight should not fly over our city during its final approach to CDG,'' Jean-Pierre Blazy, the mayor of Gonesse, stressed.
Gherman Titov, the Soviet cosmonaut who was the first man to spend more than a day in orbit, died in Moscow while in a sauna. He was 65. Titov made the second manned Soviet flight, on Aug. 6-7, 1961, while 25 years old, staying up for 25 hr. and 18 min. Yuri Gagarin's flight on the preceding Apr. 12 lasted for one 108-min. orbit. Titov's mission came before American Alan Shepard's 15-min. suborbital flight. Titov didn't fly in space again and went on to work in the Soviet military space forces and Buran space shuttle prototype.
DELTA AIR LINES IS THE FIRST TO RECEIVE Boeing 767-400ER (extended range) aircraft equipped with Rockwell Collins' new large display format system. The flight deck has six color 8 X 8-in. AMLCDs, all driven by Ethernet technology. Collins believes it is the first to use Ethernet-based local area network technology to deliver flight-critical information. Its high-speed data transfers offer growth opportunities for displays of live video and traffic and for graphical navigation editing.
FAA has proposed penalties ranging from letters of reprimand to 30-day suspensions for 15 air traffic controllers who purposely slowed traffic flying into the Chicago area on July 17. Additionally, the FAA will transfer two managers at the Tracon facility in Elgin, Ill., to ``foster a new workplace environment.'' No safety related incidents were recorded during the period when traffic was slowed, according to FAA, which continues to investigate the incident. Apparently, controllers initiated the job action to protest the heavy-handed tactics of two supervisors.
The ownership and control of Malaysia Airlines is still up in the air. Australia's Qantas refused to comment this week on its ongoing discussion, but earlier, Chief Executive James Strong said any buy into Malaysia Airlines was some time off. The airline had considered taking a 20% stake and moving its Southeast-Asian hub from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. However, reports from KL suggest Qantas may have broken off talks, as predicted by Singapore analysts who said the Malaysians would not allow Qantas any say in the running of the airline.
Pratt&Whitney will stick with its five-stage high-pressure compressor for production versions of its PW6000 engine, following tests and consultations with airline customers and Airbus. Doubts about the compressor were raised earlier this year after the unit missed airflow and efficiency targets, but a recovery program aimed at correcting those shortfalls has been successful (AW&ST Aug. 28, p. 56). Pratt's PW6000-partner MTU had been considering an alternative compressor, one based on MTU's design experiences with the military EJ200 engine.
As part of a sales tour, Boeing again turned to 11,700-ft.-high Lhasa, Tibet, to demonstrate engine-out capabilities of its new-generation 737s. The pilots simulated one engine out on takeoff and landing for China Southwest Airlines and the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Tests also were conducted at the Bangda airport, 460 mi. west of Chegdu in central China. At 14,200 ft., Bangda is reportedly the world's highest commercial airport and is used mainly by military aircraft.
Despite European and Russian initiatives to develop long-range ramjet-powered missiles to improve air-to-air combat performance of their fighters, U.S. Air Force officials are betting on other solutions to maintain supremacy in air battles.
Southwest Airlines Web site, southwest.com, generated more than $1 billion in passenger revenues this year. Direct booking at the site accounts for 30% of the airline's total passenger revenues. The number of reservations booked through the Web site increased 96.2% from January through August 2000, and revenue was up 111% compared with the same period last year. Southwest introduced its online reservations service in April 1996.
To maintain political support for the use of military force, U.S. war planners are trying to ensure almost casualty-free wars. But doing so will demand tailored munitions for manned, stealthy, supersonic aircraft and unmanned aircraft and hypersonic weapons capable of attacking from great distances.
Lufthansa City Line is expected to purchase 10 additional Bombardier CRJ700 regional jets, raising the German airline's total firm order to 20 of the 70-seat aircraft. Options for another 10 are under consideration. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2001.
The Thuraya satellite, centerpiece of a $1.1-billion regional mobile satellite system developed by Hughes Space and Communications, has been delivered to Sea Launch and is scheduled to be placed in orbit next month. The 5,250-kg. (11,564-lb.) satellite--which has a 40-ft. send-and-receive antenna reflector for direct communications with handheld phones from geosynchronous orbit--will be the heaviest satellite to be placed in orbit by Sea Launch (AW&ST Apr. 6, 1998, p. 72).
