Look for NASA to ask for bids on a space station module to backstop missions planned for Russian Progress cargo spacecraft. Signaling it might go back to the drawing boards, the space agency ordered station prime contractor Boeing to stop working on a $542-million propulsion module last week. Boeing had won that work with a plan to use off-the-shelf hardware from the space shuttle program to replace the Zvezda service module, if need be. But Zvezda docked to the station last week (see p. 59), and the propulsion module has suffered cost overruns and schedule slippage.
European executives welcomed a long-awaited framework agreement signed last week by France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the U.K., designed to facilitate rapid consolidation of the aerospace and defense industry. The treaty allows for simplified export licensing arrangements, streamlined procedures for the exchange of classified data and coordination of research and technology activities and efforts, as well as pledges to work on harmonizing military requirements.
Robert Perry has been promoted to president of the Triumph Structural Components Group, Chatsworth, Calif., from president of Hydro-Mill, a Triumph company. He has been succeeded by Rick Allender, who has been promoted from vice president/general manager of Hydro-Mill. Also at Hydro-Mill, Lloyd Voorhes has been named director of engineering and lean manufacturing, Quang Doan director of manufacturing and Alex Olmedo director of quality assurance. Voorhes was director of engineering and estimating, Doan plant manager and Olmedo quality assurance manager.
One of the most extensive upgrades the U.S. Air Force is undertaking on its U-2 reconnaissance aircraft is causing service officials to confront potential readiness problems as aircraft are taken out of service for modifications.
A micro-machined silicon sensor developed by BAE Systems has been successfully tested on a medium-range Trigat anti-tank missile during trials in France conducted by Aerospatiale Matra Missiles. The missile was guided by the sensor to a direct hit on the target. The sensor is a derivative of BAE Systems Avionics Tactical Products' silicon inertial measurement unit.
Aviation safety and law enforcement officials have improved their working relationship, but they are still sorting out their marching orders for crash probes. The SabreTech prosecution that resulted from the ValuJet accident in the Everglades was a textbook example of how prosecutors and accident investigators can and should work together, Daniel Campbell, managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board, told the House aviation subcommittee last week. In that case, the board's probe went first; then prosecutors relied on NTSB fact-gathering.
Boeing and Khrunichev plan to launch the second FGB module that the Russian company built, as a commercial space module attached to the International Space Station (ISS), the pair said today. The so-called FGB 2 would offer about 20 cubic meters (26.2 cubic yards) of pressurized space for living, storage or science work, said Brewster Shaw, Boeing's ISS vice president and general manager. Finishing and launching the module would cost about $200 million, depending on customer requirements.
Italy's Finmeccanica and GKN of the U.K. have finally sealed a deal to merge their respective helicopter businesses--Agusta and Westland--and expect the new entity to be operational this fall.
The U.S. Marine Corps, stopping short of attributing the Apr. 8 crash of an MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor that killed all 19 on board to pilot error, released the final word on the investigation late last week, saying a ``combination of human factors'' caused the crash. The investigation ``found that deviations from the scheduled flight plan, an unexpected tail wind and the pilot's extremely rapid rate of descent into the landing zone created the conditions that led to the accident.''
Aermacchi plans to develop an advanced trainer that could displace the Mako as the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co.'s next-generation training system.
Northrop Grumman and EADS have agreed to cooperate in developing a high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The companies will jointly evaluate UAV approaches capable of meeting an urgent European requirement for airborne standoff intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems.
An independent analysis says the U.S. still enjoys an advantageous position in East Asia, despite tensions with China over Taiwan and the dangers of North Korean missile proliferation. By maintaining about 100,000 troops in the region--funded mostly by host nations--the U.S. retains low-cost influence there, according to the Commission on America's National Interests. That is in sharp contrast with modern U.S. experience in Asia, the commission notes. About 100,000 U.S. troops combined were lost in Korea and Vietnam.
Thomson-CSF Sextant and Astrium have agreed to jointly offer aircraft makers and the airline industry a full line of broadband onboard communications services, mirroring a trend toward ``Internet-in-the-sky'' already established by several manufacturers in recent months.
Spacecraft sent to Mars have had a disturbing tendency to not reappear after communications were intentionally shut off, but Mars Global Surveyor broke the curse earlier this month when it emerged from behind the Sun. The solar conjunction occurs every 26 months and lasted several weeks. To celebrate its revival, the Mars Orbital Camera sent back this picture (right) on July 15 of the layered wall of a meteor crater in Noachis Terra at 32.9 deg. S. Lat., 357.6 deg. W. Long. The picture is 3 km. (1.9 mi.) wide with a resolution of 6 meters per pixel.
Takeoff performance of the Concorde was fully certified by British and French civil aviation authorities in 1975 to the normal rules that applied to four-engine transports.
Strategic experts suggest restructuring U.S. national security interests so only the ``vital'' ones come out on top. The objective is to whittle down the multiplying number of U.S. military commitments overseas. This can only be achieved if Washington has a clear idea of what really matters, outside strategists and security experts contend. Hence their call for a hierarchy that distinguishes four or five supreme national interests from all others.
The Boeing Co. has selected Lockheed Martin Control Systems of Johnson City, N.Y., to produce controllers and cockpit indicators for the U.S. Air Force's C-17 Globemaster 3 transport. Total potential business approaches $100 million. Control Systems will manufacture 27 line-replaceable units for onboard technologies that detect and display the status of various systems including environmental, electrical, hydraulic, loadmaster, auxiliary power and fuel. Boeing's parts supply facility system at El Paso, Tex., produced the controllers and cockpit indicators previously.
American Airlines and the Allied Pilots Assn. (APA) have reached a key tentative agreement that would extend their existing labor contract for one year and relax restrictions on the number of regional jets operated by American Eagle.
In the ``event-driven'' world of satellite communications, where investors can be as fickle as they are skittish, beating analysts' expectations--even by a wide margin--may not count for very much. Perception, it seems, is everything.
Virgin Blue Airlines' anticipated Aug. 3 launch date has been postponed. Announcement of a rescheduled date hinges on the progress of the airline's certification process, which is still underway by Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Without certification in hand so close to the planned start of service between Brisbane and Sydney, Virgin Blue pushed back the date.
NASA's $363-million Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) is being deactivated after seven years in geosynchronous orbit testing Ka-band technology designed to reduce frequency overcrowding. The Glenn Research Center spacecraft, launched in 1993 on board shuttle mission STS-51, far exceeded its formal 24-month demonstration mission, but it remains to be seen if Ka-band services will take off as envisioned when ACTS was first planned more than 10 years ago.
Russia remains America's major potential strategic adversary in Europe, but Washington can reap important international gains from cooperation with Moscow on high-priority issues, according to the independent Commission on America's National Interests. The panel says Russian disillusionment over NATO's air campaign last year against Serbia has spurred increased efforts to blunt American international leadership.
British Airways last week temporarily grounded its Concorde ``Alpha Echo'' after an ultrasonic check detected a growing crack in the the left rear wing spar. Cracks averaging 60 mm. long were discovered several months ago in all seven British Airways' Concordes in the same wing area outboard the engines during standard ultrasonic testing, according to an airline spokesperson. (In BA's Concorde fleet of seven aircraft, only six are in operation at any one time.)
