THE NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE Office has tapped USAF Maj. Gen. Robert S. Dickman, the Defense Dept.'s space architect, for a new, multifaceted position. Dickman will serve as director of plans and analysis for the NRO and as a ``system of systems architect.'' Both duties are aimed at helping the NRO and its sister intelligence agencies revolutionize the way they collect and disseminate global reconnaissance data. Prior to his job at the Defense Dept., Dickman was commander of USAF's 45th Space Wing at Cape Canaveral.
Cessna has placed the 250th C-525 CitationJet into service as a company demonstrator and plans to deliver 60 of the entry-level, twin-engine jets this year. First deliveries were made in March 1993, and the aircraft now operates from more than 20 countries, according to Roger Whyte, senior vice president of sales and engineering. Cost of the seven-place CitationJet is about $3.4 million.
A change in how the aerospace, financial and insurance industries approach the development of space launch systems could reduce the cost of deploying and operating satellite telecommunications systems dramatically.
As part of its lean initiative programs, Northrop Grumman's Commercial Aircraft Div. has begun using a laser-based system to precisely position wing panels during Gulfstream 5 final assembly. During the wing-positioning procedure, the left wing serves as a fixed reference to position the right wing, shown being lowered into position to obtain a visual best fit. After initial measurements are taken, the laser system is activated and sweeps across both wings.
John R. Fowler has been named executive vice president-technical operations and system control, William F. Weaver staff vice president-maintenance and engineering and Gregg A. Saretsky vice president-marketing and planning, all of Alaska Airlines. Fowler was senior vice president-technical operations and Weaver assistant vice president-maintenance. Saretsky was vice president-passenger marketing of Canadian Airlines.
Nav Canada plans to introduce an air traffic fee structure in November that will reduce airline charges about 20% compared with Canada's existing federal air transportation tax. The not-for-profit Nav Canada user consortium took over Canada's air traffic control and air navigation system last year and has been supported by government subsidies in the interim. After November, the ticket tax will be dropped and airlines are expected to raise prices to cover the Nav Canada charges, although overall fares should drop slightly.
Many of the 10 or so small companies developing new space launch vehicles are fuming about a Senate proposal designed to help the commercial space industry. John Breaux (D-La.) introduced a bill to allow federal loan guarantees for companies trying to lower launch costs. A Lockheed Martin facility near New Orleans builds tanks for the X-33 reusable launch vehicle demonstrator. The small companies fear NASA would steer all loan guarantees to LockMart. The Space Frontier Foundation is fighting the bill.
When PanAmSat Corp. executives first came calling on Wall Street in 1993 looking for several hundred million dollars to expand their privately owned satellite network, the company's prospects were considered so risky that its bonds received a ``junk'' rating.
Carlton Holmes and Waymon Whiting have received honors at the 1998 Black Engineer of the Year Awards Conference in Baltimore. Holmes is senior principal engineer in the Boeing Structures Stress and Fatigue Analysis Group, and Whiting is payload systems chief engineer for the Boeing 767-400 program.
China's aviation leaders have signaled that Boeing should not expect much of a payoff in terms of new aircraft orders when President Clinton meets with China's President Jiang Zemin late this month. Although they expect record deliveries this year and next, Boeing's representatives in China said they are uncertain how many new orders Clinton's visit might spark. Based on Chinese statements, they have previously estimated the country could buy as many as 50 transports this year.
United Airlines has expanded its Denver-based Flight Center to accommodate rapid internal growth, as well as increased business from more than 200 other carriers who train flight crews there. Ten new simulators were added as part of the upgrade. The 593,000-sq. ft., $340-million training facility now has 36 simulator bays, more than 600 instructors, and 104 class and briefing rooms. More than 1,000 United employees operate the facility 24 hr./day, seven days a week.
Loral Space and Communications chief Bernard Schwartz, in his stongest statement on the subject yet, steadfastly insists no Loral employee transferred to China any technology or data that might help the nation's ballistic missile program. Federal and grand jury probes are trying to determine conclusively whether such a transfer occurred, as the Pentagon's Defense Technology Security Administration claims.
Airports Council International will propose to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that new aircraft noise standards be established to follow the Stage 3/Chapter 3 rules now being implemented. Jonathan Howe, ACI's director general, noted that the phase-out of Stage 2 aircraft (called Chapter 2 outside the U.S.) will be complete at the end of next year, but aircraft already being produced are much quieter than the Stage 3 standard.
Geoffrey Gross has been appointed London-based managing director and head of European operations for D'Accord Financial Services. He held similar positions for Citibank.
Responding to surging market demand, Alcatel-led SkyBridge has decided to augment the number of satellites in its proposed high-speed multimedia constellation.
Santos Contreras, director of union relations for the Seattle Professional Engineering Employees Assn., which represents Boeing engineers and technical employees, has received the President's Award at the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference in San Antonio, Tex.
Peter LaSalle has been appointed senior vice president-sales and marketing of Aircraft Technical Publishers, Brisbane, Calif. He was president/chief operating officer of Aircraft Parts International.
The Air Force and Lockheed Martin have refused for years to acknowledge any interest in derivatives of the F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter. But insiders say planning for a multirole or ``counter-air fighter'' version is now far enough along to predict development costs of several hundred million dollars. This Block 10 aircraft would retain all the air-to-air capabilities of the ``Block 0.'' But it also would be specially equipped for attacking airfields and antiaircraft defenses.
The U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA approved a bill to provide $13.6 billion for the space agency in Fiscal 1999. The bill would split the International Space Station project from NASA's human space flight account in an effort to help Congress keep a better eye on the program, which has drawn money from other NASA accounts to help pay for cost overruns. It would also break the science, aeronautics and technology budget into two accounts.
Bill Strecker has been appointed executive vice president/chief operating officer of Vibra Metrics, Hamden, Conn. He was vice president-sales and marketing of Kinsbury Inc. of Philadelphia.
Federal officials are trying to determine whether one or more FAA employees attempted to stonewall investigations into the near-collision of a DC-9 and Airbus A319 over the runway intersection at LaGuardia Airport in early April. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating the near-collision at the New York airport. In addition, the Transportation Dept. inspector general is looking into the conduct of FAA officials during and after the incident.
The International Space Station program is beginning what will be an ongoing assessment of the lessons learned from three years of joint shuttle/Mir operations. The orbiter Discovery was scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center at 2 p.m. EDT June 12, concluding the last of 10 flights to Mir, nine of them docking/resupply missions.
