Work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Lockheed Martin Astronautics suggests that a sensitive touchdown sensor and related software were the most likely causes for the loss of the Mars Polar Lander on Dec. 3, which was made by the two organizations. NASA's official report on the loss, led by retired Jet Propulsion Laboratory chief engineer John Casani, is expected on Mar. 28. While the Casani study is independent of JPL and Lockheed Martin, their work should hint at its direction.
India will use a seaward attack on land by cruise missiles during its Spring Ex-2000 naval exercise as part of a plan to introduce Russian missiles to its new Kilo-class submarines. The attack will be simulated, but a senior naval officer said India will shortly introduce the Russian Klub cruise missile to its Kilo fleet. The missile has a range of 300 km. (185 mi.) and comes in variants that can strike marine- and land-based targets. The nine Kilo submarines in service are expected to be retrofitted to carry the Klubs.
The commissioning of a second parallel runway and use of flight monitoring equipment has allowed Hong Kong International Airport to overcome its long-standing problem of peak-hour slot constraints.
Spectrolab Inc. of Sylmar, Calif., which has been making solar cells for European spacecraft manufacturers for years, has received blanket approval from the State Dept. to hold technical discussions with them, the company said last week. Spectrolab held such authority when the Commerce Dept. administered the Munitions List of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations with regard to commercial communications satellites. But Congress transferred that authority to State last year in an effort to tighten foreign access to U.S. satellite technology.
Cushioned by a rapidly growing outbound market from China, Hong Kong Dragon Airlines has sustained double-digit growth through Asia's economic recession.
Lufthansa Technik and Malev have concluded an agreement to form a new maintenance, repair and overhaul venture in Budapest. The venture, to be 85% owned by Lufthansa, will employ 350 people and specialize in narrow-body aircraft, particularly Boeing 737s operated by Lufthansa German Airlines. It will take over facilities owned by Aeroplex of Central Europe, a former joint venture between Malev and Lockheed Martin that the latter quit a year ago (AW&ST Mar. 22, 1999, p. 71).
BAE Systems has decided to formally launch the Avro RJX family of regional jet aircraft, although there are no firm orders yet from airlines. Managing Director Mike O'Callaghan said, however, he was confident of finalizing initial Avro RJX orders in the ``near future,'' noting the launch decision demonstrated BAE Systems' faith in the regional market.
U.S. national security policy in an Al Gore administration will look much the same as it does under President Bill Clinton, with any changes only being made gradually, according to the Vice President's national security adviser.
The Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor has been selected to fly on the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (Glast) mission. The instrument is intended to complement the Glast Large Area Telescope Flight Investigation, which is the primary science instrument on the spacecraft. Glast is scheduled for launch in 2005. The mission is managed by Goddard Space Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Vladimir Putin, who appeared on course late last week to be elected president of Russia, will face a much tougher battle to create the fundamental economic and organizational structures necessary for the country to survive in the 21st century. He must also appease the military and KGB security apparatus that has vaulted him into power.
All Nippon Airways and its subsidiary, Air Nippon, will increase domestic capacity slightly while decreasing it on international routes in their fiscal 2000 plan that begins Apr. 1.
Developments in China in the coming months could be unpredictable following events last year that put Beijing ``ill-at-east,'' CIA Director George J. Tenet tells the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Those events included the emergence of the Falung Gong movement and statements by Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui renouncing the ``one China'' policy. ``We expect to see an uncertain Chinese leadership launching the nation deeper into the uncharted waters of economic reform while trying to retain tight political control,'' he said.
Honeywell has filled in the last few missing areas in the worldwide terrain database used by its Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS). Previously, areas such as northern Greenland and remote portions of the Andes were represented by a purple color on the EGPWS display to indicate the lack of detailed terrain elevation data. Other no-charge software updates include the addition of a geometric altitude capability across its EGPWS product line.
Starsem has successfully launched its eighth consecutive commercial Soyuz booster, and the second using the company's new Fregat upper stage. The payload was an instrumented dummy satellite representative of the European Space Agency's Cluster II, four scientific satellites to be launched in two batches on June 15 and July 13. The flight confirmed Fregat's reignition and orbital maneuvering capabilities, demonstrated during the maiden flight of the upper stage last month (AW&ST Feb. 28, p. 44).
Two additional prototypes of the Eurocopter EC 145 are set to join the flight test program. One of the helicopters will be flown by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Eurocopter's partner in the BK117 stretch project. The EC 145, known as the BK117 C2 in Japan, will carry nine passengers plus the pilot in standard configuration, compared to 7+1 for the BK117 C1. The EC 145 will have a takeoff weight of 3,500 kg. (7,700 lb.) an increase of 150 kg. from the C1, a top speed of 255 kph. (160 mph.) and a range of 700 km. (435 mi.). The first prototype flew in June 1999.
Michael Becker has been promoted to vice president-international from managing director of human resources and Tom Kennedy to vice president-financial planning and analysis from managing director of corporate planning, at Northwest Airlines.
The U.S. Air Force is applying a Boeing-developed coating to the F-22 to reduce its infrared signature. The topcoat should provide protection against infrared detection systems operating at different wavelengths, Boeing said. Development of the paint started early in the F-22 program. It was applied for the first time last week on Raptor 4002 at Edwards AFB, Calif. The heat-dissipating coating currently is being applied by hand, but that process will be automated.
The T-6A Texan II built by Raytheon Aircraft Co. for the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) is scheduled to begin Multi-Service Operational Test&Evaluation with the U.S. Air Force and Navy next month at Randolph AFB, Tex.
Meanwhile, the SNCF acknowledged that discussions with airline alliances are taking much longer and proving more complex than initially envisioned. Potential traffic volume, frequent-flier programs, information technology system links and value-added services are among the matters that must be settled before an agreement can be concluded, passenger services manager Guillaume Pepy said.
The Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope and James Clerk Maxwell submillimeter telescope in Hawaii have been used to detect what a team of astronomers believes is evidence of a Type 2 quasar, a rare type of black hole (see Chandra image of quasar on left; Hubble optical image of same object on right). Team members from England and France reported they have discovered a powerful source of X-rays that appears to be a large black hole hidden from the view of optical telescopes.
James Goodwin, chairman and CEO of United Airlines, predicted a wild ride ahead for airlines as they embrace the Internet to meet rapidly rising customer demand for better, faster and more interactive information (p. 52). The dot.com airline is becoming a reality, he told a Wings Club audience in New York, but air carriers face formidable obstacles. Among them: threats of crippling regulations and taxation; obstructionists who want no change in the ticket distribution system; balancing risk and return; and dealing with the sheer pace of change.
An advanced helmet cueing system now being tested by the U.S. Air Force and Navy has demonstrated that it can significantly reduce the time it takes a pilot to acquire and attack targets. Recent flight tests in F-15 fighters indicate that the helmet system, in combination with the high off-boresight AIM-9X missile, can increase the lethality of the F-15 by a factor of two or three, according to a USAF pilot who has experience with the weapons.
U.S. and Egyptian investigators are still sparring over the need to search further for causes of the crash of an EgyptAir 767, even as salvage teams are renewing efforts to recover wreckage from the aircraft in the waters off Massachusetts.
