WorldSpace is preparing to expand coverage of its digital radio network and to launch a mobile data service, and is considering setting up operations in Europe.
Progress on the Joint Strike Fighter and F-22 appear to be heading in opposite directions, according to two new studies by congressional investigators. While the auditing agency is projecting problems for JSF, it has issued an unusually benign assessment of the F-22.
This program is designed to give ExxonMobil's piston engine oil customers a warning against possible engine failure as well as to provide a basis for planning cost-effective preventive maintenance. Aviation oil sample should be taken shortly after the engine has been shut down, filling the sample bottle (supplied) midway through the drain to ensure a representative sample. The Exxgard lab processes the sample and prepares a report, usually within 48 hr. If a critical situation is indicated, results will be faxed.
Clinton is backing a toughened congressional stance on Russia's illicit technology transfers to Iran, but insisting that Moscow remains ``a valued partner'' in the International Space Station. Clinton signed the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000 last week, codifying a ban on future station payments to Russia if it fails to halt the transfer of missile technology and weapons of mass destruction to Iran.
The market for sales of new military aircraft and weapon systems in the Latin American region is projected to remain soft in the near term, but countries such as Brazil, Chile and Argentina represent potential customers for long-term, strategic partnerships with U.S. defense contractors.
The Spanish air force has ordered 15 Eurocopter EC 120Bs to provide ab initio training. The single-engine aircraft, to be delivered between July 2000 and June 2001 along with a computer-based training simulator, are worth about $15 million.
An Orbital Sciences Corp. Taurus booster carrying a scientific payload was launched successfully from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., Mar. 12. The 1:29 a.m. PST flight from Site 576E at North Vandenberg was made about 7 min. into the 30-min. launch window. The Taurus carried the multispectral thermal imager (MTI) satellite developed by Sandia National Laboratories and a high-energy X-ray spectrometer developed by Space Devices in the Czech Republic. The spacecraft was to operate in a Sun-synchronous, 575-km.-high orbit.
Misonix's WS-6 Downflow Ductless Work Station offers a safe working environment for OEM applications such as acid etching, heat sealing, soldering and other applications that could possibly create hazardous by-products, like chemical aging or surface conditioning or etching applications. The WS-6 draws fumes and vapors down and away from the operator. Multiple units can be linked to form extended, multioperator work areas. The WS-6 has no side or front panels which allows for easy access to the work area.
The British government will fund one-third of BAE Systems' investment in Airbus Industrie's proposed A3XX mega-transport, a move that has intensified the transatlantic dispute over state aid. Although uncertainties still surround the European consortium's business plan, the 555-686-seat A3XX is tentatively scheduled to be launched by the end of the year or in early 2001.
Greg Crum has been promoted to vice president-flight operations/chief pilot from director of flight operations for Southwest Airlines. He succeeds Paul Sterbenz, who has retired.
Brief or varying noises can be hard to track down in testing, but the Transient Acoustic Holography software module by LMS International is written to handle them. The module operates within the company's CADA-X Noise&Vibration testing software suite. Acoustic holography uses the measurements taken in one plane to predict what the readings would be in any other plane. The module can calculate acoustic fields from the measurement plane back to the source, and forward to the far field, and is ideal for source location within multi-source environments, LMS said.
Alitalia has ordered five Boeing 747 transports, plus three options, for delivery beginning in 2001. The aircraft will be powered by GE CF6-80C2 engines.
A group of French lawmakers, military leaders and political scientists is recommending a reappraisal of France's nuclear doctrine. Such an assessment, which might form the basis for a European nuclear policy, could touch on nuclear arms testing, limitations to the use of nuclear weapons and anti-ballistic missile systems.
With new slots available at Tokyo's Haneda airport beginning this July, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways and Japan Air System have agreed to launch a joint shuttle to Osaka's two airports, Itami and Kansai. Thirty-five million passengers shuttle between the two cities yearly, 80% by ``Bullet Trains,'' and the airlines want to tap into that market.
L-3 Communications Telemetry&Instrumentation Division has received a contract from Swedish Space Corp. for satellite test systems to support testing and integration of the European Space Agency's Smart-1 spacecraft.
Strengthening Latin American economies and the region's increasing shift to democratic governments and free markets will make Latin America one of the world's most vibrant civil aviation markets in the next two decades, albeit with the occasional economic or political hiccup.
DRS Technologies Inc. has delivered the first AN/SPS-67(V)3 Radar System to the U.S. Navy's USS Howard under a contract worth up to $1.9 million with options to manufacture 19 more systems.
The process of launching several aerial target drones and a half-dozen fighters ready to fire live missiles, acquiring data from those shots, and ensuring the safety of all players through range control is orchestrated several times a week here by the 81st Test Support Sqdn.
Peter Iskandar (ses photo) has been appointed director of airline sales for Rolls-Royce North America Inc., Reston, Va. He was regional sales manager for Canada and the U.S. for Sextant Avionique.
Skybridge's bid to become the world's first global multimedia satellite network moved a step forward last week with the signing of an operating license that will allow the 80-satellite LEO system and its associated ground segment to be deployed. The license, for which the Alcatel-led system applied in July 1999, was granted by France on Feb. 9 on the recommendation of the ART, the French body that regulates telecommunications.
The Israeli air force took over operational control of initial elements of the first Arrow missile battery last week at Palmachim AFB, south of Tel Aviv, where most of the testing of the system has been conducted.
Computer Sciences Corp. has won a five- year, $5-million contract from the USAF Material Command to provide engineering and high-level technical services in support of all AFMC weapon systems.
Boeing has selected Dassault Systemes' Catia design software and Enovia product and process management software as standards for all Boeing Co. sites. They will be used on all future product development programs and on current programs where their use makes business sense. ``As a global company, Boeing must be able to flow work seamlessly between different locations and different business units without impacting our customers,'' said David Swain, Boeing corporate senior vice president of engineering and technology.
John Ferrie (see photo) has been named to succeed Norman Barber as head of London-based Smiths Industries Aerospace. Ferrie will become executive director on Apr. 10 and assume responsibility for Aerospace activities July 31, following Barber's retirement. Ferrie has been executive vice president-business operations for Rolls-Royce Allison in Indianapolis.
