After a year of political wrangling, the Taiwanese government has finally selected Matra Marconi Space to supply a high-resolution Earth observation satellite, the first such system ever exported by a European country. The award, worth 2.37 billion Taiwan dollars ($75 million), was announced on Dec. 9 by Huang Chen-tai, chairman of Taiwan's science council, which is responsible for the national space program. MMS declined either to confirm or to deny the deal.
AMR Corp. plans to jettison its Sabre Holdings Corp. in a move designed to unshackle the computer reservations giant and allow it to more aggressively pursue market opportunities for Internet-based travel sales and outsourcing of information technologies.
The U.S. Army is considering duplicating a controversial test of a megawatt-class laser against a satellite to learn more about the impact of directed energy weapons on a spacecraft.
The 1950s could arguably lay claim to being the ``Golden Age of Aerospace,'' a decade that saw a surge in development of commercial, military and general aviation aircraft, and ushered in the space age. Swept-wing jet aircraft revolutionized both civil and military aviation, the first manmade satellites were launched into orbit, helicopters gained a firm foothold and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) added a frightening dimension to the specter of nuclear war.
The space shuttle roared to life on Apr. 12, 1981, ushering in the new decade and a new era of space flight. There had been a six-year hiatus--America's last manned mission was Apollo 18 in 1975. The NASA/Rockwell shuttle was and still is a technological marvel. It is the first and only reusable launcher and the first and only winged launcher. It does all this with only two stages, and one of them is a solid rocket with inherent low efficiency. This speaks to the impressive efficiency of the Rocketdyne liquid hydrogen main engines that take the shuttle to orbit.
American Airlines agreed to pay a $6-million fine and a $2-million ``community service payment'' to the Miami-Dade Fire Dept. Hazardous Materials Div. after pleading guilty in federal court to storing a 55-gal. drum of flammable material at the Miami airport. The airline was also placed on a three-year probation. The drum was stored in a cargo area even after airline officials were told by fire officials to dispose of it. The investigation began in 1997 after passengers were evacuated from a plane with 500 lb. of pesticides on it. AMR Corp.
Severe cost constraints that led to ``acceptable'' risks created a stressful environment during development of the Mars Climate Orbiter (MCO) and Mars Polar Lander (MPL) and could have contributed to loss of the spacecraft. However, no shortcuts were taken, according to Lockheed Martin Astronautics officials.
Boeing has unveiled its X-32A and X-32B demonstrator aircraft for the Joint Strike Fighter program as development work begins to transition to ground test activity aimed at a first flight within the next several months. Frank D. Statkus, Boeing vice president and general manager for the JSF program, said first flight of the X-32A demonstrator will follow successful completion of ground vibration tests, engine runs, vehicle management system testing, final system checkout and taxi tests.
The Defense Dept. has decided to fund both the Army's Theater High-Altitude Area Defense and the Navy Theater Wide ballistic missile defense program. The Pentagon was considering moving forward with only one of the efforts, but now wants to field Thaad in 2007 and the Navy system in the 2008-10 timeframe. Congress opposed earlier Defense Dept. plans to fund only one of the systems.
In the aftermath of World War I, aviation matured swiftly. The military effectiveness of the airplane had been demonstrated decisively during that conflict, but the commercial potential of aeronautics still was largely an unproven concept.
Photograph: XMM, shown during acoustic tests, is the largest science satellite built in Europe. It will be able to peer deep into the universe, complementing NASA's Chandra observatory. The largest European science satellite ever built was undergoing checkout in orbit following a launch that greatly boosted the commercial prospects of the new Ariane 5 heavy-lift booster.
NASA scrubbed the launch of its $1.2-billion Terra Earth observing satellite on an Atlas IIAS booster on Dec. 16 when a problem occurred at T -40 sec. with the automatic launch sequencer. The count was smooth until a glider intrusion on the Vandenberg AFB, Calif., range forced a hold. After the count resumed, there was not enough time in the 24-min. launch window to reconfigure when the launch sequencer problem arose. The launch was initially reset for Dec. 17.
Although many new aircraft and spacecraft took flight and were fielded in the 1970s, the decade's most notable characteristic was the introduction of sophisticated systems. Fly-by-wire flight controls, multimode digital radars, integrated fire control systems, ``smart'' guided weapons, and a host of electronically controlled subsystems altered the way pilots operate their aircraft and deliver munitions on-target. Aerodynamic efficiency also improved with the introduction of supercritical wings and winglets.
Stealth proved its worth in the 1991 war with Iraq. Key to the allied strategy was quickly disabling the country's integrated air defense system and other important infrastructure--all highly protected targets.
The first launch of a powerful new satellite series, the HS 702 from Hughes Space&Communications, is set for Dec. 22 on an Ariane 4 for the PanAmSat Corp. Called Galaxy XI, it will carry 40 Ku-band and 24 C-band transponders and weigh 9,886 lb. at launch. The HS 702 uses a Hughes XIPS xenon ion propulsion system that was introduced on the smaller HS601HP series for north-south station-keeping. The 702's system is twice as large, however, and will perform all station-keeping maneuvers and orbit-raising.
As stress problems delay development of the Mitsubishi F-2 close air support fighter, Japan's Defense Agency will reduce its fiscal 2000 procurement from nine to seven aircraft in favor of funding the first purchases of tankers for the air force. The JDA plan is to buy one tanker each year from fiscal 2000-03. Although a type has not been chosen, the aircraft are expected to cost about 20 billion yen ($195 million) each. The Boeing 767 is a likely choice because the Japanese air force already has introduced the type as an airborne early warning control system aircraft.
The U.S. Army's 1st Space Battalion was activated on Dec. 15 in Colorado Springs, streamlining support for combat units by combining four Army Space Support Teams and five Joint Tactical Ground Stations under an operational unit. Its mobile teams and detachments work closely with commercial companies and the Army Space and Missile Defense Battle Lab to ensure rapid adoption of new technologies.
Late 1999 was supposed to be when the U.S. would be ready to make a decision on development of a new reusable launch vehicle that would greatly cut the cost of access to space and ultimately replace the aging space shuttle fleet.
Brian McKeon has been appointed vice president/manager of the Integrated Space Command and Control Program at the Raytheon Systems Co.'s Colorado Springs facility. He was director of the Military Command and Control/Simulation unit within the C3I Integrated Systems Div.
NASA astronaut Eileen Collins, a New York native, has received the state's highest award, the Jackie Robinson Empire State Freedom Medal, for being the first female space shuttle commander. Collins has ``etched her mark on history by knocking down barriers,'' said Gov. George E. Pataki, who presented the award. ``A bold pioneer of the reaches of space, her talent, intelligence and courage set an example that every woman and every man can hope to duplicate in their own lives.''
Jean Colpin has been named vice president-engineering and Gordon M. Hogg vice president-product integrity of Pratt&Whitney Canada, Longueuil, Quebec. Colpin was vice president-engineering and Hogg vice president-engineering for product integrity.
General Electric's CF34-8C1 powerplant has received FAA certification. The engine, which has a maximum takeoff thrust of 13,790 lb., is scheduled to power the Bombardier CRJ700 Series aircraft. Other versions of the engine, the CF34-8D and CF34-8E, also have been selected to power the Fairchild Aerospace 728JET and the Embraer ERJ-170, respectively.
Alenia Aerospazio Aeronautics Div. has selected Engineering Animation's Open Enterprise Visualization for digital mockup and product visualization. It will be used on Eurofighter and other projects to allow different disciplines in the company to view data from the Catia and CADDS5 CAD systems, as well as from Dassault's ENOVIApm product data management system. . . . Alenia Marconi Systems is using Virtual Prototypes' Scenario Toolkit and Generation Environment (Stage) software to graphically develop tactical simulation and training scenarios. . . .
Iran is likely to have a handful of nuclear weapons in its arsenal in only a few years, says Marine Corps Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, who oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East. Furthermore, Zinni told Army and industry officials, he expects Iran to test a new long-range ballistic missile, the Shahab-4, in the next few months. There have been several unsuccessful tests of the shorter-range Shahab-3, but Iran is expected to overcome those development problems very soon.
A global aviation summit, which sought new directions for government management of commercial aviation, produced a strong proposal for an open transatlantic market--the world's largest--between the U.S. and the European Union. But delegates of the 90 nations represented there last week endorsed only a tame statement of principles to guide future discussions.
