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.
The substantial cost of insuring commercial satellites against launch and in-orbit failures has been plummeting, and it is expected to remain a buyer's market for the foreseeable future. But the favorable outlook also could change--abruptly, some insurance brokers caution.
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.
Norman R. Augustine, former chairman/CEO of the Lockheed Martin Corp. and now a professor at Princeton (N.J.) University, has received a Leadership Award from the Washington-based Private Sector Council for his work to improve U.S. defense effectiveness while reducing costs.
The U.S. and South Korea have signed an open skies accord and agreed to press for a resumption of four-party talks aimed at easing security tensions with North Korea. President Clinton and recently-elected South Korean President Kim Dae Jung announced the accord on unrestricted air services between and beyond the two countries, following Kim's state visit here last week. The open skies pact was signed in the wake of a major purchase of Boeing aircraft by Korean Air (AW&ST June 8, p. 18).
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 EUTELSAT W1 telecommunications satellite, which was damaged in a fire in mid-May, is likely to be declared a total loss. Although insurance evaluators are still assessing water damage, officials at prime contractor Aerospatiale said salvage of the $100-million spacecraft was unlikely, although some equipment items might be recovered. Loss of the satellite would require the acquisition of a new unit to replace W1, whose requirements differ from those of other W series spacecraft, officials added. W2 and W3 are at the integration stage.
Despite South Korea's negative economic growth, Samsung Aerospace and Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems continue to get a green light for the supersonic KTX-2 advanced trainer/ lead-in fighter program and have begun preliminary design of the single-engine aircraft.
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.
With $5.5 billion needed to get its system up and running, the Iridium venture will have to sell a lot of satellite-based telephone and paging services to give its investors a return on their money. ``We've been spending money all along and we've not had one dollar of revenue come in the door yet,'' said Chief Financial Officer Roy Grant.
Japan's National Polar Region Research Institute, scientists and construction companies are to test construction techniques at Rikubetu on Hokkaido Island for a 2,000-meter (6,500-ft.) runway for Antarctica. Japan has a short strip at its Showa base, but it is suitable for only light aircraft and helicopters. Without the capability of landing full-size cargo aircraft, Japanese scientists must use ships for transport, which take about a month. The Hokkaido tests, scheduled to run three years, involve numerous techniques for working in packed snow.
Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical's Global Hawk reconnaissance drone made its second and third flights recently from Edwards AFB, Calif., gathering airworthiness data and demonstrating control by satellite link with handoffs between two ground stations. The third flight was marred by a hydraulic failure on approach that caused the aircraft to veer off the runway at low speed, causing minor damage.
Safety investigators re-interviewed two AirTran Airlines pilots last week to clarify why their DC-9-32 flew through a hail-laden thunderstorm in early May.
U.K.-based FLS Aerospace Ltd., which opened a new maintenance facility in Copenhagen in March, is renewing its search for further expansion opportunities in Europe and the U.S. FLS Aerospace had signaled its intent earlier this year to acquire the maintenance business of Aer Lingus. But it suspended its ``due diligence'' process after only 41% of employees at Team Aer Lingus approved an offer placed before them by the state-owned Irish carrier to transfer their contracts to FLS Aerospace (AW&ST June 8, p. 19).
Betting that it will be past the Asian doldrums after 2000, Korean Air placed orders last week for 22 Boeing 737s plus five options, to replace 12 Fokker 100s and 14 McDonnell Douglas MD-82s on domestic and Japanese routes. The $2-billion order includes 11 each of the 737-800 and -900; the options can be mixed from either model. Deliveries are scheduled from August 2000 through July 2005.
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.
William I.M. Turner, Jr., Howard L. Beck and Gregory A. Yeldon have been appointed directors of NovAtel Inc., Calgary, Alberta. Turner is chairman/CEO of Exsultate Inc., chairman of the Canadian Marconi Co. and a director of Bombardier Inc. Beck is chairman of Wescam Inc. and is a director of Canadian Marconi. Yeldon is vice president/chief financial officer of Canadian Marconi.
Russell D. Turner has been appointed president/CEO of United Space Alliance of Houston. He was president/general manager of Boeing's Rocketdyne Power and Propulsion. Turner succeeds Paul B. Smith, who has resigned.
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.
Residents living near USAF's Kadena Air Base in Okinawa are asking for $10.2 million in compensation for noise from fighters. The 907 residents also asked for a total ban on night flights, but a district court rejected their plea. The judge said the Japanese government has no authority over the flights. In March 1996, a joint Japan-U.S. committee agreed to stop flights between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., but the residents say USAF has ignored the ban.
Lufthansa Cargo and Envirotainer Holding, manufacturer and supplier of insulated and temperature-controlled cargo containers, have entered into a joint agreement to develop products for the air transport of perishable cargo. ``Coolbox,'' their first product, will be available this month. The container is designed to maintain stable, low temperatures for sensitive goods and will fit both narrow- and wide-body aircraft.
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.
