Jakob J. van Zyl, manager of the Radar Science and Engineering Section of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., has received the 1997 Fred Nathanson Memorial Radar Award as presented to the Young Engineer of the Year by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.
THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY indicated that the next qualification flight of the Ariane 5 booster, initially scheduled for May, will now not take place before mid-July. Officials said the delay was needed for further analysis and testing of measures to correct a roll torque condition that marred the previous flight in October--expected to be completed in February--and for other steps ``necessary to ensure a successful flight.'' ESA insisted that the first commercial flight would still take place as planned before the end of the year.
Potential U.S. fighter sales to Latin America are drawing opposition in the House and soon will in the Senate as well. A group of 50 lawmakers, primarily Democrats led by Rep. Nita Lowey (N.Y.), sent a letter to the White House objecting to the decision to lift the arms embargo. The first big opportunity would be Chile's competition for a new fighter that is expected to pit Lockheed Martin's F-16 and Boeing's F/A-18 against Sweden's Gripen and France's Mirage. The winner should be announced in late March at FIDAE 98, Chile's international air show.
Russia has set in motion yet another initiative to reform its arms export control system, but Western analysts question whether it will take any deeper root than previous plans.
The number of launches at Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) continues to climb back toward the busy levels characteristic of the mid-1960s, when 40-50 missions a year were launched. During the coming year up to 35 missions, using nearly $7 billion worth of boosters and payloads, are scheduled for launch from the Cape and KSC. They include 12 Delta missions, nine Atlas missions, four Titan 4s, two Athenas and one Pegasus from the Cape plus seven space shuttle flights from KSC.
A $1-million Sintrex radiation detector has been mounted on a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter operated by the Hong Kong Government Flying Service. The aim is to enable the GFS to conduct real-time aerial surveys of possible radiation events in the Pearl River Delta region. The system includes two sets of sodium iodide-type detectors and is linked to a Global Positioning System navigation unit and communications channel.
Penelope Longbottom has been appointed vice president-corporate communications of Spacehab Inc., Vienna, Va. She was vice president-communications and brand management for DirecTV International. Giuseppe Viriglio has become a director, succeeding Ernesto Vallerani, who has retired. Virgilio is head of the Alenia Aerospazio Space Div.
Laura Roman has been named customer service manager for Million Air Dallas. Ray Fitzgerald has become president/CEO of the Atlantic Aviation Corp., Wilmington, Del. He was senior vice president of AMR Combs and general manager of its base at Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, Conn. Fitzgerald succeeds Ben E. Waide, who has retired.
BOEING'S 737-600 MADE its first flight last week. The 102-ft.-long transport took off from Boeing's Renton, Wash., factory and landed 2.5 hr. later at Boeing Field in Seattle. Boeing Capts. Mike Carriker and Ray Craig were at the controls. The -600 is expected to be configured for between 110-132 passengers when it enters service. Certification is planned for July with first deliveries to SAS soon thereafter.
Dassault Electronique and Teledyne Controls are in certification flight tests of a ground collision avoidance system to compete with AlliedSignal's pace-setting enhanced ground proximity warning system. Initial certification in the Falcon 2000 is expected in July under European Joint Airworthiness Authorities rules. Joint JAA and FAA certification of a GCAS version for Airbus and Boeing transports, complete with optional visual display, is expected in March 1999.
Bill Reinsch, the Commerce Dept.'s export administration mogul, says stopping all militarily important sales is impossible. So his bureau has adopted a strategy of focusing on ``choke point'' technologies--``things they can't make weapons systems without.'' If his office can stop even a few critical components, he contends, the shortage could thwart a rogue nation's development of biological, nuclear and chemical weapons, ballistic missiles or massive computing capabilities. However, he cautions against self-destructive acts such as stopping all U.S.
Patrick T. Flynn (see photos) has been appointed chief operating officer and Ross Mahon operations manager for Pacific Systems, Kirkland, Wash. Flynn was vice president/general manager of SAS Fluid Power of Seattle, and Mahon held a similar position with Ratelco Electronics, also in Seattle.
An experiment in New Mexico has moved the unmanned aerial vehicle out of its traditional photo-reconnaissance role and placed it squarely in the rapidly developing electronic warfare arena. The U.S. Air Force's new Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Battle Lab borrowed a Hunter short-range UAV from the Army and equipped it with a direction-finding device to pinpoint electronic emitters such as air defense radars. Researchers also installed a digital link to quickly transfer target information to two F-16s used in the exercise.
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES LAST WEEK ordered and exercised options for 59 more next-generation 737-700s in a deal valued at $2.5 billion based on list prices. The airline said the aircraft would be used for expansion. In the transaction, the Dallas-based airline changed options for 47 -700s into firm orders with deliveries scheduled between 1999-2004. It also placed firm orders for another 12 -700s for delivery between 2000-04. In addition, it placed new options for 42 more -700s for handover between 2004-06.
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION has issued a policy paper urging that Europe demand a role equal to those of the U.S. and Russia in developing the next generation of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS-2), or else build its own.
BAHRAIN PLANS TO BUY up to 10 additional Block 40 F-16C/D aircraft from Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems (LMTAS) in Fort Worth, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2000. The order includes the purchase of eight fighters and options for two others. In addition, LMTAS and U.S. Air Force personnel are installing night vision imaging systems in 43 F-16s assigned to the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano AB, Italy, in support of peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia. The installations are scheduled to be completed in March.
James V. Lombardi has been appointed president and Jacques Rabu product sales manager of Fortech Inc., Parsippany, N.J. Lombardi was vice president-marketing of Wyman-Gordon.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN LAST WEEK reported record sales and net income for 1997, while Lockheed Martin posted a 4% increase in sales, to about $28 billion, and a 3% drop in net earnings, to $1.3 billion, or $6.09 a share fully diluted. Northrop Grumman's sales increased 6%, to $9.2 billion, and net income surged 54%, to $407 million, or $5.98 per share fully diluted. Operating profit increased about 10%, to slightly more than $1 billion.
NASA FUNDED $9.7 MILLION to begin procurement of a second X-34 flying testbed from Orbital Sciences Corp. and said it plans to commit another $10.3 million for the vehicle. The suborbital X-34 is being designed to demonstrate low-cost reusable launch vehicle technologies (AW&ST June 2, 1997, p. 33). NASA said it wants a second vehicle to expand the test program and serve as a backup.
Ernest De Hoyos has become senior vice president of DynCorp Management Resources, Reston, Va. He was a vice president in the Human Resources Group of American Management Systems.
Aeroflot is Boeing's newest operator of the 777. The Moscow-based carrier has leased two new 777-200IGWs from Los Angeles-based International Lease Finance Corp. for a period of seven years. The aircraft will be powered by GE90-90B engines. Delivery is scheduled for April and October of this year. Planned utilization includes Moscow-New York and Moscow-Tokyo routes.
Scandinavian Airlines System is strengthening its presence in Finland with the acquisition of privately owned Air Botnia for an undisclosed sum. The Finnish domestic carrier operates five leased 19-seat Jetstream 31s. Air Botnia flies to 15 destinations in Finland and carried 108,000 passengers in 1997. SAS is in talks with rival Finnair to resolve issues surrounding the deal with Air Botnia which, until now, was a strategic partner of Finnair.
Aerospatiale is putting into place a restructuring plan to separate its Airbus businesses into a stand-alone unit, in preparation for the transition of the European consortium into a single corporate entity. The move is part of a larger restructuring plan to be implemented by the French state-owned company in the next few months. Aerospatiale also intends to transfer its satellite activities to a subsidiary that eventually will be combined with Thomson-CSF's and Alcatel's space businesses.
THE FIRST FLIGHT OF Fairchild Dornier's new 328JET, powered by Pratt&Whitney Canada PW306B engines, took place on Jan. 20, as scheduled, from the company's facility at Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. The aircraft, a 32-plus-seat regional jet, was in the air 1 hr. 55 min., and was flown at altitudes up to 25,000 ft. around the Bavarian Alps. Fairchild Dornier pilots Meinhardt Feuersenger and Peter Weger were at the controls.
