Hewlett-Packard used commercial off-the-shelf components and its own VEE graphical programming language to cut time and costs for testing the bus and payload for NASA's Lunar Prospector. The spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin Missiles&Space in Sunnyvale, Calif., for NASA's Ames Research Center, which is next door in Mountain View, was tested by applying the HP Lunar Prospector Electrical Test Set (LPETS) during its construction and again at Cape Canaveral prior to launch.
Dennis E. Roberts has been named vice president-government and technical affairs of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn., Frederick, Md. He was director of the Aeronautics Div. of the Colorado Transportation Dept.
Fornter Software has enhanced its HDF Browser, a free technical browsing tool that allows researchers to view data in the Hierarchical Data Format. Chief Technology Officer Chris Meyer expects HDF to become the de facto standard for the scientific community because it allows scientists to get data in a consistent format regardless of the computer platform they use. Its users include NASA, the Energy Dept.'s Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
The European Commission has approved the new ownership structure of the recently privatized Dusseldorf (Germany) Airport. In December, the state of North Rhein-Westphalia sold a 50% share in the airport to a joint venture of German building contractor Hochtief and Aer Rianta of Ireland for DM353 million ($208 million). The Harpen/Airport Group International team also had been short-listed for the project.
Information and computer warfare is going to be conducted from the ground, the seas and space, but a crucial element in shifting its emphasis from passive listening to an active offense may be aviation and, increasingly, unmanned aircraft. Signals intelligence--including the ability to decipher and listen to a foe's communications and periodically slip in some false data--``is the heart of information operations,'' said John Entzminger, deputy for technology with the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office.
Walt Whitney and Ralph Palmer have been named sales managers in the Western and Central U.S., respectively, for AP Labs of San Diego. Elizabeth Ann Larson has been appointed vice president/director operations for Jet Professionals Inc., Shelton, Conn.
Increasing emphasis on rapidly developing U.S. information warfare capabilities runs a risk of undermining the associated aircraft improvements needed to carry out a comprehensive IW battle plan, according to Air Force and contractor officials.
NASA's Ames Research Center has completed development of a virtual reality laboratory that will give aeronautical researchers and design teams access to the center's advanced flight simulator without ever leaving home.
Robert Mylott has been named vice president-operations of the Heico Corp., Palmetto, Fla. He was director of overhaul and repair for Pratt&Whitney operations in West Virginia. Kurt Musial has been promoted to vice president-customer support and spare parts from director of operations.
Australia has outlined a $4-billion program of defense spending throughout the next decade that includes plans to purchase seven airborne early warning and control (AEWC) aircraft and upgrade the Royal Australian Air Force's F-111G variable-geometry bombers.
The bird flu that led to the slaughter of thousands of chickens in Hong Kong to prevent disease in humans is keeping tourists away from the city in large numbers--adding insult to the injury already posed by Asia's financial crisis. Cathay Pacific Airways was showing signs of progress in its fight to fill seats with the ``Super Ticket,'' a two-for-one ticket sale it started last December to boost flagging reservations. But the flu scare is prompting a new round of canceled reservations.
Boeing officials said they could build up to 120 717-200 aircraft per year at the company's Douglas Products Div., with preliminary plans calling for a gradual start with 12 aircraft to be completed in 1999 and 30-40 during 2000. James R. Phillips, vice president of Douglas Products and 717 program manager, said up to 10 aircraft could be produced efficiently each month at current Douglas facilities in Long Beach, Calif., given sufficient market demand.
BRITISH AIRWAYS, SEEKING to expand its links into central Europe, is pursuing a strategic alliance with Lot Polish Airlines, which is in line for privatization. The two airlines signed a memorandum of understanding last week and hope to conclude a deal, which could include an equity investment by April. A first phase would involve code-sharing between Lot and British Airways' German subsidiary Deutsche BA. Talks are also expected to lead to code-sharing on Manchester-Warsaw and London Gatwick-Krakow flights.
Michael A. Mayer has been appointed director of sales, Brian C. Postel inside sales director, Russell J. Carlson Eastern U.S. sales director and Robert L. Steger purchasing manager, all for Avatar Alliance of Atlanta.
Photograph: AN ADVANCED MEDIUM-RANGE Air-to-Air Missile (Amraam) launched from a Danish F-16B at Eglin AFB, Fla., destroyed a target drone during a test of the multitarget intercept capability of the Mid-Life Update (MLU) F-16A/B. A simulated launch of a second missile against another target drone, employing a captive-carry Amraam, also was considered successful, based on in-flight data, according to prime contractor Lockheed Martin.
CHINA'S XIAMEN AIRLINES HAS ORDERED Honeywell's TCAS 2000 traffic alert and collision avoidance system to equip its fleet of 10 Boeing 737-700 aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled to begin this year.
JAMES T. McKENNAPAUL PROCTORContributing to this report were Edward H. Phillips in Dallas and Eiichiro Sekigawa in Tokyo.
Two small teams of FAA investigators last week reviewed the quality controls on Boeing's 737 production line as airlines completed inspections of the horizontal stabilizers for missing or loose fasteners. FAA Administrator Jane S. Garvey dispatched the teams to Boeing's Wichita, Kan., and Renton, Wash., facilities after investigators in Indonesia found 26 screws missing from the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer from a SilkAir 737-300 that crashed there Dec. 19, 1997.
U.S. astronaut David Wolf and Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev conducted a 3-hr. 52-min. extravehicular activity last week outside the Mir space station to obtain spectral data on the degradation of its surface. The information should be useful in developing the International Space Station.
Investigators are attempting to extract all available data from aircraft recorders and air traffic control tapes that might help them explain what happened to SilkAir Flight 185 before it plunged 35,000 ft. into an Indonesian river last month. An international team of safety investigators is puzzled by the picture painted of Flight 185's final moments by the available data from the 737-300's on-board recorders and from air traffic facilities near Sumatra. The crash occurred there Dec. 19, 1997.
John Serri has been promoted to vice president-information services from manager of ground operations control of Globalstar, San Jose, Calif. Other recent promotions were: Megan Fitzgerald to vice president-space systems engineering from manager of the space segment; Michael Sites to vice president-telecommunications systems engineering from manager of ground systems; and Reid Stephenson to vice president-marketing from director of market development operations.
