Increasing dynamic pressure from continuing aerobraking maneuvers has almost fully deployed the balky solar panel on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, according to project officials. Glenn E. Cunningham, MGS project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said last week that the panel has been pushed to within about 2 deg. of its fully deployed position, although it still is not locked in place.
ARINC will purchase vhf digital radios from Park Air Electronics, a British subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, for its ground-air data link network. The software-programmable radios can be remotely reconfigured to provide data communication in either analog minimum-shift key form or differential eight-phase shift key (D8PSK) VHF data link, recently selected as an ICAO standard. The radios will augment the existing aircraft communications addressing and reporting system (ACARS) network across the U.S. and Europe.
British Airways, as part of an effort to streamline its engineering department, has agreed to sell its wheel and brake repair and overhaul operations to AlliedSignal Aerospace. The deal, to be concluded by year-end, will include a 10-year contract with AlliedSignal to perform the work on BA aircraft. BA, meanwhile, is on track to open its new 250-million pound ($403-million) cargo center at London Heathrow airport in January. The automated center will allow BA's capacity for freight and mail to double to 800,000 metric tons (88,000 tons) a year.
The creation of ``clusters'' of consolidated companies is likely to be the best way for the European aerospace industry to improve its competitive position vis-a-vis the U.S., according to the European Commission.
Lima, Peru's Jorge Chavez international airport is receiving a new ASR-12 solid-state primary surveillance radar from Northrop Grumman's Electronic Sensors and Systems Div., formerly Westinghouse. The company's newest primary radar, along with a monopulse secondary surveillance radar (MSSR), has been delivered and should be installed and integrated into the airport before the end of the year. The company's Park Air Electronics subsidiary is also providing ground-air communications equipment for the airport.
By shifting most of its flights to Denver, Western Pacific has left Colorado Springs airport's expansion in a state of uncertainty. The airport had experienced extremely rapid growth since Western Pacific brought low fares to southern Colorado, quickly surpassing its design capacity of 1.5 million annual enplanements. The airport had started expanding its terminal and parking facilities to keep up with Westpac's growth plans. The airline's sudden move to Denver has had a significant impact on traffic at its former hub.
Eliyahu Yitzhaki has become president/CEO of Rafael USA Inc. of Washington. He was a colonel in the Israel Defense Forces. Yitzhaki succeeds Eitan Yudilevich, who has become corporate vice president/general manager of the missiles division of the Rafael Armament and Development Authority, Haifa, Israel. He succeeds Giora Shalgi.
Building on its military communication background, Harris Digital Radio developed a software-programmable ground-air VHF radio to expand into ATC communications. The radio is designed to handle both analog voice and digital data today, and to add digital voice with a software patch if desired in the future.
The aerospace industry is increasingly becoming an information processing industry. Computers have moved well beyond guiding missiles and milling machines to showing engineers how to organize production lines and build aircraft. Managing data to work cheaper and more efficiently has become a prerequisite to winning contracts. If Silicon Valley startups create overnight millionaires, can aerospace compete for programmers? This series examines that issue and provides case studies in how the industry is exploiting info tech.
Experiment has been approved by U.S. Defense Secretary William S. Cohen. The two-part test calls for the Army's Mid-Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser (Miracl) at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., to be trained on the Air Force's third Miniature Sensor Technology Integration (MSTI-3) satellite (AW&ST Sept. 8, p. 19). First, there will be a series of illuminations of less than 1 sec., then the laser will hone on MSTI-3 for 10 sec.
Brazil's Varig has signed a $400-million info tech contract, South America's largest, with SITA and IBM for systems management services. IBM will provide the airline with facilities outsourcing, while SITA will handle its voice and data network services. The IBM tasks will be performed at Sumare in Brazil and include such functions as accounting, reservations, engineering and logistics. In all, IBM will manage more than 6,000 Varig desktop computers and create a single-point-of-contact help desk operation.
Russia and Ukraine are moving ahead with flight tests of the second prototype of the four-propfan Antonov An-70 military transport, while eight Western European countries are still seeking launch funding for the Future Large Aircraft (FLA), their answer to the same need.
The 10 shuttle/Mir crewmembers from the U.S., France and Russia who worked last week on board the 270-ton docked complex strongly asserted that the station is in good shape and safe for continued long-term habitation. But some other astronauts and managers involved in safety oversight at the Johnson Space Center, continued to express reservations about continuing long-duration astronaut visits until the station has demonstrated a longer period of relatively trouble-free operations with a better science output (AW&ST Sept. 29, p. 37).
Kellstrom Industries of Sunrise, Fla., expects to purchase a $20.3-million inventory of commercial aircraft and jet engines--all of which are under operating lease--from Miami-based Aerocar Aviation. Kellstrom plans to merge the operation into a wholly owned subsidiary to help expand its short-term aircraft and whole-engine leasing business. Kellstrom President and CEO Zivi R. Nedivi said the portfolio will serve as a ``pipeline and outlet'' for his company's engines and parts inventory.
The ``Thrust SSC'' jet-powered car tentatively set a new land speed record on Sept. 25 at a two-way run average of 714 mph. It beat the prior record of 633 mph. set in 1983 by Richard Noble of the U.K., leader of the Thrust SSC team.
A unique projectile interceptor system has been patented by scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Labs in California. Tentatively called Defender, when a specialized infrared sensor detects and tracks an incoming projectile, a ``flinger'' mechanism launches a protective disk. The disks, made of composite material similar to body armor, are aimed and timed to intercept the incoming projectile and absorb impact energy, according to project engineer Lee Pittenger. Defender technology could be useful for unobtrusive point defense against gunfire.
The Washington to Capetown route (where German and U.S. Air Force transports collided last month) say they had to personally take responsibility for maintaining separation between aircraft. The combination of heavy traffic at night, few ground controllers working after dark, no radar coverage and long flights made the air routes off the African coast dangerous. Off Angola, for example, there is a 2.5-hr. stretch during which there is no positive air control, according to MD-11 Capt. Robert Steadman, who flew with U.S. Africa in 1994-95.
More than 14% of all workers in the New England region of the U.S. are in technology-based industry, higher than any other region, even the West Coast. According to a recent study by the Connecticut Technology Council, about 7% of New England's businesses are engaged in technology-based manufacturing, a close second to the U.S. Southwest. At the close of 1996, about 8,600 Connecticut-based technology firms employed more than 221,000 out of a total workforce of 1.4 million. They represented more than 26% of state payroll.
Progressively greater use of computer-aided design and manufacturing techniques lies at the core of Raytheon Aircraft Co.'s $150-million restructuring program, which is aimed at cutting its manufacturing costs by 30%, reducing its cycle times and eliminating parts rework.
The board of directors and shareholders of Berlin Brandenburg Flughafen (BBF), the holding company that owns Berlin's three airports, have approved plans to privatize the company and privately finance a long-stalled project to build a new international airport. The project, intended to meet future traffic growth requirements--and in particular the huge influx of federal employees that will accompany the transfer of the capital from Bonn to Berlin--is billed as the largest airport privatization effort in continental Europe.
Volunteer airline passengers at Albuquerque (N.M.) International Airport are helping evaluate a new explosives detection portal. Being developed by nearby Sandia National Laboratories, the walk-through portal relies on chemical preconcentrator technology to identify individuals who may have handled a wide variety of explosive materials. An air sample--obtained by ``scanning'' passengers with a gentle puff of air--is checked by an ion mobility spectrometer, which identifies the signatures of numerous explosives.
Lufthansa German Airways is close to finalizing a code-sharing agreement with Spanair of Spain, according to Christoph Mueller, Lufthansa vice president for corporate planning and network management. The two carriers began cooperating earlier this year in the area of reservation systems and frequent-flier programs. Spanair is a charter and regional carrier with two Boeing 767-300ERs and 15 MD-82/83s. Revenues in 1996 were 46 billion pesetas ($300 million). Lufthansa has no plans to purchase an interest in Spanair, despite reports to the contrary, Mueller said.
Major U.S. carriers followed United Airlines' lead in cutting the commissions that travel agencies receive for writing tickets. Commission rates for domestic and international ticketing were reduced to 8% from 10%; the maximum commission payment for round-trip domestic tickets remains at $50, while there is no commission cap on international flights. United's initiative was matched by American, Delta, US Airways, Northwest and Continental. Southwest Airlines and Kiwi said they would maintain the 10% commission.
