Scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., are working to develop a new generation of extremely small, expendable robots. Called biomorphic explorers, the tetherless, mobile robots could range from microns to inches in size and could be mass produced, according to Sarita Thakoor, principal investigator. Designed to perform a specific sensory or sample acquisition function and report back upon achieving success, potential uses include low-cost scouts or exploration of narrow crevices and inhospitable terrain on Earth as well as other planets.
Robert W. Bechtold and Melvin W. Lee have been appointed vice presidents-sales and marketing of the Keltic and California operations, respectively, of the Signal Technology Corp., Sunnyvale, Calif. Bechtold was executive director of government satellite systems development for Space Systems/Loral, and Lee was director of sales and marketing for Teledyne Electronic Technologies.
The space launch industry, flush with orders to orbit new telecommunications satellites, is forecasting continued growth over the next decade, creating room for new boosters that are slated to enter the market.
Mission Commander John H. Casper, the flight crew and the launch and flight planning and control teams of NASA space shuttle Mission 77, which in May achieved a string of shuttle milestones. The mission was the first launched with a full set of three upgraded Rocketdyne Block 1 main engines, and involved the deployment of two technology-demonstration satellites including the largest inflatable satellite deployed to date on a civil space mission. A major contribution was the development by mission pilot Curt L. Brown, mission specialist Daniel W.
Advanced Rotorcraft Technology is expanding application of its Flightlab engineering software packages into civil and foreign markets and developing a PC-based flight simulation package to provide high fidelity for demanding rotorcraft piloting operations like power line servicing. ``Today's helicopter flight simulators are not very realistic,'' said Martin Ahlers, an aerospace engineer who heads ART's marketing office. ART's program will include sensory cues--noise and vibration--to achieve a higher fidelity to rotorcraft operations.
New technical analyses and global market research suggest that a two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) or modest ``spaceplane'' system using currently available technology could stimulate an economically viable commercial space tourism industry within the next decade.
Stage III Technologies is scheduled to begin flight tests this quarter of a hushkit for Gulfstream 2 and 3 business jets that complies with Stage 3 rules, but does not degrade takeoff performance, according to the company.
Alenia Aerospazio President Giorgio Zappa for adopting an aggressive strategic plan to revamp the Italian company, in sharp contrast with the vague policy that long had prevailed. Alenia is tentatively scheduled to become a full-fledged Airbus Co. partner as soon as the European consortium's single corporate entity is established. Despite Italy's economic difficulties and weak government, Zappa cut jobs, overhauled production facilities and restored credibility.
RAYTHEON ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS has been selected to write a ``next-generation'' software program for the National Air and Space (Warfare) Model (NASM) being developed by the U.S. Air Force's Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom AFB. The $44.3-million contract is to develop a war game program with far higher fidelity than exists today. It is to have an initial operating capability in 1999.
Pamela Lorenzo has been appointed manager of U.S. charter sales for the Oriental Falcon Jet Service by the Dassault Falcon Jet Corp., Teterboro, N.J. She was manager of flight operations at Teterboro Airport. Jeffrey M. Habib has been promoted to director of sales for North Asia from district sales manager for the Far East for the parent company.
Lt. Gen. William J. Donahue, then-director of command-control systems for the U.S. Space Command, and his team for pushing implementation of a fast-track military Global Broadcast System (GBS) by leasing transponders on commercial satellites. The interim GBS system is used to support overseas operations and domestic exercises.
When Lt. Col. Madan K.C. agreed to fly his Ecureuil (Squirrel) AS350 B2 single-engine helicopter from Katmandu in Nepal to the slopes of Mount Everest on May 13, 1996, he was taking on a rescue mission that several civil helicopter operators had turned down. But Madan, a rotary wing commander in the Royal Nepalese Army, volunteered to help an injured American climber located at about 20,000 ft. in an unprecedented rescue attempt.
Dwight Abbott (see photo) has been appointed general manager of the Systems Engineering Div. of the Engineering and Technology Group of the Aerospace Corp. of Los Angeles. He was general manager of the Business Management Div. of the company's Space Technology Applications.
Robert P. Iorizzo has been promoted to vice president-command, control, communications and intelligence and naval systems of the Northrop Grumman Electronic Sensors and Systems Div. in Baltimore. Iorizzo was vice president-space systems and succeeds Milton F. Borkowski, who is leaving the company. Succeeding Iorizzo is James L. Armitage, who has been director/deputy center manager of systems development and technology and executive manager of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. Robert W. DuBeau will succeed Armitage in his JSF role.
Uncontrolled airport radio procedures, dusk conditions, and an inability to open aircraft exit doors are key factors in the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation into the runway collision of a United Express Raytheon 1900C and a Beechcraft King Air A90 at Quincy, Ill., last November.
Sensors on chips being developed at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) should make detecting chemical or biological agents in warfare and monitoring environmental spills easier and more affordable. The technique optically detects changes in the surface of a sensor when trace amounts of the gas in question react with materials on the chip's surface. Sensing times range from less than a second to a few seconds, based on tests so far.
Lyman Spitzer, Jr., 82, the astrophysicist who in 1954 first proposed placing a telescope in Earth orbit and then pushed the idea through to fruition, died at home in Princeton, N.J., on Apr. 1. As far back as 1947, Spitzer urged that science instruments of all sorts be placed in orbit. He was the principal investigator for an ultraviolet telescope on NASA's Copernicus satellite launched in 1972. But it was the Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, that is the jewel in the crown of Spitzer's legacy in astronautics.
Researchers at Ohio State University have wind-tunnel tested a method to optically characterize and measure airflow into jet engines. With further work, the technique could result in improved engine fuel efficiency and performance by providing accurate, noninvasive air mass flow data to digital engine fuel controllers. The technology relies on Rayleigh scattering, or the ability of gas molecules entering the engine to capture laser light waves and then emit, or scatter, light of a different frequency.
AVIATION WEEK&SPACE TECHNOLOGY is expanding its staff overseas and establishing a new bureau to provide better editorial coverage of technology, business and operations within the global field of aerospace. Michael A. Taverna joins the magazine in the Paris bureau as the European editor. Taverna was most recently with Interavia magazine in Paris. He will report to Pierre Sparaco, who has been promoted to senior European editor.
C-MAP/Aviation is now renting cartridges for moving map displays of Jeppesen NavData to aviators who have a Magellan EC-10X or Digifly DU8 GPS unit. Aviators flying outside their regular flying area can rent the cartridges from 30 to 90 days. Each C-MAP regional cartridge covers about the same area as a WAC chart in the U.S. or Canada. Worldwide coverage is available.
THE SHUTTLE ORBITER ENDEAVOUR RETURNED to the Kennedy Space Center on Mar. 27, riding atop NASA's Boeing 747 shuttle carrier aircraft. The homecoming followed an eight-month modification period at Boeing North American facilities in Palmdale, Calif. About 100 modifications and upgrades were added and its weight was reduced by more than a ton under a U.S. Alliance contract. The most significant change involved removal of Endeavour's original internal airlock and installation of a new payload bay airlock to enable Endeavour to dock with the new international space station.
