AN ANAHEIM, CALIF., COMPANY has unveiled a new system designed to make it easier for satellite operators to lease bandwidth by the minute. Interstate Electronics Corp.'s IEC-2000 network management system automatically sets up bandwidth for each satellite customer's specific need, eliminating complex scheduling problems and allowing users immediate access.
Super jumbo jets could affect both capacity and costs at 32 major international airports adversely, according to a survey conducted by the Airports Council International. Aircraft carrying more than 600 passengers would cause a loss of capacity because of increased separation standards for wake turbulence imposed by air traffic control. Taxiway and runway restrictions also would occur to accommodate new gates designed for super jumbos.
The aircraft on the May 13 cover was identified incorrectly in the caption on p. 4. The aircraft is obviously a British Airways Boeing 757, not a Lufthansa Airbus Industrie A321. Both are participating in the Collins/DASA D-GPS tests at Munich. Aviation Week&Space Technology regrets the error.
The Galaxy PowerPC is a VME-based single-board computer that is designed for use in aerospace, military and scientific embedded applications that require a graphical user interface. It uses the 100-MHz. PowerPC 604 processor. A desktop version can run the Windows NT, AIX or Solaris operating systems, while the embedded version runs VxWorks or OS-9. The Galaxy has three on-board buses that run independently and concurrently. Omnibyte Corp., 245 W. Roosevelt Road, West Chicago, Ill. 60185.
The amount of unspent money that piled up in the National Reconnaissance Office's (NRO) accounts approached a stunning $4 billion last year, but a senior official says the agency didn't even know the money was there because of arcane accounting practices. Now NRO managers are going public with their problems as they work to implement a modern accounting system designed to keep track of the billions of dollars the organization handles each year to build and operate U.S. intelligence satellites.
Soaring prices at the gas pumps may have attracted all the media attention and prompted congressional discussion for a tax rollback, but jet fuel price increases have been even higher. Platt's, the commodities division of Standard and Poor's, reports trades in April on the spot markets--where major and independent oil companies, traders and airlines often buy and sell jet fuel--were at 75-80 cents/gal. in the U.S., as much as 57% higher than the same period last year.
The latest version of Fieldview computational fluid dynamics post-processor software will run on computers using the Microsoft Windows or Windows NT environments. Fieldview for Windows features nearly the same functionality as the Unix based program, while running on the less expensive platform. Features include interactive animation of cutting planes, streamlines and iso-surfaces, support for virtually all grid types and sophisticated two-dimension plotting. Intelligent Light, 1099 Wall St., West Suite 387, Lyndhurst, N.J. 07071.
Photograph: Photograph: 12-channel hand-held GPS receiver Garmin International has developed a 12-channel hand-held GPS receiver with an integrated 760-channel transceiver. Called the GPSCOM 190, the new unit weighs 22 oz. and uses a new GPS engine called PhaseTrac12, which monitors 12 channels simultaneously and uses continuous carrier phase tracking. The transceiver has scan and seek modes, 200 built-in navigation and 10 built-in weather frequencies, and a memory for storing 30 user-defined channels with a 15-character comment field for each.
The Gravity OMX is designed to combine gravity-feed spraying technology with good ergonomics and paint atomization. The paint gun's patented fluid control valve adjusts from 0.8-1.8 mm. and provides superior atomization in combination with the air cap design. The 19-oz. gun allows for finger-tip control when spraying from the lightest base coat to the heaviest high-solids materials. ITW DeVilbiss Industrial Spray Equipment, 1724 Indian Wood Circle, Maumee, Ohio 43537.
German government and industry officials said that while France's decision to scale back its procurement plans did not represent a terminal blow to the NH-90 and Tiger helicopter programs, it would create serious cost and schedule problems.
VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS last week concluded an order for two additional ``ultra-long-range'' Airbus A340-300 transports scheduled to be delivered in the second quarter of 1997. Virgin Atlantic is operating five A340s and a sixth is scheduled to enter service in a few months. The A340s will be operated on planned new routes between London and the Pacific Rim, Australia, South Africa and the Caribbean, Chairman/CEO Richard Branson said.
The Chilean air force plans to initiate a requirement study in June for a multirole aircraft to replace its Cessna A-37s and older Dassault Mirage 50s. The air force is so far limiting its candidates to the Saab Gripen, Lockheed Martin F-16 and the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18. The intent is to start taking deliveries of the new fighters in the year 2000.
Louis J. Boczek, Jr., (see photo) has become vice president-quality assurance for the AeroThrust Corp. of Miami. He was CF6 business operation/quality and technology manager for General Electric Engine Services.
Walter E. Fairbanks, group vice president-defense of Cubic Defense Systems, San Diego, Calif., has been named interim president following the retirement of J. Dave Cours. George J. Stapleton has become president of Cubic Sales Ltd., a subsidiary of the Cubic Corp. He was vice president-business development for Cubic Defense Systems. He has been succeeded by Stephen R. Sampson, who was promoted from business development director for ground ranges.
The crash of ValuJet Flight 592 has prompted the FAA to launch an intense, 30-day safety investigation of the airline that will scrutinize every facet of its daily operations, especially pilot performance and maintenance. The increased surveillance will include reviewing all records of mechanical problems filed within the past 12 months including corrective actions. It also requires ValuJet to compile all reports regarding problems that have caused aircraft to return to the gate after pushback.
Harry Garfinkel (see photos) has been appointed president of Hamilton Standard Space Systems International, Windsor Locks, Conn., and general manager of the company's Space and Sea Systems. He succeeds Fred Morris, who has been named senior vice president-international operations of parent Hamilton Standard. Arthur W. Lucas has been appointed vice president-mechanical technology of Hamilton Standard. He was PW6000 engine design integration manager for Pratt&Whitney. And, Thomas A.
TELEPHONICS WILL MANUFACTURE and install an air route traffic control center in Guangzhou, China. The fully automated civil ATC system will use the company's proven multi-radar fusion tracking system and display targets in a 1,000 X 1,000-mi. area. The company plans to deliver hardware by the end of the year and have the system operational by the end of 1997.
The U.S. Air Force is putting the finishing touches on a super-high-powered experimental arc jet system that is designed to demonstrate great advances over current arc jet systems. The Electric Space Experiment (ESEX) being overseen by the Propulsion Directorate at the Air Force's Phillips Laboratory is designed to run at 30 kw, the highest power ever used in space--that's 15 times the power of arc jet systems used on commercial satellites, and would allow great increases in spacecraft maneuverability, payload capability and lifetime.
Daniel M. Tellep, chairman of the Lockheed Martin Corp., has won the National Engineering Award of the Washington-based American Assn. of Engineering Societies.
Sir Colin Marshall, chairman of British Airways, has received the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington for his leadership in the advancement of science, technology and world conservation.
The ST-9000 is a 9 gigabyte removable magnetic disk drive designed for use in harsh environments, including altitudes of up to 50,000 ft. The device, a ruggedized version of a commercial disk drive, can withstand severe shock and vibration and will operate over a range of -20-60C. Mountain Optech Inc., 4775 Walnut St., Suite A, Boulder, Colo. 80301.
A long flight at high altitudes and latitudes will expose crews to 30-65 microsieverts of ionizing radiation, or the equivalent of 1.5-3 chest X-rays, according to FAA and other studies reviewed by Dr. Stanley Mohler, a medical professor at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Radiation at altitude can be 4-8 microsieverts per hour, or 70-140 times higher than on the ground (AW&ST Nov. 25, 1991, p. 79). One study showed that 30 years of high-altitude flight may increase the risk of death from cancer by up to 0.5%.
