A Titan 4 booster was launched successfully May 12 carrying a classified military payload from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg AFB. The launch, which occurred at 2:32 p.m. PDT, was the sixth West Coast mission for the Titan 4 program. The launch vehicle was processed at the request of the payload customer in a relatively short 112 days for the Vandenberg launch complex. It followed by only 18 days another Titan 4 launch on the East Coast, Apr. 24. The Vandenberg mission, originally scheduled for Apr.
How should the Pentagon deal with a funding shortfall of $2.3 billion to replenish war materiel for future wars? Ignore it, some Defense Dept. logisticians are suggesting. The significantly lower maintenance support that aircraft like the Joint Strike Fighter are expected to require and the need for fewer field hospitals, given reduced casualties in recent conflicts, are two ways to cut war reserves. But munitions are the big target. Some 75-80% of the munition containers deployed for Desert Storm were returned unopened. The U.S.
Benjamin Amar has been appointed president of United Jet Tours Inc. of New York and Lin Roberts Western regional director of United Jet International Inc., based in Phoenix.
The Defense Dept.'s Space Architect, Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert S. Dickman, launched an effort last week to develop a new roadmap for military satellite operations. The effort will seek to develop a plan for the way U.S. spacecraft are operated in orbit. ``The way we have controlled satellites in the past--single command links to single spacecraft . . . is just a non-player,'' Dickman says. He hopes to complete the effort by early December.
Higher labor and training costs, phase-out of obsolete aircraft and more stringent flight and duty time regulations are key issues facing regional airline operators preparing to recertify under FAR Part 121 rules by March, 1997. Regional Airline Assn. officials estimate that of the 69 member airlines, 28 will be transitioning from Part 135 to Part 121 and another eight will retain split FAA certification. Only about 4% will remain solely Part 135 operators. These airlines fly nine-seat aircraft that are unaffected by the new regulation.
The Model No. 5056-K50 is a linearized, temperature-compensated digital attenuator designed for military aircraft use. It operates in a 60 dB. dynamic range with 1-dB. steps. It offers an instantaneous bandwidth of 2-18 GHz. The unit measures 1.34 X 1.34 X 0.34 in. Control is by a 6-bit TTL word using d.c. voltage of 15 v. d.c. The attenuator features SMA connectors for the RF signal and a Mil-C-28748 multi-pin connector for the d.c. and logic. Robinson Laboratories Inc., 1 Tanguay Ave., Nashua, N.H. 03063.
William J. Hall has been appointed Eastern regional manager of Rust Environment and Infrastructure, based in Philadelphia. He was national industrial/commercial business development manager.
Bill Lewandowski has been named manager of FlightSafety International's Training Systems Div., Winter Park, Fla. He was computer instructional technologist at FSI's Gulfstream Center, Savannah, Ga. Ron Vinson has been promoted to assistant director of maintenance training standards from manager of technical standards at the Houston Training Center.
A lavatory war rages in Japan. Japan Air System fired the first salvo when it designated separate men's and women's rest rooms (AW&ST Mar. 18, p. 17). Japan Airlines has counterattacked, going well beyond gender designations in first-class loos on four of its 747-400s. The new facilities, built by Jamco Corp., are to be enlarged by 50% (they now measure 3.3 ft. square), and have windows, concave illuminated mirrors above faux marble sinks and gold-plated fixtures. Tap water will flow uninterrupted.
ValuJet Airlines probably will survive the aftermath of the crash of Flight 592, but the near-term business impact may be severe. This seems to be the general consensus among analysts and other professional industry observers across the U.S. But they are quick to add this caveat: the outlook for ValuJet could worsen if investigators conclude that the mishap was the result of negligence on the airline's part.
Peter Meszaros has been named manager of flight standards for K-C Aviation Transportation at Islip, N.Y. He was director of corporate flight operations for the Grumman Corp.
Mary Fackler Schiavo's plan to investigate whether FAA safety inspectors have been too lenient on troubled ValuJet Airlines is appropriate and right on target--keep the FAA honest (see p. 28). The allegations are extremely serious and must be dealt with forthrightly, to restore confidence among travelers. As U.S. Transportation Dept. inspector general, Schiavo should aggressively implement that investigation to determine if slack oversight of the low-fare carrier has contributed to its tarnished safety record.
An incorrect World Wide Web address was given for Science and Engineering Network News in the Mar. 11 issue of International Product News. The correct URL is http://www.senn.com
This electromagnetic/radio frequency interference gasket has a foam core with a low compression characteristic that allows a low closure force. That means engineers can design doors with fewer fasteners and thinner panels and doors.. The gasket material can be cut to predetermined lengths or supplied in bulk. It also is available with pressure sensitive adhesive strips. It can be used with plastic or metal housings. A conductive knitted layer of wire mesh is placed over a nonconductive foam core. The material is available in thicknesses of 0.125-1 in.
Top officials of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) are currently pondering whether to declassify the names and rankings of the spy satellite agency's top contractors. While action is not imminent, the NRO's new chief, Keith Hall, is seeking to make the agency more open. It's part of an effort to repair NRO's reputation. Hall's predecessor was fired after agency officials could not account for nearly $4 billion in unspent funds (see page 71).
ValuJet and other startups are girding themselves for possible political repercussions of the Flight 592 crash. Some blow-back seems inevitable, regardless of what the cause of the tragedy turns out to be. The White House isn't likely to keep bragging about the Administration's role in promoting low-fare airlines for a while. And key congressional committees are mulling whether to hold hearings. ValuJet President Lewis Jordan is a realist about what might happen. He said he talked to the chairmen of the key Senate and House panels that oversee aviation last week.
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT COULD SAVE substantial money by using the same ground equipment to control its various satellite networks, a new General Accounting Office (GAO) report concludes. Although U.S. military and civil agencies will spend $1.3 billion over the next five years to update their satellite control systems, the GAO found there is no clear national policy to guide the investments.
A family-owned Wisconsin company has developed a miniature test cell with a 40-lb.-thrust turbine engine so engineering students can apply the theory they learn in the classroom to an actual jet engine. The heart of Turbine Technologies Ltd.'s Mini Lab is an SR-30 turbojet engine, also made by the small company. The SR-30 was developed for drones or unmanned aerial vehicles several years ago but only flew for the first time recently, the company president, Wolfgang Kutrieb, said.
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCIENTISTS say they have made the first discovery of a long crater chain on Earth. The chain of craters--each 1.5-10 mi. across--stretches from southern Illinois to eastern Kansas. The scientists say the features could only have been created by asteroid or comet collisions that occurred about 320 million years ago.
TRW HAS FILED A LAWSUIT seeking to block ICO Global Communication's $3-billion mobile satellite project. In a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, TRW claims that ICO, a spinoff of Inmarsat, infringes on U.S. patents TRW obtained for its competing $3-billion Odyssey system. Hughes, which was not named in the lawsuit, is under contract for more than $2 billion to build and launch ICO's 12 satellites (AW&ST Nov. 13, 1995, p. 68).
Precision Plus is a precision cleaner designed for aviation use. It will remove light oils, krytox and other contaminants but is safe to use on plastic, nonflammable and contains no Class 1 ozone-depleting substances. Its performance nearly matches CFC-113, but it does not have the environmental drawbacks of the earlier cleaner. Precision Plus can be used for cleaning printed circuit boards, motors, relays, circuit breakers, landing gear, avionics, engine controls and microswitches. It meets Boeing, Pratt&Whitney and McDonnell Douglas standards for general cleaners.
