A temporarily reduced crew of three on the International Space Station—pending arrival on a Soyuz capsule late Sept. 25 EDT of three new crewmates that was launched earlier that day—grappled the fourth SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule to reach the orbiting outpost under the company’s $1.6 billion, 12-flight contract with NASA. Astronauts used the station’s robotic arm early Sept. 23 to catch the vehicle with its 4,885-lb. cargo as it rendezvoused with the orbiting science laboratory, and berthed it to the U.S.-segment Harmony module.
Sierra Nevada Corp. is not happy about its loss to Boeing and SpaceX in the competition for federal funds to complete commercial human vehicles to take crews to the International Space Station (ISS), but it plans to keep building its reusable lifting-body spaceplane and use it to compete for the next round of ISS commercial cargo-delivery contracts NASA awards.
"LED Astray" ( AW&ST Sept. 22, p. 28) is timely. I’ve found the green taxi lights at Denver International Airport to be too bright. After landing, we asked ground control if they could dim them and were told that they were as dim as they could be. We were also told that many such complaints are lodged.
Avic expects to wrap up supplier selection for the MA700 by the middle of October, following its choice of the Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics suite for the cockpit of the 78-seat turboprop. Pratt & Whitney Canada and GE’s Dowty will supply the MA700’s engines and propellers, respectively.
Financial analysts at RBC Capital Markets expect Lockheed Martin to soon announce a 15% increase in its planned dividend payment to shareholders to $6.12 a share, as well as increased stock buyback plans. Share buybacks and dividend payouts are at record highs for aerospace and defense companies, as well as across Western stock markets.
South Korea and the U.S. government have completed negotiations on South Korea’s order for 40 Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighters, according to the South Korean government. The negotiations covered price, offsets and technical details, and opened the way for South Korea to sign a letter of offer and acceptance for the new aircraft. Deliveries are expected between 2018 and 2021.
NetJets is to begin providing charter services within China following receipt of an air operator’s certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China. The Chinese equivalent of FAA Part 135 approval allows NetJets Business Aviation Ltd. to provide ad-hoc charter service with its initial fleet of two Hawker 800s based in Zhuhai. NetJets’ Chinese arm plans to offer aircraft management and block charter as the next steps.
Four years after its launch, the Airbus A320neo has completed its first flight. The aircraft landed back at Toulouse’s Blagnac airport at 2:22 p.m. local time on Sept. 25 after 2 hr. and 22 min.
Through the ups and downs of its 30-year history, Virgin Atlantic Airways has been “amazingly successful” at establishing its brand, Chief Executive Craig Kreeger recently pointed out, although less successful at making money. The carrier’s highest profit was a pretax gain of £99 million ($162 million, at today’s rate) in 1999, Kreeger told The Wall Street Journal this month.
Aviation Week Senior Editor for Avionics and Safety John Croft samples the upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT) techniques and aircraft used by the two main global providers, APS and Flight Research.
Aviation Week looks at the laser technology that the European Data Relay System (EDRS) will use to transmit data via geostationary satellites. EDRS aims to provide nearly uninterrupted data links to low-Earth-orbiting spacecraft and allow ground stations that need it most to receive information in near-real time.
For private equity-held defense contractors acquired during the height of military spending, current industry strategies are starting to diverge from the traditional investor thinking.
