Jim Wurth, a former Eastern Airlines pilot and Pratt & Whitney engineer, became interested in batteries when his MD-500 helicopter would not start after a night out in the cold in New Mexico years ago. He and a friend had camped in a remote area and faced a long walk out even to get cellphone coverage. Fortunately, a warming sun got them on their way that afternoon. But Wurth thought there had to be a better answer for batteries.
France caused a flap last week with the public endorsement of Anne Lauvergeon as the potential new chairwoman of EADS, renewing doubts that efforts to curb government interference in the company's management will succeed. French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said Jan. 28 the ex-CEO of nuclear energy group Areva could play a “major role” at Airbus parent company EADS along with France's other board favorite, former European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet.
Former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) (see photo) has been selected to receive the 2013 National Space Trophy, presented by the Houston-based Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation. She is being cited for her promotion of the International Space Station program and her efforts to support the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the Space Launch System and commercial space transportation.
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co. (SCAC), the designer and manufacturer of Russia's new Superjet 100 regional aircraft, is undergoing a leadership transition following the rocky start of series production.
Boeing is telling its 787 supply chain “ business as usual” even as the aircraft —its highest-profile development effort —is in its third week of being grounded and deliveries have been suspended.
Cameron Burr, founder of JetCapital Group, and Glenn Leonard, co-founder of Cavok, have been appointed to the board of directors of Ottawa-based Mxi Technologies.
The temporary change of the geographical scope of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) obligation has averted a trade war with key air transport partners such as China, India and the U.S., but airlines now have to amend their verified 2012 emissions plan and separate emissions from intra-European flights operated in 2012 from the flights between Europe and third countries. On the latter, operators do not have to surrender CO2 allowances if they opt to use the one-year derogation.
Paul Adams has been appointed chief operating officer of East Hartford, Conn.-based Pratt & Whitney. He has held a leadership role in P&W's Engineering and Operations.
Late last month, American Airlines CEO Tom Horton unveiled with great fanfare the airline's splashy new livery, the first update to the carrier's logo since 1968. But it will take more than a few gallons of silver paint to restore this U.S. icon to its former glory.
The French request for a British Sentinel radar surveillance aircraft to support Operation Serval in Mali highlights France's shortage of tactical intelligence assets, which have advanced little beyond helicopters and targeting pods on jets, despite years of experience in Afghanistan.
India has moved a significant step closer in integrating its strategic submarines with ballistic missiles after the test launch of a medium-range missile from a submerged platform in the Bay of Bengal. The 10-meter-tall (33-ft.) nuclear-capable missile was launched from a depth of about 50 meters Jan. 27, says Defense Research and Development Organization Director General V.K. Saraswat. It met “every” mission objective, he says.
As airlines there increase in size, it is natural that they leverage their scale to gain efficiencies. That comes from both purchasing power and the desire to bring higher-technology maintenance, repair and overhaul capability in-house—or at least in the region.
Ball Aerospace & Technologies has completed a $75 million, 90,000-sq-ft. expansion of its satellite-manufacturing facilities in Boulder, Colo. Clean-room space is 60% larger, and environmental testing systems have been upgraded to state of the art. The work also includes “build-out capacity for a larger thermal vacuum chamber,” the company says.
The first of three advanced Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) spacecraft, procured for $354 million each, is heading for checkout in a temporary geostationary slot after this Jan. 30 nighttime launch on an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 41.
Volga-Dnepr Group has been pushing United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) and Antonov to restart production of its An-124 Ruslan freighter for years. With no additional orders in sight, the operator may take the project into its own hands.
Crisis is a word often applied to the proposed defense “sequestration” cuts, now set to take effect on March 1. There is no dispute that these budget reductions could send powerful tremors through the U.S. military and defense industry.
Andrews Space will build an Earth-observing nanosat for the U.S. Army under a new contract with the Army Space and Missile Defense Command's Kestrel Eye program. Andrews says its 24-month contract calls for demonstration of “low-cost, commercial technologies to enable a new tier of reconnaissance capability.”
