Cyberattacks have breached the Pentagon and sent businesses into bankruptcy. Still, it might take a cyberdisaster on the scale of Hurricane Katrina to impel lawmakers to pass laws to help shore up the nation's infrastructure. The White House has proposed an executive order to address some of the problem, but Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency and commander of U.S. Cyber Command, says more is needed. The Pentagon has a pilot program that will help private companies to work with the government to help them protect their own information.
Lufthansa is pushing for new tools to diagnose cabin air quality following passenger reports about cabin fumes onboard Airbus A380s and a serious incident involving an A319. But health damages have not been proven scientifically. The airline is putting in place initiatives to reduce the number of cabin fume events on its A380s. The measures include adjustments to the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines, procedural changes and better surveillance of cabin air quality.
NASA stalwarts across the agency have pulled up their socks and forged ahead with the new approach of sending humans to Earth orbit in commercial crew vehicles. But it has been a case of reality transcending preference, says William Gerstenmaier, who runs NASA's human-spaceflight effort. “As a government person, I kind of like the old way of doing business with these big government programs, and controlling specifications and not being in this new world,” he tells an International Astronautical Congress audience in Naples, Italy. “This is a little riskier for me.
Aurora Flight Sciences and Lockheed Martin are to develop concepts for autonomous cargo delivery via robotic rotorcraft under contracts totaling $28 million, awarded under the U.S. Office of Naval Research's Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System (Aacus) program. The system will include autonomous threat- and obstacle-detection and avoidance and automatic landing capabilities. Aacus is intended to allow an unmanned cargo helicopter to be operated from the ground with a smartphone-like device.
John DeLisi has been named director of the National Transportation Safety Board's Office of Aviation Safety. He had been deputy director since 2007 and with the safety board for more than 20 years.
Reader Daniel Jenkins was wildly inaccurate in a fact he stated in Feedback (AW&ST Sept. 24, p. 10). He said: “It is estimated that 100 billion people have lived and died prior to 1969.” There are more people alive right now (6 billion-plus) then have lived and died since the emergence of mankind. Paso Robles, Calif.
Oct. 15-18—American Astronautical Society's Fifth Annual Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium. University of Alabama at Huntsville. See www.astronautical.org Oct. 16-18—The Aerospace Corp., Space and Missile Systems Center, and Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology's Aerospace Testing Seminar. Sheraton Gateway Hotel, Los Angeles. See www.cvent.com/vents/2012-27th-aerospace-testing-seminar-ats meetings/2012/annualmeeting
Two key makers of remote air traffic control tower equipment report measured progress in introducing video-based alternative surveillance technologies to airport operators in search of enhanced situational awareness and lower operating costs. Sweden's Saab Sensis says it will begin in January a certification program for what will be the world's first remotely operated control tower at an operational airport, once approved by Swedish regulators in June or July 2013.
George Novak has joined the Arlington, Va.-based Aerospace Industries Association as assistant VP-civil aviation. He was director of safety, borders and security at InterVistas Consulting and also handled regulatory and compliance issues with the FAA, EU and the International Civil Aviation Organization.
For General Electric, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)-led push to develop a variable-cycle engine for the next generation of combat aircraft is a blast from the past. After all, the company's variable-bypass YF120 still holds the record for supersonic cruise speed without afterburner, set in 1990 at Mach 1.6 on the Northrop YF-23 Advanced Tactical Fighter prototype.
Last fall, a bill to block U.S. air carriers from participating in the EU's emissions trading system flew through the House of Representatives. Now it appears stalled there until after the Nov. 6 elections, industry and congressional sources say. The bill, co-sponsored by Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), was approved by the Senate before the chamber adjourned for recess. Supporters had expressed hope that the House would consider the bill during its pro-forma session before the elections, but 435 members would need to say yes.
Jamail Larkins, the FAA's partner and honorary ambassador for aviation and space education since 2004, has been tapped to continue in the role. The president and CEO of Ascension Air, Larkins leads Embry-Riddle's DreamLaunch Tour, which promotes aviation career opportunities for America's youth.
The word “airmanship” reentered the common parlance when Capt. Chesley (Sully) Sullenberger, 3rd, and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles in early 2009 landed a fully booked US Airways A320 on the Hudson River after experiencing a loss of engines. Beyond discussions about the danger resulting from bird strikes and other technicalities, the two pilots demonstrated superior “airmanship.” A nice word, which says it all, although ignored by most dictionaries. It receives a mere four key words in the unabridged Webster's: skills in piloting or navigating an aircraft.
Kayce Kraft (see photo) has been selected as product line director for California of Corona-Calif.-based Circor Aerospace. He was aftermarket business team leader at Parker Hannifin Corp.
Boeing tried to get a restart of negotiations on a four-year contract proposal to the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace off on the right foot last week with language clarifications, a day after 96% of Speea members eligible to vote rejected its original offer. The company clarified language pertaining to medical, dental and long-term disability benefits and acknowledged the “overwhelming rejection” of its initial proposal.
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft returned Armavia's Superjet 100 on Oct. 2 after the two sides resolved their argument over delivery terms of two subsequent SSJ 100s on order. Armavia's first SSJ 100 regional aircraft had been parked in Russia for several months following a maintenance check because Armavia had threatened to cancel delivery of the second aircraft. It could not agree on a lease with Russian Vneshekonombank. Sukhoi said at that time Armavia owed $4 million for the first SSJ 100 plus maintenance costs. Armavia now leases that aircraft directly from the manufacturer.
