Spacecraft engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) hope to land the Mars Curiosity rover closer to its target than originally planned, moving the “sky crane” touchdown about 4 mi. nearer the base of the mountain where scientists seek to explore layers of sedimentary rock for evidence that a wetter Mars could have supported life.
The recent revelation that the U.S. may have used cyberworms to infiltrate Iranian centrifuges has Washington abuzz with leak rumors. But as politicians argue about whose lips should be zipped, the incident may bring out a more public discussion of cyberwarfare.
On your roster of MOH aviator recipients, Pfc. Raymond M. Clausen, Jr., is listed as “Crew Chief and Pilot.” He was a crew chief, but not a pilot. I was a pilot in HMM-263, Clausen's squadron at the time of the incident. Though I did not fly on the mission he was lauded for, I researched and wrote the original citation. The aircraft commander on the mission was Lt. Col. Walter Ledbetter, who received a Navy Cross; the co-pilot was Lt. Paul Parker, who received a Silver Star.
In “Sagas of Valor” the “Miracle at Kham Duc” describes the gallant action of Col. Joe M. Jackson. I am the proud owner of the oil painting by Keith Ferris that illustrates the article. It also is the cover art for my book, “Hit My Smoke—Forward Air Controllers in Southeast Asia.” The call sign for Jackson's C-123 was “Bookie 771.” The co-pilot was Maj. Jesse W. Campbell. The combat controllers who were rescued were Sgts. Mort Freedman and Jim Lundie. The third man rescued was Maj. John Gallagher, a C-130 pilot.
Low-cost carriers and charter operators in Central Europe face stiff competition, among themselves and from state carriers that “run on an emotional basis and are treated like they will go on forever,” says Sandor Szomora, deputy chief executive of Lufthansa Technik Budapest. Szomora, who worked for a Malev Hungarian Airlines joint venture before joining LHT, says these state carriers often are “not nimble or adaptive.”
Chris Monroe has been promoted to treasurer from senior financial analyst at Southwest Airlines. He succeeds Scott Topping, who left the airline last year.
New Zealand's government will face an uphill political battle convincing the public that buying 11 ex-Australian navy Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters makes sense. Nonetheless, officials seem convinced the purchase is worth the money.
The proliferation of low-cost unmanned aircraft has driven Thales back to embracing the concept of gun-based air defenses. “You cannot afford to use very expensive missiles” against such targets, says Laurent Dupont, who is in charge of advanced weapon systems at Thales. Its RapidFire system looks to take advantage of improvements in sensor accuracy and ammunitions to enable the gun air defense concept.
I am a the president of the one of the Distinguished Flying Cross Society chapters. Our chapter, 128 members strong, encompasses Arkansas and has representatives from WWII to the Korean and Vietnam wars and all branches of the service. Pilots, navigators, flight engineers, load masters and more contributed to the cause of freedom. One of our members—Lt. Col. Bob Hite—was copilot of the B-25 #16 Doolittle Raider and was a prisoner of war. We all wear our DFCs proudly. Thank you for the great article.
USAF Gen. Janet C. Wolfenbarger (see photo) has become the service's first female four-star general and has assumed the top position at Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. She succeeds Gen. Donald Hoffman, who is retiring after 42 years.
George Maffeo has been named president of Boeing Japan, succeeding Mike Denton, who is expected to retire in October. Maffeo was VP of 787 supplier management.
Concerned about the growing influence of foreign business jet manufacturers, the U.S. Congress charged the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) with examining the status of what has been a U.S.-dominated business, albeit one suffering from a severe, years-long economic downturn. When disseminated recently, the resulting report surely brought relief to Embraer—which it detailed as a formidable, but fair, competitor—yet the document might give some would-be participants pause.
Pramod K. Varshney has been selected to receive the 2012 IEEE Judith A. Resnik Award, sponsored by IEEE Aerospace and Electronics Systems, Control Systems and Engineering in Medicine and Biology Societies, Piscataway, N.J. Varshney is being honored for pioneering work on data fusion methods that have driven the proliferation of multisensory networks for the aerospace industry and other applications.
With the 2012 Summer Olympics just a month away, the U.S. government is poised to set a world record of its own—pulling in more than $50 billion in foreign weapons sales for the fiscal year that is not over yet. The previous record was set just last year—a tad more than $30 billion—says Andrew Shapiro, the assistant secretary of state for political military affairs. Two key sales are driving the U.S.
USAF Maj. Gen. Kenneth D. Merchant has been named program executive officer for weapons at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center of Air Force Materiel Command, Eglin AFB, Fla. He has been commander of the Air Armament Center and Air Force program executive officer for weapons. Maj. Gen. Craig S. Olson is the new program executive officer for command, control and communications information and networks at the command's Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Hanscom AFB, Mass.
By Jens Flottau, Adrian Schofield, Bradley Perrett
India and Latin America, among the fastest-growing air transport markets, are catching the attention of the global airline alliances, and Oneworld is the one gaining in both of them.
Pramod K. Varshney has been selected to receive the 2012 IEEE Judith A. Resnik Award, sponsored by IEEE Aerospace and Electronics Systems, Control Systems and Engineering in Medicine and Biology Societies, Piscataway, N.J. Varshney is being honored for pioneering work on data fusion methods that have driven the proliferation of multisensory networks for the aerospace industry and other applications.
Colin McGregor has been appointed general manager for project operations for Algae Tec, Perth, Australia. He was director of a fuel efficiency program for a major international carrier.
Marco Laos has been named quality assurance manager for Heads Up Technologies, Carrollton, Texas. He was director of quality engineering at St. Jude Medical.
It is, without a doubt, a big win for an industry that has been waiting a long time for good news. In the largest business-jet order ever tendered, NetJets agreed to buy up to 425 new business jets from Bombardier and Cessna as part of a 10-year plan to overhaul its fleet. The value of the deals would reach $9.6 billion, if the world's largest fractional ownership operator exercises all of its options for Bombardier Challenger 300 series and 605s and Cessna Citation Latitudes.
Ralph Crosby, Jr., chairman/CEO of EADS North America, has been awarded the Tyson's Corner, Va.-based National Defense Industrial Association's James Forrestal Industry Leadership Medal in recognition of his corporate leadership and commitment to a robust defense-industrial base, in particular the development of the B-2 bomber.
