Orbital Sciences Corp. has launched the TacSat-4 spacecraft on a Minotaur IV rocket from the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska, placing the U.S. Navy satellite in its highly elliptical polar orbit. The satellite separated 28 min. after the Sept. 27 launch into its targeted 115 X 7,415-mi. orbit. From there, it will be able to provide 2 hr. of coverage three times a day over a warfighting theater 2,000 nm in diameter, according to the Office of Naval Research.
Virgin Galactic is close to finalizing the initial flight crews for its space tourism and science operations. Three pilots will make up the first cadre of crew who will fly the SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle and WhiteKnightTwo mothership.
Ginger Wierzbanowski (see photo) has been named Falls Church, Va.-based VP-government relations special projects for the Northrop Grumman Corp. She was legislative assistant to the vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In sharp contrast to the indifference that long prevailed, French politicians have made their voices heard on aerospace matters in recent weeks. Right-wing French parliament member Bernard Carayon and his allies tried hard to convince Air France not to buy Boeing 787s and to plan instead on an Airbus-only fleet.
Stephen Paddy (see photo) has joined ExecuJet Africa, headquartered in Zurich, as regional sales and marketing director. He remains chairman of the Simang Group, which will take a 30% stake in the business aviation company.
Actor and film producer John Travolta has been named business aircraft brand ambassador for Learjet, Challenger and Global jets by Bombardier Aerospace, Dorval, Quebec. Travolta is a pilot qualified to fly 11 aircraft types.
European Union emission allowance (EUA) prices fell back in September amid macroeconomic jitters after rallying through the second half of August. A nervous mood has persisted in the carbon market as EU leaders struggle to find a meaningful solution to the Greek debt problem, which has cast a dark shadow over European stock and commodity markets this year. EUAs for December 2011 delivery fell from a recent high of €13.49 ($18.42) per metric ton on Aug. 30 to €10.76 on Sept. 27, only just above the 29-month low of €10.70 seen on Aug. 5.
To repeat the same action over and over and expect different results is one definition of madness. So it would seem with the U.S. Army's latest Joint Multi-Role (JMR) program study, “Spinning Up” (AW&ST Sept. 12, p. 30). Similar experimental aircraft trials as far back as the mid-1950s have produced pretty much the same results. The tiltrotor design in the article is yet another example.
A Chilean court's demand that LAN Airlines and Grupo TAM sacrifice one of their alliance memberships to proceed with their merger is a fitting milestone for what appears to be the end of an era for the global airline groups.
George Whitesides is a long-time advocate of commercial human spaceflight. He helped shift NASA's post-shuttle policy to reliance on commercial spaceflight as NASA's chief of staff at the beginning of the Obama administration, and he is now working to make his dreams a reality as CEO of Virgin Galactic.
Skyteam has accepted Taiwan's China Airlines as its 15th member and announced a switch in focus to improved integration of ground services rather than continued rapid expansion. SkyTeam is not talking to Virgin Atlantic Airways about joining, but some members may be seeking to cooperate individually. SkyTeam now has three members in China and Taiwan.
Lufthansa placed orders for 12 additional aircraft to continue its fleet renewal: two Airbus A380s, one A330-300, four A320s and five Embraer E-195s. The two A380s will be delivered in 2014 and complement an existing order for 15 of the type, eight of which have been delivered.
As Lockheed Martin enters the crucial final months to closing out F-35 testing goals by year-end—worth millions of dollars—it is once again predicting improved per-unit-cost performance on production. Though year-over-year improvement has been made in reducing the price, this progress may not be enough. The program continues to take hits for high cost and late deliveries, as customer countries struggle with their growing national debts.
Pierre Sparaco's “Muddled Vision” (AW&ST Sept. 19, p. 21) about Boeing's failure to match Airbus's A320NEO proposal was on target. Boeing must accept the fact that Airbus is—and has been for some time—a “peer competitor” in the truest definition of the term.
Since the final shuttle flight, the U.S. has pondered the course to space. From proposed civil ventures to new civil entities, all miss a key factor. The point of diminishing returns in transport-to-space propulsion—with single- or multi-stage-to-space designs tied to engines that provide insufficient thrust and efficiency gains—has been reached.
In Feedback, reader Harry White writes: “Airbus should be ordered to install control columns and yokes in all its airliner aircraft” (AW&ST Sept. 19, p. 10). As an A330 captain and instructor, I feel qualified to point out some critical errors in this assessment of how Airbus fly-by-wire systems operate.
Mark Wilford (see photo) has been appointed chairman of the Global Aerospace Div. of Willis Group Holdings of London, succeeding Andre Clerc, who is scheduled to retire at year-end. Wilford comes from Rolls-Royce, where he was responsible for the development and operation of insurance, enterprise risk management and security. Philip Smaje was named CEO and Garrett Hanrahan president of the division. Smaje has been with the group since 1988 and is based in London, while Hanrahan joined the company in 2008 and is based in Dallas.
Bob Jordan has been promoted to executive VP and chief commercial officer from EVP-strategy and planning at Southwest Airlines. He will retain his role as president of subsidiary AirTran Airways. Jeff Lamb has been elevated to EVP and chief human resources and administrative officer from senior VP and Ellen Torbert to VP-diversity and inclusion from VP-customer support and services.
Jeff Messmer has been named operations manager at West Star Aviation's new facility at Spirit of St. Louis Airport, Chesterfield, Mo. He was Bombardier customer support manager for Midcoast Aviation.
Robin Wohnsigl, founder of and consultant with RW Aviation Advisers, and Claude Haw, founder of Mindtrust and The Ottawa Network, have joined the board of directors of Mxi Technologies of Ottawa.
Peter de Vries (see photo) is the new sales manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa at KDW Microtag, Dresden, Germany. He has held leading positions in the RFID/ID sector, notably with Sokymant and HID Global.
Rustan Nicander has been appointed chairman of Saab's new U.K. defense business. He was VP and head of Region Europe. Peter Hultin is the new managing director. He was senior director-business development for several Saab units.
Chi Yan, Michael Bai and Jenny Van Le have been added to Los Angeles-based Air Lease Corp.'s executive team as VPs. All three were executives at the International Lease Finance Corp.
