NASA's inspector general has concluded the space agency could collect about $3.1 million from Boeing's Rocketdyne unit in rent on facilities at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) for commercial activities there. In a report issued Sept. 30 the inspector general found that NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center failed to charge Rocketdyne rent on the government-owned, contractor-operated rocket engine test facility in Ventura County near Los Angeles for commercial testing carried out there.
Several U.S. federal agencies, including NASA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Intelligence Mapping Agency are working on an interagency competitive solicitation for work on the "Digital Earth" data base proposed by Vice President Gore.
Lufthansa has placed an order for 10 firm and seven option Airbus A340-300 jetliners powered by CFM56 engines. The engine order is valued at $350 million. Lufthansa Cargo, meanwhile, selected the General Electric CF6-80C2 engine to power six MD-11s. This engine order was valued at $150 million.
Sabreliner Corp. has won a five-year U.S. Army contract with a potential value of $15 million to repair and overhaul Allison T703 engines for OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopters. The work will be carried out by Sabreliner's Premier Turbines facilities in Neosho, Mo., and Independence, Kan. The T703 is the military equivalent of the model 250-C30R. The initial award is $4.2 million.
In response to a question from Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) on balancing near- and long-term needs, U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael E. Ryan tells the Senate Armed Services Committee that "there are technologies out there that we must have," such as stealth, airborne laser and space-based laser, "capabilities that are revolutionary."
The U.S. Air Force would like to have a program in place that would provide a space maneuver test vehicle by 2002 or 2003, says National Reconnaissance Office Director Keith Hall, who is also assistant secretary of the Air Force for space. But, he adds, "resources make it difficult to finance everything we'd like to do." The Air Force wants to partner with NASA for some aspects of this program, Hall says, and also leverage NASA efforts in other areas, like mircrosatellites.
Running behind on its F-22 flight test schedule, the U.S. Air Force plans an intense couple of weeks of flight testing to catch up. Congress wants the aircraft to fly 183 hours - about 4% of the test program - by the end of November to clear the way for the start of production in December. So far, the AF has flown less than half the required hours. But the pace is expected to pick up with two F-22s now at Edwards AFB, Calif. Each is scheduled to fly every day. Technical problems or bad weather, however, could ruin the plan.
Flight testing of the High Band Prototype signals intelligence system on an EP-3 aircraft has been completed in the U.S. and will continue overseas as the aircraft moves to Rota, Spain. The system met government requirements for domestic flight testing, according to HBP prime contractor TRW. TRW has been developing the system under a $128 million contract from the U.S. Air Force since 1995. It is now on contract to develop the follow-on, the High Band Subsystem.
Lockheed Martin Astronautics delivered NASA's Mars Polar Lander on Thursday to Kennedy Space Center, Fla., where it will be prepared for a January 1999 launch to the south pole of Mars. A U.S. Air Force C-17 airlifter flew the spacecraft from the Lockheed Martin facility in Denver, where it was built, to KSC. It will be readied for launch in NASA's Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility-2 and mounted on a Boeing Delta II for the estimated Jan. 3 launch date.
"Detailed analysis" shows that National Missile Defense basing should be in Alaska, which would require a change in the ABM Treaty with Russia, Deputy Defense Secretary John J. Hamre testified Friday.
The AF hopes to notch the first supersonic flight of an F-22 in the next couple of days. The event is one of several milestones the service said it would achieve before moving into production. Most of the required milestones have been achieved, including angle of attack greater than 18 degrees and ground vibration testing.
When the defense authorization conference report clears Congress, the military committees usually shut down for the year. This time it's different. With President Clinton promising to address longer term readiness in the context of the fiscal year 2000 budget review, the Senate Armed Services Committee last week highlighted shortfalls in readiness as the service chiefs outlined $17 billion in additional FY 2000 needs. Sen.
NASA and the Russian Space Agency have agreed that the first elements of the International Space Station can be launched as planned in November and December, but only if the U.S. Congress approves a $60 million payment by the end of this week to help Russia finish work on the critical Service Module.
The U.S. could pick up one or two upcoming satellite launches that are currently planned for Chinese boosters, but whether this would actually happen depends on a number of factors, including orbit requirements and what's needed to integrate a payload with a different launcher, Congress was told yesterday by the Director of the National Reconnaissance Office. Keith Hall testified at a joint hearing of the House Science Committee's space and aeronautics subcommittee and the House National Security Committee's research and development panel.
RAE SYSTEMS INC., Sunnyvale, Calif., has won a four-year, multi-million dollar contract from U.S. Naval Air Systems Command for a monitoring system to measure explosivity and toxicity of JP-5 and JP-8 jet fuels.
LOCKHEED MARTIN has won a seven-year, $2 billion contract to support the U.S. Air Force's fleet of F-117 stealth aircraft. The contract, to run until Sept. 30, 2006, calls for Lockheed Martin to provide logistics support.
Comair said yesterday it has signed a $1 billion, 10-year agreement with Bombardier Aerospace of Canada for 50 additional Regional Jets - 20 new 70-passenger CRJ-700 aircraft, marking Comair's first order of the type, and 30 50-seat CRJ-100 series, all powered by General Electric CF34 engines. GE said deal will bring it more than $140 million.
The U.S. Navy awarded a $4.2 billion contract to General Dynamics and Newport News Shipbuilding under which they will share construction of the first four submarines of the SSN-774 Virginia class, formerly known as the New Attack Submarine. Under the Naval Sea Systems contract, $1.1 billion of which was awarded Wednesday, GD's Electric Boat will deliver the first and third ships of the class and Newport News Shipbuilding will deliver the second and fourth.
Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, announced changes in leadership of its Business Development organization and its launch vehicle product line. Matthew Foster has been promoted to vice president Business Development and Advanced Programs, succeeding B. Clovis Landry, who has been named VP technology for Lockheed Martin's Information&Services Sector in Bethesda, Md.
Launch of the Sirius satellite on an Ariane rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, is on schedule for Oct. 5, according to Hughes Space and Communications Co., maker of the satellite. Hughes said the launch, during a window that opens at 22:51 GMT (18:51 EDT), will be its seventh of the year. The HS 376 satellite, built for Sweden's Nordiska Satellitaktiebolaget (NSAB), will provide direct-to-home television services to the Scandinavian region, Hughes said.
RAYTHEON CO. said that Herbert Deitcher, the company's treasurer and a senior vice president, died at his home in Lynnfield, Mass., on Sept. 27 at the age of 64. He had suffered from a long illness. Peter R. D'Angelo, the chief financial officer and executive vice president, will serve as acting treasurer until a successor is named, Raytheon said.
The Senate yesterday, in a 96-2 vote, passed the 1999 defense authorization conference report, which provides $270.5 billion. Sens. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) voted against the bill. Two of the Senate's biggest defense supporters - John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) - strongly objected to portions of the bill. McCain strongly criticized the bill for containing $4.5 billion in earmarks. He was angry by the high cost of the Air Force's C-130J airlifter, and delays in the program.
Integral Systems of Lanham, Md., a provider of satellite ground systems, said it is postponing indefinitely its proposed secondary stock offering. Steven R. Chamberlain, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "After conferring with our underwriters, we concluded that current market conditions are not conducive to an offering that meets the company's objectives."
First operational use of the MILES 2000 tactical engagement simulation system in the U.S. is set for Oct. 5, when the Army's Ranger Training Brigade at Ft. Benning, Ga., will introduce it into training rotations. Cubic Corp., which makes the system, said the Army will put the system through a full range of operational scenarios before full fielding at Ft. Stewart Ga., in the summer of 1999.
