NASA MANAGERS said yesterday they consider it only a "remote" possibility that Argentina's Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas (SAC-B) will revive to perform limited science from its position stuck to the Pegasus XL third stage that orbited it and another satellite (DAILY, Nov. 5, 6). In a statement, the U.S. space agency said the spacecraft batteries were depleted by efforts to stop it tumbling, and it was considered unlikely that the tumbling would eventually slow to the extent the satellite's deployed solar arrays could recharge the batteries.jab 11/7
A joint venture between Texas Instruments Inc. and BBN Corp. won a $60 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to support the Advanced Logistics Program (ALP). The companies said the five-year contract will be split equally between the two members of BBN/TI Advanced Logistics Program Integration and Engineering (ALPINE) team.
USAir yesterday kicked off potentially one of the largest engine competitions ever, agreeing to an "aggressively priced" deal for at least 120 and perhaps as many as 400 Airbus Industrie narrowbodies and setting the stage for an equally fierce price war between A320 family enginemakers CFM International and International Aero Engines (IAE).
Development of the follow-on to the U.S. Army's Joint Tactical Ground Station is awaiting the U.S. Air Force's downselect in coming weeks in Space-Based Infrared System program, an Army official said, noting that the move is being made to assure maximum coordination between the two missile warning efforts.
The re-election of President Clinton and consolidation of Republican control of Congress is sure to revive disputes over intelligence community (IC) reform. Three weeks ago, Clinton reluctantly signed the fiscal year 1997 intelligence authorization bill, which called for IC reforms (DAILY, Oct. 15).
SPACE IMAGING, the Colorado-based company preparing to launch a commercial remote sensing satellite next year with 1-meter resolution, has acquired a worldwide distribution system with the purchase of EOSAT from Lockheed Martin.
Yesterday's elections, for the most part, produced status quo results, leaving control of Congress in the hands of the Republicans and very little change on key defense and space panels. The outcome appears to have dashed the hopes of the Democrats for regaining the House and Senate and the Republicans' desire to bolster their seats to be strong enough to override presidential vetoes.
China Northwest Airlines gave AlliedSignal Engines' 36 Series auxiliary power unit the nod for 10 new Airbus A320 narrowbody twins in a deal worth $21 million. The Chinese state-run carrier chose the 36-300-4 APU, a 415 shp engine that can start and operate at altitudes up to 39,000 feet. The -4 is an improved version of the basic 36-300, and includes a new technology, dual-alloy radial turbine wheel and other design improvements, AlliedSignal said. The order also extends AlliedSignal Engines' growing lead in China.
Japanese air safety investigators think fatigue led to a blade failure in an engine powering a Garuda Indonesia Airlines Douglas DC-10 trijet that crashed June 13 in Fukuoka, Japan, during a takeoff roll. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee, or AAIC, found that one of 80 turbine blades in the first stage of the No. 3 engine's high-pressure turbine broke at its root, and AAIC plans to send investigators to Djakarta this month to study Garuda's maintenance practices.
Fast-growing Kellstrom Industries' deal to buy aircraft engine and component reseller International Aircraft Support, or IASI, (DAILY, Oct. 31), should give a big boost to Kellstrom's expansion plans, particularly in the Pacific Rim, company executives say. Kellstrom said last week that for about $26.5 million and the assumption of certain liabilities it will get enough new work to double in size.
Only two weeks after the fatal crash of a Million Air cargo Boeing 707 in Ecuador, the country's Civil Aviation Dept. is blaming the incident on an engine failure. A brief government statement said that while accident investigators have yet to file their official report, the aircraft "apparently suffered a loss of power in the No. 3 motor seven seconds after takeoff." The aircraft was powered by four Pratt&Whitney JT3D-3B engines, and the third engine is on right side of the aircraft at the inboard station.
Defense Secretary William Perry has told President Clinton he plans to resign, but has offered to remain at the Pentagon until plans for his succession have been finalized, a senior defense official said yesterday. Perry's move was not unexpected and other cabinet officers are doing the same, taking the chance to leave as Clinton is re-elected. At the Pentagon, other top officials will remain for at least several more months, including Air Force Secretary Sheila Widnall.
UPPER-LEVEL WINDS over Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla., forced a one-day delay in launching NASA's Mars Global Surveyor yesterday, with a retry scheduled for noon EST today. A second window for the 435 million-mile trip to the Red Planet opens at 1:05 p.m. EST if the Delta II carrying the Mars orbiter can't lift off on the first opportunity. Meanwhile, Russian Space Agency planners have reset the launch of Russia's Mars '96 probe back to its original Nov. 16 launch date. The date had slipped by four days because of technical problems (DAILY, Nov.
McDonnell Douglas is quietly moving ahead with its MD-17 program to develop the market for a civilian version of its Pratt&Whitney-powered C-17 airlifter, laying the groundwork for sales of another 350 or so PW2000 Series medium turbofans to support that application.
McDonnell Douglas and Rockwell's Rocketdyne engine unit successfully tested the thrust chamber for their planned new RS-68 cryo-engine on Oct. 31, marking the first milestone in full-scale development of the 650,000- lbst. RS-68, aimed at the U.S. Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle contest. Technicians at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center ignited liquid oxygen and hydrogen at 100% chamber pressure, validating start-up and full-thrust performance, says Dave Schweikle, MDC's EELV program chief.
LOCKHEED MARTIN's Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasure (IDECM) radio frequency subsystem has been picked by Rockwell International as the cornerstone of its B-1B Defensive System Upgrade Program, Lockheed Martin said yesterday. RI has been evaluating various DSUP options for the past year, but IDECM, in development with Lockheed Martin's Sanders unit, has been the front runner for some time (DAILY, Aug. 25, 1995).
President Clinton's re-election and the Republicans' retention of control in the House and Senate means the outlook for defense in the next Congress is likely to be a reflection of the past two years, with Congress continuing to get most of what it wants in increased funding and Clinton getting his way on policy initiatives. As of mid-day yesterday, the Republicans held a 54-45 majority in the Senate, with the Oregon race considered too close to call. Before Tuesday's elections, they had a 53-47 majority.
McDonnell Douglas said it plans to invest $37 million in new aircraft machine tools at its Long Beach, Calif., C-17 assembly plant. It said the move was designed to increase production efficiency, and was triggered by U.S. government plans to go ahead with the purchase of 120 C-17s (DAILY, April 26). An additional $8 million will be spent to study other possible automation areas.
More Company's Maintenance On Reliable Engines (MORE) Program - an engine condition monitoring program designed to extend the life of Pratt&Whitney PT6A engines and reduce their repair costs - won approval from the Brazilian government. MORE officials said Brazil is home to the third largest population of PT6A engines. The program includes engine condition trend monitoring, borescope inspection, spectrometric oil analysis and vibration analysis.
Ground controllers were unable yesterday to draw a response from the Argentine scientific satellite left attached to its Pegasus XL third stage after it reached orbit Monday, but stopped sort of declaring the platform dead even though its batteries were not strong enough to power its transmitter.
The U.S. Air Force is soliciting trade studies for an Advanced Airbreathing Dual-Range Missile (AADRM) that would be able to hit enemy aircraft at both very close range and as far away as 100 nautical miles. The AF said in a Nov. 6 Commerce Business Daily notice that it is considering multiple contract awards for the studies. They are to identify technological issues in the areas of aeromechanics, propulsion and flight controls to field AADRM before the year 2020, according to the Armament Directorate of the Wright Laboratory, Eglin AFB, Fla.
U.S. aerospace and defense companies avoided the overall slowdown in third quarter performance, analysts said. While most American corporations reported lower gains in earnings, they said, the aerospace and defense industry continued strong, with some companies producing record numbers. "They've been consistently good," said Paul Nisbet, president of JSA Research. "We really haven't seen a weak quarter for the group. Once in a while you'll have a weak one like Raytheon, but certainly they've been strong in the third quarter [overall]."
BOEING AEROSPACE OPERATIONS INC., Cocao Beach, Fla., received an extension from the U.S. Air Force's Ogden Air Logistics Center to continue contractor logistics support of Minuteman and Peacekeeper ICBM procedures trainers, the company said yesterday. The five-year award, valued at $13 million, continues work Boeing has provided since 1988.
McDonnell Douglas is designing the electronics package of its F/A-18 Command and Control Warfare airplane to be largely usable on a U.S. Air Force F-15 in case the AF again assumes the standoff jamming mission, company officials said.
Raytheon Electronic Systems won a $9.9 million contract from the U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) to provide High Data Rate (HDR), multi-band satellite communication terminals on submarines, the company said.
