The Lockheed Martin/Boeing DarkStar unpiloted surveillance aircraft crashed during takeoff on its second flight yesterday at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. There was no property damage or injuries on the ground, NASA reported. The stealthy, turbofan-powered vehicle, with a wingspan of 69 feet and weight of 8,600 pounds, "had been flying under the guidance of mission controllers at Dryden during takeoff when the accident occurred," NASA said. The crash, at 11:22 a.m., PDT, destroyed the vehicle.
Although an advocate of eliminating military specifications and standards where possible, the U.S. Navy's top acquisition officer acknowledges that without such specs, test pilots will have to find a new way to retain corporate knowledge. "There was an awful lot of knowledge there that was captured," Vice Adm. William Bowes said of flight testing in the milspec era. "We have to find a way of keeping that knowledge" in the new era.
General Electric Company, General Electric Aircraft Engines, Cincinnati, Ohio, is being awarded a $10,000,000 cost-plus fixed-fee contract for a basic Research and Development Task Order Contract for the Engine Model Derivative Program (EMDP) which conducts propulsion studies and analysis necessary to identify air vehicle propulsion systems capabilities enhancements/cost ownership reductions, and to select propulsion options to meet emerging warfighter needs. Contract is expected to be completed in December 1998.
The U.S. Air Force yesterday selected Rockwell International over a team of Lockheed Martin and Hughes to build its newest Global Positioning System satellites, a program estimated to be worth about $3.6 billion.
Spaceport Systems International, Lompoc, Calif., is being awarded a $6,000,000.00-NTE firm fixed price contract for possible future launch services for the Launch Test Program within the Space and Missile Test and Evaluation Directorate. Multiple awards are being made and contract recipient has the potential to earn up to $6M. Future launches will be competed among the four contract recipients. Spaceport Systems International is awarded the basic contract as well as Task Order 0001 for the Launch Base Processing Plan and Interface Control Document.
Northrop Grumman Corporation, Military Aircraft Systems Division, El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded a $26,507,456 firm-fixed-price contract for 120 BQM-74E aerial targets, 36 mission essential launch kits and associated technical data. This contract contains three options which, if exercised, will have a total contract value of $131,000,000. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California, and is expected to be completed by December 2000. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
Spaceport Florida Authority, Cocoa Beach Fla., is being awarded a $6,000,000.00-NTE firm fixed price contract for possible future launch services for the Launch Test Program within the Space and Missile Test and Evaluation Directorate. Multiple awards are being made and contract recipient has the potential to earn up to $6M. Future launches will be competed among the four contract recipients. Spaceport Florida Authority is awarded the basic contract as well as Task Order 0001 for the Launch Base Processing Plan and Interface Control Document.
Boeing Co. said Friday it has formed a new unit called Aviation Systems to focus on domestic and international air traffic management markets. Nancy Price, former president of Hughes Canada Systems Div. where she was responsible for all Hughes air traffic control programs in Canada, was named VP of the new unit.
Ray A. Crockett has been named director of communications for Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems. Before joining the company, Crockett was a manager of public affairs at ITT Aerospace/Communications Division in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Pakistan wants the U.S. to hand over the Lockheed Martin F-16s it ordered - and paid for - six years ago, and is ready to go to court to get the planes or the money. "There is a legal option here," says Foreign Secretary Najmuddin Sheikh, meaning Islamabad may turn to the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands. The so-called Pressler Amendment, passed in 1990, bans the sale of certain classes of hardware to countries the U.S. suspects of developing nuclear weapons.
Karen Watson, who most recently served as director, office of public affairs for the Federal Communications Commission, has been appointed director of governmental and public affairs.
Airbus Industrie booked more orders in the first three and a half months of 1996 than it did for all of 1995, and the European consortium says it plans to hike delivery rates to respond to demand. Airbus' goal was to sell 160 planes this year - since (Cont. p. 127) Jan. 1, eight customers have already ordered 129 aircraft. So the consortium plans to deliver 135 aircraft this year, and then boost rates by more than a third to deliver 185 aircraft in 1997.
The profit picture for BFGoodrich may be better than many on Wall Street will acknowledge, with strong aerospace spares sales and a pick-up in original equipment manufacturer (OEM) work raising the prospect of better-than-expected earnings this year for the company, investment house Merrill Lynch believes.
Carl Muscari, former president and CEO of EXOS, Inc., Boston, Mass., was appointed president of the company's Acuity Imaging subsidiary in Nashua, N. H.
Lyle A. Cox, Jr. has joined the public service research institute as vice president for corporate development. Prior to joining ANSER, he was vice president and chief technical officer at Science Applications International Corp.
Charles F. Lyke was named vice president and general manager of the Aerospace Marine Defnse (AMD) Fluid Power Group. Lyke previously was general manager of the division.
The U.S. Air Force last week was instructed by Pentagon leadership to stop spending operations and maintenance funds on the SR-71 reconnaissance plane after they realized the congressional intelligence committees never authorized the funds to be spent.
Randolph K. Piechocki has been appointed vice president and general manager of the company's Satellite Telephone Service (STS) Division. Piechocki comes to AMSC from TIE Systems, Inc. where he was president of the $100 million telecommunications company.
Douglas Aircraft expects to start sharing its ideas for a longer range follow-on to the MD-11 trijet with airline customers sometime in the second or third quarter, McDonnell Douglas' top financial executive said. "It's something we've studied over the last six to nine months," Jim Palmer told reporters Thursday during a conference call to discuss first- quarter financial results (DAILY, April 19). "We have made progress in those various studies and we think we have a concept that is attractive at this point in time."
Senate defense authorizers are slated to vote as early as Tuesday on passage of the "Defend America Act," a freestanding bill that calls for deployment of a national missile defense system by 2003 to protect all 50 states. Republicans wanted to move the bill out of committee last week but acquiesced to panel Democrats who didn't want to act while President Clinton is in Russia. Because Democrats believe it will affect arms control agreements, they didn't want to "pull the rug out from under the president while he is meeting with Russian leaders," a Democratic aide says.
The National Reconnaissance Office last week released the names of a seven-member team to review the agency in the wake of recent turmoil. Acting NRO director Keith Hall ordered the review to better understand what direction the spy satellite agency is heading after its former director and deputy director were fired (DAILY, April 4). The review, slated to wind up in June, will study a number of issues, including the proper mix of large and small satellites for the agency.
Quick reconciliation between Beijing and Washington could help Boeing recover from China's decision this month to give Airbus the nod to supply 30 A320 narrowbodies over a competing Boeing proposal, a top Boeing executive suggested last week.
