Russia's federal budget for 1996, endorsed by President Yeltsin on Dec. 31, 1995, features just three lines explicitly linked to space activity, and the precise amount of the national space budget remains unclear, as more space-related funds are hidden in a variety of other budget lines.
Lockheed Martin Missiles&Space Co. has eliminated its three operating divisions in a major reorganization that will cut an entire layer of management at the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Lockheed Martin unit. A company spokesman said managers and supervisors were told Monday that the change, which eliminates the old missiles, space and research and development divisions, will allow the company to complete a reduction of about 1,950 jobs announced last year.
MCDONNELL DOUGLAS CORP., St. Louis, will retrofit of a fifth Avionics Multiplex (AVMUX) bus system into F/A-18A/B aircraft in support of the retrofit of ECP-521 Embedded Global Positioning System (GPS)/Inertial Navigation System (INS) (EGI) into F/A-18s. Naval Air Systems Command said in a Dec. 22 Commerce Business Daily notice that it would negotiate with the company for the effort on a sole source basis.
U.S. NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND is issuing a request for proposals for engineering and manufacturing development of a Low Probability of Intercept Altimeter Receiver Transmitter (LPIA RT) to replace the following existing Navy altimeter receiver transmitters: RT-1015, RT-1015A, RT-1042&RT- 1042/APN-194. NavAir said in a Dec. 22 Commerce Business Daily notice that the contract will cover 6 to 15 units, and two production options of 25 to 200 units each.
SMITHS INDUSTRIES, Grand Rapids, Mich., was awarded a $5.6 million contract for integration of the Dual Inertial Navigation Unit, Global Positioning System, Automatic Communication System, and Microwave Landing System into the Self Contained Navigation System on seven HC-130P/N aircraft. The U.S. Air Force's Warner Robins Air Logistics Center awarded the contract on Dec. 18.
Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata used the robot arm on the Space Shuttle Endeavour yesterday to recover a NASA free-flyer he had placed in orbit two days earlier, but an unusually severe ice buildup in a cooling system threatened to bring Endeavour's crew home a day early if it can't be fixed.
BFGoodrich Aerospace announced last week it has been selected to provide three major utility subsystems for Lockheed Martin's JAST concept demonstrator. Lockheed Martin is in competition with Boeing and McDonnell Douglas to win one of two spots in the Joint Advanced Strike Technology demonstration phase, which will include the building of at least two demonstrator aircraft DAILY, Dec. 19, 1995). The Pentagon is scheduled to announce its downselect in October.
Parker Hannifin agreed yesterday to buy the aerospace assets of Pnuemo Abex Corp.'s Abex/NWL Div. for $193 million, and will combine the unit with its Parker Bertea Aerospace operation to create a broad-based subcomponent supply house once the deal closes in March or April.
Three large U.S.-built telecommunications satellites were launched over the weekend - two Hughes products aboard a single Ariane booster and a Lockheed Martin Astro Space platform atop a McDonnell Douglas Delta II. The Ariane 44L, with four liquid-fueled strap-on boosters, lifted off from the European space center in Kourou, French Guiana, at 6:10 p.m. EST Friday, carrying PanAmSat 3R and Measat 1.
British Airways kicked off a jetliner competition yesterday that could be worth $1 billion to the winning airframer, inviting bids from Airbus Industrie, British Aerospace, Boeing, Fokker and McDonnell Douglas to supply as many as 60 regional aircraft. The carrier said it needs to replace Boeing 737-200s, adding that noise will be a key factor in its decision. Bob Ayling, the carrier's chief executive, noted that his team is already studying whether to install hushkits on some of its existing Boeing 727-200 trijets.
The dozen McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III airlifters assigned to support Operation Joint Endeavor missions in and around Bosnia are turning in mission-capable rates as high as 95%, the latest U.S. Air Force data suggest.
Japan's newly elected prime minister, Ryutaro Hashimoto, has nominated four top Liberal Democrats for cabinet posts dealing with aerospace and defense issues. Hideo Usui, 57, the former chairman of the Science and Technology Committee of Japan's lower house, was nominated as defense minister, while another former Committee chairman, Hidenao Nakagawa, 51, was named science and technology minister.
The intelligent transportation infrastructure (ITI) unveiled by U.S. Transportation Secretary Federico Pena last week will cost at least $10 billion over the next 10 years - about half of it to be spent for systems based on currently available off-the-shelf technology - Pena said at a news conference following his speech before the Transportation Research Board annual meeting.
RAYTHEON CO., Electronic Systems Div., Bedford, Mass., received a $12 million modification to an earlier sole source contract for communications enhancement production and spares for The Netherlands and Kuwait. U.S. Army Missile Command awarded the contract Dec. 13.
UNITED DEFENSE L.P., Ground Systems Div., York, Pa., was awarded an additional $56.7 million under a sole source contract for 97 Cavalry Fighting Vehicles for the A0-A2 remanufacturing effort, and five Infantry Fighting Vehicles for the A0-A2 remanufacturing effort. U.S. Army Tank- Automotive and Armaments Command awarded the contract Dec. 22.
TRW SYSTEMS OVERSEAS, INC., Redondo Beach, Calif., was awarded a $39.6 million contract for force modernization for the Infantry Corps of the Royal Saudi Land Forces. The effort includes development of fielding plans and training programs, management of Tables of Organizations and Equipment (TO&E), automation modernization and sustainment, and other tasks for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle Systems. The contract was let Dec. 21 by U.S. Army Tank Automotive Command.
GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE says that while the M198 howitzers used by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps have maintenance problems, they aren't severe enough to warrant speeding up a program to replace the weapon. The two services want to replace the 15,600-pound M198, introduced in 1979, with a light-weight weapon to improve ground and air mobility, and ease the burden on crews. The report, GAO/NSIAD-96-59, was released Dec. 27.
TELEDYNE RYAN announced that the Tier II Plus high altitude endurance UAV will be called Global Hawk. The name was chosen to reflect both the UAV platform's ability to loiter 24 hours and the payload's staring capability, a company spokesman said last week.
TRIMBLE NAVIGATION, Sunnyvale, Calif., will provide 800 Stand-alone Airborne GPS Receivers (SAGRS) for helicopters under a contract from U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. The contract includes an option for 200 additional units. Trimble said it will supply Centurion GPS receivers to replace Trimpacks which have been in use since Desert Storm. The Centurion upgrade allows Army personnel to take advantage of advanced GPS receiver technology and P(Y) code operations, Trimble said.
LOCKHEED MARTIN ORDNANCE SYSTEMS, Burlington, Vt., received $72.2 million under a sole source contract for 17 Light Armored Vehicle Air Defense systems with technical data, operator and maintenance training and supporting spare parts. The contract was awarded Dec. 22 by the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command. Also on Dec. 22, the company was awarded a $16.7 million modification to an earlier contract for 51,664 120mm Mortar High Explosive Cartridge M933, and 112 120mm High Explosive Cartridges M934 in support of 120mm Battalion Mortar Systems.
The U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin and Westinghouse $164.8 million to kick off production of the Longbow Hellfire missile system. The agreement between the Army and the Longbow Limited Liability Company - a Lockheed Martin, Westinghouse joint venture - was signed Dec. 14 along with the Army-McDonnell Douglas agreement to begin remanufacture of AH-64 Apache helicopters to the Longbow AH-64D configuration. The contract includes a low rate initial production order for 352 missiles and 123 launchers, the contractors said last week.
Crewmen aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour practiced Space Station assembly early yesterday, after collecting Japan's Space Flyer Unit (SFU) from orbit Saturday and deploying a NASA free-flyer designed to study spacecraft contamination and other phenomena during a two-day sojourn in orbit.
Republican defense conferees, trying to put together a second fiscal 1996 defense authorization conference report that President Clinton will sign, want to narrow the new report down to three issues they figure as a minimum must be addressed, congressional sources confirmed yesterday. In addition to the high-profile national missile defense issue, GOP conferees also want to address contingency operations and United Nations command and control, sources said.
The makeup of the new defense authorization conference appears to be tilted in favor of a missile defense compromise that President Clinton will accept. Among the seven Senate conferees are Sens. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), Carl Levin (D-Mich.), John Warner (R-Va.) and William S. Cohen (R-Maine), who worked out a missile defense compromise in the Senate that the White House said was more acceptable than any other proposal. Not on the Senate panel is Sen. Bob Smith (R-N.H.), who resisted compromises on NMD deployment. The House panel includes Rep.
Freshman Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.), who represents KSC in the House, told his NASA constituents last week that NASA is one of the unfunded agencies under consideration for "targeted" spending measures if the budget impasse continues beyond Jan. 26. The chairmen of the two House subcommittees with authorizing and appropriations responsibility for NASA, Reps. F.
