Recovering component-maker Moog Inc. gets high marks from institutional investment analysts JSA Research, thanks to a turn-around that other analysts think could be a bellwether for the industry. Small enough to be often overlooked and under stress for years, the company has finally started consistently posting upturns in its commercial, military and industrial business lines. JSA already rates the stock a Buy, and is weighing whether to boost the earnings forecast for the company.
GENERAL ELECTRIC Aircraft Engines yesterday settled a 1993 whistleblower lawsuit filed by former GE engineer Ian Johnson, agreeing to pay $7 million-of which Johnson gets $1.7 million-despite FAA and Air Force evidence discrediting Johnson's claims (DAILY, Jan. 5, page 17, May 12, page 236). The Air Force asked GE to settle the case to avoid the disruption and expense of trial, and GE said it did so "in the interest of good customer relations," paying the government for testing and investigative costs as well as Johnson.
The Tier II Predator unmanned aerial vehicle is slated to undertake its first flight in Albania equipped with the Ku-band satellite communications capability upgrade. The Ku-band's 1.5 megabits per second bandwidth will allow Predator to deliver motion video, a Defense Dept. source said yesterday. Predator so far has delivered only still photographs at intervals of 10 to 90 seconds because it relied exclusively on its UHF-link with only five kilobits per second throughput.
Douglas A. Fahlbeck has been named vice president, mergers and acquisition. Fahlbeck most recently served as executive vice president, chief financial officer, and a director of Textron Financial Corp. (TFC), Textron's commercial finance division.
James C. Johnson has been elected corporate vice president and secretary. He replaces Shelia M. Gibbons, who is retiring after 17 years of service with the company.
BREWSTER SHAW, NASA's director of space shuttle operations, will step down Aug. 18 "for personal reasons." Tommy Holloway of the space station program will take his place under the new title of Manager, Space Shuttle Program.
Jim Wasson has joined Defense Systems North America (DSNA) as the director of technology marketing. He had been with McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (MDHS) in Mesa, Ariz., where he served as senior program and business development manager for new product development and technology projects.
Bonnie W. Soodik has been named vice president-general manager, quality, for Douglas Aircraft, the commercial jetliner division of McDonnell Douglas. Paul Tobin, previously manager of executive communications and public relations programs at Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa., was named director, internal communications.
SPACEHAB, INC. of Arlington, Va., has signed a $54 million contract under which it will lease its Spacehab Space Shuttle Middeck augmentation module to NASA for use in the resupply of Russia's Mir space station during Shuttle docking missions in 1996 and 1997. NASA plans to use the Spacehab modules primarily to carry cargo. The contract allows NASA to fly up to three additional missions if there is a requirement. McDonnell Douglas will provide integration and operation services for Spacehab, Inc.
Nearly 500 hourly workers at Wyman-Gordon's Houston, Tex., aerospace forgings plant are on strike following rejection of a contract that would have replaced an agreement that expired Sunday night. A company spokesman told The DAILY that talks continue between management and leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers' Local Lodge 15, so the company won't detail the agreement turned down by the workers or the status of negotiations.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (FCC) has released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on digital TV. The notice is the first step in updating the FCC's 1992 Report and Order on digital TV, which was made before major advances in digital technology enabled multiple digital TV signals to be delivered in a single 6 MHz channel.
TRIMBLE NAVIGATION, Sunnyvale, Calif., has won a $1.3 million contract to supply the U.S. Marine Corps with 40 Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver systems. The contract also contains provisions for 203 additional receivers not to exceed $7.5 million.
Steven G. Zylstra, joined its wholly owned subsidiary, Simula Government Products Inc., as director, Business Development for the Technology Development organization. He most recently served as general manager of General Pneumatics Western Research Center, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Ball Aerospace hit rock bottom in 1994, when the CEO of its parent company, Ball Corp., made it clear in public statements that the Broomfield, Colo.-based operation was up for sale. Sales at the Aerospace and Communications group had finished 1993 off 10% to $270 million-roughly their 1990 level-and the company was going through a painful downsizing that eliminated one-fifth of its jobs.
Phillip Rosnik has been named director of customer services for the UNC Accessory Services unit. Thomas B. Modly was named director of management technology.
LAUNCH OF NASA/COMMERCIAL METEOR (formerly COMET) satellite, which had been slated for yesterday, has been rescheduled for Saturday at 6:20 p.m. from Wallops Island, Va.
Michael D. Griffin, former NASA associate administrator for exploration, has joined the company as senior vice president and chief technology officer. He most recently was senior vice president for program development at Space Industries International.
ARIANESPACE has signed a contract for one firm launch of the European Meteorological Satellite Organization's Meteosat second generation satellite. The contract also contains options to launch two additional Meteosats.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued TRW Inc. a second patent for its Odyssey satellite system after taking into account a protest filed by Hughes Aircraft Co., the prime contractor on a competing system.
The Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office plans to develop a standardized, joint signals intelligence architecture for an open network that will let SIGINT sensors on manned and unmanned airborne platforms interoperate seamlessly. The Joint Airborne SIGINT Architecture will take advantage of digital signal processors, allow software reconfiguration, and cut out the need for signal-specific, specialized hardware. The result will be a series of technology modules that can be integrated into systems as quickly as possible.
ALPHASTAR, a Greenwich, Conn.-based direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television service, has announced plans to offer service to Alaska and Hawaii by the end of the year, making it the first digital satellite television service available in all 50 states.
