COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Air Force Space Command's plan for fiscal 2004 and beyond calls for the introduction of at least one transformational capability in each of its five basic mission areas. In one mission area, counterspace, transformational capabilities are planned across the board.
The Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system's eighth intercept attempt ended without a shootdown Dec. 11 after the exoatmospheric kill vehicle (EKV) failed to separate from its booster rocket, according to the Missile Defense Agency. MDA said it could take at least several days to review test data to determine why the separation did not occur.
MOSCOW - Creation of a new rocket and space company was announced during the second international Siberian aerospace industry salon in Krasnoyarsk. According to plans for general aerospace industry restructuring, the new company is based on Reshetnyov NPO PM of Zheleznogorsk, the country's largest designer and manufacturer of telecommunication satellites.
FAILED: Arianespace's new heavier-lift Ariane 5 failed shortly after making its first launch attempt on Dec. 11. The booster was carrying the Hot Bird 7 and Stentor satellites.
A Russian State Failure Commission has been formed to investigate the launch failure of a recent Proton K/Block DM rocket, carrying SES Astra's Astra 1K telecommunications satellite. The commission is expected to release a preliminary assessment of its findings by mid-December, according to International Launch Services (ILS), which attempted to launch the satellite. The Block DM upper stage has been blamed for leaving Astra 1K in the wrong orbit. The satellite has been de-orbited over the Pacific Ocean (DAILY, Dec. 11).
MERGED: With the Justice Department's blessing, Northrop Grumman and TRW shareholders approved Northrop Grumman's buyout on Dec. 11. TRW is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, the company said.
U.S. aerospace industry sales are expected to weaken by about $10 billion next year due to a faltering economy and lackluster demand for commercial aircraft and space products, according to the Aerospace Industries Association. Industry sales are expected to fall from a projected $148.2 billion in 2002 to about $138.4 billion in 2003, John Douglass, president and CEO of AIA, said during the organization's annual yearend forecast luncheon in Washington (see charts on Page 5).
Northrop Grumman's Navigation Systems Division will provide updated technology and software to upgrade the warning and caution and mission computer subsystems on Boeing's C-17A, the company said Dec. 11. Under the contract's development phase, Northrop Grumman will create new software, test equipment and qualification units that will be flight-tested by Boeing in the second quarter of 2004. In the production phase, the company will provide 43 shipsets of equipment, with deliveries beginning in the first quarter of 2005.
The New Zealand Ministry of Defence (MOD) plans to start two major aircraft programs worth up to $300 million next year, launching a modernization drive for what a government official called a "neglected" fleet. The plan includes up to NZ$220 million ($110 million) to begin an overhaul of the missions and communications systems aboard the MOD's fleet of six Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft.
The Department of Defense (DOD) is pushing the Air Force and Navy to collaborate more closely on their respective Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) programs - a push that could lead to the establishment of a joint UCAV program office. This process also could result in the production of a single UCAV for both services, according to Dyke Weatherington, deputy in charge of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Planning Task Force at the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD).
The U.S. Air Force is gauging industry's interest in a program, worth at least $100 million, to significantly upgrade the tools used to train B-2 Spirit bomber pilots and maintenance crews. The Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, on Dec. 10 posted a sources-sought request for a B-2 training systems upgrade project. It's a five-year effort encompassing 46 training devices, including 38 for B-2 maintainers and eight for aircrews.
AEROSONIC, Clearwater, Fla. David Baldini has been promoted to president. CMC ELECTRONICS, Montreal Robert Atac has been appointed vice president in charge of the company's military aviation business unit. DRS TECHNOLOGIES, Parsippany, N.J. Donald G. Hardman has joined the company as corporate treasurer. HUGHES ELECTRONICS, El Segundo, Calif. Larry D. Hunter has been elected senior vice president and general counsel. ITT INDUSTRIES, White Plains, N.Y.
WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. - Mortars probably will be the next target for the Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL) test bed, according to program officials. Mortars are the leading candidate because their "engagement parameters" are closest to those of the artillery shells and Katyusha rockets MTHEL already has felled, MTHEL program manager Gerald Wilson said Dec. 10 during a news media tour of White Sands. Other candidates include unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles.
The National Imagery and Mapping Agency has delayed awarding contracts for its new production services program from mid-December to early to mid-January, according to an agency spokesman. No reason was given for delaying the contract awards for the Global Geospatial Intelligence (GGI) program, which is expected to replace NIMA's Omnibus Geospatial Information and Imagery Intelligence Solicitation (Omnibus) program and the NIMA Production Prototype (NPP) effort.
DELIVERY: Pratt & Whitney delivered its 500th F117 engine, which powers the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, to the U.S. Air Force on Dec. 10, the company said. The F117 is a military version of the company's PW2000 engine, which has been used for more than two decades on the Boeing 757. The Air Force has 180 C-17s on order, each powered by four F117-PW-100 engines.
NASA has postponed a spacewalk set for Dec. 12 due to a "potential medical concern" of one of the Expedition Six crewmembers, NASA said Dec. 10. Expedition Six Commander Ken Bowersox and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin were to continue outfitting the Port 1 station truss segment, recently delivered to the station (DAILY, Nov. 26), and perform "get-ahead" tasks for the arrival of the next truss segment, slated for May. NASA spokesman Kyle Herring would not discuss the crewmember involved or the nature of the problem, citing medical privacy.
TRANSFORMATION: Anteon International Corp. will provide technology services and program management support for the Air Force Research Laboratory's Transformation Management for Accelerated Technology Transition program, which aims to bring new technologies for weapon systems more rapidly into production. That work is being done under a three-year contract worth up to $8.8 million. Under a separate, 14-month, $1.3 million contract, the company will support AFRL's Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, providing advanced research for laser protection materials.
IMAGING: FLIR Systems will upgrade thermal imaging systems used by National Guard anti-drug units, the company said Dec. 10. The work will be done under two contracts, totaling $7.8 million, from the National Guard Bureau. The company will upgrade 43 airborne systems used by the Guard's Reconnaissance and Interdiction Detachment (RAID). The company will provide its multisensor Ultra 7500 thermal imaging systems.
NEW DELHI - India plans to focus its space assets to make its deterrent posture against China more viable, according to a senior official with the Indian Ministry of Defence. All major purchases of space hardware and other assets in the future will be aimed at this, the official said.
FIRST FLIGHT: Northrop Grumman successfully completed the first supersonic free flight of its Miniature Air-Launched Interceptor (MALI) at Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake, Calif., the company said Dec. 10. In the Nov. 26 flight, the MALI was launched from an F-4 at 20,000 feet and flew for 11.5 minutes through nine waypoints, reaching speeds of up to Mach 1.1. All test objectives were met, the company said.
A federal court has granted a request by the Boeing Co. and General Dynamics Corp. to stop the Defense Department from withholding contract payments to the companies to collect money for the failed A-12 Avenger program.
Lockheed Martin envisions the laser sensor the company is helping develop for Project SOCRATES as part of a future aircraft wake vortex advisory system that could enhance safety and increase capacity at airports. Wake vortices are unstable, high-velocity airflows created by aircraft wingtips that can be dangerous to trailing aircraft, particularly on landing approaches. Over the past five years, the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) has recorded 45 wake turbulence-related accidents and incidents, including seven fatal accidents.
SES Astra's Astra 1K satellite was de-orbited over the Pacific Ocean Dec. 10, less than two weeks after a launch failure left it stranded in the wrong orbit. The Block DM upper stage of a Proton K launch vehicle failed during the launch. The satellite, the largest commercial spacecraft built in Europe, separated from the upper stage while still in the parking orbit (DAILY, Nov. 27).
