AIRBUS PICK: Airbus has selected Honeywell's next-generation flight management system for its A380 super jumbo aircraft, Honeywell announced Jan. 15. Revenue from the Airbus business could top $200 million over 15 years, including follow-on sales of spares, support, database updates and other work, according to the company.
Long-endurance, high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) like the solar-powered Helios could have a major role to play in future humanitarian relief efforts around the globe, according to NASA. The technological descendants of Helios, which set a non-rocket-powered altitude record last year (DAILY, Aug. 15, 2001), will eventually be able to loiter at high altitudes for up to six months at a time, according to Helios Project Manager John Del Frate. He said that would make them ideal telecommunications nodes.
An article in The DAILY of Jan. 15 misstated Russia's budget for space programs. The budget's $311.7 million for space exploration activities is part of the $428.5 million budget for the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control and Communications John Stenbit is urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to place limits on ultra-wideband (UWB) communications technologies. In a letter dated Jan. 11 to Michael Gallagher, the deputy assistance secretary for communications and information at the Department of Commerce, Stenbit said that while DOD supports UWB development, the Pentagon is "particularly concerned about the potential effects of UWB operations on the global positioning satellite (GPS) system..."
Airbus has selected Honeywell's next-generation flight management system for its A380 super jumbo aircraft, Honeywell announced Jan. 15. Revenue from the Airbus business could top $200 million over 15 years, including follow-on sales of spares, support, database updates and other work, according to the company.
Black Sparrow, the Israeli-made air-launched ballistic missile target, is set to begin testing and certification for use in U.S. missile defense programs, according to a Raytheon Co. official. Last year, Israeli defense firm Rafael, the maker of the Black Sparrow, announced it was joining forces with Raytheon Missile Systems to market the missile as a target for U.S. missile defense programs (DAILY, May 3, 2001). Black Sparrow is used to emulate a Scud B missile in tests of Israel's Arrow II missile defense system.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) and its Airbus subsidiary deserve a chance to compete to build a new wide-body aerial refueling plane for the U.S. Air Force, even though Congress has gone on record in favor of the Chicago-based Boeing Co., Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said Jan. 15.
Spacewalking astronauts completed the first extra-vehicular activity (EVA) of the Expedition Four crew outside the International Space Station on Jan. 14. Commander Yury Onufrienko and Flight Engineer Carl Walz finished installing a second Russian cargo boom on the station and installed an amateur radio antenna on the Zvezda service module. The first Expedition Four spacewalk took six hours and three minutes, wrapping up at 9:02 p.m. CST. Onufrienko and Walz relocated a 15-foot-long Strela crane, Strela 2, to the Docking Compartment.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research's choice of a modified Gulfstream V business jet to carry out a variety of environmental missions fits into a broader plan to carry out such research with a mix of manned and unmanned aircraft, an NCAR official said.
Long-endurance, high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) like the solar-powered Helios could have a major role to play in future humanitarian relief efforts around the globe, according to NASA. The technological descendants of Helios, which set a non-rocket-powered altitude record last year (DAILY, Aug. 15, 2001), will eventually be able to loiter at high altitudes for up to six months at a time, according to Helios Project Manager John Del Frate. He said that would make them ideal telecommunications nodes.
ATK Integrated Defense Co., a division of Alliant Techsystems, will begin low-rate initial production of sensor upgrade kits for the AN/AAR-47 Missile Warning System under a $9 million contract from Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., the company announced Jan. 15. The kits will be delivered to the U.S. Navy and Air Force for integration into multiple aircraft platforms.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research's choice of a modified Gulfstream V business jet to carry out a variety of environmental missions fits into a broader plan to carry out such research with a mix of manned and unmanned aircraft, an NCAR official said.
Black Sparrow, the Israeli-made air-launched ballistic missile target, is set to begin testing and certification for use in U.S. missile defense programs, according to a Raytheon Co. official. Last year, Israeli defense firm Rafael, the maker of the Black Sparrow, announced it was joining forces with Raytheon Missile Systems to market the missile as a target for U.S. missile defense programs (DAILY, May 3, 2001). Black Sparrow is used to emulate a Scud B missile in tests of Israel's Arrow II missile defense system.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control and Communications John Stenbit is urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to place limits on ultra-wideband (UWB) communications technologies. In a letter dated Jan. 11 to Michael Gallagher, the deputy assistance secretary for communications and information at the Department of Commerce, Stenbit said that while DOD supports UWB development, the Pentagon is "particularly concerned about the potential effects of UWB operations on the global positioning satellite (GPS) system..."
NEW DELHI - A panel of specialists studying India's proposed mission to the moon is expected to finish its report soon, said K. Kasturirangan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Kasturirangan said the panel is looking at all aspects of the mission. "The mission is essential for the country as it would place it in the frontiers of science and cutting-edge technology and enable it to enter an elite club of nations. It's a matter of our self-confidence," he said.
An article in The DAILY of Jan. 15 misstated Russia's budget for space programs. The budget's $311.7 million for space exploration activities is part of the $428.5 million budget for the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.
Precision Castparts Corp., which makes forged components for jet aircraft engines, reported a $59 million net loss for the third quarter of fiscal 2002 despite strong quarterly sales. Company officials reported sales of $625.8 million for the quarter, which ended Dec. 30, compared with $580.4 million for the third quarter of FY 2001. However, the company also recorded a charge of $92.4 million due to the write-down of assets and a $13.7 million charge for severance payments due to restructuring in the wake of the commercial aerospace market downturn.
Spacewalking astronauts completed the first extra-vehicular activity (EVA) of the Expedition Four crew outside the International Space Station on Jan. 14. Commander Yury Onufrienko and Flight Engineer Carl Walz finished installing a second Russian cargo boom on the station and installed an amateur radio antenna on the Zvezda service module. The first Expedition Four spacewalk took six hours and three minutes, wrapping up at 9:02 p.m. CST. Onufrienko and Walz relocated a 15-foot-long Strela crane, Strela 2, to the Docking Compartment.
NASA's Galileo orbiter will swing past Jupiter's moon Io on Jan. 17, its last and closest flyby of any of the planet's four major moons. Io's volcanoes have interested scientists since they were first spotted by the Voyager spacecraft in 1979. It has an estimated 200 to 300 volcanoes and is the most volcanically active world in the solar system, according to NASA. Galileo will pass just 62 miles above Io's surface, to help put it on a ballistic trajectory for its final destruction in 2003.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said Jan. 15 that he plans to hold hearings to "prod" the Bush Administration to reconsider its plan to retain some of the nuclear weapons it removes from deployment. Levin told the Defense Writers Group that weapons removed from operational status should be destroyed because keeping them increases the chance that they will fall into the wrong hands. He is particularly concerned that the U.S. approach could be emulated by Russia, where security is less stringent.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said Jan. 15 that he plans to hold hearings to "prod" the Bush Administration to reconsider its plan to retain some of the nuclear weapons it removes from deployment. Levin told the Defense Writers Group that weapons removed from operational status should be destroyed because keeping them increases the chance that they will fall into the wrong hands. He is particularly concerned that the U.S. approach could be emulated by Russia, where security is less stringent.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) and its Airbus subsidiary deserve a chance to compete to build a new wide-body aerial refueling plane for the U.S. Air Force, even though Congress has gone on record in favor of the Chicago-based Boeing Co., Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said Jan. 15.
Norway's Telenor has completed its acquisition of Lockheed Martin's COMSAT Mobile Communications operations, the company announced Jan. 14. Telenor has gathered all its mobile satellite activities under the new business name Telenor Satellite Services. COMSAT Mobile will be the U.S. subsidiary of Telenor, under the name Telenor Satellites Services Inc.
