A combustion problem that burned up fuel too quickly has been identified as the culprit behind a July 12 Ariane 5 launch that left two satellites stranded in a too-low orbit (DAILY, July 16). An inquiry board appointed to investigate the launch reported its findings to Arianespace on Aug. 1 and they were made public Aug. 7. The board concluded that the rocket's upper-stage Aestus engine had a "combustion instability" when it was activated during the flight.
Next year Northrop Grumman Corp. will begin flight testing an experimental airframe designed to produce quieter sonic booms, in support of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Quiet Supersonic Platform (QSP) program (DAILY, Mar. 1). The two-year, $35 million QSP program is aimed at laying the foundation for quieter supersonic aircraft that will be able to fly unrestricted over land - an activity currently requiring an FAA waiver.
Actions on Major Programs in the Fiscal Year 2002 Defense Authorization Act (dollars in millions) Major Army Programs FY 2002 Budget R&D Quanity Procurement RAH-66 Comanche $788 UH-60 Blackhawk 12 $175 CH - 7 Upgrade' $295
A prototype of the unmanned Helios solar-powered plane is being readied for a flight that NASA said could set an altitude record for non-rocket powered winged aircraft. The flight, from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on the island of Kauai in Hawaii, is tentatively slated for Aug. 11, with backup dates of Aug. 12 and 13, and Aug. 16 through 19.
Researchers at the Human-Automation Integration Research Branch of NASA Ames Research Center are working to reconcile ground-based and aircraft-based flight automation systems in an effort to make airport arrivals more efficient. Systems in the air traffic control tower and on the aircraft itself are often at cross purposes when it comes to descent and arrival, according to Ames Branch Chief Rose Ashford.
THE BOEING CO. has received a second order from the U.S. Air Force for a C-40 aircraft, as part of a program to replace the Air National Guard's C-22B fleet. The order, announced Aug. 6, is the second C-40 order under an Air Force contract awarded to the company in February. The C-40, based on the 737, has a 5,000 nautical mile range, compared with the C-22B, which has a range of 2,000 n.m. The Air National Guard will operate the aircraft at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.
As South Korea nears a decision on its $3.3 billion F-X fighter program, tentatively scheduled for the fall, sources and news reports say the competition - once considered a done deal for the Boeing Co. - may still be up for grabs. It is widely expected that Boeing will win the competition with its F-15K, an updated version of the F-15E. However, recent reports indicate South Korea has been giving at least some consideration to the competing Eurofighter, the French Rafale, and the Russian Sukhoi Su-35.
Senate aide Marshall Billingslea has been appointed deputy assistant secretary of defense for negotiations policy in the Pentagon's Office of International Security Policy, sources told The DAILY Aug. 7. Billingslea, whose new responsibilities are still being defined, began his Pentagon job on Aug. 7. The position doesn't require Senate confirmation.
NASA completed the third and final hot-fire test of the mothballed X-33 program's aerospike engine set to test its Electro-Mechanical Actuator technology, which is expected to find a home in future spacecraft (DAILY, July 19). The engines were fired for 90 seconds at 85 percent power.
General Dynamics Corp. of Falls Church, Va., announced Aug. 6 it plans to acquire Motorola Inc.'s Integrated Information Systems Group for $825 million in cash. Based in Scottsdale, Ariz., the Integrated Information Systems Group manufactures products and systems for secure communication, information assurances, situational awareness and integrated communication systems for defense and government customers.
The Air Force launched a Titan IVB rocket carrying a Defense Support Program satellite on Aug. 6. The launch, from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., took place on time at 3:28 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, and the satellite reached geosynchronous orbit about seven hours later. A faulty guidance control unit in the Titan's second stage had delayed the mission by a week and a half. The satellite, the 21st DSP, will join a constellation of other missile early warning satellites.
As tomorrow's unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) become more autonomous and less deterministic in their behavior, safety regulations may prevent them from ever flying, according to Bruce Clough of the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL). "In my humble opinion, if we want to go ahead and do what we want to do with UAVs we've got to give them more autonomy," said Clough at an unmanned vehicle conference here Aug. 2.
Senate Armed Services Committee members Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) and Robert Smith (R-N.H.) introduced a bill Aug. 3 aimed at improving the Defense Department's management of military space activities.
India's Akash and Trishul missile programs are running almost two years behind schedule, according to sources here. The medium-range, ground-to-air Akash and surface-to-air Trishul are behind due to problems with their guidance and propulsion systems, officials said. According to earlier schedules, the programs should have almost completed test firings by now. Officials said this means the Indian government's plan to replace its aging, Russian-built SAM system by 2002 has suffered a major setback.
ITT Industries said it has won a $580 million contract from the FAA to provide new, digital radios for Air Traffic Control. The radios will help the agency provide communications services to the U.S. National Airspace System. With the NAS growing at a rate of 4 percent a year, ITT said, the current analog ATC radios will reach full capacity in the next decade. In high-traffic areas like Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, they will reach full capacity even earlier.
Rolls-Royce will deliver Gem turboshaft engines and spare parts worth $10 million under a new Brazilian government contract. Brazil will use the equipment for its fleet of 14 Westland Super Lynx Mk 21A naval helicopters, which are operated from destroyers, corvettes and frigates for anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, transport and other roles.
TRW Inc. was awarded a seven-year, $564 million follow-on contract to develop and deliver battle management command, control and communications equipment for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense Segment (the former National Missile Defense program) by its prime contractor, the Boeing Co.
A recent feasibility study examining the possibility of sending an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to explore Saturn's moon Titan points out a number of areas of technical overlap that could benefit UAV operations on Earth. "What we tried to do here is identify some overlap between the space community and the UAV community, and see how we can leverage those for the benefit of all," said Ryan Shaefer of Adroit Systems, Inc., co-author of the study. Shaefer made his remarks at an unmanned vehicles conference in Baltimore, Md. last week.
The U.S. Navy is undertaking its post-Cold War military transformation in a haphazard way, according to a new report from the General Accounting Office. The GAO report says the Navy is conducting a variety of transformation activities, including experimenting with new technologies and introducing its network-centric warfare concept, which calls for building a data network of advanced communications and computer technologies to link widely dispersed forces.
