Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station at 10:51 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time July 13 after its successful liftoff from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in the early hours of July 12. Atlantis is carrying a critical piece of station hardware - the Joint Airlock, also called Quest, which will require three spacewalks to install and outfit during Atlantis' 10 day, 20-hour mission.
Saab-BAE Systems have offered Poland a $3 billion offset if government officials select the joint venture's JAS-39 Gripen fighter as a way to modernize the Polish air force. Poland plans to choose between Lockheed Martin's F-16, Dassault Aviation's Mirage 2000-5 and the Gripen as part of an effort to bring its air force up to NATO standards (DAILY, July 2). Aircraft selection is expected in September.
Harris Corp., of Melbourne, Fla., has upgraded the first strategic satellite communications (SATCOM) terminal site under a $100 million modernization program contract it received in 1998. The Army recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the first AN/GSC-52 SATCOM terminal modernization site at The U.S. Army Signal Center, Fort Gordon, Ga., the company announced July 12.
The unmanned, solar-powered Helios aircraft yesterday was slated for a check flight July 13 in preparation for an attempt to reach 100,000 feet in mid-August. However, a NASA spokesman said, jet stream winds of some 70 knots and a temperature of minus 110 degrees Fahrenheit at about 50,000 feet could be show-stoppers. The check flight has been delayed several times since May, but as of July 12 it seemed firm for the 13th, assuming a shifting of the jet stream and an increase in the high altitude temperature.
The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, which would get $7 billion of the $8.3 billion the Bush Administration wants to spend on missile defense in fiscal 2002, plans to reorganize its efforts into nine "program elements." The nine program elements are: Ballistic Missile Defense System; Terminal, Midcourse, and Boost Defense Segments; Sensors; Technology; Pentagon Reservation Maintenance Reserve Fund; Small Business Innovation Research; and Headquarters Research.
The Air Force is aiming to release a draft RFP in about a week on a program under which commercial operators would buy about 10 C-17 airlifters that would be available for use by the military in wartime. The program - Commercial Application of Military Airlift Aircraft (CAMAA) - has piqued industry interest, said Col. Gregory L. Lockhart, deputy director for Global Reach programs in the office of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition.
In addition to its impact on shipbuilding, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps procurement shortfall in the 2002 defense budget (DAILY, July 11) will have a heavy impact on aviation, Navy leaders told Congress July 12. The 2002 defense budget request includes $99 billion for the Navy and Marine Corps, which is $7.1 billion more than the request for fiscal year 2001. However, the increase primarily addresses cost growth in personnel and operations and maintenance accounts.
The Cosmos 1 solar sail project test craft, fully repaired after suffering damage during a pre-launch test, has been re-scheduled for its development flight on July 18 at 8:49 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Cosmos 1 is a joint venture of the Planetary Society and Cosmos Studios, which supports scientific research and is headed by Ann Druyan, widow of scientist Carl Sagan, a founder of the Planetary Society. The project is also being sponsored by A&E Network, which plans to air a documentary on the program next year.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said the U.S. will not violate the ABM Treaty as it moves forward on a missile defense system - but it does want to "move beyond" the 1972 treaty, which prohibits nationwide defenses. If the time comes when the U.S. feels it must move forward with an activity that might violate certain terms of the treaty, President Bush will give six months notice to the Russians that the U.S. intends to withdraw, he said.
The Senate Armed Services Committee has voted to favorably report several White House nominations for defense posts to the Senate, the committee reported July 11. The nominations, approved by voice vote, include: -- Alberto Jose Mora to be general counsel of the Department of the Navy -- Diane K. Morales to be deputy under secretary of defense for logistics and materiel readiness -- Steven John Morello Sr. to be general counsel of the Department of the Army
The FAA plans to order replacement of the lap joints on 805 Boeing 737 series aircraft worldwide, at a cost of $238 million, to avoid sudden decompression of the aircraft should the lap joints fail, Aerospace Daily affiliate Aviation Daily reported. The proposed airworthiness directive (AD) would supersede an existing AD that currently requires repetitive inspections to find cracking of the lower skin at the lower row of fasteners in the lap joints of the fuselage. The AD also requires modifying the lap joints at certain locations.
The ratings service Fitch has affirmed its BBB debt rating of aviation and aerospace equipment maker AAR Corp. The company's outlook remains stable, Fitch reported July 11. AAR, headquartered in Wood Dale, Ill., is the largest independent aftermarket supplier of products and services to the global aviation and aerospace industry, and Fitch said the affirmed rating is partly due to several contract wins with major airlines and original equipment manufacturers in the last few months.
The government of Singapore is seeking 12 AH-64D Apache attack helicopters and related equipment as a possible Foreign Military Sale through the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, for an estimated cost of $617 million. The deal would exclude the AH-64D Longbow Fire Control Radar, but it does include six spare T-700-GE-701C engines; four Hellfire II Semi-Active Laser Training missiles; 28 spare Hellfire II launchers; two spare Target Acquisition Designation Sight Systems; M267 and M274 rockets and 30mm Training Practice rounds.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told the Senate Armed Services Committee July 12 that it is unclear whether the Bush Administration's missile defense plan will violate the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in fiscal 2002, prompting an angry response from Democrats on the panel, which will soon have to vote on funding for the program.
Defense and aerospace company United Industrial Corp. is able to borrow up to $25 million to expand under a new credit line from Fleet Capital Corp., the company announced July 12. United Industrial reported it will use the credit line to finance further growth in its defense and aerospace operations, including in its unmanned aerial vehicles work.
NASA's Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS), a small radio observatory launched in 1998, has provided the first evidence that extra-solar planetary systems contain water, NASA announced. SWAS detected water vapor coming from comets near an aging star designated IRC+10216, researchers wrote in an article published July 12 in the journal Nature.
THE BOEING CO. has officially unveiled its CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopter at its manufacturing facility in Philadelphia. The CH-47F is the sixth Chinook type Boeing has designed for the U.S. Army. The CH-47F modernization program includes aircraft remanufacturing, improved avionics and the installation of more powerful engines. The helicopter prototype made its first test flight on June 25.
The NATO Medium Extended Air Defense System Management Agency (NAMEADSMA) has awarded a risk reduction effort (RRE) contract to MEADS International to demonstrate the validity of incorporating the Patriot PAC-3 missile into the MEADS air defense system. Under the $216 million contract, the MEADS International joint venture will also assess the system's technology and generate detailed specifications, schedules and costs estimates to prepare for a possible follow-on Design and Development phase.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. and BAE Systems completed the legal and tax procedures on July 12 to make the Airbus company a formal legal entity. Aircraft maker Airbus is incorporated under French law and is based in Toulouse. EADS owns 80 percent of Airbus, and BAE Systems owns 20 percent. The company delivered 311 aircraft in 2000 and recorded revenues of $17 billion. The company employs about 44,000 people in France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. of Marietta, Ga., has received a $21 million contract to study the most cost-effective ways of enhancing the reliability of the Air Force's C-5 Galaxy cargo aircraft fleet. "We will lay out all the cornerstone requirements and prepare for the next big step into System Development and Demonstration (SDD)," Joe Dupcak, the company's program manager for the C-5 Reliability Enhancement and Re-Engining Program (RERP) said in a statement.
EXIDE TECHNOLOGIES, of Duisburg, Germany, has received a $2.4 million, multi-year NASA contract to supply specialty batteries for the X-38, a prototype of the crew return vehicle (CRV) for the International Space Station. The CRV is intended to transport seven crewmembers from the station back to Earth in case of an emergency. The CRV would be required to be totally maintenance-free in a standby mode for up to three years, although ready to undock from the station within three minutes if needed.
Raytheon Corp. is spending $6 million of its own money on plans to downsize and modernize the current Patriot missile system hardware to keep it effective through 2028. Among other improvements, these plans would result in the "Patriot Light," a system with downsized command and control equipment, both at the battalion and the fire unit.
U.S. Air Force Gen. Ralph Eberhart, commander in chief of U.S. Space Command, said July 11 that he expects the Bush Administration's defense budgets in fiscal 2003 and beyond will provide significant increases for national security space programs.
A Boeing Commercial executive said July 10 that the company's new Sonic Cruiser will have fuel efficiency similar to current long-range jets and will offer several other environmentally friendly advantages. John Roundhill, VP-marketing for new airplane programs, told the Royal Aeronautical Society in London that the airplane's fuel use "will be similar to the newest, similarly sized airplanes being delivered today," Aerospace Daily affiliate Aviation Daily reported.
The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) hopes to go two for four when it conducts the latest test of its Midcourse Defense Segment (MDS) missile defense system July 14, which it said will be the most challenging one yet. The $100 million test includes the planned intercept of a modified Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile, to be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California sometime between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. eastern daylight time. It will carry a mock warhead and a single decoy.
