Bernard Schwartz has stepped down as chairman and chief executive officer of troubled mobile satellite telephone company Globalstar L.P. of San Jose, Calif., as part of Globalstar's overall restructuring. Replacing Schwartz as chairman is Olof Lundberg, 57, a former executive at ICO Global Communications, Inmarsat and Swedish Telecom (now Telia), Aerospace Daily affiliate AviationNow.com reported.
Alcatel will acquire the 48.83% stake in Alcatel Space currently held by Thales, the companies announced May 16 following a meeting of their boards of directors. The transaction is worth 795 million euros (about $700 million USD), to be paid half in cash and half in Thales shares. This will reduce Alcatel's stake in Thales from 25.3% to about 20%. The move will require European Commission approval.
The aerospace unit of industrial manufacturer Eaton Corp. has signed an agreement with CargoLifter Development GmbH of Berlin and Brand, Germany, to provide the hydraulic power generation and distribution systems for the CargoLifter CL160 airship. The CL160 will be the largest lighter-than-air cargo airship in the world, and is designed to transport extremely large and heavy equipment and cargo carriers. The program has a revenue potential of about $250 million over two decades for Cleveland-based Eaton.
The U.S. Air Force next month will pick a winner in an effort to develop a microsatellite capable of performing autonomous operations close to another space object. The winner of the Air Force Research Lab's XSS11 program, to be chosen June 6, will fabricate the 100-kilogram (220 lb.) satellite and work toward launch in 2004, according to Vern Baker, manager of the program in the Space Vehicles Directorate of the AF Research Lab at Kirtland AFB, N.M.
The Boeing Co. is transforming its corporate culture to focus heavily on increasing shareholder value and improving company performance, according to Michael Sears, Boeing's senior vice president and chief financial officer. Sears, speaking on May 15 at the Aerospace Financial Conference here, said the company is implementing an "economic profit" calculator to evaluate company performance. "To improve, you have to change processes," Sears said. "Otherwise you'll get the same performance tomorrow you got today."
Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science plans to launch a Venus surveyor, currently named the Venus Climate Orbiter, in early 2007, officials said. The VCO is slated to begin its elliptical orbit of the planet by fall of 2009. It will orbit Venus for two years and use five cameras to observe the planet's surface and atmosphere. The spacecraft will weigh about 650 kilograms (about 1,400 lbs.), including 40 kilograms (88 lbs.) of observation equipment. The surveyor will be launched by an M-5 launcher.
More bandwidth is not the panacea for alleviating Air Force communications problems, but smarter use of that bandwidth may be, according to Gen. Gregory "Speedy" Martin, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe. "I hear an awful lot of discussion about how we need more bandwidth," said Martin, speaking at the National Aerospace Systems and Technology Conference in Dayton, Ohio, on May 15. He compared the current problem with bandwidth to airlift limitations.
NASA has made its TRAJECT automated air traffic management system available for business applications and commercial licensing. Scientists at NASA Ames Research Center in Moffet Field, Calif. developed TRAJECT to improve the scheduling and directing of aircraft, boats, trucks, and railroad cars. Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport was the venue for the first test of the system during the 1996 Olympics, and it has been used there operationally ever since.
The U.S. government should take steps to discourage space firms from using their independent research and development (IRAD) funds to win near-term contracts at the expense of longer-term projects, Gen. Thomas S. Moorman Jr., (USAF-Ret.), told a congressional panel May 15.
International Launch Services' first mission of the year successfully launched a Boeing 601HP satellite into orbit for PanAmSat Corp., which provides satellite video and data broadcasting services. A Russian-built Proton K rocket launched the PAS-10 at 9:11 p.m., Pacific Daylight Time, on May 14 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The first signals from the satellite were received nearly seven hours later at Hartebeesthoek in South Africa, indicating the satellite's systems are operating normally.
Rep. Marty Meehan (D-Mass.), the new ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services research and development subcommittee, plans to resist the Bush Administration's push to deploy a missile defense system, an aide to the congressman told The DAILY May 15.
BAE Systems will provide engineering and technical support services for the command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) systems for amphibious warfare programs under a contract awarded by the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in Charleston, S.C.
The Pentagon yesterday characterized the concern of U.S. allies and friends abroad over a missile defense system as "skepticism," rather than "criticism," as senior-level officials return from trips to Europe and Asia to gather input on the Bush Administration's plans for deploying such a system.
The Boeing Co. has flight tested the advanced forward-looking infrared targeting system (FLIR), which the U.S. Navy will install on Boeing-built F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft, the company announced May 14. Boeing used its F-15E1 to fly the Raytheon-provided system, called Terminator, for more than six hours during three flights last month. The flights enabled the company to evaluate its FLIR imaging and designation capabilities, as well as its ease of integration with the aircraft.
All Nippon Airways selected Boeing to convert two 747-400s from international configuration into domestic use, Aerospace Daily affiliate Aviation Daily reported. The work will be done at Boeing's Wichita Modification Center and involves converting from a three-class, 367-seat layout to 569 seats in two classes. Work also will include removing winglets and installing wingtips, and modifying in-flight entertainment systems, galleys, lavatories, floor coverings, closets and stowage units.
With the goal of evolving from a force enhancer to a force provider, Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) is pursuing new concepts that will eventually enable what one general called "sorties in space." Brig. Gen. Russell J. Anarde, director of plans and programs at AFSPC, said that while this sortie capability will "probably not have the same quickness of turnaround," as that in aviation, it will still allow "rapid replenishment of space assets, or servicing, as required."
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U.S. Army have selected 16 contractors to develop and demonstrate state-of-the-art communications technology for the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) Communications program. FCS Communications is one of the key supporting technology programs for the DARPA/Army FCS collaborative demonstration. The concept envisions a need for high data-rate communications that can withstand jamming and are difficult to detect.
Peregrine Semiconductor has opened a new design center in Melbourne, Fla., to develop radiation-hardened products for aerospace and defense customers, the company announced May 15. The company builds high-performance integrated circuits for commercial satellites and wireless markets as well as other products, including photonic components for advanced optical networks.
The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and U.S. Naval Reserve are both seeking funding to upgrade their Boeing F/A-18 Hornet aircraft, according to representatives of the two organizations.
LaBarge, Inc., has been awarded a $1.3 million contract from the Boeing Co. to continue to supply wire harness assemblies for U.S. Air Force T-38C training jets, the company announced May 15. LaBarge began manufacturing the assemblies in the fall of 2000, based on an initial contract announced last July. Options for additional work could add $10 million to the contract over the next seven years, according to the St. Louis-based company.
Missile defense programs will probably do well the Fiscal Year 2002 defense budget, but other procurement programs could face stiff competition from equipment maintenance and overhaul programs as well as programs aimed at improving the quality of life for military personnel, a senior House staff member said May 15.
The technology to support the Boeing "sonic cruiser" concept is already available, it's just a question bringing it together into a cohesive whole, the president of Pratt&Whitney said May 15 during the Aerospace Finance Conference here. Louis Chenevert said Pratt&Whitney engineers are working with Boeing to determine the necessary engine requirements for a sonic passenger jet.
Volvo Aero will become a risk- and revenue-sharing partner in two Rolls-Royce engine programs, the Trent 500 for the Airbus A340-500/-600 and the Trent 900 for the new Airbus A380. "This is a very important agreement and a substantial addition to our current product portfolio," said Fred Bodin, president of Volvo Aero. Volvo Aero's responsibility in the new cooperative agreement will cover design, development, manufacture and support for the Intermediate Compressor Case, one of the company's specialties.
THE U.S. ARMY plans to fire three Patriot PAC-2 missiles on Monday, May 21, at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., to collect reliability and flight test data and to maintain the proficiency of the Alabama Army National Guard Patriot Battalion. Two missions will use PAC-2s against towed targets and one PAC-2 will fly against a drone target.
Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), whose state is home to Dover Air Force Base, the main C-5 Galaxy base on the East Coast, plans to seek increased funding to alleviate a spare parts shortage for the cargo plane. In a May 9 speech on the Senate floor, Biden said the C-5 is vital to warfighting and humanitarian missions and that a lack of spare parts is hurting readiness and morale.
