A passive radiative cooler built by business and technology consulting firm Arthur D. Little will be a critical part of NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey mission, which is scheduled for launch Saturday, the firm said. The company's passive radiative cooler has been customized for use in 27 previous space launches, but this is the first time it will go to Mars, according to the Massachusetts-based firm.
TRW has announced the launch of TRW Aeroservices, which it said is available for all aircraft parts regardless of the original manufacturer. "The service provides a one-stop shop for all repair orders and optimizes customer services by placing orders at the lowest turn-time repair shop to any TRW-owned or independent approved repair shop worldwide," it said. The service, www.trw.com/aeroservices, has been beta-tested with several customers and is now available for commercial use, the company said.
MICROVISION, Inc. of Bothell, Wash. announced April 4 it will receive a contract modification for an additional $7.5 million from the U.S. Army Aircrew Integrated Systems Product Office, awarded through the Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD). Microvision will modify the Virtual Cockpit Optimization Program (VCOP) and the Aircrew Integrated Helmet System (AIHS) for use in attack and utility helicopters, the company said.
Boeing's X-32B short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) Joint Strike Fighter demonstrator is set to undergo another milestone with its first airborne transition from conventional flight to direct lift, which could take place as early as this weekend. The X-32B had its first flight on March 29 when it flew in conventional configuration from Palmdale, Calif. to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., about 30 miles away (DAILY, March 30).
U.S. forces have exercised their eighth option for T-6A Texan II turboprop primary trainer planes, giving Wichita, Kan.-based Raytheon Aircraft Co. another $148.3 million worth of business under the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) program. The U.S. Air Force ordered 35 trainers in this option lot, the Navy bought 24, and deliveries will start in May 2003, Aerospace Daily affiliate AviationNow.com reported.
NASA and the nation should avoid a rush to Mars and instead plan a long-term space exploration program that builds "slowly, gradually and systematically," former NASA space science chief Wesley T. Huntress told members of Congress on Tuesday. Speaking before the House Science Committee's subcommittee on space, Huntress said a sprint to Mars, as some space advocates have called for, would be a mistake and could lead to another space program malaise such as followed the Apollo lunar missions.
Raytheon Co. has been awarded a $119.2 million contract from the U.S. Navy for Standard Missile-2 fiscal year 2001 production, the company announced yesterday. Under the firm fixed-price contract, Raytheon will deliver 75 Block IIIB missiles, 80 Block IIIB ordnance alteration kits to upgrade SM-2 Block II/III missiles to the SM-2 Block IIIB configuration; 40 Warhead Compatible Telemeters; and spares, shipping containers and handling equipment.
Could information from future robotic warfighters be "browsed" and "surfed" in ways familiar to any Internet user? The Loitering Electronic Warfare Killer (LEWK), a joint program between the Marine Corps, the Air Force, and United States European Command (EUCOM), is poised to help answer that question. LEWK is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that will carry a standard sensor and communications package, along with a flexible payload that can include a variety of weapons or jamming technology.
The crew of the U.S. Navy EP-3E that made an emergency landing at China's Hainan Island last weekend completed its procedures to erase sensitive data tapes and hard drives before the pilot landed the plane with no flaps, two damaged engines, and no airspeed indicator, The DAILY has learned. The nose cone of the electronic reconnaissance plane was sheared off, and Pentagon sources confirmed that the pilot therefore had no airspeed indicator. The sources did not know if the pilot had also lost other basic flying instruments housed in the nose cone.
After years of debate on whether the space shuttle or an unmanned rocket should haul it to space, the futuristic X-37 reusable spaceplane appears headed for a 2004 launch aboard an expendable rocket from Florida's Spaceport at Cape Canaveral. In a move that caught officials at NASA and its contractor-partner Boeing by surprise, the Spaceport Authority on Monday announced plans to bring the X-37 program to Florida from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., beginning in 2003, Aerospace Daily affiliate AviationNow.com reported.
Northrop Grumman Corp.'s acquisition of Litton Industries Inc. diversifies its business portfolio, but the $5.1 billion deal also limits the company's financial flexibility in the short term, Standard&Poor's said Tuesday. Standard&Poor's lowered its ratings on Litton Industries Inc. and removed them from CreditWatch, where they had been placed Dec. 21, 2000. The company has now been acquired by Northrop Grumman Corp., (DAILY, April 4) and Standard&Poor's said Litton's ratings have now been conformed to Northrop Grumman's.
At least two senators plan to offer amendments to the fiscal 2002 budget resolution to increase defense spending by billions of dollars. Senators are debating the resolution on the Senate floor this week.
Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) has called for a national debate on missile defense to combat widespread ignorance of the issues involved. "The public, through our negligence, is totally uninformed on this issue," he said. While some of his Senate colleagues cite public opinion polls showing broad support for missile defense as a sign the program is inevitable, Biden contends that "there is no inevitability to national missile defense."
The U.S. has been slipping in the world aviation market for a decade and the downtrend will continue unless federal funding is increased in research and technology, according to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Aerospace Daily affiliate Aviation Daily reported. ASME said it is issuing a "wake-up call" that U.S. aerospace industries are being "severely challenged by the European aerospace industry. Efforts are well underway to overtake the United States in global air transportation markets."
Raytheon Systems recently placed an order for the BFGoodrich Co.'s Aerospace Airborne Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) system AN/ARN-154(v) and is installing them in the Army's UH-60A/L and CH-47D helicopters. "BFGoodrich manufactures the lightest and smallest Tactical Air Navigation system available," said Adrienne Stevens, director of marketing for BFGoodrich's Avionics&Lighting Systems. "Its lightweight and rugged design along with its adherence to rigid Electronic Stress Screening standards were major factors in Raytheon's decision."
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) said the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act waiting period for its proposed acquisition of Thiokol Propulsion from Alcoa Inc. expired April 2, clearing the way for the transaction to close later this month. ATK and Alcoa announced a definitive agreement related to the acquisition on Jan. 31 (DAILY, Feb. 1).
The National Reconnaissance Office faces tough times ahead because it isn't building enough spare satellites and launch vehicles to account for launch failures, a member of the congressionally mandated NRO Commission said yesterday. The NRO doesn't have enough money to pay for redundancies for its next-generation satellites and launch vehicles, even though the new launch vehicles are untested and will likely result in significant launch failures, Larry Cox told the Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee.
Rome Research Corp. of Rome, N.Y. has been awarded a $5.7 million contract by the U.S. Navy's Fleet and Industrial Supply Center (FISC) Norfolk, Philadelphia Detachment, to provide satellite communications services and associated functions at the Navy Satellite Communications Facility Northwest in Chesapeake, Va. The company performs similar work for the Navy in California, Hawaii, Guam and Maine. The contract's period of performance is 3 1/2 years. Rome Research Corp. is a subsidiary of PAR Technology Corp.
The U.S. Navy has awarded Rockwell Collins Aviation Services an $18.9 million performance-based logistics contract for service and logistics management of AN/ARC-210 radios, which are used on a variety of aircraft and surface platforms. Included under the contract are depot repair, support program management, configuration and obsolescence management, engineering and logistics support, data tracking and analysis and reliability management.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered modifications of the nacelle strut and wing structure on Boeing 767s powered by General Electric engines. The order follows reports that the actual operational loads applied to the nacelle are higher than the analytical loads that were used during the initial design. FAA said that "such an increase in the loading can lead to fatigue cracking in the primary strut structure prior to an airplane reaching its design service objective," Aerospace Daily affiliate Aviation Daily reported.
The Air Force's Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) will be controlled by a new type of hybrid warfighter, according to Project Manager Lt. Col. Mike Leahy. "We suspect it's got to be someone with some air sense," said Leahy. "But will it be a pilot as we traditionally know it - I don't think so." The UCAV's console operator, or "battle manager," will operate up to four vehicles at once from an internet-enabled console. The system will utilize Link 16 protocols to provide interoperability with other systems.
CAE of Toronto has completed its purchase of BAE Systems Flight Simulation and Training of Tampa, Fla., the company announced yesterday after obtaining all the necessary approvals for the deal. It will rename the company CAE USA Inc.
Years after adopting its "faster-better-cheaper" (FBC) philosophy meant to cut program costs and lead to more space missions, NASA has failed to fully define what FBC means, according to the space agency's Inspector General. A new IG report says "NASA has neither defined FBC nor implemented policies and guidance for FBC ... documenting FBC definitions, policies and guidance will facilitate communication to program/project managers and contractors and strengthen accountability for program results."
Defense and aerospace contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. announced yesterday it has completed the purchase of all tendered shares of Litton Industries Inc. common and Series B preferred stock after receiving the required U.S. and international governmental and regulatory approvals for its $5.1 billion purchase of the shipbuilder and electronics maker. Northrop Grumman is assuming Litton's $1.3 billion in public debt as part of the deal, the company announced.
