EMERGENT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES INC., Newport Beach, Calif., won a $4.3 million research and development contract from the U.S. Air Force to enhance counter-drug surveillance radars. Emergent, an information technology company, operates the Relocatable Over-the-Horizon Radars (ROTHR) Enhancement Demonstration System (REDS) testbed. ROTHRs are used for surveillance of Caribbean drug trafficking routes. Emergent said its REDS facility, collocated with an operational ROTHR, evaluates and speeds new technology to ROTHR without interfering with the surveillance mission.
LMI Aerospace Inc., St. Louis, reported a second quarter net loss of $247,000, or $0.03 a share, compared with net income of $385,000, or $0.05 a share for the same period a year ago. Second quarter sales, however, were up 10.5% to $13.7 million from $12.4 million in the second quarter of 1999.
Fairchild Corp. is changing the name of its M&M Machine&Tool Co. to Fairchild Aerostructures Co. and opening an additional facility to boost production and assembly operations. "Fairchild Aerostructures Company will now be able to vigorously pursue new programs requiring superior quality and on-time deliveries," said Eric Steiner, president of Fairchild Corp. "At the same time it will better facilitate inventory management, JIT, process flow, supply chain management and a range of value added services for our customers."
Vice President Al Gore has a long track record of supporting a strong military and will strive to keep it modern if he's elected president, House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee member Norman Dicks (D-Wash.) said in a speech scheduled for delivery Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. Gore is committed to a policy of "forward engagement," which "means addressing problems before they become crises and having the forces and the resources to deal with these threats as quickly as possible," Dicks said.
Litton Industries Inc. and Sun Microsystems are broadening their original alliance formed in May 1999 to focus on business opportunities that boost competitiveness and new product development. "Litton and Sun recognize that this alliance is in the best interest of the two companies and their customers," said Ronald D. Sugar, Litton president and chief operating officer.
SPACEHAB INC. has signed up three more experiments for the planned STS-107 Space Shuttle research flight next year, adding more than $1 million to the total value of the company's flight contracts for the mission. The European Space Agency had the largest contract at $922,000 for its European Research in Space and Terrestrial Osteoporosis (ERISTO) experiment, followed by Japan's Circle for the Promotion of Science and Engineering (CPSE) at $83,000 and a $40,000 deal with the Japan Space Utilization Promotion Center (JSUP) and the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
EUROPE*STAR, a London-based satellite services joint venture between Alcatel Spacecom of France and Loral Space&Communications, has contracted with GlobeCast for a transponder on the upcoming Europe*Star FM1 satellite. GlobeCast will use the transponder, and additional 36 MHz capacity, to deliver a broadband Internet Protocol platform between Europe and the Indian subcontinent.
Bombardier Aerospace was the preferred tenderer to supply three Intercontinental Challenger 604 business jets to the Australian government, marking it the second country to select the aircraft in less than three weeks. The other was Denmark. The sale "underlines the suitability of the Challenger in both its usual corporate transport role and as a special mission aircraft," said Robert Gillespie, president, Bombardier Aerospace, Business Aircraft.
The xenon-fueled ion engine on NASA's Deep Space 1 technology testbed has set a new record for endurance, running for more than 200 days since it was launched in October 1998 despite early problems getting started. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said the engine aboard the New Millennium probe has run for more than 200 days, or 4,800 hours, exceeding the 161-day record set by NASA's Space Electric Rocket Test 2 in 1970.
ASTROTECH SPACE OPERATIONS, a Spacehab subsidiary, has received a NASA contract worth $479,600 for launch-site processing of two Earth-observations satellites. Set for launch together on a Delta 7320 "Med-Lite" vehicle from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., are NASA's Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) spacecraft and the U.S./Argentine Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas-C (SAC-C). Astrotech has a facility at Vandenberg capable of processing payloads for Atlas, Delta, Pegasus and Taurus launch vehicles.
Air Force reserves need upgraded aircraft capabilities to match their increased role in contingency operations, the General Accounting Office said in a report released yesterday.
Russian, U.S. and Canadian rescuers held exercises near St. Petersburg yesterday to train for rescuing astronauts returning to Earth from the International Space Station. Thirty Americans and Canadians arrived for the maneuvers Wednesday, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported, quoting Col. Gen. Valentin Bobryshev, commander of the military district where the exercises were being held.
EDO Corp. reported a second quarter revenue increase of 139%, to $56.6 million from $23.7 million for the same period in 1999. It said the numbers reflected the merger with AIL Technologies Inc., the acquisition of M. Technologies last November and higher sales of aircraft stores suspension and release equipment, integrated combat systems and electro-ceramic products. Revenue gains were partially offset by lower sales of airborne mine countermeasures systems.
NASA has opened a third Flight Control Room at Johnson Space Center to handle the training load associated with building and operating the International Space Station and handling the Space Shuttle fleet at the same time.
With clear evidence that tire debris alone triggered the fatal crash of an Air France Concorde last month, France and Britain yesterday pulled the operating certificates of the planes, prompting British Airways to formally ground its fleet until further notice. The airline anticipated the move the day before by suspending Concorde flights. Air France halted Concorde flights immediately after the July 25 crash. Some believe the grounding may be permanent.
VIASPACE TECHNOLOGIES LLC, a Pasadena, Calif.-based technology commercialization company, has entered an agreement with Hewlett-Packard Company of Palo Alto, Calif., under which HP will provide ViaSpace as much as $10 million in a convertible debt arrangement. The money will help ViaSpace fund technology incubation costs as it takes advanced technologies originally developed for NASA and the Defense Dept. and pushes them into the commercial sector.
HONEYWELL TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS Inc. has won a four-year, $9.6 million contract for spacecraft engineering, navigation and operations support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Under the cost-plus-fixed-fee NOAA contract, the Columbia, Md.-based Honeywell unit will support the nine NOAA polar-orbiting and geostationary weather satellites. Honeywell engineers will work at NOAA's mission control center to perform satellite engineering analysis, navigation planning, launch and operations support and anomaly resolution.
Hunting Engineering reported delivery of the first batch of munitions for the U.K.'s Apache attack helicopter. The first delivery by the Hunting Defense subsidiary consisted of CRV7 practice rockets assembled by BAE Systems, Summerfield under contract from Bristol Aerospace, Hunting's main subcontractor for the CRV7. Deliveries of the Hellfire II missile will commence shortly, the company said. The missiles were assembled at Shorts Missiles' facility in Northern Ireland under contract from Lockheed Martin, Hunting's main Hellfire subcontractor.
Lockheed Martin, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company and Italy's Alenia have signed a $10 million contract extension on the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) program. The deal, signed Monday, allows the three parties to continue work until the fall, when the risk reduction phase of the effort is slated to begin.
EDO Corp. won $51.6 million of new contracts - including $24.6 million previously undisclosed awards - during the second quarter, the first quarter since its merger with AIL Technologies last April. "The backlog of unfilled orders at July 1, 2000, was $267.1 million, compared to $133.9 million at December 31, 1999, and business conditions in each of our three business segments - defense, space and communication products, and engineered materials - are favorable," said James M. Smith, CEO of the New York company.
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station will have to contend with inaccurate, hard-to-decipher displays and cumbersome command sequences on the laptop computer that are their primary interfaces with Station systems, despite repeated outside warnings to the Station program that problems were looming, the NASA Inspector General has found.
Boeing has painted the dummy payload it will launch on its upcoming Delta III return to flight black and white and added laser reflectors so the Air force can use the mockup as a test and calibration target for its electro-optical space imaging systems, the company reported yesterday.
Medical researchers are targeting nitric oxide, a molecule produced throughout the body to regulate blood pressure, as they work to develop medication that diminishes dizziness in astronauts after long-duration space missions. Nitric oxide dilates the vessels, and researchers have recently found that it builds to excessive levels during spaceflight, preventing adequate blood-vessel constriction necessary to remain conscious upon landing.
U.S. NAVY has accepted an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet part task trainer, BAE Systems and Boeing said. The device, they said, was delivered by BAE Systems Flight Simulation and Training ahead of schedule to NAS Lemoore, Calif. The trainer is designed as a tool for pilots to learn the weapons procedures, radar and other avionics on the jet. Students will be able to fly missions, select targets, fire weapons and practice a variety of capabilities, the companies said.
FLIR SYSTEMS INC., Portland, Ore., said Earl Lewis has been appointed chairman, president and CEO. Lewis, 56, has been a member of the board since June 1999, and most recently was president and CEO of Thermo Instrument Systems Inc., Waltham, Mass.
