Dense-Pac Microsystems Inc., Garden Grove, Calif., has received an order from Northrop Grumman for a flash version of its patented memory stack. The order, valued at $912,000, is slated for delivery over the next three months. "The Northrop Grumman order is a firm indication that our sales initiative to stimulate Dense-Pac's penetration of the industrial, defense and aerospace industries is gaining momentum," Ted Bruce, president and chief executive officer of Dense-Pac, said in a statement.
Two senior members of the House Armed Services Committee, both from Virginia, announced this week they will not seek re-election in 2000. Reps. Herbert Bateman (R) and Owen Pickett (D) will not seek to return to the House after this second session 106th Congress. Bateman chairs the HASC Military Readiness Subcommittee, on which Pickett also sits. Pickett is ranking democrat on the HASC Research and Development Subcommittee.
NASA's Galileo probe made another close pass of the Jovian moon Europa Monday, dipping to within 218 miles of the body's frozen surface to check magnetic fields in a search for clues to whether a liquid ocean exists beneath the ice. The spacecraft also studied charged particles around Europa. Scientists also took advantage of a radio blackout that occurred when the probe flew behind Europa to study its ionosphere, according to a Jet Propulsion Laboratory status report.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE is launching a $3 million expansion of its completions facility in Brunswick, Ga., which is dedicated to outfitting and servicing Gulfstream aircraft for the Gulfstream Shares fractional ownership program. The expansion includes construction of a 23,000 square foot hangar. The new facilities are expected to open next June. The Gulfstream Shares program, now it its fourth year, teams Gulfstream with Executive Jet, an industry leader in the fractional ownership of business aircraft.
An advanced version of an Aerojet attitude control system now used to guide NASA sounding rocket payloads exceeded all pointing accuracy expectations in tests last month, the company said.
Space Imaging has set prices ranging from $12 to $44 per square kilometer for one-meter satellite imagery collected by its Ikonos commercial remote sensing spacecraft, the company reported, promising delivery in as little as three days.
There is a growing threat to U.S. military satellites from "laser dazzlers" that could blind optical systems, as well as from jammers that can interfere with uplinks, Gen. Richard B. Myers, Commander in Chief of U.S. Space Command, told defense reporters in Washington yesterday. "Clearly we think the threat is there," Myers said. "There have been countries that have used jamming of uplinks already." Although he would not name them, Myers said they were "some countries you would not suspect of having that capability."
DAIMLERCHRYSLER NA Holdings plans to issue a $2.5 billion global bond soon, the parent company said yesterday. Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs will lead the offering. DaimlerChrysler has not publicly disclosed potential uses for the proceeds. The financing is expected to consist of short- to medium-term maturity and may be issued in one or more tranches. The timing of the deal is subject to market conditions.
Globalstar USA won temporary permission to sell its satellite-based communications services in the U.S. late last month, when the U.S. Federal Communications Commission granted the company a 180-day special temporary authorization to do business while it reviews its license application. The authorization is subject to an agreement between Globalstar USA and the FBI and the Defense and Justice Depts. on processes for wiretaps through Globalstar's Canadian gateways, the company reported Dec. 29.
Kenwood Corp. is the latest automotive electronics manufacturer to sign an agreement with Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. for the development of car receivers for the digital satellite radio signal, Sirius said yesterday. Formerly known as CD Radio, New York-base Sirius has already signed agreements with Alpine, Audiovox, Clarion, Delphi Delco Electronics, Panasonic, Recoton and Visteon to supply automotive receivers for its subscription radio service.
The Triana whole-Earth satellite program suggested by Vice President Gore as a way to interest schoolchildren in science has continued on reduced funding since Congress banned spending on it last fall pending a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) study of its scientific merit, NASA's inspector general told a congressional critic of the project.
SR Technics of Switzerland said it has signed an agreement to purchase a hangar at Palmdale, Calif., for aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services through a subsidiary, SR Technics America Inc. The company initially will focus on DC-10 to MD-10 conversions, which its president, Hans Beyeler, described as an "extension of the excellent relationship" with Boeing. He said MRO services on Boeing and Airbus aircraft will be offered. The initiative is part of a global expansion, he said. SR Technics is a subsidiary of SairServices.
Naval Sea Systems Command awarded a $17.5 million contract extension to Kollmorgen Corp., Waltham, Mass., to provide a photonics mast production unit for the Navy's second Virginia-class submarine. The contract is a follow-on to an existing contract. The photonics mast is a subsystem of the submarine's command and control suite that uses color and high-definition TV, electronic image processing and advanced displays to replace the traditional periscope systems.
Boeing Co. said it has signed a contract valued at more than $300 million calling for delivery of nine CH-47SD Chinook helicopters to Taiwan under a Foreign Military Sales agreement with the U.S. government. Deliveries are slated to begin in 2001. Taiwan's air force now operates three Boeing 234 Commercial Chinooks configured for military service.
Saying he has no complaints about this year's Air Force budget in terms of how priorities were laid out, Gen. Richard B. Myers, outgoing Commander in Chief of U.S. Space Command, said Space Command's first funding priority is the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS). "Our number one priority, and it has been for a long time, is getting the Space Based Infrared System on orbit and operational, and that remains our number one priority today," Myers told a group of defense reporters in Washington yesterday.
NASA spaceflight managers are to decide next week whether they will lay on an extra Space Shuttle mission to the nascent International Space Station as Russia's launch of the Zvezda Service Module slips into the summer.
MICRONETICS WIRELESS INC., Hudson, N.H., said its Micronetics/Components Group has won an order from DaimlerChrysler Aerospace to supply microwave integrated assemblies for the European Fighter Aircraft. Multi-year deliveries are slated to begin in the first half of 2000, it said.
LMI AEROSPACE INC., St. Louis, plans to buy the assets of U.S. Hayakawa Industries, an aerospace sheet metal manufacturer based in Washington state. U.S. Hayakawa has annual sales of $3.5 million and services customers such as Mitsubishi, Kawasaki and Stoddard-Hamilton. LMI reported that it will purchase the fixed assets, accounts receivable and tooling and planning capabilities of U.S. Hayakawa for an undisclosed amount. LMI officials plan to consolidate the newly acquired production and machining operations with other LMI facilities in Washington and Dallas.
Orbital Sciences Corp. has attached the composite wing to its second X-34 reusable launch vehicle testbed, moving the vehicle a step closer to its first powered flight next year. Technicians attached the composite wing to the liquid-fueled, air-launched rocket at Orbital's facilities in Dulles, Va., near Washington. The wing itself was built by R-Cubed of West Jordon, Utah.
DT01, the first of 33 Hawk Mk 127 two-seat lead-in fighter (LIF) trainers ordered by the Royal Australian Air Force to replace its Aermacchi MB.326s, made its initial flight shortly before Britain's Christmas close-down from BAE Systems' Warton airfield, in Lancashire. Flown by Deputy chief test pilot Phil Dye and Hawk production test pilot Andy Peters, DT01 completed a 67-minute initial sortie, during which general handling, aircraft systems and avionics functions were satisfactorily explored.
Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems, Fort Worth, Tex., built its tenth mid-fuselage for the F-22 in record time, the company said. The mid-fuselage, the largest and most complicated structural component of the fighter, required 26% fewer labor hours and took 28% less time to build than the sixth fuselage, which contained the first full-up avionics suite, Lockheed Martin said. It was also completed with 18% fewer assembly hours than projected in 1996 by the Joint Estimating Team, which included government personnel and contractors.
The Dept. of Defense's method of outsourcing takes too long and other ways to save money may be more effective, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service. The Pentagon's Defense Science Board requires DOD and the military services to plan for $11.2 billion in savings by 2005 using managed competition processes outlined in the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 Policy, CRS said. A-76 provides a framework for defining commercial activity, and helps officials decide if the government has a need for such service.
The General Accounting Office said foreign nationals employed by contractors performed Y2K code repair and testing on 15 of 153 mission critical FAA systems without performing background checks as required by the agency's policy. It said no background searches were carried out on 36 mainland Chinese nationals who worked for contractor Primeon, and who performed code reviews. Other nationalities working for contractors on which background checks were not performed were from Ukraine and Pakistan, the GAO said.
