TRW Aeronautical Systems, Lucas Aerospace, Solihull, England, acquired Pierburg Luftfahrtgerate Union GmbH (PLU) of Neuss, Germany, from Kolbenschmidt Pierburg AG, TRW reported yesterday. TRW has had a 34% share of PLU since 1970, which increased to 40% in 1990. The acquisition was finalized with the purchase of the remaining 60% for an undisclosed amount.
THIOKOL WON A CONTRACT worth as much as $1.73 billion from NASA for 73 more Reusable Solid Rocket Motors for the Space Shuttle fleet, the space agency announced yesterday. Under the contract Thiokol Propulsion of Brigham City, Utah, will deliver 35 pairs of flight motors to Kennedy Space Center, Fla., plus three motors for ground testing. The contract will support Shuttle launches through Sept. 2004, with follow-on review of recoverable hardware extending the contract through 2005. The contract includes performance and cost incentives, NASA said.
The State of Alabama has matched $4 million in seed money put up by NASA to create a "National Space Science and Technology Center" in Huntsville, Ala., that will combine experts from the U.S. Space Agency's Marshall Space Flight Center with academics and industry researchers in such areas as materials science, biotechnology, Earth science, propulsion and optics.
Precision Castparts Corp. agreed with the Federal Trade Commission not to consummate its cash tender offer for Wyman-Gordon Co. until 10 calendar days after it has notified the FTC of its intent to complete the transaction.
Hughes Space&Communications Co. and Lockheed Martin Missiles&Space have begun an 18-month face-off over the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (EHF) communication satellite system to be built for the U.S. Air Force beginning in 2001.
U.S. nuclear weapons are ready for the Year 2000 calendar rollover, the General Accounting Office (GAO) reported. Only four nuclear weapons - the W84 and W88 missile warheads and the B61 and B83 bombs - contain microprocessors, and none generate or store dates nor do they need dates to function properly, according to a letter from the agency to Energy Secretary Bill Richardson.
JAPAN WILL SCRAP its solid-fuel J-1 rocket in 2001 and shift to a new rocket that uses motors made either in the U.S. or Russia, the Science and Technology Agency said in Tokyo yesterday, citing the high cost of the all-Japanese vehicle. The National Space Development Agency (NASDA) was able to trim about $12 million from the $43 million cost of a J-1 rocket, but couldn't meet the $18 million-a-launch goal set by the Management and Coordination Agency.
NASA Space Shuttle managers are scheduled to meet tomorrow to discuss how wiring problems on the orbiter fleet will affect the flight schedule for the next six months, including the next mission to the International Space Station. A final decision is expected next week.
The Global Positioning System (GPS) uneventfully reset its timing system to "Week 0" Saturday night at 23:59:47 Universal Time Coordinated, about 8 p.m. EDT. All 27 orbiting satellites of the GPS constellation accomplished the date change without incident and the rollover was successful, according to a spokeswoman at the GPS Program Office, Los Angeles AFB, Calif. Only "minor anomalies were reported from individual military users and those problems were corrected over the weekend," she said.
From Commerce Business Daily: Posted in CBDNet on August 18, 1999; Printed Issue Date: August 20, 1999 ... PART: U.S. GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENTS SUBPART: SERVICES CLASSCOD: D-Information Technology Services, including Telecommunication Services-Potential Sources Sought; OFFADD: Defense Information Systems Agency, DITCO-NCR, 701 South Court House Road, Arlington, VA 22204-2199 ... SOL N/A; POC Contact: Ms. Karen Erickson, Contracting Officer, (703)681-6496
The U.S. is considering whether to permit Japan, Spain and other countries to buy complete turnkey satellite remote sensing systems, according to Keith Calhoun-Senghor, director of the Dept. of Commerce's Office of Space Commercialization. Though a number of countries have expressed interest, Calhoun-Senghor said, the focus is currently on Japan, with both classified and unclassified talks taking place. Discussions are also underway on a request to sell a system to Spain.
Lockheed Martin and Hughes Space and Communications Co. won contracts worth $22 million to define the advanced Extremely High Frequency (EHF) satellite communication system, the satellites that will replace Milstar II as the command and control system for top military leaders, the Pentagon announced yesterday.
Lockheed Martin advanced on two fronts last week in its bid to buy its Bethesda, Md., neighbor, Comsat Corp. Comsat shareholders were nearly unanimous in their approval of the proposed merger at their annual meeting on Friday. Earlier in the week, Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, announced that he had sent a letter to William Kennard, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, asking it to consider granting Lockheed Martin "authorized common carrier" status.
ALLIEDSIGNAL has been selected by Samsung of South Korea to provide flight instrument displays for the KTX-2 fighter being built for the South Korean Air Force. The deal, worth $31 million over 20 years, covers eight three-inch displays per aircraft, including the horizontal situation indicator, attitude director indicator, mach speed indicator and electronic altimeter. "We're honored to continue our relationship with Samsung through their selection of our flight instruments for South Korea's flagship combat aircraft program," said Charles D.
The international defense market is not on the verge of a "buying spree," but the world economy isn't so unhealthy that this will offset increases in U.S. defense spending, said Pierre Chao of Credit Suisse First Boston.
Egypt signed a contract with Lockheed Martin Friday agreeing to pay $324 million for 12 F-16C Block 40 fighters and 12 D models in its sixth order for the single engine planes. The deal, announced by the Pentagon yesterday, had been expected since June when the country signed a purchase agreement. The total value of the purchase is expected to reach $1.2 billion once Egypt firms plans to buy 28 F110-GE-100B engines, 24 AN/APG-88 radars and AGM-84 Harpoon missiles to go with the fighters.
ESCO ELECTRONICS CORP., St. Louis, reached an agreement to sell its Systems&Electronics Inc. (SEI) subsidiary to Engineered Support Systems Inc. for $85 million in cash. The sale is subject to regulatory and other approvals, including financing and is scheduled to close within 60 days.
The U.S. Navy is being forced back to the drawing board before it freezes the design of the Standoff Land Attack Missile-Extended Range (SLAM-ER). The Boeing-built missile was ruled operationally unsuitable by the Dept. of Defense's Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) authority earlier this month (DAILY, Aug. 20). The Navy and Boeing were told to add near-term software and hardware changes before resubmitting SLAM-ER for a second attempt at passing the test.
U.S. State Dept. officials have authorized the International Launch Services (ILS) venture to discuss the July 5 failure of a Russian Proton launch vehicle with Khrunichev Space Center as part of an ILS effort to clear the big Russian rocket for a resumption of commercial launches beginning in September.
Commerce Business Daily: Posted in CBDNet on August 19, 1999; Printed Issue Date: August 24, 1999 ... PART: U.S. GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENTS; SUBPART: SERVICES CLASSCOD: J-Maintenance, Repair, and Rebuilding of Equipment-Potential Sources Sought; OFFADD: Department of the Air Force, Air Force Space Command, 30CONS, Bldg 7015, STE 2D, Vandenberg AFB, CA, 93437-5226 ... SOL F04684-99-R-0023; POC Gregory Tom, Contract Specialist, Email [email protected]
