Germany's DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (DASA) is buying a $12 million equity stake in Washington-based Spacehab, increasing its investment interest to about 11.5%. DASA already owned 1% of Spacehab's outstanding common stock and the two companies enjoy a close working relationship. The increase of equity expands and solidifies the relationship as both companies pursue opportunities related to commercial resupply and utilization of the ISS, Spacehab said. Josef Kind, president of DASA's Space Infrastructure Division will join Spacehab's board.
The Boeing-led Sea Launch venture is learning to live with U.S. export control laws that have already cost it $10 million in civil penalties, as it works under contracts drafted in the Cayman Islands to launch Ukrainian rockets with Russian upper stages from a Liberian vessel with a Norwegian captain and a Filipino crew home-ported on a U.S. Navy mole here.
Pentagon officials on Capitol Hill yesterday rejected Republican lawmakers' moves to pass the Taiwan Security Enhancement Act that calls for more U.S. assistance to Taiwan through the sale of a variety of weaponry, including ballistic missile defense systems. The existing Taiwan Relations Act is sufficient, DOD and State Dept. officials told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
LITTON INDUSTRIES completed its acquisition of Avondale Industries in an all-cash transaction valued at about $529 million. Avondale, based in New Orleans, had revenues of about $750 million in 1998. Avondale shareholders approved the merger last week (DAILY, July 29). The new Litton Ship Systems organization will include Avondale and Ingalls Shipbuilding, and will have combined revenues of about $1.8 billion in the shipbuilding and ship-modernization market. It will be capable of producing any class of non-nuclear ship for military or commercial customers.
NATO yesterday appointed U.K. Defense Secretary George Robertson as the new Secretary General of NATO and Chairman of the North Atlantic Council, succeeding Javier Solana. "I have worked closely with [Robertson] over the last two years and have valued his support and advice on all the key issues facing the Alliance," Solana said.
The NASA Acquisition Internet Service (NAIS) and NASA's Ames Research Center chose the Tumbleweed Integrated Messaging Exchange (IME) as the foundation for electronic exchanges of contract documents in NASA's "Electronic Request for Proposals" (E-RFP) Pilot - a paperless system for receiving and tracking responses to requests for proposals, Tumbleweed Communications Corp. of Redwood City, Calif., reported.
The House passed the fiscal year 2000 foreign operations bill, providing $12.6 billion, a $2 billion cut from President Clinton's request The bill increases U.S. military assistance to Israel from $1.86 billion in FY '99 to $1.92 billion in FY '00, as requested by the White House. It also provides the $1.3 billion request for Egypt's military assistance and $125 million in military assistance for Jordan, as requested.
Five European aerospace and defense companies have formed a joint venture company - TAC ONE - to compete for the TACOMS Post-2000 program, which is intended to define new NATO standardization agreements for tactical communications systems entering service after 2005.
Lucas Aerospace reported the sale of its Burnley, U.K.-based fabrication business to MB Aerospace Ltd. of the U.K. Details of the transaction were not released.
U.K. Science Minister Lord Sainsbury revealed a 19.5 million pound ($31.5 million) package of new investment in space science, engineering and technology yesterday as part of the U.K. Space Strategy 1999-2001. "Commercial markets for satellite communications and navigation are estimated to reach $150 billion per year by 2010," Sainsbury said in a statement released by the U.K. Dept. of Trade and Industry (DTI). "The challenge for U.K. industry is to continue to capture more than its fair share of those markets, supplying both hardware and software."
North Korea said yesterday it would launch a missile and orbit a satellite if the U.S. increases pressure on it. Defense Secretary William Cohen said North Korea would suffer "diplomatic and economic consequences," if it proceeds with another ballistic missile test. Concern in the region heightened Monday when China launched a Dong Feng-31 missile, reportedly capable of carrying a 1,500-pound warhead 5,000 miles.
The Aerospace Industries Association has passed three resolutions designed to streamline the working relationship between prime contractors and their suppliers and make the U.S. aerospace industry more competitive in the global economy, according to John Douglass, AIA president and chief executive officer.
The U.S. Air Force may have to rethink its force structure if the F-22 fighter program is altered or canceled, Gen. Michael Ryan, AF chief of staff, said yesterday. "Our assumption is that we are going to get the F-22 and the Joint Strike Fighter," Ryan told defense reporters at a breakfast in Washington. "If that doesn't occur then we are going to go back and rethink the whole program."
George Robertson, the U.K. defense secretary, is expected to be named the new Secretary General of NATO, replacing Javier Solana, who takes over as head of the European Union's foreign and security policies in October.
Planners at NASA's Johnson Space Center see the Space Shuttle fleet as a sort of elevator to get future human exploration crews from Earth's surface to orbit, along with some new vehicles they would need to move on to the moon and Mars.
Engineers at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works have a design for the full scale VentureStar one-stage reusable launch vehicle that will fly even with a weight margin mandated by corporate headquarters, but they must await the first flight of the X-33 suborbital testbed next July to understand fully how their concept will work.
LOCKHEED MARTIN Launching Systems, Middle River, Md., will provide Mk.41 Vertical Launching Systems and engineering integration to the Royal Australian Navy's Frigate Upgrade Program. The company said it signed a $37.7 million contract with ADI Ltd. of Australia on July 23, which requires delivery, installation and integration of six single-module tactical launchers beginning in January 2002. Work will run through January 2005.
Consumer entertainment represents a big growth opportunity as NASA tries to commercialize Earth orbit to pay for the next steps in space exploration, but the U.S. space agency and the aerospace industry that serves it need to learn new ways of thinking to make it pay off, according to a Disney futurist who sits on the International Space Station advisory panel.
AIL Systems, Inc., Deer Park, N.Y., is being awarded a $25,644,850 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 50 universal exciter upgrade (UEU) units for the EA-6B, including parts and technical data. The UEU, an essential part of the EA-6B tactical jamming system, generates the jamming modulations for the transmitters carried in the tactical jamming system pods. Work will be performed in Deer Park, N.Y., and is expected to be completed by July 2001. Contract funds in the amount of $3,064,722 would have expired at the end of the current fiscal year.
General Dynamics has completed its acquisition of Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. The $4.8 billion deal creates a company with 38,000 employees and estimated 1999 sales of $8.2 billion, GD said. Gulfstream, which becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of GD, will retain its name and continue to be based in Savannah, Ga., with no major changes planned for the existing management, work force, operations or facilities.
Agusta Helicopter, Varese, Italy, is being awarded a $5,075,000 firm-fixed-price contract for 14 T58-GE-100 gas turbine engines for installation in CH-46 helicopters. Work will be performed in Varese, Italy, but installation will take place at the Naval Aviation Depot, Cherry Point, N.C., and is expected to be completed by September 1999. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. is the contracting activity (N00019-99-C-1576).
Description: This solicitation is for test, evaluation and system engineering support services for both military and commercial satellite communication systems. The scope also includes test documentation, planning, executing, and reporting, laboratory and field testing, of RF suites and peripheral baseband equipment. The period of performance is for three base years and two one-year options. The anticipated contract type is indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity, with cost plus fixed fee pricing arrangement.
