Even though Congress remains largely supportive of the Station project, particularly with the first two elements already in orbit, VA, HUD subcommittee Chair Christopher Bond (R-Mo.) warns Goldin not to get complacent because perennial Station foe Dale Bumpers (D-Ark.) has retired. "Somebody will take up the cudgel, I'm sure," Bond says, commenting on the cost growth from the original $17.9 billion total estimate for the present Station configuration.
Thiokol Propulsion, which received an estimated 62% of its 1998 revenues, or about $400 million, from the Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) program, should see this program continue at its current level for at least the next 10 years, Nisbet says. Commercial space programs will account for about 12%, or $75 million, of revenues, with the number growing at about a 15% rate through 2003.
NASA is looking for a non-governmental partner to manage all aspects of International Space Station utilization - scientific, technological and commercial - and tentatively plans to hold a competition for the job next year. Mark Uhran, who heads Station utilization planning at NASA headquarters for the Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) enterprise, told The DAILY Friday that the competition will probably lead to "an association of entities" that can handle the disparate management tasks Station utilization will demand.
ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS said it will move its precision metal parts manufacturing operation, currently conducted by Ferrulmatic Operations in Totowa, N.J., to its tactical systems production facility at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in Rocket Center, W. Va. The relocation will be phased over the next 12 months.
Boeing and Raytheon face the expiration of several contracts with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers 1999. The contract for workers at Boeing's Space and Electronics operation in Cocoa Beach, Fla., expires July 1. Contracts for Boeing commercial sector employees in the Puget Sound area, Portland, Ore., and Wichita, Kans., expire on Sept. 1. Contracts with Boeing Space and Electronics and Military Aircraft and Missile employees in several California locations expire Oct. 24. Raytheon contracts expire for Tucson, Ariz., employees on Oct.
Motorola has returned two Iridium low-Earth orbit communications satellites to the U.S. for testing after deciding conditions at a Chinese satellite processing facility may have affected the satellites' readiness to fly. The two replenishment spacecraft for the Iridium "Big LEO" constellation were to have been launched on a Chinese Long March rocket on March 12. The launch was postponed until March 15, and then delayed indefinitely while the satellites were shipped back to Motorola for testing.
The urban warfare working group of the Pentagon's Joint Staff is slated to release a draft handbook for commanders in April. The Marine Corps is leading the effort to define Pentagon doctrine, while the Air Force is responsible for the intermediary handbook. The Air Force begins internal talks about urban warfare March 24 at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Mid-level officers will define aerospace assets and doctrine needed for urban warfare.
Delays and cost overruns continue to push NASA's "best estimates" of completion dates and development costs for the International Space Station. Completion of Station "development" is now expected in September 2003, at a total cost of between $22.1 billion and $23.7 billion, Administrator Daniel S. Goldin tells the Senate Appropriations VA, HUD and independent agencies subcommittee. That will buy a full-time six-person crew.
LITTON INDUSTRIES said that Michael R. Brown has been elected chairman of the board, and that Harry Halamandaris has been elected executive vice president and chief operating officer. Brown, 58, retains the title of president and chief executive officer. He succeeds John M. Leonis, 65, who will retire effective March 31. Leonis will remain a member of the board of directors. Halamandaris, in his new capacity, will provide overall direction to the day-to-day operations of Litton, and will have continuing responsibility for strategic planning.
THE U.K.'S GKN AND ITALY'S FINMECCANICA yesterday formally agreed to merge their Westland and Agusta helicopter interests. Negotiations for the 50-50 joint venture were announced in April 1999, and due diligence procedures to achieve definitive agreement will now begin. U.K. Defense Secretary George Robertson welcomed the announcement as an important step in the consolidation of European aerospace and defense industries.
Northrop Grumman's 1998 earnings were cut another $20 million to $194 million following a $30 million write-off related to an investment in Kistler Aerospace Corp.'s K-1 reusable space launch vehicle program, Northrop Grumman reported yesterday. The write-off goes in the 1998 fourth quarter, leaving Northrop Grumman with a $3 million loss in the period.
NASA is getting good results from a recent clampdown on the way it spends U.S. funds in Russia for International Space Station hardware, Administrator Daniel S. Goldin told the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday, suggesting that the same approach could pay off with U.S. launch service providers as the agency decides how to keep flying humans to orbit in the new century.
The U.S. Air Force's F-22 fighter program is behind schedule and could be hundreds of millions of dollars over budget, the General Accounting Office reported to the Senate Armed Services Committee. The GAO also said it does not accept U.S. Navy reports that the F/A-18E/F is on cost and schedule.
RAYTHEON CO. said it has completed installation of three F-16C Block 52C maintenance trainers for the Republic of Korea Air Force. The trainers, sat Taegu AB, will enable personnel to train on major systems of the aircraft, Raytheon said. They will be able to perform operational checkouts and troubleshooting.
ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS has won a $7.1 million contract from KDI Precision Products Inc. to manufacture what Alliant says is the world's smallest lithium reserve battery. The battery, deliveries of which will run thorugh November 2000, will power a self-destruct fuze that automatically destroys artillery-launched munitions that fail to explode on their own, Alliant said. It said the micro-miniature batteries will be installed on all new Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) payloads, as well as 155mm artillery projectiles.
The U.S. Coast Guard's cost estimates for its Deepwater Replacement Project would outstrip the agency's budget, and it still has not sufficiently defined its project needs, a GAO official told a House subcommittee. Deepwater is the Coast Guard's 20-year project to upgrade its aircraft and ships, and at $10 billion, is the service's largest acquisition project ever (DAILY, Aug. 22, 1997).
A REPORT on operational and safety changes implemented since a U.S. Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler clipped a gondola cable in Italy on Feb. 3, 1998, killing 20 people, is due April 15. The report will be prepared by the U.S. Navy's Adm. Joseph W. Prueher and the Italian Air Force's Lt. Gen. Leonardo Tricarico. They plan to include equipment and equipment support in their assessment of U.S. flight safety in Europe.
Responding to reports critical of the Airborne Laser (ABL) program, officials of Boeing Co. and the U.S. Air Force yesterday defended the effort and claimed they already have put into place a revised plan that significantly reduces technological risk.
Raytheon Co. said it has completed a key test for a next-generation flight data recording system that will aid in accident investigations. It said the Distributed Flight Data Acquisition Unit (DFDAU) system uses fiber optic technology and remote sensors to gather and record data on passenger aircraft. A bench test of the system, developed by Raytheon's Commercial Electronics division, Lexington, Mass., took place at Raytheon Aircraft's facility in Wichita, Kans.
Three industry teams - led by Avondale, Lockheed Martin and SAIC - are scheduled to turn in preliminary designs for the Coast Guard's Deepwater project, which will set the course for acquisition and hardware for the next 40 years once an idea is accepted. The teams are drawing up conceptual plans to include air, sea and information assets that will be used by the Coast Guard in the future.
AlliedSignal won a contract to provide its 36-150(BD) auxiliary power unit for the Bombardier Continental Business Jet, the company reported yesterday. This will include the APU, muffler, the APU installation kit and the tailcone. Terms of the deal were not announced. AlliedSignal previously was selected to supply its AS907 turbofan engine for the aircraft.
The U.K. Dept. of Trade and Industry has created an Aerospace Committee made up of senior industry representatives to advise ministers on issues of strategic importance to the industry, including competitiveness and restructuring, the department said. The committee will be headed by Colin Green, managing director for Rolls-Royce Aerospace Group. The Aerospace Committee replaces the Aviation Committee, which finished its three-year term in December. Other members will be announced when the appointments are completed.
U.S. military leaders said yesterday that any air strikes against Serb positions in Kosovo would be dangerous and that the U.S. could lose aircraft. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Ryan, Marine Corps Comandant Gen. Charles Krulak and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jay Johnson told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the air defense system against which U.S. aircraft would be flying is sophisticated, that weather could be a problem, and that there is risk of losses.
Like the Senate a day earlier, the House yesterday passed, 317 to 105, a bill mandating U.S. deployment of a national missile defense (NMD) system. The bill makes it U.S. policy to deploy NMD, but steers clear of any dates for deployment. The Senate version called for deployment of a system "as soon as technologically possible." The House didn't add that language, which the White House had threatened to veto. But Democrats learned Senate Republicans would have enough votes to override a veto, and the White House revoked its veto threat.
