China plans to launch its own cosmonaut this year, but not to Russia's Mir orbital station. Yuri Koptiev, head of the Russian Space Agency, tells reporters in Moscow Mir will be deorbited in September or even late August unless a private investor can be found to keep it going. That is extremely unlikely, now that the Australian prospect RSC Energia had on the line has dropped out (DAILY, Feb. 12). A Chinese bailout isn't in the cards. "China is energetically developing its own space program and promised to put its first cosmonaut into orbit by Oct.
The Airbus Military Co. (AM) is "in business" following the first executive board meeting in Toulouse, France, last week, AM President Alain Flourens said in a statement Friday.
A C-130 Hercules tactical cargo aircraft has landed on the sea ice at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, using a new mobile microwave landing system. The Air National Guard 109th Airlift Wing demonstrated the system for possible use on Arctic missions planned by the National Science Foundation.
The European Commission this week called for governments of the European Union to develop their own Global Navigation Satellite System and not to rely on the U.S. Global Positioning System. The EC asked member states to give political and financial backing for a European-developed system that will "avoid the problems caused by our current dependence on U.S. and Russian satellites over which Europe has no control."
White House officials have indicated a willingness to support a House bill mandating deployment of a national missile defense (NMD) system rather than a Senate version they have threatened to veto. Bob Bell, White House adviser on arms control, told House staff this week the Administration is more apt to support the House bill, Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), sponsor of the House bill, told reporters at a defense writers breakfast in Washington yesterday.
Pratt&Whitney Canada's PW127H turboprops powering the Ilyushin Il-114-100 flew for the first time late last month, P&WC reports. The flight, from facilities in Tashkent, lasted 15 minutes and was witnessed by Uzbekistan and Russian government officials.
Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov has endorsed a cooperative effort between two Russian aerospace organizations and an Australian firm to develop a space launch vehicle that would be launched from Australia.
The European Parliament's approval this week of a measure banning hushkitted and re-engined aircraft could encourage "those who wish to employ U.S. protectionist measures," John Douglass, president of the Aerospace Industries Association, said yesterday. Douglass pointed out that the U.S. aerospace industry is the nation's leading net exporter of manufactured goods and said the European Parliament's approval of a plan to phase out such aircraft "will make it more difficult to resist such pressures in the future."
PW4000 series large turbofans installed on the world's Boeing 767 jetliners have notched enough trouble-free hours to reach a reliability rating eight times higher than extended-range twin operations (ETOPS) rules require, Pratt&Whitney reports. The East Hartford, Conn., enginemaker says the inflight shutdown rate is now at 0.0026 per 1,000 flight hours on the 767 - the lowest rate achieved by any P&W engine model. The company notes that it's equivalent to 90 years of operation without a shutdown.
The Air Force has tapped Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems Co. to do a major avionics refit on the C-5 Galaxy, work that includes software and hardware upgrades to help make the DOD's largest cargo jet capable of flying in a modern commercial air traffic control environment.
Spain's Iberia Airlines chose AlliedSignal to maintain, repair and overhaul Airbus A340 auxiliary power units under a five-year deal covering AlliedSignal Model 331-350 APUs. Iberia hopes to have replaced its entire DC-10 trijet fleet with A340s by 2002. AlliedSignal will maintain both APUs and their associated accessories at its Raunheim, Germany, facility.
The private investors Russia had hoped would enable the Mir orbital station to continue operating for at least three years have backed out, and the Russian Space Agency may order Mir deorbited as early as August, according to news reports from Moscow. Yuri Koptiev, the head of the RSA, told reporters after a Cabinet meeting on space yesterday that a mysterious Australian investor who raised hopes the aging station could be operated with private funds turned out not to be able to finance the project.
U.S. Defense Department planners are looking for commercial research into advanced propulsion, power and fuel efficiency that might prove useful in the military, and officials say they have about $110 million to help pay for the Pentagon's share in any projects designed to bring that about. As incentives, officials are offering cost-shared projects, access to government technology and "increased market opportunities with the military services," DOD says, along with streamlined contracting procedures to get companies on board quickly and easily.
SINGAPORE AIRLINES has placed firm orders for five A340-500s plus five options, confirming a previously announced commitment for the 8,600-nautical- mile-range aircraft. The planes will permit the airline to develop the first nonstop transpacific operations linking Singapore directly with points such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. Deliveries are to begin in late 2002 and run through mid-2003.
Intelsat's top executive has vigorously criticized legislation introduced on Capitol Hill last week that seeks total privatization of the satellite communications industry, including Intelsat and its U.S. signatory Comsat. While Intelsat management supports the concept of privatization, its Director General and CEO Conny Kullman said Wednesday it cannot be achieved through a single piece of legislation limited to the U.S.
Ted Warner, assistant secretary of defense for strategy requirements, will head to Russia next week to share Year 2000 expertise with officials there and to discuss a possible joint early warning system in an effort to alleviate fears Russia's crumbling strategic infrastructure could touch off a nuclear disaster.
Russia's Ministry of Defense expects to receive a new generation air-defense system in the fourth quarter of this year, both for domestic use and international sales. The new system, called Triumf (Triumph), is currently undergoing testing at the Kapustin Yar test range.
With deliveries of the first of some 350 RTM322 turboshafts now under way to Britain's RAF and Royal Navy, joint venture Rolls-Royce Turbomeca is turning its attention to new markets for the engine, particularly in the U.S. RRTM claims the engine has few turboshaft competitors in its 2,000- to 3,000-shp. class, and company executives believe the estimated requirement for up to 6,000 engines in this category during the next few years offers an opportunity for the RTM322.
The European Parliament yesterday endorsed a European Union plan to phase out hushkitted aircraft, threatening as much as $1 billion in U.S. esports. The approval in Strasbourg was "a mere formality" said a Parliament spokeswoman. The EU's new legislation on hushkitted aircraft is scheduled to be formally adopted during the EU's transport ministers meeting on March 29 at the latest
KEVIN L. PETERSEN, who has been acting director of NASA's Flight Research Center since Aug. 1, 1998, will continue to run the California flight test facility as center director, the agency announced. An aerospace engineer, Petersen joined Dryden in 1974 and has worked on the F-8 Digital Fly-by-Wire; Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology (HiMAT) and X-29 flight research projects. He became deputy director of the center in January 1996.
GENCORP AEROJET has won a contract potentially worth more than $500 million to build a new generation of solid rocket motors for Lockheed Martin's new Atlas V launch vehicle. Aerojet drew on its experience producing SRMs for the U.S. Air Force Minuteman and MX ICBMs. As many as five of the new SRMs, which use graphite composite cases to save weight, will be attached to each Atlas V "Common Core Booster" to create a "family" of vehicles that can be adapted to specific missions.
TRISTAR AEROSPACE CO., a Dallas-based supplier of aerospace fasteners and related hardware, has signed a definitive agreement to buy the outstanding stock of Standard Parts and Equipment Co. of Fort Worth, Tex., for as much as $31.6 million. Standard Parts specializes in distributing fastener hardware used in the manufacture and repair of executive jets.
EURIMAGE, a commercial partner of the European Space Agency, has started selling 25-meter resolution radar satellite remote sensing data in the U.S. and Canada, along with Landsat data from European archives. The company, which is owned by Italy's Telespazio, Germany's Dornier and SSC-Satellitbild of Sweden, plans to market the remote sensing data through the same type of expert resellers that it uses in Europe. The radar data is produced by the ERS-1 and ERS-2 satellites, which can be operated in tandem for interferometric applications including digital elevation models.
BFGOODRICH AEROSPACE reported its Wheels&Brakes Division has received a contract from Continental Airlines to supply wheels and brakes for the carrier's new 767-400 fleet. The contract is for 16 aircraft, with service scheduled to begin in 2000.
