BEIJING — A Japanese program to develop a cheaper solid-propellant space launcher has achieved successful first launch, with the Epsilon rocket putting a planetary observation satellite into orbit. The first Epsilon launch cost ¥5.3 billion ($53.6 million), compared with a ¥3.8 billion target quoted for the rocket’s initial version by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in 2011.
MH-60R Seahawk helicopters recently joined the Carrier Air Wing (CVW) aboard CVN-73 USS George Washington as part of the “Saberhawks” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 77. The Saberhawks’ missions include conducting antisubmarine warfare, surface warfare, search and rescue, vertical replenishment, medical evacuation, naval surface fire support and communications relay.
An Australian hypersonic scramjet technology demonstrator is expected to be launched from the Andøya Rocket Range in Norway as early as Sept. 17. The Scramspace (Scramjet-based Access-to-Space Systems) vehicle will test an array of hypersonic-propulsion technologies as well as being designed to foster a new generation of Australian hypersonic specialists. The $12.9 million, three-year research project is led by the University of Queensland and builds on Australia’s lead in air-breathing hypersonics as part of the country’s emerging national space policy.
Long in gestation and in endurance, Aurora Flight Sciences's Orion unmanned aircraft has made its first step towards demonstrating a 120-hr. flight at 20,000 ft. carrying a 1,000-lb. multi-sensor payload. (Photo: Aurora Flight Sciences)
November 13-14, 2013 Arizona Biltmore Phoenix, AZ Featuring the 2013 Program Excellence Awards recognizing the best in program performance and leadership! Top aerospace and defense program leaders come together to evaluate program performance — where money is being spent and best practices in tackling efficiency and cost, strategy, and supply chain.
Scientists are beginning to use the Voyager I spacecraft to make in situ measurements of interstellar space, having applied a “gift from the Sun” to confirm that the venerable probe has traveled into the region characterized by plasma originating in other stars.
NEW DELHI — India soon will have a second satellite launch vehicle assembly unit at the Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota (SDSC-SHAR) in southern India at an estimated cost of $3.64 billion rupees ($57 million).
A Sept. 2 story incorrectly identified the supplier of fuel-tank inerting systems on Airbus aircraft. Parker Aerospace supplies the inerting equipment for the A320, A318, A319, A321, A330, A340, A350, and A400M programs, among others.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) sept. 16 — European Aerospace Raw Materials & Manufacturers Supply Chain Conference, Hotel Palladia, Toulouse, France. For more information go to www.speednews.com/all/conferences sept. 16 - 18 — Cyber Security for Oil and Gas, Wyndham Houston West Energy Corridor, Houston, Tex. For more information go to www.idga.org/events.cfm?filter=1005/
LONDON — The French government’s defense procurement agency, the DGA, has taken delivery of the first of four newly converted Dassault Falcon 50s for the maritime patrol mission. The aircraft, which eventually will be used by the French navy for maritime surveillance, was handed over to the DGA on Sept. 6 by Dassault Aviation, which is converting the aircraft. The four Falcon 50Bs previously had been on the charge of the French air force’s ETEC VIP squadron.
November 13-14, 2013 Arizona Biltmore Phoenix, AZ Featuring the 2013 Program Excellence Awards recognizing the best in program performance and leadership! Top aerospace and defense program leaders come together to evaluate program performance — where money is being spent and best practices in tackling efficiency and cost, strategy, and supply chain. Focus on the impact of sequestration - how programs are being affected and where government is likely to place its bets.
A team including Aurora Flight Sciences is proposing unmanned flights of the company’s Centaur optionally piloted aircraft (OPA) over the Alaskan tundra in 2014, following the completion of manned flights to measure greenhouse gas released from thawing permafrost. On Aug. 30, the company-operated aircraft completed a month-long campaign led by Harvard University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Div.
Northrop Grumman has begun company-funded development of a Directed Infrared Countermeasures (Dircm) system for fast jets, anticipating a requirement to protect the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter from heat-seeking air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles. “We believe the requirement is there, and coming quickly, and that the first opportunity will be on the F-35,” says Jeff Palombo, senior vice president and general manager of Northrop’s land and self-protection systems division.
While U.S. interest and investment in nanotechnology continues to increase, questions still remain about how much the federal government needs to shepherd such development, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
LONDON — MBDA and Lockheed Martin have conducted an exploratory test of a MBDA-built missile from a Lockheed Martin-made vertical launcher. The trial, conducted in Bedford, U.K., on Sept. 10, tested the ability to eject MBDA’s Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) — also known as Sea Ceptor — from Lockheed Martin’s Mk. 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) and the Extensible Launching System (ExLS). The test used MBDA’s soft vertical launch technology to eject the CAMM from its canister and position the missile for main motor ignition.
U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment Team (Ledet) 101 recently embarked with sailors on the Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate FFG-51 USS Gary for training and anti-drug smuggling operations off the California coast.
SAN DIEGO — SpaceX says unspecified issues prevented the planned static firing of its first upgraded Falcon 9 v1.1 at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on Sept. 11, delaying the launch by several days.
HELO SAFETY: The Transport Committee of the U.K. Parliament has announced it will hold an inquiry into helicopter safety following the crash of a Super Puma into the North Sea on Aug. 23 that killed four oil workers. Committee chair Louise Ellman said: “We have heard worrying evidence that the workforce has lost confidence in the helicopters, which they have no choice but to use.
NEW DELHI — India on Sept. 11 unveiled its Mars Orbiter, which is due to launch later this year to search the red planet’s atmosphere for methane, considered a “precursor chemical” for life. “The Mars orbiter is in the final stages of testing for launch between Oct. 21 and Nov. 19 on board a rocket with five scientific instruments to conduct various experiments after a nine-month voyage to the red planet,” says S.K. Shivkumar, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) satellite center director.
Recent ship trials for the fourth Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-4), the Coronado, indicate major progress being made with the Independence-class LCS variants, U.S. Navy officials say. “Coronado’s acceptance trials showed significant improvement in the LCS shipbuilding process, when compared to the results of the USS Independence [LCS-2] acceptance trials,” says Rear Adm. Jim Murdoch, LCS program executive officer.
