Efforts to establish the first carbon dioxide certification standard for aircraft are proving difficult, and the recent failure to agree on a metric for CO2 emissions risks delaying completion of the standard. Any delay could empower environmental groups already putting pressure on governments to regulate aircraft CO2 emissions in the absence of a global standard.
SAN FRANCISCO — Ames Research Center, NASA’s lead for small/low-cost satellite development, is tapping Swedish experts in space plug-and-play avionics (SPA) to further its design of cubesats. The 10-year partnership between NASA and the Swedish National Space Board will harness the miniaturization work of AAC Microtec of Uppsala, Sweden, which the board has funded. SPA technology includes interfaces, onboard computers and power subsystems that Ames will test in June 2012.
As the U.S. Navy tries to get its arms around the service’s daunting surface-ship maintenance problems, the respective tales of two different ships show how pervasive and pernicious those issues are — and how the service can overcome them. What’s also clear from both stories is that it’s going to take no small measure of money or time for the Navy to get back on course — and the service needs to revamp its shipbuilding plans accordingly to account for the extra maintenance funding and other resources it is going to need (Aerospace DAILY, Aug. 10).
Jay Pierce, chairman of Continental Airlines’ Air Line Pilots Association chapter, is applauding moves to implement a new fatigue risk management system for the work group. The lack of a fatigue plan has for some time been a major concern for Pierce, and he again raised the issue late last month when United Continental Holdings complained about the cancellation of Continental Boeing 737 services at its Newark Liberty International hub because of an apparent sick-out (Aviation Daily, July 29).
US Airways is citing the Justice Department’s investigation into possible antitrust violations by global distribution system providers as one of many reasons why the airline’s antitrust lawsuit against Sabre should be allowed to proceed.
The U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) is testing a new warhead casing material that could increase the lethality of air-to-air, air-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles. Arena tests of the high-density reactive material (HDRM) against aircraft, missile and small boat targets are planned this month as a step toward transitioning the technology to a weapon system.
Australia’s Tiger Airways is preparing to resume flying on a second route following the lifting of the carrier’s operating suspension last week. Tiger is restoring its Melbourne-Brisbane route beginning Aug. 18 after reintroducing its Sydney-Melbourne service on Aug. 12. The carrier is “resuming Australian domestic services gradually,” and regulators are only allowing it 18 sectors per day during August.
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC) is pushing to do more work for Sikorsky in light of the fact that Taiwan has 60 UH-60s on order, according to an AIDC executive. An-Cheng Yen, a senior manager for AIDC’s Taiwan Advanced Composite Center, says the additional work that Sikorsky has offered it recently is small in dollar terms, so AIDC is trying for more.
TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Taiwan’s latest upgrade program for its indigenous fighter has left many western defense industry executives unimpressed. “It still doesn’t address the main issue with the IDF [Indigenous Defense Fighter], which is that it’s under-powered,” says one industry executive, echoing the sentiments of many in the industry.
BEIJING — The South Korean air force rates all of the Western competitors for its F-X Phase 3 fighter program, including the F-35 Lightning, as capable of meeting the in-service date of 2016, an assessment that appears to raise the chances of the Lockheed Martin aircraft. The air force does not express the same view on the fourth and most recent competitor for the planned 60-aircraft order, the Sukhoi PAK FA.
U.S. Army Secretary John McHugh is promising to spend $7 billion over the next decade on renewable-energy technologies. McHugh also announced last week the establishment of the Energy Initiatives Office Task Force, which will be focused on “working with the private sector to execute large-scale renewable energy projects,” according to an Army statement. The task force will conduct “an aggressive outreach effort to attract and engage private industry” in the renewable energy effort, the service says.
TAIPEI, Taiwan — First deliveries of Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to Taiwan appear set for 2014. Sources familiar with the situation add that the first Black Hawk is due to be completed in May 2013, but then needs to be modified to meet Taiwan’s requirements. Also, Taiwanese pilots and maintenance engineers will have to train in the U.S. before the aircraft comes to Taiwan.
UP FOR GRABS: On Aug. 15, NASA will unveil its latest batch of 2,000 space program artifacts to be given away to eligible organizations that request them. Most of the artifacts are from the space shuttle program, and include thermal tiles and spacesuit components. “Artifacts are released incrementally when NASA no longer needs them, in accordance with export control laws and regulations,” the agency says.
Air Combat Command chief Gen. William Fraser has declared initial operational capability (IOC) for the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk Block 30 unmanned aircraft, officially clearing its use for operational missions. Fraser signed off on the initial operational capability decision Aug. 10, according to Mike Norcini, chief of Global Hawk requirements for ACC. “There are enough assets and infrastructure in place to support the one continuous Block 30 orbit requirement for IOC,” Fraser says.
LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Air Force and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa)are setting up an engineering review board to investigate the loss of the second and final Hypersonic Test Vehicle (HTV-2) shortly after launch from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on Aug 11.
TAIPEI, Taiwan — At least three Asian nations are planning to upgrade their Lockheed Martin F-16s with active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, possibly following the U.S. Air Force’s lead. Taiwan is seeking U.S. government permission for an F-16 upgrade package that includes AESA radar, targeting pods and missiles. This AESA radar competition in Taiwan—and globally—is between Northrop Grumman’s Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) and the Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar (RACR).
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) has completed two weeks of testing on a Textron-built countermeasure system for protecting vehicles from rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). Textron Defense Systems’ TRAPSNet—an enhanced version of its Tactical Rocket-Propelled Grenade Airbag Protection System (TRAPS)—is a passive countermeasure that automatically deploys a net to defeat the RPG before it reaches the vehicle, minimizing collateral damage.
William Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for space operations, will head a new mission directorate at the U.S. space agency that combines Space Operations and Exploration Systems. To be called the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEO), the new organization at NASA headquarters in Washington will manage U.S. operations on the International Space Station (ISS) and development of capabilities for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.
