Adar Azancot has resigned as chief executive officer. Major Gen. (Res.) Herzle Bodinger, RADA's president and chairman of the board, will replace Azancot.
L-3 Communications is establishing a new operation to coordinate its far-flung homeland security businesses and has tapped the head of the Massachusetts Port Authority to run it. Craig P. Coy will take over as president and chief operating officer of L-3's Homeland Security Group, which is scheduled to begin running on July 24.
SOHO EXTENDED: The European Space Agency has agreed to provide funding to extend the mission of the venerable Soho solar observatory, allowing it to be used in combination with five new spacecraft due to join the international solar fleet over the next two years. The additional money will extend the operation of Soho, launched in 1995, from April 2007 to December 2009. Japan's Solar B is to be launched later this year, along with NASA's Stereo twins. ESA's Proba-2 will follow in September 2007 and NASA's Solar Dynamics Orbiter the year after.
Steve Campbell has been appointed president of the precision components group. B. Christopher DiSantis has been named president of the friction products and performance racing groups.
Developing an engine with all the necessary power and flexibility to both fly supersonic and then land - vertically - a stealthy, bomb-carrying fighter is proving to be a tough proposition for all the engine companies involved.
Thomas A. Corcoran, Glen M. Kassan, Warren G. Lichtenstein, Robert F. Mehmel, Gen. Richard I. Neal (USMC Ret.), and Frederick M. Strader have been re-elected as directors.
SBINET: The Boeing Co. said May 31 that it delivered its team's proposal in pursuit of the Homeland Security Department's Secure Border Initiative network, a potentially $2 billion contract set for a September award. Rivals such as Northrop Grumman Corp. also are competing (DAILY, May 25). Boeing teammates comprise DRS Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group, Kollsman, L-3 Communications, Perot Systems and Unysis Global Public Sector. The DHS wants to integrate satellite imagery with other high-tech capabilities to create a "virtual fence" for guarding U.S.
RADIO RULES: Indian communications regulators are set to issue new rules soon throwing the satellite radio space open to multiple players. Only U.S.-based World-Space currently operates in the country, and it has run into stiff opposition from Indian FM radio operators with its plan to launch hybrid satellite/terrestrial service there. Indian customers currently receive WorldSpace radio signals through the company's AsiaStar satellite, which is uplinked from Singapore.
IMAGING ACQUISITION: Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. hopes to boost its position as a provider of end-to-end space imaging systems with its acquisition of the Sira Group's imaging and scientific instrument activities. Sira is a U.K. firm currently in Britain's version of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The acquisition was announced April 13, but no purchase price was disclosed. Sira provides hyperspectral imagers, ozone and fire monitors, space debris cameras and intersatellite broadband optical communications links.
AGILENT ONBOARD: Agilent Technologies Inc. announced June 1 that it will support the U.S. Navy's Consolidated Automated Support System (CASS) program beyond the 20-year production support contract to 2015. CASS is a standardized test environment that is used onboard aircraft carriers and at other locations to test and maintain Navy aircraft electronics. Agilent's seven-year extension should generate about $45 million in services revenue between 2009 and 2015, the company said.
Walter Paulick has been appointed audit committee chairman. A.C. Providenti is being replaced by Paulick. Providenti's resignation is effective June 13. Eric Rosenfeld will become a member of the audit committee.
The space shuttle program held a debris verification review May 31 that uncovered "no showstoppers," Program Manager Wayne Hale said, clearing the next hurdle for Discovery's planned July 1 liftoff on mission STS-121. The debris review was added in the wake of the Columbia accident to gauge the shuttle team's progress in eliminating potentially dangerous sources of foam debris that could strike the orbiter during ascent.
The British government is exploring the possibility of leasing military transport helicopters as a route to easing pressure on its procurement budget. The British Defense Ministry is examining military helicopter requirements under its Future Rotorcraft Capability (FRC) program. The FRC effort has a budget of $8.47 billion and is intended to address what ministry officials admit is a "long-standing capability gap," particularly in terms of battlefield lift.
