A new German experiment inside the space station may help engineers develop the fluid-management systems that will be needed for handling fuel and other fluids in microgravity. Developed by the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) at the University of Bremen, the Capillary Channel Flow (CCF) experiment is located in the station’s Microgravity Science Glovebox.
Engineers from NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and the Applied Physics Laboratory will be able to test guidance, navigation and control systems for a prototype lunar/asteroid lander for as long as 60 sec., now that hot-fire tests of a peroxide-driven thruster setup at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., have validated the 16-thruster system—12 for attitude control, three for altitude and one to simulate lower gravity.
Conventional wisdom has it that, over time, the international airline industry will grow at a reasonably steady pace. But when examined at a more granular level, the ups and downs of the airline industry are apt to induce nausea. In mid-December 2009, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicted the scheduled airline industry would suffer a $5.6-billion net loss in 2010. A year later, IATA forecast a full-year 2010 net profit of $15.1 billion—a swing of nearly $21 billion.
Russ Hammer (see photo) has been appointed chief financial officer of Orbitz Worldwide of Chicago, succeeding Marsha Williams, whose retirement was announced in June 2010. Hammer was chief financial officer at Crocs.
A Franco-Chinese ocean-observing satellite mission will be the latest addition to the rapidly expanding fleet of spacecraft engaged in monitoring key ocean parameters that are major factors in predicting long-term weather and climate change.
American Airlines’ withdrawal and ouster from two of the three largest online travel agencies in the U.S. is merely the opening salvo in a broader battle over how its seats are sold, with potentially widespread ramifications for the airline industry in the U.S. and beyond. Two global distribution systems have retaliated against the carrier, underscoring the scope and stakes of the showdown.
Engineers from Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. will help NASA develop two robotic-technology demonstrations on the International Space Station, using Canada’s Dextre special purpose dexterous manipulator to simulate repair and refueling in space by locating and operating valves, transferring simulated liquid fuel and testing tools and other gear for capturing spacecraft in orbit. The U.S. agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center is funding the demos as part of its ongoing work on robotic in-space servicing.
The Italian military is looking to add several combat capabilities on the heels of a series of newly awarded contracts. On the near-term agenda is fielding of the first Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master advanced jet trainers, which are to be assigned to the Pratica di Mare-based experimental test wing near Rome. The unit will carry out extensive operational testing before the aircraft is handed over to training squadrons, replacing MB-339CDs in the advanced training role.
Rob Stewart has been appointed a New York-based managing director and U.S. head of Aerospace & Defense Investment Banking . He held a similar position covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Credit Suisse.
French space agency CNES has approved full-scale development of a microsatellite mission, dubbed Taranis, aimed at studying magnetospheric-ionospheric-atmospheric coupling involved in lightning, sprites and other transient optical phenomena, as well as precipitated energy electrons. The U.S., Japan, Poland and the Czech Republic will also take part in the seven-instrument mission, which is scheduled to be orbited in 2016.
Recent public disclosures, including the revealing article that ran in this magazine about China rolling out its first known stealth aircraft (AW&ST Jan. 3, p. 18), will keep military strategists and interested observers in the West busy for a long time trying to accurately establish the full implications—accurately being the operative word. U.S. intelligence knew about the J-20, but not that it would begin taxi tests in December.
NASA is finalizing expansion of its Integrated Systems Research program to tackle the problem of integrating unmanned air systems (UAS) into national airspace, but is re-assessing its immediate project priorities while awaiting the release of funding for 2011.
Doreen Gonzales (see photo) has been named senior manager-G650 procurement at Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. , Savannah, Ga. She has been senior purchasing manager for the company’s completion facility and had worked for parent company General Dynamics’ Convair division in San Diego.
Amy Butler (Washington), Graham Warwick (Washington)
The recently signed per-unit cost targets for the F-35 indicate its price is coming down with added orders, but the Pentagon’s top procurement executive says more steps are needed. The Pentagon’s most recent per-unit target price for the conventional-takeoff-and-landing (CTOL) version of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is $111.6 million, according to program officials.
China is advancing its space capabilities by developing staged combustion, an engine technology that is likely to offer greater performance for the Long March 6 and 7, two of a family of launchers that the country will field around the middle of the decade. The smaller of the two, the Long March 6, may be the first to go into service, beating the flagship third member of the family, the Long March 5 heavy launcher.
As a long-time fan of your art and photography issue (AW&ST Dec. 20/27, 2010, pp. 33-70), I have to say that this year’s winners deserve special praise. The photographers in the Space category shone especially bright. Ben Cooper and Philip Christensen submitted entries that were not just beautiful, but thought-provoking as well. Nice!
Your articles and editorial (AW&ST Dec. 13, 2010, pp. 37, 58) regarding the French criminalization of the Concorde accident brought to mind an observation I made last October after landing at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. While traveling along its extensive taxiways, I commented: “This airport is the worst FOD nightmare I’ve ever seen.” Of course, this is purely anecdotal, but it was a valid observation. Perhaps the French have not sufficiently focused on foreign object debris (FOD) prevention at Paris CDG now or at the time of the accident.
Oliver Herberling has been appointed managing director for IEWC’s subsidiary, Peter Augsten Wire and Cable GmbH . He has been account manager and sales center manager. Herberling succeeds Gerald Mueller, who has stepped down from the position but will remain as a consultant. IEWC also named Cory McFarlane managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Amy Butler (Arlington, Amarillo and Fort Worth, Texas)
Officials at Bell Helicopter hope that work on a small Kiowa cabin conversion contract and a cockpit upgrade are strategic footholds that will position the company to win back the U.S. Army’s future scout helicopter work after its Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) was terminated in 2008.
Raymond J. Quinlan has been named executive vice president-banking at the New York-based CIT Group . Before joining CIT, Quinlan spent more than 30 years at Citigroup.
Maile Topliff has been elevated to chief administration officer for Seabury Group . She has held management positions with UnitedHealth Group and Comcast Cable/AT&T Broad Band/MediaOne.
Cynthia Marcondes Ferreira Benedetto has been appointed Embraer ’s new chief financial officer, succeeding Luiz Carlos Aguiar, who will become president and CEO of the recently created Embraer Defense and Security unit. Benedetto has been with the company since 1986, most recently at the helm of Embraer’s Finance Department.
India’s commercial capital, Mumbai, is set to see a second international airport with a $2-billion price tag, as the city’s international hub is so overcrowded that carriers are shifting flights elsewhere, especially to New Delhi. In the past year alone, infrastructure and space constraints forced the civil aviation ministry to refuse permission to airlines from Bahrain, Dubai, Qatar, Oman, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand to start operations in Mumbai, home to 18 million residents.
I have a slightly different take on your editorial “Is Safety a Victim of Justice Awry?” (AW&ST Dec. 13, 2010, p. 58). In March, I attended the final sessions of the Concorde crash trial because the subject interests me for many reasons: I’m a retired Boeing 747 pilot, a California attorney and a French-born (but U.S.) citizen Concorde afficionado.
European planners hope the process to approve the use of the European GPS augmentation System (Egnos) can be put back on track, following the apparent correction of a problem with one of its monitoring stations. Egnos was certified for air navigation in July and was expected to transition to operational use for en-route and non-precision lateral guidance approaches (LNAV) starting on Aug. 2. A formal declaration by the European Commission, which owns the system, approving the Egnos safety-of-life service was due by October or November.
