USAF Lt. Col. (ret.) David G. Simons, who soared in 1957 in a sealed gondola carried by a balloon to 19 mi. above Earth’s surface, paving the way for human spaceflight, has died. He was 87 and died April 5 of congestive heart failure at home in Covington, Ga.
The British Royal Air Force last week suspended Eurofighter Typhoon training flights shortly after resuming its normal flying program following the discovery of volcanic ash deposits on a few aircraft during post-flight inspection. The affected aircraft are undergoing engine checks. Flights by Typhoons that were on quick-reaction alert were not suspended.
US Airways has pulled out of merger talks with United Airlines after the negotiations failed to produce a firm commitment from the Chicago-based carrier. According to sources, including one involved in the talks, a deal was expected to be signed last week until United shifted its focus to a possible agreement with Houston-based Continental Airlines. Both United and its Star Alliance partner are conducting due diligence, which could produce a merger plan as early as this week.
NASA has awarded a contract to build a testbed for optically guided rendezvous and docking in Mars orbit—a key technique that will be required for a Mars sample return. Such a mission will have to gather a sample from the Martian surface, then launch it into Mars orbit, where it will dock autonomously with the spacecraft that will bring it back to Earth. The Mars Orbiting Sample Retrieval Rendezvous and Docking Testbed will be developed by Aurora Flight Sciences and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Space Systems Laboratory.
Even as Russian airframers are betting heavily on Western engines to revive their fortunes, the nation’s engine manufacturers hope they can reboot their own activities through new commercial aircraft projects.
Northrop Grumman has won a place in NASA’s latest catalog of standard spacecraft for the hardware that formed the background for the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (Lcross). Based on the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA), the Eagle-S is one of three new space platforms Northrop Grumman is offering that build on past spacecraft, each optimized for specific launch vehicles and missions. Like Lcross, the Eagle-S platform is built to take advantage of excess lift capacity on an Atlas V or Delta IV EELV.
Seat supplier “production challenges” caused Boeing to deliver 13 fewer jets in the first quarter of 2010 than the same period a year earlier and led to a 13% decline in revenues in the company’s Commercial Airplanes unit, to $7.5 billion. Operating profit, however, increased 63%, to $679 million, as margins nearly doubled. The revelation of seat supplier problems helped to explain a variation in first-quarter deliveries that company officials had initially attributed to normal ups and downs.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Douglas Barrie (London), Alon Ben-David (Tel Aviv)
Pentagon officials judge Iran’s Army Day parade to be part posturing and part concept demonstration. But they also contend that Tehran is making progress in its weapon programs that have armed the country with a force of 1,000 ballistic missiles with ranges of 90-1,200 mi.
NHIndustries delivered the first NH90NFH helicopter to the Royal Netherlands Navy during a ceremony April 21 at AugustaWestland’s Vergiate, Italy, site. The navy has a total of 20 on order; this event marks the first delivery of a naval NH90NFH variant to a customer. This type will be flown by the Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian and Belgian navies—which, combined, ordered 111. The NH90NHF is primarily designed for autonomous anti-submarine, anti-surface-warfare missions, although a range of other roles is possible.
The Canadian Defense Department is poised to issue a new policy statement showing how the nation plans to expand its space presence to meet changing threats. The existing policy, formulated in 1998, reflects requirements associated with the 1990-91 Persian Gulf war. The new document, expected to be issued in 30-60 days, will reflect more recent developments, such as the need for reinforcing Canada’s sovereignty in an era of global warming that is facilitating activity in the high arctic, and protecting space assets against potential hostile threats.
May 3-5—Speednews Eighth Annual Aerospace and Defense Industry Suppliers Conference. Intercontinental Los Angeles at Century City. See www.speednews.com May 4-6—Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Inc./Aerospace and Electronics Systems Society/Institute of Navigation’s Position Location and Navigation Symposium. Renaissance Esmeralda Hotel and Spa, Indian Wells, Calif. See www.ion.org
The NTSB has scheduled a three-day safety forum on professionalism in aviation at its Washington headquarters starting May 18. At the forum, the safety board intends to gather information on how pilots and air traffic controllers are screened, selected and trained, and examine ways to enhance professionalism and excellence in performance. To that end, the NTSB will question a panel that will include representatives from government, industry, labor groups, academia and professional associations.
China Eastern Airlines has signed a preliminary agreement to enter the SkyTeam alliance by the middle of 2011, giving it two of the three main carriers in China.
London aims to make directed-energy weapons a greater focus of near-term research and development, working on laser air defense systems and continuing development of radio-frequency weapons technology. Defense officials want directed-energy systems to be one of several core areas of development in the 2010-11 weapons research program. In terms of laser systems, this could include both land-based and naval air defense research.
The Discovery astronauts touched down at Kennedy Space Center early April 20, ending a weather-delayed, 15-day mission to the International Space Station that now has shuttle program managers reevaluating how they intend to conduct the three remaining missions before the shuttle’s retirement, and whether there may be time and resources for an additional flight.
The U.S. Air Force’s “fighter gap” is shrinking dramatically, but not because more aircraft are being acquired. The service hopes to buy 1,763 Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters in the coming years to replace 2,228 legacy fighters. The difference is because each new F-35 and the existing Lockheed Martin F-22s will be far more capable than their predecessors.
The Czech government is preparing a national space plan that should lead to the creation of a space steering committee and, ultimately, a space agency. The Czech Republic joined the European Space Agency and provides €7.5-8 million ($10-11 million) a year to the ESA budget, including €2-2.5 million for optional programs. Discretionary spending is expected to increase substantially in the next three-year plan, to be approved in 2011-12, Czech industry officials say.
How do you restart the presidential helicopter? By trying everything, apparently. In the last go-around, requirements grew topsy-turvy, costs spiraled and President Barack Obama derisively canceled the VH-71. So the Navy is cautious. It issued—then extended the deadline for—a request for information (RFI) from industry. Once all the details are in, by mid-June, the Navy will analyze the alternatives, which should result in a bid request in late summer.
Russia’s two engine manufacturers are to collaborate on the next stage of engine development for the Sukhoi T-50 fifth-generation fighter after years of going head-to-head as rivals.
The Transportation Department rejects airline requests for a stay of execution on the new ground delay limits, telling the carriers they should adjust their schedules if they are worried about their ability to comply. That means passengers could start finding out in May if airline warnings of a wave of domestic flight cancellations at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport will come to pass.
SAS Group is striving to right itself financially to be in a good position for what is likely to be the last major round of European airline consolidation in the foreseeable future.
USAF officials are looking at integrating the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) onto A-10 and F-16 aircraft to improve their ability for low-collateral-damage engagements of small targets. BAE is producing the weapon, which was designed for use on Army and Marine Corps helicopters. A 70-mm. rocket is coupled with a semi-active laser seeker for guidance.
While many business aircraft operators simply stayed on the ground when the volcanic cloud moved overhead, others flew roundabout routes, lower altitudes or simply flew visual flight rules (VFR) to get to, or at least nearer, their destinations. “If you were stuck in the U.K., you had no options,” says Anja Bonacci, a flight operations manager at Arinc. “In other areas, we did have more options, and a lot of people flew VFR until they could switch to IFR [instrument flight rules] and vice versa.”
With the size of the F-22 stealth fighter force capped, U.S. Air Force officials are going to muscle up the service’s air dominance force via Air National Guard F-15C Golden Eagles upgraded with advanced, long-range radars. Because of the larger size of the Boeing F-15s’ radar and the aircraft’s greater flight endurance, they also will serve as “stand-in” electronic warfare jamming and attack aircraft as part of the Air Force’s composite air dominance force that also includes stealthy Lockheed Martin F-22s stationed at Langley AFB, Va.
