Air France will start A380 service in early 2010, according to Airbus. Air France is the next customer due to receive an A380. It was hoping to get the aircraft by August, but was bracing for delays. Airbus last month adjusted its 2009 A380 delivery target to 18 units, from 21—whch, in turn, is down from 26. Lufthansa no longer expects to take delivery of its first A380 this year, according to Senior Vice President-Corporate Fleet Nico Buchholz. The airline nevertheless plans to operate the first two of 15 A380s on firm order for the 2010 summer timetable.
Mission: STS-119 International Space Station (ISS) assembly flight 15A, the 127th launch of the space shuttle program. Orbiter: Discovery, NASA’s oldest remaining vehicle, flying its 36th mission. Launch date: Feb. 12 at 7:32 a.m. EST from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center.
French space agency CNES says Italy has decided to reduce its contribution to Simbol-X, a high-energy X-ray mission led by France. Italy was supposed to contribute a 50% investment of €150 million, supplying the optical spacecraft for the two-satellite system (AW&ST Oct. 22, 2007, p. 35). CNES says it will seek other partners to build the system, which is intended for launch around 2012.
Alliant Techsystems engineers are analyzing the results of a Jan. 29 test of the separation sequence that will allow the parachutes on the upcoming Ares I-X light test to deploy so the casing for the solid-fuel first stage can be recovered. In the full-scale test at the company’s facility in Promontory, Utah, a linear-shaped charge was fired to ensure it creates a clean separation between the booster casing and the base of the forward skirt extension, and to characterize the shock produced by the charge.
There have now been three instances of inertial reference system unit faults on Boeing 777s and Airbus A330s flying near Perth, Australia. Three times for what is forecast to be a rare occurrence, and each one in the same region, begs the question of a possible ground-based cause. An Australian Transport Safety Board preliminary report issued in November about the first A330-300 incident suggested the possibility that transmissions from a nearby naval communications station interfered with onboard systems.
NASA is trying to diagnose the cause of the Mars Exploration rover Spirit’s recent erratic behavior. On Jan. 25—the 1,800th Martian day of what was originally baselined as a 90-day mission—Spirit failed to respond to its daily driving commands, and did not record its main activities for the day onto its hard drive. The next day, controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory sent a command for Spirit to locate the Sun with its camera, on the hunch that the rover might be disoriented. Spirit found the Sun, but not in its expected location.
Austro Engine and Diamond Aircraft Industries have received European certification for the AE300 turbo-diesel after a development program lasting 42 months and costing €48 million. Approval of the AE300-powered DA42NG is imminent, says Diamond, and the DA40 and DA50 piston singles will follow, replacing diesel engines supplied by bankrupt Theilert. An AE300 retrofit will be developed and offered for the diesel-powered Diamond fleet, the company says.
In late April, Virgin America plans to start services to John Wayne Airport (JWA) in Orange County, Calif., from its San Francisco hub. The carrier will operate Airbus A320s five times daily to its ninth destination city. The airline completed A320 noise qualification tests on Jan. 28, as part of the formal approval process toward starting services there. Airport authorities see the addition of Virgin America as a welcome boost to JWA, which has been hit hard by the recession.
A unit of EADS Defense & Security Div., EADS Secure Networks, has been tapped by the Bulgarian finance ministry to deliver a Tetra radio communication system to that country’s National Fire Safety and Protection of Population Service. This arm of the interior ministry is responsible for fire control, firefighting and emergency rescue operations. The network is planned to be fully operational by year’s end.
Regarding the letter by Pedro L. Rustan on the expanded use of Darpa beyond “defense-related industries,” a similar organization could be beneficial to civilian technology development, but should not be a focus of Darpa. Having a civilian agency would allow for a singular, common focus and not dilute expertise. With separate agencies, there could be liaisons to facilitate information-sharing between Darpa and a civilian agency to minimize duplication.
Boeing is flight testing new engine and security features for Qatar Airways’ first ultra-long-haul 777-200LR, which will be used to inaugurate direct services from Doha to Houston in March. The “first-of-model” certification work includes clearance of an uprated version of General Electric’s GE90-115B engine as well as a flight deck entry video camera system. The carrier was originally due to start direct flights to Houston in December 2008, but production was delayed by the machinists’ strike at Boeing last fall.
Arianespace is in final preparations for the first Ariane 5 mission of 2009, a four-spacecraft launch set to go on Feb. 12. On Jan. 26, prime contractor EADS Astrium Space Transportation moved the heavy-lift Ariane 5 ECA from the Launcher Integration Building at the spaceport near Kourou, French Guiana, to the Final Assembly Building to receive its payloads.
Airbus has named Goodrich Corp. to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul support as part of the Total Support Package for Singapore Airlines’ fleet of 19-leased A330s. The flight hour-based, five-year agreement includes management services and covers Goodrich evacuation, lighting, actuation, sensors, deicing and power products.
NASA has given prospective bidders until Feb. 27 to deliver proposals for conceptual design work on the Altair lunar lander the agency will use to return astronauts to the Moon by 2020. Johnson Space Center in Houston expects to make multiple awards in the spring. NASA will direct the contractors as they support the evaluation of Altair concepts, help mature the designs, and prepare the program for system requirements and definition reviews.
The Air Force’s Next-Generation Jammer (NGJ), which will shift passive electronic warfare into the arena of active electronic attack, is gaining traction after a hiatus owing to its high cost. The Pentagon is looking at developing the jammer, which would be used on the B-52, as a key component of a information warfare, electronic intelligence and computer attack architecture capable of injecting false information into enemy networks (see p. 32).
NASA’s oldest surviving space shuttle orbiter is in place for launch next week to deliver the fourth and final U.S. solar array to the International Space Station, a risky and complex mission designed to boost the station power grid so it can handle a full-time crew of six instead of three. In the process, astronauts will use Discovery as a testbed for the vehicles that will follow it into space after the shuttle fleet retires.
Stall behavior is considered the most critical control aspect of the unconventionally shaped blended wing/body, and Boeing and NASA are preparing to test the X-48B BWB research aircraft with revised flight control software that will enable more gradual approaches to the stall.
Excellent work, US Airways Flight 1549 Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, 3rd. You and your crew performed as the consummate professionals you have trained to be and show on a daily basis.
The U.S. aviation industry begins 2009 walking a tightrope over an economic abyss. While capacity cuts are keeping airlines on course for a return to profitability, there are enough danger signs to remind them how swiftly their outlook could deteriorate.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded a $276-million contract to Northrop Grumman for sustainment of its Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle. The contract will provide operations and maintenance support for Fiscal 2009-10 for eight Global Hawks already delivered and the first Block 20 aircraft, which has larger wings and payload capacity. It will also cover operational assistance for new Global Hawk bases in Guam and Italy.
The price of European Union emission allowances (EUAs) under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme fell sharply in January, as the market continued to price in expectations of lower emissions across the EU amid the global economic slowdown. Companies covered by the scheme must submit enough EUAs to the European Commission each year to cover their verified annual emissions. As a result of lower industrial output, demand for EUAs has dropped off sharply.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Amy Butler (Washington)
Combat aviation is likely to fare well in the Fiscal 2010 budget, but the first major changes directed by President Barack Obama will come in next year’s Fiscal 2011 spending plan. This will allow for the Pentagon to complete an accelerated Quadrennial Defense Review—now anticipated to be ready in August—which will reflect Obama’s vision for U.S. defense. In the meantime, some redirection is expected for the new aerial refueler and bomber programs.
Dassault has revised its plans for the its next Falcon business jet. The super-midsize SMS twin, which was never formally unveiled, is growing, as is the engine thrust level. The development timeline also is being stretched.
The failure of DHL’s North American strategy has deeper causes than its use of small, odd-size cargo containers or a $213-million sorting facility that stands nearly empty. The real problem it faced was a declining market for express packages and its inability to grow in competition with rivals FedEx and UPS. DHL ended domestic air express service on Jan. 30, after a five-year run. It continues to provide international package services in a newly fashioned hub network and offers DHL Global Forwarding, which packages cargo and ships on commercial carriers.
NASA believes flying-wing designs could deliver dramatic fuel savings and noise reductions in airliners entering service as early as 2020, but significant investment in large-scale demonstrations will be needed to realize that promise.
