Air Force Beech C-12C (16) Beech C-12D (6) Beech C-12F (2) Beech C-12J (4) Beech T-1A (179) Bell Helicopter Textron TH-1H (1) Bell Helicopter Textron UH-1N (62) Bell Helicopter Textron UH-1V (2) Bell/Boeing CV-22 (7) Boeing 707-320C (1) Boeing 757-200 (1) Boeing B-52H (94) Boeing C-9A (2) Boeing C-9C (3) Boeing C-17A (165) Boeing C-22B (3) Boeing C-32A (4) Boeing C-32B (2)
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne has completed a third series of throttling tests on the Common Extensible Cryogenic Engine (CECE), concept hardware that may lead to the engine used to lower the planned Altair lander to the surface of the Moon. The latest CECE test article used a new injector design and propellant feed systems to eliminate potentially dangerous engine chugging by better controlling the flow of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to the combustion chamber.
2400 N St., NW Washington, DC 20037, USA Tel. (202) 969-6000; Fax (202) 969-6001 www.worldspace.com AfriStar Broadcasting, multimedia. Orbital location is 21° E geosynchronous. Carries six high-power DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) transponders. Eurostar-2000+ model. Launched 1998. AsiaStar Broadcasting, multimedia. Orbital location is 105° E geosynchronous. Carries six high-power DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) transponders. Eurostar-2000+ model. Launched 2000.
CYBER Building 5th Floor, JI. Kuningan Barat No. 8 Jakarta 12170, Indonesia Tel. (62-21) 520-9810; Fax (62-21) 520-9811 www.acesinternational.com ACeS 1/Garuda 1 Mobile communications. Orbital location is 123° E geosynchronous. Carries 140 spot beam transponders, C-band and L-band. Satellite is jointly owned with Jasmine International Overseas Ltd., Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications, Philippines Long Distance Telephone Co. and PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara. 2012 EOL.
The U.S. Air Force’s assistant secretary for acquisition, Sue Payton, has had her hands full as she oversees development of the Army-Navy Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM), Small-Diameter Bomb II (SDB II), AIM-120D missile and other upcoming weapons systems, as discussed in your article “Two Birds, One Stone” (AW&ST Aug. 4, 2008, p. 29).
The top Russian propulsion research institute for air-breathing engines, TsIAM Central Institute of Aviation Engines, has test facilities in Lytkarino near Moscow, and is Russia’s answer to the NASA Glenn Research Center and USAF Arnold Engineering Development Center. Rocket engine research is undertaken by TsNIIMash (Central Research Institute of Machine Building), which is in Korolev, near Moscow. TsNIIMash is also the primary research facility for strategic missiles.
Senior NASA managers believe they will be able to launch the final space shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope in May, but they won’t decide until March whether to release one of the two shuttle launch pads at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for the first flight test of the follow-on Ares I crew launch vehicle. Meeting with their human-spaceflight counterparts at the Johnson Space Center on Jan. 22, top Hubble program officials said they should have a replacement computer ready to go to the telescope in time for a May 12 launch.
French Defense Minister Herve Morin says France exported €6.3 billion ($8.13 billion) worth of military hardware last year, up from €5.5 billion in 2007 and the most since 2000. He predicted that a revamped export system introduced in 2007-08 will lead to a further increase this year and said he sees no reason why France cannot catch the U.K., the leading European arms exporter. A breakthrough foreign arms sale for the Rafale fighter is among the near-term targets.
Raymond Jaworowski (Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com)
Manufacturers of fixed-wing military trainer aircraft are battling for a slice of a continually shrinking pie, as demand is declining just when a new generation is entering the market. Competition is intense for even small procurement contracts.
MBDA has been awarded a contract to transform 45 Exocet Block 2 antiship missiles into the MM40 Block 3 standard, which will double missile range and ensure that the weapon is suitable for attacks in littoral areas or to vary attack angles for naval targets. The missiles are scheduled to be delivered in 2011-12. The Block 3, which was qualified in April 2008, is to be installed on French Horizon frigates and later, on the Fremm multimission frigate fleet.
Aerospace and defense companies are beginning to release their financial results for the last three months of 2008, the first full quarter since the global financial crisis intensified last September. And while it will take more time for the full impact of the downturn to show up on bottom lines, Wall Street analysts are watching closely for signs of how companies will fare as the year goes on.
Douglas Royce (Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com)
The outlook for production of rotorcraft over the next decade is mixed. In the near term, manufacturers can be expected to continue to see high levels of production through 2010 as they work through backlogs. After that, the effects of turmoil in the economy are likely to bring a normal cyclical downturn to the industry.
