Dan Pleshko (see photo) has been appointed chief supply chain officer for the Goodrich Corp., Charlotte, N.C. He was vice president-supply chain management.
Dawn’s xenon-powered, three-engine solar electric propulsion system will take advantage of magnetism and electricity to push it to Vesta and Ceres on a blue beam of ions jetting out of the spacecraft at 21 mi. per sec. The engines mounted to the left, right and center of the spacecraft will be used one at a time for redundancy. They will be gimbaled for directional control.
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. (lower half) David L. Philman has been named commander of San Diego-based Strike Force Training Pacific. He has been deputy commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Space and Global Strike of the U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt AFB, Neb.
I am a retired US Airways pilot and a former member of the US Airways "East" Master Executive Council. I found your article "Split Decision" well reported (AW&ST June 11, p. 42). However, there is more to this story. I have watched this pilot group with the exception of the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh domiciles vote to give away their pay, working conditions, benefits and retirement. Their rationale was to live to fight again another day.
Robin M. Canup has been promoted to executive director of the Planetary Science Directorate from director of Space Studies Dept. at the Southwest Research Institute's Boulder, Colo., facility. Canup has been succeeded by Robert E. Grimm, who was promoted from assistant director. And Grimm, in turn, has been succeeded by William F. Bottke, Jr., who has been promoted from project engineer.
Sagem and Thales are teaming with the French government to offer export customers surplus French air force Mirage F1 aircraft in a heavily upgraded configuration. That configuration capitalizes on the F1 upgrade program for Morocco that’s currently picking up steam.
Carlos del Rio has become managing director of Abertis Infraestructuras' airports and CEO of its TBI division. He succeeds Miquel Puig, who will continue as a business development executive. Del Rio was CEO of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico.
The NASA/Orbital Sciences Dawn spacecraft, which depends on solar electric propulsion, is examined at Astrotech near the Kennedy Space Center by two Dutch Space engineers who helped design its 65-ft.-span solar arrays. One of Dawn’s three large JPL/Boeing ion engines is protected by a white shroud (bottom). Dawn will carry U.S., German and Italian instruments to examine the protoplanets Vesta and Ceres. The $446-million mission will be the first to travel between and orbit two bodies in deep space.
I see that NASA continues to not only underfund aeronautics but also reallocate its funds to aerospace. The In Orbit column (AW&ST June 11, p. 17) commented on how the Exploration, Science and Aeronautics directorates "joined forces" to instrument the heat shield for the Mars Science Laboratory mission. The expense, necessary for landing humans on Mars, would have prevented placing the instruments on the shield but the "free money" from aeronautics made it possible. Which aeronautical needs were reprogrammed?
The management of Israel Aerospace Industries is starting to explore acquisition opportunities abroad to strengthen the company's access to export markets and usher in the next step in its development.
The British Defense Ministry is now deploying the Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicle for combat operations, three years in advance of the overall Watchkeeper surveillance system. The Elbit Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicle, fitted with an electro-optical sensor payload, is being hurried into operation early to support British ground forces deployed in theater. The intent is believed to be to deploy the UAV in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The work is being carried out under the aegis of a £55-million ($110-million) urgent operational requirement (UOR).
Michael A. Taverna, Andy Nativi and Robert A. Wall (Le Bourget)
A pair of orders for the NH90 transport/frigate helicopter and continued strong commercial demand are propelling Eurocopter and AgustaWestland toward another record year. Germany decided to buy 42 more NH90s in a tactical configuration, while Belgium signed for eight machines to be split between the army and air force, plus two options. Belgium will order its units through the NATO Helicopter Organization--the sixth nation to do so. NH90 orders now total 453 aircraft.
Cameron Gowans, Gregory Babcock, Michael Payne and Timon Huber have all been named regional sales managers for Embraer executive jets in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and the U.S.
Airbus is considering teaming with a major partner to help it replace its best-selling single-aisle aircraft, although a decision on launching the new program is still years away. The European aircraft maker is far from making firm design choices, but Airbus's executive vice president for programs, Tom Williams, says the company will aim to cover the entire spectrum the A320 family already covers from around 100-210 seats.
Kelley Dobbs has been named vice president-human resources for strategy and culture and Jeff Butler has been appointed vice president-customer service for airports for Alaska Airlines. Dobbs has been staff vice president-human resources. Butler was staff vice president-station operations. Joe Sprague has become staff vice president-inflight services after leaving the Public and Government Affairs Div.
Germany is pondering a production order for the Meteor rocket-ramjet air-to-air missile, as industry partners and lead customer, the U.K., look to address structural issues on program management. Recent test shots of the missile have gone well, following a checkered start, but management and integration issues have acted as a drag on overall progress. These are areas that prime contractor MBDA and the U.K. Defense Ministry are moving to tackle.
Thales hopes to leverage big investments in surface surveillance radars and a networked air defense system based on a longer range version of the Crotale missile system to reinforce its position in the international air defense market.
Former Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates has become CEO of Global ePoint Inc., City of Industry, Calif. He has been acting president/chairman of the Global AirWorks division. Gates succeeds Toresa Lou, who has resigned.
John Hinshaw has been appointed chief information officer/vice president-information technology for Chicago-based Boeing. He was CIO of Verizon Wireless, and succeeds Scott Griffin, who will be retiring.
Caris A. (Skip) Hatfield, Orion Project Manager (NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex.)
In the article "CEV Risk Management Lacking" (AW&ST June 18, p. 68), it is implied that the National Engineering and Safety Center peer reviews conducted last year questioned the "success and safety of the CEV program." Neither report men- tions safety or mission success as a concern.
To submit Aerospace Calendar Listings, Call +1 (212) 904-2421 Fax +1 (212) 904-6068 e-mail: [email protected] July 8-11--American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' 43rd AIAA/ASME/ SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit. Cincinnati Duke Energy Convention Center. Call +1 (703) 264-7500, fax +1 (703) 264-7551 or see www.aiaa.org July 9-12--Fatigue Concepts' Short Course: "Fatigue, Fracture Mechanics and Damage Tolerance." Marriott Hotel, Chula Vista, Calif. See www.fatcon.com
Bob LeBlanc has joined the board of advisers of Jetera, Danbury, Conn. He is the retired CEO of Handy & Harman and is a director of Church & Dwight Co.
These Hubble Space Telescope images of Vesta and Ceres show two of the most massive asteroids in the asteroid belt, a region between Mars and Jupiter. The images are helping astronomers plan for the Dawn spacecraft’s tour of these large objects.
