Regarding your story "Blame It on Nixon" (AW&ST Mar. 19/26, p. 82), the two Hughes HS376 communications satellites were not "stranded in low orbits by apogee kick motor failures" but by McDonnell-Douglas third-stage PAM motor (nozzle) failures that resulted in failure to achieve transfer orbit. The motors were actually used to reposition each spacecraft for recovery by the space shuttle. I was the Aerojet program manager for the apogee motor.
Astrium has been awarded a contract from Hispamar, a joint venture of Hispasat and a Brazilian telecom operator, to build a second Amazonas satellite. The 5.4-metric-ton, 12-kw., 64-transponder spacecraft will be orbited in 2009 to 61 deg. W. Long.
NASA and the FAA are combining resources to satisfy a long-time goal of the flight-test community--establishing a common database for flight-test safety available to all via the Internet. The idea for a one-stop shopping database has been around for years, says Bart Henwood, the project's data manager and aviation safety manager at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, Calif. The Society of Experimental Test Pilots tried to establish such a databank, but sustaining it isn't easy.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is studying the State Dept.'s backlog in considering export licenses of sensitive technology, says Anne Marie Calvaresi Barr, director of GAO's acquisition and sourcing management unit. Some 10,000 export license requests have accumulated in recent years, according to government and industry officials.
In a move to cut corporate information technology costs, EADS has decided to establish a company-wide information management organization. The European aerospace and defense giant expects to slash its information systems costs by 20% with the new structure, largely through generated efficiencies and by outsourcing. EADS notes the IT move follows a similar integration of human resource structures. Job cuts should not result, although some personnel will need to relocate, the company states.
John W. Hayes has become director of maintenance for the aircraft charter and management divisions of Dallas-based Business Jet Access. He was director of maintenance/manager of quality assurance at the Savannah, Ga., operations base for NetJets International.
The airline industry wants to clear the air about its efforts to leave a smaller carbon footprint after coming under increased attacks from politicians and green groups on its global environmental impact.
Israel's Rafael missile company has rolled out a new version of the SkyLite B mini-UAV. It has a range of more than 21 mi., endurance of up to 3 hr. and a secure digital data link. SkyLite can operate in winds of up to 30 kt. and in rain, autonomously track a moving object and provide high-resolution images with accurate targeting data.
In the Pentagon's latest round of program reviews, one effort stands out as the problem child--the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, a stealthy cruise missile being produced by Lockheed Martin. Six hundred Jassms are now fielded, but tests continue to undermine Air Force confidence in the reliability of the weapon.
Philippine Airlines has exercised two purchase rights and increased its order for 777-300ERs to six aircraft. In addition, it will lease two -300ERs from GE Commercial Aviation Services as it increases flights from Manila to the U.S.
Despite a continuing interest in building a fixed lunar outpost at one of the Moon's poles, NASA still plans to be able to collect rocks and regolith from anywhere on the satellite's surface under the lunar-exploration architecture being developed. Planetary scientists polled by the National Research Council stress the importance of "diversity" in lunar samples, and see a "dichotomy" between their needs and NASA's plans (see p. 32).
India's Aviation Corporation Program, set up by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency and India's Ministry of Civil Aviation, will support a series of air traffic and air space management initiatives to help India's lagging infrastructure catch up with its booming air traffic.
The U.K. Defense Ministry is to introduce elements of its Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicle program into service early under an urgent operational requirement. The UOR, worth £55 million ($108.7 million), includes the Hermes 450. The system will be used to support ongoing U.K. deployments, including those in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Articles in the June 4 issue on pp. 24 and 26 cited USAF Col. Robert Newberry's rank incorrectly and misidentified Lt. Col. John MacDonald, USAF Sbirs lead at Lockheed Martin's Sunnyvale, Calif., facility.
U.S.-based Adam Aircraft has sold 50 of its A700 very light jets to Hainan Zhong Hang Tai General Aviation Airlines, which it describes as the Chinese operating entity of Ameritech Aerospace. Despite long-standing difficulties in operating non-scheduled flights in China, the company says it sees immediate opportunities for growth in charter and air taxi services.
The NTSB, lawmakers and regulators are seeking faster ways to implement the board's "Most Wanted" safety recommendations and adopt new accident-prevention methods. The groups are often at odds when it comes to rule-making. But they found common ground in the desire to enhance safety at a June 6 House Aviation Subcommittee hearing on the status of the board's Most Wanted List of aviation safety improvements.
Robert Genise has become CEO of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise. He was president/CEO of Boullioun Aviation Services and had been managing director of Chemical Bank's London-based Special Finance Group.
John Jarman has become vice president/general manager of BAE Systems' San Diego-based command, control, computing and intelligence systems business. He was vice president/deputy general manager of BAE's National Security Solutions.
It's been a long and difficult road, but Pratt & Whitney PW6000 engines are now in service. Airbus delivered the first of 20 PW6000-powered A318s ordered by LAN Airlines in 2005; they will be put into service on the carrier's domestic network. LAN is the launch customer for the engine. The aircraft/engine combination received its FAA certification May 25, following approval by the European Aviation Safety Agency in December.
The Royal Malaysian Air Force, which is compiling a considerable shopping list, says it may seek more Sukhoi Su-30MKM fighters if it can't get the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets (see photo) that it has been seeking for the past seven years. The country expects the 16 remaining Su-30MKMs it has purchased to arrive by the end of the year, joining two that have been delivered.
Qantas's budget offshoot Jetstar reports it is negotiating to place a "long-term big order" for Airbus aircraft, presumably more A320-family jets to operate alongside those it already flies, mostly on domestic routes, beginning in 2009. The airline has committed to Boeing 787s for long-haul operations and plans to phase out the A330s it is flying as interim equipment. Jetstar also says Qantas is looking for more Asian franchisees, following the parent company's agreement in April to buy 30% of Vietnam's Pacific Airlines.
The International Air Transport Assn. is predicting a $5-billion profit for airlines in 2007, a revision of the original $3.83-billion forecast, based on stronger than expected economic growth in Asia and Europe. Industry has made "tremendous progress" in the past year and profitability is encouraging, but $5 billion is "peanuts," considering the airlines are a $470-billion industry, said Director General Giovanni Bisignani at IATA's meeting in Vancouver last week.
Thales Alenia Space says it's close to clinching a deal with the European Space Agency and NASA to modify a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module so it can be permanently moored to the International Space Station once the shuttle is retired.
French defense research agency Onera is reinforcing its commitment to industry and European projects as it continues efforts to integrate its activities more closely with those of other agencies, institutes and academe.
