A New Jersey fifth-grader will get a taste of the future this summer as winner of a Lockheed Martin-sponsored essay competition, a part of its national Space Day initiative. Victoria Geyer's entry earned her a spot at Space Camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. See http://www.spaceday.org. And BAE Systems has launched a nationwide competition offering a team of students the chance to be "test pilots for a day" at their Military Air Solutions site in the U.K. where they will fly the Typhoon simulator.
NASA plans to launch the final scheduled mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope on Sept. 10, 2008, which should free Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center for the start of modifications to accommodate the next-generation Ares I crew launch vehicle. The servicing mission will replace batteries, gyros and other gear to keep the telescope operating at least until 2013; install two new instruments; repair at least one other, and install a docking ring for a deorbit motor or perhaps a future servicing vehicle (AW&ST Apr. 30, p. 22).
Defense Secretary Robert Gates is worried about who's at the controls, at least for the Allies, in the Afghanistan conflict. Noting during a visit last week that there is a new U.S. ambassador as well as some new military commanders, Gates wondered aloud about the level of coordination. "One of my concerns is that we have 42 countries and 12 [nongovernment organizations] out here, and I want to find out if there's anyone really creating an overall strategy or coordinating their activities."
A key Japanese government department plans to allocate ¥40 billion ($330 million) in subsidies for a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries project for a large regional jet, greatly increasing the likelihood of the country finally establishing itself as a supplier of commercial aircraft. With Boeing 787-based carbon-fiber construction and new engines, the proposed Mitsubishi aircraft could present a serious challenge to Embraer, Bombardier and two other companies developing such jets, Sukhoi and China's Avic I.
Algeria's national airline is headed for a major makeover, trying to grow beyond its modest roots and build a more robust overseas network while also gaining airline alliance credentials. The effort is part of a larger restructuring that will see the carrier set up as subsidiaries its domestic, cargo, maintenance and other operations. The process is already underway and by year-end the first of those units should be up and running, says Cherid Rachid, adviser to the Air Algerie CEO.
As U.S.-European global-warming differences bubble toward September's International Civil Aviation Organization general assembly in Montreal, the European Commission and its airlines duke out the inclusion of commercial aviation in the coming emissions-trading system, which takes effect in 2011.
Kuwait Airways is trying to expand, both its route structure and its fleet, with seven Airbus A320 and 12 Boeing 787 aircraft from lessors. The carrier is also establishing a code-share agreement with Ukraine International Airlines. The relationship will apply to flights between Kuwait City and Kiev, starting June 20. Ukraine will operate the flights.
Eutelsat has acquired 100% of Mexican telecommunications satellite operator Satmex for an undisclosed sum, in partnership with local investors Miguel Aleman and Clemente Serna. Satmex had been on the block since a reorganization last year.
The U.K. will delay service entry of the Joint Strike Fighter by three years, to 2017, and is exploring options for further postponing the Harrier GR9's retirement. The ministry had been planning to introduce the Joint Combat Aircraft, as the U.K. refers to the Lockheed Martin F-35, into service in December 2014. British industry officials close to the program suggest the latest delay has resulted at least in part from budgetary issues related to Equipment Program 07 deliberations.
Ahmed M. Metwalli has been appointed president/chief operating officer of First Aviation Services Inc. subsidiary Aerospace Products International, Memphis, Tenn. He has been vice president/ general manager of Lockheed Martin Aircraft and Logistics Centers Co.
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is proposing to help develop India's titanium mining industry as a novel way of meeting its obligatory offset requirements. As it looks for sales of its F/A-18E/Fs, P-8As, T-45 Goshawks and Harpoon missiles in India, Boeing IDS will have to commit to 30% investment of contract value in India as laid out in the country's Defense Procurement Policy.
William Weaver has been appointed president of DeCrane Aerospace subsidiary PATS Aircraft, Georgetown, Del. He will remain president of Hollingsead International Inc., Ventura, Calif.
Europe signals it might review elements of the certification fees and charges system that has elicited strong criticism from aircraft makers globally. But European officials caution that drastic changes to the much-reviled rate structure are not likely anytime soon.
The B-52 is 50 years old, still flying, planned to be kept in service for another 10 years, and no other country has an equal! And yet, billions of dollars are being spent on the F-22, an aircraft that no other country has or will have an equal based on the cost. Despite these expenditures, the "old" technological aircraft, F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18 Hornets, are types that no other country has or will have the equal. Why are we building F-22s when we can provide the same military hardware that, based on the B-52, can last for a long time.
A tantalizing early picture of the way humans can explore and settle the Solar System emerges from a key pair of documents drafted by lunar scientists and representatives of 14 space agencies. Driven first by the pristine scientific artifact the Moon represents, and later by a high-tech version of the horse-trading and barter that typifies frontier societies, human explorers and their robotic helpers from many nations will expand Earth's culture beyond today's toehold in low Earth orbit (LEO).
Urs Stulz has been appointed managing director of cargo for Europe for Swiss International Air Lines' Swiss WorldCargo. He was director of cargo for Switzerland and succeeds Hans Nilsson, who has resigned.
USN Rear Adm. (lower half) (select) James C. Grunewald has been named commander of Patrol and Reconnaissance Fifth/Seventh Fleet, Misawa, Japan. He has been deputy director of the Air Warfare Div. in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington.
The French defense armaments agency has contracted with Thales to lead an advanced research project into laser power for military uses. Thales is working with France's Manlight, a business with expertise in fiber-lasers, on the €11-million effort. Laser applications are aimed at jamming, target designation, range-finding and active imaging.
John Brooks has been named vice president-international business development for the Northrop Grumman Corp., El Segundo, Calif., and president of Northrop Grumman International Inc. He was director of business development in the company's Washington office and for its Air Force and Air National Guard programs.
Airborne mission equipment supplier Skyquest Aviation of the U.K. will supply and support a range of multi-function displays, rugged video recorders and video distribution systems for the AgustaWestland A109 and AW139 helicopters.
Austin Shontz has been appointed vice president-Savannah (Ga.) operations and final phase engineering for Gulfstream Aerospace. He held a similar position at its Long Beach, Calif., facility.
At the heart of Phoenix lander science capabilities are two highly complex mini-laboratories for the analysis of Martian soil, water and ice. Each unit has numerous moving parts and mechanisms to deliver Martian samples to baking ovens or wet cells that will bring them in contact with spectrometer transport gases and ultra-pure Earthly water to determine soil chemistry.
John Goglia is a former member of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. He is affiliated with DA Aviation Technology Solutions, a consultant on safety and FAA policy issues to the Engineered Arresting Systems Corp. (ESCO), the Aston, Pa., developer of EMAS.
The proposed takeover of Portugalia by its larger rival, TAP, has received regulatory clearance by the Portuguese competition authority. The assessment is still undergoing a final review, but should be set in stone this week. TAP had to make some concessions.
