Fred Messina (see photo) has become vice president-corporate development of the Era Corp., Alexandria, Va., and Bill Colligan vice president/general manager of its Airport Operations Solutions Group. Messina was vice president-strategic programs at the Sensis Corp. Colligan was president/chief operating officer of CSSI.
The U.S. space program is beginning one of its busiest launch surges of the last several years as key military, science and space shuttle missions are set for liftoff in June. The surge begins the evening of June 7 at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., when a Delta II will fire an Italian radar reconnaissance satellite into polar orbit. Many Italian guests have been invited to attend but will have little or no access to Vandenberg's new launch and command-and-control facilities because of ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) restrictions. The U.S.
A Chinese Long March 2B launched the Yaogan 2 reconnaissance/remote sensing spacecraft into a polar Sun-synchronous orbit May 25 from the Jiuquan launch site in the Gobi Desert. The flight also carried a small microelectronics research satellite.
The Pentagon has notified Congress of the sale of six Lockheed Martin C-130J aircraft to India as well as spare engines and protection and communications devices associated with the special operations role. The sale is valued at $1.05 billion.
Luxembourg-based Jetfly is adding Socata 850, Avanti II and Pilatus PC-12 aircraft to its fleet as it continues to prove that fractional ownership can attract European turboprop as well as jet aircraft customers.
Recent success with the first Space-Based Infrared Sensor on orbit has prompted a potential change in the focus of the program that was once established to act as its backup plan.
Tom Arnsmeyer (see photo) has been named vice president-Homeland Security Solutions for the Raytheon Co.'s Integrated Support Solutions, Reston, Va. He was vice president of the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Information Technology Security and Infrastructure Solutions.
Gregg Saretsky has been appointed executive vice president-flight and marketing of the Alaska Air Group. He was executive vice president-marketing and planning. Glenn Johnson has been promoted to executive vice president-airport services and maintenance and engineering from senior vice president-customer service for airports. Brad Tilden, who has been chief financial officer/executive vice president-finance, will now be executive vice president-finance and planning.
Robert K. Henry has been named executive vice president/chief operating officer of the Harris Corp., Melbourne, Fla. He was executive vice president/president of the Government Communications Systems Div. Jeremy C. Wensinger has been appointed group president for Government Communications Systems and Daniel R. Pearson group president for Defense Communications and Electronics. Wen- singer was head of civil agency, intelligence agency and technical services programs within Government Communications Systems, while Pearson was presi- dent of Harris Defense Dept. Programs.
John Bezner (see photo), who is director of aftermarket enterprises at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in Dallas, has been selected to receive the annual Edward M. Greer Award from the National Defense Industrial Assn. The award honors service in integrated logistics support and its implementation in maintenance and product support for the U.S. Defense Dept. Bezner will be cited for his contributions to the military logistics community, especially the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.
Air France this week will receive the first of three Boeing 747BCF (Boeing Converted Freighters) it has ordered. The aircraft replace aging 747-200Fs. Taikoo Aircraft Engineering in Xiamen, China, undertook the conversion, the first using a 747 Combi. All three of the converted freighters are to be delivered to Air France before year-end.
Fourteen agencies interested in working together on space exploration have drafted an agreement setting down initial steps for mutual collaboration. The Global Exploration Strategy (GES), which was signed last week at a three-day workshop in Italy, is intended to see how NASA's Vision for Space Exploration, Europe's Aurora program, and similar initiatives in Russia, China, India, Japan and elsewhere, can be melded into a cohesive global effort. The workshop was the third in a series dating back to 2005 (AW&ST Apr. 16, p. 31).
Add the House Homeland Security Committee to government organizations examining how an Atlanta man infected with a dangerous form of tuberculosis was able to board transatlantic flights in both the U.S. and Europe, even though authorities were looking for him.
Space Systems/Loral has won a contract to study how a new operational land imager for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) could be accommodated on SS/L's 1300 bus, which was initially designed for communications and weather applications. The four-month study will prepare the way for a request for proposals for LDCM satellite procurement, which is expected in December.
Northwest Airlines emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 31 as employees rang the starting bell at the New York Stock Exchange and finance specialists completed a $750-million equity sale that put more cash in the carrier's bank accounts--$3.2 billion--than ever before.
BAA has received planning approval for the further redevelopment of London Heathrow Airport, with the go-ahead for Heathrow East to replace Terminals 1 and 2. The approval is still pending legal agreement, but the first stage of Heathrow East could be in operation by 2012. The airport's Terminal 5 is due to open at the end of March 2008. Last week also saw the start of the public inquiry into BAA's proposed increase in flights at London Stansted Airport.
French investigators last week delved deeper into claims that EADS executives sold shares in the company while knowing about the pending announcement of major A380 delays. The review has been going on since last year, but gained additional attention in recent days with lengthy interrogation of EADS Co-Chairman Arnauld Lagardere.
U.S. reconnaissance spacecraft have spotted a training center in Iran that duplicates the layout of the governor's compound in Karbala, Iraq, that was attacked in January by a specialized unit that killed American and Iraqi solders. The U.S. believes the discovery indicates Iran was heavily involved in the attack, which relied on a fake motorcade to gain entrance to the compound. The duplicate layout in Iran allowed attackers to practice procedures to use at the Iraqi compound, the Defense Dept. believes.
A tool to simulate a more efficient, greener air transportation system integrating all pertinent factors, on the ground as well as in the air, is being introduced by Thales. Known as Airlab, the simulator is conceived as a civil version of battlefield laboratories developed to study how new military technologies and concepts work in an interoperable network-centric environment. It is based on Thales’s own Battlespace Transformation Center in Elancourt, near Paris, and its new System Oriented UAV Laboratory in Bordeaux.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT CO. HAS DELIVERED THE 7,500TH SINGLE-ENGINE, piston-powered airplane produced at the company's facility near Independence, Kan. The airplane is one of 11 Skyhawks built for the flight school at Northwestern Michigan College, and is equipped with a Garmin G1000 fully integrated avionics package.
Singapore Changi Airport's Terminal 3 is to open for business on Jan. 9, 2008, said Minister for Transport Raymond Lim during an inspection of the new terminal's interior. Until then, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) will work with airlines, airport agencies and other business partners in setting up operations and testing critical systems including baggage handling and check-in. CAAS will also conduct trial flights to evaluate the efficiency of departures, arrivals and transfer processes.
This computer-enhanced picture, produced by Boeing artist Chuck Schroeder, illustrates the company's new X-45N design trapping on an aircraft carrier. The UCAV would carry an autonomous command and control system just tested in a Super Hornet testbed and an advanced communications link that would allow it to land in the dark, bad weather and Sea State 5. Boeing just completed an unannounced series of aircraft carrier approaches and waveoffs with the USS Harry S. Truman, using an F/A-18F modified as a surrogate unmanned combat aircraft (see p. 44).
Once again, it's worth revisiting the seemingly never-ending EADS-Airbus saga. This unprecedented sitcom, full of impressive aircraft and larger-than-life characters, brings new developments every week. The new season picks up where last season's show left off--with big money, golden parachutes, self-assured politicians and unsubstantiated claims and counter-claims all vying for attention.
Money talks in AirTran Airways' strong case for merging with Midwest Airlines, but Wisconsin state law could have the last word on whether the attempted takeover is successful this month.
