Europe's next planetary mission--with a big role for Japan--will be the long-planned BepiColombo project to explore Mercury. ESA's Science Program Committee has formally "adopted" the project, kicking off its industrial phase under prime contractor Astrium GmbH. to support a launch in 2013.
Russia is to develop an integrated missile aerospace defense system, according to the country's first vice premier, Sergei Ivanov. Air defense manufacturer Almaz Antey will lead the effort at the industrial level. The program likely involves the development of extended-range missile systems beyond the S-400, the first regiment of which is to be deployed by mid-year.
Arianespace will launch the Spaceway 3 K a-band communications satellite for Hughes Network Systems under a deal announced Mar. 1. The 6,000-kg. spacecraft will be sent into geostationary transfer orbit on an Ariane 5 launch vehicle in August, Arianespace says. Hughes will use the satellite to provide broadband multimedia services across North America.
Airbus is starting to phase in a new round of enhancements to its single-aisle product line and looking for further improvements even as the start of a formal replacement program inches closer. Although industry officials expect Boeing and Airbus to launch 737 and A320 successors, respectively, in the next few years, that doesn't appear to be taking energy away from refining the legacy offering. Airbus officials say they are intent on keeping the current offering attractive by introducing new features, boosting reliability and reducing fuel burn.
Regarding the article "Congestion Quandary" (AW&ST Jan. 8, p. 39), it's high time the Indian government and Airports Authority of India (AAI) sought long-term, more accurate, reliable Communication Navigation Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) technology for the future of Indian airspace. Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), which India is considering, is the best technology to provide an accurate, safe, reliable and long-term solution.
China and Taiwan are bolstering their air-to-air missile inventories with more capable systems, with Taipei seeking to counter Beijing's newest weapon. Taiwan is close to finalizing the purchase of the latest available version of the Raytheon AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (Amraam), the AIM-120C7. China, in the meantime, appears to have begun to introduce its indigenously developed PL-12 beyond visual range, active radar-guided missile with J-10 fighter units.
Robert Hoey, aerospace engineer and consultant, has received the 2006 Space Flight Award from the Springfield, Va.-based American Astronautical Society (AAS). Other 2006 AAS awards were the Flight Achievement Award to the crew of STS-114; Victor A. Prather Award posthumously to Scott Crossfield and David Clark; Military Astronautics Award to Hans Mark, professor at the University of Texas at Austin; John F.
Edward J. Barron has been appointed vice president-government affairs/ legislative counsel for the Washington-based Air Transport Assn. of America. He was senior staff or legal counsel for three Senate committees: Judiciary; Environment and Public Works; and Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
CFM International will open its fourth international aircraft engine maintenance school in 2010, adding New Delhi to a list that includes sites in China, France and the U.S. The 10,800-sq.-ft. facility is expected to train 500 engineers annually from India and neighboring countries in Southeast Asia. India's explosive airline growth has fueled major sales of A320s and 737s and benefited CFMI as maker of the industry's most popular powerplant. The CFM56-5B is an option for the A320 and CFM56-7B is the sole powerplant for the 737.
MTU Aero Engines has signed a €1.7-billion contract with JetBlue Airways to continue support of International Aero Engines V2500 turbofans powering the carrier's A320s. It's the German company's largest deal, and it comes on top of an €800-million contract the two signed in 2005.
Israel's recent test of its Arrow ballistic missile defense weapon has spurred a few more details generated by Washington-based analysts. The intercept altitude was 250,000 ft. Two batteries were involved--at Palmachim AB south of Tel Aviv and the Ein Shemer UAV test base to the north. One tracked while the other fired, to demonstrate networking.
With increased pressures of global competition, budget cuts and security threats, the aerospace and defense industry must continuously look for better ways of doing business. One of the key factors for the success of the industry is the quality of its program leadership. Some months back, a survey of industry executives was conducted by Computer Sciences Corp. and sponsored by AVIATION WEEK and the Aerospace Industries Assn. (AIA). It found that 80% of the respondents consider program leadership as the top core activity in their operations.
Indonesia says it will ban its airlines from operating aircraft more than 10 years old. The plan follows accidents involving two 737s older than that limit. A 17-year-old aircraft of Adam Air crashed for unknown reasons Jan. 1, and a 13-year-old Adam aircraft was bent in a hard landing Feb. 21. The national transport authority says the quality of the landing was to blame, not the airframe.
Shanghai's No. 2 airport, Hongqiao, will expand dramatically, following approval of the $2-billion plan from the central economic planning commission. By 2010, the mainly domestic airport will get a second, 3,300-meter (10,800-ft.) runway and a new 250,000-sq.-meter terminal, giving it a capacity of 40 million passengers a year. The airport, China's third busiest, handled 19 million passengers last year, twice its designed capacity.
BAE Systems Australia has awarded U.S.-based Mercury Computer Systems a contract to provide a synthetic vision display for the development of a prototype brownout landing system for helicopters. Brownouts are caused by rotors picking up dust on the ground and reducing pilot visibility to zero.
Japan plans to start replacing its optical-reconnaissance satellites in 2009, after launching the second of its two radar-reconnaissance satellites into a 400-600-km. (249-373-mi.) polar orbit Feb. 24. The Tanegashima Island launch on an H-IIA rocket completes a four-spacecraft reconnaissance system planned eight years ago. An initial pair of satellites, one optical and one with radar, was launched in March 2003, but a similar pair was destroyed later that year when the H-IIA launcher failed.
Bombardier Aerospace is aggressively addressing its aftermarket business to provide operators with more reliable aircraft and easier ways to support them. For instance, the corporate and regional aircraft maker plans to integrate aftermarket services and offer them via optional tailored programs to provide operators simpler, one-stop maintenance for a fixed cost, based on operating hours.
Plans by Goldman Sachs and Canada's Onex Corp. to buy Raytheon Aircraft Co. have gained European regulatory approval. Given the large number of business aircraft builders and the fact that the acquisition shouldn't reduce competition, the approval was expected.
ITT ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS-RADAR SYSTEMS GILFILLAN has two new air traffic control systems on the market including one with a novel modification for a Precision Approach (PAR) and similar radars to allow them to send Instrument Landing System-type guidance signals to the cockpit. Military pilots have relied on PAR approaches at military bases as an alternative to ILS for years, but civilians seldom use the technique. A PAR involves a ground controller observing an aircraft on radar and giving the pilot course and glideslope corrections until touchdown.
Navy officials say they are expecting to select a contractor for the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance program this fall, and Australia is considering entering in the formal development phase then.
It wasn't until Airbus launched the A320 that it became a true threat to its American aircraft maker rivals. Now, the single-aisle family once again is key to the future of the company. Fixing the A380, which has suffered significant schedule delays due to wiring design problems that slowed the assembly process, will probably remain a dominant focus this year as the aircraft maker tries to recover from its two-year crises of delayed delivery and muddled product strategy.
Ray Johnson has been promoted to senior vice president/chief technology officer from vice president/CTO of the Lockheed Martin Corp., Bethesda, Md. Sondra L. Barbour has been named vice president-shared services. She has been vice president-internal audit. Barbour will be succeeded by Maryanne R. Lavan, who has been vice president-ethics and business conduct.
USMC Maj. Gen. (ret.) Joseph T. Anderson (see photo) has been promoted to deputy director from associate director of the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Va.
NASA's next International Space Station assembly mission hopes to do in one launch what it took two flights to accomplish last year as the race to complete the ISS picks up speed.
