Continued budget pressure is causing senior U.S. Air Force officials to closely examine plans for several high-profile weapon programs to determine which ones the service can afford.
NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe is preparing to stress closer cooperation with the military in his big ``vision'' speech at Syracuse University on Apr. 12, particularly in the area of nuclear power. The former Pentagon comptroller and Navy secretary will argue that it doesn't make sense for the government to duplicate its efforts in space and aeronautics, noting that it's a two-way street.
The U.S. military space community is undergoing revolutionary changes, while simultaneously demonstrating--in dramatic fashion, at times--the relevance of space resources in prosecuting the war on terrorism. In essence, ``milspace'' is now delivering on decades of promise and potential.
This hybrid instrument, the US-454 EddyView, combines dual-frequency eddy current, video imaging and strip chart recorder in a portable product. Toggling images between eddy current, video and strip chart is done by using one knob on the front of the unit. Memory cards are inserted into the bottom of the US-454 for test storage. All three images--video capture, eddy current impedance plane and X-Y strip chart recording--can be displayed and stored on the memory card for reports of defect areas.
JetBlue Airways flight crews will soon be able to monitor cabin activities from their reinforced cockpits. Orlando-based inflight entertainment provider LiveTV recently won the STC for its multiple-camera cabin surveillance system, which will be retrofitted on the carrier's 24 in-service Airbus A320s within the next three months. Two monitors installed on either side of the cockpit would allow the flight crew to focus on up to four cabin views.
In the post-Sept. 11 context, Europe could not escape the rising tide of industrial overcapacity in the maintenance, repair and overhaul market. However, with the impact of the economic crisis curtailed, there's optimism about an early recovery, according to industry executives.
Fifty-nine 737 transports were delivered by Boeing during the first quarter of the year, including one aircraft turned over under an operating lease. Combined, the company delivered 110 transports during the period across all commercial transport product lines, ahead of the pace it predicted for 2002. The deliveries included 16 777s, 12 767s, 12 757s, eight 747s and three 717s. Boeing earlier estimated it would deliver a total of about 380 aircraft this year, down from 527 last year.
Norman D. Jordan has become president/CEO of the Pryor, Okla.-based North American businesses of France-based Labinal. He was vice president/general manager of Labinal Inc.
Two of the company's Microdot brand RF connectors, with applications in aerospace and defense, were added to the Defense Logistics Agency's qualified products list 39012/55 and 39012/59. Mil-C-39012 SMA-type connectors are in-line plug/jack style and have an impedance of 50 ohms. Contact material is gold-plated beryllium copper, and the connector is rated for up to 500 mating cycles. Tyco Electronics, P.O. Box 3608, MS 38-41, Harrisburg, Pa. 17105.
The 12th FIDAE International Air and Space Fair attracted 222 companies and organizations from 27 countries to Santiago, Chile. These figures represent a slight increase in the number of countries represented, but a decline in the number of companies exhibiting from two years ago. Show organizers attributed the decline in the biennial event to a continuing decrease in the number of aerospace companies resulting from consolidation. Chilean air force Col.
The role and overall clout of the U.S. Naval Space Command are being increased substantially as the Navy moves to improve its organization for network-centric warfare--increasingly dependent on space and information systems. The changes involve: -- New command. The Navy is forming a ``Network Warfare Command'' (NetWarCom) headquartered at Norfolk, Va., under a three-star admiral.
The KLM Group is restructuring to improve its ability to compete in different segments of the air travel market. The new structure will place the group's two regional feeder airlines, KLM UK and Dutch-based Cityhopper, under an integrated management team; unify management of its low-cost carriers, Buzz and Basiq Air, and reorganize the fleet of charter unit Transavia around a single aircraft type, the Boeing 737.
With business, trade and tourism on the increase, a bilateral air services agreement signed Apr. 1 between the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines is expected to lead to more flight frequencies. More than 150,000 Filipino nationals are employed in the UAE. But Philippine Airlines (PAL) doesn't serve the country, which leaves the UAE's Emirates and Gulf Air to pick up the business. Philippine Airlines executives, who halted services to the UAE when they started restructuring in 1997, say they are considering restarting them.
The Pentagon will soon face a critical choice for its future early warning system: stick with Lockheed Martin's Space-Based Infrared System-High or abandon the multibillion-dollar effort in favor of some alternative path.
Bombardier Aerospace, under a five-year contract completed last week with Northwest Airlines, will provide heavy maintenance for CRJ200 and CRJ440 regional jets operated by Northwest Airlink carriers. The agreement covers C checks, which are performed every 4,000 flight hours, as well as structural inspections that are completed every two years. The maintenance will be performed at Bombardier's West Virginia Air Center at Bridgeport. The Northwest fleet of CRJ200/440s is expected to increase to 129 aircraft in the initial contract period.
The Transportation Dept. last week granted antitrust immunity to an alliance between United Airlines and British Midland Airways, subject to the U.S. and the U.K. coming to an open skies agreement within six months. The order also granted a request by American Airlines and British Airways to dismiss their previously filed application for antitrust immunity.
A narrow-width scissors lift for maintenance and warehousing, this lift features a 26-ft. platform height and extended-duty batteries. Model 2632E2 is 32 in. wide; with a stowed height of 72 in., the machine can pass through standard doors and be maneuvered in narrow-aisle applications. Power is provided by four 6-volt deep-cycle batteries, each with 245 amp-hour storage capacity, which means that operators can use the lift for multiple shifts between changes. It can be driven at full height at speeds up to 0.5 mph. The platform includes a 3-ft.
Frontier Airlines has grounded the crew of a Boeing 737 that strayed right off course while departing from Reagan Washington National Airport Runway 01 on Apr. 1, busting restricted airspace zones near the White House, then over the Vice President's residence as they turned back on course. Departures normally require a sharp left turn after takeoff to avoid the security-sensitive areas, although the FAA, for safety reasons, gives pilots the final say on the flight path taken. No word yet as to why the pilots missed the turn.
Rockwell Collins and the U.S. Air Force have demonstrated the ability to send e-mail messages via high-frequency (HF) radio from aircraft. HF radio is the traditional long-range communications system and is more widely deployed than satellite transceivers, but is subject to the whims of ionospheric conditions. A Boeing KC-135 was equipped with Rockwell Collins' HF Messenger kit, which allows a personal computer or other data device to send text and other types of files, including images, at up to 9,600 bit/sec. rates.
Struggling France Telecom is studying the disposal of its 23.1% stake in Eutelsat to help pay off debt and focus on core telecom activities. The move is motivated by a desire to avoid becoming a ``sleeping partner'' in Eutelsat as other telecom operators unload their stakes, a France Telecom executive said. Telecom Italia late last year spun off its Eutelsat holdings into a joint venture held 70% by Lehman Brothers (AW&ST Mar. 4, p. 18).
The European Space Agency has concluded an agreement with Astrium and 10 other companies to plan and promote the use of the International Space Station among commercial users. The agreement, which could involve up to 30% of European ISS resources, covers material sciences, technology, telecommunications, Earth observation, advertising and entertainment. Signatories include Intospace, which last year concluded a separate accord to market and sell commercial services on ESA's behalf (AW&ST June 11, 2001, p. 51).
THE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY IS LOOKING at commercial-off-the-shelf supercomputers, based on a Power-PC based embedded cluster, that could be used for space-borne remote exploration and experimentation. COTS supercomputers offer 10-100 times the computing power of today's radiation-hardened computers, and can generally withstand the total ionizing dose during a 5-10-year mission, according to the lab.
Interest is growing in an open seat for sale on the Soyuz taxi flight to the International Space Station this fall, with would-be travelers lining up at Moscow's Institute for Biomedical Problems for a 14-day battery of tests designed to clear them for spaceflight. Lori Garver, a former NASA associate administrator and National Space Society head who is raising sponsorship funds, has gotten a tentative go-ahead despite a problem with gallstones. She's agreed to have her gall bladder removed.
