Glenn Mara has been appointed associate director for engineering at the Lawrence Livermore (Calif.) National Laboratory. He succeeds Spiros Dimolitsas, who has resigned. Mara was principal deputy project manager for the laboratory's National Ignition Facility Program Directorate.
Stratasys and Fuji Photo Film have worked together during the last year to advance the resolution of Stratasys' 3D stereo lithography model maker. The device builds up 3D models layer by layer, and resolution of the model layer has been improved to 0.005 in., which means the products can have 0.020-in. feature sizes. An automated support removal process has also been added to dissolve away the temporary supports needed for building the model, instead of doing it manually.
The U.K.'s defense secretary, Geoff Hoon, last week fleshed out, possibly inadvertently, the potential role of the country's ``sub-strategic'' nuclear deterrent in countering weapons of mass destruction (WMD). In an appearance before Parliament's defense committee, Hoon discussed the issue of ballistic missile defense and the British government's position regarding the U.S. initiative.
Ground controllers at the German Space Operations Center in Oberpaffenhofen are preparing for six months of commissioning and validation activities with the two-satellite Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace) launched last week in the first commercial flight of the Euro-Russian Rockot converted SS-19 ICBM.
John Robson, chairman of the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board during the Ford Administration and a leader in the move to deregulate aviation, died Mar. 20 of cancer. He was 71. In recent years an investment banker with Robertson Stephens of San Francisco, Robson was appointed by President Bush to be president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the U.S., taking office last May. He was undersecretary of Transportation during the Johnson Administration and deputy Treasury secretary during the first Bush Administra- tion.
Central China's Chengdu Aircraft Co. (CAC) will manufacture fuselage parts for Dassault Aviation's Falcon 2000EX, under an agreement signed last week at the People's National Assembly in Beijing by Dassault Chairman/CEO Charles Edelstenne, CAC Chairman Yang Tingkuo and Yan Tiannan, vice president of China National Aero-Technology Import&Export Corp. The work will be facilitated by Dassault Systemes' Catia computer-aided design and manufacturing software. CAC is one of China's four largest aircraft factories.
Increases in China's defense budget and more realistic training are making its military more formidable, although so far U.S. government officials believe the strategic balance with Taiwan has not tilted dramatically. China announced this month it would increase defense spending 17.6% this year, a near repeat of last year's 17.7% hike. ``If this trend continues, China could double its announced defense spending between 2000 and 2005,'' CIA director George J. Tenet told senators in a hearing last week.
Mexican aviation officials attempting to build a new airport for Mexico City are facing a host of obstacles, primarily from angry farmers vowing to keep their land. Safety issues, including the potential for bird strikes, also pose hurdles, although planners believe these can be overcome. Another contention surrounds the rebuilding of wetlands that would be destroyed in the building of a new airport.
The new $200-million Boeing/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center TDRS I Tracking and Data Relay Satellite suffered a major propulsion malfunction during its climb to geosynchronous orbit. This occurred in the days after TDRS' successful launch into an elliptical transfer orbit on Mar. 8. The spacecraft, still Boeing's responsibility under the TDRS contract, was using its own propulsion system to circularize its orbit when the problem occurred. The spacecraft was being managed by Boeing's satellite control center.
Preussag has acquired a 50% share in a new Italian charter airline, Neos, set up by IFIL in June 2001 to serve its Alpitour package tour affiliate. Neos began operation earlier this month with a single Boeing 737-800, and plans to add a second aircraft in May. The acquisition follows Preussag's purchase last year of a 10% stake in Alpitour, Italy's largest vertically integrated travel company (AW&ST May 28, 2001, p. 18).
Scrambling to shave procurement costs, the British Defense Ministry is scrutinizing a raft of guided-weapons programs for the air force and army for potential cuts, at the same time as it attempts to protect key weapons procurement programs. Several air-launched and anti-armor missile projects are coming under the microscope as the ministry seeks to rein in procurement costs. Pressure for reductions is mounting from the Treasury-led annual comprehensive spending review.
Air New Zealand has rejected revived claims by Ansett Australia's administrators that it stripped Ansett of assets before the ANZ subsidiary collapsed (AW&ST Mar. 18, p. 49). In a report to creditors last week, Ansett said they are still investigating potential claims against ANZ that include inappropriate fuel charges and operating costs. However, Air New Zealand Chief Executive Ralph Norris said a $180-million settlement was reached with the administrators last year on all claims.
David Brock of the small-business division and Emil Posey of the procurement division, both at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., and Grigory Adamovsky of the technical division at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, have received NASA's Exceptional Achievement Medal at the agency's annual minority business advocates award ceremony.
Airbus is building its corporate electronic portal and plans to have the pilot phase going by the end of spring, with availability for up to 5,000 employees. Ultimately there should be about 80,000 users, including suppliers, customers and other outsiders. They will be able to share information and operate programs via the portal. Airbus is using Plumtree Corporate Portal and Interwoven's Content Infrastructure software to make the portal work. The system is to let users collaborate and create material without requiring help from the infotech department. . . .
Australia has decided to fix its Boeing 707 tankers, and abandoned plans to park the aircraft and pursue an interim aerial refueling capability. Military planners thought it would be too expensive to stick with the 707s until a replacement is fielded later this decade. Now, Australia will fix the aircraft and deploy them to support the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.
One of the new tools in Green Hills' Multi integrated development environment is G-Cover, which checks to make sure all elements of the code have been tested. It helps to provide the thoroughness needed for DO-178B Level A certification by automating the code coverage analysis given by a DO-178B specification. Sometimes compilers will produce object code that is not traceable to the original source code, but G-Cover will catch even these branches, according to Green Hills.
The dearth of financial support the U.S. government extends to some of its closest neighbors could impair the Pentagon's influence in Latin America and the Caribbean, senior military officials warn.
Techspace Aero, a Belgium-based Snecma subsidiary, has signed an agreement with Pratt&Whiney to participate in the Engine Alliance GP7000 turbofan. Engine Alliance is a joint venture of General Electric and Pratt. Under terms of the partnership, Techspace Aero is scheduled to develop and produce the GP7000's low-pressure compressor.
An experimental cryocooler that astronauts installed on the Hubble Space Telescope this month is working after suffering a temporary shutdown a few hours after it was started for the first time on Mar. 16. Turbomachinery in the new cooler for the Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (Nicmos) experienced an unexplained loss of speed sufficient to send it into a safe mode. The device, installed during the just-completed Hubble servicing mission (AW&ST Mar. 18, p. 34), was restarted on Mar. 18, and at week's end was working well.
Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corp. has begun production of the first SJ30-2 at facilities in Martinsburg, W. Va. The fuselage and wing are scheduled for completion this fall, and another two fuselage/wing sets will be built before Dec. 31, according to the company. The empennage also will be built at the facility. FAA certification is tentatively set for late this year with initial deliveries due to begin in the third quarter of 2003. San Antonio-based Sino Swearingen reports orders for more than 150 airplanes.
A MICRO-ELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS (MEMS) FLYWHEEL, levitated by high-temperature superconductor (HTS) magnetic bearings, could provide energy storage as well as a power and attitude control system for a low-Earth orbit nano satellite. The dual functions would further reduce the mass of the spacecraft. The high angular momentum of an HTS flywheel can store approximately 45 watt-hr./kg., according to Eunjeong Lee, an assistant professor in the Dept.
Quashing Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority's long-standing arguments that mechanical failure downed EgyptAir Flight 990, the National Transportation Safety Board's final draft report issued last week cited relief crew first officer Gameel el-Batouty as the ``probable cause'' of the Oct. 31, 1999, crash that killed 217 people.
Seeking to stem the confusion over what military transformation is in practical terms, Pentagon officials say the building blocks are operational prototypes and realistic experimentation. Prototypes are original models that allow military personnel to work directly, hands on, with systems that hold promise of new combat capabilities. Prototypes enable weapon manufacturers to make more informed decisions about whether to go ahead with initial low-rate production.
The assembly of Boeing's C-17 Globemaster III airlifter is increasingly becoming an international affair. Efforts to further cut production costs have led to the selection of additional suppliers and vendors, including European participants such as Messier-Bugatti. The French company, a newly selected first-level C-17 supplier, is delivering wheels and carbon brakes to Long Beach, Calif.
