Boeing officials see their participation in the NASA/Boeing X-37 program as a vital step toward developing the company's next-generation commercial launch vehicle. Several options are under consideration, but all require new technologies or more information about advanced operational concepts. Exploring some of these under the X-37 government/industry cost-sharing partnership is considered a good way to leverage corporate research and development investments, while also advancing NASA's quest for reduced launch costs.
Rocket propulsion teams are this week implementing changes affecting the Delta, Atlas, Proton and space shuttle programs after isolating the engine, electrical and manufacturing problems that have forced the lengthy grounding of commercial vehicles and threatened shuttle delays.
United Airlines will reconfigure the first 6-11 rows of economy class in its domestic aircraft to create an ``Economy Plus'' service with 35-36 in. of legroom. The seats, which have at least 4 in. more legroom than regular economy class, will be made available to United and Star Alliance frequent-flier members who have achieved Premier status or higher, or the equivalent. Full-fare economy passengers also can book the seats. United plans to reconfigure the cabins of about 450 aircraft as part of the program, completing the update by April 2000.
A senior FAA official promised a House committee on Aug. 3 that the agency will propose new rules within six months to head off safety problems caused by flight and duty schedules that exhaust pilots. The agency abandoned a 1995 rule proposal after pilots groups and airlines split over its costs and benefits.
The Terrorism&Security Monitor is designed to provide a concise overview of key security developments worldwide. It is published 10 times a year and each issue includes four main features: special reports on current topics; editorial comment on significant internal security situations and themes; detailed comment on the global security situation by region; and security round-up in brief, by region. Intelligence International Ltd., The Stoneyhill Center, Brimpsfield, Gloucester, GL4 8LF, England.
After a two-month test, American Airlines has officially launched a program that reclaims surplus food from flights and donates it to local food banks. Flight attendants collect sealed and non-perishable items such as cookies, chips and individual jams and place them in special green ``Food Savers'' bags. The caterer, LSG Sky Chefs, removes the bags when it restocks the aircraft and transports them to a food bank. The trial program, based in Dallas, gathered more than 10,000 lb.
Space Imaging has scheduled the launch of its second Ikonos 1-meter-resolution commercial imagery satellite for Sept. 3. The satellite is to be launched from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on a Lockheed Martin Athena 2 booster. The first Ikonos satellite was lost in an Athena 2 mishap on Apr. 27 when an electrical malfunction caused a payload-shroud separation failure.
Digital elevation models and image maps of large areas are well suited for terrain visualization telecommunications planning, intelligence and exploration application. Maps created from RADARSAT data result in rapid production cycles and completeness of coverage, since data can be acquired round the clock, regardless of clouds or weather conditions.Vexcel's archives include areas of Colombia, North and South Korea, Peru, Japan, China, Taiwan, Irian Jaya, Canada, French Guiana and Venezuela. Most are available off-the-shelf at a per-sq.-km. charge.
The air war in Yugoslavia underscored the effectiveness of a new generation of advanced systems and weapons, including precision munitions, but also raised serious concerns about interoperability and the growing technological mismatch between the U.S. and its European allies.
The World Trade Organization has upheld decisions handed down earlier this year regarding illegal government subsidies to Bombardier and Embraer, although the final impact of the latest rulings may depend on how they are implemented by the companies. Industry analysts also said the WTO Appellate Body rulings, made public last week, could result in a modest price hike for regional jets.
Deep Space 1 gathered infrared spectra of the tiny asteroid Braille during the July 28 flyby, showing it to have composition similar to the crust of Vesta, one of the largest asteroids that is in an entirely different orbit.
A Pratt&Whitney JT8D-219 engine has been successfully test flown on a 707, paving the way for a low-cost reengining option for 707 commercial and military transports. The Seven Q Seven package uses primarily off-the-shelf commercial components with no aircraft modification required, according to team members Pratt, Omega Air, DER Engineering, BFGoodrich and Nordam. Replacing the 707's original JT3D/TF33 powerplants with the 21,000-lb.
Deliveries of new general aviation airplanes during the first six months of this year totaled 1,082 units worth $3.5 billion--45% higher than the $2.4 billion attained during the same period in 1998, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Assn.
US Airways Group's largest investor, frustrated by the company's weak stock-price performance in recent months, is pressuring management to take corrective measures--including a possible merger or sale of the carrier. But securities analysts and other industry observers aren't looking for any dramatic changes in US Airways' ownership status in the foreseeable future.
The FAA is expected to unveil a plan this week for short-term fixes of worsening air traffic control delays and congestion. The fixes are based on a report hammered out during an Aug. 5-6 meeting that brought together FAA officials, senior airline operations managers and representatives of the air traffic controllers' union. FAA Administrator Jane F. Garvey called for the meeting after Continental Airlines' Gordon Bethune, and others, blasted the agency's management of ATC (AW&ST Aug. 2, p. 22).
Brian D. Dailey, a longtime Washington insider and former staff chief at President George Bush's National Space Council, continues to climb the corporate ladder at Lockheed Martin Corp. Dailey last week took over as director of the company's newly consolidated Washington operations, where he will direct LockMart's lobbying efforts with Congress, the Pentagon and the White House. Dailey replaces David Osterhout, who had planned to retire at the end of the year. Company officials maintain the changes were not related to Congress' surprise F-22 funding cuts.
John Moore has been promoted to executive vice president from senior vice president-human resources and Mike Shonka to executive vice president from senior vice president-finance/chief financial officer of the Cessna Aircraft Co., Wichita, Kan. Ron Alberti and Ron Chapman have been promoted to senior vice presidents from vice president-manufacturing and vice president-customer services, respectively.
The U.S. Defense Dept. has given notice of a pending sale of $150 million in spare parts to support Taiwan's C-130H transport, Indigenous Defense Fighter, F-5E/F fighter and Block 15 mid-life upgrade for the F-16A/B fighter.
CIMdata says it does not make much difference whether a vendor bases product data management fees on the number of concurrent users who are allowed access to the system or according to the number of registered users at the company's site. Both arrangements cost about the same after all costs are considered, a CIMdata market pricing analysis has concluded. Licenses for a typical registered-user approach range from $600-3,100, seemingly giving it the edge to the approximately $6,000 that will be spent for concurrent licensing fees.
Added to the riddle of how the Yugoslav air defense shot down the F-117, there is a puzzling report that Yugoslavia bought several long-range SA-10B (S-300MP) missiles from Russia. They were supposedly smuggled into the country under scrap and in humanitarian supplies a few weeks before the Kosovo air war began on Mar. 23. The missiles arrived without radar or launchers, which forced Yugoslav engineers to try to adapt the new missiles to old systems.
Development problems have forced the Pentagon to restructure the AIM-9X Evolved Sidewinder heat-seeking missile program but so far the fielding of the dogfight weapon hasn't been delayed.
This new avionics ground flange module meets Mil-T-81714 Spec. and provides increased electrical reliability and greater mechanical strength. The TJF series offers superior junction and grounding points for various sections of an airframe wiring harness. Materials used to withstand the rugged demands of avionics applications include a cast copper alloy bus/flange, polyetherimide housing and gold-plated contacts. PCD Inc., 2 Technology Drive, Peabody, Mass. 01960.
An inert USAF Atmospheric Interceptor Technology rocket is erected toward firing position in trial runs preparing for its planned Sept. 11 launch. The goal of the ait-2 mission is to help demonstrate lightweight launch vehicle technologies within the atmosphere and also serve as a target to support ballistic missile defense system development, according to the USAF. The missile, the second ait to be fired, will simulate a realistic incoming ballistic missile trajectory following a near-polar track south toward or along the West Coast of the U.S.
The 8000 C-CATS Computer Controlled Amplifier/Tracking System for vibration monitoring of rotating and reciprocating machinery has a ``plug and play'' configuration. The optional Manual Interface Module enables users to perform manual set up and operation, an industry first. The system features a variety of signal conditioning and processing modules using analog and digital signal processing for accuracy, resolution and stability. Minimum PC system requirements are Windows 3.1 or higher software, 486 DX2 or higher CPU, 16 Mb RAM, 5Mb available hard disk, 3.5-in.
Robert Mehrabian has become president/CEO of the aerospace and electronics division of Allegheny Teledyne of Pittsburgh. He was executive vice president-aerospace, electronics and industrial segments.
