A prototype Mitsubishi LE-7A cryogenic engine successfully completed a 50-sec. ground test firing July 17 at Japan's National Space Development Agency's Tanegashima launch center. The LE-7A has been redesigned to improve its efficiency for NASDA's commercialized H-2A booster. The space agency planned a 350-sec. ground test late last week and another is set for October.
CelsiusTech Electronics has a towed expendable active RF decoy, known as BO2D, ready for validation. The BO2D has been designed to protect fighter aircraft against active and semiactive radar-guided missiles. It is a simple, effective decoy that fits into a standard 55-mm.-dia. flare cartridge and can be fired from the BOP/B dispenser, which provides the necessary data link and power. Celsius AB, SE-691 80, Karlskoga, Sweden.
Derek Cheung has been named vice president-research/director of the Rockwell Science Center, Costa Mesa, Calif. He will succeed Joe Longo, who is scheduled to retire in early 2000. Jon Rode has become vice president-operations/associate director of the Science Center.
United Airlines plans to build a new corporate headquarters at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on a 30-acre site previously occupied by the U.S. military. Phase 1 of the project will accommodate up to 1,000 employees and is scheduled for completion in 2001. The site has the potential to be expanded to 80 acres.
AlliedSignal will use the Internet as the medium for collaborative product development with its customers and business units. It expects to invest more than $50 million to install eMatrix, an enterprise e-business tool from MatrixOne of Chelmsford, Mass., for all of its business units. Once fully deployed, eMatrix will support users in more than 30 countries.
Richard L. Melville, Jr., has been appointed vice president/director of marketing of Alcoa Mill Products, Lafayette, Ind. He was executive vice president-strategic marketing and business development for Alcoa Engineered Products (AEP). William D. Kramer has been named executive vice president-finance, information systems and business development of AEP. He was vice president-manufacturing for industrial and transportation products.
C.W. (Bill) Jennings has been appointed deputy executive director, Michael R. Mannix, Jr., senior director of operations and Derryl O. Benton director of concessions and real state for the Greater Orlando (Fla.) Aviation Authority. Also named were Ron Lewis, director of terminal operations, Tom Wilke director of passenger services and Chuck Westhart director of engineering and construction.
The Pentagon has reissued an invitation to Russia to send a delegation to the ``Y2K Center for Strategic Stability,'' where early warning data will be available. The center is intended to assure Russia the U.S. isn't launching any attacks, even if Y2K bugs cause Russia's early warning system to go on the fritz. But, Moscow, protesting the Kosovo air war, scuttled planning for the get-together. The U.S.
U.S. airlines labored against rising costs and weak demand in the second quarter, but performed better than analysts predicted. Carriers posted operating earnings of an estimated $3 billion, about $300 million less than the record set in 1998's second quarter.
Until recently, pressure vessels had to be made by welding two halves together. To eliminate the risk of the welding seam, a technique has been devised to manufacture vessels from a single piece. A high-pressure vessel in a spherical shape withstands pressure up to 2,000 bar. Flowforming tubular or cone-shaped parts are produced in manner akin to doing pottery--applying high rotation and pressure at certain points when the material is workable.
Investors and potential partners in Teledesic's hugely ambitious Internet-in-the-sky project could be forgiven for having their doubts. Years into the effort, the most basic questions remain unanswered, even with this month's system agreement with the prime contractor candidate Motorola.
Payload delays are forcing Rocket System Corp., an industry consortium formed to commercialize Japan's H-2 launcher, to bide its time as it prepares to put the first components of its redesigned vehicle to the ultimate test of space flight. Called the H-2A, the new launcher is not expected to receive its first full flight test until next February, when it is to carry the Advanced Relay and Technology Mission Satellite (Artemis) in orbit for the European Space Agency. The booster is not expected to receive its first commercial payload until at least 2001.
Robert A. Bednarek and James W. Cuminale have been promoted to executive vice presidents from senior vice presidents of the PanAmSat Corp., Greenwich, Conn. David P. Berman, Alvaro T. Gazzolo, Theodore A. McFarland and Michael Antono- vich have become senior vice presidents-marketing and sales, respectively, for North America; Latin America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East; Asia-Pacific and South Asia; and special services worldwide.
PanAmSat, the feisty startup that took on the world back in the 1980s and grew into the world's largest private communications satellite operator, liked to paint an off-color logo and slogan on the sides of the rockets that launched its spacecraft in the early days.
British Airways Chief Executive Robert Ayling took aim at ``monopoly suppliers'' to the airline industry that continue to increase prices despite declining passenger yields at airlines. He targeted airports, air traffic control systems and some manufacturers that retained a ``cost-plus mentality'' despite increased competitive pressures due to deregulation within the industry. ``We must see supplier cost reductions in line with our passenger yield reductions,'' Ayling said.
ALLIEDSIGNAL HAS BEGUN SHIPPING ITS AIRSAT 1 airborne satellite communication system. Using Iridium's 66 satellites in low-Earth polar orbit will give Airsat 1 global coverage, including the Arctic and Antarctic for the first time. Retail price for Airsat 1 is $29,500 (uninstalled), according to AlliedSignal.
Merlin Communications of Fareham, England, has joined the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority to build a satellite gateway to provide broadcast video and audio feeds, data and Internet services from Europe to Asian customers. The 50-50 partnership expects to open its Iris Gateway Satellite Services center on Cyprus at the end of July and link it with Merlin's teleport.
The Primus Epic avionics system selected for use on the Fairchild Aerospace 728JET and Embraer ERJ-170 was developed by Honeywell for the business aircraft and helicopter markets as well as for next-generation regional jets. Chuck Stribley, director of regional and helicopter programs for Honeywell, said the system, which began in a study phase seven years ago, is able to fulfill the unique requirements of several markets because of its highly modular construction.
Delta Air Lines has produced a slick charts-and-graphs ``snapshot'' of the airline industry to counter growing passenger unrest about fares, service and monopolies. One message emerges in Delta's ``Aviation Factbook''--it is good for everyone that airlines are making up for the lost profits they suffered in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ``Because of the renewed financial health, more airlines are competing vigorously and providing more flights,'' it proclaims.
Boeing's financial picture rebounded sharply in the second quarter with the company earning more than $700 million on sales of $15.1 billion. That compares to net earnings of only $258 million on revenues of $13.4 billion during the delay-plagued second quarter of 1998.
Frank C. Meyer has been named president of both the Lockheed Martin Electronics Sector's Electronics Platform Integration Segment and Lockheed Martin Federal Systems, Owego, N.Y. He succeeds John Sponyoe, who is now head of Lockheed Martin's global telecommunications business initiative. Meyer was senior vice president/chief financial officer.
