Japan is postponing two satellite launches this summer. Concerns about the reliability of a central processing unit on MTSat, which would provide the nation's first GPS service for airlines, has forced cancellation of a mission scheduled for Aug. 5. In addition, launch of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science's Lunar-A Moon surveyor has been delayed for a third time. The surveyor's lunar surface penetrators have failed tests, and the vehicle will not be ready until after 2002.
Speculation about possible transatlantic mergers between major European and U.S. aerospace/defense companies may have been responsible for propelling the price of Northrop Grumman Corp.'s stock to 745/16--an increase of 5 points--last Wednesday.
Half of the 46 Boeing Business Jets officially listed as on order have already flown, according to the Seattle-based manufacturer. A majority of those are in completion centers for installation of custom interiors and other finishing work. First delivery of the modified 737-700 is scheduled for this summer and will either go to program partner General Electric, an operator in Switzerland or one in the Middle East. Boeing has logged additional BBJ orders, but plans to announce future sales only at the annual National Business Aviation Assn. convention.
The Dassault Aviation Rafale provides a high-performance platform for the integrated avionics and fusion of tactical information needed by today's pilots to effectively perform true multirole combat missions.
Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), the feisty chairman of both the Senate Appropriations Committee and its defense subcommittee, dashed hopes of reopening the B-2 line in the wake of the $2-billion bomber's success over Kosovo. The aircraft ``did a wonderful job, no question about that,'' Stevens said, but many other systems have a higher priority. He mentioned the Air Force's high-cost fighter competition, the V-22 tiltrotor and an EA-6B replacement (AW&ST June 28, p. 32).
In a surprising development for two major U.S. defense contractors, a three-judge panel of a Washington-based appeals court last week unanimously overturned a $1.2-billion damage award to the Boeing Co. and General Dynamics Corp. in connection with the 1991 cancellation of the A-12 stealth attack aircraft program. A ruling in favor of the companies was handed down in February 1998 by U.S. Claims Court Judge Robert Hodges, who was instructed by the appeals court panel to hold further proceedings to determine whether the program cancellation was justified.
The U.S. State Dept. is hiring more staffers to free up a logjam in processing export applications for satellites and other U.S.-built aerospace components. Eric D. Newsome, assistant secretary of State for political military affairs, told a Senate panel that $2 million in extra annual funding will be used to augment the 14 State Dept. and four Defense Dept. officers responsible for reviewing 46,000 munitions export applications last year (AW&ST May 24, p. 29). But, he cautioned, improvements will not be immediate.
Terry M. Ryan has been named president of Adroit Systems Inc., Alexandria, Va. He was director of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
An Icelandair Boeing 757 and an Air France 747F freighter were involved in a near collision on June 27 at JFK International Airport. According to the FAA, the 757 was departing on Runway 22R when the 747F apparently crossed that runway without an ATC clearance. After becoming airborne, the 757 came within 200 ft. vertically and 50 ft. horizontally of the Air France aircraft. The FAA is investigating the incident, and the U.S.
Patrick C. FitzPatrick, senior vice president/chief financial officer of DynCorp, has received the CFO Hall of Fame Award from the Northern Virginia Technology Council and High Technology Council of Maryland. The award recognizes a current or former CFO for achievements acknowledged by peers and the technology community.
AlliedSignal Aerospace has developed the first convertible brake package for Airbus A320s. This allows A320 operators flying a mixed short- and long-haul network to install the most cost-effective brakes for a particular route while easily switching back and forth as market conditions change, according to John Humphrey, director of finance for the company's Aircraft Landing Systems organization. Steel brakes are heavier but cheaper than composite brakes and considered the most economical for short-haul operations.
Two American Airlines Boeing 767 jets clipped wings on the ground at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on June 29. The NTSB is investigating the incident that resulted in minor damage but no injuries. The 173 passengers on Flight 80 headed for Sweden were delayed overnight, and the other 767 was an aircraft being repositioned to a gate prior to a flight.
A lack of private capital is stifling the development of a new generation of commercial reusable launch vehicles (RLVs), and NASA officials worry that critics could hold the agency partially responsible if the fledgling new industry fails to make it off the ground.
Leading U.K. charter/tour operator Air Tours has welcomed a European Commission proposal inviting it to make a new offer for domestic competitor First Choice. The offer may be made following the expected October completion of an EC investigation into the proposed acquisition. Air Tours allowed its initial bid, made in May to counter a rival tender by Kuoni of Switzerland, to lapse early last month following the EC's decision to conduct the review. Air Tours has already acquired nearly 50% of the stock of First Choice, the No. 4 U.K. travel firm (AW&ST May 24, p. 21).
Meanwhile, Goldin said NASA has sent the engineers grappling with the agency's space transportation architecture studies back to the drawing board for more work on safety and reliability. Plans to upgrade the space station Crew Return Vehicle into a two-way Crew Transfer Vehicle also have been put on hold because of concerns over the reliability of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles that would take them to orbit, he said.
Airsys ATM, a Thomson-CSF affiliate, has been selected by Laos' civil aviation authority to install a new air traffic management system there. The PATA Polish air traffic agency has picked Airsys ATM to supply radar and controller working stations for Warsaw's airport. In addition, Laotian controllers will be trained by the Toulouse-based French national civil aviation school.
The Royal Australian Air Force has delayed the selection of its new Light Tactical Transport until September. It requires more data from the two competitors, the Lockheed-Alenia C-27J Spartan and the CASA C-235. However, selection of up to six early warning radar aircraft is due by mid-July.
Negotiators for Boeing and the International Assn. of Machinists&Aerospace Workers (IAM) face a grueling two months of talks before the current IAM contract expires on Sept. 2. Observers say a new contract could easily impact the entire aerospace industry, setting standards for outsourcing, around-the-clock assembly lines, weekend work, overtime, flextime and other job issues. The Boeing-IAM negotiations are the third contract talks between the two sides in the last decade. Negotiations failed in 1989 and in 1995, resulting in strikes.
Aviation Industries of China will join Airbus Industrie in development of the 107-seat A318 program, bringing the European and Chinese manufacturers together after they failed to reach agreement last year on a Chinese-led effort. Besides joining in development of the A318, AVIC's Shenyang Aircraft Corp. (SAC) and Xian Aircraft Industry Group (XAC) subsidiaries will gain additional work on A320 wing components.
Kenneth H. Guss has been appointed president of the Raytheon Aircraft Parts Inventory and Distribution Co., Wichita, Kan. He was president of Raytheon Aircraft Montek.
The chances of hammering out a new U.S.-U.K. aviation agreement soon have grown dimmer following the British government's decision to postpone talks scheduled to be held in Washington this week. Apparently the government has been unable to reach agreement with British Airways on how many slots the carrier must relinquish at Heathrow airport as a result of its proposed alliance with American Airlines. Approval of the alliance, which would require both carriers to give up slots at Heathrow to satisfy competition authorities, is also conditional on securing a U.S-U.K.
