Space leaders in Europe are confident that the proposals on the agenda of the European Space Agency's ministerial summit this week will meet broad acceptance, although some projects may not be approved as recommended.
Even though their numbers are still relatively low, small jet aircraft have had a major impact on the U.S. airline industry in the last half-dozen years. The Regional Airline Assn. (RAA) estimates there are about 280 regional jets operating in the U.S. today, compared with a total regional airline fleet of 2,150 turbofans and turboprops.
The board of Aer Lingus has endorsed plans for a strategic alliance with British Airways and American Airlines, eventually leading to the state-owned carrier's membership in the Oneworld alliance. The deal, which must be approved by the Irish government, could also involve BA and American taking small equity stakes in Aer Lingus. The Irish carrier has ended its code-share relationship with Delta Air Lines, which will start daily services between New York's JFK and Dublin/Shannon on July 15.
Ball Aerospace&Technologies Corp. received an approximately $30-million contract to build NASA's CloudSat spacecraft, which will study the effects of clouds on climate and weather as part of the space agency's Earth System Science Pathfinder program (see photo). The satellite will carry a millimeter-wave radar and infrared spectrometer to measure the altitude and properties of clouds. The radar will develop a profile of cloud vertical structures, augmenting existing weather satellites that only image the top layers.
Alex Cho, director of research and development at McCook (Ill.) Metals, has received the NASA space shuttle program's Silver Snoopy Award for his work to develop the aluminum lithium alloy that is used in the super-lightweight fuel tank of the orbiters.
Continental Express' growing fleet of Embraer ERJ-145 regional jets are accounting for more 54% of the airline's available seat miles (ASM) and are projected to account for about 65% of capacity by December, according to President David Siegel. By comparison, in April 1998, ERJs provided about 30% of the regional carrier's capacity, with turboprop transports handling the balance (see stories beginning p. 42). Continental Express operates 42 of the twin-engine jets and is scheduled to take delivery of the first 37-seat ERJ-135 in July.
This Three Mirror Telescope was designed as the front end afocal telescope for an airborne imaging spectrometer. It is a large aperture system operating in visible wave lengths. Optical specifications for the device include 12.6-in. clear aperture, 2-deg. field of view and less than 1.0-microradian boresight jitter. The optical performance requirement led to a design using three off-axis conical mirrors. The combination of broad operational temperature, low weight and strict jitter requirements allowed the telescope to be fabricated from graphite composite.
The two RAH-66 Comanche prototypes conducted about 1 hr. of tandem flight late last month at Sikorsky's Development Flight Test Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., as part of the program's flight test effort. The No. 2 Comanche (gear down above) flew for about 5 hr. before ending its current flight test program earlier this month. It took to the sky for the first time in late March for flight control system evaluation, and to complete infrared signature assessments. The No. 2 prototype will return to flight in 2001 for RAH-66 mission equipment package evaluation.
After reporting a 42% jump in pretax earnings--to a record DM2.5 billion--last year, Lufthansa Group announced a 61% profit slide in the first quarter, exclusive of extraordinary gains, and predicted a 20% drop for the full year, due to a more difficult economic environment. But revenues rose 4.8%, to DM 22.7 billion, while load factor improved to 74%.
Starting Something Big: The Commercial Emergence of GE Aircraft Engines tracks General Electric's progress from the early 1950s to its leading position in the global market. Written by 40-year company veteran Robert Garvin, this history details the political and external forces affecting the engine industry and how GE avoided some of the problems posed by environmental politics. Garvin explains how to gain an edge in finding the money for new programs, staying competitive in the production of commercial aircraft engines, and positioning financial investors.
Features of this line of high-precision, high-performance inductive position sensors include measuring ranges from 0.002-2.50 in., high-speed analog and digital signal conditioning, and rugged stainless steel housings. The sensors operate in temperature ranges from 4K-1000F. The sensors are based on eddy current technology, providing measurements that are stable and repeatable for metal targets. Kaman Instrumentation, 1500 Garden of the Gods Road, Colorado Springs, Colo. 80907.
Boeing has granted Volvo Aero exclusive distribution rights for its surplus commercial aircraft parts supply. The five-year agreement calls for Boeing and Ages, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based aircraft parts distributor wholly owned by Volvo Aero, to share the net revenues from the sales. About 230,000 individual part numbers are covered, primarily for Boeing's out-of-production transports. The inventory is to be transferred from Boeing Spares Distribution Centers in Seattle and Torrance, Calif., to an Ages Group warehouse near Seattle.
Greece has decided on an interim buy of 50 or more Lockheed Martin F-16 and 15 Dassault Aviation Mirage 2000-5 fighters, as well as confirming its long-term intent to procure up to 90 Eurofighters.
Forecasts of an impending industry downturn may prove to be mere fantasy, according to Airbus Industrie executives. Traffic growth is healthy on most route systems, they said, Asia's financial crisis has begun to ease up and commercial transport sales remain robust in the midst of a major fleet replacement cycle. In such a positive environment, the European consortium envisions further boosting production beyond the 317-aircraft/year level that it currently plans to achieve next year.
Gerald Greenwald, chairman/CEO of the UAL Corp., has been honored by Orbis International at a dinner that was headed by Albert L. Ueltschi, chairman of Orbis and chairman/president of FlightSafety International.
The Vista HT-100 fuel leak detection system has been installed at a Chevron fuel terminal that supplies jet fuel to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. In addition, five major Canadian airports are planning to install the system, Vista Technologies Product Manager Michael R. Fierro said. The company also has developed a smaller version called the LT-100 that can be used for testing fuel loading systems at smaller airports that rely on trucks rather than hydrants for fueling aircraft.
NASA has rolled out an X-34 test vehicle that will be used in captive-carry tests to certify the L-1011 carrier aircraft to fly with X-34 vehicles attached under its fuselage. The test vehicle, called A1, was rolled out Apr. 30 at the space agency's Dryden Flight Research Center (AW&ST Apr. 26, p. 78). Seven or eight captive-carry tests are planned. The first free-flight vehicle is in development at Orbital Sciences Corp. and is set for delivery in July.
Lee H. Sentman, professor/associate head of the Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering Dept. at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, has won the Plasadynamics and Lasers Award of the Reston, Va.-based American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Atlas Air has exercised options for two more 747-400F freighters, bringing its total order to 12. The first five were delivered last year to the Golden, Colo.-based cargo carrier and are in revenue service. Four more are scheduled for delivery this year and three in 2000.
More-capable computers and advanced electronics are the chief enablers of innovations that are being driven by demands for lower costs, better performance and greater safety.
In yet another illustration of why financial backers of commercial space projects demand outsize returns for their investment, Loral Space and Communications' Orion 3 satellite last week failed to reach the proper transfer orbit (see p. 30). The problem stems from a failure in the second stage of the launch vehicle, a Delta III rocket manufactured by the Boeing Co. Orion 3 is intended to provide services to business users in major Asia-Pacific markets. The failure marked Loral's fifth attempt in a month to launch Orion 3 into space.
The protracted political wrangling over the trinational Medium-Extended Air-Defense System (Meads) has been largely resolved, allowing the program to move forward. Italy and Germany have accepted the U.S. proposal to use the Patriot PAC-3 missile as the air-defense interceptor for Meads, said Lt. Gen. John Costello, commander of the Army Space and Missile Defense Command. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are vying to develop the mobile air-defense system, and the winner is to be announced later this month.
Aviation Weather Surveillance Systems: Advanced Radar and Surface Sensors for Flight Safety and Air Traffic Management, written by Pravas Mahapatra, provides an introduction to the science, sensors and systems that form modern aviation weather surveillance systems. It focuses on radar-based surveillance, and details the fundamentals of various disciplines involved and their complex interplay. The Institution of Electrical Engineers, Michael Faraday House, Six Hills Way Stevenage, Herts, SG1 2AY, U.K.
