Experience gained by Dassault during the earlier, canceled European Hermes spaceplane program is playing a major role in developing the X-38 prototype station rescue vehicles. The French company and other major firms are part of European Space Agency/German DLR cooperation in the vehicle development. About 20 European engineers are based at Johnson under the ESA participation.
Canadian Airlines International has awarded a contract to Hawker Pacific Aerospace for an undisclosed amount to provide landing gear repairs and overall services for the airline's widebody DC-10-30s.
Researchers are developing tools to make it easier to run large problems on a network of diverse computers. Jack Dongarra of the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and James Demmel of the University of California at Berkeley, are working on three types of tools for the National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure, which is led by the University of California at San Diego and funded mainly by the National Science Foundation. The first tool is NetSolve, which allocates the work in an efficient way among the computers on the network.
Scandinavian Airlines System's cargo division, Lufthansa Cargo and Japan Airlines will start a joint freight service beginning on Sept. 21 between Gothenburg, Sweden; Frankfurt, Germany; and Osaka, Japan. The service will initially involve a Lufthansa Cargo 747-200 freighter operating one weekly connection between the three cities. Frequencies are to be increased to three connections a week in March 1999.
British Airways plans to take delivery of up to 249 new aircraft, including 188 Airbus Industrie single-aisle twinjets and 61 additional Boeing transports, in the next seven years. The carrier's massive investment is estimated at $14 billion.
The Society of British Aerospace Companies, in data released last week, said the U.K. industry's sales in 1997 were up 8% in real terms from the previous year, and employment levels have stabilized following a steady decline since the late 1980s.
The next generation of Tomahawk missile will be more flexible with features such as inflight retargeting and a real-time ``final frame'' TV indication of whether it hit the target. The Block 3 Tomahawks probably used in the recent attacks are the latest version, but cannot be retargeted in flight and have no self-contained method of damage assessment. The more capable next-generation ``Tactical Tomahawks'' should be operational in 2003 and may be designated Block 4.
Malcolm V. Lane has become Lakehurst, N.J.-based senior vice president of the M&T Co., a subsidiary of CDI Marine. He was a pilot for Midway Airlines and succeeds William Cox, who has retired.
Guillermo (Willy) Cabeza has become president/chief operating officer of Arrow Air Inc. of Miami. Jonathan D. Batchelor, who has been president, will be chairman and continue as CEO. And, former Chairman Todd Cole will remain on the board of directors. Cabeza was vice president-operations. Fernando L. Juarbe has become sales manager in Puerto Rico. He was manager of San Juan operations for Caribbean Air Services Inc.
Under a $75-million contract from Israel's Tel Aviv Ben Gurion 2000 Airport program, Ceylan Insaat of Turkey will build terminal facilities and supply the terminal's electronic systems at the airport.
Scott Ritter, a former USMC captain, has resigned from his post as a concealment expert on the U.N. weapons inspection team charged with uncovering Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. In his letter of resignation, Ritter faulted the U.S. for not fighting for inspectors' unrestricted access to suspected hiding places for missiles or biological and chemical weapons. He blamed the Security Council for being unwilling or incapable of implementing its own laws. Its work is ``an illusion . . . which in all good faith I cannot, and will not be a party to,'' Ritter wrote.
The U.K. Ministry of Defense accepted delivery last week of the first of 25 C-130J transports it ordered in 1995 from Lockheed Martin. The aircraft will undergo testing by the Defense Evaluation and Research Agency at its Boscombe Down facility prior to being handed over to the Royal Air Force. A second aircraft, scheduled to arrive in the U.K. later this year, will also be involved in the acceptance trials program which is expected to be completed by early 1999.
Controllers have been able to thaw the hydrazine fuel tank in the Soho solar observatory and expected to have it at the normal 50F temperature last weekend (Aug. 29) (AW&ST Aug. 17, p. 32). They will then thaw the fuel lines and hope to use the thrusters to return the spinning spacecraft to its normal attitude in early September. Ranging indicates the spacecraft is in a good orbit and had not drifted due to potential thruster malfunction as some engineers had feared.
Joe Reedy has become senior vice president-Western region for AMR Services of Fort Worth. He has been succeeded by John Vittas as senior vice president-marketing and planning. Vittas was senior vice president-New York region.
WHEN HONEYWELL DEFENSE AVIONICS SYSTEMS upgrades F-16 cockpit displays from monochrome CRTs to color active matrix LCDs, it will have to replace the microprocessors that drive the displays, but not the software. The new processors being supplied by CPU Technology of Pleasanton, Calif., are designed with binary compatibility with the existing Mil-Std-1750As processors, to allow them to operate with the existing software. Using a compatible processor will save the F-16 program tens of millions of dollars in cost-avoidance, according to USAF's program office.
Sabena Belgian World Airlines' long-awaited financial recovery is expected to become a reality in 1998. During the first half, the Belgian carrier's revenues soared 25.6% to $1.16 billion. In sharp contrast with $27.5 million losses it posted for 1997's first six months, Sabena this year achieved a $1.59-million net profit.
With Congress about to return from summer recess, industry is ready with compromises to tighten regulations on satellite exports to China without returning commercial spacecraft to the government's Munitions List, as some lawmakers have advocated. The aerospace lobby claims that reclassifying commercial satellites as munitions would add 3-6 months and lots of red tape to the licensing process. Industry would prefer a compromise returning authority over satellite exports to the State Dept. from the Commerce Dept., bolstered by safeguards such as more Defense Dept.
The Delta 3 failure came at the start of a planned satellite launch surge by PanAmSat Corp. during which nine spacecraft were to be placed in orbit in the next 18 months to bolster the company's global communications network. Frederick A. Landman, president and chief executive officer of PanAmSat, said Galaxy 10, with 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders, was intended to provide U.S. communications services when in orbit at 123 deg. W. Long.
The Libyan government has said it would respond positively to a U.S.-U.K. proposal to try two Libyan nationals suspected of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in a neutral country--but it could be a year before the case goes to trial.
The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center of the U.S. Navy has awarded Texcom Inc. a $25-million contract to provide engineering services in support of Navy communications programs. With all options, the contract could be worth $100 million.
FlightSafety Boeing is studying a London site to begin its international network of hubs providing third-party training for pilots and maintenance staff.
