Col. Wilbert D. Pearson has been appointed vice commander of the Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom AFB, Mass. He was deputy to the Defense undersecretary for acquisition, for B-1B programs and space and strategic systems.
PLANS TO ORBIT hundreds of commercial communications satellites in low Earth orbits (LEOs) are raising new concerns about space debris. But mitigation efforts such as Iridium Inc.'s plans to deorbit its satellites so they burn up in the Earth's atmosphere could help avoid problems, according to a new interagency report issued by the White House. The report estimated that two million kg. of man-made orbiting objects--including 3,000 spent booster stages--and 200 kg. of meteoroid mass are within 2,000 km. of the Earth's surface at any given time.
Robert M. Zurbin is a staff engineer at Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver, where he helped devise a scheme called Mars Direct--to send Americans to the red planet within a decade for $30 billion. He recently spoke to the George C. Marshall Institute's Washington Roundtable on Science and Public Policy. Excerpts follow:
AOM French Airlines is seeking a major share in the newly deregulated French domestic route system, despite increasing competition generating excess capacity and fare wars. Independent carriers are seeking a major role in the rejuvenated French airline industry, long dominated by the state-owned Air France group. In January, the Transport Ministry deregulated the domestic route system, a long-awaited initiative providing unlimited market access to new entrants and startup carriers.
The Model 617 adapter allows sharing of memory and special purpose boards between a PCI local bus computer and a VMEbus system. The PCI system can directly control and monitor a wide variety of VMEbus cards and high-performance processors, as well as exchange interrupts with the VMEbus. The Model 617 allows each bus to operate independently. Timing of the PCI and VMEbus is linked only when a memory or I/O reference is made to an address on one system that translates to an address on another. Bit 3 Computer Corp., 8120 Penn Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn. 55431-1393.
WHILE NASA CHIEF DANIEL S. GOLDIN has blasted industry for not having the vision and courage to develop next-generation space systems, Gil Klinger, the Pentagon's deputy undersecretary of defense for space, is aiming the other way. The private sector is developing, testing and orbiting new technologies ``at a rate that is unthinkable for us,'' he told a National Security Industrial Association symposium. ``. . . If it takes us 10 years to get a system fielded, we're lucky, we call it an unmitigated success . . .
CHINA'S OUT-OF-CONTROL FSW-1 satellite is still predicted to reenter the atmosphere sometime between Mar. 10-13. Late last week, the U.S. Space Command was tracking the capsule in a 94 X 232-mi. orbit.
Former U.S. Air Force Secretary Edward C. (Pete) Aldridge, Jr., has been named to the board of directors of the United Industrial Corp. of New York. He is president/chief executive officer of the Aerospace Corp.
William F. Adler has been named vice president/division counsel for Globalstar, San Jose, Calif. He was a partner in the Washington firm of Fleischman and Walsh.
The Hypertac NBY Series low-insertion-force connector can be mated and unmated in less than 2 sec. A 180-deg. cam-action jackscrew provides the normal force and cleaning action for dry circuit to 3 amp. operation. The NBY Series connectors are designed for 15,000 mating cycles. They are available with 50, 100, 140, 180, 220, 260 and 300 signal contact positions. Hypertronics Corp., 16 Bent Drive, Hudson, Mass. 01749.
WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR Anthony Lake has laid out standards to follow when devising exit strategies for military interventions. First, the U.S. should provide the security blanket ``on loan, and not for keeps.'' Otherwise, recipient nations will evade their own responsibilities, assuming the U.S. will do the hard work for them. Second, set down a sharp deadline to avoid creating a dependency. ``Unless you make clear that your mission is limited in scope and duration, you risk de-legitimating a government in the eyes of its own people,'' Lake said.
Air Tractor Inc. has developed a new agricultural aircraft called the AT-602 that offers a 630-gal. hopper and 56-ft. wingspan. The new aircraft, a derivative of the AT-502A, will be certificated to a gross weight of 12,000 lb. and powered by a Pratt&Whitney PT6A-45R or -60A engine, according to Air Tractor President Leland Snow. Certification of the AT-602 is expected by summer. First delivery of a production model is expected in September.
The TP-1680 Tracer-Stick/Dye-Lite Master Kit can be used for finding leaks of refrigerant, oil, coolant and hydraulic fluids. When illuminated with the 150-w. TP-1600 ultraviolet lamp, leaks show up with a bright yellow-green fluorescent glow. The Dye-Lite dyes are added to fluids, while Tracer-Stick capsules are used to find coolant leaks. Tracer Products, P.O. Box 10324, Westbury, N.Y. 11590.
This engine vibration isolator system is designed as an alternative to the original Lord Corp. mounts for Pratt&Whitney Canada engines on the Cessna Citation 1, 2, 1SP, 2SP and S2. Manufactured under an FAA Parts Manufacturing Approval certificate, they can be rebuilt in the field, which reduces operating costs. Barry Controls Aerospace, 4510 Vanowen St., Burbank, Calif. 91505.
NASA has demonstrated that a pilot using a synthetic vision display can safely land a Boeing 737 and also see other aircraft flying in the vicinity as well as any obstacles on the ground. Much remains to be done before the windowless landing concept being developed by NASA's Langley and Ames research centers will be ready for use on a high speed civil transport (HSCT) after the turn of the century. But the series of tests conducted recently at NASA's Wallops Island facility and at Langley AFB, Va., achieved promising results.
British Airways executives criticized United Airlines' and Lufthansa's request for antitrust immunity under the umbrella of a new U.S.-German open skies pact as anticompetitive, although they do not believe it poses a serious threat to the airline's business. German officials have said final approval of the open skies agreement hinges on United Airlines and Lufthansa winning U.S. antitrust immunity to expand their alliance (AW&ST Mar. 4, p. 19).
The Dyna-Thred 2 Self-Locking Fastener can be used in applications with temperatures of up to 1200F where resistance to vibration is important. The all-metal fasteners provide a 360-deg. locking action for even load distribution in aerospace and other applications. Long-Lok Fasteners Corp., 10630 Chester Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45215.
Edwin F. Harrison, former head of radiation sciences at NASA's Langley Research Center, has received the 1996 Losey Atmospheric Sciences Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He was cited for contributions to the understanding of clouds, atmospheric radiation and climate through analysis of satellite observations.
Howard L. Rhude has been appointed vice president-finance of Sanders, Nashua, N.H. He was finance director of Lockheed Martin Communications Systems, Camden, N.J. Rhude succeeds Sal Magnano, who has retired. Jay Herther has been named director of the Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures program.
Arthur W. Hankin and David N. Zeehandelaar have become partners and Elaine D. Solomon, Adam M. Share and Jeffrey S. Brenner associates in the Philadelphia law firm of Blank Rome Comisky and McCauley. They held the same positions at Bolger Picker Hankin and Tannenbaum.
The SLA-350 Series is a mid-range stereolithography system that is faster and larger than older, entry-level systems but less expensive than more powerful ones.The 350 also features 3D Systems' Zephyr Recoating System, which allows for easy trapped volume part-building, especially in making tooling. It builds in smaller layers, which improves surface finish and accuracy. The SLA-350 Series 10 has a build envelope of 13.8 X 13.8 X 15.7 in. The build station software is based on Microsoft Windows NT. 3D Systems, 26081 Avenue Hall, Valencia, Calif. 91355.
GUN CAMERA PICTURES from U.S. Army/McDonnell Douglas AH-64 Apache attack helicopters based in Bosnia are being used to convince Serbs and other former combatants to remove all of their heavy weapons from the exclusion zone separating the sides, according to the Army chief of staff, Gen. Dennis Reimer. There have been cases where the combatants have denied concealing heavy weapons, he said.
Gen. Merrill A. McPeak (Ret.), former Air Force chief of staff, has been appointed to the board of directors of Norris Electro Optical Systems, Ellicott City, Md.
LITTON INDUSTRIES INC. LAST WEEK won a bitterly fought legal battle against Honeywell, Inc. A U.S. District Court for the Central District of California found in favor of Litton Systems Inc. against Honeywell for violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The jury awarded damages of $234 million to Litton for Honeywell's illegal monopoly. Honeywell officials said they would appeal the ruling, and so the jury's verdict will be subject to post-trial motions. If and when the verdict is entered, it will be trebled by law to $702 million.
