A NEW JAM-RESISTANT SECURE COMMUNICATIONS system that supports the NORAD integrated missile warning system in Cheyenne Mountain, Colo., will be connected to the Milstar satellite network during the next year. A worldwide system with more than 500,000 lines of software code, the Secure Communications Integration System (SCIS) was accepted as operational in October, 78 days ahead of schedule. It links Cheyenne Mountain, U.S. Strategic Command and Atlantic Command headquarters, Pave Paws East and West sites, and the National Military Command Center. E-Systems' ECI Div.
Kiyoshi Hoshino has been appointed president/representative director of MKS Japan Inc., a subsidiary of MKS Instruments, Andover, Mass. He was senior vice president/director of the Anelva Corp.
THE TAX EXEMPTION on commercial jet fuel would be extended for another two years under an agreement reached by U.S. House and Senate conferees. But enactment of the measure is contingent upon an extension of aviation trust fund taxes, which are due to expire Dec. 31. Moreover, President Clinton has threatened to veto the overall budget reconciliation bill that includes the tax break. A final version of that bill, scheduled to be hammered out before the Christmas recess, probably will preserve the exemption. Airlines began paying the 4.3 cent/gal.
The second shuttle-Mir docking mission capped a surge in space activities for Canada this month, highlighting the country's strategy for leveraging its small space budget into a significant role in space shuttle and space station operations.
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured close-up images of ``protoplanetary disks'' in the center of the Orion Nebula that scientists believe gives clues about how the solar system was formed 4.5 billion years ago. The new pictures--taken with Hubble's Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 and released last week by the Space Telescope Science Institute--include images of newly discovered disks of gas and dust around young stars (bottom left). Astronomers have long suspected that such disks represent an early stage of planet formation.
Defense Secretary William Perry is nearing approval of a new high-level authority to solve differences between the U.S. Defense Dept. and the intelligence community over space activities. The Joint Space Management Board, in the works for several months, has been designed to allow ``one-stop shopping'' for military space disputes that the Defense Dept., National Reconnaissance Office and intelligence agencies have been unable to resolve in the past.
FLIGHT TESTING OF BE Aerospace Inc.'s next-generation in-flight entertainment system has begun after a lengthy delay. A British Airways 747-400 equipped with the company's advanced B/E 4000 MDDS (Multimedia Digital Distribution System) video system went into commercial revenue-producing service on Nov. 18.
J.E. (Ed) Phillips (see photo) has been named vice president-operations for Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems, Marietta, Ga. He succeeds Bill Bullock, who has become executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems in Ft. Worth. Phillips was director of operations for the F-22 team program office.
Aerolineas Argentinas would get a new set of owners under a plan by Iberia to sell the bulk of its majority stake in that carrier to U.S. investors by the end .of this month. Iberia's stake of more than 83% in the Argentine airline would be sold as part of an effort to win European Union approval for a 130-billion-peseta ($1.07-billion) bailout by the Spanish government. Iberia officials are awaiting the EU's ruling on the bailout, which the airline would use to restructure and cut heavy debt burden.
The Persian Gulf nations are being encouraged by the United States to take a cooperative approach to satellite-based air navigation. The objective is to have an augmented Global Positioning System (GPS) operation functioning throughout the region roughly by the turn of the century.
A major new competitor is positioning itself to take on Hughes' commanding lead in the booming U.S. direct broadcast satellite (DBS) market. EchoStar Communications Corp. is hoping to tap into the explosive growth that has made DBS one of the hottest consumer markets of the 1990s and helped Hughes' DirecTV venture sign up more than 1 million customers. Like DirecTV, EchoStar's system will combine high-powered satellites and digital compression to beam large amounts of programming directly to homes equipped with 18-in.-dia. receiver dishes.
THE FAA HAS ISSUED an airworthiness directive against 825 General Electric CF6-series turbofan engines requiring operators to inspect the high-pressure compressor rotor stage 3-9 spools for cracks (AW&ST Sept. 18, p. 31). Units exceeding service limits must be removed before further flight. The CF6-45, -50 , -80A and -80C2 engines affected by the directive power Airbus A300, Boeing 747 and 767, McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and MD-11 transports.
Robin L. Beard (see photo) has been appointed chairman of Hughes Europe/vice president of Hughes Electronics. He was NATO assistant secretary-general for defense support and the most senior U.S. civilian official of the alliance.
Gen. Joseph W. Ralston is the commander of the U.S. Air Force's Air Combat Command, and late last week appeared likely to be nominated as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. At a recent Air Force Assn. symposium in Los Angeles, Ralston spoke about the Air Force of today and tomorrow. Excerpts follow:
ARINC HAS INSTALLED A PROTOTYPE air traffic management system at the Magadan Area Control Center in Russia's Far East. The workstation's situational display automatically tracks and shows aircraft position in regional airspace with radar-like datablock callouts. Information is based on aircraft automatic dependent surveillance transmissions transferred by Arinc's satcom and VHF datalink networks.
Also, four staff members of the NRL's Pomonkey (Md.) Field Site have received letters of commendation for reconfiguring the 30-meter antenna and radio frequency system to make the facility the primary Clementine ground station. Those honored are Gilbert Clopper, Larry LaRose, Tiffany Roark and Cedric Walsh.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL HAS ESTABLISHED A FACILITY at Coventry, England, for trainees about to complete professional pilot training. The British aviation authority had approved FSI at Vero Beach, Fla., for training CAA private, commercial, instrument and instructor certificate candidates. The agency, however, still requires that the flight test for the CAA instrument rating be conducted in British airspace. So a ``finishing school'' was established that will coordinate flight training activities with Vero Beach.
PANAMSAT CORP. has become the first foreign company authorized to broadcast via satellite in Japan. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications has licensed the Greenwich, Conn., company as a Type 1 Carrier, allowing it to provide international video traffic to and from Japan. PanAmSat says demand from customers led them to seek the license over the past two years. PanAmSat will use two already orbiting spacecraft, PAS-2 over the Pacific Ocean and PAS-4 over the Indian Ocean, for the service.
Installation of a turnkey approach radar and en route control center built by Thomson-CSF has returned authority to Vietnam for regional air traffic control for the first time in 20 years. The new ``Blue Dragon'' air traffic control system is centered at Ho Chi Minh's Tan Son Nhat International Airport, but the system includes upgrades by Thomson at Da Nang, Quy Nhon and Hanoi on behalf of the Civil Aviation Authorities of Vietnam (CAAV).
GEN. JOE RALSTON'S EXPECTED APPOINTMENT as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would put the coveted post of chief of Air Combat Command up for grabs once more (see p. 20). Ralston will have only seven months at the command when Adm. William Owens steps down as the Chiefs' vice chairman, so little thought has been given to a successor. However, the names in play to replace him include: Gen. Richard Hawley, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe; Lt. Gen. John Jumper, commander of the 9th Air Force and Central Command Air Force; Lt. Gen.
JAPAN HAS APPROVED the export of major launch vehicle components by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for the Delta 3 launch vehicle McDonnell Douglas is developing. Under an agreement with McDonnell Douglas, Mitsubishi will supply 16 sets of first-stage fuel tanks and second-stage liquid hydrogen tanks for the new launcher between September, 1996, and the end of the decade. The Delta 3 is scheduled to debut in 1998. The Japanese-built components would be used only for Delta 3 commercial launches.
JAPAN AIRLINES HAS CLEARED ITS BUREAUCRATIC HURDLES with the FAA and reopened its maintenance line for aircraft registered in the U.S. JAL was found not to be in violation of its repair station authorization agreement with the FAA. The breach occurred in August, when the FAA accused JAL of ``deviating from FAA-approved practices'' by failing to advise the agency of changes in maintenance manual procedures (AW&ST Aug. 21, p. 29).
A SIMILAR STUDY ON RAMP ACCIDENTS by the Scandinavian Airlines System produced similar findings. SAS now attempts to negotiate ``zero deductible'' damage policies with private ground-handling companies, according to airside safety coordinator Ivar Busk. The increased risk serves as an incentive for the ground-handling companies to train, equip and qualify their ramp personnel better. SAS also is seeking increased input into ramp-area design at new and expanding airports.
Reduced subsidies for the Essential Air Service program are forcing the U.S. Transportation Dept. to cut the number of daily flights and terminate certain airline services at small communities beginning this week. As of Nov. 27, subsidized flights to primary hub airports will be limited to two daily round trips during the business week. Flights on weekends and service to a second hub airport will no longer be eligible for funding.
