The European Space Agency's Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), set for launch by mid-November, is expected to reveal thousands of objects that make up the ``hidden universe``--features that glow only in infrared light and are invisible to other orbiting telescopes. The $1-billion mission is ``Europe's Hubble'' for infrared astronomy, Roger Bonnet, ESA science director, said. ISO's liftoff from Kourou, French Guiana, on board an Ariane 44P booster is set for Nov. 10.
The 2882 Series Multi-Function Control Display Unit can now be installed in civil aircraft under FAA Technical Standing Order-C113. The unit can serve as an interface unit for a number of applications. It uses active matrix liquid crystal display technology to provide a display of 4.2 X 3.2 in. and meets Arinc 739 standards. The unit features an interface to a high-speed RS-422 bus for rapid upload of bitmaps. A spare card slot allows easy upgrade. The 2882 also is suitable for military programs that allow use of off-the-shelf equipment.
TV-Series hydraulic valves are designed to provide flow capacities of 80-1,500 gal./min. for aircraft ground support systems. The valves can be used with Skydrol, Mil H-5606 and petroleum-based hydraulic fluids. The family of valves includes more than 30 individual models in sizes of 1-3 in. and ranges from low-torque throttling valves to very high-flow, servo-controlled valves. Zaytran Inc., 41535 Schaden Road, P.O. Box 1660, Elyria, Ohio 44036.
The U.S. Army and the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization are preparing for the first hit-to-kill interception of an incoming tactical ballistic missile target with a Lockheed Martin Thaad in early December. An intercept was not attempted in the third flight test of Thaad earlier this month at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., but the test was successful in achieving its primary objective of gathering seeker data.
ORION ATLANTIC has signed a contract with Matra Marconi Space for on-orbit delivery of its second satellite, Orion 2. The Orion Atlantic partnership, led by Orion Network Systems, has secured $265 million in bank financing for the satellite, launch and insurance. Matra Marconi built and delivered Orion 1, and discussions are underway for a possible third satellite. Orion 2 is to be launched in the first half of 1998 on a Lockheed Martin Atlas vehicle. It will serve the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and portions of the former Soviet Union.
These subminiature coaxial connectors meet Mil-C-39012 standards. The SMA, SMB and SMC series connectors are designed in straight, right angle, printed circuit-mount and bulkhead-mount configurations. The SMB and SMC are available with either gold or silver-plated bodies. The SMA series has passivated stainless steel bodies and coupling nuts. Direct solder plugs and jacks for semi-rigid cable have gold-plated bodies. The connectors are ideal for military avionics, electronic countermeasures, radar and radio applications. Applied Engineering Products, P.O.
The U.S. Air Force's Eastern Range and Atlas squadrons and a handful of private companies juggled schedules and revamped procedures to help NASA try to launch its delay-ridden shuttle Mission 73.
LUFTHANSA AND THAI AIRWAYS will start joint services at the end of the month. The airlines, which signed a code-sharing agreement in 1994, will operate joint flights under a single flight number from Frankfurt to Chiang Mai, Phuket, Phnom Penh, Yangon and Auckland. Lufthansa and Thai will also operate seven weekly services each between Bangkok and Frankfurt, as well as two frequencies from Munich to Bangkok.
CHINA'S AIR FORCE WILL MODERNIZE its fighter fleet, but the process is likely to be slow, according to Pentagon international security chief Joseph Nye. China will reverse engineer the 24 Su-27s and other equipment it bought from Russia, so it can establish its own production lines, rather than buy new fighters.
Kenneth A. Paladino has been appointed vice president-finance/treasurer of the Edo Corp., College Point, N.Y. He succeeds Michael J. Hegarty, who has retired. Paladino was corporate controller.
A NEW DEVICE TO MORE RAPIDLY EVALUATE the strength of underlying soils at contingency airfields has been developed and deployed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Miss. The dual-mass dynamic cone penetrometer uses a heavy hammer to penetrate and test the high-strength, granular layers directly beneath pavement and a lighter hammer to evaluate softer subgrade soils. Man-portable and gravity-powered, the DMDCP will profile soil strength to depths of about 36 in., according to Steve Webster, civil engineer.
THE FAA WILL ISSUE a new airworthiness directive early in 1996 to allow pilots meeting certain qualifications to fly the Robinson R22 and R44 helicopters in strong winds. The directive will stipulate that pilots must have logged 200 hr. in helicopters, including 50 in the R22/R44, and completed an awareness course dealing with turbulence and its relationship to mast bumping and main-rotor-blade stall.
Despite pressure from the U.S. military for quick operational availability of the next-generation Joint Strike Fighter, 2008 is the earliest that it could be available in significant numbers. But program officials also predict the aircraft might well come in at 30% less than its earlier estimated $50-million flyaway cost, according to Rear Adm. Craig Steidle, manager of the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) program, which would produce the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).
A Canadian consortium stands ready to begin providing global radar data to commercial customers in 25 nations early next year if the delayed launch of Radarsat 1 occurs next month as is now expected. Radarsat marks Canada's first foray into the field of Earth observation, and the C$620-million effort has been 15 years in the making. The Canadian Space Agency, backed by public and private financing, is managing the program. NASA is providing the launch in exchange for access to data.
AMR Corp.'s Airline Group saw its third-quarter profits jump 14% from the same period in 1994 on steady traffic, firm pricing and lower fuel and distribution costs, but the group's labor expenses continued to rise. AMR last week posted a profit of $229 million, the bulk of it coming from American Airlines' passenger and cargo operations. The earnings marked a 21.8% improvement over the parent company's third-quarter profit of $188 million last year.
LOCKHEED MARTIN ROLLED OUT the first of its new C-130J transports at its production facility in Marietta, Ga. First off the production line was a stretched version C-130J-30, the first of 25 C-130s on order for the British Royal Air Force. First flight of the aircraft, equipped with an in-flight refueling system, is scheduled for December. Deliveries are scheduled to begin to the RAF at the end of 1996, after a 12-month flight test program. Also in the test program will be a standard length C-130J Hercules, which also rolled off the assembly line last week.
TWO BUSINESSMEN WERE INDICTED by a federal grand jury in Boston on charges of attempting to pass secrets to the Soviet Union, from 1985-90, on stealth aircraft absorbent paint and mercury cadmium telluride infrared detectors used in tracking missiles. Subrahmanyan M. Kota, of Northboro, Mass., was indicted along with Aluru J. Prasad, of India. Kota is president of the Boston Group computer consultants and Prasad is president of Hyderabad Batteries Ltd. of India.
CHRYSLER TECHNOLOGIES SELECTED HONEYWELL Defense Avionics Systems to provide GPS enhanced navigation equipment (Gene) for U.S. Air Force C-141 aircraft. The Honeywell system will use commercial, off-the-shelf equipment including a flight management system, software and a worldwide navigation data base. A Kalman filter developed specifically for tanker and transport applications will blend GPS, inertial navigation system and barometric altimeter data for improved navigation performance.
BARCO CHROMATICS WILL PROVIDE 44 controller workstations to Germany's ADMAR2000 air defense project, under a Eurocontrol contract. ADMAR2000 is intended to permit air defense controllers to display, identify, track and maintain safe separation of all aircraft over Germany. Eurocontrol is working with the German Defense Ministry to develop the new system to improve the coordination of civil and military air traffic.
RUSSIAN TROOPS ASSIGNED TO BOSNIA for peacekeeping operations will be equipped with ground terminals to receive real-time intelligence from U.S. satellites and other sources, if Army Gen. George Joulwan has his way. The supreme allied commander in Europe said the Russians would need the information to be effective alongside of NATO forces in Bosnia. Such sharing also would help dispel Russian suspicions of NATO, he said. ``I'm doing it with many of our allies right now,'' Joulwan said.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers were attempting to diagnose problems with the tape recorder on the Galileo spacecraft late last week to see whether it is usable or, as they fear, broken. The tape recorder was commanded into a ``ready'' idle mode on Oct. 12, 15 hr. after telemetry indicated it had failed to stop after a rewind instruction on Oct. 11. It remained in the ready mode while engineers devised diagnostic commands, which were to be transmitted on Oct. 20.
The U.S. fielded the first operational helmet-mounted sight from 1973 to about 1979 on about 500 Navy and Marine Corps F-4 Phantom fighters. Effectiveness of the sight was hampered by the limited Sidewinder missile capability of the day, and it was withdrawn when service officials felt its benefits did not justify the effort to support it.
Technology transfer programs today are caught in volatile funding and political cross currents, clouding the outlook for initiatives that showed considerable promise as recently as two years ago.
Ernie Santiago has been named regional sales manager for the Northwest U.S. and Western Canada for Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah, Ga. He was West Coast sales manager for the Cessna Citation.
