A NEW TECHNOLOGY ALLOWING designers to ``reach'' into computerized 3-D simulation scenes, pick up objects, and stretch, color and reposition them, has been developed by MultiGen Inc. of San Jose, Calif. The system, called SmartModel, uses a stereo display visor and instrumented gloves to increase designer productivity substantially. Scenes quickly can be built using a modified ``point and click'' technique to choose from libraries of basic, pre-rendered houses, trees and buildings. System software prevents illogical placements, such as mounting a tree on a house.
British Aerospace is preparing for the first guided flight tests of its Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) this winter, and much of the data will be passed to the Pentagon as part of its evaluation of whether a modified version of the missile could meet U.S. requirements.
FIVE MORE AIRCRAFT CARRIERS will be needed to carry the Navy through the mid-21st century, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jeremy Boorda says. Only three are in the budget. The Navy needs the fourth (CVN-77) before a completely new carrier could be designed. So it would likely be a Nimitz-class nuclear ship with some new technology. However, planning for ``the carrier of the future'' also is underway. The fifth would be ``very modern . . . with major improvements in catapults, in propulsion plants,'' but still have a large deck.
ODYSSEY Telecommunications International Inc. has signed a $2.28-billion contract with TRW Space&Electronics Group to build its middle Earth orbit satellite system for global handheld mobile telephone service. TRW has been working on the concept for five years and set up the company with Teleglobe Inc. of Canada.
Thomas Salvaggio (see photo) has been named director of business ethics for Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems, Marietta, Ga. He was manager of Lockheed Air Terminal in Honolulu.
A NOVEL WAY TO FABRICATE the high-temperature superconducting material yttrium barium copper oxide has been developed by researchers at the University of Oregon. Until now, the brittle ceramic compound has been difficult to shape into high-performance superconducting wires, magnetic coils and thin film devices. The new sol-gel synthesis technique has an intermediate step that produces an amorphous polymeric gel that can be shaped readily, according to chemist Catherine Page.
From Oct. 17-26, major U.S. airlines are scheduled to disclose their financial performances for the third quarter, and Wall Street analysts generally are bullish on what they expect to hear. The industry could post record operating profits of as much as $2.3 billion--well ahead of the $1.6 billion in 1995's third quarter, according to PaineWebber analyst Samuel Buttrick. Even without such a record, however, the July-September period almost certainly will mark the 11th consecutive quarter showing improved industry results.
The ChinaSat order for an HS 376 satellite is a key step in Hughes Space and Communications' efforts to become more involved in the potentially lucrative Chinese market. The order is the first Hughes has received from ChinaSat, which is part of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, and the 48th HS 376 order since the series was introduced in 1980. The spacecraft--with 24 C-band transponders for television and other services for China and the South China Sea--is scheduled for delivery next year for launch in July from Xichang.
Erik Arvesen has been appointed electrical engineering manager of TDG Aerospace, Pleasanton, Calif. He was senior engineer for avionics system design for United Airlines.
The Hubble Space Telescope has discovered ozone on Jupiter's satellite Ganymede, suggesting it is one of the solar system's rare moons that have atmospheres. Keith Noll and colleagues at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore detected ozone's spectral lines during observations of Ganymede with the Faint Object Spectrograph. The finding, reported last week, could not have been made by a terrestrial telescope because ozone is in Earth's atmosphere.
FOREIGN CARRIERS SUCH AS CONTINENTAL AIRLINES may get the opportunity to buy a minority stake in Alitalia to inject capital in the struggling carrier. Currently implementing a severe cost-cutting plan, Alitalia still is projected to require up to $1 billion by the end of the year to further reduce its debt. Selling a stake to a foreign carrier is one option for working around the European Union's reluctance to authorize any form of state aid for Alitalia.
THEY'RE BAAAACK! A decade ago, NASA was leading the drum beat about the supposed plethora of new services and products about to burst forth in space. But the bureaucratic ballyhooers blanched at one of the first ideas to surface--placing tiny, shiny containers in orbit, each filled with human ashes known as ``cremains.'' The plan faltered, though, in part because it appeared it would be held to the same requirements as a cemetery under Florida law. But now Celestis Inc.
The Air France group is completing a strategic plan assigning a major role to Air Inter Europe, a streamlined European carrier set to combine Air France's European Div. and Air Inter. The unified carrier will be formed during the first quarter of 1997 and use a 126-aircraft fleet with an 18,000-employee workforce. It is expected to carry 26 million passengers during its first year of operations, with sales of about $4 billion in 1997.
NASA officials decided to push back the next shuttle flight to Mir by at least a week and try yet again to launch Columbia on a microgravity research mission to lessen the impact of that mission's string of delays on next year's shuttle schedule.
Modest traffic gains and increased revenue yields during September capped a profitable third quarter for U.S. airlines despite waning traffic during the summer. After a poor first quarter, the airlines rebounded during the second quarter and should post a $1.5-billion net profit for the past three months. Although the industry must ``live off those profits'' until next spring, airlines hope the upcoming holiday season will put additional black ink on their balance sheets, an industry official said.
An increased-power version of the Williams Rolls FJ44 turbofan engine using new ``wide sweep'' fan blade technology is being evaluated at Williams International's Walled Lake, Mich., developmental test center. The 2,300-lb.-thrust FJ44-2 engine will power Raytheon's new Premier 1 eight-place lightjet as well as a stretched version of the Sino Swearingen SJ30. Engine certification is targeted for the fourth quarter of 1996.
This two-part report covers the ability to shoot targets far off the aircraft boresight with short-range air-to-air missiles. The first part describes how senior military officials view this capability, as well as details of the leading U.S., U.K., Russian and Israeli systems. Part two will cover helmet-mounted sights needed to exploit the missiles, and other missiles. The report was prepared by a team led by Michael A. Dornheim in Los Angeles and David Hughes in Boston. Other contributors include London Bureau Chief John D.
EXPECT INCREASED EMPHASIS on sophisticated modeling and simulation in ``live'' fire tests of military aircraft and weapons systems. The technique saves time, reduces costs and conserves range resources while allowing for flexible lethality or vulnerability testing early in a program's development phase. Early determination of design deficiencies also makes them easier and cheaper to correct. Increased component testing is likely on high-value systems.
ORDER BACKLOG FOR AUXILIARY FUEL TANKS and auxiliary power unit assemblies manufactured by PATS Inc. is at a record high. The Columbia, Md.-based company expects to double revenues and shipments in 1996. A trend toward longer, thinner airline routes is responsible for much of the business, according to company President Harvey Patrick. Business jets also need longer range to help companies compete in a world-wide economy, he said.
AIRBORNE LASERS MAY BECOME the preferred weapon to destroy long- and medium-range air-to-air missiles. ``Analyses say you almost need a zero time of flight weapon, [therefore] a lot of these defensive systems are looking at lasers to actively go after incoming missiles,'' Air Force Acquisition Deputy Lt. Gen. George Muellner says. ``I don't see [other air-to-air missiles] as a terribly viable solution, unless the acceleration and max velocity of these things change appreciably'' (see p. 36).
APPARENTLY, CATHAY PACIFIC does not like handling money. The paper kind, that is. The Hong Kong airline has concluded a 66-million-pound loan ($99 million) as part of routine fund raising, entirely by CD-ROM disks. The money came from the London branch of Den Danske Bank. Cathay stipulated that all documentation would be handled by computer with documentation storage by CD-ROM disks. The airline says it is pioneering paperless documentation to help the environment.
Lockheed Martin will modify an F-16 (right) to test a totally electric flight control actuation system for the next-generation Joint Strike Fighter program.
