John R. Pierce and Harold A. Rosen, the ``fathers'' of communication satellite technology, have won the world's largest engineering prize. They will split the $400,000 Charles Stark Draper Prize, awarded biennially by the National Academy of Engineering in the U.S. Pierce, while working at AT&T Bell Laboratories, led the design and launching of Telstar 1, the world's first active communication satellite. Rosen, while at Hughes Aircraft, then took satellites a key step forward by devising a method of placing the Syncom 2 satellite in geosynchronous orbit.
LUCAS INDUSTRIES AGREED to pay $88 million in civil damages to the U.S. government in compensation for ``testing and procedural irregularities'' with gearboxes supplied to the U.S. Navy and Army. As part of the settlement, the company may provide up to $8.8 million in free parts to the Navy. The action involved Lucas Western Geared Systems of Park City, Utah. Lucas officials note that performance issues were dropped from the suit after the gearboxes demonstrated a mean time between failures in excess of 3,000 hr. as specified in the contract.
Allen E. Dukes has been named vice president/general manager of Harris Corp.'s Information Systems Div., Melbourne, Fla. He succeeds R. Philip Henderson, who has retired. Dukes was division vice president-Information Systems Business Area.
David T. Barwick has been promoted to director from associate director of the Mercer Engineering Research Center, Warner Robins, Ga. He also is an associate professor of computer and information systems at Mercer's School of Engineering.
AFTER A BUDGET CUT SCARE, the Joint Advanced Strike Technology program seems to have managed to reverse field and win $708 million more than the Clinton Administration had once planned through Fiscal 2001. And, the program is being recognized as ``an aircraft replacement'' instead of a technology demonstration. It will become the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). House/Senate conferees had sliced $131 million from JAST in 1996, reasoning the sum could be spared because it would not have been spent until the end of the fiscal year.
Gary L. Denman has been promoted to executive vice president/chief operating officer from corporate senior vice president-strategic planning of GRC International Inc., Vienna, Va.
Can GPS systems that meet strict aviation requirements be made immune to terrorist spoofing of signals? They are not ``spoof-proof'' yet, and that concerns civil and military aviation authorities. There is reason for hope, though.
Hughes Space and Communications Co. (HSC) is developing an HS 702 three-axis stabilized spacecraft that is a derivative of the current HS 601 but will have nearly twice the transponder capacity and, ultimately, almost twice the power. The first 702 customer is Hughes Communications Inc. (HCI), which will own and operate the satellite as Galaxy 10, a multiplepayload vehicle to provide expanded broadcast and data services in the U.S. and Caribbean. HSC and HCI are business units of Hughes Electronics Corp.
The S67-1575-86 is a dual-band, L1/L2 Global Positioning System receiver antenna. It uses special filtering to reject out-of-band signals and reduces the possibility of saturation by non-GPS signals, including L-band satellite and Glonass signals. The all-in-one design comprises a miniaturized amplifier, filters and diplexer embedded in a very low profile antenna. The 25-dB. amplifier provides coverage at 1227.6 and 1575.42 MHz. with a voltage standing wave ratio of 2:1. Sensor Systems Inc., 8929 Fullbright Ave., Chatsworth, Calif. 91311.
Additional B-2 bombers, a third Seawolf submarine and amphibious assault ships, thought safely tucked into the Fiscal 1996 defense bill, are once more on the budget chopping block. Other programs that could be jeopardized, depending on what additional defense cuts are necessary and how deep they must be, include the purchase of F-15Es, Block 50 F-16s and additional F/A-18C/Ds; precision guided weapons; conventional ammunition, and the already ravaged operations and maintenance funds. The number of programs affected could reach 5% of the total.
LUFTHANSA HAS ORDERED four Boeing 747-400 transports. The sale, worth approximately $600 million, brings Lufthansa's 747-400 order total to 23, of which 18 are now in service. Deliveries of this latest order are set for the first half of 1997.
Nine U.S. companies have lined up in a race to loft satellites using new, high-frequency communications technology. The winners will have satcom systems whose broad bandwidth would likely give them a pivotal role in 21st century information industries.
Boeing Co. braced for a strike or widespread work slowdown late last week after negotiations between the giant planemaker and its largest union reached a stalemate. The outcome will be watched closely worldwide. A new contract between Boeing and the International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers will set a standard for hourly labor costs at other large U.S. aerospace manufacturers. A significant wage, work-rule or benefit increase also would affect Boeing price competitiveness in the cutthroat international transport market.
John P. Rotchford Jr. has been named director of corporate communications for Signal Technology Corp., Sunnyvale, Calif. He was a consultant in the Aviation/Aerospace/Defense Div. of the Electronic Data Systems Management Consulting Group.
Beset with a $660-billion debt burden, the government of French Prime Minister Alain Juppe has accepted the Defense Ministry's proposed reductions in 1996 military spending, including a 7.8% procurement cutback. France's parliament is expected to adopt the cuts within weeks, which would result in a $39.1-billion defense budget for next year, down 3.3%, exclusive of pensions (AW&ST Oct. 2, p. 17).
A NEW ON-LINE SERVICE OFFERED BY JEPPESEN&CO. GmbH. calculates international navigation charges, enabling determination of least-cost flight routes for airline and corporate users. The Frankfurt-based affiliate of Jeppesen integrates information such as planned route, aircraft weight, currency exchange rates, navigation data and fee information extracted from the company's data bases and standard aeronautical publications to produce a customized report. The En Route Navigation Charge service is available on an as-needed or subscription basis.
A recently filed patent application proposes a novel technique to greatly reduce a major source of intrinsic error in the current GPS navigation satellite system. The inventor is Roger Easton, of Canaan, N. H., a retired Naval Research Laboratory scientist who played a key role nearly three decades ago in developing the basic technique used in GPS.
Joseph C. McCarty has been appointed head of Federal Express Corp.'s Miami-based Latin American and Caribbean division. He was senior vice president-Asia/Pacific. Michael L. Ducker has been promoted to succeed McCarty from vice president-South Pacific.
TAIWAN'S LATEST DEFENSE aviation wish list includes about 8-10 high-altitude, high-speed reconnaissance jets and a squadron of AH-64 Apache helicopters. An unarmed McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 recce version probably will be requested, since it is less likely to encounter political resistance. A French-built Mirage 2000 reconnaissance version also is being considered to replace Taiwan's aging and increasingly problematic Lockheed RF-104 Starfighters.
Artist's painting of the proposed French- led Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) propelling the Italian Mini Pressurized Logistics Module toward the space station with its German-led Columbus module typifies ESA's challenge to reorient its station program in time for critical ministerial decisions set to be made Oct. 20.
John M. Leonis is expected to be appointed chairman of the board of Litton Industries Inc., Woodland Hills, Calif., to succeed Alton J. Brann, who will step down in December. Leonis has been president/chief executive officer. Michael R. Brown has been named executive vice president/chief operating officer. He was senior vice president/group executive for electronic warfare systems and command, control and communications.
IT COST TOO MUCH, OPENED LATE and still has a botched baggage system, but the FAA is ecstatic about Denver International Airport's overall performance. According to a report issued last week, during its first six months the nation's newest and 11th-busiest airport logged more than 241,000 operations with a mere 1,030 weather-related delays--a rate of only 0.43%. That is three times better than Detroit Metro, four times better than Boston's Logan and seven times better than delay-prone St. Louis Lambert. On Oct.
BOEING DELIVERED the first 777 transport to an Asian carrier last week when it handed over a 777-200 to All Nippon Airways of Japan. ANA has ordered 28 new 777 twinjets, in both the standard -200 and stretched -300 versions. The Tokyo-based airline has another 12 on option. The aircraft initially will be used on high-density domestic routes.
CROSSAIR, LAUNCH CUSTOMER FOR THE SAAB 2000, has decided to convert five options to firm orders, bringing its total order to 25. So far, Saab has delivered 18 of the aircraft to four operators and will deliver seven more by the end of the year, leaving a backlog of 15. The company is hoping for a substantial order--possibly by the end of the year--from American Eagle, which would become the first U.S. customer for the high-speed turboprop. Even without an American Eagle order, 1995 will be a much better year for Saab than 1994.
