The newest U.S. weather satellite has sent its first test image from orbit, while its companion Goes-Next spacecraft has completed checkout and is now operational. The newest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, Goes-9, launched from Cape Canaveral on May 23, sent this engineering image in the visible spectrum June 12 at 1745 GMT.
Ericsson is applying its commercial telecommunications experience to develop small transmit/receive radar modules, which could lead to more affordable phased array radars. The beam steering modules are an outgrowth of microwave technology that Ericsson developed for mobile and switching communications systems. The synergy has gotten closer as mobile communication frequencies moved up and approached the low end of the UHF radar band.
Trevor Esling (see photos) has been named vice president-international sales for Latin America and the Far East for the Raytheon Aircraft Co., Wichita, Kan. He was director of commercial contracts. Bradley Hatt has been named vice president-special mission aircraft sales. He was director of advertising and merchandise marketing. And, Peter Herr has been named vice president-international sales for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He was regional director for Europe and West Africa.
Kent E. Hutchinson (see photo) has been named president of Westinghouse Norden Systems, Norwalk, Conn. He succeeds Jon E. Wohler, who has become executive vice president-technical of Pratt&Whitney, East Hartford, Conn.
Richard E. Stephenson, corporate vice president-technology and government relations of DyoCorp., Reston, Va., has been elected president of the Army Aviation Assn. of America.
Both Russia and Ukraine displayed Earth imaging spacecraft designs at the Paris air show. One design exhibited for the first time is a new Russian imaging spacecraft designated Resource-Spectr-V set for launch as early as 1996 (top right). The new satellite, being developed by the Central Specialized Design Bureau (TsSKB) in Samara, has large box-shaped microwave sounders protruding from the top of the spacecraft opposite its solar arrays.
A MODEST INVESTMENT in airline ground-side operations has the potential to save travelers substantial time and money and help carriers justify higher fares, according to a study by the University of California at Berkeley's Institute of Transportation Studies. Airport access time, waiting time and related walking distances with and without baggage all influence traveler mode choice.
WOMEN AND HIGHLY physically fit men have a harder time adapting to gravity after extended periods in space than their male colleagues of average fitness, according to a Colorado State University study. Astronauts typically experience some dizziness or fainting as a result of decreased blood flow to the brain after reentry, a phenomenon known as orthostatic intolerance. However, the CSU study, led by Robert Gotshall and Alan Tucker, found that highly fit men were 42% less tolerant than average men.
This report on the Swedish avionics industry examines Ericsson's work on Gripen avionics and the use of commercial telecommunications technology in radar transmit/receive modules. As the eleventh JAS 39 Gripen fighter is being delivered, Ericsson is already planning the first round of modifications and updates that may be proposed for the second production lot of the new Swedish aircraft. Among the upgrades the company is considering are color displays, a helmet mounted sight, an RF jammer and solid state digital video recorder.
Italy's Agusta has launched the eight-seat A119 Koala utility helicopter and plans first delivery for the second quarter of 1996. The A119, now in the flight test phase, logged about 40 hr. before the program was revealed here. It is equipped with a 800-shp. Turbomeca Arriel 1 turboshaft engine driving a four-blade composite materials main rotor. Agusta is currently considering proposals from Allison Engines and Pratt&Whitney to power the production version.
SWEDEN'S ARMY IS MAKING arrangements to lease a McDonnell Douglas AH-64 and a Russian Mil Mi-28 combat helicopter for evaluation tests early this fall. The army would like to acquire 20 modern attack helicopters, and funding for the plan was included in the Supreme Military Commander's five-year plan recently submitted to the government. The Swedish army currently operates some of its 20 Eurocopter BO 105CB helicopters in the anti-tank role.
LOOK FOR INCREASED sales of single-engine Cessna C-208B Caravans to airlines in developing nations as existing twin-engine Beech 99s, Piper Navajos and Cessna 402s wear out. Brasil Central Airlines, already the largest operator of the type outside the U.S., has ordered 15 more Caravans, which will bring its C-208B fleet to 34. A few short-haul, foreign operators, with local approval, squeeze 17 passengers into the usual 13-seat C-208B with a rear bench seat (AW&ST June 5, p. 65). About 50 Caravans are in scheduled airline service worldwide.
Bell Boeing expects to be under contract early next year to develop a V-22 special operations forces aircraft called CV-22. The tiltrotor team predicts it will submit a formal work proposal in the fall and be under contract to launch the engineering and manufacturing development part of the CV-22 program early next year. The U.S. Defense Dept. wants an aircraft with a 500-naut.-mi. range that can retrieve 12 troops from the field at night.
A JOINT SPACE MANAGEMENT BOARD for defense and intelligence satellites is in the offing in the U.S. To be composed of senior officials, including the deputy director of central intelligence, the deputy secretary of Defense and the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the panel will bring top officials representing ``users and bill-payers'' of space assets together at least twice a year, according to Jeffrey K. Harris, the assistant Air Force secretary for space.
PRATT&WHITNEY'S ADVANCED Turbine Engine Gas Generator core has been removed from test after sustaining damage earlier this month. At the time of test termination, the engine was being advanced slowly from idle to full speed and had reached about 95% speed, or 19,900 rmp. Pratt and USAF engineers are investigating the cause. The core had completed about 10 hr. of a scheduled 60-hr. test program.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN WILL STUDY ``smart adaptive wing'' concepts under a $3.4-million, two-year contract from the Advanced Research Projects Agency. The company will study three materials that can change the shape of the wing: shape memory alloys that deform when heated, piezoelectric materials that respond to voltage, and magnetorestrictive materials that deform under magnetic fields. Along with pressure-sensing fibers, they will be applied to control the twist and leading and trailing edges of a 1/6-scale F/A-18 wing in a wind tunnel.
In spite of projected consumer benefits, the Transportation Dept. has ruled against lifting flight restrictions at four major airports, citing the potential of heavy delay costs and short-term noise problems. The department based its position on a congressionally mandated study, which provided a snapshot of the economic impact of lifting slot restrictions at the four slot-controlled airports: New York's JFK and LaGuardia, Washington National and Chicago O'Hare.
USAF CHIEF OF STAFF Gen. Ronald Fogleman has tapped former FAA Administrator Donald Engen to head a ``Blue Ribbon'' panel to review the service's Aircraft Mishap Prevention Program. The Air Force has had 18 class A mishaps since the beginning of the year, 10 of which have occurred in the past two months (AW&ST June 5, p. 21). Other panel members are former Air Force Secretary Hans Mark; USAF Gen. Robert C. Oaks (Ret.), now USAir vice president for safety and regulatory compliance; and USAF Brig. Gen. Joel T. Hall (Ret.), former director of Air Force aerospace safety.
Switzerland's Helog has begun using a K-Max aerial truck in logging and heavy-lift operations in Europe. The introduction of the aircraft into the Helog fleet marks the first European operation for the K-Max program.
NEW SOFTWARE TO ELIMINATE the delay of wind shear warnings is being proposed by the FAA for some 2,300 transport aircraft worldwide. A pending airworthiness directive would require the new software for aircraft equipped with Honeywell's standard wind shear detection and recovery guidance system. The goal is to prevent delayed warnings to flight crews during takeoffs and landings when an aircraft's wing flaps are in motion.
Daniel W. Anderson has been appointed president of the National Air Access Council, Alexandria, Va. He was vice president/general manager of Air Grand Canyon Inc.
Photographs on the following four pages represent some of the aircraft displayed at this year's Paris air show at Le Bourget. While some flew in daily exhibitions, other aircraft were on static display only. All the photos were taken by Mark Fink with a Kodak DCS EOS5 Digital Camera.
Bill Shea will become a member of the Port of Astoria (Ore.) Commission on July 1. He is a consultant to the Aviation Institute of the University of Nebraska-Omaha and former associate FAA administrator.
The European Space Agency pavilion at the Paris air show focused on more than $1 billion worth of its advanced space science spacecraft set for launch over the next seven months. An engineering test Cluster mission spacecraft wrapped in gold insulation is in the foreground. Four of the Dornier Cluster magnetospheric research spacecraft will be launched on the first Ariane 5 mission now set for mid-January. Each Cluster vehicle has extensive maneuvering capability and will deploy four science booms spanning 102.7 meters (339 ft.).
The small low-cost interceptor device (SLID) being developed by the Advanced Research Projects Agency may one day be used to defend Patriot batteries against missile attack while also protecting armored vehicles against missiles and antitank rounds.
