Airbus Defense and Space plans to design and build a telecom satellite for Luxembourg-based fleet operator SES that will use electric propulsion for initial orbit-raising and all on-orbit maneuvers when it launches in 2017. Based on the Eurostar E3000 spacecraft bus in an all-new Electric Orbit Raising configuration, SES-12 is to be the most powerful satellite ever built for SES. Airbus says using all-electric propulsion will mean the satellite will take 3-6 months to reach its final operating position at 95 deg.
Coming on the heels of previous financial struggles and the disappearance of MH370 in March, the loss of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine late last week was adding to doubts about the airline’s grim prospects of survival (see page 42). For the latest on the crash, go to AviationWeek.com/MH17.
The winners of the 2014 Top-Performing Companies (TPC) rankings were honored at the Farnborough air show last week during a ceremony at Aviation Week’s chalet. The annual study, whose results were published in May, evaluated and ranked the operational performance of 59 publicly traded aerospace and defense companies worldwide.
Aviation Week’s team took home five of the 10 awards at the 2014 Aerospace Media Awards dinner in London last week. Aviation Week won the awards for Best Defense Publication, Best International Publication and Best Integrated Social Media. In addition, Senior Defense Editors Amy Butler and Bill Sweetman won the Best In-Depth Feature honor for their revelation last December of the classified U.S.
New space companies will take prominent roles in the first phase of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (Darpa) XS-1 experimental spaceplane program. Masten Space Systems, teamed with XCOR Aerospace, has won one of three contracts to design a demonstrator for a reusable launch-vehicle first stage. Blue Origin is part of the Boeing team while Northrop Grumman is working with Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites.
Chris Strong has become senior vice president-conventions and membership for the Washington-based National Business Aviation Association. He has been senior vice president-marketing and member services, and succeeds Kathleen Blouin, who will continue as a consultant.
Anton Lill (see photo) has been named managing director of Air Berlin’s loyalty program Topbonus. He was vice president/general manager for Germany at American Express Global Business Travel and had been managing director of Lufthansa subsidiary AirPlus.
Eija Hakakar has been named senior vice president-human resources for Finnair. She will succeed Manne Tiensuu, who is leaving Aug. 31. Hakakari has held the same position at Stora Enso’s Printing and Living division. Riku Aho has been appointed managing director of Finnair Aircraft Finance Ltd. and its subsidiary Finnair ATR Finance Ltd. He was assistant vice president.
Craig R. Cooning has been appointed president of Boeing’s St. Louis-based Network & Space Systems businesses. He has been vice president/general manager of N&SS’s Space & Intelligence Systems and succeeds Roger Krone, who has left the company.
Mbuvi Ngunze (see photo) has been promoted to group managing director/CEO of Kenya Airways from chief operating officer, effective Dec. 1. He will succeed Titus Naikuni, who plans to retire.
Robert A. Schacht has become CEO of Westfield Hydraulics Inc., Pacoima, California. He was chief operating officer of Ace Clearwater Enterprises and had been president of Hydra Electric.
Allan Goodbrand has been promoted to general manager for Circor Aerospace & Defense Europe from general manager for Circor UK. Don Stinnett has been promoted to general manager for Circor Aerospace & Defense California from product line director for landing gear and actuation. And Paul Devaux has been appointed president of Circor Chemille (France). He was a general manager for United Technologies Aerospace Systems in Indonesia.
Anthony Carbone has been named non-executive chairman of Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He has been lead independent member of the board and succeeds Clay Jones, who plans to retire July 31. Carbone was executive vice president of the Dow Chemical Co. and later was vice chairman of its board.
Airbus initially planned the A320neo family as a minimal upgrade to the current A320 family, but this is no longer true for the A321neo, which is gaining more cabin capacity. Over the years, the A321 has gradually evolved from a niche product for a few dense routes to an aircraft meant for the center of the market. At the end of May, the A321 backlog stood at more than 1,100 aircraft, while the A319’s was just 104. If conversion rights are exercised, the A321 share will rise further; almost half of the manufacturing slots are now planned for the model.
After working for two decades with little government support, Britain’s Reaction Engines Ltd. (REL) is gaining ground with the U.K. and European space agencies and is now collaborating with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory on an innovative synergetic air-breathing rocket engine, known as Sabre.
With its increasingly industry-friendly space policies, Britain is seeing a surge of activity in the growing field of small-satellite technology as the government aims for a regulatory environment supportive of space-based enterprise in the U.K. The government is reducing the amount of insurance that satellite companies must acquire before it will ensure third-party liability. Britain is also weighing how cubesats are regulated in an effort to shorten the time it takes operators of small satellites to acquire a license.
Only four years ago, Boeing and Airbus were in a bitter fight for the largest contract for aerial refuelers to come on the scene for at least a decade.
The big question for the U.S. Air Force’s T-38C replacement program—the largest tender for fast-jet trainers in years—remains what Boeing will bring to the table. The answer remains—as it was a year ago—a ways off. The service is starting to put muscle behind the effort. But the competition isn’t expected to begin until late next year. So until that request for proposals is released, contractors likely to vie for the work remain largely mum.
