As airlines there increase in size, it is natural that they leverage their scale to gain efficiencies. That comes from both purchasing power and the desire to bring higher-technology maintenance, repair and overhaul capability in-house—or at least in the region.
Ball Aerospace & Technologies has completed a $75 million, 90,000-sq-ft. expansion of its satellite-manufacturing facilities in Boulder, Colo. Clean-room space is 60% larger, and environmental testing systems have been upgraded to state of the art. The work also includes “build-out capacity for a larger thermal vacuum chamber,” the company says.
The first of three advanced Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) spacecraft, procured for $354 million each, is heading for checkout in a temporary geostationary slot after this Jan. 30 nighttime launch on an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 41.
Volga-Dnepr Group has been pushing United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) and Antonov to restart production of its An-124 Ruslan freighter for years. With no additional orders in sight, the operator may take the project into its own hands.
Crisis is a word often applied to the proposed defense “sequestration” cuts, now set to take effect on March 1. There is no dispute that these budget reductions could send powerful tremors through the U.S. military and defense industry.
Andrews Space will build an Earth-observing nanosat for the U.S. Army under a new contract with the Army Space and Missile Defense Command's Kestrel Eye program. Andrews says its 24-month contract calls for demonstration of “low-cost, commercial technologies to enable a new tier of reconnaissance capability.”
Mark H. Lefever has been promoted to chief operating officer and Richard W. Hildenbrand to president of Burbank, Calif.-based Avjet Corp. Lefever was president and Hildenbrand executive VP.
Scott Bousum has joined the global public sector policy team of Washington-based TechAmerica as an expert in defense and intelligence matters. He was a staffer for the House Armed Services Committee supporting the tactical air and land forces subcommittee.
Russia's Tactical Missile Corp. has completed trials of the Kh-31PD, RVV-MD, RVV-SD and RVV-BD air-launched missiles, CEO Boris Obnosov tells Russian media. The Kh-31PD is the latest modification of the AS-17 Krypton family, powered by a combined rocket-ramjet engine. It is equipped with a passive radio homing head and can hit radar stations to a maximum range of 180-250 km (110-155 mi.). Obnosov also says the Kh-31AD anti-ship variant with an active seeker is in the final stages of testing. Both missiles can be used by the Sukhoi Su-30MK and Su-35 and MiG-29/35 fighters.
Boeing will not be housing its new intelligence-gathering system, the medium-sized Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA), on an Embraer platform, according to the Brazilian manufacturer's defense chief, Luiz Carlos Aguiar. He said the two companies are not in talks on the MSA project, despite an agreement on other programs, such as the KC-390. Boeing unveiled the MSA concept at the Farnborough air show last summer. Plans for a platform provider announcement were dashed at year-end.
Michael DiGeorge has been appointed managing director of Arinc Inc.'s Asia Pacific Div., based in Singapore. He was senior director for E-enabled programs in Arinc's Hong Kong office.
Peg Billson (see photo) has been named president and CEO of Chatsworth, Calif.-based BBA Aviation's Aftermarket Services. She was president of BBA Aviation Legacy Support.
Sondra L. Barbour (see photo) has been named executive VP of Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Information Systems & Global Solutions. She was senior VP and chief information officer. Rick F. Ambrose has been appointed executive VP of the Space Systems business after a tenure as VP and deputy. Barbour and Ambrose will succeed Linda Gooden and Joanne McGuire, respectively, both of whom plan to retire.
Sean McGeough has joined Cleveland-based Nextant Aerospace as president. He was senior executive for the Middle East, Africa and Europe at Hawker Beechcraft.
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While the Chinese city Hefei has a big new airport that it would like to keep busy, aircraft maker Avic has a turboprop airliner plant that is not busy enough. Each of these state entities is making a small contribution to solving the other's problem.
Iranian space officials say their nation's launch and recovery of a live monkey on a suborbital spaceflight advances the goal of an orbital human mission, but that day apparently is more distant than the stated 2020 date. The Iranian Space Agency is said to have used a variant of the Kavoshgar rocket for the 120-km (74-mi.) flight, following a 2011 test that reportedly carried a sealed biocapsule, but no monkey. The 22-meter-long (72-ft.) rocket is believed to have a payload capacity of 50 kg (110 lb.). Israel dismissed the flight as a “publicity stunt,” while a U.S.
The Airbus/EADS advertisement that ran recently in successive issues (AW&ST Dec. 10/17/24, 2012, pp. 4-5) is low-class mudslinging, at best. The fact that Boeing did not respond indicates its management's high business ethics and standards.
