China's Tiangong 1 orbital module and Shenzhou 8 spacecraft have entered the prelaunch preparation phase ahead of their mission this year to demonstrate docking technology needed for future manned missions. The two are set to be launched separately in the second half of this year. To eliminate human risk in the docking test, they will be unmanned. If the demonstration is a success, the Shenzhou 9 mission will repeat the procedure with a crew onboard.
LoValerie Mullins has been named mediator of alternative dispute resolutions in the Office of Mediation Services at the National Mediation Board in Washington. She was a mediation coach at the Center for Dispute Resolution at the University of Missouri School of Law.
Rolls-Royce hopes better-than-expected early test results from its newest and largest engine, the Trent XWB, will bolster its market position as it recovers from a difficult year. Although flight trials of the latest Trent variant are yet to begin, bench tests of the engine for the Airbus A350 have yielded “very positive results,” says program director Chris Cholerton. Specific fuel consumption (SFC) “is better than expected.” Flight tests on the first A380, now an Airbus testbed, are due in the late summer or early fall.
James Chambers has been named VP-engineering at Rockville, Md.-based XTAR. He comes from DRS Technical Services, where he led projects involving satellite, terrestrial and hybrid communication networks for the military.
Washington is in the middle of the most complicated federal budget-building exercise in decades. Budget planners at the Pentagon are grappling with how to construct budgets starting with fiscal 2013 with many of the factors shaping those plans in far more flux than at any time since perhaps the last world war. “This budget may be typical, but what's not typical is what's going on around it,” says Al Tucker, of the American Society of Military Comptrollers.
Andy Best has been named head of commercial for SR Technics in Zurich. He was commercial general manager at Thomas Cook Airlines and an engineer at Flying Colours Airlines.
With the Earth's axial tilt near its maximum incline toward the Sun of 23 deg., 26 min., the fun season has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere. Summertime, yes, but more importantly for the aviation-inclined, it's that time when blue weekend skies fill with snap-rolling Extras, thunderous F-18s, smoky tailslides, Cuban 8s, inverted ribbon cuts and waves of vintage warbirds powered by full-throated radials. It's air show time.
Mark Carreau (Houston), Frank Morring, Jr. (Washington)
The International Space Station and the space shuttle Endeavour orbit over the Pacific Ocean May 23 in this historic image taken by European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Paolo Nespoli as he departed the station in the Soyuz TMA 20/25S capsule. Nespoli's photos and a high-definition video captured in the first stage of a three-person ISS crew swap-out that concluded June 9 are the only images showing a shuttle orbiter docked to the ISS. Visible at the other end of the station's pressurized volume is the ESA's second Automated Transfer Vehicle, Johannes Kepler.
Gordon Wilson (see photo) has been promoted to president and CEO of Travelport Ltd. from deputy CEO, succeeding Jeff Clarke, who will become executive chairman.
Cliff Van Leuven has been named VP-customer service for Frontier Airlines-branded operations at Republic Airways Holdings, Indianapolis. He held similar positions at Frontier and Midwest Airlines, and previously worked at Northwest Airlines.
Stephane Lefebvre (see photo) has been appointed VP-finance and CFO of CAE in Montreal, succeeding Alain Raquepas. Lefebvre was VP-finance, military and new core markets.
The corporate status of Ontic Engineer's parent company, BBA Aviation, was stated incorrectly in the June 6 Inside Track column (p. 16). It is a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange. Ontic will manage the fuel measurement business it acquired from GE Aviation from Cheltenham, England.
“Fostering Innovation” (AW&ST May 23, p. 14) somewhat disparagingly dismisses your Executive Summit's top proposal, namely that the U.S. set a “Man to Mars” goal for the next decade similar to President John F. Kennedy's lunar target in the '60s. It is unfair to call the A&D executives “dreamers” when history shows that the Apollo program not only reaped 14 times more technology value than it cost, but ignited a worldwide groundswell of good feeling toward the U.S. that we have long since frittered away.
USN Rear Adm. (ret.) Craig E. Steidle (see photo) has been elected to the board of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation in Washington. As the first associate administrator for exploration systems at NASA, he initiated programs to foster commercial space transportation to the International Space Station.
Re: Beijing Bureau Chief Brad Perrett's “Seoul Sees Growing Need For Fighters” ELP writes: The only thing the F-35 might bring to the South Korean air force is Stovl—a unique tool for combat basing. But, if they're truly concerned about PAK FA-like threats, the F-35 won't be competitive.
Tony Ramage (see photos) has been promoted to head of structured finance from executive VP of marketing for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East at BOC Aviation in Singapore, and Hamish Murchison has been appointed VP-marketing for the same regions. He was VP-sales for Europe, the Middle East and Asia at aircraft lessor AWAS.
BOC Aviation will support the Comac C919 airliner as part of an agreement between the manufacturer and the lessor's owner, Bank of China, aimed partly at getting the aircraft into service with foreign airlines. The agreement is part of wider state support for the national airliner program. Bank of China's “strong financial support” will cover the ARJ21 regional jet as well as the 158-seat C919 and will extend to international and domestic markets.
The U.S. Air Force will review industry input for the Conventional Prompt Global Strike (CPGS) mission in coming weeks amid congressional criticism that competition for the program to date has not been “meaningful.”
Airbus Military is likely to get even more competition as it explores whether to launch a C-295-based airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) program.
In response to International Editor Robert Wall's recent Ares blog post: “CV-22 Beats MV-22 in CSAR Race:” markgsxr writes:Unique aircraft with unique capabilities. Would love to see these being used to the full.
Thomas Lee (see photo) has become director of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Microsystems Technology Office. He was a professor of engineering at Stanford University for 17 years and received the 2011 HO-AM in engineering, South Korea's equivalent of the Nobel Prize.
Never one to retreat easily, the U.S. Army is revamping how it will acquire new combat networking gear and information technology (IT) still seen as vitally critical for soldiers, despite high-profile setbacks to date.
Asia-Pacific Staff (New Delhi), Robert Wall (St. Louis)
India's commitment to buy 10 C-17 Globemaster III airlifters and its option for more is a crucial step to helping Boeing bridge a production gap until a potential follow-on U.S. Air Force procurement emerges. But the Indian deal alone will not plug the hole, forcing Boeing to scour for more international commitments to keep its production line open. Efforts underway to slow production rates, thereby extending the line, will not be enough.
Airbus has the edge on Boeing in terms of gross order intake, but the latter had more net orders. With an eye on announcing orders this month at the Paris air show, Airbus order intake in May counted only seven aircraft, but perhaps more important, the aircraft maker did not suffer any further cancellations. The two deals that hit the orderbooks were Korean Air's five A330-200s and Star Flyer, which became a new customer with the purchase of two A320s.
