EXPEDITING LAUNCH: Burt Rutan's concerns that a regulatory dispute could postpone his attempt to launch a manned suborbital vehicle (DAILY, June 19) came as a surprise to the FAA agency he blamed for the potential delay. The Commercial Space Transportation office (AST), is "looking for ways to expedite the licensing of his efforts," while adhering to legal requirements and safety concerns, Jay Garvin, AST's manager of Licensing and Safety, wrote in response to a request by The DAILY.
PARTNERS: A protocol signed June 17 by EADS and Sukhoi Corp. paves the way for joint development of unmanned combat air vehicle technology, integrating MBDA missile systems on Sukhoi fighters and other aircraft modernization programs. "The teaming agreement with Sukhoi is important for the development of technology for future defense systems," says a statement by EADs co-CEOs Phillipe Camus and Rainer Hertrich.
NASA is expected to renew the contract for the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC), an Atlanta-based organization charged with exploring aerospace systems and architectures that could be available in the distant future. Patricia Russell, NIAC associate director, told The DAILY late June 19 that NASA is finalizing plans to give the institute $4 million a year for up to five years. A formal announcement is expected in the near future. The institute began operating in 1998 under a five-year contract with NASA.
STARDUST: After conducting a third deep-space course correction maneuver June 18, the Stardust spacecraft is on track to rendezvous with comet Wild 2 in January 2004, according to NASA. Stardust is to collect samples from the halo of dust that surrounds the nucleus of the comet during its rendezvous, then return to Earth in January 2006 to make a soft landing at the Air Force's Utah Test and Training Range.
SUBORBITAL REGS: A bill that could lead to the development of a new regulatory regime for suborbital reusable launch vehicles (RLVs) is one step closer to becoming law. The Senate Commerce Committee June 19 approved legislation introduced by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) that would direct the Transportation Department to study whether new regulations are needed to govern the emerging market for suborbital RLVs (DAILY, June 20). The bill now goes to the full Senate for its consideration.
Concerned that the Navy faces the "imminent loss" of many of its aging EP-3E Aries II aircraft, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is proposing that the service begin replacing the signals intelligence (SIGINT) platforms with the RC-135 Rivet Joint SIGINT aircraft, which already is flown by the Air Force.
Three European aerospace companies have formed a joint venture to market a Russian-made amphibious aircraft to customers in Europe, North America and Australia. Officials at the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS), Irkut Corp. of Russia and Rolls-Royce Deutschland of Germany said June 18 that nearly 320 Be-200 aircraft could be sold in 25 countries over the next 25 years as a firefighting and multirole aircraft. Company officials said they reached that conclusion based on the results of a recently conducted joint feasibility study.
LE BOURGET, France - Unless there is an unprecedented coming together of Europe's aerospace technology resources, its political decision-making and requirements processes, "then we are finished," said Eurofighter CEO Filippo Bagnato. Bagnato said that only a superior high-technology base and a united political front could prevent "another Poland," referring to Poland's selection of the U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcon in the face of intense European competition.
LE BOURGET, France - The Boeing Co. is proposing an industry-wide, international consortium to develop network communications standards for commercial aerospace and defense, according to John Harms, director of business development for Boeing's strategic architecture organization. "We've brought in companies that compete with us and said, 'let's agree to make our systems interoperable,'" he said. The talks have included BAE Systems and Thales as well as U.S. rivals Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., will be the first active duty Air Force base to receive leased Boeing KC-767A tankers, the service said. Deliveries to the base would begin in fiscal 2006, and 32 of the new planes will be based there by 2010, the Air Force said.
LE BOURGET, France - As the 2003 Paris Air Show nears its June 22 closing, overall attendance nearly is overcoming the absence of the U.S. defense contingent, a series of crippling transportation strikes and even a brief but violent thunderstorm on June 17. An official count is not complete, but an early tally of daily attendance suggests crowds of government officials, industry exhibitors and aerospace enthusiasts are only slightly smaller than the event's record in 2001, a pleasant surprise for many European officials.
EXCELLENCE: Aerospace Daily European correspondent John Fricker was presented the Boeing Decade of Excellence Award at the Paris Air Show. The award is the top honor of the 2003 Aerospace Journalist Awards, presented by the World Leadership Forum on behalf of the Royal Aeronautical Society and l'Aero-Club de France.
Arianespace of France and ELV of Italy signed an agreement June 19 for the production and operation of the new Vega light launch vehicle at Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. ELV will be responsible for the production of vehicle components and integration in French Guiana. Arianespace will be responsible for Vega launch vehicle facilities and integration of the upper segments with satellites. Both companies will participate in launch preparation and operation.
LE BOURGET, France - Anti-French and anti-German political rhetoric in the U.S. in recent months has done nothing to alter the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.'s plan to expand its North American operation, although it has slowed progress, said Ralph Crosby, the executive overseeing its U.S. activities.
Washington Gov. Gary Locke (D) signed a package of tax breaks into law June 18 in hopes of persuading the Boeing Co. to build the 7E7 Dreamliner in his state. The package would give the aerospace industry $3 billion in tax incentives over 20 years if Boeing builds the mid-size airliner in Washington. At least half a dozen states, including Alabama, Arkansas, California, Kansas and Texas, are vying to host the 7E7's final assembly and are expected to submit proposals for Boeing's consideration by the June 20 deadline.
Experiences in Iraq and recent tests and demonstrations show that targets can be identified and attacked in "single-digit minutes," and the technology is progressing so rapidly it promises to cut the time to just one minute, according to Col. Norm Sweet of the U.S. Air Force's Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.
The latest test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system ended without success late June 18 as the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) warhead deployed but failed to shoot down the target missile, the Missile Defense Agency announced. MDA spokesman Rick Lehner told The DAILY it is too early to know why an intercept was not achieved. "Government and industry officials will conduct an extensive analysis of the flight test, and the results will be used to improve the Aegis BMD development and testing program," MDA said in a statement.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has appointed Donald Winter as its lead executive for missile defense business, a move that reflects the company's increased role in that sector. Winter will set direction for all of the company's missile defense work and will be Northrop Grumman's main liaison to the director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). Winter will remain corporate vice president and president of the company's Mission Systems sector.
Northrop Grumman has received a $220 million contract to enhance the integrated communications, navigation and identification (CNI) system for the Army's RAH-66 Comanche reconnaissance/attack helicopter, the company announced June 18. Under the new contract, the company's San Diego-based Radio Systems division will develop and incorporate three new communications capabilities for the Comanche's CNI avionics suite: * Enhanced Position Locating Reporting System via the Tactical Internet
A vision of being able to quickly hit fleeting targets anywhere in the world is prompting the U.S. Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to solicit industry for ways to make the idea a reality. The ultimate goal of the FALCON (Force Application and Launch from CONUS) program, to be met in about 2025, is development of a hypersonic cruise vehicle (HCV) that would take off from a runway and strike targets 9,000 nautical miles away in less than two hours.
House Armed Services committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) on June 18 questioned Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz on the U.S. Air Force's possible need to develop a new deep-strike bomber, emphasizing the crucial role that bombers have played in recent military campaigns.
