Assembly operations at the International Space Station will intensify in the next few months as the partnership builds toward a six-person crew, amid questions about how they will be supplied over the long haul. While the combined crews of the space shuttle Atlantis and ISS Expedition 16 were busy plugging Europe’s long-awaited Columbus laboratory module into the station last week—and adding a new European control center to the ISS communications net—NASA and its partners announced the astronauts and cosmonauts who will make up the first six-person crew.
India’s Chandrayaan 1 mission to the Moon has been postponed from its planned launch dates of Apr. 9 or 23. Project director Mylaswamy Annadurai tells local media there are still problems relating to the integration of the scientific payloads with the main lunar orbiter. The Indian Space Research Organization says the probe will be launched before June, however.
Eutelsat says it anticipates no impact from a gyro failure that threatens to curtail the life of the Express AM22 satellite, located at 53 deg. E. Long. The Paris-based operator has a long-term lease on 12 transponders on AM22, which was built by NPO PM for the Russian Satellite Communications Co. RSCC says it plans to upload a software patch to correct the problem, but so far the spacecraft, launched in late 2003, is performing nominally.
EADS has inked a memorandum of understanding with Kazakhstan’s main titanium supplier, UKTMP, and aircraft component provider Aubert & Duval, to help assure the long-term supply of the raw material. The percentage of titanium has been increasing on aircraft, along with the growth in composites, so EADS and Boeing have been on a spree of signing long-term relationships with numerous partners. EADS says the latest deal could be worth $1 billion.
I found the “Inside Avionics” article, and one in the previous issue, reporting a trend toward integration of diverse electronics systems, alarming (AW&ST Jan. 21, p. 43; Jan. 14, p. 43).
Bradley C. Flick has become chief engineer and James W. Harris director of the Test Systems Directorate at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center , Edwards AFB, Calif. Flick was chief of the Flight Systems Branch of Dryden’s Research Engineering Directorate, while Harris was deputy director of test systems.
USAF Brig. Gen. Peter F. Hoene has been appointed director of command and control programs at the Defense Information Systems Agency, Arlington, Va. He has been commander of the 350th Electronic Systems Wing of Air Force Materiel Command, Hanscom AFB, Mass. Brig. Gen. Everett H. Thomas has been named commander of the command’s Nuclear Weapons Center, Kirtland AFB, N.M. He has been vice commander of the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center of Air Combat Command, Nellis AFB, Nev.
Boeing has received FAA supplemental type certification (STC) for Japan’s first KC-767 Tanker, a convertible freighter derivative of the 767-200ER. The passenger and main deck cargo certification work “went beyond what is normally performed on military aircraft, and we have received our FAA STC for those capabilities,” says George Hildebrand, Boeing KC-767 Japan program manager. The FAA previously certified the KC-767 for everything except passengers and main deck cargo, and the STC was obtained using a combination of tests on KC-767s destined for both Italy and Japan.
Goodrich is ready to cut the ribbon on a new aftermarket campus in Singapore, the latest in a string of expansions that have morphed a small maintenance shop into the company’s largest MRO facility in the world. The new campus more than doubles the size of an existing nacelle/thrust reverser MRO shop to 530,000 sq. ft. and creates space for Goodrich to consolidate several other services that had been spread across three local facilities. Those activities include aftermarket work on evacuation slides, power systems, engine controls and actuation systems.
Feb. 25-29—UCLA Extension Winter Aerospace and Mechanical Courses: “Finite Element Analysis” and “Airframe Design and Repair.” Also, Mar. 10-14—“Airframe Stress Analysis and Sizing.” Los Angeles. Call +1 (310) 825-3344 or see www.uclaextension.edu Feb. 26-28—American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ Third Space Exploration Conference and Exhibit. Colorado Convention Center, Denver. Call +1 (703) 264-7500, fax +1 (703) 264-7551 or see www.aiaa.org
The U.K. has begun to invest in infrastructure improvements at the dockyard in Scotland that will be used for final assembly of the Royal Navy’s future class of aircraft carriers. The two 65,000-ton carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, are to be final-assembled at Babcock’s Rosyth yard. The two ships are scheduled to enter service in 2014 and 2016.
Controllers plan to upload commands to the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (Messenger) spacecraft Feb. 27, setting up a midcourse maneuver next month as they begin planning for a second flyby of the planet Mercury on Oct. 6. The spacecraft’s instrument suite returned an unprecedented trove of data Jan. 14 as Messenger used Mercury’s gravity to begin slowing it into orbit. The suite will be shut down for the software upload. It will be the first time new software has been loaded into Messenger’s computers since Oct.
Thales has reinforced cooperation with IntuiLab, a leading French specialist in intuitive man-machine interface systems. The expanded agreement will allow Thales to access IntuiLab technologies, development kits and components for MMI prototyping applications. The exclusive accord will be used for interactive cockpit development and improvement activities—a major focus of Thales’s avionics strategy (AW&ST Feb. 11, p. 45).
The NH90 helicopter consortium is scrambling to offset delays that have held back deliveries of the naval NFH (NATO Frigate Helicopter) variant ordered by France, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway. But certification issues, lingering mission system deficiencies and a possible shortage of flight-test personnel still pose major challenges, industry and naval sources say.
Iran is about to begin flights with a new multistage rocket it says will be used later this year to launch satellites into space. U.S. criticism of the booster as a weapons system in disguise, however, set off a two-day war of words with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Both the White House and Kremlin expressed concern that the booster is a wolf in sheep’s clothing for development of an intercontinental ballistic missile that could eventually threaten the U.S. and all of Europe with an Iranian nuclear strike.
South Korea’s Asiana Airlines has purchased a controlling stake in Busan International Air, which plans to begin flying next year as a budget carrier. The investment cost 23 billion won ($25 million). Rival Korean Air is also establishing a no-frills subsidiary, while Singapore’s Tiger Airways anticipates opening a carrier in South Korea.
The Society of British Aerospace Companies’ senior adviser on environmental affairs, Mark Watson, says British industry and government need to work together to ensure U.K. manufacturers are able to capitalize on the potential business for the next-generation of single-aisle passenger aircraft. He adds that replacement types will be a key to helping meet ambitious environmental targets.
Indonesia proposes to tighten capital requirements on airlines, mandating that they own at least two of their aircraft. The others can be leased. The regulation will apply to companies that are already operating and is expected to go into force next month.
JetBlue Airways started up at New York John F. Kennedy International Airport for two primary reasons. It was able to use the vacant TWA terminal and operate most of its flights during morning and afternoon hours, which had plenty of capacity; most international operations at JFK occur in the late afternoon and evening. JFK is no longer the primary international gateway on the East Coast.
British air traffic service provider NATS has awarded Spanish information technology manufacturer Indra a £47-million ($92.6-million) contract to develop a next-generation flight data processing system.
The Transportation Security Administration has tapped seven airports to take part in a pilot program for employee screening. Boston Logan will offer 100% employee and vehicle screening at perimeter entrances, along with a test of biometric access control. Jacksonville (Fla.) International Airport and Craven (N.C.) Regional Airport will do 100% physical screening of employees going from public to secure areas.
The AFL-CIO’s aviation union leaders met Feb. 14 to develop a strategy in response to possible airline mergers. The group said it would use any and all options, “including deployment of legislative, political and capital strategies—to leverage the strength of working people to ensure this latest merger mania doesn’t harm this industry.” It also said it will engage “elected officials at the highest levels” to ensure employees’ voices are not drowned out by greed and Wall Street.
Emeric d’Arcimoles has been named executive vice president-international affairs for Paris-based Safran and Francois Courtot vice president-institutional affairs and major accounts (Airbus and Eurocopter), both effective Apr. 1. Olivier Andries will become executive vice president-strategy and Dominique Hedon special adviser to the CEO, both effective Mar. 1. Helene Seguinotte has been appointed national executive for Canada, effective July 1, in addition to being CEO of Turbomeca Canada.
Hawker Beechcraft Corp. has achieved FAA certification of the King Air C90GTi equipped with a fully integrated Collins Pro Line 21 avionics package. The company has delivered more than 10 of the twin-engine, turboprop-powered airplanes since December 2007. The C90GTi is aimed at buyers considering purchase of a Very Light Jet such as the Eclipse 500 and the Cessna Citation Mustang by offering a larger cabin for up to seven passengers. The Pro Line 21 suite includes three 8 X 10-in. liquid crystal displays and digital radio and audio systems.
