Astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria and cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin used bolt cutters and wire ties to get a malfunctioning radar-navigation antenna out of the way on the International Space Station yesterday, freeing one of two Russian Progress vehicles docked at the station to depart in April. Working in Russian Orlan spacesuits, the pair spent 6 hr. 18 min. clambering around the Russian Zvezda service module in the fifth and final extravehicular activity (EVA) of their Expedition 14 mission.
A revamp of the Khrunichev space center should streamline production processes and quality control problems, promises International Launch Services, which markets the center's Proton launch vehicle. The reorganization is aimed at improving the Proton production rate and particularly that of the Block M upper stage. On Feb. 3 President Vladimir Putin OK'd Khrunichev's merger with four key suppliers--Block M manufacturer Isaev Chemical Engineering (KhimMash); Moscow Enterprise for Equipment Configuration (Dlina); Polyot, and the Voronezh Mechanical Plant.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and Gulf Helicopters based in Doha, Qatar, plan to establish an Aviation Center of Excellence in the Middle East. The facility would provide maintenance support, spare parts, training and other services to commercial and government helicopter operators in the region. Sikorsky and Gulf Helicopters would perform fleet management and operate a customer support service focusing on depot-level maintenance on both rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft. In addition, Gulf Helicopters will buy a second S-92 for VIP transportation.
The U.S. Coast Guard and Congress are adjusting the service's Deepwater recapitalization contract with a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to institutionalize more accountability. But buried under the pile of criticism in Washington over the embattled program are new maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) being rolled out this year, representing aviation successes that could benefit from potential additional spending.
Saab this year hopes to largely wrap up restructuring activities linked to recent acquisitions, and in the process expects to adhere to its 5% growth target (excluding acquisitions) and 10% operating margin, according to CEO Ake Svensson. This year should be relatively stable for the company, with increasing focus on gross margin performance. No major contracts are expected, rather a steady stream of smaller deals. In 2006, Saab concluded an 8-billion Swedish kronor ($1.1-billion) contract with Pakistan to supply the Erieye early warning radar on Saab 2000s.
A defective rigid heat shield that caused the failure of the first test-firing of the indigenously developed intermediate-range ballistic missile Agni-III last year may undergo its seAcond test in May or June, according to M. Natarajan, scientific adviser to the Indian defense minister. "This [fault] has now been rectified . . . . We have realized the need for a flexible heat shield," he said.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded a $21.9-million contract to Northrop Grumman for risk-reduction work on the Alternative Infrared Satellite System (Airss), which is designed to improve space-based missile warning capabilities and provide the Pentagon with an alternative to buying more costly Space Based Infrared System spacecraft. Already, Raytheon and SAIC are developing competing sensor design concepts for Airss.
Helicopter operators are moving closer to reaping the benefits of ADS-B--a system that will "take the National Air Space and extend it out over the Gulf of Mexico."
The U.S. Air Force is confident a weapon designed for use in urban areas will produce the small, targeted amounts of collateral damage needed to kill insurgents without risking harm to nearby populations.
Hiring started out strong this year with airlines adding 867 new pilot positions in January, according to AIR Inc., an Atlanta-based career information service. Domestic airlines led the hiring with 393 posts, with majors following at 297 new jobs. Out of 102,085 pilots employed industry-wide, 6,608 are on furlough, 5,863 of them with majors. American leads the furlough count at 2,812, or 30.8% of its active pilots, followed by United, with 823, or 12% of its active pilots. AIR Inc.
Bruce D. Parker has become chairman/CEO of AirNet Systems Inc., Columbus, Ohio. He succeeds Joel E. Biggerstaff, who has resigned. Parker has been an AirNet director and is a retired senior vice president/chief information officer of United Airlines.
The tentative agreement between Comair and its pilots' group calls for 7.75-13% pay reductions and commits 40% of new uncommitted aircraft from parent Delta Air Lines to Comair in the first year of the contract. Under the four-year contract, Comair would be assured of 30% of the unassigned aircraft in the second year and 20% in the third year, but assurances would be void if Comair is sold. The agreement also maintains the current 15 70-seat aircraft fleet plan through Jan. 1, 2011. Pilots would receive a 1.5% pay increase each year for the next three years.
Controllers are maneuvering the five NASA/University of California Themis auroral research spacecraft into alignment within their 1,250-117,000-mi. elliptical orbits, following launch from Cape Canaveral Feb. 17 on a United Launch Alliance Delta II booster (see photo). It is NASA's first five-satellite mission, and the first to investigate how Earth's auroras are triggered by the storage and release of energy in the magnetosphere.
SES has improved return on equity to 13.5%, up from 11.2% in 2005, and raised net profit 14%, to €436 million ($573 million) on sales of €1.6 billion (up 28.4%, or 7.4% without New Skies). Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization im- proved 22.6% to €1.08 billion, and EBITDA margin on sales of services, due to strong cost-cutting, rose to 10.5% (see p. 44).
Indonesia has grounded seven Boeing 737-300s operated by budget carrier Adam Air after the fuselage of one of them bent in a hard landing. No one was hurt in the incident, which left the tail of the 13-year-old aircraft drooping. The airline blamed a sudden downdraft and heavy rain. One of the airline's 737-400s fell from its cruise altitude and crashed Jan. 1, killing all on board. The cause is still unknown.
As the first step in expanding its long-haul fleet, British Airways says it will add four 777-200ERs to its fleet and hold four options. Deliveries are set for 2010. BA began buying the twin-engine 777 in 1991 and now has a fleet of 43, including 40 -200ERs with a mix of General Electric GE90 and Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines. While it has not formally signed the new order, British Airways is negotiating with both GE and Rolls on the engine order. At list prices, the four aircraft are worth $800 million.
USN Adm. Timothy J. Keating has been named commander of the Honolulu-based U.S. Pacific Command. Keating has been commander of Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, Peterson AFB, Colo. Rear Adm. (lower half) Charles W. Martoglio has been appointed commander of Carrier Strike Group Seven, North Island, Calif. He has been senior military assistant to the secretary of the Navy at the Pentagon.
French armaments agency DGA says average program slippage dropped to 2.9 months last year from 3.1 months a year earlier. Associated penalties decreased, too. However, the rate at which delays add up are still higher than the figure two years ago (2.5 months) and well above the objective of 1.5 months. DGA chief Francois Lureau says he hopes to reach this target in 2007.
A likely outgrowth of JetBlue's encounter with a New York ice storm that left aircraft and passengers stranded on taxiways for more than 5 hr. is a stronger industry focus on passenger rights.
Craig Saddler has been appointed president of Sydney-based Boeing Australia. He was chief financial officer for the 787 program. Saddler succeeds Andrew Peacock, who is retiring.
The U.S. Navy's "Advanced Super Hornet" will tie together an electronic attack system with a powerful new radar that would allow the aircraft to find, deceive and, perhaps, disable sophisticated, radar-guided air-to-air, surface-to-air and cruise missiles. Moreover, it could do so at ranges greater than that of new U.S. air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons.
The second of three Boeing 747 Dreamlifters has made its first flight in Taipei. The converted 747s will be used to ferry parts and assemblies among suppliers and to Boeing for final assembly for the 787 program.
The faulty solar arrays that plagued early versions of the Boeing 702 satellite continue to haunt the company long after it says the problem has been fixed. In a 10-K report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of its 2006 business activities, Boeing revealed it faces damages of as much as $760 million in lawsuits arrising from the 702 spacecraft's performance, plus another $215 million in a claim over its smaller 601 satellite. The 702 was developed by Hughes Satellite in the late 1990s and acquired when Boeing took over Hughes.
