Companies that market Russian and Ukrainian launch services are banking on their hardware suppliers to get their acts together— and on continued demand for satellite launches—to keep satellite operators returning their telephone calls in the face of ongoing quality-control problems plaguing the once-proud space industry set up by the former Soviet Union.
The first Pratt & Whitney PW1100G geared turbofan to be flight tested for the Airbus A320NEO is being prepared for installation on the engine maker's Boeing 747SP testbed in Mirabel, Canada. The engine is expected to fly in the second quarter of 2013 and is one of eight in the program. Certification is due by early in the third quarter of 2014. Pratt currently has around 1,150 PW1100Gs engines on firm order, or slightly under half the overall engines sales so far for the A320NEO.
Brad Furukawa and Helena K.L. Chan have been named to receive Falls Church, Va.-based Northrop Grumman's Asian-American Engineer of the Year award. Furukawa is VP and chief technology officer of the company's Enterprise Shared Services organization, and Chan is the integration and test lead of the USAF Deployable Instrument Landing program.
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) is hearing from more whistle-blowers inside NASA since he publicized charges about lax security for sensitive technology at Ames Research Center, Calif. The chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA, Wolf says he isn't happy with the way the agency's inspector general (IG) has handled security, and the same holds true for federal law enforcement agencies (AW&ST Feb. 18, p. 19).
AgustaWestland is using an unconventional tiltrotor fan-in-wing demonstrator, flown in secret in Italy since 2011, as a self-funded technology incubator for advanced rotorcraft concepts. Measuring several meters in span, the “Project Zero” sub-scale demonstrator has two electrically driven, tilting rotors embedded in the wing. Surprising attendees at the Heli-Expo 2013 show in Las Vegas this month by revealing the program, newly installed CEO Daniele Romiti says the flying wing represents how the manufacturer is “thinking today of how we could fly tomorrow.”
With no takers among cash-strapped European governments, EADS Astrium is talking to Singapore about partnering on the GO-3S space surveillance system, a geostationary satellite that promises to be the first to transmit real-time video resolving objects as small as 3 meters (10 ft.) across.
This gray powder from inside a Martian “mudstone” contains sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorous and carbon—all chemical ingredients for life as we know it on Earth and a major target of the $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. In a first for planetary science, the mission's nuclear-powered Curiosity rover drilled the hole at left, after a test run to the right, and transferred some of the powder to its internal chemistry labs.
This week, Aviation Week publishes two editions. On the cover at the far left is a European Space Agency (ESA) artist's concept of Electra, Europe's first all-electric-propulsion satellite (see page 45). The spacecraft is being developed by OHB of Germany and ESA for Luxembourg-based fleet operator SES. The string of satellites in the background represents the month-long process of raising Electra's orbit with the super-efficient propulsion system.
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Garuda Indonesia, two of Asia's leading full-service carriers, are about to find themselves under competitive pressure from Indonesian low-cost carrier Lion Air, which is moving into the premium segment.
Virgin Galactic says a series of final confirmation hot-fire tests of SpaceShipTwo's RM2 hybrid rocket is underway at Mojave, Calif., in preparation for the start of powered test flights of its sub-orbital passenger vehicle. The first of the rapid-fire rocket tests took place on Feb. 28, with a second on March 8. Virgin says SS2 is expected to undertake “a minimum of two more glide flights in order to complete all remaining preparation for its first powered flight.”
Patty Wagstaff (see photo), champion aerobatic pilot, has been named the recipient of the Outstanding Aviator Award, presented by The Wings Club, New York. Given in partnership with the International Aviation Women's Association, the award recognizes airmen and airwomen whose actions have made major contributions to aviation and/or security, and who serve as leadership models. Wagstaff in 1991 became the first woman to win the U.S. National Aerobatic Championships, which she won three more times for three consecutive years.
George Karamitis has been honored by the FAA with its Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award. The award is given for flying without an accident, incident or citation for 50 years.
U.S. low-cost carrier Allegiant Air—building on a niche strategy that consistently produces double-digit operating margins—is eyeing a long-term growth plan that includes more Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft, the possible addition of A321s and more Boeing 757s, The Las Vegas-based carrier also expects to launch 30-40 new routes within the next 18 months and begin international service in 2014. Its leadership even mentions transatlantic service as a possibility for the longer term.
Unwieldy U.S. military procurement continues to hamper the use of hosted payloads as a time- and cost-saving way to put sensors and relays into orbit, even with a hosted UHF link serving troops and sailors in Afghanistan and the rest of the Indian Ocean region. That hosted payload on the Intelsat 22 bird belongs to the Australian Defense Force (ADF) and has worked well since its launch a year ago on a Proton. The ADF paid $167 million for the 18 UHF channels and had them up and running less than three years after it signed the contract.
April 8-11—29th National Space Symposium-Space Foundation. The Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs. See www.nationalspacesymposium.org/ April 9-10—SpeedNews Aerospace Manufacturing Conference. Charleston Place. Charleston, S.C. See www.speednews.com/ConferenceInfo.aspx?conferenceID=141 April 17-18—SMI's Second Annual ISR Conference. Copthorne Tara Hotel, London. See www.isrconference.com or contact James Hitchen +44 (207) 827-6054.
Aviation Week & Space Technology has won two Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards. Recognizing editorial excellence, they are the business-to-business media equivalent of the Pulitzer Prizes. Awarded by American Business Media, the two Neals underline Aviation Week's commitment to industry-leading technology coverage, thought-provoking journalism and digital media.
The Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (Canso) is coming of age as one of the senior aviation alphabet groups, as forays into new ventures help raise its profile and provide the resources needed to expand its role.
India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case as it investigates corruption in a VIP helicopter deal. The CBI says it is investigating 13 people it suspects are involved in bribery surrounding the purchase of 12 AgustaWestland AW101 VIP helicopter for the Indian Air Force in 2010. India has suspended all payments and threatened to cancel the purchase altogether if the charges of bribery to middlemen both in India and abroad are proven.
I found your editorial “Pettiness, Paralysis and Power” (AW&ST Feb. 25, p. 58), disingenuous. Rather than call a spade a spade, you blamed both parties for the dysfunction of Congress. The real culprits are those who will not negotiate a solution that provides for revenue as well as cuts. Interestingly enough, those culprits are the party that brought us more than 80% of the national debt that existed when President Obama took office.
Eurocopter has delivered its greatest hints yet about the thinking behind its future product lineup. The EADS-owned helicopter manufacturer walked away with 69 orders at Heli-Expo here this month and also launched a new version of its EC135 light twin, but the company is keeping the industry waiting to see what results from its X4 program to replace the AS365 Dauphin.
