Belgium's Sabena airlines and France's Snecma have signed an agreement under which Snecma will take a 50% stake in a newly created aircraft engine and maintenance shop in Zaventem, Belgium. Sabena is planning to spin the operation off as an independent business. The two firms will develop the business, boosting the number of engine overhaul operations from about 160 a year to 200. Initially, the new company will focus on JT8, JT9 and CFM56-3 engines with the newer generation CFM56-7 to be added by 2003.
The research and development tax credit for U.S. companies was extended for one year in the omnibus appropriations act cleared by Congress last Wednesday and signed into law by President Clinton later that afternoon - but it was a straight extension rather than the more sweeping change that Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) was proposing.
Europe's space launch industry is keeping a careful eye on the emerging low Earth orbit communications satellite industry as it times planned improvements designed to help it meet expected new competition from the U.S. and elsewhere, slowing its activities somewhat to match slower progress in "Big LEO" development.
Deep Space 1, the first of NASA's "New Millennium" probes designed to test advanced space technology against the rigors of actual science missions, was underway to an asteroid rendezvous yesterday after a launch Saturday aboard a Boeing Delta II vehicle.
The U.S. Navy has been forced to curtail its plans for Advanced technology demonstrations because of funding limitations in the fiscal 2001 timeframe. The Navy earlier this year issued a broad area announcement for new start ATDs. However, in a Oct. 22 Commerce Business Daily notice, the Navy said it doesn't expect to have enough funds for new starts in FY '01. The Office of Naval Research still wants ideas for new ATDs, noting that it might be able to find alternative funding sources for promising projects.
The U.K. Ministry of Defense will use a group of projects to begin working on its new Smart Procurement initiative, according to John Spellar, parliamentary under-secretary of state. Smart Procurement was launched under the Strategic Defense Review as a way to deliver the $15.2 billion annual equipment program faster, better and cheaper. The projects are being selected to test the concept at different stages of the acquisition process, from early studies through support and updating. The pilot projects are as follows:
One of the last Progress capsules that will be sent to Russia's Mir orbital station with supplies for its crew lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome Sunday and headed for a docking today, as NASA crews moved the first U.S. element for Mir's replacement to its Florida launch pad.
Congress this fiscal year is providing funding to the U.S. Air Force for work on two low-cost launch vehicle concepts, after supporting for several years the development of Microcosm's Scorpius launcher. Microcosm, of Torrance, Calif., received $5 million this fiscal year which should lead to a launch demonstration of the Scorpius. Congress also added $5 million for a second system, the Excalibur rocket being designed by Truax Engineering Inc. of San Marcos, Calif.
Analysis&Technology Inc. (A&T), North Stonington, Conn., won a contract from the U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport (NUWC) for in-service engineering support of submarine periscope and electromagnetic (low frequency communications) systems. If all options are exercised during a five-year period, the contract could be worth $46.9 million.
October 23, 1998 United Technologies Corp., West Palm Beach, Fla., is being awarded an $88,832,569 face value increase to a cost-plus-award-fee contract to provide for studies and analyses in support of the Component Improvement Program for the F100-PW-100 engine on the F-15 and F-16 aircraft. The work will be completed December 1999. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-97/C-0017, P00008).
SIGNAL TECHNOLOGY CORP., Danvers, Mass., signed a two-year, $13.5 million strategic agreement with Raytheon Systems Co. to make electronic components for Raytheon's AMRAAM, Standard Missile, Phalanx and Patriot programs.
COLTEC INDUSTRIES INC., Charlotte, N.C., will expand the stock buyback program it began in June from $50 million to $100 million. About 2.1 million shares valued at $36 million have been repurchased by the company already.
Getting enough lift is the main limiting factor in being able to fight two near-simultaneous wars in Korea and the Middle East, says Adm. Joseph Prueher, commander in chief of Pacific forces. "The risk is acceptable now," he says, but "we would like to have more." Sea and airlift are both priority needs, although additional sealift demands may be slightly more urgent right now, he says.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY has established a second commercial space center at its Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), this time to help industry develop advanced space technology using the facilities of the planned International Space Station. Using seed money of about $4 million from NASA's Johnson Space Center, the "Commercial Center for Engineering" will seek industry funding and expertise to develop, test and validate advanced technology for communications and remote sensing satellites.
U.S. forces operating in the Pacific theater will have to work out with host nations how to handle frequency interoperability problems. Prueher says that has been manageable with South Korea so far and training hasn't been affected. However, the issue will have to be resolved to avoid future problems, he indicates.
Lockheed Martin hopes to sign a couple of research and development contracts soon to refine its Silent Sentry passive air surveillance system that could lead to a more robust packaging of the hardware.
The Navy is inching forward with plans to deploy a theater ballistic missile capability following successful testing of a mission optimized Aegis weapon system. Sea trials of the Linebacker capability were conducted late in September aboard the USS Lake Erie and USS Port Royal.The system will fire the Standard Missile 2 Block IVa to intercept ballistic missiles. This fall, at-sea TBM target tracking tests will take place. In 2000 the Linebacker missile will be delivered and start testing.
LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY has set up a new "Center for Space Science and Exploration" to broaden its work in the field of space research. The Dept. of Energy facility, operated by the University of California, already has about $9 million in annual funding from NASA, and plans to add another $5 million of its own funds to apply the unique capabilities it has developed in the U.S. nuclear weapons program to space.
DECRANE AIRCRAFT HOLDINGS INC., El Segundo, Calif., signed a definitive agreement to acquire San Antonio-based MSA Aircraft Interior Products Inc., a designer and provider of cabin interior products. The deal is structured as an all-cash transaction, with funding to be provided from internal cash flow and borrowings under the company's new credit facility. Other terms were not disclosed. MSA will operate as a separate subsidiary, and Mike Spraggins, president and founder, will continue to lead the operation.
Look for the FAA to publish its plans for controlling commercial space launches and reentries early next year. Experts in the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation have been working with the conventional air traffic control community to produce concepts for a "seamless integration" of exotic space launchers and commercial jetliners by 2005. A first draft reached Administrator Jane Garvey Sept. 30.
