CRASH REPORT: NASA's X-43A hypersonic vehicle crashed June 2, 2001, due to several cases of analytical modeling mistakes, especially on the fin actuation system, aerodynamics and modeling parameters, a NASA mishap investigation board disclosed July 23.
In financial results announced July 22, Orbital Sciences Corporation posted a net loss of $4.6 million in the second quarter of 2003, although total revenues for the company are up compared with the same period last year. In a statement, Orbital Chairman and CEO David W. Thompson pointed to "disappointing" results from the company's non-core electronic systems business, which offset "solid growth" in the company's core launch vehicle and satellite businesses.
Despite having "turned the corner" in recent months on avionics instability issues, the F/A-22 Raptor testing program has a new challenge, U.S. Air Force officials said July 23. At least five aircraft are needed to start the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) period, but an unexpected, two-fold jump in required modifications has forced the Air Force to postpone that phase by three months, said Brig. Gen. Mark A. Welsh, director of Global Power Programs.
The Navy is exploring several ship design concepts that would more efficiently deliver and deploy equipment and unmanned vehicles, according to a Navy officer with the Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC). The search for new concepts is being driven by the need to respond quickly to situations with surface ships that provide multiple new technologies, said Capt. Steven Petri, commander of the Carderock Division.
The secretary of defense should direct the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program Office to ensure that international supplier planning takes full account of the possible risks associated with technology transfer out of the U.S., the General Accounting Office (GAO) said in a July 21 report. A large number of export authorizations must be processed in order to ensure that prospective suppliers from the eight international JSF partner countries have the opportunity to compete for key contracts and subcontracts on schedule, the report says.
Honeywell International and Dynamics Research Corp. have begun negotiations on contracts for the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program, according to company officials The Army's lead systems integrator (LSI) team of Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) and the Boeing Co. selected Honeywell on July 10 to develop an integrated software program that collects, analyzes and transmits battlefield data on individual combat vehicles and soldiers (DAILY, July 11).
The U.S. Air Force has picked Textron Systems to develop autonomous ground sensors to provide data on mobile enemy vehicles and other targets. The Wilmington, Mass., unit of Textron Inc. was chosen to develop the Advanced Remote Ground Unattended Sensor (ARGUS) system for the Air Force and the Advanced Air-Delivered Sensor (AADS) system for the Marine Corps, according to Capt. Winston Campbell, who manages the program at the Air Force's Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom AFB, Mass.
The first acquisition program to participate in a strengthened Joint Staff oversight process called the Joint Capabilities and Integration Development System (JCIDS) fell behind by five months, and more programs could face similar snags during a transition period, a senior defense official said July 22. JCIDS scraps the Requirements Generation System, which was considered too service-specific. The new procedures are designed to identify capabilities needed as new weapons and operational concepts are proposed.
LONDON - The Eurofighter Typhoon has successfully completed air refueling trials while bearing a full load of air defense weapons, manufacturer EADS CASA said July 22. The European Aeronautic and Defense Co. unit said its DA.1 development Eurofighter Typhoon flew the missions. The trials were undertaken for the first time with one of the three hose- and drogue-equipped Boeing 707 tanker/transport aircraft of the Spanish air force. They followed similar initial trials last year with a Spanish Lockheed KC-130H Hercules.
ELECTRONICS SALE: The Boeing Co. said July 22 it plans to sell its commercial airline electronics business. The business, located Irving, Texas, and Puget Sound, Wash., supplies avionics equipment and flight controls for all Boeing wide-body and narrow-body jets except the 717.
National defense and homeland security requirements in the wake of Sept. 11 are helping shape the government's interagency effort to increase the capacity of America's air traffic management (ATM) system, according to various participants.
The House Appropriations Committee late July 21 approved the fiscal 2004 NASA appropriations bill, clearing the way for the full House to consider the legislation as early as the end of the week. Separately, the Republican majority on the House Science Committee July 22 blocked a Democratic proposal that would have required NASA to solicit concepts for increasing the crew survivability of the space shuttle.
A dispute over a congressional proposal to increase restrictions on the Pentagon's use of foreign sources likely will be resolved "to the satisfaction" of industry leaders and others who have resisted such legislation, Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) said July 22.
Nine months after publicly demonstrating its military capabilities, the Australian Defense Force is deploying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the first time on an operational mission. Four Aerosonde UAVs, originally designed as a lightweight weather observer with a 9-foot wingspan, will participate in a stabilization effort in the Solomon Islands. "This is the first deployment of an unmanned aerial vehicle on operations by the Australian Defence Force," Defense Minister Robert Hill said in a statement.
PRAGUE - The Czech Republic will continue most of its commitments to NATO despite the government's announcement of new, sweeping cuts in its military forces, defense officials said. The military, which already was facing substantial decreases in personnel and equipment under military reform proposals, has been told that the cuts will be "faster and deeper" than originally planned following new national finance reforms. Those reforms will trim the annual military budget from 2.2 percent of GDP to about 2 percent.
PRAGUE -- A former Czech defense minister who once criticized state-run Aero Vodochody's L-159 advanced light combat plane is being put forward for a place on the board of the company, which is the Czech Republic's leading aircraft manufacturer.
A July 21 panel of space industry experts agreed that NASA's Orbital Space Plane (OSP) must be capable of evolving beyond only serving the needs of the International Space Station (ISS) if it is to be a worthwhile and sustainable investment. The OSP is intended to provide crew return from the ISS as early as 2008, and crew transfer up to orbit shortly thereafter. NASA has offered an OSP cost estimate of $2.4 billion for FY '03 to FY '07, although the agency has said that number is a placeholder and will be revised as development progresses.
The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has awarded a $288 million contract modification to the National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) to design and build a fourth ship in the Dry Cargo/Ammunition Ship (T-AKE) class. NASSCO is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics Corp. Work will be performed at NASSCO's facility in San Diego and is expected to be completed by December 2006. The award is an option on a $709 million contract awarded to NASSCO in October 2001 for the design and construction of the first two ships in the class.
A bipartisan group of representatives introduced a bill last week in the House designed to improve federal oversight of private contractors convicted of violating federal contract regulations. The bill, called the Contractor Accountability Act of 2003, calls for the creation of a central database of legal actions taken by the government against federal contractors "to provide debarring officials with the information they need to protect the business interests of the United States," according to a joint statement released by the representatives.
Metal Storm Inc. wants to show officials in the U.S. its ability to fire ammunition at a rate of one million rounds per minute. The Arlington, Va., company will license the "electronic ballistic" technology to allow such a feat from its Australian sister, Metal Storm Ltd., and plans to conduct a U.S. demonstration this year, according to G. Russell Zink, senior vice president for business development.
The General Accounting Office (GAO) is recommending that the defense secretary direct the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program office to ensure that international supplier planning takes full account of the possible risks of transferring technology out of the United States. A large number of export authorizations must be processed to ensure that prospective suppliers from the eight international JSF partner countries have the opportunity to compete for key contracts and subcontracts on schedule, the GAO said in a report released July 21.
