Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.), a member of the House Science space subcommittee, has asked the House Appropriations Committee's VA-HUD-NASA subcommittee to provide $122 million in its fiscal 2003 spending bill to reverse the Bush Administration's cancellation of the Pluto-Kuiper Belt (PKB) mission, according to a Bartlett spokeswoman.
A squadron of E-2C Hawkeye early warning aircraft will be the first Navy planes to be fitted with the new Cooperative Engagement Capability, or CEC, when the unit deploys later this year with the Nimitz carrier battle group, the Navy said.
Launching two satellites on one rocket is among the strategies the Air Force is considering for reducing the cost of maintaining the Global Positioning System (GPS) when GPS III satellites begin entering the constellation at the end of the decade. Although the new spacecraft will have to be specifically designed for dual launching, "our calculation is that it is possible," GPS Joint Program Office Director Col. Doug Loverro told The DAILY.
The Bush Administration has submitted a fiscal 2003 budget amendment to Congress to shift $475.6 million from the Army's recently canceled Crusader artillery system to several other Army programs, including the Future Combat System (FCS), the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and the Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV). The amendment would reallocate $310 million to speed up the FCS-Indirect Fires program, including $57 million to develop a precision attack missile.
The House Science Committee has approved a bill that would increase spending at the National Science Foundation by 15 percent a year for the next three years, putting the NSF on track to double its budget in five years.
The European Space Agency plans to adopt a revised space science program that scraps a Venus orbiter but adds a new program to search for extrasolar planets. ESA was forced to revamp its program after its space science budget was reduced, and said it will use consolidated engineering teams and technology where possible to reduce costs. ESA said the revised plan also accepts more risk, so if the programs encounter technical or launch problems, they may not be quick to recover.
FiatAvio, of Turin, Italy, has joined the GE/Rolls-Royce team building the JSF-F136 engine for the Joint Strike Fighter, GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) announced May 30. FiatAvio also participates in the design, development and manufacturing of the JSF-F136 accessory gearbox under a separate agreement with Rolls-Royce. The JSF-F136 team also includes Philips ETG of the Netherlands, which leads a consortium of Dutch, Norwegian and Danish companies that build propulsion components.
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plan to launch a Lockheed Martin-built environmental satellite June 24, the agencies announced May 30. NOAA-M will be launched at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., at 11:22 a.m. local time (2:22 p.m. EDT) using a Lockheed Martin Titan II rocket that is being converted from an intercontinental ballistic missile to a space launch vehicle. The satellite will be renamed NOAA-17 after it achieves orbit.
Lockheed Martin announced May 30 it is selling its 81 percent majority stake in COMSAT International, the company's latest move to exit the global telecommunications market. Company officials said in a statement that the shares would be sold to World Data Consortium LLC. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Lockheed Martin officials said the transaction would not affect the company's earnings.
Raytheon Co. is working under a new Air Force contract that, with options, would call for it to build as many as 5,000 additional Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile Missiles (AMRAAMs) for some $2 billion by 2010. The company already has produced more than 11,000 AMRAAMs for U.S. and international customers. Production began in the mid-1980s.
LANGLEY, Va. - The Air Force likely will not meet the Spring 2003 deadline it has set to begin initial operational testing of the F-22 Raptor, according to the program director. Speaking at Langley Air Force Base here May 30, Brig. Gen. William Jabour, the director of the F-22 System Program Office, told reporters that the schedule for dedicated initial operational testing and evaluation (IOT&E) probably will slip. "Our current schedule has that in April of '03," he said. "It's unlikely we'll make that date."
GENEVA - Acquisitions and partnerships involving Allison, BMW and Williams have proved fruitful for Rolls-Royce, which now commands nearly a one-third share of the $2.5 billion business aircraft engine market.
GENEVA - The battle of the bandwidth for high speed Internet access is being fought for the first time in public here at EBACE. EMS Technologies, Honeywell and Rockwell Collins are showing brand new black boxes that for the first time allow true inflight Internet capability. Each is based on Inmarsat's Swift64 service, offering plug-and-play inflight web surfing of at least 64 Kbps (kilobytes per second) compared with today's snail's pace 2.4 Kbps.
NASA is planning to build a "world-class" center dedicated to exploring commercial applications for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with high-resolution imaging sensors, the agency announced May 29. NASA officials and representatives from Clark University of Worcester, Mass., and the Girvan Institute have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a "UAV Applications Center" within NASA Research Park at Moffett Field, Calif. The park itself is scheduled for completion some time in the next decade.
F-16 WORK: DRS Technologies Inc. of Parsippany, N.J., will produce high-speed digital imaging systems for use on international F-16 combat aircraft under a $2.4 million contract from aircraft maker Lockheed Martin Corp., the company announced May 30. It also will develop a ground-based infrared imaging system, to support the image capture of munitions at firing ranges, under a $1.6 million contract from the Naval Air Warfare Center's Aircraft Division at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
Concerns about high debt levels prompted aerospace and defense analysts with Fitch Ratings to change the ratings outlook for United Defense Industries (UDI) from positive to stable. The company's "BB" credit rating remains unchanged. Company on CreditWatch The move follows the company's announced plans to acquire U.S. Marine Repair (USMR), a large naval repair and maintenance business based in Norfolk, Va., for $316 million.
ABL MODS: Boeing has completed major modifications of the first 747-400 aircraft for the Airborne Laser missile defense program, the company said May 30. The aircraft is ready for ground and flight tests this summer, and later will be outfitted with its tracking and high-energy laser system, Boeing said.
Failure of one of two PAC-3 missiles to launch marred a May 30 test of the anti-missile system at Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. A pair of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles were to be ripple-fired in a simulated tactical engagement of a target made up of two Minuteman motors and a re-entry vehicle. "While the [first] PAC-3 intercepted the target, not all test objectives were met," the Army said. "The second PAC-3 missile failed to launch. Analysis of why the second missile failed to launch is ongoing."
The Aerospace Industries Association faces an uphill battle to derail a congressional proposal that would shift weapon systems work from the private sector to the federal government, an AIA official said May 29.
PRAGUE - The Czech government decided May 29 to postpone signing a contract for the purchase of 24 Jas-39 Gripen fighters until the end of September. The decision came two days before the country's senate was to debate the issue.
BALL CORP., Broomfield, Colo. David L. Taylor has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Ball Aerospace & Technologies, effective June 1. BOEING CO., Seattle, Wash. Kevin Brown has been named vice president of Air Traffic management programs. EVANS & SUTHERLAND, Salt Lake City, Utah David J. Coghlan, chief executive of Quadrant Group Limited, has been elected to the board of directors.
DRS Technologies announced May 28 it has signed an agreement with Eaton Corp. to acquire its Navy Controls Division for $92.2 million in cash. The acquisition, said DRS Chairman, President and CEO Mark Newman, will enable DRS to capitalize on the Navy's shift to electric-drive propulsion, a prominent feature of the Navy's DD(X) next-generation destroyer.
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is developing non-metallic structure and engine flow technologies for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in an effort to stay ahead of technology requirements for unmanned systems well into the next century. David Lanman, focus area lead for UAV technology at AFRL, works with the Air Vehicles Directorate and other organizations within the lab to roadmap technologies that will be needed for unmanned systems both in the short term and as far out as 2050.
NEW DELHI - Visiting United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Jack Straw reassured Indian defense authorities that there is no move underway to cancel the U.K.'s proposed sale of 66 Hawk 100 Advanced Jet Trainers to India, or impose an arms embargo on New Delhi in the wake of increased tensions with Pakistan.
