INMARSAT has launched its Swift64 service, which gives aircraft passengers the ability to access the Internet while flying. The satellite communications service is now available to the corporate jet market and is expected to be available to the commercial airline market by the fourth quarter of this year, according to Inmarsat. The company said Swift64 uses existing aircraft antennas and satellite communications avionics for its service.
Raytheon will provide four Radar Enhancement Phase III kits and four Classification, Discrimination and Identification Phase 3 kits to upgrade Patriot radars, the company announced April 10. The REP III improvements double the average power of the Patriot radar, and the CDI-3 kits add a wideband capability to the radar for generating and processing high-range and medium-range resolution waveforms for target discrimination, according to the company.
Raytheon will provide four Radar Enhancement Phase III kits and four Classification, Discrimination and Identification Phase 3 kits to upgrade Patriot radars, the company announced April 10. The REP III improvements double the average power of the Patriot radar, and the CDI-3 kits add a wideband capability to the radar for generating and processing high-range and medium-range resolution waveforms for target discrimination, according to the company.
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) will begin initial development of the Army's precision-guided 105mm Mid-Range Munition (MRM) under a $5 million contract, the company announced April 11. The contract is for the first phase of a 15-month program that will conclude with firing demonstrations, ATK said. MRM is designed to defeat main battle tanks that are equipped with reactive armor and active protection systems, and is among the first in a line of precision munitions being developed for the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems, the company said.
Faced with an increasing number of space programs that are over budget and behind schedule, a top Air Force official said "total systems" contracts would no longer be used for large space acquisition programs.
Fiber Innovations of Walpole, Mass., which has been contracted to build the airframe for Lockheed Martin's Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, will keep unit costs down by using advanced composite construction. The company is one of the few makers of lightweight composite parts and assemblies in the United States that incorporate three manufacturing techniques under one roof: braiding, resin-transfer molding (RTM) and vacuum-assisted transfer molding (VaRTM), a company spokesman said.
European nations may be unable to take advantage of an offset arrangement if they agree to buy American military transport aircraft, according to an industry analyst. Richard Aboulafia, senior aircraft analyst with the Teal Group in Fairfax, Va., said the European countries "have not had a history of coordination" in developing a military transport aircraft of their own.
SPECTRUM ASTRO of Gilbert, Ariz., said tests have shown that its spacecraft subsystems are performing well on a recently launched satellite. The Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) was launched in February and has been transmitting solar observation data to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Spectrum Astro built the spacecraft bus and seven major subsystems, including RHESSI's solar arrays, thermal control, attitude control and telecommunications.
European nations may be unable to take advantage of an offset arrangement if they agree to buy American military transport aircraft, according to an industry analyst. Richard Aboulafia, senior aircraft analyst with the Teal Group in Fairfax, Va., said the European countries "have not had a history of coordination" in developing a military transport aircraft of their own.
NASA's history of the Soviet human space flight program has received the Emme Award for Astronautical Literature from the American Astronautical Society. The Emme, named for the first NASA historian, Eugene Emme, is an annual prize created to recognize books that increase public understanding of astronautics. The latest winner is the 2000 book "Challenge to Apollo: The Soviet Race to the Moon, 1945-1974," written by Asif A. Siddiqi, a NASA contract historian.
The Defense Science Board (DSB) plans to examine whether recent technological advances and the demise of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty would allow the Defense Department to pursue additional techniques for shooting down enemy missiles, according to board chairman William Schneider.
The first prototype Dragonfly unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which could become the first rotorcraft to intentionally stop its rotor in flight, is on track to have its maiden flight at Yuma Proving Ground in late summer. Designated X-50A, this unique hybrid (see photo) has an unusually wide rotor that can be slowed down and stopped, allowing it to fly as a fixed-wing jet aircraft (DAILY, June 27, 2001).
The Defense Science Board (DSB) plans to examine whether recent technological advances and the demise of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty would allow the Defense Department to pursue additional techniques for shooting down enemy missiles, according to board chairman William Schneider.
Arianespace is proposing to make its Ariane 5 launcher a prime backup for Japan's unproven H-IIA rocket, a company spokeswoman confirmed to Aerospace Daily affiliate AviationNow.com April 11. Arianespace CEO Jean-Marie Luton visited Japan this week to discuss the deal with government officials, said Arianespace spokeswoman Suzy Chambers. An agreement would allow Japan to transfer payloads to the Ariane 5 if the H-IIA is unable to launch, she said.
MORE INFO: The Department of Justice has requested additional information from Northrop Grumman Corp. about its plans to acquire TRW Inc. Company officials said they would comply with the request. After submitting the information, Northrop must wait 30 days before recommencing its offer to exchange its stock for all outstanding shares of TRW stock.
BOEING SPACE AND COMMUNICATIONS of Seal Beach, Calif., will ship its Galaxy IIIC satellite to the Sea Launch company's homeport in Long Beach, Calif., to prepare for its launch late May. Galaxy IIIC, which the company built for PanAmSat Corp., will be launched from Sea Launch's Odyssey Launch Platform, a floating platform located on the equator. The satellite will operate dual frequencies and includes 24 C-band transponders and 53 Ku-band transponders.
Arianespace is proposing to make its Ariane 5 launcher a prime backup for Japan's unproven H-IIA rocket, a company spokeswoman confirmed to Aerospace Daily affiliate AviationNow.com April 11. Arianespace CEO Jean-Marie Luton visited Japan this week to discuss the deal with government officials, said Arianespace spokeswoman Suzy Chambers. An agreement would allow Japan to transfer payloads to the Ariane 5 if the H-IIA is unable to launch, she said.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said April 11 that his agency and the Department of Defense plan to collaborate on nuclear propulsion. He also said he has met with Air Force officials to discuss cooperation on reusable launch vehicles, and that resumes are being sifted for a new program executive officer for the International Space Station. O'Keefe said at a conference here that he has been talking with Ronald Sega, the director of defense research and engineering, about nuclear propulsion.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Faced with an increasing number of space programs that are over budget and behind schedule, a top Air Force official said "total systems" contracts would no longer be used for large space acquisition programs.
BOEING ROCKETDYNE engines built for the space shuttle performed "flawlessly" during the recent launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis (DAILY, April 9), according to NASA. Atlantis was the first shuttle to fly equipped with three Block II enhanced main engines, which incorporate an improved high-pressure fuel turbopump. Pratt&Whitney of West Palm Beach, Fla., developed the new turbopump. A single Block II main engine flew on a shuttle in July 2001, and again in December.
ASIA SATELLITE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CO. LTD. of Hong Kong and UAE Radio&Television, Dubai, have signed a long-term agreement for use of a 36 MHz C-band transponder on the AsiaSat2 satellite for transmission of three Arabic television channels and two radio channels.
The first prototype Dragonfly unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which could become the first rotorcraft to intentionally stop its rotor in flight, is on track to have its maiden flight at Yuma Proving Ground in late summer. Designated X-50A, this unique hybrid (see photo) has an unusually wide rotor that can be slowed down and stopped, allowing it to fly as a fixed-wing jet aircraft (DAILY, June 27, 2001).
Fiber Innovations of Walpole, Mass., which has been contracted to build the airframe for Lockheed Martin's Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, will keep unit costs down by using advanced composite construction. The company is one of the few makers of lightweight composite parts and assemblies in the United States that incorporate three manufacturing techniques under one roof: braiding, resin-transfer molding (RTM) and vacuum-assisted transfer molding (VaRTM), a company spokesman said.
WARNING SYSTEM TESTS: BAE Systems' Common Missile Warning System (CMWS) recently underwent a series of "live fire" tests and indicated it can successfully help defend tactical fighters against infrared missile threats, the company said. The system detects the signature of a missile launch, warns the aircrew and cues countermeasures to defeat the threat. It was tested aboard a U.S. Air Force QF-4 drone in flights at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., March 11-13.
