NASA's 2001 MARS ODYSSEY has provided mission managers with its first image of Mars, a thermal infrared image of the Martian southern hemisphere. The image, taken as part of the calibration process for the thermal emission imaging system, captures the polar carbon dioxide ice cap at a temperature of about -184 degrees Fahrenheit, according to NASA. "This spectacular first image of Mars from [the spacecraft] is just a hint of what's to come," said Ed Weiler, NASA's associate administrator for space science.
Congressional leaders are considering providing The Boeing Co. with lawsuit protection similar to what the federal government gave U.S. airlines to help them cope with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center, sources told The DAILY Oct. 31. A congressional source said that House Republican leaders are seriously discussing the idea, though it is unclear whether they will act on the issue or what form such legislation would take.
The Bush Administration's aggressive support of space-based defense represents a "huge opportunity" for the aerospace industry to advance technology and capitalize on the new infrastructure that a robust military space program will require, according to former U.S. Rep. Robert Walker (R-Pa.), chairman of the new aerospace commission.
Raytheon Co. will develop and produce the U.S. Army's Airborne Command and Control System (A2C2S) under a $110 million contract that covers development, low-rate initial production and the first full year of production, according to the company. The A2C2S will equip Army UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters with an equipment package that enables commanders to maintain uninterrupted command and control while moving through the battlespace at speeds up to 300 kilometers per hour, according to Raytheon.
MACDONALD, DETTWILER AND ASSOCIATES LTD. (MDA) of Richmond, British Columbia, has been appointed the sole Canadian reseller of worldwide data from the QuickBird satellite, launched by DigitalGlobe of Colorado (DAILY, Oct. 19). The three-year agreement also includes distribution rights in the United States. The imagery will be used for detailed mapping and resource management, urban planning, telecommunications and agriculture. RADARSAT International (RSI), a member of MDA's Information Products Group, negotiated the distribution arrangement with DigitalGlobe.
Saab Ericsson Space of Stockholm, Sweden, will not complete its planned acquisition of Fokker Space BV of Leiden, the Netherlands, the company announced Oct. 30. "We have not been given satisfactory guarantees, which means that we cannot enter a joint ownership," said Bengt Mortberg, president and CEO of Saab Ericsson Space. "Although we have had positive expectations for a long time, it has not been possible to arrive at a common solution."
The Space-Based Laser Integrated Flight Experiment (SBL-IFX) will be "effectively eliminated" if a House-approved funding cut for the program becomes law, according to the Defense Department. The House-passed version of the fiscal 2002 defense authorization bill would cut the Bush Administration's budget request for the SBL-IFX program by $148 million, leaving $22 million. The Senate bill reduces the $170 million request by only $28 million. A House-Senate conference committee is trying to work out differences between the two bills.
MICROSEMI CORP. of Irvine, Calif., has been awarded a patent for its concept for bypassing faulty battery cells in military and aerospace equipment such as satellites. The concept could replace bulky mechanical relays for that purpose, according to the company. A version of the patented concept, which uses semiconductors to short out and bypass faulty batteries, is currently used on a Boeing-built satellite for the Thuraya communications system.
HONEYWELL's single-channel SCS-1000 Mini-M satellite communications system has been licensed by the Federal Communications Commission for operation in the United States. The system provides a link for business jets and regional airlines that can be used for personal or business communication by passengers and flight crews. "It helps aircraft operators save money because this single system can be used in the United States, on oceanic routes and on flights in other countries," said Marc McGowan, Honeywell's product director for long-range communication.
NASA should completely privatize the space shuttle and avoid the temptation to fix the International Space Station's $5 billion budget overrun by raiding the Space Launch Initiative account, outgoing aerospace agency administrator Daniel Goldin said Oct. 30. "That shuttle will be completely privatized," Goldin predicted at the International Space Symposium 2001 in Washington, one of his last public appearances before he leaves his post Nov. 17.
With a flat satellite launch market predicted for the foreseeable future, multinational launch providers are attempting to create growth by diversifying their capabilities across multiple vehicles and launch sites. Following the collapse of the low-earth orbit satellite market, the economic downturn in 2001 - along with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - has further curtailed the launch business, forcing providers to come up with creative solutions for assuring reliability to wary customers.
URS CORP. of San Francisco will design and build a 75,000-square-foot corrosion control facility for Hill Air Force Base in Utah, which will include a two-bay hangar for work on C-130 Hercules aircraft and smaller military aircraft. The $23.7 million contract has options that could boost its value to $32.7 million, according to the company.
ASTROTECH SPACE OPERATIONS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Spacehab Inc., has completed its new $30 million Spacecraft Processing Facility expansion in Titusville, Fla., and has dedicated the building to the late Capt. Chester Lee, U.S. Navy (ret.), a former president of Spacehab and chairman of Astrotech's board of directors. The new facility will accommodate both four-meter and five-meter class satellites with weights of 10,000 pounds or more and payload fairings up to 75 feet long.
A homeland defense directorate within the U.S. Joint Forces Command has been working with the National Guard, the Coast Guard, reserve units and other military commands to coordinate the defense of federal installations and ports against terrorist attacks, according to Army Gen. William Kernan, the joint forces' commander-in-chief. "I think we have postured ourselves to be as responsive as we can be," Kernan told defense reporters Oct. 30.
In an Oct. 29 DAILY story on rocket-based combined-cycle propulsion work at NASA, Uwe Hueter's first name was misspelled. Aerospace Daily regrets the error.
Several units of Lockheed Martin Corp. will benefit from the Pentagon's decision to pick the company and its teammates, BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman, over Boeing Co. as winner of the Joint Strike Fighter program.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) vowed Oct. 30 to block any legislative attempts by Missouri's congressional delegation to give a share of the Joint Strike Fighter work to The Boeing Co.'s St. Louis-based military division.
LOCKHEED MARTIN's Atlas V rocket team has performed the first "booster on stand" operation with the first Atlas V flight vehicle, designated AV-001, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The operation involved assembling the rocket's booster stage, Centaur upper stage and connecting segments in the new vertical integration facility at Launch Complex 41. The Atlas V team has also completed heavy-lift certification of the Russian-built RD-180 engine, which also powers the Atlas III.
MOOG INC. of East Aurora, N.Y., has acquired the assets of the satellite and space vehicle product lines of Tecstar Inc.'s Electro Systems Division (ESD). ESD, based in Durham, N.C., builds electromechanical equipment for aircraft and spacecraft. The company has strong customer relationships with Honeywell, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital Sciences and Kodak, and its product line is close to that of Moog's Chatsworth, Calif., operations, according to Moog, which builds precision control components and systems.
TRW Inc. will provide test, evaluation and analysis support for the Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) under a two-year, $86 million contract, the company announced Oct. 30. The JITC is a command of the Defense Information Systems Agency that evaluates information systems, with a focus on interoperability testing and certification. It seeks to identify and solve deficiencies in the military's command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems (C4ISR).
ENGINE WORK: Hainan Airlines of China has ordered three Pratt&Whitney PW4056 engines to power its first three Boeing 767-300s, which begin operations next year. The airline also contracted with Pratt&Whitney for engine support, the Connecticut-based company said.
The Department of Defense is accelerating a number of programs being pursued as Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrations, focusing particularly on those that seek to destroy hardened and buried targets, according to Judith A. Daly, the assistant deputy undersecretary of defense for precision engagement. Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrations (ACTDs) provide funding to maturing technology to transition it from the laboratory to military users.
Members of Missouri's congressional delegation say they will push to ensure that The Boeing Co.'s St. Louis-based military division receives a significant share of the Joint Strike Fighter work even though Lockheed Martin Corp. won what the Pentagon has called a winner-take-all contract. Although some analysts have described the effort as an uphill battle, the lawmakers argued that they have a strong case for Boeing's involvement.
SPAR AEROSPACE LTD. will supply, install and integrate a commercial Global Positioning System in 32 CC-130 Hercules aircraft for the Canadian Department of National Defence. The contract is worth $3.8 million. The GPS system to be installed is FAA approved, allowing the navigation of commercial airways, according to Spar. Work will be done over the next 16 months at Spar's facility in Edmonton, Alberta.
