NASA's proposed Mars '03 lander would be just that and nothing more -- a lift to the planet's surface for the 150-kilogram Athena-class rover that would do all the work. While based on the Mars Pathfinder, which had a relay station, camera, weather station and other instruments aboard, the '03 lander's job is over once its parachutes and airbags land the rover. The rover itself would have a direct X-band link to Earth and carry all of the mission's cameras and instruments.
Russia's Mir orbital station missed its date with the Pacific last month, and the privately funded MirCorp venture continues to work on keeping Earth's only inhabited space station running.
The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command will use the Tactical High Energy Laser in an attempt to shoot down a Katyshusa rocket in flight today at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., according to a spokesperson for the program. "We will be lasing and killing a Katyshusa rocket in the first in-flight single rocket shoot-down test" the spokesperson told The DAILY. If the attempt is unsuccessful, another test is scheduled for Thursday.
RAYTHEON CO. has won a $26 million delivery order from the U.S. Air Force for production of the first 11 AN/GPN-30 terminal area air traffic control radar systems, also known as ASR-11. The order, from the AF's Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom AFB, Mass., includes two systems for the Air Force and nine for the U.S. Navy, Raytheon said. Deliveries, it said, will start in October.
Inaugural launch of Lockheed Martin's new Russian-powered Atlas IIIA rocket was scrubbed again Wednesday evening, losing its place on the crowded Eastern Test Range to the Space Shuttle Atlantis that is set to lift off for the International Space Station at 6:12 a.m. EDT today.
The House Intelligence Committee expressed concern about the Administration's strategy on TPED - the tasking, processing, exploitation and dissemination of satellite imagery.
European nations are decidedly displeased with the U.S. plan to build a National Missile Defense (NMD) system, and the stage may be set for confrontation between the U.S. and its NATO partners when allied foreign ministers meet next week in Florence, according to an Anglo-American think tank.
COMSAT Mobile Communications (CMC) and ARINC Inc. signed deals to expand satellite communication services on aircraft. "ARINC and COMSAT have worked together for more than 10 years, providing high quality and reliable voice and data communications to the aeronautical industry," said Kathryn Y. Holman, VP and general manager of CMC, Bethesda, Md. "These agreements combine two globally recognized leaders of aeronautical communications with complementary expertise."
Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter team recently used an encrypted video teleconference for the first time to link geographically dispersed members, according to the company.
With Vladimir Putin's election as the new Russian president, a shakeup is underway in control of Russia's arms export organizations, according to analysts close to the new government.
GENERAL AVIATION Manufacturers Association President Ed Bolen urged Congress to continue NASA's involvement in general aviation research. Bolen told the House subcommittee on aviation Monday that "we must continually invest in breakthrough technologies" if the U.S. is to remain the "undisputed world leader in general aviation manufacturing and keep the high-skill jobs that come with that title." GA companies now spend as much as 20% of their sales revenue on research and development," he said.
Ships participating in Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) 00-2, currently underway off the U.S. East Coast, are taking advantage of new systems and capabilities in final preparation for a deployment in June to the Mediterranean and Arabian Gulf for six months. U.S. Navy crews are completing their training, but without live-fire exercises at the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. This, said Rear Adm. Gary Roughhead, commander of the George Washington carrier battle group, "has not allowed us to practice in a fully-ready way."
The House yesterday soundly defeated a proposal to cut spending in the $309.9 billion fiscal year 2001 defense authorization bill. Meanwhile, the Clinton Administration released a statement saying it has "serious budget concerns and a number of policy concerns" about the bill. The Administration said it was still reviewing the amendments to the bill "and may have serious concerns with a number of them."
Frustrated House lawmakers want to move management authority for the Airborne Laser program from the U.S. Air Force to the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, and USAF brass are appealing to the Senate not to let the transfer happen. The House proposal is drawing fire from several parties, both in the service and on Capitol Hill.
A failure review oversight board has confirmed that a ground software glitch caused the March 12 failure of a Sea Launch Zenit rocket, and is preparing is final report on how to catch all software errors before future missions.
The Senate Appropriations Committee late yesterday approved a $287.4 billion fiscal year 2001 defense appropriations bill with an accompanying report that says the panel sees "no justification" for changing the acquisition strategy for the Joint Strike Fighter.
Some 69% of the members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, and 60% of avionics shop owners, believe that GPS moving map displays and other advanced avionics are contributing to the loss of basic navigation skills. AOPA President Phil Boyer, speaking at the Aircraft Electronics Association convention in Reno, said the "new gee-whiz avionics on the exhibit hall floor at this convention are just the tip of the iceberg.
The Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee yesterday approved a $287.4 billion defense appropriations bill for fiscal year 2001, more than $1 billion less than its House counterpart approved May 11 but about $3 billion more than President Clinton's request. A copy of the legislation was not released, but Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) said the Senate bill would fully fund the president's request for the F-22 and the F/A-18E/F. The president requested almost $4 billion for the F-22 and $2.9 billion for the F/A-18E/F.
A "permeable reactive barrier" installed at a U.S. Navy weapons plant in Texas has shown "exceptional results" blocking the flow of perchlorate from solid-fuel weapons production into ground water, according to the Navy's environmental contractor at the site. The demonstration barrier consisted of trenches around the contamination source that were backfilled with a mixture of gravel and carbon sources such as compost, vegetable oil and cotton seed needed to generate the anaerobic conditions required to break down the perchlorate.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has activated an Internet-based visual collaboration system designed to help its engineers design and build scientific satellites by allowing real-time interactive conferences to review designs in two and three dimensions. Engineering Animation Inc. (EAI) of Ames, Iowa, a developer of Internet-enabled visual process management, collaboration and communications products for manufacturing, supplied the secure e-Vis.com site at JPL's Mission Systems Design Center (MSDC).
As talks get underway to finalize the unique leasing arrangement that will put four Boeing C-17 airlifters on Royal Air Force ramps by the middle of next year, top C-17 executives think the deal could open the door for the first time to setting up leases for the U.S. military. Moreover, if the deal succeeds, it could set a precedent for leases to support U.S. military hardware exports -- a move that could widen the world market for the C-17.
Engineers at NASA's Stennis Space Center shut down a hot-fire test of the Rocketdyne XRS-2200 linear aerospike engine 35 seconds on Friday when a critical seal began to erode, but not before the engine ran for a record 290 seconds. Inspections after the test revealed no other damage to the engine or related hardware. NASA Stennis said the flexible seal that began to fail was designed to prevent hot exhaust gas from circulating into the engine cavity.
Despite a 9.1% year-over-year increase in sales for the first quarter of 2000, from $13.5 million to $14.8 million, LMI Aerospace Inc. posted a net loss of $181,000 or $0.02 per diluted share for the period. LMI recorded net income of $815,000, of $0.10 a share in the first quarter of 1999.
