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UPDATE 
Week ending September 28, 1997
+++ 100th Ariane launch succeeds +++ NASA boss decides to send Wolf to Mir +++ Airbus finally clinches Northwest order +++ British Airways: plans for a new low-cost-airline +++ Bright year for European aerospace expected +++ New head for Air France +++ Ariane 5 launch rescheduled +++ British Aerospace sees integrated European aerospace company +++ DGLR congress to look at "European cooperation and integration" +++ Dassault studies SST biz-jet +++ News in Brief +++

100th Ariane launch succeeds
Ariane bringt Intelsat 803 ins All

On September 23 at 20.58 local time, the 100th Ariane launcher lifted off from the Europe Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, carrying Intelsat 803 into orbit. It was the eighth successful launch this year, this time using an Ariane 42L model with two liquid propellant boosters (the 71st out of 96 Ariane 4 ordered). Arianespace hailed the success as a "stimulus for future development". It "provides further encouragement for a united, ambitious Europe to maintain its space transportation capabilities for customers worldwide".
Intelsat is one of the most loyal Arianespace customers, and the 803 is the third satellite launched for the international organization this year. It was built by Lockheed Martin Telecommunications in East Windsor, New Jersey. The Intelsat 8-series features a number of innovations, including two stearable C-band spot beams, interconnection between C- and Ku-bands, satellite newsgathering services and compatibility with satellites form the Intelsat VII and VII-A series. Positioned at 338,5 degrees East over the Atlantic Ocean, it will provide services for Africa, Europe and North and South America.

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NASA boss decides to send Wolf to Mir
Shuttle bringt neuen US-Astronauten zur Mir-Station

On September 27 at around 10 pm European time, NASAs Shuttle Atlantis docked with the Russian Mir station to bring much needed supplies and a new US astronaut for a long duration stay. This came after heated debate in the US over the continuation of cooperation with the Russians. NASA Administrator finally heeded engineering reports over political pressure, accepting the recommendations of two safety reports about Mir, which found no significant problems on the troubled Russian outpost.
During a press briefing Thursday, Goldin said: "It's the right thing to do. Americans press forward. We overcome the unexpected. We discover the unknown. That's been our history and that's been America's destiny." Said Goldin: "My only concern is the safety of the U.S. astronauts and the productivity of the mission."

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Airbus clinches Northwest order
Großauftrag von Northwest für Airbus A319

After the announcement at the Paris air show in June, Airbus has now finally secured signature of a big order from Northwest airlines, strengthening its position on the US market. Northwest ordered 53 A319s and took options on another 100 aircraft. Although no value was given officially, it should be worth more than two billion US-Dollars. Northwest is the third largest Airbus customer behind ILFC and Lufthansa.
While the Northwest deal is now secure, Airbus still awaits confirmation from US Airways concerning a possible order for several hundred aircraft. This contract, which apparently expires on September 30, depends on the airline reaching agreement on cost cutting with its staff.

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British Airways: plans for a new low-cost-airline
British Airways bastelt an einer neuen Low-cost-Airline

According to reports in the press, British Airways is going to launch a new low-cost-no-frills airline in the UK. The move is regarded as a reaction to carriers like Ryanair and easyjet that have been able to gain substantial market shares. The new BA carrier is expected to operate a fleet of eight Boeing 737s. After introduction in the UK, which is believed to start in spring next year, the "BA light" is expected to start services to German destinations as well.

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Bright year for European aerospace expected
AECMA sieht gute Perspektiven für Europas Luftfahrtindustrie

AECMA (The European Association of Aerospace Industries) has for the first time published a complete set of statistics covering the shape of the industry for 1996. At the presentation in Brussels, the main points raised by Sir Reichard Evans, AECMA were:
  • Turnover for 1996 has increased 12 per cent to 44 billion ECU, ending a downward trend over five years. The increase is mainly attributable to higher civil aircraft sales, while military business overall has remained stable. Reductions in domestic military sales were compensated by recovery of defence exports.
  • Employment since 1990 has shown a progessive reeduction to about 340000 employees in 1996, mainly due to rationalisation. This rationalisation will continue and will reduce emplyoment in spite of growth of production output. This will further impove productivity. Seen on a national basis, France leads with 99900 jobs, followed by the UK (92800), Germany (63700) and Italy (30600).
  • The relative contribution of civil business to total turnover is seen as continuously increasing, initially from about one-third to now approaching 60 per cent, following the end of the cold war.
  • The high-tech character of the industry is proven by teh high qualification of its workforce. Almost 25 per cent have an academic or engineering education and about 20 per cent are employed workin on research and development activities. This level of investment in R&D has made the industry a technology driver for many other sectors of the industry. Companies fund almost one-half of all aerospace research and development programmes.
  • Exports make up over half of the turnover of the European aerospace industry, compared with just ove one third for the US industry. It also features a positive trade balacne of five billion ECU. This positive balance is achieved in spite of a nine billion ECU deficit in the trade with the US, which is the consequence of many European Governments buying military equipment in teh US and European airlines buying US aircraft to a higher degree than US airlines buying from Europe.
  • All indications point to a solid two-digit growth for 1997, i.e. noticeably more than last year. Equally, the order intake remains encouraging, especially in the airliner business and its suppliers. Military business levels are expected to remain at least stable, and Ariane has further good order intakes.
  • The long term market forecasts for the industry show growth and positive development, but the civil side in particular will remain cyclical due to economic trends, customer business cycles and product replacemnt cycles. In total, the output of the overall aerospace industries is expected to grow over the next 20 years by a weighted average in the order of two to 3 per cent per annum.
  • This bright picture is somewhat scarred by the environment the European industry has to work in. The 15 EU member states are far from having a joint aerospace industry policy. And they are by no means matching the determination of the US government to support their aerospace industry as being the industrial base for their foreign policy and power projection, as well as being a powerfull motor to drive the overall economic development.
  • Europes industry has to speed up mergers to form units that can take on the US competition. Governments and teh EU have to actively support the merger process and acept interdependence between national industrial bases. As part of this, and to facilitate mergers, the process of privatisation needs to be addressed as consistently and quickly as possible. Airbus Industrie restructuring is pivotal to the overall restructuring process.
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New head for Air France
Chefsessel bei Air France neu besetzt

53-year-old Jean-Cyril Spinetta has been appointed new President for French national carrier Air France. Spinetta is successor to Christian Blanc, who resigned from his post earlier this month after failing to receive agreement from French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin for privatization of Air France. In the beginning of the 90's, the new Air France head used to work as President for French domestic carrier Air Inter. Air Inter merged with Air France. Socialist Spinetta is believed to be "very pragmatic, not an ideologue", sources say.

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Ariane 5 launch rescheduled
Start für Ariane 5 verschoben

The second launch of Ariane 5 has been postponed due to the unexspected length of additional tests. As a consequence of these tests on the launcher's flight characteristics the flight software has to be tested again, which takes about two weeks. Therefore CNES and ESA had interupted the launch sequence on September 26th. A new launch date will not be set before early October, so that the fueling of the rocket could begin around October 7th, seven days before a possible launch then on October 15th.
Simulations in Europe had shown that possible oscillations during the flight could lead to higher oil consumption for the Viking engine actuators. Engineers now want to integrate an additional filter in the electronic section of the main stage. In parallel they check the correctness of the mathematic simulation model for the powered flight of Ariane 5.

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British Aerospace sees integrated European aerospace company
BAe: Europa braucht einen starken Luft- und Raumfahrtkonzern

In the view of British Aerospace Group Managing Director John Weston, Europe in the end needs an integrated operating company which manages all its aerospace and defence assets to face up to thefierce competition from US rivals. This company will be owned by shareholders from all countries, and will retain national identities for a wide range of centres of excellence, Weston says.
It is clear that such a goal cannot be achieved in one bold step, but speed is of the essence as US competitors benefit already from their own restructuring and a defence budget base which is more than two times the European level (270 billion US-Dollars versus 120 billion in UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden, according to BAe). This for example contrasts with just three missile makers in the US versus 10 in Europe.
A crucial first step in the European restructuring should be Airbus Industrie, says Chris Geoghegan, Managing Director of British Aerospace Airbus. With a few to the French situation, where a new aerospace policy is just being formulated, he remarked that it is not possible to move with the slowest. Maybe it would be necessary for the already privatised companies to come closer together at first. Concerning the choice of a new Airbus president, it is clear that he will need to lead a very different company into the future. "It is not sure that we can recruit from the inside", Geoghegan said.

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DGLR congress to look at "European cooperation and integration"
Deutscher Luft- und Raumfahrtkongreß im Oktober in München

The German air- and space congress, organized by the DGLR (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt - Lilienthal-Obert e.V.), will take place in Munich from 14. to 17. October. The theme this year is "Europäische Kooperation und Integration - Bilanz, Perspektiven, Iniativen". Bavarian prime minister Dr. Edmund Stoiber will open the event with a speech, and leading industry figures like Dr. Manfred Bischoff (Dasa chairman), Prof. Dr. Walter Kröll ( DLR), Gerard Blanc (Airbus), and Dr. Ralph-Werner Jaeger (Arianespace) will also present their views.
As ever, many lectures on a wide range of subjects will make up the "core" of the congress, with topics including the International Space Station and adaptive wings. A complete schedule should be available at http://www.dlr.de/dglr/.

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Dassault studies SST biz-jet
Studien für Überschall-Geschäftsreisjet von Dassault

At the NBAA show in Dallas, Dassault surprised visitors with the announcement that the company had decided to explore seriously the idea of a supersonic Falcon business jet. "The time is right to talk about a Falcon SST," the company said. "So-called 'global' twins do not provide a satisfactory answer. What counts is to reduce the time spent traveling, such as by flying from New York to Tokyo in seven hours. So we believe that supersonic may well be the next logical step. If this proves to be the case, no one is better qualified than Dassault to bring this concept to reality. It could happen in a decade, or even less."
The cost of a Falcon SST is perhaps the biggest question mark in the eyes of Dassault management. Because of its sophistication and nonrecurring design and production costs, a Falcon SST will cost more than today's so-called "global" jets. To finance a Falcon SST, Dassault Aviation is open to innovative concepts in cooperation and partnerships, including teaming with industrial entities, but perhaps even customers as risk-sharing partners. Although a Falcon SST launch decision is probably several years away, Dassault plans to make a progress report at the next biennial Worldwide Falcon Maintenance & Operations Seminar, scheduled for May 18-20, 1998, in Nice, France.

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NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN

After more than two years of working together with Boeing and a number of interested airlines, Fribourg/Switzerland-based Vibro-Meter has successfully completed the certificatin test programme for their latest in a series of generic engine vibration monitoring systemson the 737-600/-700/-800 family. In direct response to the industry-wide concern over the problem of component obsolescence, Vibro-Meter has used Surface Mounted Device technology together with Commercial Off The Sehlf components. The new system has already been ordered by more than a dozen airlines and leasing companies. By design, the system is completely compatible with current 737 models.
+++
Bombardier Aerospace today received certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its new Learjet(R) 45 business jet aircraft on September 22, just prior to the National Business Aviation Association annual meeting in Dallas. As of September 1997, more than 135 Learjet 45 aircraft had been ordered from customers in 17 countries around the world. The backlog includes 25 aircraft purchased through Business JetSolutions, a joint venture company of Bombardier Aerospace and AMR Combs offering fractional ownership through the FlexJet program.
+++
The launch of the Cassini spacecraft aboard a US Air Force Titan IVB has been rescheduled for October 13. The payload, which suffered minor damage on the pad and needed to be removed form the top of the Titan, is now back at Complex 40, NASA said on September 19.
+++
Another NASA launch rescheduling concerns the Lunar Prospector mission, which is now due on November 23. The slip from late September was necessary to allow additional time to complete testing and preparation of the new Lockheed martin LMLV2 launch vehicle.
+++
On October 9, British Airways subsidiary Deutsche BA will stop its services from Berlin-Tegel airport to London-Gatwick. The inaugural flight on that route took place in January 1996 and since then has been operated twice a day. According to a Deutsche-BA-Statement the services were not profitable.
+++
After just a few days in Mars orbit, NASA's Mars Global Surveyor has confirmed the existence of a planet-wide magnetic field. This has important implications for the geological history of Mars and for the possible development and continued existence of life on Mars, NASA said.
+++
The Russian Aero-Space Force successfully launched a Cosmos-3M rocket booster from the Plesetsk space center on September 23. The booster is to put on an orbit a Russian Cosmos military spacecraft and an American FAIsat-2B communications sub-satellite. The FAIsat weighs 114.5 kilos. The cost of the contract is kept secret, but an unofficial source told Itar-Tass it is slightly more than 100,000 dollars.
+++
On September 25, Icelandair has ordered four Boeing 757 twinjets. The order includes two 757-300s -- a stretched version of the popular 757-200 -- and two 757-200s. The airline announced its intention to order the 757s at the Paris Air Show in June. Boeing will deliver Icelandair's first 757 in the first quarter of 1998, with the second following a year later. The two 757-300s are scheduled to be delivered in 2001 and 2002. Estimated value of the four airplanes is 272 million US-Dollars.
+++
At the NBAA show in Dallas, Boeing Business Jets announced it has received five additional airplane orders for the specially configured 737-700, increasing its total orders to 25.
+++
UK low-fare carrier Debonair has now its own Air Operators Certificate. It was handed over to the airline be the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) on September 23. Until now, Debonair had been flying under a British World Airways licence. The new certificate further strengthens Debonairs position. Since its flotation on July, 55 per cent of its capital is in Europan hands. Debonairs routes include Mönchengladbach - Munich four times a day.
+++

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Previous updates are still available:
Die News der letzten Wochen ist nach wie vor abrufbar:

PunktSeptember 21, 1997 PunktSeptember 14, 1997 PunktSeptember 7, 1997

PunktAugust 24, 1997 PunktAugust 10, 1997 PunktAugust 3, 1997

PunktJuly 27, 1997 PunktJuly 13, 1997 PunktJuly 6, 1997

PunktJanuary to June 1997 PunktSeptember to December 1996

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Last updated September 27, 1997
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