+++ New crew on the ISS +++ First A400M wings delivered to Spain +++ Fraport Consortium wins Antalya bid +++ Osprey to make combat debut in Iraq +++ News in brief +++
New crew on the ISS
Neue Besatzung für die Raumstation
Two Expedition 15 cosmonauts and a spaceflight participant aboard a Soyuz spacecraft docked with the Earth-facing port on the International Space Station's Zarya module at 2:10 p.m. CDT on April 9. After the hatch opened, Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov, and Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi, a U.S. businessman, were greeted by the station's current crew, Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Suni Williams.
Williams, who has served as an Expedition 14 crew member since December, will remain on the station providing Expedition 15 with an experienced flight engineer for the early part of its mission. She is scheduled to return home aboard space shuttle Endeavour this summer.
Simonyi, flying under contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency, will return to Earth on April 20 with Lopez-Alegria and Tyurin, who have been aboard the station since September 2006.
The new astronauts launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:31 p.m. CDT on April 7. Less than 10 minutes after launch their Soyuz TMA-10 reached orbit and its antennas and solar arrays deployed.
Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite
First A400M wings delivered to Spain
Flügel für A400M in Sevilla
April 11 marked another key milestone in the A400M military transport aircraft programme, with Airbus delivering the first pair of A400M wings from the UK to Seville, Spain, where aircraft final assembly is taking place. As the wings left Airbus's Filton, Bristol site today on an Airbus A300-600ST super transporter aircraft - known as the 'Beluga' - Charles Paterson, Head of the A400M Wing Team said: “This is a major milestone for the A400M programme and marks the combined efforts of the trans-national A400M wing team over the last four years. The team has done an excellent job to produce this component to such a high standard and on time.
The first set of wingsto be delivered is destined for the A400M static test aircraft. On arrival in Seville, at EADS CASA, the wings will be joined to the 'centre wingbox' which arrived from Airbus in France on 28th March. When joined, as a single complete structure with a total span of 42.4 metres, the wing will be transported by road to Getafe in Madrid, where it will be fitted to the A400M static test fuselage in preparation for testing.
Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite
Fraport Consortium wins Antalya bid
Antalya wird von Fraport gemanaged
A Fraport-led consortium won the international bidding procedure for operating all of the passenger terminals at Antalya Airport (AYT) in Turkey. Effective mid-September 2007, Fraport and IC Holding of Turkey will operate the domestic terminal as well as the first international terminal, which is currently managed by Fraport. Then, in September 2009, the consortium will take over operations of AYT's second international terminal currently run by IC. The concession for operating all three terminals runs until the year 2024.
The new operating company has agreed to make a total concession payment of about EUR2.37 billion, of which three percent is due upon signing the contract. Following the take-over of terminal operations, the remaining sum will be paid by the operating company in instalments over the duration of the contract up to the year 2024.
An established Turkish construction company, IC has become a leading real estate developer in recent years. In addition to owning AYT's Terminal 2, IC runs numerous hotels in Antalya and recently won a concession for harbour development in Istanbul.
Welcoming some 14.8 million passengers in 2006, Antalya Airport is the most important tourist gateway to the Turkish Riviera. Since the inauguration of Fraport's so-called BOT Project (Build, Operate, Transfer) at AYT in 1998, passenger traffic has soared by 130 percent - or more than 12 percent per year.
Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite
Osprey to make combat debut in Iraq
V-22 soll im September in den Einsatz
Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway announced at the Pentagon that the MV-22 Osprey aircraft will make its combat debut in Iraq this September, when Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, with 10 Ospreys and 171 personnel, deploys to Al Asad Air Base. “This deployment directly supports our Corps' number one priority, the Marines and sailors in contact at the tip of the spear,” Conway said. “This is a great day for our Corps and for my aviation folks in particular.”
“The mission is medium-lift assault support,” Rock said. “We carry combat troops, supplies and equipment across the spectrum of expeditionary operations. “It's not an F-18 Hornet or an 88 Harrier,” he said. “We're not looking to put bombs on people's heads, we're going to put the most lethal thing the Marine Corps has -- the individual rifleman -- on the deck.” Rock told reporters the Corps has a three-phase, 18-month logistical program in place to train pilots and aircrews on the new craft. The first of the six-month phases includes “qualifications training flights,” followed by a half-year of “maturation training.”
During the final pre-deployment phase, Marine aviators undergo Operation Desert Talon training in Yuma, Ariz. -- a location selected for its desert climate and conditions, Rock said.
Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite
NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN
The US Air Force received proposals for the KC-X tanker replacement by April 12, which begins the Air Force's formal proposal evaluation process. The Air Force expects to award a contract later this year. The KC-X tanker replacement source selection began on Jan. 30 with the release of the Request for Proposal. The RFP "laid the groundwork for a fair and open competition that will assure a thorough evaluation of all proposals we receive," said Ms. Sue Payton, Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisition. "The picture for replacing our Eisenhower-era tanker fleet is becoming clearer," Ms. Payton said. "We are now one step closer to a new tanker, our number one acquisition priority, and that's good news for the Air Force and our Joint and coalition partners." Federal acquisition regulations limit information exchanges or discussions with potential offerors solely to the Procuring Contracting Officer inside the formal source selection process. These regulations also prohibit the Air Force from disclosing the number or identity of offerors, or discussing source selection progress. Contacts concerning the KC-X program by participating offerors are no longer permitted outside the formal source selection process.
+++
The first nEUROn wind tunnel testing carried out by Saab is currently in progress. The testing involves high speed testing up to the speed of sound. A nEUROn model has been installed on a 1:16 scale in the wind tunnel belonging to the Forces Research Institute (FOI:s) in Stockholm. The first nEUROn wind tunnel test carried out by Saab took place last week. The model is tested in the same conditions as the real aircraft will later be subject to. During the testing, pressure is pumped into the wind tunnel. The tests are carried out in order to verify that the aircraft can be controlled and steered inside the entire flight envelope. It is also about fulfilling the aircraft's requirements with regards to air resistance and maximum air power at higher speeds. Wind tunnel test campaigns of the feasibility phase aim at defining external and internal shapes of the nEUROn project, in order to reach the best compromise between aerodynamic behaviour in the whole flight domain engine functioning and stealthiness. Complementary to the Stockholm FOI testings, different compaigns have been done since two years : Preliminary test in June 2005; two low speed tests at Emmen in Switzerland in 2006 in partnership with RUAG Aerospace; three air in take tests in 2006 and 2007 at S2 ONERA Modane in France; one low speed test in March 2007 at F1 ONERA Fauga in France. With the positive results gained all along these different tests, nEUROn shapes are validated and almost frozen.
+++
CAE has signed agreements with Ryanair and Interglobe Aviation Limited (IndiGo) to train a total of 1,490 pilots over the next four years for potential hire by the airlines. At list prices, these contracts represent approximately $30 million in training services. Under the terms of the Ryanair contract, CAE will source, recruit and train 1,200 suitable candidates. Students, ranging from newly trained cadets up to seasoned captains, will be type-rated by CAE in preparation for line training on Boeing 737-800 procedures, as observed by Ryanair. “Ryanair, Europe's No. 1 low fares airline, is expanding its relationship with CAE,” said David O'Brien, Director of Flight and Ground Operations at Ryanair. “Ryanair has recruited more than 350 type-rated pilots from CAE training courses in the last three years. I am confident in CAE's ability to meet the challenge of filling part of Ryanair's future flight crew training requirements.” CAE will provide 290 first officer and captain candidates for Indigo's A320 fleet. “We have complete confidence in CAE's ability not only to train our future pilots, but also to support us with the work involved in sourcing and screening candidates,” said Steve Harfst, IndiGo's Chief Operating Officer. “Having a global network of training facilities is a great advantage. CAE makes training very accessible and more affordable for candidates. Factors like these confirm our confidence in CAE's ability to provide the best pilots for our operation.”
+++
NASA has signed a $719 million modification to the current International Space Station contract with Russia's Federal Space Agency in Moscow for crew and cargo services through 2011. The firm-fixed price extension covers crew rotations for 15 crew members, six in 2009, six in 2010 and three in 2011, delivery and the removal of 5.6 metric tons of cargo. U.S. Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) are still planned to provide the bulk of cargo transportation needs from 2010 and beyond to the space station. With the modification, NASA also is purchasing the capability for the Russian Docking Cargo Module (DCM) to carry 1.4 metric tons of NASA cargo to the space station. That module is scheduled to fly in 2010. By adding the module, NASA will be able to fly outfitting hardware for the Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module on the DCM, eliminating the need to fly a cargo carrier and some ballast on a shuttle flight. NASA is obligated to deliver the Russian outfitting hardware to the station under a 2006 addendum to the ISS Balance of Contributions Agreement between NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency. In addition, NASA is purchasing a flight opportunity to and from the space station that will meet an obligation to the International Partners. The flight will allow for an astronaut from the partners to spend approximately six months aboard the space station. That flight is planned for 2009.
+++
A Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS) made by Vision Systems International, LLC (VSI) recently flew for the first time on an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. It was worn by Lockheed Martin's Jon Beesley, who piloted the advanced fighter. The HMDS provides critical flight information to the pilot throughout the entire mission. In addition to standard HMD capabilities, such as extreme off-axis targeting and cueing offered on VSI's other HMDs, Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) and Display & Sight Helmet (DASH), this system fully utilizes the advanced avionics architecture of the F-35. The HMDS provides the pilot video with imagery in day or night conditions combined with precision symbology to give the pilot unprecedented situational awareness and tactical capability. Also, by virtue of precise head tracking capability and low latency graphics processing, it provides the pilot with a virtual heads-up display (HUD). As a result, the F-35 is the first tactical fighter jet in 50 years to fly without a HUD.
+++
Northrop Grumman achieved another milestone when it successfully completed three significant fuselage and empennage strength tests of the RQ-4 Block 20 Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance system. The tests, conducted at subcontractor Innovative Engineering Solutions' facility in Murrieta, Calif., surpassed the U.S. Air Force's stringent strength and safety requirements. "The completion of these static fuselage tests marks the Global Hawk team's continued validation of the air vehicle's robust design and structural integrity," said Jerry Madigan, Northrop Grumman vice president of high altitude long endurance systems. "Northrop Grumman has been consistently able to meet desired safety specifications through its advanced design and manufacturing techniques. This effort proves that Global Hawk is the safest, most reliable unmanned air vehicle in the skies today." During the first test, the Block 20 fuselage successfully reached a 150 percent bending design limit load for the maximum 40-foot per second up gust requirement. This and the subsequent tests exceeded the Air Force's 125 percent requirement by approximately 20 percent.
+++
Boeing and the U.S. Army have signed a $276.4 million contact for 18 new AH-64D Apache Longbow multi-role combat helicopters. The contract raises to 45 the number of new-build Apache Longbows on order with the U.S. Army. The U.S. Army also recently contracted for the remanufacture of 96 AH-64A Apaches into AH-64Ds. Boeing will begin delivery of these new-build helicopters in mid-2009 at its manufacturing facility in Mesa, Ariz., where Apaches have been built since the program's inception. The new U.S. Army Apache Longbow aircraft, to be built in the Block II configuration, are in addition to the 501 remanufactured AH-64D Apache Longbows built between 1997 and 2006 under two five-year, multi-year contracts.
+++
The Xian Aircraft Company (XAC), a manufacturer of large and medium-sized airplanes in China, has selected Rockwell Collins to upgrade its MA60 aircraft with Pro Line 21 avionics. "This agreement expands our presence in China and is the result of our longstanding and close working relationship with XAC," said Denny Helgeson, Vice President and General Manager of business and regional systems for Rockwell Collins. "We are pleased and honored to be part of the growing aviation industry in China." XAC Vice President Chen Fusheng noted: "XAC looks to Rockwell Collins as a long time and strategic partner of our company. This upgrade agreement will improve the reliability and strengthen the market position of the MA60."
+++
The U.S. Federal Aviation Authority has certified the Sikorsky S-76C++ helicopter for operation in falling and blowing snow. The FAA test requires that the aircraft spend 20 minutes on the ground with the rotor turning during blustery snowfall, five minutes in low altitude hover in a recirculating snow cloud and one hour of level flight. A flight test team from Sikorsky's West Palm Beach, Fla. and Stratford, Conn. facilities conducted tests in January in Marquette, Mich. to collect data supporting the certification. “The S-76 helicopter team significantly exceeded the FAA test requirements and demonstrated that the barrier filter design can operate safely in severe snow conditions,” said Eric Hansen, S-76 Program manager. “The S-76 C++ has been performing well for our customers and this new expansion of the aircraft's envelope means it has even greater capabilities.”
+++
The RUAG technology group is to acquire TSA Transairco SA, a subsidiary of Pilatus Aircraft Ltd that is based at Geneva International Airport, with retroactive effect as of 1 January 2007. The acquisition marks the further strengthening of RUAG's business jet maintenance network. RUAG Aerospace's Aircraft Services business unit offers a comprehensive range of maintenance, modernization and special outfitting services for business jets at its locations in Zurich, Berne-Belp, Lugano-Agno (all in Switzerland), Oberpfaffenhofen and Stuttgart (both in Germany). The Oberpfaffenhofen site near Munich has been successfully servicing Cessna Citation business jets for many years and is the biggest service centre for this type of aircraft outside the United States.
+++
Lufthansa Technik, the world's leading provider for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of airplanes, components and engines, has decided to set up a new facility in India to support the growing aviation sector. The new facility will be located at Shamshabad, Andhra Pradesh, the site of the upcoming Rajiv Gandhi Hyderabad International Airport. As the first international MRO provider to set up an Indian base, Lufthansa Technik has chosen to team up with the GMR Group, one of India's leading infrastructure developers and the concessionaire of the airports at Hyderabad and Delhi. Lufthansa Technik will be the majority stakeholder in the company holding more than 75% of its equity share capital. The facility will provide base maintenance services (including C- and D-checks) for Airbus A320 family and Boeing 737 aircraft - including 737 Classic and 737 NG (Next Generation). The facility is expected to commence operations at the end of 2008 with two parallel lines to serve the maintenance requirements of the rapidly growing narrowbody fleet of Indian carriers. Investment in the two-bay hangar and its state-of-the-art workshops will exceed Rs 100 crore (20 million USD) in the initial phase – the construction of the 20,000 square meters facility shall begin in summer 2007.
+++
NASA is targeting June 8 as the next possible launch opportunity for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-117 mission to the International Space Station. The decision by agency management followed a meeting that reviewed the progress in repairing insulating foam on the shuttle's external fuel tank, which was damaged during a sudden hail storm Feb. 26 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. That damage required engineers to repair approximately 2,660 sites on the tank. The meeting also included an assessment of using the repaired external tank for the STS-117 mission versus swapping to one that arrived last week from the manufacturing plant in New Orleans. Managers decided to finish repairs to Atlantis' current tank and use it for STS-117. The tank that arrived Friday will be prepared for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-118 mission to the space station and now is targeted for launch in August. "The workforce has done an amazing job of assessing and repairing the tank so far, but the sheer volume of repairs dictates moving the launch target to June," said Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale.
+++
Eos Airlines will expand its schedule to three flights on peak travel days starting April 15th. A total of 32 flights per week will now be available between the two cities. The additional third flight departing New York's John F. Kennedy Airport will be available on Sundays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10:55 pm, with an additional third flight from London Stansted Airport available on Sundays, Mondays, and Fridays at 1:00 pm. "We've added our third flights when and where our guests demand them. They've asked for options that complement their busy work and personal lifestyles," said Jack Williams, Chief Executive Officer at Eos Airlines. "Our focus is to make the Eos experience a seamless and stress-free extension of their day, with none of the issues that are commonly associated with getting through the airport or on an airplane." As a continuing indicator of the airline's growth and performance, March passenger revenues increased 26% over February to a new all-time high.
+++
One year has passed since 11 April 2006, when Venus Express, Europe's first mission to Venus and the only spacecraft now in orbit around the planet, reached its destination. Since then, this advanced probe, born to explore one of the most mysterious planetary bodies in the Solar System, has been revealing planetary details never caught before. Intensively visited by several Russian and American probes from the 60s to the early 90s, Venus has always represented a puzzling target for scientists worldwide to observe. Venus Express, designed and built in record time by ESA, was conceived with the purpose of studying Venus - unvisited since 1994 - in the most comprehensive and systematic way ever, to provide a long-due tribute to a planet so interesting, yet cryptic. Using state-of-the-art instrumentation, Venus Express is approaching the study of Venus on a global scale. The space probe is collecting information about Venus' noxious and restless atmosphere (including its clouds and high-speed winds, as seen from this video obtained with the VMC camera on board) and its interaction with the solar wind and the interplanetary environment. Last but not least, it is looking for signs of surface activity, such as active volcanism. “During one year of observations, we have already collected huge amount of data, which is exactly what we need to decode the secrets of an atmosphere as complex as that of Venus,” said Håkan Svedhem, Venus Express Project Scientist at ESA. “Analysing it is an extreme effort for all science teams, but it is definitively paying back in terms of results.” The first ever, terrific global views of the double-eyed vortex at Venus' south pole, the first sets of 3D data about the structure and the dynamics of the sulphuric-acid clouds surrounding the planet in a thick curtain, temperature maps of the surface and the atmosphere at different altitudes, are only a few of the results obtained so far.
+++
CAE has added three new flight training organizations to its CAE Global Academy bringing the number of schools in its network to six and increasing the supply of pilots that will graduate and be licensed annually from over 600 to over 1,000. The three new flight training organizations (FTO) are SAA Flight Training, based in San Diego, California, U.S. (part of Scandinavian Aviation Academy, of the Volito Group); Hub'Air, based in Brussels, Belgium with training facilities in France; and Moncton Flight College, based in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. The CAE Global Academy is a worldwide network of flight training organizations. It offers pilot candidates an optimized program with standard operating procedures, to ensure their development into highly qualified pilots with the potential to be recruited as first officers on a commercial aircraft.
+++
Patrick Gavin has been appointed Executive Vice President Engineering of Airbus, effective 16th April, in replacement of Alain Garcia, who will become Technical Advisor to the CEO prior to retiring at the end of June. As such Mr Gavin is a member of the Airbus Executive Committee. Simultaneously, Charles Champion becomes Executive Vice President Customer Services, taking over from Mr Gavin.
+++
Munich Airport is still soaring, setting yet another record with more than 7.2 million passengers in the first quarter of this year - a figure that matches the entire traffic volume for all of 1984! The number of arriving and departing passengers handled in the first quarter of the current operating year at Munich Airport was up 12 percent on the same period a year earlier. This first-quarter growth rate was the best posted by the airport in the past eight years and was the second-highest since the airport opened, bested only by the first quarter of 1999.
+++
Boeing flew the second C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) aircraft for the first time March 25, logging another milestone in the most comprehensive C-130 avionics modification ever conducted. The C-130 AMP aircraft, H2.5, successfully completed its maiden flight from Lackland Air Force Base (AFB) in San Antonio, Texas. Boeing test pilot Mike Leone and U.S. Air Force pilot Maj. Adam Faulkner conducted the 1.3-hour flight.
+++
Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams hailed the Sikorsky System Integration Center as a welcome addition to Texas industry as he presided over the formal opening of the new design engineering facility. “The Fort Worth System Integration Center is an important component of Sikorsky's overall strategic growth plan,” said Jeffrey Pino, Sikorsky president. “Today, Sikorsky Aircraft proudly joins the rich and pre-eminent aerospace tradition here in Fort Worth. This culture of aviation excellence will help us to deliver both immediate and long-lasting contributions to some of Sikorsky's and the aerospace industry's most exciting development programs.”
+++
NASA and NOAA announced a plan to restore a key ozone layer climate sensor to the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) program. The Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) Limb will be returned to NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite set to launch in 2009. The NPOESS partners will give conditional authority to Northrop Grumman Space Technology, Redondo Beach, Calif. to proceed with restoration of the instrument. The effort will be contingent on successful negotiations between the company and the government on the full cost of the effort. Northrop Grumman Space Technology is the mission prime contractor.
+++
BAE Systems has received a $26.5 million contract to convert 20 F-4 Phantom fighter jets to full-scale aerial targets for the U.S. Air Force. The converted aircraft, designated QF-4s, provide the Air Force with full-size, remotely controlled aircraft that allow aircrews to train in highly realistic air combat maneuvering, including live weapons launch. BAE Systems will perform the modification work on 16 aircraft for the Air Force and four aircraft for the Navy at its facility in Mojave, California. Production will be completed by July 2009.
+++
The Eurofighter consortium, established by Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems, EADS-Germany and EADS-CASA for the production of the Eurofighter Typhoon, and NETMA, the intergovernmental agency that manages the programme on behalf of the partner countries (Italy, Germany, United Kingdom and Spain), have signed a contract of about EUR 343 millions for the logistic support for the Typhoons in service with the four partner countries' Air Forces. Alenia Aeronautica's share has a value of about EUR 58 millions. The contract covers the January 2007 – December 2008 period and envisages the supply to the four nations of a full aspect logistic support for all the avionic equipments and part of the mechanical equipment of the Tranche 1 Eurofighters. The programme includes also the management of the service in the five bases where currently the aircraft are operational, and of an ADP (Automatic Data Processing) and a logistic systems, which will permit the Air Forces to reach the requested performance parameters. The signature of this contract represents an important target to assure the operational capability of the new aircraft and it involves, in addition to the four leading national companies, also about 50 first-level companies (among which worth mentioning for the Finmeccanica Group, Galileo Avionica, Selex Communication, Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems Ltd., Elettronica) and around 150 suppliers.
+++
On Thursday, 5 April 2007 Dirgantara Indonesia has successfully delivered two units of NBO-105 helicopter and a unit of NC-212 aircraft to Indonesian Army at Dirgantara Aircraft Hangar, Bandung, West Java. It is a contract order of 18 September 2006. By finishing the order within a short time means that Dirgantara shows its seriousness to be one of the national weapon and armament suppliers. The signing of the delivery by Director of Technology, Mochamad Mochajan, and Indonesian Army Logistic Assistance, Major General Kardiyono, marks the event.
+++
International Launch Services (ILS) successfully placed the Anik F3 satellite into orbit opn 10 April with a Russian Khrunichev-built Proton Breeze M rocket. The vehicle lifted off from Pad 39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 4:54 a.m. local time (6:54 p.m. Monday EDT, 22:54 Monday GMT). The three-stage Proton vehicle climbed through the atmosphere for nearly 10 minutes before sending the Breeze M upper stage and its satellite payload on to continue the 9-hour-11-minute mission. The Anik F3 satellite, built for Telesat Canada by EADS Astrium, separated from the Breeze M at 2:05 p.m. local time (4:05 a.m. today EDT, 08:05 today GMT). This was the fourth ILS Proton launch for Telesat, which launched its Anik F1R satellite in 2005, as well as Nimiq 1 in 1999 and Nimiq 2 in 2002 on Proton. The Anik F3 satellite uses an Astrium Eurostar 3000 bus, and is the sixth of this model to be launched by Proton. The Nimiq 4 spacecraft also is a Eurostar 3000. ILS also has launched two Eurostar 2000 models.
+++
N3 Engine Overhaul Services, the engine overhaul facility jointly founded by Lufthansa Technik and Rolls-Royce in Arnstadt, Thuringia, has received its approval to operate as an EASA Part 145 engine maintenance facility for Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engines from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This means that the company will be able to provide technical maintenance and repair services for engines of this type in its 25,000 sqm workshop with immediate effect. Approval for work on other types in the Trent family of engines and for Europe's largest engine test stand in Arnstadt is expected in the summer. “We are right on schedule at N3 Engine Overhaul Services in every respect,” said N3 Director and General Manager Wolfgang Kühnhold, expressing his satisfaction with the progress to date. The company, whose foundation stone was laid by Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel in May 2006, will have sufficient capacity to handle up to 200 large engines per year and its workforce is planned to rise to 500. The operation, which currently employs almost 250 staff and trainees, is scheduled to open in September.
+++
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) achieved a sales turnover of Rs 7,505 crores ($1.75 billion), recording a growth of 41% over the previous year. The Company, which declared its Financial Year results for 2006-07, saw its profits (PBT) soaring to Rs 1,600 crores, a jump of 42% over the last year. The Value of Production has also gone up by 37% at Rs. 8,100 crores. The exports registered a growth of 34% at Rs 250 crores while export orders worth Rs 500 crore were secured. HAL has paid the highest-ever Interim Dividend of Rs 237.95 crores for the year 2006-'07, which is around 197% of the Paid-up Share Capital of the Company. HAL's enhanced financial achievement is mainly attributed to the successful execution of programmes including the SU-30 MKI, DO-228, ALH and Jaguar. This apart, a series of aircraft upgrade programmes contributed to HAL's growth. During this year, the project for the design and development of light combat helicopter (LCH) was finalized, apart from additional orders for aircraft and helicopters resulting in an all-time high order book position of over Rs 40,000 crores.
+++
After studying Mars four times as long as originally planned, NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter appears to have succumbed to battery failure caused by a complex sequence of events involving the onboard computer memory and ground commands. The causes were released today in a preliminary report by an internal review board. The board was formed to look more in-depth into why NASA's Mars Global Surveyor went silent in November 2006 and recommend any processes or procedures that could increase safety for other spacecraft. Mars Global Surveyor last communicated with Earth on Nov. 2, 2006. Within 11 hours, depleted batteries likely left the spacecraft unable to control its orientation. "The loss of the spacecraft was the result of a series of events linked to a computer error made five months before the likely battery failure," said board Chairperson Dolly Perkins, deputy director-technical of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. On Nov. 2, after the spacecraft was ordered to perform a routine adjustment of its solar panels, the spacecraft reported a series of alarms, but indicated that it had stabilized. That was its final transmission. Subsequently, the spacecraft reoriented to an angle that exposed one of two batteries carried on the spacecraft to direct sunlight. This caused the battery to overheat and ultimately led to the depletion of both batteries. Incorrect antenna pointing prevented the orbiter from telling controllers its status, and its programmed safety response did not include making sure the spacecraft orientation was thermally safe. The board also concluded that the Mars Global Surveyor team followed existing procedures, but that procedures were insufficient to catch the errors that occurred. The board is finalizing recommendations to apply to other missions, such as conducting more thorough reviews of all non-routine changes to stored data before they are uploaded and to evaluate spacecraft contingency modes for risks of overheating.
+++
Boeing submitted its final cost volume bid to NASA for production of the Ares I crew launch vehicle upper stage. The Boeing-led team provided a tailored proposal designed to meet or exceed NASA requirements by leveraging best-of-industry suppliers, including several with advanced technology development contracts on critical Ares I systems. Boeing's team of suppliers include Hamilton Sundstrand, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp, Moog, Northrop Grumman, Orion Propulsion, SUMMA Technology Inc., United Space Alliance and the United Launch Alliance.
+++
Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite
 8 April 2007
1 April 2007
25 March 2007
18 March 2007
11 March 2007
25 February 2007
18 February 2007
11 February 2007
4 February 2007
28 January 2007
21 January 2007
14 January 2007
7 January 2007
24 December 2006
17 December 2006
10 December 2006
3 December 2006
26 November 2006
19 November 2006
12 November 2006
5 November 2006
29 October 2006
22 October 2006
15 October 2006
8 October 2006
1 October 2006
January - September 2006
January - December 2005
January - December 2004
January - December 2003
January - December 2002
January - December 2001
January to December 2000
January to December 1999
January to December 1998
January to December 1997
September to December 1996
|
