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Week ending April 4, 1999
+++ NATO operations over Yugoslavia continue +++ Contract signed for hub construction in Berlin +++ DaimlerChrysler: No European aerospace company in sight +++ Successful first launch of Sea Launch rocket +++ ESA signs Mission to Mars contract +++ Luftwaffe to test AAR-54 on Transalls +++ Arianespace flight 117 marks sixth launch for India +++ RAF Laarbruch close-down +++ Comanche Prototype No. 2 flies +++ OHB-System and SPACEHAB agree on ISS facility +++ News in brief +++
NATO operations over Yugoslavia continue
Anhaltende NATO-Angriffe auf Jugoslawien
While the refugee exodus from Kosovo continues unabated and the humanitarian situation in the province and neighbouring countires gets worse, NATO persevered with its air attacks on the Yogoslav war machine. Due to bad weather, direct ground attack missions on forces in Kosovo were apparently rare, the aircraft and cruise missiles instead targeting supply lines, bridges, depots and for the first time government buildings in central Belgrade as well. Other than the F-117A, no other allied aircraft have been lost so far. Main points of military developments in recent days were:- In the early morning of March 5, the Yugoslav air force headquaret was hit
- On Sunday, British Tornados operated from their Bruggen base over Yugoslavia, thus marking the first NATO attack mission starting on German soil
- On Sunday afternoon, an additional 13 Lockheed F-117A stealth bombers arrived at Spandahlem air base in Germany for operations over the Balkans
- On the easter weekend, humanitarian airlift missions to Albania and Mazedonia got under way, with the Luftwaffe flying Transalls and a 707 on Sunday and promising at least six missions a day.
- 24 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters of US Army Europe were ordered to deploy to Albania, together with 18 MRLS launchers, to enhance ground attack capabilities in the region, as soon as Albania has approved this move
- On April 3, the battle group of aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt arrived in the Mediterranean. It will stay there to support Allied Force instead of going directly to the Gulf
- The B-1B Lancers flew their first bombing mission the night of April 1, striking "fairly lange staging areas" in Kosovo.
- The USAF Predator UAV began surveillance flights on April 1.
Contract signed for hub construction in Berlin
Vertrag für Berliner Großflughafen unterzeichnet
On Wednesday 31 March the Berlin Brandenburg Holdings (BBF) and the "Preferred Bidder", a syndicate consisting of the Hochtief airport GmbH, the Frankfurt Airport AG, ABB and the Berlin Bank AG, signed a contract for the privatisation of the BBF. The consortium pays 635 million DM to take over operations of Tegel, Schönefeld and Tempelhof Airports. At the same time, it is authorised to build a new international airport to serve the Berlin and the Brandenburg area on a private finance initiative basis. The project "Berlin Brandenburg International Airport" (BBI), located on the existing airfield at Schönefeld, one of the three city airports at present, is expected to cost close to five billion DM, plus some more billions for traffic infrastructure (financed by the Government). Pending a successful resolution of the planning process and rebuttal of some juridictial actions, construction will start in 2003. BBI should be ready by 2007 and is expected to handle 17m passengers in its first year, rising to 20m later. After its opening, the other airports of Berlin, Tegel and Tempelhof, will be closed down.Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite
DaimlerChrysler: No European aerospace company in sight
Europäische Restrukturierung wird schwierig
DaimlerChrysler AG has acnowledged that the creation of the European Aerospace and Defence Industry is now "much more difficult" following the deals among key British and French players. But DaimlerChrysler still wants to try to turn Airbus Industrie into an integrated corporation -- a goal DaimlerChrysler and its Airbus partners have worked toward but so far failed to reach as it competes with Boeing Co. "Airbus has to become and will become a single corporate entity," DaimlerChrysler said. "This is absolutely necessary to compete against Boeing in the global market, and this will happen."Meanwhile, Dasa has reported an operating profit of 623 million Euro for 1998, more than double the 284 million euro figure of 1997. Turnover went up to 8,77 billion Euro after 7,816 in 1997, and employment was on the rise also, with 2337 new jobs being created.
Successful first launch of Sea Launch rocket
Erfolgreicher Start für Sea Launch
The Sea Launch rocket successfully completed ist maiden flight today, company officials announced. The event, which placed a demonstration payload into geostationary transfer orbit, marked the first commercial launch from a floating platform at sea. Present at the equatorial launch site at 154 degrees West longitude was the Odyssey, a self-propelled launch platform, and the Sea Launch Commander, a floating mission control center and rocket assembly factory. On board the Odyssey in an environmentally controlled hangar was a 200-foot, flight-ready Sea Launch rocket, complete with demonstration payload. During pre-launch preparations, the Odyssey was partially submerged for added stability. The rocket, with payload, then was withdrawn from its hangar on the platform, lifted into a vertical position, fueled with kerosene and liquid oxygen (LOX), and launched. The fueling and launch was completely automated and cordinated from the Sea Launch Commander -- the Odyssey crew having transferred to the assembly & command ship and, subsequently, moved three miles away to a safe operating locale. Sea Launch uses a uniquely modified Zenit rocket, configured to enhance reliability and meet the program's performance objectives. Sea Launch has firm contracts for 16 launches, and will begin commercial operations later this year.Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite
ESA signs Mission to Mars contract
ESA unterzeichnet Vertrag für Mars-Mission
The European Space Agency (ESA signed a contract with Matra Marconi Space (MMS), that pioneers a more flexible way of building space science missions and is, in this way, the first trial as an element of a new and ambitious implementation concept which is currently under development for the ESA's Scientific Programme. The contract, worth about 60 million Euro, is to design and build the Mars Express spacecraft in time for launch in June 2003. Mars Express will allow European space scientists to investigate whether there is, or ever was, life on the red planet. ESA took the decision in principle to send a mission to Mars shortly after the loss of the Russian spacecraft Mars '96 with several European experiments on board. The Agency wanted to build on the Mars '96 payload experience to design a mission that would put Europe at the leading-edge of Mars exploration. But ESA had to act quickly. Major space missions can take up to 11 years from concept to launch - and there was little more than six years to go before the positioning of the planets in 2003 would offer the shortest travel time to Mars with the highest payload. Mars Express (so called because of the streamlined development time) is the first of a new type of "flexible" missions in ESA's long-term scientific programme, which should be built and launched for about half the previous budget for similar missions. Mars Express is making maximum use of pre-existing technology, which is either "off-the-shelf" or has already been developed for the Rosetta mission (also due for launch in 2003), which will land one small probe on a comet.Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite
Luftwaffe to test AAR-54 on Transalls
Northrop Grumman Rakentenwarnsystem an Transall getestet
Northrop Grumman Corporation's Electronic Sensors and Systems Sector (ES3) has been awarded a contract by the German Ministry of Defense to perform in-flight demonstrations of its AN/AAR-54 (V) passive missile approach warning system (PMAWS) on the German C-160 Transall transport aircraft. Testing is scheduled to begin this spring and will last for several months. Northrop Grumman ES3 will install and supply test performance evaluation data using the production AN/AAR-54(V). The tests will evaluate system performance against diverse operational clutter environments around Europe. The German MOD also is planning to evaluate other missile warning systems during these flights to perform side-by-side comparisons of system capabilities. Results from these trials will be used to select the missile warning system for operational use on the German Air Force C-160 fleet.Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite
Arianespace flight 117 marks sixth launch for India
Indischer Satellit von Ariane gestartet
During the night of April 2 to 3, Arianespace successfully launched the Insat 2E telecommunications and weather satellite for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Liftoff from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana took place on Friday, April 2, 1999 at 7:03 pm local time Following this second successful mission of the year, Arianespace Chairman and CEO Jean-Marie Luton said: "I would like to thank both India and ISRO for their confidence in Arianespace. This sixth launch for India marks one more step in the space partnership between India and Europe, based on the mutual understanding between Arianespace and ISRO."Flight 117 was carried out by an Ariane 42P, the version of the European launcher with two solid-propellant strap-on boosters. It used the 86th out of 116 Ariane 4 launchers ordered to date from the European space industry, and marked the 44th successful launch in a row for Ariane 4. Insat 2E is the sixth Indian satellite to be placed into orbit by the European launcher. Designed and built by ISRO for the Indian government, Insat 2E weighed 2,550 kg (5,610 lb) at liftoff. It is equipped with 17 C-bandtransponders for fixed satellite services (FSS), as well as a very high resolution radiometer and a CCD camera for weather services. Positioned at 83* East, above the Indian Ocean, Insat 2E will provide a complete array of telecommunications and weather services, primarily for India.
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RAF Laarbruch close-down
Abschiedsparade der RAF in Laarbruch
RAF Laarbruch is to close soon, bringing to an end 45 years of use by the Royal Air Force. A parade to mark the event was held on March 31, with a four ship Harrier fly-by and a Harrier demonstration. Laarbruch is home to Numbers 3 and IV Squadron with GR7 aircraft. These squadrons will depart for RAF Cottesmore, their new base in England, by the middle of May. The Station Commander plans to fly out the last Harrier on 14 May. The airfield will cease flying operations on 1 June and be handed back to the German authorities on 31 December. RAF Brüggen will then be the only RAF airfield in Germany left.Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite
Comanche Prototype No. 2 flies
Erstflug für den zweiten Comanche
On March 30, the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche Prototype No. 2 has successfully completed its first flight at the Comanche Team's DevelopmentFlight Center in West Palm Beach (Florida). The flight was the culmination of an exhaustive series of system installations, inspections and tests to move the aircraft safely and efficiently to flight status. After performing several run-ups and ground runs, Prototype No. 2 took to the air at 12:35 p.m. EST, accumulating more than 30 minutes of flight time. The aircraft performed basic maneuvers, forward flight up to 80 knots, and climbed to about 500 feet to evaluate digital flight controls and basic handling qualities compared to Prototype No. 1. Comanche Team test pilot Reggie Murrell and Army chief test pilot CW4 John Armbrust conducted the flight. Armbrust set a personal milestone, becoming the first Army test pilot to have completed a first flight in a prototype aircraft. Prototype No. 2 will continue flight testing in April to evaluate the aircraft's flight control system and to support Milestone II exit criteria. The aircraft will serve primarily as the test platform for the Comanche Mission Equipment Package (MEP), the integrated targeting, communication and navigation system that forms the "brain" of the U.S. Army's 21st century combat and reconnaissance helicopter.
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OHB-System and SPACEHAB agree on ISS facility
Kommerzielle ISS-Nutzung durch OHB und SPACEHAB
On March 31, SPACEHAB and OHB-System GmbH announced the two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly provide commercial life sciences spaceflight services on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS). Under the terms of the agreement, SPACEHAB will work with OHB to establish a biotechnology business enterprise and to operate and upgrade the Commercial Biological Research Unit (CBRU) for use on the Shuttle and ISS beginning in late 2000. Originally developed by OHB-System under contract of the German Space Agency (DLR) and called the Closed Equilibrated Biological Aquatic System (C.E.B.A.S.), CBRU compromises a habitat for aquatic organisms like fish, snails and plants. CBRU is under further development in regard to research with special emphasis on biotechnology and biodiversity control in bioreactor systems. The actual facility enables scientists to conduct various gravity-related experiments in the areas of zoology, botany and developmental biology, as well as in interdisciplinary areas such as scientific research on ecophysiology, bioregenerative life support and artificial ecosystems.The two companies hope to fly CBRU inside the SPACEHAB Research Double Module on a September 2000 Shuttle mission, STS-107. Potential customers have been contacted in Brazil, Germany, Japan, and the United States. STS-107 is the first dedicated research mission scheduled during ISS assembly. Later, the CBRU is intended for use on the space station itself.
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NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN
Coningsby, Leeming and Leuchars will be the first homes of the Eurofighter when it comes into RAF service early in the next century. An operational evaluation unit, an operational conversion unit and two front-line squadrons of the RAF's fighter for the new millennium will build up at Coningsby from 2002 to 2006. Two further squadrons of the new multi-role capable aircraft will form at Leeming between 2006 and 2008 and Leuchars will be home to a further three squadrons, which are planned to build up between 2008 and 2010.+++
Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik has changed its top management position. Bernd Sträter took over from Max Mugler on April 1. Sträter is coming in from Dasa/Dornier to rectify serious development problems with the airship, which was recently severely damaged.
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On Thursday 1 April EUROCONTROL, the European Organsiation for the Safety of Air Navigation, told that the civilian air traffic continues to face restrictions in several parts of the European airspace as a result of the military activities in Yugoslavia. Inevitably however, the adaption of traffic flows leads to many flights experiencing substantial delays. All attempts are being made to keep these delays to the minimum possible, as the organisation announced.
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UK airlines have begun to log all new cases of so-called air rage with the Civil Aviation Authority, following fears that on-board violence is increasing. UK Spotlight on air rage Nervousness, tiredness and smoking bans 'contribute to the problem' UK airlines have begun to log all new cases of so-called air rage amid growing concern that passenger anger and violence is increasing.
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Simat, Helliesen & Eichner, Inc., the leading global management consulting firm for the aviation industry, on Wednesday 31 March announced that Lufthansa IT Services had purchased a stake in its business as part of the airline division's further expansion into information technology consulting.
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On March 31, Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems (LMAS) formally turned over the first C-130J Hercules to the U.S. Air Force Reserve in ceremonies at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. The C-130J Hercules delivered is the first slated for the 403rd Wing based at Keesler, and the first of two training aircraft. It will be followed later this year with the start of deliveries of nine WC-130J weather reconnaissance aircraft, commonly known as Hurricane Hunters.
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Bombardier Aerospace has announced that Piedmont Airlines of Salisbury, Maryland, a wholly owned subsidiary of US Airways Group, Inc., will acquire nine 37-seat Q Series 200 aircraft. The acquisition will increase to 93 the number of Piedmont Dash 8 aircraft carrying the US Airways Express livery and to 115 the number of Dash 8 aircraft operating US Airways Express services. This brings to 581 the total number of Dash 8/Q Series aircraft delivered and on firm order including 87 for the Q200 model.
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The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) and the U.S. Army have announced that a Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor did not achieve intercept of a Hera missile target in a flight test at the White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The flight did, however, provide additional data that will be usable in future development of theater missile defense systems. THAAD, developed by Lockheed Martin, has thus failed all its test flights so far.
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Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems delivered the 3,035th F-16 from Air Force Plant No. 4 located in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 26. This makes the F-16 the largest production program in the plant's history, surpassing the B-24. The F-16 was already the longest-running program, considering that deliveries of the first version began in the late 1970s. A total of 3,034 B-24 bombers (including 286 C-87 cargo versions and five AT-22 navigator training versions) were delivered from the Fort Worth production line during a 33-month span from April 1942 through December 1944. B-24s also were assembled in plants in San Diego, Calif., Willow Run, Mich., Tulsa, Okla., and Dallas, Texas. Over 19,000 B-24s and variants were produced during World War II.
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Royal Air Force pilots will participate in the Bombardier-run NATO Flight Training programme in Canada, allowing British Aerospace to sell two more Hawk jets. "At a time when NATO's pilots are flying together in combat, no one can doubt the value of their training together," Defence Secretary George Roberston said in a statement. Subject to a formal memorandum, Britain intends to send up to 20 Royal Air Force student pilots to Canada for tactics and weapons training over 10 years starting in early 2001, the ministry statement said.
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On April 1, the newest Boeing F-15E Eagle fighter for the U.S. Air Force made its inaugural flight at St. Louis. This F-15E is the first of 17 new Eagles being built for the U.S. Air Force, the first since 1994. Deliveries of these 17 aircraft will continue through early 2000. Previously, 209 F-15Es were built for the U.S. Air Force. This latest group of aircraft will bring the total delivered to the Air Force to 226.
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On April 4, the latest Progress cargo supply spacecraft docked with the Mir space station. It was launched form Baikonur on Friday with fuel, food, mediciine and equipment for biological experiments. Meanwhile, chances for Mir to stay aloft longer have risen again, with several private investors agreeing to step in when government money for the 13-year-old station runs out in August. Russian Space Agency chief Yuri Koptev refused to name any of the investors, but said a Canadian citizen of Russian origin has already donated $100,000 to finance Mir's operation. Koptev said some investors had asked that their money pay for scientific experiments aboard the craft, while others will contribute money toward its $250 million yearly maintenance fees.
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General Electrics CF34 turbofan engine has now reached the three million engien flight hour milestone. It had entered service with the Bombardier Canadair CRJ-100 with Lufthansa CityLIne on November 2, 1992. During the past 12 months, the CF43 engine-cuased inflight shutdown rate was 0.005 per 1000 hours, GE claims.
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Last updated March 5, 1999
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