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Week ending April 18, 1999
+++ Air attacks on Yugoslavia continue +++ Airbus delivers 1,000th A320 family airliner +++ Recaro establishes new subsidiary in the USA +++ AECMA supports Czech aerospace industry +++ Spacelab returns to Bremen +++ News in brief +++
Air attacks on Yugoslavia continue
NATO-Bombardierung geht weiter
Despite renewed diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Kosovo crisis at the beginning of the week, NATO aircraft continued their attacks on the Yugoslav forces in Serbia and Kosovo unabated. The main events emerging from the daily briefings were:- the German contingent in Mazedonia has lost a second Cl 289 reconnaissance drone over Kosovo.
- on April 15, NATO aircraft mistakenly attacked a refugee convoi, but the circumstances are still unclear
- The US is again boosting its forces in the region. It is expected that 300 more aircraft will be sent to the region soon. Also, the Apache helicopters are now soon to arrive in Albania.
- The German Luftwaffe is intensifying its humanitarian flights, with at least six missions per day planned. By April 14, a total of 95 flights had been made to Skopje, Tirana and Thessaloniki.
- On April 13, NATO commander General Wesley Clark did brief journalists in Brussels on the first three weeks of operations. He said that 5924 missions had been flown, of which 1687 were bombing mission.
Airbus delivers 1,000th A320 family airliner
1000. Airbus aus der A320-Familie ausgeliefert
During ceremonies in Hamburg, Germany and Toulouse, France, Airbus Industrie on April 15 delivered A320 Family aircraft with Manufacturer Serial Numbers (MSN) 1000 and 1001. MSN 1000 is an A319 delivered on lease from ILFC to Air France, built at the DaimlerChrysler Aerospace Airbus assembly line in Hamburg. The 1001st aircraft - an A320 - was assembled at the A320 production line of Aerospatiale, located adjacent to Airbus Industrie's corporate headquarters in Toulouse, and delivered to United Airlines. "The delivery of these aircraft marks a significant milestone for Airbus Industrie and its A320 Family," said Airbus Industrie Chief Executive Officer Noël Forgeard. "In the 11 years since delivery of the first A320, the family has proven its worth as the most modern, efficient and profitable single-aisle airliner family in the world. They are the fastest-selling airliners in history and has brought tremendous success to not only Airbus Industrie but the also the 84 companies around the world who operate these aircraft." Airbus Industrie has a solid backlog of orders to ensure its continued success. "For every aircraft we have delivered, we have sold three," said Mr. Forgeard. "At current production rates, we will deliver our 2,000th A320 aircraft in 2003, matching our first 12 years of production in less than four." More than 3,200 Airbus Industrie aircraft, including over 1,900 A3209 Family aircraft, have been sold to almost 160 customers around the world and more than 1,800 are currently in operation.
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Recaro establishes new subsidiary in the USA
Sitzehersteller expandiert in den USA
Aircraft passenger seat manufacturer Recaro Aircraft Seating GmbH & Co of Schwäbisch Hall is expanding. With the establishment of its new US subsidiary, the world's third largest manufacturer of airline passenger seats is planning to develop its presence and competence on the American market. Production operations at were launched in April with a major order from American Airlines for Economy Class seats. The facilities covering nearly 54,000 sq. ft. (5,000 sq m) are located in Alliance near the Dallas/Fort Worth airport. This is part of a $100 million contract from the largest US air carrier which is located "just around the corner". Hans-Dieter Abt comments: "We plan to employ around 50 people who will be responsible for manufacturing a limited selection of seat models in high-volume production runs." He anticipates Recaro sales in the first year to reach $15 million and rise to around $25 million within three years. On a local level, the company will operate fully independently strategically it will maintain close ties to the parent company in Germany. All business decisions will be made at company headquarters in Schwäbisch Hall.
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AECMA supports Czech Aerospace industry
Tschechische Luftfahrtindustrie sucht Anschluß
The Czech aerospace industries and AECMA, the European Association of Aerospace Industries, held a workshop in Prague on 15-16 April 1999, concerning links between the aerospace industries in the Czech Republic and the European Union. The views of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Trade and Industry were presented, emphasising the importance of integrating the Czech aerospace industry within the overall framework of the European industry to help improve the position and competitivity of the industry. The establishment of in-depth contacts with highly-advanced companies as potential partners was considered to be a vital step in developing such an important industry for the Czech Republic. The Czech industry is seeking long-term industrial participation to build on existing experience in producing trainer, light combat and regional transport aircraft. Prospective defence procurement programmes should provide opportunities to give a boost to the Czech industry.
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Spacelab returns to Bremen
Raumlabor wieder in Deutschland
After 22 trips into space, Spacelab - Europe's first step into human spaceflight - has returned to Europe. On 16 April at 10:00, NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin officially handed the space laboratory over to ESA Director General Antonio Rodota, in the presence of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, at a ceremony at the Bremen airport in Germany, the city where the module was built more than two decades ago. The laboratory, to be housed in a special exhibition hall at the Bremen airport, will be the foundation stone for Space Academy Bremen, a new educational venture between DaimlerChrysler Aerospace and Bremen University that will give students and the general public the opportunity to learn first-hand about Europe's achievements in the human exploration of space. Two Spacelab flight units were built. The laboratory returned to Europe flew on the final Spacelab flight, the Neurolab mission in April 1998, and was used for both German Shuttle missions, D-1 and D-2, among others. The second flight unit, which flew on Spacelab's maiden mission in 1983, will be preserved along with other pieces of American space history at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Europe's experience with building Spacelab has inspired the Columbus laboratory, Europe's main property to be added to the International Space Station in 2003. Columbus is based on the same concept and technologies but, in contrast to Spacelab's eight-day to two-week missions, it will serve as an outpost for continuous research in orbit.
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NEWS IN BRIEF/ KURZMELDUNGEN
The first Boeing MD-10 took off from Long Beach Municipal Airport on its inaugural flight. "MD-10" is the designation given to modified DC-10s that incorporate the Boeing Advanced Common Flight deck, which accommodates a two-person crew. The MD-10 flight deck is similar to the Boeing MD-11, allowing the crews to fly the two airplanes interchangably. Two other MD-10s are scheduled to join the flight-test program, which is expected to last 10 months. Certification of the airplane will follow successful completion of the flight-test program. Certification is required because of the new avionics on the airplane+++
Orbital Sciences Corporation has selected Ariane to launch in 2000 and 2001 two digital direct TV broadcast satellites for B-SAT Corporation of Japan. During his Press conference in Tokyo, Arianespace Chairman and CEO Jean-Marie Luton, announced the signing of the launch contract for the BSAT-2a and -2b satellites with Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Virginia. The launches are scheduled in 2000 and 2001, using an Ariane 4 or Ariane 5 launched from the Europe's Spaceport of Kourou, French Guiana in South America. The BSAT-2a and -2b digital direct-to-home (DTH) TV satellites will be built by Orbital Sciences Corporation at their new plant in Dulles, Virginia, USA.
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On April 15, a Delta II lifted off the launch pad at Vandenberg AFB at 11:32 a.m. PDT, carrying the Landsat-7 Earth-imaging spacecraft into orbit. It is the seventh NASA-sponsored payload Boeing has launched in the last eight months, and marks the 198th NASA spacecraft the company has launched since 1961. An hour and two minutes after liftoff, Landsat-7 separated from the upper stage of the Delta II to insert itself into a sun-synchronous orbit more than 400 miles above the Earth. Landsat-7 is the latest in a series of Earth-imaging spacecraft carried aboard Delta launch vehicles and is a joint program with NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey.
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Bombardier Aerospace has won a contract for the sale of three quiet Q400 Dash 8 turboprop airliners to Changan Airlines of Shaanxi Province in central China. The transaction, valued at over $60 million U.S. ($89 million Cdn.), represents the first sale of Bombardier's new 648 km/h (350-knot), 78-seat Q400 in The People's Republic of China. Changan Airlines operates to approximately 30 destinations throughout China with a fleet of seven 50-passenger Y-7 aircraft. Plans are to use the high-speed Q400 equipment to expand Changan's route network.
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Globalstar announced the successful launch of an additional four low-earth-orbiting (LEO) satellites into space, bringing the total number of Globalstar satellites that have been successfully launched to 20. Globalstar's satellites, manufactured by prime contractor Space Systems/Loral, were launched on April 14, at 8:46 p.m. EDT, aboard a Soyuz-Ikar launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. All four Globalstar satellites were separated from the upper stage at an altitude of 920 kilometers (571 miles) above the Earth. Engineers at Globalstar's ground control center in San Jose, Calif., acquired the satellites' signals at 12:29 a.m. EDT, April 15, using the six Globalstar telemetry command unit gateways located in Aussaguel, France; Yeoju, South Korea; Dubbo, Australia; Bosque Allegre, Argentina; Delareyville, South Africa; and Clifton, Texas. During the next several weeks, Globalstar engineering teams will raise the satellites to their operational altitude of 1,414 kilometers (878 miles). "With this, our third successful launch this year, we remain right on schedule with our plan to initiate service in the third quarter of 1999, using an initial 32-satellite constellation," said Bernard L. Schwartz, chairman and chief executive officer of Globalstar. "Launches are scheduled to continue once a month from now until December when the full Globalstar constellation is complete."
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W3, a new digital communications satellite for EUTELSAT was successfully launched at 6.50 pm EST (10.50 pm GMT) on April 12 by a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS rocket out of Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida. The new satellite is scheduled to go into service in mid-May at 7 degrees East where it will replace EUTELSAT 11-F4. After separation from the Atlas launcher, control of W3 was assumed by the DLR in Oberpfaffenhofen (Germany). A number of critical manoeuvres will be carried out over the next few hours including first sun acquisition and partial deployment of the solar arrays. Manoeuvres to be conducted over the next nine days include three firings of the apogee motor and one perigee firing, total deployment of the solar arrays, deployment of the East and West reflectors and final earth acquisition. W3 is a fully digital satellite that will carry a mix of telecommunications, professional television and digital consumer television services. A total of 18 transponders will be switched into the fixed Widebeam which provides coverage of Europe, the Atlantic Islands, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. One of the biggest users of this coverage is the European Broadcasting Union, the world's largest professional association of national broadcasters, which has leased four wideband (72 MHZ) transponders. The EBU will transfer its Eurovision and Euroradio networks to W3 from EUTELSAT II-F4.
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Eurockot, a joint venture of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa), Germany, and the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, Russia, has completed a $US4 million equity investment in DBS Industries, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: DBSS) as part of a recently concluded contract for satellite launch services, the companies said on April 14. DBSI, which is developing a satellite-based two-way data messaging service, announced last week that it had contracted with Eurockot to launch its planned constellation of six low-earth-orbiting (LEO) satellites into space by the first quarter, 2001.
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On April 9, A US Air Force Titan 4 rocket launched a missile-warning satellite. It was its first launch since a billion-dollar failure last August. The $432 million, 20-story Titan 4B lifted off from its Cape Canaveral launch pad at 1:01 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT), leaving a white streak of rocket exhaust through the blue Florida sky.The explosion of the last Titan 4 rocket on Aug. 12, 1998, destroyed a top-secret spy satellite, in a disaster that cost more than $1 billion. An investigation determined that frayed wiring was responsible for an electrical short that caused that rocket to lose control. Additional quality-control checks were made before the Titan rocket family was cleared to resume launches. Two more Titan 4B launches are planned in coming weeks, one from Cape Canaveral on April 30 and another from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on May 4.
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April 11, 1999
April 4, 1999
March 28, 1999
March 21, 1999
March 14, 1999
March 7, 1999
February 21, 1999
February 14, 1999
February 7, 1999
January 31, 1999
January 24, 1999
January 17, 1999
January 10, 1999
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Last updated March 17, 1999
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