All news – Page 6569
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Ministers propose single sky for Europe
Julian Moxon/BRUSSELS A "single European sky" is on the political agenda after a 28 January meeting of transport ministers from the 38 European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) states. The ministers called for a high-level working group to study how to reduce air traffic delays in Europe. The International Air Transport ...
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Hong Kong/Beijing bilateral clears way for Dragonair
Mainland China and the Hong Kong Government have swept away a rule limiting Hong Kong carriers to operating one-third of the capacity on routes to the mainland. According to the Hong Kong Government, a new air services arrangement signed with Beijing guarantees that "airlines of both sides enjoy equal ...
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GEO agreement
Eutelsat and Loral Skynet, have agreed to co-operate in the pursuit of business opportunities "without risk of mutual interference" in the geostationary orbit (GEO) arc between 12.5°W and 15°W. Loral's Orion 2 - now called Telstar 12 - will be tested at 15°W, while Eutelsat will develop satellite services at ...
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New delay for Endeavour flight
Tim Furniss/LONDON New attempts to launch Space Shuttle Endeavour STS99 on the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) have been further delayed to at least 11 February because of launch-related commitments at adjoining Cape Canaveral. A possible STS99 launch on 9 February has been ...
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SpaceDev/Boeing link for exploration
SpaceDev and Boeing have agreed a teaming arrangement to investigate opportunities of "mutual strategic interest" in commercial deep-space exploration and exploitation. They will use as the basis for the study a variety of small low-cost missions formulated by SpaceDev, the world's first commercial space exploration company. The two firms ...
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GE90-94B heads for early April certification
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES General Electric hopes to win US Federal Aviation Administration approval for the 94,000lb-thrust (420kN) GE90-94B in early April, pending the successful conclusion of icing tests now entering the final stages of completion at the company's Peeble test site in Ohio. The GE90-94B is aimed at ...
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SeaStar pictures US winter storm
The extent of the intense winter storm that struck much of the eastern USA recently can be seen in this image, which was captured by NASA's sea viewing wide field-of-view sensor (SeaWifs) on board the Orbital Sciences SeaStar satellite. The SeaWifs was built by Hughes. Source: Flight International
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First Atlas IIIA gets commercial payload
International Launch Services (ILS) has signed a contract with Eutelsat to launch the Alcatel Space-built Eutelsat W4 communications satellite on the first Atlas III series from Cape Canaveral. The mission is set for late March or early April. ILS has been searching for a payload for the maiden flight ...
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Laser welding promises A318 weight and cost savings
DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) plans to introduce laser welding in aircraft manufacturing for the first time with the start of fuselage production for the Airbus A318 next year. The German company says the new technique promises to cut fuselage manufacturing costs by "about 20%" and weight by "up to 10%". ...
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Inflatable heatshield tests set for Fregat
Tim Furniss/LONDON A Soyuz booster is scheduled to test the new Fregat upper stage for Franco-Russian venture Starsem. The test will be carried out after its launch on 9 February. The mission will also test new inflatable re-entry technology heatshields developed by Lavochkin and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace. The Fregat will ...
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Minotaur is multiple success
The US Air Force Orbital Suborbital programme was inaugurated on 27 January when the Minotaur booster was launched for the first time, from Vandenberg AFB's commercial launch pad, operated by Spaceport International. The Minotaur carried the Jawsat multipayload adaptor holding the USAF Falconsat; the Arizona University Asusat; the Stanford University ...
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Mir makes Progress with docking success
A Soyuz booster was launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on 1 February, carrying a Progress M tanker that docked with the Mir space station on 3 February. The tanker will raise the Mir's orbit to 400km. The Russian Government has approved a proposed 750 million rouble ($26.2 million) programme to ...
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Australia looks at private funding for F/A-18 simulators
The Australian Defence Acquisition Organisation (DAO) is exploring the use of private finance to overcome budget problems facing the replacement of the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) Boeing F/A-18 Hornet flight simulators. A competitive tender for the replacement, involving two new-generation dome simulators and associated infrastructure, is to be ...
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FY2001 US defence budget preview
The US Department of Defense's (DoD) Fiscal Year 2001 budget request was delivered to US lawmakers on 7 February. It includes significant funding for the proposed National Missile Defense (NMD) system, while sustaining production of the Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS). Other priorities ...
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Lockheed Martin ready for C-5 engine RFI
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Lockheed Martin expects by mid-February to issue competing powerplant manufacturers with a request for proposals (RFP) for over 500 new engines for the US Air Force's C-5A/B Galaxy heavylift transports, following final approval of an acquisition strategy for the planned Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Programme (RERP). ...
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Contracts
The Spanish air force has signed a contract for nine CASA C295 twin turboprop transports. It first announced the order in April last year. All aircraft will be delivered by 2004. Raytheon has received a $109.6 million US Navy contract for full rate production of the AGM-154A Joint Stand-off Weapon ...
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Denmark advances in hunt for Hercules replacement
Stewart Penney/LONDON Denmark has moved closer to replacing its four Lockheed Martin C-130H Hercules. It is evaluating bids from Airtruck with the An-7X - a Westernised Antonov An-70 - and from Lockheed Martin, offering its C-130J. Airtruck and Lockheed Martin responded to a request for quotations at the ...
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EH101s undergo cold weather trials to extend envelope
Two EH Industries EH101sare undergoing cold weather climatic trials in Canada and Alaska to extend the type's flight envelope in ice, snow and low temperatures. The Fairbanks-based helicopter has been operating in temperatures ranging from -5°C (23°F) to -32°C, while a second machine, flying from CFB Shearwater, has made icing ...
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Italian air force may have to take MB339s
The Italian air force is close to submitting to pressure from the industry ministry and manufacturer Aermacchi to agree to the acquisition of a second batch of MB339CD advanced trainers. An estimated 90 first-generation MB339As are operated by the air force alongside 14 MB339CDs, used as lead-in fighter trainers. ...
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US Navy struggles with helicopter decision
The US Navy is re-evaluating plans to slim down its helicopter inventory to just two types as the result of concerns that the fleet will lose its heavylift vertical onboard delivery (VOD) capability with the eventual retirement of the Sikorsky MH-53E Sea Dragon. Under the US Navy's helicopter master ...