All news – Page 6585
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News
ISS service module delayed
Tim Furniss/LONDON Russia's Energia company has confirmed that the Zvezda service module to the International Space Station (ISS) will not be launched until August at the earliest, rather than March/April as planned. The slippage has been caused by delays in the Zvezda schedule and by concerns about the ...
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Lockheed Martin delivers Image
Lockheed Martin has delivered the NASA Imager for Magnetopause-to-Auroral Global Exploration spacecraft (IMAGE) to Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, for its launch on 15 February. IMAGE, the first of NASA's Medium-class Explorer Mission spacecraft, was developed under a contract with Southwest Research Institute. IMAGE will be launched into a ...
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Russia considers extending the Mir Soyuz mission
The Russian Space Agency is recommending to the Russian Government the launch of a Soyuz spacecraft with two cosmonauts to the Mir space station at the end of March. The Mir has been unmanned since August. The crew's 45-day mission would be part of the planned programme to prepare ...
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Intelsat options
Europe's Intelsat is to exercise options with Space Systems/Loral for two additional Intelsat IX satellites - Intelsat 906 and 907 - to be deployed to the Atlantic Ocean region to meet growing demand for Internet services. Intelsat says that this will allow two existing satellites to be redeployed to new ...
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Proton engine-maker accused of neglect
Tim Furniss/LONDON The Voronezh Mechanical Engine Plant has been accused of neglect following investigations into two similar Proton launch failures on 5 July and 27 October, with Russian communications satellites. The review board, set up to establish the cause of the failure on 27 October, says: "The most ...
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Metal tanks may delay X-33
Lockheed Martin may be forced to replace the composite propellant tanks of the X-33 technology demonstrator with aluminium tanks, delaying the first launch until 2002. The company is also investing a further $100 million in the programme, which should have seen a first launch last June. The composite tanks have ...
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NASA aims for first X-34 tow tests and powered flights
NASA plans to begin ground tests of the X-34 reusable launch vehicle testbed on the dry lakebed at Edwards AFB, California, in mid-February, with flight tests planned for mid-year. The ground tests will involve towing the 17.7m (6ft)-long suborbital X-34 behind a truck for more than 3,000m across Rogers ...
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Korean Air 747s undergo checks after flap loss
The South Korean Government has ordered checks on Korean Air's (KAL) Boeing 747 Classic fleet following an incident when one of its freighters lost a flap section. South Korean civil aviation officials confirm the 12 747-200/-300s are being inspected. The checks were triggered by the latest incident, in which ...
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Anonymous syndicate nears Ansett NZ takeover
An unidentified New Zealand syndicate with close links to Qantas is finalising a deal with News Corporation to take over Ansett New Zealand. Industry sources suggest Qantas is sponsoring the takeover and plans to transfer six of its Boeing 737s to the new owner's fleet. A block of six ...
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Airbus takes top slot
Julian Moxon/PARIS Airbus Industrie comprehensively outsold Boeing for the first time in its 30 year history last year, booking 476 orders worth $30.5 billion. The European consortium's order intake represented 55% of the total order business, with Airbus ending the year 85 orders ahead of its US rival's tally of ...
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Racal deal firms Thomson at No 3
Chris Jasper/LONDON Thomson-CSF has agreed to buy the UK's Racal Electronics for £1.32 billion ($2.16 billion) in a move that further strengthens its position in defence electronics and systems. The purchase consolidates French company Thomson-CSF's status as Europe's third major defence player behind BAE Systems and European Aeronautic, Defense ...
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Patent application reveals SSBJ design
One of several supersonic business jet configurations being studied jointly by Lockheed Martin and Gulfstream Aerospace has been revealed in a US patent application. Although the application, filed by Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, provides no details of the design, accompanying diagrams show a twin-engined aircraft with highly swept "arrow" ...
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Airbus achieves A321 break in North America with US Airways
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Julian Moxon/PARIS US Airways has become the first North American carrier to order the Airbus A321, by converting 34 of its existing orders from the smaller A319 version. No official announcement has been made by Airbus Industrie or the carrier, but the manufacturer's final end ...
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GE Capital expands commercial training
GE Capital is expanding its commercial flight training business under agreements with Thomson-CSF and Cathay Pacific Airways. Under a joint venture agreement, Thomson-CSF will transfer its Orbit training centre operations to GE Capital Aviation Training (GECAT), which also operates the former Raytheon/Hughes training centre at London Gatwick. GECAT ...
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Late boom lifts 1999 simulator figures
A flurry of orders in the final months of the year boosted commercial flight simulator sales for 1999 beyond 50 machines. Thomson Training & Simulation (TTS) ended the year with its largest order ever, from Saudi Arabian Airlines to build or upgrade nine full-flight simulators. The long-expected order included ...
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Upsurge in military spending brings order boost to CAE
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC CAE Electronics has benefited from an upsurge in military flight simulation business in the closing months of 1999. As part of a Raytheon-led team that has taken over training of US Air Force Boeing E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System aircrew, the company is to ...
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Europe aims to ban leaded fuel by 2002
The European Commission is pressing for a ban on the use of leaded avgas throughout the European Union after the year 2002. The general aviation community fears that thousands of light piston-engined aircraft, not approved to use unleaded fuel, may be grounded, with the knock-on effect felt across the ...
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UK-designed diesel engine begins flight tests
Diesel Air flew its new lightweight all-aluminium 75kW (100hp) engine for the first time last month. The DAIR 100, the first in a series of general aviation diesel engines in the 75-450kW range to be offered by the UK company, flew for 1h 30min on a Luscombe 8A light ...
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USA approves vintage upgrade
Micco Aircraft (MAC) has received US certification for the SP20, an upgrade of the 1940s-vintage Meyers 145 all-metal two-seat light aircraft. Fort Pierce, Florida-based MAC, which is owned by the Seminole native American tribe, planned to deliver the first production SP20 on 15 January. MAC president DeWitt Beckett ...
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Piper appoints
General aviation manufacturer New Piper Aircraft has appointed three dealers in California, USA: Palo Alto's Northern California Piper, San Diego, California-based Southern California Piper and Cutter Aviation based in Santa Monica, California. Source: Flight International