All news – Page 6678
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K-TV launch put off for system check
Intelsat's New Skies Satellite company has ordered the return of its K-TV satellite from Kourou, French Guiana to Matra Marconi Space, Toulouse, for a full systems check. The study is likely to include a replacement of the solar panels, which will delay its launch to June next year, 12 months ...
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Life comes to an end for Mir space station
The Mir space station has been abandoned after a career which began with the launch of the core module in February 1986. The final habitation crew landed safely in Kazakhstan on 28 August. Although another crew may be launched to prepare the space station for its de-orbiting early next ...
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Orbital Sciences wins licence to swap information with Canada
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Orbital Sciences (OSC) has received a US export licence to exchange technical information with Canadian subsidiary McDonald, Detwiler & Associates (MDA), raising hopes that the US company will be allowed to supply the spacecraft for Canada's Radarsat-2 earth observation satellite. Delays in granting the licence ...
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SeaStar captures Hurricane Dennis development
The development of Hurricane Dennis late last month was tracked by the Orbital Sciences-built SeaStar satellite. The satellite, launched in 1997, uses a Hughes-built instrument - the Sea-Viewing Wide Field Sensor (SeaWiFS) - which is providing multi-spectral ocean colour data to NASA under a five-year contract for the space agency's ...
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Wiring problems force Space Shuttle delays
Checks on wiring inside the payload bays of all Space Shuttle orbiters following the short circuits during the STS93 Columbia launch have revealed similar damage to all the spacecraft. The orbiter Endeavour has the most serious problems, with over 20 damaged areas of wiring, including some sections down to bare ...
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Boeing bases future designs on X-37
Boeing is looking at future launch vehicle designs which use a derivative of the X-37 experimental spaceplane as a reusable upper stage. "We are looking at expendable launch vehicle options under our contract [with NASA] and we are also looking at air-launched versions," says Boeing X-37 programme manager David ...
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NASA discusses X-33 upgrade
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Tim Furniss/LONDON NASA and Lockheed Martin are discussing follow-on flight testing of the X-33 to further reduce the risk attached to commercial development of the planned VentureStar reusable launch vehicle. The X-33 technology demonstrator has yet to fly, but talks are under way on an ...
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FAA selects Arinc to develop datalink
ARINC has been awarded a five-year contract by the US Federal Aviation Administration to support the development and initial operational capability of controller-pilot datalink communications (CPDLC) in the US national airspace system (NAS). The aeronautical communications specialist will develop a prototype CPDLC system in conjunction with the FAA's William ...
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DC generator for Learjets approved
US parts distributor Corporate Rotable & Supply (CRS) has certificated a replacement DC generator for Bombardier Learjet 35, 36 and 55 series business jets. Manufactured by Auxilec, the generator offers a 3,000h time between overhauls, three times that of the current AlliedSignal unit, says Ft Lauderdale, Florida-based CRS. The ...
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Indian Falcon
India's Megapode Airlines is subleasing a Dassault Falcon 2000 from TATA finance. It will be available for charter from December. The nine-seat twinjet will join Mumbai-based Megapode's eight British Aerospace 125-700s. Dassault is negotiating with an unnamed Indian customer for the sale of a Falcon 900EX. Source: Flight International
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Global Echo
Orbcomm Global has teamed with Boulder, Colorado-based Echo Flight to launch a satellite-based weather information service for general aviation pilots. The service datalinks hourly Nexrad weather radar images to aircraft through Echo Flight's StratoCheetah Flight Manager III system and Orbcomm's network of low earth orbiting satellites. The pilot can request ...
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Raytheon output rise may not be enough
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Raytheon Aircraft has increased planned production of its new Premier I and Hawker Horizon business jets to meet demand, but faces challenges meeting the programmes' schedules. Production of the entry-level Premier I will be increased by 25% to 60 a year, while production of the ...
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Orenda examines re-engined Defender
Magellan Aerospace subsidiary Orenda and Britten-Norman are studying retrofitting the BN2T-4S Defender 4000 with the Canadian manufacturer's Orenda OE600 Series V-8 aero engine. The re-engined version would be focused on the passenger/utility market segments. The modification is expected to produce improved performance and efficiency, claims Orenda. It predicts that at ...
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Taiwan rejects CAL safety planning
The Taiwan Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) has ordered China Airlines (CAL) to cut frequencies and retrain its pilots in the wake of the carrier's latest crash. Its Boeing MD-11 accident at Hong Kong on 22 August brought the total of CAL's widebody hull losses since 1993 to four (Flight International, ...
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JAL/JAS link launches 'Big Three' entente
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Andrew Mollett/TOKYO Japan Airlines (JAL) and Japan Air System (JAS) are planning to launch joint international services from late October in what is seen as a significant move towards closer co-operation among the country's three major airlines. The carriers were expected to make a formal application to ...
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New recipe for Cook
UK travel group Thomas Cook's airlines Flying Colours and Caledonian have been rebranded JMC (from the initials of John Mason Cook, son of group founder Thomas Cook). JMC plans to invest around $320 million over the next five years, half to be spent on new aircraft, including four leased Boeing ...
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P&W solves PW6000 blade rub and resumes tests
Pratt & Whitney has resumed testing its PW6000 after the initial test engine was removed from the rig to replace a non-conforming component that threatened to result in high-pressure turbine (HPT) blade rub. The engine's turbine on board injection system (TOBI), which feeds cooling bleed air from the compressor ...
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FAA satellite programme investigated
The US General Accounting Office (GAO) has launched a Congressionally requested investigation into the US Federal Aviation Administration's satellite navigation programme following concerns about the agency's plans to move from a ground-based to a satellite-based navigation system. The GAO expects to report next spring. The study follows an investigation ...
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Soft landing
Expressions of optimism about the future prospects of high-profile industries are rarely well-received, and the aerospace sector has established itself as a market leader in delivering overly bleak assessments of its own prospects. But it is hard to maintain the frown in the face of a healthy set of balance ...
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NASA selects projects to pave way to future technologies
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC A massive cargo airship, a flying-wing airliner and a low-cost supersonic engine are the three projects chosen by NASA to jump-start a new programme to accelerate development of promising new aeronautical technologies. The Revolutionary Concepts (RevCon) programme will fund early flight testing of advanced technologies using ...