All news – Page 6694
-
News
First European experiments for space station ready to fly
Two European Space Agency (ESA) experiments will be flying on the International Space Station (ISS) later this year. A global transmission service (GTS) and the Matroshka radiation monitor will be aboard Russia's Zvezda service module in November . The GTS uses a transmitter with two dedicated frequencies to ...
-
News
Globalstar services to begin in October
Globalstar will launch initial global mobile communications satellite services on 10 October, coinciding with the Geneva Telecom telecommunications show. The launch is being made possible following the company securing a $500 million credit facility with the Bank of America. The company, led by Loral Space and Communications and ...
-
News
Mir crew deploy delayed antenna
Mir space station cosmonauts Viktor Afanasyev and Sergei Avdeyev completed a 5h 30min spacewalk on 25 July - probably the last to be made from the Russian craft. The cosmonauts completed the deployment of a prototype unfurlable communications antenna that could not be deployed during a walk on 23 July. ...
-
News
Pollution threat
It will not be possible to enter earth orbit or break into deep space safely in 50 years' time unless the rate of space pollution can be reduced, says Russian scientist Vladimir Lebedev. Eight thousand objects over 10cm in diameter are in orbit with 3.5 million pieces smaller than 1mm. ...
-
News
Canada turns to Europe after USA denies licence
Graham Warwick/VANCOUVER Canada is to order a European spacecraft bus for its Radarsat-2 earth observation satellite, after original supplier Orbital Sciences (OSC) was denied an export licence by the US Government. Industry minister John Manley says Canada will select a supplier within the next eight weeks. The move ...
-
News
Lunar Prospector fails to find water
NASA's Lunar Prospector hit the south pole of the moon as planned on 31 July, but no vapour plume was detected after the impact. Scientists hope that an as-yet undetected faint plume may contain traces of either water or the hydroxyl radical formed when sunlight splits a hydrogen atom away ...
-
News
Seal plug identified as culprit for Columbia's fuel leaks
Tim Furniss/LONDON Three liquid hydrogen coolant tubes - not one as had been presumed earlier - in one of the main engines of last month's Space Shuttle STS93 Columbia were punctured by a small plug used to seal a liquid oxygen injector tube which came loose as the ...
-
News
Airline presidents discuss Brazil's plight
The presidents of Varig, Vasp, Transbrasil and TAM have met to discuss ways of overcoming Brazil's recent economic difficulties, prompting speculation that the four carriers are about to merge into two companies. Brazil's airlines have been severely hit by the country's economic crash at the start of the year. ...
-
News
Cathay Pacific returns to profit after nightmare
Cathay Pacific Airways is well on the way to putting last year's nightmare behind it, having announced an operating profit of HK$236 million ($30 million) for the six months ending 30 June, compared with a HK$39 million loss for the first half of 1998. The carrier, number two in ...
-
News
Dasa takes stake in South Africa defence
DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) has made its first direct investment in the South African defence industry by taking a 33% stake in electronics joint venture Reutech Radar Systems for an undisclosed sum. The company is being formed in partnership with South Africa's Reunert Electronics Group and Kgorong Investment holdings, which ...
-
News
El Al rethinks widebody funding
Israeli flag carrier El Al has contracted US bank Chase Manhattan to examine the funding of its planned widebody purchase and to assess market demand in Israel and the Middle East over the next decade. Chase has been brought in because of concerns expressed by some El Al board ...
-
News
Profits drop as overcapacity hits Europe's major carriers
Chris Jasper/LONDON Europe's major carriers are feeling the financial pinch as over-capacity takes its toll on income. British Airways, KLM and SAS are all reporting sharp declines in operating profits for the last quarter. BA posted a £200 million ($323 million) pre-tax profit for the three months to ...
-
News
EC gives conditional approval to KLM/Alitalia deal
The European Commission (EC) has approved the alliance between KLM and Alitalia, but has made the near-merger subject to several conditions designed to ensure that third carriers have access to the two carriers' main hubs. The approval offers no objections to the total financial, organisational and legal integration of ...
-
News
Mergers
American Airlines - due to complete its $124 million merger with Reno Air on 31 August - is to meet a private mediator and negotiators from the Allied Pilots Association this week to resolve a dispute over the integration of Reno pilots. A tentative agreement struck in July proved unacceptable ...
-
News
Falling ticket prices hit US airlines
Chris Jasper/LONDON Falling ticket prices in the USA are beginning to squeeze the profits of the country's major airlines. Figures for the first six months of this year show that few carriers were able to increase profits and that most saw income fall compared with the same period last year. ...
-
News
Logical thinking
A 1950s-vintage military jet engine sent to the USA for overhaul is impounded by Customs. A US company is barred from supplying its subsidiary with hardware for a civilian earth observation satellite. Delivery of US-built turboprop aircraft for a privately operated training programme is held up pending an export licence. ...
-
News
USAF widens role for airborne laser weapon
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES The US Air Force and its Team ABL partners - Boeing, TRW and Lockheed Martin - are evaluating new roles for the 747-400-based AL-1A airborne laser (ABL) and will report this year to the head of Air Combat Command. Designed for theatre defence against ballistic ...
-
News
North American C-27J assembly line hinges on US forces order
Paul Lewis/MARIETTA Lockheed Martin Alenia Tactical Transport Systems (LMATTS) is considering a full C-27J assembly line in North America if it can secure sufficient US Army and National Guard orders for the joint venture development. LMATTS plans to compete for the US Army's airborne common sensor (ACS) platform requirement with ...
-
News
Boeing wins bulk of CAL order but Airbus takes widebody deal
Boeing has taken the bulk of China Airlines' (CAL) $5.6 billion buying spree, but lost out to rival Airbus on the much prized deal to supply new medium capacity widebodies. CAL has placed firm orders for up to 19 Boeing 747-400s and five 737-800s worth $3.8 billion, while Airbus' slice ...
-
News
Taiwan shrinks Huey replacement programme
The Taiwanese Ministry of National Defence (MND) has slashed its utility helicopter procurement programme from 98 to 25 aircraft. Industry officials close to the programme say the reduction is due to budget concerns. Taiwan requires a new utility helicopter fleet to replace locally built Bell UH-1Hs, about 100 of ...