JetBlue founder Neeleman steps down
MANAGEMENT JetBlue Airways founder David Neeleman has stepped down from his nine-year stint as chief executive and been replaced by company president Dave Barger. The move sees Barger retain his responsibilities as president, and Neeleman serve as non-executive chairman of the board.
JASSM scrutinised after trials
OBJECTIVES The Lockheed Martin AGM-158 Joint-Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile faces new scrutiny after a recent round of test flights failed to meet objectives. The US Air Force confirmed that "not all mission objectives were achieved" during four recent missile firings at Eglin AFB, Florida. The air force is continuing to review data and conduct flight reconstructions to confirm the final results. The test flights occurred on 30 April and 1 May, with two missiles released from a Boeing B-52H and two launched by a Northrop Grumman B-2A.
AWAS buys Pegasus
ACQUISITION Irish-based aircraft leasing company AWAS has acquired US counterpart Pegasus Aviation Finance from Oaktree Capital Management for an undisclosed sum. San Francisco-based Pegasus has a portfolio of 82 owned aircraft plus 94 managed aircraft. AWAS, itself bought last year by European private equity firm Terra Firma, has 134 aircraft on lease to 72 airlines. It says the acquisition will create the world's third-largest lessor, with over 250 owned and forward-ordered aircraft.
Ares injector tested
LAUNCH VEHICLE NASA engineers have successfully completed testing of a subscale main injector for the Ares V Cargo Launch Vehicle's five RS-68 core stage engines. The Ares V will launch the lunar lander and with its trans-lunar injection upper stage could send 65,400kg (144,000lb) to the Moon. The first Moon missions are planned for 2018. The injector supplies and mixes liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants in an engine's combustion chamber. Engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama have conducted multiple 10-20s hot-fire tests on the injector since February. "The [RS-68] engine will be an upgraded version of those now used in the [Boeing] Delta IV, the largest of the Delta rocket family," says NASA.
Source: Flight International
