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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 3669.PDF
HEADLINES SPACEFLIGHT EMMA KELLY / LONDON Europe backs new Ariane 5 and Galileo Launch vehicle and satellite navigation system will benefit Europe's space ministers have backed their support for further development of the Ariane 5 launch vehicle and the Galileo satellite navigation system with funding. The European Space Agency's council of ministers, meeting last week in Edinburgh, Scotland, agreed to provide the Ariane 5 Plus programme with €700 million ($620 million), while the design development and vali dation phase of Galileo will benefit to the tune of €528 million. Ministers from the 15 ESA mem ber states and Canada approved a science budget up to 2006 of €1.87 billion, just under the €1.95 billion requested by the agency, and a gen eral budget of €825 million (€919 million requested). The Ariane 5 Research and Technology Accompaniment pro gramme, which will maintain the reliability of the vehicle, is assured through to 2006, with €303 mil lion approved of the requested €340 million. The €699 million approved for Ariane 5 Plus - com pared with €671 million requested - will allow work to continue on the Vinci engine and the Ariane 5 EC-B version, including the first launch of the 12t capacity vehicle in 2006. Space ministers made a "firm declaration of support" for Galileo, says ESA, in the form of €528 mil lion - less than the €547 million requested. The United Kingdom and Denmark did not commit funding as they have yet to decide on supporting Galileo, which is a joint ESA/European Commission programme to provide the conti nent with an independent 30-satel- lite navigation system by 2008. The future of the €2.7 billion project is by no means assured, however. The European Union (EU) Transport Council will meet on 7 December to decide on matching ESA's contribution. Some EU members still have concerns about the management structure and private-public partnership. DEFENCE Boeing boosts unmanned systems Boeing has created an Unmanned Systems unit within its Military Aircraft & Missile Systems sector to increase its focus on an area expected to be a billion-dollar busi ness within 10 years. The company says the move is "not connected to" its recent loss of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme. The new business unit is head quartered in St Louis, Missouri, and will consolidate all work within Boeing on unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs). The most signifi cant of these are the US Air Force X-45 UCAV and US Navy X-47 naval UCAV technology demon stration programmes, both man aged by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The Unmanned Systems unit is headed by Mike Heinz, former Boeing JSF deputy programme manager. He will report directly to Military Aircraft & Missile Systems chief executive Jerry Daniels and to George Meullner, president of Boeing's Phantom Works research organisation where most of the UAV and UCAV work now resides. "We will look at the whole spec trum of unmanned applications: from low-end, low-cost expendable vehicles to high-end, highly surviv- able vehicles; from combat to ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance]; from air vehicles to ground and mission control sys tems," says Heinz. The focus will be military systems, but other applica tions will not be ruled out, he says. Objectives include "making unmanned systems a significant part of Boeing's operating plan over the next decade", says Heinz. Briefing Ticket tax to pay for security screening AIRPORT SECURITY US President George Bush has committed to sign compromise aviation security legislation agreed by the US House and Senate to make all airport checkpoint screeners federal government employees within two years. The bill will establish a 28,000-strong federal workforce to man checkpoints, with a one-year transition period during which the government will take control of passenger and baggage screening. The US Department of Transportation will be in charge of aviation security and the measures will be paid for with a $2.50 ticket tax surcharge. Spain gets first C295 transport MILITARY TRANSPORTS The Spanish air force took delivery of the first of nine EADS Casa C295 military transports last week. The aircraft joins 35 Wing based at Getafe AB, near Madrid, from where it will perform missions assigned to the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules. EADS Casa has also taken orders for the 2,000kW (2,680hp) Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127G-powered transport turboprop from Poland and the UAE. O'Keefe set to be top space man SPACE Sean O'Keefe is expected to be the next administrator of NASA, replacing Dan Goldin after almost 10 years in charge of the US space agency. O'Keefe, a former deputy director of the US budget control office, is considered a suitable candidate to take control of the International Space Station budget. Changes to the programme and supporting efforts are likely to follow his appointment, including a cut in Space Shuttle launches. United to arm pilots with stun guns ON-BOARD SECURITY United Airlines says it plans to become the first major airline to carry "taser" stun guns in the cockpits of all aircraft, provided it gains approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration. United says it plans to carry the high-voltage weapons in an electronically locked box in the cockpit, accessible only by pilots. US regional Mesa Airlines was the first to announce plans to arm pilots with tasers, but the FAA has yet to approve the carriage of the weapons on aircraft. European ministers sign on technology CO-OPERATION Defence ministers from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK signed a declaration on 19 November committing them to jointly develop technology for future air combat systems. The six will next month start to consider air combat requirements to 2020, with an initial report due next year. The deal also commits the six to the European Technology Acquisition Plan, which will develop future air combat technologies. Struggling satellite operator seeks protection CHAPTER 11 Low Earth orbit satellite system operator Globalstar plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to allow it to develop a new business plan to continue operating. Fellow mobile satellite communication company Iridium filed for bankruptcy in 1999, emerging as a scaled down operation earlier this year. The move comes as Globalstar reports losses for the third quarter of $129 million, down 10% on the previous quarter's $144 million, with service revenues for the quarter falling 18% to $1.4 million. Paris sites its next airport AIRPORTS The new Paris airport, the third major hub after Charles de Gaulle and Orly, will be sited 125km north of the capital at Chaulnes, the French Government announced last week. Air traffic controllers are opposing the decision, complaining that they were not consulted and would prefer a site further south. The government predicts 35 million more passengers by 2020, making the new airport vital in the long term, although there is ample capacity now. The government will also try to help provincial airports by lobbying the European Commission to permit them to provide long-haul flights, and setting up a Fr5 billion ($672 million) assistance fund. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 20-26 NOVEM BER 2001 5
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