All aerospace news – Page 1757

  • News

    Beagle 2 Mars lander gets ESA go ahead

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    The European Space Agency (ESA) has given the go-ahead for the UK to build the Beagle 2 lander, which is scheduled to ride aboard the space agency's Mars Express orbiter when it launches in June 2003. The UK Beagle team, which is led by the country's Open University and ...

  • News

    Maintenance venture

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    GE Engine Services has signed a memorandum of intent with All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI) to acquire a controlling interest in engine maintenance house ANA-IHI Aero-Engines. Source: Flight International

  • News

    Cold may cripple Mars Lander's engine

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    Tim Furniss/LONDON The NASA panel investigating the loss of the $327 million Mars Climate Orbiter (MCO) has uncovered a potential problem with the Mars Polar Lander (MPL), which is due to touch down on 3 December. NASA has found that temperatures as low as -20°C could affect the performance of ...

  • News

    Hubble mission aims for December

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    Space Shuttle mission STS 103/Discovery has been cleared for launch on 6 December, to complete the third service of the Hubble Space Telescope. The spacecraft stack was scheduled to be rolled to launch pad 39B on 13 November. NASA replaced the orbiter's main engine number three in the Vehicle ...

  • News

    Comet chaser

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    Europe's Rosetta mission will be the first to land a craft on a comet Tim Furniss/LONDON The European Space Agency (ESA) will make history in 2012 when its 100kg Rosetta makes the first soft landing of a spacecraft on a comet. The Rosetta mission launch is due in January 2003, ...

  • News

    Second Mascquito prototype assembled

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    Belgium's Masquito Aircraft has assembled its second M80 light helicopter prototype in preparation for ground testing at the end of this month. According to the manufacturer, the test aircraft has a longer, wider and higher cabin than the first prototype, which made its public debut in July. The cabin ...

  • News

    Production certification

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    MD Helicopters (MDHI) has received production certification from the Federal Aviation Administration for its civil helicopter lines at Mesa, Arizona, three months ahead of schedule. MDHI says: "We have reached the most significant milestone in our 10-month tenure. The production certificate allows us to inspect and license our own helicopters ...

  • News

    Swissair replaces MD-11 insulation

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    Swissair is to replace Mylar insulation on the cockpit and some cabin sections of its Boeing MD-11s with a more fire-resistant material called Tedlar. "This task is being undertaken at Swissair's initiative based on information gathered in the investigation into the cause of last year's SR 111 accident," says ...

  • News

    Air safety rift puts PNG air link at risk

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    Key transport links between Papua New Guinea's (PNG) capital, Port Moresby, and nearby North Queensland (Australia) are threatened by a rift between Qantas and its codesharing partner Air Niugini, over air safety events. At the same time, Brisbane-based Flightwest Airlines is terminating its Australia-PNG services, due to poor traffic ...

  • News

    Routes

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    British Airways is launching a new three times daily route from London Gatwick to Hanover, operated by franchise partner CityFlyer Express. United Airlines is introducing 20 new daily nonstop flights to key Californian business destinations, including Santa Barbara, Medford, Reno, Palm Springs and San Diego, from its Los Angeles hub. ...

  • News

    Workshop

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    Lease management provider C-S Aviation Services has entered into a five-year tripartite agreement with Air India and Aviation Sales Distribution to perform maintenance on its General Electric CF6-50C2 engines on an exclusive basis. The contract, worth $100 million, stipulates a five-year option to extend the agreement. Air India will perform ...

  • News

    British Midland deal helps boost Star's presence at Heathrow

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    Laura Hailstone/LONDON British Midland (BM) has confirmed its much-anticipated entry into the Star alliance. This follows Lufthansa's acquisition of a 20% stake from partner SAS for £91.4 million ($150 million). The deal, which will see SAS' shareholding reduced to 20%, gives Star more than a quarter of all movements ...

  • News

    Belgian Government to decide on future of its stake in Sabena

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    Herman De Wulf/BRUSSELS Belgian transport Minister Isabelle Durant is pushing the government for a policy statement on whether it plans to sell its stake in national flag carrier Sabena. The new Belgian Government came to power in June but has yet to reach a conclusion about whether to hold ...

  • News

    Bell drives stake through heart of Romanian deal

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    Bell Helicopter Textron has dropped plans to take over Romanian aerospace manufacturer IAR Brasov and set up an AH-1W SuperCobra licenses production line after failing to get a government response to its latest proposals. Bell presented its proposals to the Romanian Government in late June and was expecting to receive ...

  • News

    Emirates turns class into marketable commodity

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    Mike Martin/DUBAI Emirates will consider taking a stake in other airlines - as it has with SriLankan - but will not rush into new ventures, Emirates chief director Group Services Gary Chapman said at the show. "We will consider opportunities with our feet firmly on the ground," says ...

  • News

    Air Canada submits offer: ATI

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    Air Canada is giving Canadian Airlines' shareholders until 7 December to accept its C$2-per-share bid for its major rival, after mailing the formal offer to the shareholders. The Montreal-based carrier has set up a new company to make the offer. Although the offer is to be funded by Air ...

  • News

    Iberia flotation slips: ATI

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    Spainish Minister of Industry Josep Pique has delayed the flotation of flag-carrier Iberia until at least January next year, citing the current state of the markets as the reason. Flotation of the airline was due on 22 November after the resolution of a dispute between majority shareholder Caja Madrid ...

  • News

    Qantas employees take action: ATI

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    Qantas Airways is facing legal action brought against it by maintenance workers whose duties were transferred to Melbourne when the carrier outsourced the work to a labour hire company there. Qantas is yet to comment on the case, which is said to be the first Federal Court appeal brought ...

  • News

    Marconi HUD system cleared for B737

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    Tim Ripley/DUBAI Marconi Avionics executives are celebrating being awarded Supplemental Type Certification (STC) by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for full operational use of the HUD 2020 Visual Guidance System (VGS) on Boeing 737-800 aircraft. "The award of STC to Marconi is a major milestone in promoting ...

  • News

    Costs, not technology, stall in-flight access to internet

    1999-11-17T00:00:00Z

    Steve Nichols/DUBAI The Internet is the hot business tool of the 1990s and usage is predicted to continue increasing exponentially in the next millennium. So it is not surprising that passengers are starting to demand Internet access on board aircraft too. Honeywell (E712) is demonstrating its In Flight Email ...