All aerospace news – Page 1867
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Columbia crew is blamed for Spartan deployment failure
Tim Furniss/LONDON Blame for the botched deployment of a Spartan free flyer during last November's STS87/Columbia flight has been placed firmly at the door of the spacecraft's crew. Mission specialist Kalpana Chawla has come in for most blame, but the whole STS87 crew, led by commander Kevin Kregel, ...
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Italy leads ESA interest in Vega K development
Development of the proposed European Vega K low Earth orbit launcher will depend on industrial funding of around Ecu70 million ($77 million) as well as the ECU350 million funding requested from interested member states of the European Space Agency (ESA) led by France and Italy. The Italian space agency says ...
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FSBTI picks CAE
FlightSafety Boeing Training International (FSBTI) has selected CAE Electronics to supply a Boeing 737-700 Level 5 flight training device for delivery to its Seattle simulator centre in August, where it will be used as a classroom-based maintenance trainer. Source: Flight International
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Artemis unveiled
The European Space Agency's geostationary orbiting Artemis communications technology satellite has been unveiled at Alenia Aerospazio in Rome amid fears that its scheduled launch on a Japanese H2 Alpha Plus in 1999 is likely to be delayed at least until February 2000 because of development problems with the new booster. ...
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K-C gets avionics ok
K-C Aviation has received supplemental type certification for installation of the BFGoodrich Avionics Systems GH-3000 electronic standby instrument system in the Bombardier Challenger 604. The flat-panel display is already installed in several other business jet types. Source: Flight International
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Fairchild Dornier aims for fly-by-wire on 728JET family
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH Fairchild Dornier has requested proposals from avionics suppliers for a fly-by-wire flight control system (FCS) for the 70 seat 728JETand other future members of its proposed regional jet family. According to Earl Robinson, senior vice-president for product development at Fairchild Dornier, a range of solutions , ...
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JAA clears 737-800 to take to the skies
The largest Boeing 737 built to date, the 160-189 seat 737-800, has been cleared to enter service with its European launch customers, following certification by the Joint Aviation Authorities. The new variant gained US Federal Aviation Administration type certification on 13 March. However, service entry was dependent on JAA approval ...
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FAA safety agenda focuses on CFIT and engines
Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) and engine safety are to head the US Federal Aviation Administration's list of priorities, according to Administrator Jane Garvey, unveiling the FAA's new "safety agenda". Launching the new agenda in Washington on 14 April, Garvey, together with US Vice President Al Gore and transportation ...
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Dee Howard sell-off looms
Andrea Spinelli/GENOA Alenia is considering the sale of part of its US maintenance business, Dee Howard, while the Italian group's Venice-based Aeronavali unit has received a huge order from a leasing company for converting McDonnell Douglas DC-10s into freighters. Maintenance represents around 65% of Dee Howard's annual $100 million sales. ...
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Taiwan steps up safety audits
Brent Hannon/TAIPEI In an attempt to rebuild passenger confidence in Taiwan's air safety following a spate of accidents, the country's Civil Aeronautics Administration has announced stricter penalties, including severe fines and grounding, for airlines not in compliance with regulatory standards. Each of Taiwan's nine commercial airlines has been ...
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Orbital aspirations
Tim Furniss/LONDON The Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST) has announced plans for a national manned spaceflight (see box), an unmanned lunar explorer and radical improvements to space applications technology, thus enabling China to compete more effectively in the international marketplace. A space applications plan has been announced to ...
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Three nations study anti-radiation missile
Douglas Barrie/LONDON Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC The USA, Germany and Italy have begun to explore the joint development of a next-generation anti-radiation missile, with negotiations on a memorandum of agreement (MoA) expected to get under way within the next few months. The three countries are already collaborating on ...
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ESA identifies cause of Ariane 5 roll as new launches approach
Tim Furniss/LONDON The European Space Agency (ESA) has confirmed that roughness inside the first stage engine nozzle was to blame for the roll that endangered the success of the second Ariane 5 launch in October 1997. A solution is in prospect as Arianespace prepares the launcher for fully commercial ...
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Boeing enters UPS bidding with 767 'Special Freighter'
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELS A "special Freighter"(SF) conversion of the 767-200, along with the MD-10, is being offered by Boeing to UPS for its ongoing McDonnell Douglas DC-8 replacement competition. Boeing is offering these aircraft against freighter conversions of the Airbus Industrie A300B4 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar for the ...
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TWA offers stay of execution for MD-80 production line
Trans World Airlines is negotiating with Boeing for up to 24 new MD-83s, which could keep the endangered Long Beach production line open until 2000. The line was scheduled to shut down in mid-1999 with the delivery of the last MD-83 to TWA. All eight of the current backlog ...
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Sabbath flights issue is high on El Al privatisation agenda
Arie Egozi/TEL AVIV As the Israeli Government attempts again to thrash out agreement on privatising national carrier El Al, the thorny political issue of whether to end its costly ban on Sabbath flights remains high on the agenda. A decision on the long delayed privatisation was due to take ...
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Drawing a line
In the next few days, a US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) delegation will walk into an ICAO conference chamber and prepare to put their arguments over a key element of the Future Air Navigation System (FANS). The case that they plan to make may look like genuine concern with smooth ...
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Half-price fuel offer
Raytheon Aircraft Services is offering fuel discounts to operators bringing their aircraft to one of its 14 US service centres for maintenance. Discounts of up to 55¢ per US gallon are available. Source: Flight International
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Europe and USA on course to clash over FANS datalink
Kieran Daly/LONDON Europe and the USA are once again set for a clash of wills over a key component of the technology to be used in the satellite based Future Air Navigation System (FANS). At an International Civil Aviation Association (ICAO) panel meeting starting this week, European interests ...
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First EOS launch suffers a six month setback
The launch of the first satellite in the Earth Observing System (EOS), the centrepiece of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth programme, has been delayed by at least six months after the discovery of a series of ground control software faults. Faults in the EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS) ...