All aerospace news – Page 1870
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Shuttle conundrum
To develop or not to develop new technologies? That is the question facing NASA Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DCTim Furniss/LONDON The additional $750 million NASA has been given over the next five years to help develop technologies for the next generation of re-usable launch vehicles (RLV) should instead be used for further ...
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Domestic upheavals
Brent Hannon/TAIPEI A series of fatal accidents has halted 11 years of rapid expansion by Taiwan's second-tier airlines, and an era of mergers and consolidation is at hand. The nine commercial airlines than once flew Taiwan's domestic skies will soon be cut to five, with further reductions likely. EVA Airways ...
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ESA plan emphasises launchers
Julian Moxon/Paris Development of a 1t launcher, increased capability for the Ariane 5 rocket and a new emphasis on partnership with industry for telecommunications and science programmes are among initiatives planned by the European Space Agency (ESA) in its latest five-year plan. ESA's new director general, Antonio Rodota, ...
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FAA approves cargo 747 conversion fix
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES GATX-Airlog is preparing to "re-enter" the Boeing 747 freighter conversion market after the USFederal Aviation Administration approved company-developed service bulletins (SBs) which will finally allow operators to revive the prospects of several grounded 747Fs. The event marks a major breakthrough for Airlog, which has been ...
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Boeing gives 2000 bug guarantee
Ian Sheppard/LONDON Boeing will give written guarantees that its aircraft will behave normally through the transition to the year 2000, despite a decision by aviation insurers to exclude their own liability to the millennium software bug. James Wigfall, Boeing's manager for business relations and support systems, spoke about ...
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UK industry league reshapes
Kevin O'Toole/London While attention focuses on the place of the UK's major aerospace players within Europe, the second tier of companies have been busy with their own restructuring further down the home league. With most of the annual results now in, there are clear shifts in the UK ...
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Viasoft Y2K
Raytheon Systems has selected Viasoft Technology of Phoenix, Arizona, to supply its Year 2000 compliance and general maintenance tools for in-house code conversion. Raytheon will use the system to accomplish the century date change project at its Greenville, Texas, site. Source: Flight International
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Advertising space
US Vice President Al Gore has asked NASA to develop the concept of a small satellite to be launched for less than $50 million. The craft, due to launch in 2000, would sit in a solar orbit 1.6 million kilometres above the Earth, sending back continuous high-definition images to be ...
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Germany clears way for ISS participation
The German Government has approved German participation in the International Space Station (ISS)programme. According to Daimler-Benz Aerospace (Dasa), the move amounts to national confirmation of a commitment made jointly by the participating nations in the original agreement to proceed with the ISS, signed earlier in Washington DC. Germany ...
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SUD freighter cleared
Boeing's first cargo conversion of a stretched upper deck (SUD) 747 has been approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration. The conversion involves modification of the upper deck cabin floor to enable 3m-high pallets to be accommodated on the main deck. Source: Flight International
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GE90 inspections continue after 777 Heathrow surprise
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES General Electric expects borescope inspections of 28 GE90 engines to be completed by 5 April following the failure of a low pressure turbine (LPT) of an engine on a British Airways Boeing 777-200IGW at London Heathrow on 12 March. The incident caused serious disruption at Heathrow ...
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IAE enters race for A319 100-seater
Airbus Industrie has widened the bidding in the contest to power its proposed A319M5 100-seater by inviting International Aero Engines (IAE) to enter a derated 89kN (20,000lb) version of the V2500. The V2520-A5 version is based on the 98kN V2522-A5 and the 107kN V2524-A5 now offered on the 124-seat A319-100. ...
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LOT prepares to make cargo expansion
Andrzej Jeziorski/WARSAW LOT Polish Airlines is planning to lease a freighter for the next winter season in a move towards expanding its cargo operation. The airline's cargo division says that it is looking for a long haul freighter with a payload of around 40t, such as a McDonnell ...
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Safety concerns prompt ICAO to rethink pilot licence rules
David Learmount/FRANKFURT The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is proposing to change fundamentally the basis on which pilot licences are issued. The move is a response to rising concerns over safety, said a senior executive of the organisation at a Flight International conference in Frankfurt. Future pilot licences ...
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Virgin Express brings back French flights
Virgin Express has re-introduced services between Nice and Brussels by reviving its French subsidiary. Air Provence Charter, which was a joint venture involving EBA Eurobelgian Airlines when Richard Branson took EBA over in 1996, will initiate the service using a French registered Boeing 737-300 under the name of Virgin ...
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EasyJet eases into second home in Switzerland
No-frills UK carrier easyJet has secured a 40% stake in charter operator TEA Switzerland from owner Airfinance. The London Luton-based airline intends to relaunch TEA as easyJet Switzerland as soon as it can exercise an option for a controlling stake. The move follows easyJet's failed attempt to acquire Air ...
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Classic takes shape
Guy Norris/LONG BEACH In June a familiar shape is due to take off on a maiden flight from Long Beach, California. Outwardly it will bear the classic hallmarks of a Douglas-built T-tail twinjet, yet in most respects it is a radically new aircraft. The Boeing 717-200 was once the MD-95. ...
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Outlook fine
Tim Furniss/LONDON The European Space Agency (ESA) already has its eyes fixed firmly on the next weather satellite programme, even though a structural and thermal model of the first satellite in the present programme has only just been unveiled. The model, for the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) programme (see box), ...
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NASA steps up high flier testing
NASA plans to conduct extra test flights of its small fleet of high altitude long duration air vehicles this year as it steps up environmental research work. The Aero Vironment Pathfinder solar powered unmanned air vehicle, which is the most visible aspect of the US space agency's Environmental Research ...