LOCKHEED MARTIN SELECTED BY NASA FOR ORION CREW EXPLORATION VEHICLE

Washington, D.C., August 31, 2006 — The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced today that it has selected the Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] team to design and build the agency’s next-generation human space flight crew transportation system known as Orion, with an initial contract value of approximately $4 billion. 

  

 

Orion, an advanced crew capsule design utilizing state-of-the-art technology, is a key element of NASA’s Vision for Space Exploration, and will succeed the Space Shuttle in transporting a new generation of human explorers to and from the International Space Station, the Moon, and eventually to Mars and beyond.

In partnership with NASA, Lockheed Martin will serve as prime contractor and will lead a world-class industry team that includes Honeywell, Orbital Sciences Corporation, United Space Alliance and Hamilton Sundstrand, supporting NASA in the design, test, build, integration and operational capability of Orion.

“We are honored by the trust that NASA has placed in the Lockheed Martin team for this historic and vital step forward in human space exploration,” said Bob Stevens, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation.  “Our entire team is fully committed to supporting NASA as we join together to help make the vision for space exploration a reality.”

Orion will transport up to six crew members to and from the International Space Station, and up to four crew members for lunar missions.  The new crew vehicle is designed to be an order of magnitude safer, more reliable, more affordable and more operationally efficient than previous human space flight systems.
 
“We are humbled and excited as we continue our legacy of five decades of partnership with NASA in every aspect of human and robotic space exploration,” said Joanne Maguire, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company.  “Work already is underway and we are fully focused on the vital tasks that lie ahead to meet NASA’s requirements for the program. We have a world-class team of highly dedicated, highly experienced women and men who are passionate about the success of NASA’s missions.”

The Lockheed Martin Orion program office is located in Houston, TX, co-located with NASA’s Johnson Space Center, providing support in the areas of program management, requirements development, software development, avionics, human factors, and system qualification testing.  Large structures and composites will be built at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, LA.  Final assembly, checkout and acceptance testing of Orion for both the Crew Module and Service Module will be performed in the Operations and Checkout (O&C) facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. 

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company is one of the major operating units of Lockheed Martin Corporation. Space Systems designs, develops, tests, manufactures and operates a variety of advanced technology systems for military, civil and commercial customers. Chief products include a full range of space launch systems, including heavy-lift capability, ground systems, remote sensing and communications satellites for commercial and government customers, advanced space observatories and interplanetary spacecraft, fleet ballistic missiles and missile defense systems.
 

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 135,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2005 sales of $37.2 billion.

Airbus cancels A380 test flight for landing gear glitch

A problem with landing gear controls forced Airbus to call off a test flight of its A380 superjumbo jet in mid-flight. “Shortly after takeoff, the crew noted a discordance between two light signals, making it impossible to know whether or not the main landing gear was lowered,” an Airbus spokeswoman said.

Cessna to unveil new business jet in October

Cessna Aircraft Co. will add drama to the National Business Aviation Association convention in October, when it unveils a mock-up of its newest corporate jet, the CJ4. The new plane has a bigger payload, more range and more speed than earlier models, Cessna spokesman Doug Oliver said. It will seat up to eight passengers and will be certified for operations up to 45,000 feet.

Boeing, Airbus boost investments in India

Boeing and EADS are expanding and investing in India as the nation’s aviation and defense markets grow. EADS, the parent of jet maker Airbus, will invest up to $2.56 billion in India and will open a technology center there. Separately, Boeing said it signed an agreement with Maharashtra to build a maintenance and overhaul facility.

NASA Decides to Move Shuttle Atlantis Off Launch Pad

NASA has decided to roll the Space Shuttle Atlantis off its launch pad and back inside the protection of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The rollback is targeted to start at approximately 10:05 a.m. EDT Tuesday.

The decision was made due to Tropical Storm Ernesto’s track. Ernesto is expected to bring high winds as it passes Kennedy.

A new launch date is not yet scheduled for Atlantis’ flight, STS-115, to the International Space Station. NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency continue to discuss the timing of Atlantis’ mission and the Soyuz spacecraft, which will send the next crew to the station in September. Factors to be considered are the lighting constraints for the shuttle launch and Soyuz landing and the timing for docking and
undocking the spacecraft with the station. NASA is also investigating additional launch windows later in the fall.

The STS-115 crew will return to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston. Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Chris Ferguson, and mission specialists Joe Tanner, Dan Burbank, Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper and Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean will continue training as they await a new target launch date.

During STS-115, Atlantis’ astronauts will deliver and install the 17.5-ton, bus-sized P3/P4 integrated truss segment on the station. The girder-like truss includes a set of giant solar arrays, batteries and associated electronics. The P3/P4 truss segment will provide one-fourth of the total power-generation capability for the completed
station.

Cathay Pacific celebrates 100th aircraft delivery when taking another Airbus A330

Cathay Pacific Airways celebrated the 100th aircraft to join its fleet by taking delivery of an Airbus A330-300 at a ceremony at the manufacturer’s base in Toulouse, France. The aircraft was presented in special livery to mark the achievement and named “Progress Hong Kong.” A further five A330-300s are scheduled to join the Cathay Pacific fleet in 2007 and 2008.

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific already operates one of the largest Airbus fleets in the Asia-Pacific region, with 26 A330-300s, 15 A340-300s and three A340-600s currently in service. The A330-300 fleet operates on medium-range regional routes, as well as longer sectors to Australia. The A340-300s and A340-600s operate ultra long-haul non-stop routes between Hong Kong, Europe and North America. The A340-600s have been operating daily non-stop services between Hong Kong and New York since July 2004.

Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Officer, Philip Chen said: “Our latest aircraft not only caps 60 years of great achievements, but also heralds a new era of expansion for the airline. In the past 10 years we have doubled our fleet size and by 2010 we will operate more than 130 aircraft. This continued growth represents the confidence we have in the airline, and also the confidence we have in Hong Kong’s future as a centre for business and tourism, and as a passenger and freight hub of international importance. Our recent acquisition of Dragonair underlines our commitment to the city and will, I believe, create new synergies that can only benefit Hong Kong.”

Airbus Chief Operating Officer – Customers John Leahy said: “Over the past 60 years, Cathay Pacific Airways has built a reputation for being one of the world’s most visionary and prestigious carriers. Airbus is very proud to have been part of Cathay Pacific’s success story during a period full of enormous challenges. We are proud of the steadily growing fleet of A330s and A340s efficiently operating on the airline’s regional and intercontinental long-haul network. In the spirit of true partnership, Airbus is delighted to share in Cathay Pacific’s anniversary celebrations and the delivery of its 100th aircraft today.”

Cathay Pacific was the first airline in the world to have established a mixed A330/340 fleet operation, fully exploiting the unique common design concept pioneered by Airbus. Sharing the same cockpit layout, operational procedures and handling characteristics, the aircraft are operated by Cathay Pacific as a single fleet, with pilots qualified to fly both types on a regular basis. Further benefits are also achieved through streamlined maintenance procedures as a result of the high level of common on-board systems and airframe components shared by the A330 and A340.

Cathay Pacific’s latest A330 delivery further reinforces the success of the A330/A340 Family as the preferred choice of airlines worldwide in the medium- to long-range segment, with over 900 total orders from more than 60 customers. The A330/A340 Family has been especially successful in the region with more than 230 aircraft in service with 19 airlines in Asia-Pacific.

Boeing Confirms Air Sahara Order for 10 737-800s

 

SEATTLE, Aug. 28, 2006 — The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today confirmed a previously unidentified Air Sahara order for 10 Next-Generation 737-800 airplanes. Air Sahara placed the order in the first quarter of 2006 and was listed in the unidentified category on Boeing’s Orders and Deliveries web site. Valued at more than $700 million at list prices, deliveries are scheduled to begin in mid 2009.

“This order reflects our confidence both in the growth of India’s aviation market and Air Sahara’s modernization and expansion plans,” said Alok Sharma, president of Air Sahara. “The reliability and exceptional low-operating cost of the Next-Generation 737 supports Air Sahara’s mission to be India’s leading airline in terms of operational efficiency and customer service.”

The 10 737s will be fitted with Blended Winglets, which will improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions, increase range and reduce takeoff noise.

“We are proud of the long-term relationship we have with Air Sahara,” said Dinesh Keskar, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president of Sales, South and Southeast Asia. “We look forward to continuing our partnership and support of Air Sahara’s expansion plans.”

Departure runway focus in fatal Comair CRJ crash.

A commuter jet taking off for Atlanta crashed just past the runway and burst into flames, killing 49 people before dawn Sunday and leaving the lone survivor in critical condition. The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately clear, but the location of the wreckage raised questions about the runways at Blue Grass Airport and whether Comair Flight 5191 had been on a runway too short for that type of plane.

The plane crashed and burned in a field just off the end of the airport’s shorter runway, a 3,500-foot-long, unlit strip built at a V shape to the main runway. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, it would have been too short for the CRJ-200 regional jet.

“We don’t know which runway they were using,” Lanter said. The plane went down at 6:07 a.m., about an hour before sunrise, said FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen. The fuselage was largely intact when rescuers reached the wreckage, and authorities said they were able to get one crew member out alive. But the county coroner described a devastating fire in the plane following the impact. “We are going to say a mass prayer before we begin the work of removing the bodies,” Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said. “They were taking off, so I’m sure they had a lot of fuel on board,” Ginn said.

“Most of the injuries are going to be due to fire-related deaths.” The crash was the country’s worst domestic airplane accident in nearly six years. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency had no indication that terrorism was involved in any way. Both flight recorders, which should help investigators determine what went wrong were found, Ginn said. Lexington police spokesman Sean Lawson said investigators were looking into whether the plane had taken off from the wrong runway and discovered it too late.

The main runway at Lexington’s airport is 7,000 feet long, while a daytime-only, general aviation runway is about 3,500 feet. Blue Grass Airport had been closed to flights the previous weekend for runway repaving but reopened Aug. 20. That type of plane needed 4,500 feet to 5,000 feet before it lifts off, said Paul Czysz, professor emeritus of aerospace engineering at Saint Louis University. Czysz said aerial images of the wreck indicate it was almost inconceivable that the airplane could have taken off on the longer runway because its nose is almost parallel with the shorter one. Also, trees at the end of the shorter runway were damaged, he said. “Sometimes with the intersecting runways, pilots go down the wrong one,” Czysz said. “It doesn’t happen very often.”

The three-member flight crew aboard the plane was experienced and had been flying that airplane for some time, said Comair President Don Bornhorst. He said the plane’s maintenance was up to date. He would not speculate on what happened. “We are absolutely, totally committed to doing everything humanly possible to determine the cause of this accident,” Bornhorst said. In Atlanta, most of the passengers aboard the crashed plane had planned to connect to other flights and did not have family waiting for them there, said the Rev. Harold Boyce, a volunteer chaplain at Hartsfield-Jackson airport. One woman was there expecting her sister on the flight. The two had planned to fly together to catch an Alaskan cruise, he said. “Naturally, she was very sad,” Boyce said. “She was handling it. She was in tears.”

The only survivor, believed to be the flight’s first officer, according to airport director Michael Gobb, was in surgery at the University of Kentucky hospital Sunday morning. Bornhorst identified the three crew members as Capt. Jeffrey Clay, who was hired by Comair in 1999, first officer James M. Polehinke, who was hired in 2002, and flight attendant Kelly Heyer, hired in 2004.

The plane had undergone routine maintenance as recently as Saturday, Bornhorst said. Comair purchased that plane in January 2001, and all maintenance was normal as far as the information Comair had Sunday morning, he said. The plane had 14,500 flight hours, “consistent with aircraft of that age,” Bornhorst said. Comair is a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines Inc. based in the Cincinnati suburb of Erlanger, Ky. Investigators from the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were at the scene. Outside the terminal lobby at midmorning, Paul Richardson of Winchester had come to the airport because he believed a friend from Florida was on the plane. “He took the earlier flight so he could get back to family,” Richardson said. He said airport officials were taking friends and family on buses to the nearby hotel. Two sheriff’s deputies guarded the entrance of a nearby hotel where family members of passengers were being brought. Rick Queen, who works for Turfway Realty in Lexington, said his father-in-law, Les Morris, was on the flight. He said Comair brought all the family members into a room at a Lexington hotel, told them the plane had crashed and family members died, then gave them an 800 phone number to call. “This is one of the worst handled events in Lexington history,” Queen said as he left.

Delta Chief Executive Officer Gerald Grinstein issued a statement expressing condolences for those involved. “We at Delta Air Lines want to extend our heartfelt sympathy and full support to everyone affected by the Comair accident, including family and friends of those onboard as well as our Comair colleagues. We are working closely with Comair to provide the resources necessary to assist in any way possible with this tragic event,” Grinstein said. Advertisement The flight attendant aboard the plane that crashed, Kelly Heyer, lived in the Cincinnati area and recently had been appointed as a base representative for the flight attendant union, said Tracey Riley, a union recording secretary and fellow Comair flight attendant. “He was a standup individual,” Riley said. “He was very professional, loved the job.”

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said President Bush, who is spending a long weekend at his family’s summer home on the Maine coast, was being briefed on the crash. “The president was deeply saddened by the news of the plane crash in Kentucky today,” she said. “His sympathies are with the many families of the victims of this tragedy.”

The crash marks the end of what has been called the “safest period in aviation history” in the United States. There has not been a major crash since Nov. 12, 2001, when American Airlines Flight 587 plunged into a residential neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., killing 265 people, including five on the ground. On Jan. 8, 2003, an Air Midwest commuter plane crashed on takeoff at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, killing all 21 aboard. Last December, a seaplane operated by Chalk’s Ocean Airways crashed off Miami Beach when its right wing separated from the fuselage shortly after takeoff, killing the 18 passengers and two crew members. That plane, a Grumman G-73 Turbo Mallard, was built in 1947 and modified significantly in 1979.

The NTSB’s last record of a CRJ crash was on November 21, 2004, when a China Eastern-Yunnan Airlines Bombardier crashed shortly after takeoff. The 6 crew members and 47 passengers on the CRJ-200 were killed, and there were two fatalities on the ground.

Story: www.airdisaster.com  

Scientists strip Pluto of planet status

Members of the International Astronomical Union on Thursday voted that Pluto does not meet the newly adopted definition of a planet. Pluto now ranks just ahead of asteroids and comets in the solar system.

Atlantis set to launch Sunday

The space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to launch Sunday at 4:30 p.m. EDT. The mission is the first in four years devoted to finishing construction on the International Space Station. Officials believe the shuttle will launch on time and say it has no problems.

Jetliner escorted back to Amsterdam

A Northwest Airlines jetliner bound from the Netherlands to India Wednesday was escorted back to Amsterdam, where police arrested 12 passengers. Crew members and air marshals observed the passengers in the rear of plane trying to use cell phones and passing them around during and shortly after takeoff.

Boeing Awarded C-130 Aircrew Training System AMP Modification Contract

 

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 24, 2006 — The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has received a U.S. Air Force contract to begin modifying the C-130 Aircrew Training System as part of the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP).

The undefinitized contract, with a value not to exceed $56.3 million, includes the modification of the first simulator and other training devices in preparation for the delivery of C-130 AMP aircraft. A team consisting of Boeing, CAE and Lockheed Martin will design, develop, install and test the training system modification. The Air Force plans to field the first C-130 AMP aircraft in 2009.

“The first simulator will be installed at the C-130 Flying Training Unit at Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas,” said Mike Harris, vice president and C-130 program manager for Boeing. “This contract demonstrates the confidence the Air Force has in Boeing to complete the C-130 AMP aircraft modification and deliver the aircraft into the hands of the warfighters.”

Under C-130 AMP, Boeing is developing a major upgrade to most Air Force C-130 aircraft. The upgrade will replace the old “round dial” instruments with state-of-the-art “glass cockpit” displays, including a heads-up display, or HUD, for pilots. AMP will bring the C-130 into compliance with current navigation and safety requirements, standardize the avionics across the C-130 fleet, improve reliability, eliminate the requirement for a navigator in most of the aircraft and reduce aircraft life cycle costs.

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