Melbourne Airport
teams with German tour operator
Melbourne International Airport has signed a marketing promotion contract with
north German tour operator M-Touristik AG to bring charter passengers from Berlin-Hamburg
to Brevard County starting in October. The service will be offered once a week
and will continue through April 2008. Each of the flights is expected to carry
more than 200 passengers, aboard either a Boeing 767 or Airbus 330.
“The agreement with M-Touristik will help the Brevard County area tap into a
potentially huge German and Polish market,” said Richard Ennis, the airport’s
executive director. “We’re estimating that as many as 6,000 travelers will visit
our area between October and next April, injecting as much as $6 million into
the local economy in the first season alone.”
For more information, please visit www.mlbair.com
Harris and LG Electronics announce DTV system
LG Electronics and its subsidiary, Zenith Electronics
has joined forces with Harris in the development of new in-band mobile
DTV technology called the MPH (Mobile-Pedestrian-Handheld).
“MPH is designed to deliver the Mobile-Pedestrian-Handheld applications
that digital TV broadcasters are seeking,” said Dr. Jong Kim, president
of LG’s
Zenith R&D
Lab, which collaborated with the LG DTV Lab in Seoul and with Harris Broadcast
Communications Division on the development of the system. “We believe broadcasters
will appreciate both the superior performance and unparalleled flexibility
of our MPH system.”
The system is a multiple-stream approach, with the main service stream for
existing DTV and HDTV services, and the MPH stream for one or more mobile,
pedestrian and/or handheld services.
For more information, visit www.harris.com
Boeing honors its partnership with small business
Boeing recently honored the small businesses that
support its NASA Checkout, Assembly and Payload Processing Services
contract during a recognition event in Cape Canaveral. The businesses
recognized included CNI/All Points Logistics, Creative Management
Technology, Indyne and Yang Enterprises.
“Boeing thanks this community for their exceptional small business performance.
Our success and future competitiveness depends on them to execute the intricate
work we do for the nation’s space program,” said John Elbon, Boeing Space Exploration
vice president and Constellation program manager and Florida site executive.
For more information, please visit www.boeing.com
SPACEHAB announces initiative
SPACEHAB plans to develop a new company division
that will focus on manufacturing pharmaceuticals and materials in
space for distribution into the commercial marketplace.
“The International Space Station (ISS) Program is now transitioning from the
construction and experimentation phases to its intended utilization phase,”
said Thomas B. Pickens, III, SPACEHAB president and CEO.
To execute this new direction, SPACEHAB is applying resources and tapping into
the company’s partnerships with national and international space agencies and
companies as well as the institutional science community.
For more information, please visit www.spacehab.com
Lockheed Martin delivers Minehunting Vehicle
Lockheed Martin's has delivered the Remote Minehunting
Vehicle to the U.S. Navy. This delivery is a significant milestone
in the development of the mine countermeasures capability for both
DDG 51 Arleigh Burke Class destroyers and the Littoral Combat Ship.
The RMV is a semi-submersible, semi-autonomous, unmanned vehicle that tows
a variable-depth sensor to detect, localize, classify and identify bottom and
moored sea mines at a safe distance from friendly ships. The RMV transmits
real-time mine sonar images to its host ship over a data link system. This
mine reconnaissance capability will allow a naval Strike Group Commander to
quickly and safely assess the threat of mines in prospective areas of operations.
In 2005, the Naval Sea Systems Command awarded Lockheed Martin a low-rate initial
production contract for three RMVs. In 2006, a contract for four more RMVs
was awarded. Total contract value is $118 million. The RMV is produced at Lockheed
Martin's Riviera Beach facility.
“The Remote Minehunting System (RMS) introduces a critical mine countermeasure
capability to our forward-deployed naval forces,” said Captain Joe Spitz, deputy
mine warfare program manager, program executive office littoral and mine warfare.
“Sailors now have an organic unmanned mine warfare system that will allow them
to detect and classify mines from a safe distance. RMS allows the Navy to send
a remotely operated vehicle into dangerous waters, keeping Sailors out of the
minefield.”
For more information, please visit www.lockheedmartin.com
AuthenTec and Softex partner
AuthenTec and Softex have announced the integration
of OmniPass ME to work with AuthenTec’s biometric fingerprint sensors.
This will allow the user to securely and conveniently manage PDA
and cell phone authentication before critical device operations such
as logon, password replacement and file encryption can be performed.
Most security software is designed to protect information stored on mobile
devices while sacrificing convenience. OmniPass ME leverages AuthenTec’s secure
biometric authentication to make the overall mobile device experience more
convenient to use. It protects the user’s data, allows secure device login
and secures access to websites and applications.
For businesses, the annual cost of password resets can add up to hundreds of
dollars per employee. Whether you belong to an enterprise network or you are
a consumer, managing user identities and authentication has become a complex
problem. OmniPass ME provides the tools necessary to reduce costs and conveniently
manage passwords and identities.
For more information, please visit www.softexinc.com and www.authentec.com
New FAA oceanic air traffic system is up and running
The Federal Aviation Administration’s Advanced Technologies
and Oceanic Procedures system, developed by Lockheed is now fully
operational. The Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center in Alaska,
the last of three FAA sites transitioning to ATOP, successfully completed
its transition in March. The Anchorage center is the first ATOP site
to use the radar functionality of the system. As a result, the ATOP
system is capable of operating both non-radar and radar separation.
The system provides safe separation of aircraft in areas outside radar coverage
or direct radio communication, such as over the ocean. It detects conflicts
between aircraft, provides satellite data link communication and position information
to air traffic controllers, and significantly reduces the intensive manual
process that limited the flexibility of controllers to safely handle airline
requests for more efficient tracks over long oceanic routes.
Aviation industry experts analyzing oceanic flights linking the United States
to the Caribbean Islands and South America have estimated that ATOP will save
airlines nearly $8 million per year, while annually conserving slightly less
than 6.5 million pounds of fuel.
For more information, please visit www.lockheedmartin.com
Lockheed Martin delivers data link for flight testing
The A-10 Prime Team, led by Lockheed Martin, has
successfully delivered the fully functional Situational Awareness
Data Link capability to the U.S. Air Force for developmental flight
testing. The link, part of the A-10C Precision Engagement program,
improves pilot situational awareness by providing critical information
about friendly and enemy air and ground assets.
“SADL will help Air Force A-10 pilots further reduce fratricide in the combat
environment,” said Roger Il Grande, A-10 program director at Lockheed Martin
Systems Integration in Owego, NY. “Enhanced situational awareness is a key
element of the Precision Engagement program, helping to transform the legacy
A/0A-10 aircraft from an analog aircraft to the enhanced digital A-10C configuration.”
The U.S. Air Force is expected to conduct developmental flight test of the
SADL capability through May 2007 at Eglin Air Force Base. It is expected to
be fielded to operational A-10 units by September 2007.
For more information, please visit www.lockheedmartin.com
Rockwell Collins expands presence in China
The Xian Aircraft, a manufacturer of large and medium-sized
airplanes in China, has selected Rockwell Collins to upgrade its
MA60 aircraft with Pro Line 21 avionics.
"This agreement expands our presence in China and is the result of
our longstanding and close working relationship with XAC," said Denny Helgeson, vice president and general manager of business and regional
systems for Rockwell Collins. “We are pleased and honored to be part of the growing
aviation industry in China.”
The Pro Line 21 system is designed to meet the demands of the regional airline
environment, specifically allowing for increased functionality, increased reliability
and improved maintainability. The system’s proven high dispatch availability,
advanced data communications technology and extensive system integration will
ensure growth for future communication, navigation, surveillance/air traffic
management requirements.
For more information, please visit www.rockwellcollins.com
DRS and Thales join for undersea warfare systems
DRS Technologies and the Thales Group announced have
formed DRS Sonar Systems, LLC, a DRS majority-owned joint venture
company with Thales North America. The company will focus on undersea
warfare systems for defense and homeland security applications. The
company partners two leading global defense technology companies
in order to become a preferred provider of UWS solutions for U.S.
and foreign military forces.
DRS Sonar Systems will manufacture undersea warfare products and systems under
license from Thales and serve as the point of contact for sales and support
in the United States. The new company also will develop new underwater systems
tailored to U.S. Navy requirements by integrating subsystems from other contractors
and Thales’ extensive product base.
For more information, please visit www.drs.com
Northrop Grumman adds Lockheed Martin to its battle system team
Lockheed Martin has joined Northrop Grumman’s team
pursuing the U.S. Army’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle
Command System program. Northrop Grumman is bidding as the prime
contractor for this procurement. Lockheed Martin joins Boeing as
Northrop Grumman’s principal teammates on the prime team competition.
“We are proud to have Lockheed Martin join our world-class team,” said Frank
Moore, vice president of Missile Defense Division for Northrop Grumman's Mission
Systems sector.
“Our team will take advantage of Lockheed Martin’s extensive air defense experience
and will also leverage our joint efforts on the Ballistic Missile Defense C2BMC
System. With Lockheed Martin on our team, we will be able to ensure that the
IBCS will fully integrate the air and missile defense systems on today's battlefield
and provide the best open systems architecture for future growth.”
For more information, please visit www.ngc.com and www.lockheedmartin.com
Northrop Grumman satellites set new durability standard
Six Northrop Grumman communication satellites in
the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System have set a new standard
for long life and reliability, enhancing earth-to-space communications
for nearly a quarter of a century. Expected to collectively provide
service for somewhere between 42 to 60 years, the constellation is
approaching 102 years of operation without a single satellite being
retired from service, based on the 10-year planned life of each satellite.
Pioneered by the company’s Space Technology sector, the six TDRSS
satellites number among the 26 successful geosynchronous spacecraft
built by Northrop Grumman in the last 25 years, all of which are
still operating.
“TDRSS is an outstanding example of the excellent, long-standing partnership
between Northrop Grumman and NASA, which has moved science and technology forward
to support the nation,” said Alexis Livanos, corporate vice president and president
of Northrop Grumman’s Space Technology sector. “The longevity and reliability
of TDRSS has provided high performance and exceptional value to NASA and other
users.”
Northrop Grumman designed, fabricated, tested and launched the original spacecraft;
performed ground and spacecraft systems integration; and provided the original
ground terminal software.
For more information, please visit www.ngc.com
Harris donates telemetry licenses to Air Force Academy
U.S. Air Force Academy cadets will be able to train
for and execute space communications assignments using the most advanced
technology available today, thanks to a donation from Harris. The
company donated OS/COMET satellite telemetry tracking and control
product licenses, and associated engineering/training support, to
the Academy’s Department of Astronautics.
The department of Astronautics offers an engineering program where cadets design,
develop, integrate and test small satellites for Department of Defense research
and development space programs. The software tool donated will be used for
training, integration and test, and on-orbit command and control of the cadet-built
and operated FalconSAT series of satellites. Four FalconSAT satellites have
been launched to date - the last one, FalconSAT-3, was launched in March. Another
two FalconSAT satellites are in the design phase.
For more information, please visit www.harris.com