November 19, 1984

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Avionics

British Aerospace Pushing Ring Laser Gyro Effort

London—British Aerospace Bracknell Div. is attempting to shrink the lead in technology and marketing of ring laser gyros for inertial navigation applications held by the U.S. through penetration of the military market for high-reliability inertial systems.

By Jay C. Lowndes13 min

Space Technology

Manned U.S. Lunar Station Wins Support

Washington—Establishment of a $50-90billion manned U. S. base on the Moon within 25 years was supported by White House and National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials before a group of 300 scientists, engineers and astronauts who met here to rejuvenate manned lunar exploration begun by the Apollo program.

By Craig Covault10 min

Aeronautical Engineering

USAF Advanced Fighter Program Nears Acquisition Review

Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio—U.S. Air Force advanced tactical fighter (ATF) program is scheduled to undergo a review by the Defense Systems Acquisition Review Council (DSARC) in December, paving the way for release by the Air Force of a request for proposals for the demonstration/validation phase of the program in early 1985.

By Robert R. Ropelewski10 min

Shuttle Rescue Mission

Satellite Retrieval Succeeds Despite Equipment Problem

Johnson Space Center—Space shuttle Discovery’s crew wrestled two satellites by hand from useless orbits and into the payload bay last week after abandoning plans to do the job with the remote manipulator arm. Their success, despite retrieval equipment that would not fit one of the satellites, will enable insurance companies to regain some of the February losses from Palapa-B2 and Westar 6.

By Alton K. Marsh9 min

Business Flying

Manufacturers Restructure Sales Organizations in Depressed Market

Washington—General aviation aircraft manufacturers are restructuring their sales organizations for more flexibility in today’s depressed sales market and to accommodate future growth, after dropping to dealer levels that are 60% below early 1980.

By David M. North5 min

November 121984

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November 19, 1984

November 19, 1984

British Recommend Rotor Systems Be Designed to Fail-Safe Criteria