January 14, 1985

January 14, 1985

View Full Issue Table of Contents
Editorial

A Media Event

NEW ARMED SERVICES CHAIRMAN

Aspin Expected to Push Policy Role, Budget Scrutiny

By Paul Mann

Aeronautical Engineering

USAF Redivides Pratt, G. E. Fighter Engine Buy

View Full Issue
More Features
1011
Editorial

A Media Event

Some of the dust has settled from the controversy over the military payload for the all-defense shuttle mission later this month. Yet the ramifications linger on. It was a classic media event. That is, what the newspapers, radio and television did and thought about the unfolding sequence became the focus rather than what the affair was all about to begin with.
1617
NEW ARMED SERVICES CHAIRMAN

Aspin Expected to Push Policy Role, Budget Scrutiny

Washington—House members and staff believe Rep. Les Aspin's (D.-Wis.) chairmanship of the House Armed Services Committee will enlarge the committee's role in formulating national defense policy, intensify scrutiny of the Pentagon's budget and give an extra push to procurement reform and arms control.

By Paul Mann

1617
Aeronautical Engineering

USAF Redivides Pratt, G. E. Fighter Engine Buy

Washington—U. S. Air Force will split its Fiscal 1986 procurement of engines for its McDonnell Douglas F-15 and General Dynamics F-16 fighters on a 54/46 basis between the General Electric F110 and Pratt & Whitney F100-220 engines. The Fiscal 1986 buy will be the second yearly increment of a contract awarded last February to the two engine manufacturers and reflects a more even balance in the quantities being procured from the two companies (AW&ST Feb. 13, 1984, p. 24).
1617

Lavi Engineering Mockup Readied for Wing Mating

1819

Missile Deliveries Restart

Los Angeles—Hughes Aircraft Co.'s Missile Systems Group has begun shipping missiles from its Tucson, Ariz., manufacturing facility for the first time since suspending production at the plant more than four months ago. The company delivered three AGM-65D infrared Maverick missiles to the Air Force in late December, and it plans to resume deliveries of other military systems manufactured at the plant soon.
1819

Japan Buying F-15s

Washington—U. S. and Japan have signed a memorandum of understanding for the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force to acquire an additional 55 McDonnell Douglas F-15Js to be delivered in 1986-90. The memorandum was signed Dec. 28. Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is producing under license 100 F-15Js, the F-15C version of the fighter, for the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force as part of an agreement signed in 1978.
1819
Space Technology

Soviets Orbit Large New Military Electronic Intelligence Satellite

The Soviet Union has launched the largest single military satellite in the history of its space program, a spacecraft U. S. analysts said is a new electronic intelligence gathering vehicle positioned in an orbit frequently overflying the U. S. to intercept radio communications and data.
1819
Space Technology

Spar Wins Remote Sensing Satellite Contract

Canadian Dept. of Supply and Services has awarded Spar Aerospace, Ltd., a $14.4million (Canadian) contract for design and development over 20 months of the Radarsat remote-sensing spacecraft to fly a synthetic-aperture radar for use by the Canadian Dept. of Energy, Mines and Resources.
2021

Japan Launches Mission Toward Halley's

Tokyo—Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft, the MS-T5, was launched Jan. 8 from the Uchinoura Space Center on a trajectory toward the general vicinity of Halley's Comet. Primary purpose of the mission is to test the new Nissan Motors MU-3S-2 launch vehicle, but the 304-lb. spacecraft also will provide solar wind data from the general area of Halley's Comet.
2021

Ariane Payload Changed

Paris—Arianespace has abandoned plans to launch two GTE Spacenet communications satellites on the same Ariane 3 launcher in April because of difficulties in arranging sufficient insurance coverage for the spacecraft. Revised scheduling calls for GTE Spacenet's GStar 1B to be carried on the Ariane along with France's Telecom 1B satellite in the April launch from Kourou, French Guiana. GTE Spacenet's Spacenet 3 satellite will be slipped from April to a new launch slot in August.
January 71985 January 211985