August 21, 1995

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HEADLINE NEWS

LOCKHEED MUST PROVE LLV RELIABILITY BY JUNE

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. Government satellite managers are handing launcher choices to industry. Some users wonder whether small launchers are worth the risk. Last week's first-flight loss of the Lockheed Launch Vehicle, on the heels of two successive failures of the Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket, is raising questions about the U.S.' small launcher capability.

By MICHAEL A. DORNHEIM

HEADLINE NEWS

ROME LAB'S REX 2 MAY TEST PEGASUS XL FIXES

LOS ANGELES An Air Force Rome Laboratory satellite may serve as the guinea pig for the next Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL launch, which has had no success in its two-flight history and has caused senior NASA management to want a demonstration before they fly on the vehicle again.

HEADLINE NEWS

ESA READIES LONGEST EUROPEAN MANNED FLIGHT

PARIS The European Space Agency and Russia are making final preparations for the launch of Europe's longest manned space mission. ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter, a German, is set for liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Sept. 3 for a 135-day flight on board the Mir space station.

By CRAIG COVAULT

HEADLINE NEWS

TITAN OFFICIALS SPEED WORK ON NOZZLE SKIRT

LOS ANGELES U.S. Air Force and Aerojet officials plan to speed up development of a followon Titan 4 second-stage nozzle skirt following a recent ground test failure that has delayed launches on both coasts. The ground test at Aerojet involved the qualification of new materials in an asbestos phenolic skirt, which attaches to the bottom of the engine nozzle to maximize performance.

By BRUCE A. SMITH

HEADLINE NEWS

JAPAN DELAYS H-2 LAUNCHES, FINISHES HOPE TEST VEHICLE

TOKYO and HONG KONG Equipment problems have forced delays in Japan's Comets, Adeos and ETS-7 engineering satellites, leaving a 16-17month void in the H-2 booster's schedule. Japan's Space Activities Commission, a cabinet-level advisory body, said the launch of the first Advanced Earth Observation Satellite (Adeos-1) will slip from the two-month winter liftoff period of January and February to the summer period of July and August.

By EIICHIRO SEKIGAWA,MICHAEL MECHAM

HEADLINE NEWS

EUROFIGHTER NEARS NEXT PROGRAM PHASE

LONDON Negotiations are to begin next month on production of the Eurofighter 2000, amid continuing controversy that the four-nation program is over-budget, late and badly managed. The stage was set for this next phase of the Eurofighter program with the four partner nations' belated formal approval late last month of Memorandum of Understanding 4, outlining the reorientation of the development program.

By CAROLE A. SHIFRIN

HEADLINE NEWS

TWO PREDATORS DESTROYED IN BOSNIA

WASHINGTON Two Tier 2 Predator unmanned aerial vehicles, considered key assets for gathering operational intelligence on the Bosnian Serb military, were destroyed in Bosnia within four days. One was likely lost to antiaircraft fire; the other was thought to have had an engine failure.

By DAVID A. FULGHUM

COVER STORY

CIRRUS SR20 COMBINES SAFETY, SPEED, COMFORT

OSHKOSH, WIS. The Cirrus SR20 is entering advanced flight test stage, but the company will need at least $10 million to certify the aircraft and initiate production Cirrus Design Corp.'s high-performance SR20 combines composite construction, advanced cockpit technologies and improved cabin comfort with key safety features absent in conventional, entry-level light aircraft.

By EDWARD H. PHILLIPS

HEADLINE NEWS

UNDERFUNDED PROGRAMS MAR DEFENSE BUDGET

WASHINGTON U.S. congressional officials and defense analysts are concerned that accumulated spending add-ons in the Fiscal 1996 Defense authorization and appropriations bills could snarl the nation's Defense budget with underfunded budgets by the turn of the century.

By DAVID A. FULGHUM

HEADLINE NEWS

SEALIFT TEST FOR K-MAX

NEW YORK Kaman Aerospace has won a $690,000 U.S. Navy contract to demonstrate the feasibility of using the commercially certifed K-Max helicopter in the vertical replenishment (vertrep) role. Under the contract—which will be monitored by the Military Sealift Command— Kaman will supply two aircraft, three pilots and three technicians, as well as logistical support for the demonstration.

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August 21, 1995

August 21, 1995