July 12, 1999

July 12, 1999

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HEADLINE NEWS

Chandra Liftoff Set on Orbiter Columbia

By CRAIG COVAULT6 min

HEADLINE NEWS

GE Wins Exclusive Deal to Power Long-Range 777s

By STANLEY W. KANDEBO6 min

HEADLINE NEWS

Russian Failure Impact Assessed

By CRAIG COVAULT5 min

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HEADLINE NEWS

Chandra Liftoff Set on Orbiter Columbia

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER NASA is poised to launch the Chandra advanced X-ray astrophysics observatory on a $2.78-billion flight next week in search of both the most violent phenomenon in deep space and answers to questions about the most fundamental physics governing the evolution of the universe.

By CRAIG COVAULT6 min

2223
HEADLINE NEWS

GE Wins Exclusive Deal to Power Long-Range 777s

Boeing selected the GE90 over two rivals because 'it best met the overall evaluation criteria'

By STANLEY W. KANDEBO6 min

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HEADLINE NEWS

Russian Failure Impact Assessed

CAPE CANAVERAL The failure of a four-stage, 2-million-lb.-thrust Proton booster at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 5 has ex tended the string of major launch accidents to Russiawith serious international consequences. The failure of the 200-ft.tall booster threatens the schedule for launch of the critical Russian Service Module for the International Space Station and has grounded another member of the Lockheed Martin International Launch Services commercial stable.

By CRAIG COVAULT5 min

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HEADLINE NEWS

France Reviews Role in Kosovo Operations

PARIS Ongoing efforts to shape a unified European defense policy are ex pected to lead to significant progress in the aftermath of Operation Allied Force. The European contribution to NATO’s air strikes against Yugoslavia has confirmed the need to improve interoperability and boost Europe’s military capability, according to French defense officials.

By PIERRE SPARACO5 min

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HEADLINE NEWS

European Helo Projects Vie for R&D Funding

PARIS LONDON Plans by a Eurocopter-led consortium to launch an expanded tiltrotor technology development project from iron bird to flying demonstrator may be stymied by a compound helicopter project proposed by rivals GKN Westland and Agusta.

By MICHAEL A. TAVERNA,JOHN D. MORROCCO4 min

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HEADLINE NEWS

Russian Ejection Seat Considered for F-22

WASHINGTON The U.S. Air Force is examining the feasibility of using the Russian-designed K-36 ejection seat on the F-22 fighter after the service has spent several years evaluating that crew escape system. When USAF began looking at the K-36D, designed by the Zvezda research and production organization, it was only interested in the seat’s technology.

By ROBERT WALL4 min

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HEADLINE NEWS

Ellipso Links with Ariane, Awaits Boeing's Next Move

WASHINGTON PARIS Arianespace has reached a prelimi nary launch and financing accord with Ellipso Inc., but Boeing has yet to complete an agreement to take a leading role in the uniquely designed mobile satellite telephone project. Under a new memorandum, Arianespace would orbit up to 16 equatorial satellites on four Ariane 5s, put up a large amount of vendor financing for the launches and make a relatively small equity investment in Ellipso.

By JOSEPH C. ANSELMO,MICHAEL A. TAVERNA3 min

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HEADLINE NEWS

Rosetta Comet Mission Builds on Giotto Flyby

LONDON The European Space Agency has un veiled updated technical details of its Rosetta mission to rendezvous with and place a lander on the comet Wirtanen in 2012 just as NASA canceled a similar mission for budgetary reasons. The one-billion-euro ($ 1.02-billion) Rosetta project is considered a key element of ESA’s Horizon 2000 long-term scientifie program.

By JOHN D. MORROCCO3 min

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HEADLINE NEWS

Boeing Faces Charges on Anti-bias Rules

Washington Boeing has blocked efforts to investigate its adherence to federal antidiscriminatory employment regulations, the U.S. Labor Dept, complained last week. In suits filed before administrative law judges, department officials charged the aerospace contractor hindered their investigation of African-American workers’ complaints of discrimination at Boeing facilities in the Seattle area, Wichita, Kan., and Philadelphia.

By James T. McKenna2 min

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HEADLINE NEWS

Comet, Mercury Missions Approved

Washington NASA recently abandoned an ambitious mission to land a spacecraft on the comet Tempel 1. Now the agency just wants to blast away at it. Deep Impact, one of two new Discovery science missions approved by NASA last week, is to fire a 1,100-lb. copper projectile into Tempel 1 at 22,300 mph.

By Joseph C. Anselmo2 min

July 51999 July 191999