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UPDATE 
Week ending May 6, 2001
+++ Avro RJX flies +++ Eurofighter simulation system contract signed +++ Fairchild Dornier completes Initial 928JET wind tunnel tests +++ Boeing launches Longer-Range 747-400 Freighter +++ Lufthansa orders more CRJ200 +++ News in brief +++

Avro RJX flies
Erstflug der Avro RJX

The first flight of the Avro RJX regional jet took place at Woodford Airfield in Cheshire, UK. The aircraft took off at 12:16 hrs local time on Saturday 28th April and successfully completed a planned 2 hour 54 minute maiden flight, which took it to 20,000 ft. Captaining the RJX on this first flight was Alan Foster, RJX Project Pilot, who said afterwards: "Today's first flight went as planned with all tests easily completed, which bodes well for the rest of the programme. The aircraft handled beautifully throughout the flight, displaying the RJX's heritage, complemented by the advantages of the new engine. Any pilot converting from the Avro RJ or BAe 146 will feel immediately at home in the RJX. The most obvious differences from the earlier aircraft were the lower fuel flow rates and the improved climb rate due to the increased thrust at altitude.
This is an aircraft we will all enjoy flying over the coming months during the intensive test phase. It is a tribute to the engineering team that created it."
This first aircraft, an Avro RJX-85, will later be joined by two of the larger RJX-100 aircraft in a flight test programme that will last into the first quarter of 2002. First delivery will be to British European in April 2002. The Avro RJX has already secured 14 firm orders from British European and Druk Air of Bhutan and 14 options from British European and British Airways subsidiary CityFlyer. The Avro RJX is a third generation regional jet developed from the BAe 146 and Avro RJ. This successful family of aircraft has captured a total of 399 orders, with 378 aircraft delivered to date.

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Eurofighter simulation system contract signed
Trainingssysteme für Eurofighter bestellt

The UK and its three partners in the Eurofighter programme have signed a 500 million pound initial contract for development and production of the advanced Aircrew Synthetic Training Aids system. Work valued at some 150 million pounds will go to the UK, sustaining some 160 high technology jobs at British firms and many others amongst equipment suppliers. ASTA comprises two types of training device. A Full Mission Simulator will replicate all aspects of a real flying mission, allowing pilots to match the aircraft and its weapons against interactive attackers, while experiencing the pressures and demands of high speed jet flight. The Cockpit Trainer is a lower level device, primarily used to introduce the pilot to the cockpit environment and procedures. Equipment will be electronically linked to provide multi-aircraft mission rehearsals.
The contract for development, production and in-service support of training aids was signed in Munich by the Eurofighter managing agency NETMA with the prime contractor, Eurofighter GmbH. Initial equipment will be supplied to the UK's first operating base, RAF Coningsby, in 2004. Future contract supplements will cover equipment for RAF Leeming and RAF Leuchars, and will bring the overall contract value for the four nations to 750 million pounds. The ASTA programme will sustain around 100 high technology jobs at BAE Systems, primarily at Warton and Bristol, and a further 60 jobs high technology at Thales Training and Simulation Ltd at Crawley. Work is also expected to be placed with a range of UK equipment suppliers.

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Fairchild Dornier completes Initial 928JET wind tunnel tests
928JET im Windkanal

Fairchild Dornier has completed more than 100 hours of initial wind tunnel testing for the 928JET now in development. In two series of tests, engineers focused on validation of the wing design for the new 90- to 110-seat airliner. The 928JET is the second in a family of airliners designed for the under 110-seat market, and is a larger version of the 70- to 85-seat 728JET now in production in Germany. The first tests conducted at the Deutsch-Niederländischer Windkanal in Amsterdam confirmed the aerodynamic approach in wing design changes compared with the wing of the smaller 728JET. The tests in this high-speed wind tunnel used a 1/12th-scale half model to get more information about aerodynamic properties and loads for the whole envelope. The second series, carried out at the low speed wind tunnel at the Technical University Stuttgart, used a 1/23rd-scale model to examine the high-lift system, trailing flaps and leading edge devices. The primary objective of this series was to optimize the airfoil sections of the flaps and slats and confirm the engineering predictions. "We gained a great deal of useful information from these tests and came away quite pleased with our initial designs," said Dr. Günter Kappler, senior vice president, engineering for Fairchild Dornier. "The larger wing of the 928JET is designed for optimum efficiency for this size aircraft, and we retain superb commonality through the family concept that will yield overall savings for the customer."

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Boeing launches Longer-Range 747-400 Freighter
Neuer Fracht-Jumbo im Angebot

The Boeing Company has launched the second member of its Longer-Range 747-400 family - the Longer-Range 747-400 Freighter. The initial customer for the airplane is International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), which announced it has ordered five of the Longer-Range 747-400 Freighters. The estimated value of the order is $1 billion at list prices. The order was previously identified on the Boeing Web, attributed to an unidentified customer. The first airplane will be delivered to ILFC in October 2002. The Longer-Range 747-400 passenger program was launched with Qantas Airways in November 2000. The Longer-Range 747-400 Freighter has a maximum takeoff weight of 910,000 pounds (412,770 kilograms). This takeoff weight increase of 35,000 pounds (15,876 kilograms) over existing -400s allows the Longer-Range 747-400 Freighter to fly an additional 530 nautical miles (982 kilometers). Or, it can carry an additional 22,000 pounds (9,980 kilograms) of payload on long-range flights at maximum takeoff weight. The Longer-Range 747-400 Freighter will be able to carry more than 124 tons (113,000 kilograms) of payload, the same as the existing 747-400 Freighter. Both airplanes will have the industry's lowest operating cost per ton-mile. Compared to the existing 747-400 Freighter, the Longer-Range 747-400 Freighter has strengthened parts of its wing, fuselage, and landing gear - all to support the 35,000 pounds (15,876 kilograms) of additional takeoff weight capability.

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Lufthansa orders more CRJ200
Weitere CRJ200 für Lufthansa

Bombardier Aerospace has reached agreement with Germany's Lufthansa for the sale of up to 45 CRJ200 regional jet aircraft. The contract calls for 15 firm CRJ200 orders and 30 options for Lufthansa with deliveries of the firm aircraft beginning this October and running through the spring of 2003. The 15 aircraft firm order portion of the agreement is valued at an estimated $340 million U.S. ($476 million Cdn.). The CRJ aircraft will be operated by Lufthansa affiliate, Eurowings. Lufthansa is a 24.9 per cent shareholder in the Dortmund-based airline. Eurowings will implement CRJ service early next month with a fleet of five leased 50-seat CRJs. These aircraft will be taken off lease as the purchased aircraft come on line. Eurowings will use the CRJ200 fleet primarily for route expansion, although the aircraft will replace ATR aircraft on some longer turboprop routes. Lufthansa affiliate Lufthansa CityLine was the worldwide launch customer for Bombardier's CRJ when it inaugurated scheduled service with the aircraft type in late 1992. The largest CRJ operator in Europe, Lufthansa CityLine has a total of 65 CRJ aircraft in service or on order including 45 50-passenger and 20 70-passenger models. In addition, Team Lufthansa affiliate Augsburg Airways operates a mixed fleet of 37-, 50- and 70-passenger Bombardier Q Series turboprop airliners.

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NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN

The Royal Thai Army is acquiring S-70 BLACK HAWK helicopters, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation announced. Two helicopters will be built under a contract with Sikorsky for about $20 million. The BLACK HAWK aircraft, first in the Thai Army's fleet, are being obtained through the U.S. Army via a government-to-government Foreign Military Sale. "We are happy to provide the Royal Thai Army with the world's most versatile military helicopter," said Sikorsky President Dean Borgman. "I know the BLACK HAWK willexcel in any mission that comes its way." Sikorsky S-70 SEAHAWK Naval helicopters as well as S-76 maritime patrol variants already serve the Royal Thai Navy.
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Raytheon Company has received a $61 million award from the U.S. Air Force Electronic Warfare Product Group, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Ga., for towed decoys and infrastructure equipment supporting the Air Force's ALE-50 towed decoy system. The award represents the fifth production lot of ALE-50 equipment being provided to the U.S. Air Force and Navy as part of an original contract that began in December 1996. The Lot 5 award calls for 2477 towed decoys, 111 launcher/controllers for Air Force F-16 aircraft, 57 dual compatible launchers for B-1B aircraft, and 19 fault isolation testers. In addition, 76 ALE-50 decoy mass models are being provided for U.S. Navy use as training assets. Equipment acquired by the Lot 5 award will be delivered through October 2003. Completion of the Lot 5 program will bring the total number of decoys produced by Raytheon to 15,740. Delivery of the 10,000th production ALE-50 decoy is planned to occur in late summer 2001.
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The U.S. Navy successfully launched a SLAM-ER missile on a test range at the Naval Air Warfare Center at China Lake, Calif. The launch marked the first developmental flight test of the SLAM-ER's automatic target acquisition (ATA) capability. The missile was launched from an F/A-18C and flew a predetermined flight path that included seven different waypoints. At each waypoint the SLAM-ER changed course, avoiding terrain hazards. Several miles from the target, the ATA system automatically acquired the target and began providing real-time targeting cues to the pilot in a second F/A-18C standoff control aircraft. The SLAM-ER guidance system also used ATA measurements to guide the missile to the target. Just prior to impact the pilot in the second F/A-18C selected the exact hit point using SLAM-ER's Stop Motion Aimpoint Update feature. The SLAM-ER scored a direct hit on the selected target aimpoint.
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General Dynamics announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Galaxy Aerospace Company, LP, for $330 million in cash. In addition, the selling parties may receive additional payments -- up to a maximum of $315 million -- through 2006 contingent upon the achievement of specific revenue targets. Galaxy Aerospace is a joint venture, formed in 1997, of the Hyatt Corporation and Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd.; it anticipates 2002 revenues of $635 million and operating income of $72 million. Galaxy is headquartered at Alliance Airport in Fort Worth, Texas; it has approximately 450 employees. When the transaction closes, Galaxy will become part of General Dynamics' Aerospace group, which includes Gulfstream Aerospace. The companies expect to close the deal next month. In the transaction, General Dynamics will acquire two new product lines for its Aerospace group: the Astra mid-size twin turbofan business jet, and the Galaxy, the first aircraft in the super mid-size class, which entered service in January 2000, well ahead of its competitors. The Galaxy has the longest range and largest cabin volume in the super mid-size aircraft category. General Dynamics will continue Galaxy Aerospace's relationship with Israel Aircraft Industries. In this arrangement, both aircraft models will be assembled by Israel Aircraft Industries in Tel Aviv, Israel, and flown to Fort Worth in a "green'' configuration; General Dynamics will design and install custom interiors and all optional equipment. Concurrent with the transaction, Executive Jet Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company, has placed an order for 50 of the super mid-size Galaxy aircraft to be delivered over the next five years, with options for 50 more for its NetJets fractional aircraft ownership program. Total value of the order, options and maintenance services is approximately $2 billion.
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Lockheed Martin Space Systems announced that it has completed assembly of the first Atlas V rocket, designated AV-001, and is shipping it to Space Launch Complex 41 (LC 41), the company's Atlas V launch site at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Atlas V is the company's largest, most powerful Atlas space launch vehicle built to date and is scheduled for its first launch in the second quarter of 2002. Development of the Atlas V launch system began in 1998 and a vast majority of the flight systems that fly on the Atlas V already were flight-proven on Lockheed Martin's Atlas III launch last May. Lockheed Martin developed its new, more powerful Atlas V launch vehicles to meet the needs of the U.S. Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program and the growing needs of International Launch Services (ILS) for its commercial and government satellite customers worldwide. ILS, headquartered in McLean, Va., is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin in the United States and Khrunichev and Energia in Russia. ILS manages all tasks associated with providing launch services on both the Atlas and the Russian-built Proton vehicle families, including technical, management and marketing expertise.
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In visits to a major U.S. airline and a large American aerospace company, the Chief Executive Officer of Airbus said the new 555-passenger A380 will create up to 60-thousand jobs in America and the Airbus fleet in North America will double in the next two years. Noël Forgeard is in the United States this week talking to various Airbus customer and vendor companies as part of the "Best of All Worlds" program, which celebrates the partnership between Airbus and organizations around the globe that help the commercial aircraft manufacturer bring excellence to the industry. In Cleveland, addressing the employees of Goodrich Aerospace, which was recently awarded the main landing gear contract for the Airbus A380, Forgeard said, "The A380 program will generate 22,000 aerospace jobs for American companies" and their extended economic impact will result in another 38,000 jobs being created. Forgeard also noted that new A380 business would contribute one billion dollars to the U.S. economy on top of the $5 billion Airbus currently supplies each year through its work with more than 800 U.S. firms and 100,000 American workers. He said about 700 Airbus aircraft are flying with U.S. and Canadian customers today and that number is expected to double over the next two years. Just five years ago, Airbus delivered an average of one aircraft per month to its North American customers. Today it is delivering about two each week to those customers.
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Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company has launched a new website designed to assist in collecting input from the defense, civilian and commercial user communities to shape the next-generation Global Positioning System (GPS) referred to as GPS III. The website, located at http://www.gps-future.com, allows GPS users to complete an on-line survey and describe the capabilities they would like to see in the next-generation system. The existing Global Positioning System allows any user equipped with a GPS receiver to determine precise time and velocity, and worldwide latitude, longitude and altitude to within a few meters. Although originally designed as a guidance and navigational tool for the military, GPS has proven beneficial in the commercial and civil markets for transportation, surveying and search/rescue operations.
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NASA scientists have announced that they have contacted Pioneer 10, the plucky small spacecraft launched 29 years ago, ending speculation that its signal had finally fallen silent. In a test of communication technologies for future interstellar missions, scientists operating a radio telescope antenna in Madrid, Spain established contact with the small spacecraft on Saturday, April 28, 2001 at 10:27 a.m. PDT (GMT 17:27:30). It was the first time the spacecraft had been heard since August of 2000. "Pioneer 10 lives on," declared Pioneer 10 Project Manager Dr. Larry Lasher of NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA. " The fact that we can still stay connected with the spacecraft is fantastic. We are overjoyed," Lasher added. "We have been listening for the Pioneer 10 signal in a one-way downlink non-coherent transmission mode since last summer with no success," Lasher said. "We therefore concluded that in order for Pioneer 10 to talk to us, we need to talk to it." A signal was sent to the spacecraft, which locked onto it and returned a signal to the Madrid facility. Now orbiting 7 billion miles from Earth, well outside the solar system, Pioneer 10 was launched on March 2, 1972. Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to pass through the asteroid belt and the first to obtain close-up images of Jupiter. During the passage by Jupiter, Pioneer 10 also charted Jupiter's intense radiation belts, located the planet's magnetic field, and discovered that Jupiter is predominantly a liquid planet. Following its encounter with Jupiter, Pioneer 10 explored the outer regions of the solar system, studying energetic particles from the sun, and cosmic rays entering our portion of the Milky Way. In 1983, it became the first man-made object to leave the solar system when it passed the orbit of distant Pluto. The spacecraft continued to make valuable scientific investigations in the outer regions of our solar system until its mission ended on March 31, 1997. When the mission formally ended, Pioneer 10 was at a distance of 6.28 billion miles (10.10 billion km) from Earth. At that distance, it took over 9 hours 43 minutes for the radio signal (traveling at the speed of light) to reach Earth.
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The NASA X-43A hypersonic research vehicle and its Pegasus booster rocket, mounted beneath the wing of their B-52 mother ship, had a successful first captive-carry flight. A dress rehearsal for the subsequent free flight, the captive-carry flight kept the X-43A-and-Pegasus combination attached to the B-52's wing pylon throughout the almost two-hour mission from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., over the Pacific Missile Test Range, and back to Dryden. The unpiloted X-43A marks the return to dedicated hypersonic research flights (at least five times the speed of sound) that NASA last pursued with the X-15 program that ended in 1969. Unique to the X-43A is its blending of an integrated airframe with a scramjet (supersonic combustion ramjet) engine, intended to make the X-43A the first air-breathing hypersonic vehicle in free flight. This technology promises significant savings in weight and volume, which could translate into heavier payloads or longer flight duration for future scramjet operational craft.
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City Bird S.A. took delivery of its first Boeing Next Generation737-800, making it the first Belgian carrier to operate the most technologically-advanced airplane in its class. Created in 1996 with a bold and ambitious mission to provide affordable and quality flights all over the world, City Bird S.A. is rapidly expanding its fleet and route network. The carrier will use its latest addition to fortify its collaboration with charter partner Neckermann, Sunsnacks, Pegase (C&N) and enhance its short- to medium-range flights in Europe.
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On May 1, Space Shuttle Endeavour and its crew of seven glided to a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, touching down at 11:11 a.m. central time, concluding a successful mission to install a new-generation robotic arm on the International Space Station, and a journey of more than 4.9 million miles. With continuing cloud cover, rain showers and gusty winds at the Kennedy Space Center, Entry Flight Director Leroy Cain waved off landing opportunities there and elected to return to the West Coast where weather conditions were perfect for today's landing. The landing was the 48th at Edwards Air Force Base in shuttle program history. Endeavour's crew - Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeff Ashby and Mission Specialists Scott Parazynski, Chris Hadfield, John Phillips, Yuri Lonchakov and Umberto Guidoni - is expected to remain overnight in California, returning to Houston Wednesday afternoon. During 11 days on orbit, eight of which were spent in joint operations with the International Space Station crew, Endeavour's crew installed a new robotic arm called Canadarm2, and transferred more than 6,000 pounds of equipment, experiments and supplies between vehicles.
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On May 2, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation signed a $219.7 million research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) contract with the U.S. Army that launches the UH-60M BLACK HAWK helicopter upgrade program. The program ultimately will involve the modernization of as many as 1,200 aircraftduring the next 25 years.Beginning this year, Sikorsky will make four RTD&E UH-60M test articles, three converted from existing UH-60 BLACK HAWK aircraft and one built off the production line. Work on the first 12 low rate initial production (LRIP) UH-60M aircraft will begin in 2004. The follow-on lot will be 18 aircraft, and the program will reach its stride with the induction of 60 aircraft a year by 2006. The UH-60M program will extend the UH-60production for another 20-25 years. The current Army Aviation Modernization Plan projects no replacement for the BLACK HAWK to enter service prior to 2025. The configuration being developed will modernize the design by providing digital avionics and flight controls, a graphite main rotor blade, a strengthened fuselage, and standardizing many other improvements introduced since production began. These changes are designed to increase BLACK HAWK payload by up to 2,000 pounds andaircraft speed by up to 15 knots. Maintenance costs for the M-model could be 25 percent lower than for original A-model BLACK HAWKs.
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Star Alliance announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer and two new members of the Alliance Management Team (AMT), which develops the initiatives and drives the day-to-day activities of the global airline partnership.Jaan Albrecht, a Mexican national, was named CEO of the alliance. Assuming his position on June 1, he succeeds William L. Meaney who has resigned. For the past two years, Mr. Albrecht has served as Chief Executive Officer of Aeromexpress, an all-cargo airline which was set up to manage the cargo operations of Mexicana Airlines, a Star Alliance member, and AeroMexico. Kristian Kirchheiner will assume the post of Vice President and head of the strategic development area Seamless Service and Product Development (SSPD). He succeeds Per Stendebakken who has returned to SAS after completing his term as chair of the SSPD organization. Mr. Kirchheiner, who is Danish, comes from the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Latvian airline airBaltic.
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Lufthansa has dismissed the announced strike by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots union as superfluous. The VC union has called cockpit crews at Lufthansa, Condor, Condor Berlin and Lufthansa Cargo out on strike between 0.00 and 12.00 hours (midnight to midday) local time at all German airports on Friday, May 4. Despite the stoppage, Lufthansa assumes that three-quarters of long-haul flights ex Frankfurt will go ahead as scheduled. Lufthansa deplores the announced strike action by the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots union and will go to every length to minimise its impact on its customers. There is no reason for a pay dispute to be waged at the expense of Lufthansa passengers. Lufthansa has taken the following precautionary measures: Passengers on German domestic flights are urged to switch to rail services. Their flight tickets ill be accepted by German Rail. Lufthansa will make every effort to continue flying its passengers with a reduced timetable. Special flights in the morning hours will be laid on between Frankfurt and Hamburg, Munich and Berlin-Tegel airports. Lufthansa has repeatedly signalled its willingness to negotiate with the VC pilots union. The union has already received a request for a date to resume the pay talks. Lufthansa trusts that a solution acceptable to both sides can soon be found at the negotiating table.
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With an 11.2% increase in traffic, the airlines of the Austrian Airlines Group were able to record double-digit growth in total passenger figures in March 2001. Around 655,000 passengers were carried on scheduled and charter services combined. While there was an increase of 2.5% in available seat kilometres on scheduled services, the figure for revenue passenger kilometres rose by 8.0%. Accordingly, the passenger load factor rose by 3.5 percentage points to 68.4%.
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A German reconnaissance drone system of the type CL-289 was launched for the 1,000th time. This drone flight completed a training exercise of the Idar-Oberstein Drone Instruction Battery 300 and took place on the Bergen training range in Lower Saxony. The mobile drone system CL-289 is supported and maintained by Dornier GmbH as the system company on behalf of NAMSA. Dornier GmbH is a corporate unit of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS). France and Germany have used the unmanned reconnaissance system since 1991-92. Dr. Stefan Zoller, CEO of Dornier GmbH and Head of the Business Unit Defence Electronics: "The drones proved their reliability during the peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Kosovo. Our technicians from Friedrichshafen assisted all CL-289 operations during the whole mission in the crisis region. The accomplishment of this task confirms the good partnership between the Bundeswehr and the technical and logistic support by our system company."
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An Airbus A319 successfully performed demonstration flights in two Tibetan cities - Bangda and Lhasa, capital of Tibet - on April 27 and April 28, proving that the aircraft is able to comply with stringent performance requirements for operations on the Tibetan plateau and provide greater efficiency and reliability for the Chinese operator on the roof of the world. This was done at the request of China Southwest Airlines who asked Airbus to test-fly an aircraft to see whether it meets all the requirements. Powered by two CFM56-5Bs, the A319 used for the demonstration has a standard 124-seat two-class configuration and a range of 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km). Compared with competing aircraft, the A319-100 is equipped with a high-thrust engine (27,000 lb) that has already been certificated by the authorities and can carry a full capacity of passengers in the most stringent conditions of Tibet, thereby providing a competitive advantage.
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Fairchild Dornier has won a new five-year contract to produce subassemblies for the full line of Airbus commercial airliners. The contract runs from 2002 to 2006 and has a potential value of $230 million (DM 500 million). Under terms of the contract with EADS Airbus GmbH in Hamburg, Fairchild Dornier will produce 1,693 shipset assembly groups primarily for the single-aisle family of Airbus aircraft. All of the work will be done here at Fairchild Dornier's Airbus Production Center. Fairchild Dornier has produced Airbus components since 1980 and employs more than 400 people on Airbus work. "The renewal of our contract with Airbus is the result of hard work by our people to produce a top quality product on schedule while using manufacturing innovation to keep our cost low," said Fairchild Dornier Chairman Chuck Pieper. "We have applied much of the experience gained from the Airbus work to our own 328JET and 728JET programs and it is already paying great dividends." Subassemblies to be produced under the new contract include the pressure bulkhead, sidebox with floor structure, rear section and tailcone for the A318, A319, A320 and A321; pressure bulkhead for the A330 and A340; and the pressure bulkhead for the A300/310.
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South African leasing company SAFAIR and ATR announced the signature of a contract for the acquisition of three new ATR 72-500s. Deliveries of these aircraft will take place in August, October and December of this year. SAFAIR based at Johannesburg International Airport, South Africa, with additional facilities at Cape Town International Airport, as well as Singapore, UK and Ireland, specialises in the value added leasing and chartering of passenger and cargo aircraft to domestic and international operators. SAFAIR's owned fleet now exceeds 50 aircraft which makes it by far the largest leasing and charter company in Africa. Currently the fleet consists of Hercules L100-30, B727, B737, MD-80 and Casa CN 235 series aircraft.
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Squabbling over the first space tourist continues even as Dennis Tito has arrived on board the ISS. NASA chief Daniel Goldin criticized Tito for causing stress at the U.S. space agency. "The current situation has put an incredible stress on the men and women of NASA," Goldin told members of a U.S. House of Representatives panel on space and aeronautics. "They are dedicated to safety and Mr. Tito does not realize the efforts of thousands of people in the United States and Russia that are working to protect his safety and the safety of everyone else, taking extraordinary means," Goldin testified. Reports from the orbit tell another story: So far, Tito has followed the rules and has not broken anything, according to Bob Cabana, NASA's manager for international operations for the space station. "I've received no reports of any problems; everything's going smoothly," Cabana said. "The agreement we had pretty much laid everything out, and I think everything's going fine as far as that's concerned." The stay of US businessman Dennis Tito aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has not affected the routine of its American and Russian crews, the mission deputy director on the Russian side, Viktor Blagov, said.
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The Bush administration's push for a missile-defense capability, though couched in the language of reducing the threat of nuclear war or defending against a lesser attack by a "rogue state" such as North Korea or Iraq, is part of a much broader interest in holding the high ground of military superiority in space. A congressionally mandated commission headed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recently warned of a "space Pearl Harbor" in which US satellites and other assets could be disabled or destroyed, severely harming the nation's ability to gather military intelligence and direct its forces on land and sea. It's a "virtual certainty," the Rumsfeld group asserted, that war will be fought in space one day, just as it has been on land, at sea, and in the air. "Given this virtual certainty," the commission reported, "the US must develop the means both to deter and to defend against hostile acts in and from space. This will require superior space capabilities." The long-range plan of the US Space Command states that "In 2020, if not sooner, adversaries will essentially share the high ground of space with the United States and its allies." As a result, "the United States must be prepared to ensure our space advantage over an enemy."
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Previous updates are still available:
Die News der letzten Wochen sind weiter abrufbar:

*April 29, 2001 *April 22, 2001 *April 15, 2001 *April 8, 2001 *April 1, 2001

*March 25, 2001 *March 18, 2001 *March 11, 2001 *March 4, 2001

*February 25, 2001 *February 18, 2001 *February 4, 2001

*January 28, 2001 *January 21, 2001 *January 14, 2001 *January 7, 2001

*January to December 2000 *January to December 1999 *January to December 1998 *January to December 1997 *September to December 1996

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