NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander Puts Soil in Chemistry Lab, Team Discusses Next Steps
June 25, 2008
TUCSON, Ariz., June 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — NASA’s Phoenix Mars
Lander placed a sample of Martian soil in the spacecraft’s wet chemistry
laboratory today for the first time. Results from that instrument, part of
Phoenix’s Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer, are
expected to provide the first measurement of the acidity or alkalinity of
the planet’s soil.
The analysis of this and other soil samples will help researchers
determine whether ice beneath the soil ever has melted, and whether the
soil has other qualities favorable for life.
The Phoenix team is discussing what sample to deliver next to the
lander’s other analytical instrument, which bakes and sniffs soil to
identify volatile ingredients. Engineers have identified possible problems
in the mechanical and electrical operation of that instrument, the Thermal
and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA.
Scientists are studying information provided by TEGA’s analysis of the
first Martian soil sample put in that instrument. The instrument has eight
single-use oven cells; each cell can analyze one sample. When doors for a
second TEGA oven were commanded open last week, the doors opened only
partway. Later, the team determined that mechanical interference may
prevent doors on that oven and three others from opening fully. The
remaining three ovens are expected to have one door that opens fully and
one that opens partially, as was the case with the first oven used.
“The tests we have done in our test facility during the past few days
show the robotic arm can deliver the simulated Martian soil through the
opening with the doors in this configuration,” said William Boynton of the
University of Arizona, Tucson, lead scientist for TEGA. “We plan to save
the cells where doors can open wider for accepting ice samples.”
Scientists believe the first soil sample delivered to TEGA was so
clumpy that soil particles clogged a screen over the opening. Four days of
vibration eventually succeeded at getting the soil through the screen.
However, engineers believe the use of a motor to create the vibration may
also have caused a short circuit in wiring near that oven. Concern about
triggering other short circuits has prompted the Phoenix team to be
cautious about the use of other TEGA cells.
Subsequent soil samples for TEGA will be delivered with a different
method than the first. The newer method will sprinkle soil into the
instrument to make it easier for particles to get through the screens.
The Phoenix mission is led by Peter Smith at the University of Arizona
with project management at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
Calif., and the development partnership at Lockheed Martin in Denver.
International contributions are from the Canadian Space Agency; the
University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and
Aarhus, Denmark; Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish
Meteorological Institute.
SOURCE NASA
NASA Spacecraft Reveal Largest Crater in Solar System
June 25, 2008
PASADENA, Calif., June 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — New analysis of
Mars’ terrain using NASA spacecraft observations reveals what appears to be
by far the largest impact crater ever found in the solar system.
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Global Surveyor have
provided detailed information about the elevations and gravity of the Red
Planet’s northern and southern hemispheres. A new study using this
information may solve one of the biggest remaining mysteries in the solar
system: why does Mars have two strikingly different kinds of terrain in its
northern and southern hemispheres? The huge crater is creating intense
scientific interest.
The mystery of the two-faced nature of Mars has perplexed scientists
since the first comprehensive images of the surface were beamed home by
NASA spacecraft in the 1970s. The main hypotheses have been an ancient
impact or some internal process related to the planet’s molten subsurface
layers. The impact idea, proposed in 1984, fell into disfavor because the
basin’s shape didn’t seem to fit the expected round shape for a crater.
The newer data is convincing some experts who doubted the impact
scenario.
“We haven’t proved the giant-impact hypothesis, but I think we’ve
shifted the tide,” said Jeffrey Andrews-Hanna, a postdoctoral researcher at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
Andrews-Hanna and co-authors Maria Zuber of MIT and Bruce Banerdt of
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., report the new
findings in the journal Nature this week.
A giant northern basin that covers about 40 percent of Mars’ surface,
sometimes called the Borealis basin, is the remains of a colossal impact
early in the solar system’s formation, the new analysis suggests. At 5,300
miles across, it is about four times wider than the next-biggest impact
basin known, the Hellas basin on southern Mars. An accompanying report
calculates that the impacting object that produced the Borealis basin must
have been about 1,200 miles across. That’s larger than Pluto.
“This is an impressive result that has implications not only for the
evolution of early Mars, but also for early Earth’s formation,” said
Michael Meyer, the Mars chief scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
This northern-hemisphere basin on Mars is one of the smoothest surfaces
found in the solar system. The southern hemisphere is high, rough, heavily
cratered terrain, which ranges from 2.5 to 5 miles higher in elevation than
the basin floor.
Other giant impact basins have been discovered that are elliptical
rather than circular. But it took a complex analysis of the Martian surface
from NASA’s two Mars orbiters to reveal the clear elliptical shape of
Borealis basin, which is consistent with being an impact crater.
One complicating factor in revealing the elliptical shape of the basin
was that after the time of the impact, which must have been at least 3.9
billion years ago, giant volcanoes formed along one part of the basin rim
and created a huge region of high, rough terrain that obscures the basin’s
outlines. It took a combination of gravity data, which tend to reveal
underlying structure, with data on current surface elevations to
reconstruct a map of Mars elevations as they existed before the volcanoes
erupted.
“In addition to the elliptical boundary of the basin, there are signs
of a possible second, outer ring – a typical characteristic of large impact
basins,” Banerdt said.
JPL manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission
Directorate, Washington. For more information about the mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/mro
SOURCE NASA
Boeing Statement on Government Accountability Office Tanker Protest Report
June 25, 2008
ST. LOUIS, June 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) today
responded to the public release of the full redacted Government
Accountability Office (GAO) report sustaining the company’s protest of the
U.S. Air Force’s award of a $35 billion contract to Northrop Grumman/EADS
to supply the service with its next-generation aerial refueling aircraft.
Boeing released the following statement on the 67-page report from Mark
McGraw, vice president, Tanker Programs:
“Our initial review of the full redacted GAO sustainment further
validates Boeing’s decision to protest this contract award. It is clear the
award was the result of a flawed process. It also confirms the strength of
our KC-767 offering to the Air Force, as the GAO reports that Boeing had a
‘substantial chance of being selected for award’ were it not for the
numerous process flaws.”
SOURCE Boeing
Northrop Grumman Stands Ready to Support Air Force Tanker Decision
June 25, 2008
GAO Analysis Does Not Alter the Air Force Finding that the KC-45 is the
Superior Tanker
WASHINGTON, June 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Northrop Grumman
Corporation (NYSE: NOC) said, today, that it continues to support the
United States Air Force and looks forward to its next steps regarding the
direction of the KC-45 tanker program. This follows today’s public release
of the full Government Accountability Office (GAO) analysis of the original
tanker contract award to Northrop Grumman.
“The document makes clear that the GAO’s issues with the contract do
not reflect on the tankers’ capabilities. In fact, in several areas key to
the selection decision the GAO found no basis to object to the Air Force
evaluation,” said Paul Meyer, Northrop Grumman vice president of Air
Mobility Systems and KC-45 program manager. “We look forward to a prompt
assessment from the Air Force concerning what happens next.”
On Feb. 29, the Air Force selected Northrop Grumman to provide the next
generation of aerial refueling tanker, the KC-45. The Air Force has an
urgent need to replace its aging tanker fleet.
“The KC-45 is needed now, and Northrop Grumman is ready now to provide
it,” said Meyer. “Should the Air Force choose to proceed with our existing
contract, we are ready to get to work. Northrop Grumman offered the
superior tanker and nothing in the GAO analysis contradicts this essential
truth.
“Northrop Grumman remains the only company in this competition that has
built, tested and flown its plane. In addition, our refueling boom has just
completed its 100th flight test. At this point, our competitor has offered
only a paper plane,” Meyer said. “For our men and women in uniform, the
most important thing is to field the new tanker as soon as possible. Only
Northrop Grumman is ready to do that.”
About the KC-45
The KC-45 Tanker aircraft will be assembled in Mobile, Ala. —
establishing Mobile as the new cornerstone of the Southern Aerospace
Corridor. The program will employ 48,000 American workers at 230 U.S.
companies in 49 states; and will be built by a world-class industrial team
led by Northrop Grumman, and includes EADS North America, General Electric
Aviation and Sargent Fletcher.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense and technology company
whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products and solutions
in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to
government and commercial customers worldwide.
SOURCE Northrop Grumman Corporation
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Wins $2.2 Million Contract Option for Solar Thermal Propulsion Rocket Engine
June 25, 2008
CANOGA PARK, Calif., June 25 /PRNewswire/ — The United States Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded Pratt & Whitney
Rocketdyne a $2.2 million contract for the fabrication and ground test of a
Solar Thermal Propulsion rocket engine. This contract extends the current
High Delta-V Experiment Program (HiDVE) another six months and follows a
successful critical design review last March. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is
a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company.
The Solar Thermal Propulsion engine encompasses an innovative new
technology that allows it to use less fuel by harnessing the sun’s energy.
This gives the satellite greater ability to maneuver in space and conduct
longer missions by extending the use of its fuel.
“We are proud to be part of this cutting edge technology that will
revolutionize nanosatellites and on-orbit propulsion,” said Patrick Frye,
program manager for the HiDVE program at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. “This
will provide a dramatic increase in propulsive capability over current
chemical thruster systems.”
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc., a part of Pratt & Whitney, is a
preferred provider of high-value propulsion, power, energy and innovative
system solutions used in a wide variety of government and commercial
applications, including the main engines for the space shuttle, Atlas and
Delta launch vehicles, missile defense systems and advanced hypersonic
engines.
Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and
service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas
turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified
company providing high technology products and services to the global
aerospace and building industries.
Boeing, Biman Bangladesh Announce 737-800 Order
June 25, 2008
– Bangladesh national carrier adds two Next-Generation Boeing 737-800s to
recent order for four 777-300ERs and four 787-8 Dreamliners
WASHINGTON, June 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Boeing (NYSE: BA) and
Biman Bangladesh Airlines today announced an order for two Boeing
Next-Generation 737-800s, with purchase rights for two additional 737s.
Today’s signing ceremony, held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, was
attended by dignitaries from Bangladesh and the United States and also
celebrated Biman’s selection of an all-Boeing jet fleet for its future
operations.
“Today marks a progressive step forward for Biman,” said Dr. M. A.
Momen, managing director and CEO of Biman. “Our fleet consolidation with
Boeing airplanes is based upon a partnership that combines aircraft
efficiency, reliability and in-service support to maximize our
competitiveness — something we need to drive forward to be an instrumental
part of the country’s economic growth and development.”
Biman recently announced an order for four 777-300ERs and four 787-8s
with purchase rights for four more of each model type. The airline
currently connects Bangladesh with 18 countries around the world, and has
agreements in place that will allow it to serve a total of 42 countries as
it implements its growth plan.
“Boeing is committed to working closely to help airlines in developing
nations grow in the most efficient way possible, and our product line
reflects that commitment,” said Marty Bentrott, Boeing Commercial Airplanes
vice president of Sales for the Middle East & Africa. “We look forward to
working closely with Biman Bangladesh over the long term as it capitalizes
on traffic growth driven by the country’s expanding economy.”
Biman Bangladesh Airlines, which began as a government-owned national
carrier in 1972, became Bangladesh’s largest public limited company in
2007. The purchase of Boeing airplanes represents the largest capital
expenditure in the country’s history.
One hundred fifteen customers have ordered more than 4,800
Next-Generation 737s. Boeing has more than 2,200 unfilled orders for the
Next-Generation 737 valued at more than $160 billion at current list
prices.
SOURCE Boeing
Lockheed Martin Receives $107 Million From the U.S. Air Force for Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Production
June 25, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla., June 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Lockheed Martin (NYSE:
LMT) has received a U.S. Air Force contract valued at $107 million for a
seventh production lot of the JASSM(TM) cruise missile. The contract award
will bring total contracted quantities of the cruise missile to 1,053.
The contract is for procurement of 111 JASSM production missiles, along
with systems engineering and flight test support. In recent flight tests on
the B-52 and B-1 aircraft, the stealthy standoff cruise missile proved its
reliability and capabilities across a wide variety of targets – including
hardened, underground bunkers and air defense systems.
“This contract enables us to provide JASSM’s critical capabilities to
the Warfighter,” said Alan Jackson, JASSM program director at Lockheed
Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “JASSM’s combination of standoff range,
low observable flight and high lethality give planners a valuable set of
options when planning strikes in the early stages of a conflict. JASSM can
take out the most critical, well-defended targets.”
Lockheed Martin produces JASSM in Troy, AL, at its award-winning Pike
County operations facility. The site has been producing JASSM production
missiles since late 1999. JASSM Lot 5 missile deliveries are expected to be
completed in 2008. The U.S. Air Force plans to procure 4,900 JASSMs over
the life of the program.
A 2,000-pound class weapon with a dual-mode penetrator and blast
fragmentation warhead, JASSM cruises autonomously in adverse weather, day
or night, using a state-of-the-art infrared seeker in addition to the
anti-jam GPS to find a specific aimpoint on the target. Its stealthy
airframe makes it extremely difficult to defend against. The missile is
integrated on B-1, B-2, B-52 and F-16 aircraft. It is also planned for
integration on the F-15.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 140,000
people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design,
development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced
technology systems, products and services. The Corporation reported 2007
sales of $41.9 billion.
For additional information, visit our web site:
http://www.lockheedmartin.com
SOURCE Lockheed Martin
DuPont and SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG Develop First Portable Power System for U.S. Army
June 25, 2008
Lightweight M-25 Fuel Cell Supplies Reliable Power
WILMINGTON, Del. and BRUNNTHAL, Germany, June 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
— DuPont (NYSE: DD) and SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG (SFC) today announced that
the M-25 portable fuel cell, which combines DuPont’s direct methanol
technology with SFC’s commercially proven fuel cell systems, products, and
integration expertise, has been deployed for its first limited use in the
field for the U.S. Army.
“DuPont is very pleased to collaborate with SFC on achieving this
milestone,” said Cynthia C. Green, vice president and general manager —
DuPont Fluoroproducts. “Our fuel cell technology represents a major
breakthrough in portability that will benefit soldiers through significant
weight reduction, while providing a prolonged source of power.”
When worn by soldiers in the field for extended missions, the M-25 is
up to 80 percent lighter than conventional power sources, yet is capable of
powering a wide range of soldier equipment, such as digital communication
and navigation equipment. In addition to its light weight, the M-25
delivers quiet and continuous energy, and offers independent standalone
functions such as remote area battery charging and power.
“The M-25 has the capability to revolutionize wearable portable power
sources in the field by extending soldier-mission times to 72 hours and
beyond,” said Col. Richard Hansen, project manager, Soldier Warrior, U.S.
Army. “We want our soldiers in the field to have the best equipment with
the least weight to carry, and their gear must be powered reliably on
missions. The M-25 is progressing well toward helping us realize this
goal.”
The field use of the M-25 fuel cell is part of the Office of the
Secretary of Defense’s Defense Acquisition Challenge Program (DACP), which
was established to provide opportunities for the increased introduction of
innovative and cost-saving technologies, products, or processes into
existing Department of Defense (DOD) acquisition programs. DuPont and SFC
were selected for this program in November 2005, and since then, DuPont and
SFC fuel cells have successfully passed several important milestones.
DuPont maintains a minority investment in SFC.
“We are extremely proud that this collaboration between DuPont and SFC
has brought the M-25 to market within two years,” said Dr. Peter Podesser,
chief executive officer — SFC Smart Fuel Cell. “Our combined expertise has
enabled us to meet DACP’s goals of introducing new technologies to DOD
acquisition programs, while adapting some of the latest alternative-energy
technologies to the Army’s needs.”
SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG is a market leader in fuel cell technologies for
mobile and off-grid power applications serving the leisure, industrial and
defense markets. SFC is the first and only provider of fully commercialized
fuel cell products, and has sold more than 9,000 fuel cells into a wide
range of consumer and industrial applications.
DuPont is a science-based products and services company. Founded in
1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions
essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere.
Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of
innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and
food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.
SOURCE DuPont
Moon-Bound NASA Spacecraft Passes Major Preflight Tests
June 25, 2008
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif., June 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Engineering
teams are conducting final checkouts of the Lunar Crater Observation and
Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS, that will take a significant step
forward in the search for water on the moon.
The mission’s main objective is to confirm the presence or absence of
water ice in a permanently shadowed crater near a lunar polar region. A
major milestone, thermal vacuum testing of the LCROSS spacecraft, was
completed June 5 at the Northrop Grumman facility in Redondo Beach, Calif.
To simulate the harsh conditions of space, technicians subjected the
spacecraft to 13.5 days of heating and cooling cycles during which
temperatures reached as high as 230 degrees Fahrenheit and as low as minus
40 degrees. Previous testing for the LCROSS spacecraft included acoustic
vibration tests. Those tests simulated launch conditions and checked mating
of connection points to the Atlas V rocket’s Centaur upper stage and the
adapter ring for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, known as LRO.
The satellite currently is undergoing final checkout tests. After all
tests are complete, the LCROSS spacecraft will be prepared for delivery to
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch processing and
integration onto the Atlas V as a secondary payload to LRO. Both spacecraft
are scheduled to launch from Kennedy in late 2008.
“The spacecraft steadily has taken shape since Ames delivered the
science payload in January,” said Daniel Andrews, LCROSS project manager at
NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. “It is a testament to
the hard work, perseverance and expertise of the NASA and Northrop Grumman
teams that the spacecraft has completed these critical tests ahead of
schedule.”
After launch, the LCROSS spacecraft and the Atlas V’s Centaur upper
stage rocket will execute a fly-by of the moon and enter into an elongated
Earth orbit to position the satellite for impact on a lunar pole. On final
approach, the spacecraft and the Centaur will separate. The Centaur will
strike the surface of the moon, creating a debris plume that will rise
above the surface. Four minutes later, LCROSS will fly through the debris
plume, collecting and relaying data back to Earth before impacting the
lunar surface and creating a second debris plume. Scientists will observe
both impacts from Earth to gather additional information.
LCROSS is a fast-paced, low-cost mission that is leveraging existing
NASA systems, commercial-off-the-shelf components and the spacecraft design
and development expertise of integration partner Northrop Grumman Space
Technologies. The LCROSS and LRO missions are components of the Lunar
Precursor Robotic Program at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center,
Huntsville, Ala. The program manages pathfinding robotic missions to the
moon for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters
in Washington.
GOL recebe aprovação do CADE para aquisição da VRG
June 25, 2008
São Paulo, 25 de junho de 2008 – A GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes
S.A. (Bovespa: GOLL4 e NYSE: GOL), controladora das companhias aéreas
brasileiras GOL Transportes Aéreos S.A. e VRG Linhas Aéreas S.A.,
comunica que o Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (CADE)
aprovou hoje a aquisição da VRG pela GTI S.A., subsidiária da GOL
Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A., possibilitando que as empresas
possam desenvolver o transporte de passageiros e cargas livremente.
“É com muita satisfação que recebemos a aprovação do CADE. A decisão
vem consolidar a confiança dos investimentos na aviação comercial
civil brasileira. Com a VRG, ampliamos nossa capacidade de
transportar cada vez mais passageiros, lançar novas rotas e alcançar
novos destinos. Isso beneficia os clientes, que passam a contar com
mais opções no mercado”, afirma Constantino de Oliveira Junior,
presidente da GOL.
Em julgamento, o órgão deliberou que a operação não alterou os níveis
de concorrência do mercado ou as opções dos usuários de transporte
aéreo. A aquisição da VRG, anunciada em 28 de março de 2007 e
aprovada pela Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) em 3 de abril
do ano passado, já havia recebido parecer favorável da Secretaria de
Direito Econômico (SDE), do Ministério da Justiça, da Secretaria de
Acompanhamento Econômico (SEAE), do Ministério da Fazenda e da
Procuradoria do CADE.
Com a decisão, a Companhia pretende implementar sinergias entre as
operações da GTA e da VRG, ampliando a oferta de vôos e horários aos
clientes e, conseqüentemente, favorecendo a dinâmica do setor de
transportes aéreos como um todo. Ademais, a integração das operações
das duas empresas permitirá à Companhia alcançar otimização de
receitas e redução de custos nos campos financeiro, operacional e
tributário. Os investimentos prosseguirão em áreas como tecnologia da
informação, melhoria da qualidade de serviços e ampliação da malha
aérea de forma orgânica e por meio de acordos operacionais.
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