AIRSHOW-GKN wins $600 mln engine deals, A350 contract

July 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

England, July 19 (Reuters) – British airplane parts maker GKN (GKN.L) has won contracts to make components for Rolls-Royce (RR.L) and General Electric (GE.N) aircraft engines and parts for Airbus’ new 350 XWB plane.

Under a deal worth $300 million to GKN, the company will make tail bearings for Rolls’ Trent 700 and 1000 model engines at its El Cajon facility in California until 2020.

GKN also said it had signed a five-year deal worth $300 million with GE Aviation to supply aluminum and titanium components for a range of commercial and military aircraft engines.

The company added that it won two contracts to make composite parts for the landing flaps of the wings for EADS (EAD.PA)-owned Airbus’ new wide-body A350 XWB plane.

GKN, which declined to give a value for the Airbus deal, said it would deliver the first components for the XWB’s developmental flaps in early 2011. (Reporting by Rhys Jones; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

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Airbus sees key engine decision in September

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

England (Reuters) – Airbus (EAD.PA) is leaning toward a decision to upgrade its narrow-body aircraft, its main source of revenue, with new engines and expects Boeing (BA.N) will follow suit, according to sales chief John Leahy.

But the world’s largest planemaker will not complete studies on the move — seen as one of the most significant decisions that both Airbus and rival Boeing (BA.N) face in coming years — before end-September as it juggles engineering resources.

A new engine would offer airlines fuel savings of about 15 percent from 2015, pending more radical improvements in engine technology which Airbus does not expect for at least 15 years but which Boeing appears to believe could come sooner.

Planemakers must decide whether to offer the engine upgrade soon, and risk undermining large backlogs of planes already sold with older engines, or wait for a further leap in technology and build an all-new plane and engine costing well over $10 billion.

Airbus’s top salesman favors going for the interim step.

“We think that is way to go and that Boeing will be behind us before end of year,” Leahy said of the “re-engining” project.

“Let’s make sure we have engineering resources in place,” he said, adding that the same plane with new engines and fuel-saving wingtip devices known as Sharklets would meet strong demand.

“We are running those tracklines through. By the end of September we will have whole thing put together … Assuming that it works I would like to think we would be out there in the fourth quarter,” he said, adding the proposals would have to be approved by the EADS board before Airbus could offer the plane.

He was speaking at a briefing before the Farnborough Airshow where he expects further evidence of a rebound in jet orders.

“We had 131 firm orders at the end of June and I have a bet with Louis (Gallois) here that we will more than double that by the end of the air show,” he said, referring to the chief executive of Airbus parent EADS, sitting at the same briefing.

Airbus and Boeing between them have more than 4,000 A320 single-aisle short- and medium-haul planes on their backlog.

Aircraft engine makers CFM International, co-owned by General Electric (GE.N) and France’s Safran (SAF.PA), and Pratt & Whitney, owned by United Technologies (UTX.N), have each brought out designs to burn 15 percent less fuel by mid-decade.

A step up to 25 percent in fuel efficiencies demanded by some airlines would need a new generation of engines, possibly using open rotors rather than fans housed in metal casing, which most industry analysts say will not be ready before next decade.

10 YEARS

The timing is crucial for all companies involved as it would determine whether investments of several billion dollars in a re-engined Airbus A320 or Boeing 737 make financial sense.

Executives at CFM said on Saturday that they would need a production run of at least 10 years on their proposed new Leap-X engine in order to make their latest project profitable.

Leahy in turn said resale values of existing aircraft could be hit if the upgrade and completely new design were too close.

“If the next generation is coming in 2019 then it would have a big impact on residual values, but if it is 2026-27, then it is a much longer run.”

Residual values are important for leasing companies which have considerable sway over the commercial jet market.

Airbus plans to offer the interim new engine as an option.

The European planemaker oversaw the creation of a consortium called International Aero Engines as one of the alternative power sources for its now well-established A320 family.

IAE contains Pratt & Whitney, whose partners have not said whether they will join it in offering its Geared Turbo Fan engine from within the consortium as Airbus wants.

IAE member Rolls-Royce (RR.L) is a leader in open-rotor engines which could power the next generation after that.

Leahy said re-engining by the big planemakers would damage the 110-130 seat Bombardier (BBDb.TO) C Series, a recent entrant to the market which boasts better fuel consumption and aims to encroach on the size range dominated by Airbus and Boeing.

“If we don’t re-engine, then Boeing probably won’t, and then there will be a niche for the C Series … but with re-engining there is no case for it,” Leahy said.

Leahy also said he expected “one or two” extra A380 orders this year after Airbus sold 32 to Emirates airline last month.

(Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

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AIRSHOW-Airbus sees key engine decision in Sept

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

England, July 18 (Reuters) – Airbus (EAD.PA) is leaning towards upgrading its narrow-body fleet of aircraft, its main source of revenue, with new engines and it expects Boeing (BA.N) will follow suit, according to sales chief John Leahy.

However it will not complete studies on the potentially significant move before end-September, as it tries to figure out if it has enough engineering resources in the wake of delays to other programmes and amid the development of its new A350 jet.

A new engine would provide fuel savings of about 15 percent from 2015, pending more radical improvements in engine technology which Airbus does not expect for at least 15 years.

“We think that is the way to go and that Boeing will be behind us before end of year,” Leahy said of the engine upgrade.

“Let’s make sure we have engineering resources in place,” he said adding that the same plane with new engines and fuel-saving wingtip devices known as Sharklets would be a strong product.

“We are running those tracklines through. By the end of September we will have the whole thing put together … Assuming that it works I would like to think we would be out there in the fourth quarter,” he said, adding the proposals would have to be approved by the EADS board before Airbus could offer the plane.

He was speaking at a briefing ahead of the Farnborough Airshow where he expected further signs of a rebound in orders.

“We had 131 firm orders at the end of June and I have a bet with Louis (Gallois) here that we will more than double that by the end of the air show,” he said, referring to the chief executive of Airbus parent EADS who was at the same briefing.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Matthias Blamont; editing by Jeremy Laurence)

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AIRSHOW-EADS to give staff 10 shares each

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

England, July 18 (Reuters) – Airbus parent EADS (EAD.PA) is granting its staff 10 shares each free of charge in order to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

The move was announced by Chief Executive Louis Gallois at an annual briefing ahead of the Farnborough Airshow, being held almost 10 years to the day since the company was created from a merger of French, German and Spanish aerospace interests.

Europe’s largest aerospace group employs just over 119,000 people. Its products include Airbus passenger jets, Arianespace rockets, Astrium satellites, France’s nuclear deterrent and the German and Spanish interests in the Eurofighter combat jet.

The shares will be delivered “in the later part of this year” and replace the 2010 instalment of an Employee Share Ownership Plan, or ESOP, according to an internal memo to staff seen by Reuters.

The shares will not be newly issued stock but will come from a pool of shares earmarked for buyback, executives said.

The 2010 edition of the ESOP scheme would have involved an offer of up to 2 million shares at a 20 percent discount to the market price, according to the company’s annual report.

In Nov. 2009 EADS offered up to 0.25 percent of its capital or 2.035 mln shares to its own employees for 10.76 euros per share. Staff actually subscribed for 1.359 million shares.

Gallois has campaigned against generous share options usually reserved for management in many companies, a sensitive topic in France and several European countries in the financial crisis.

He turned down a 1 million euro bonus for 2009 for the second year running.

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EADS frustrated by delay in WTO ruling

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

England (Reuters) – EADS (EAD.PA) Chief Executive Louis Gallois said he was “enormously frustrated” about another delay by the World Trade Organization in ruling on the European Union’s case against the United States over alleged illegal subsidies to the company’s arch-rival, Boeing Co (BA.N).

“I think it’s not a fair situation,” Gallois told reporters ahead of the Farnborough air show, noting that a preliminary ruling from the WTO on the EU case had been postponed three times now, and the delay could affect an aerial refueling plane competition in the United States valued at up to $50 billion.

EADS and Boeing have been battling for a contract to build 179 refueling planes to begin replacing the aging U.S. fleet of Boeing-built KC-135 tankers, which are nearly 50 years old on average.

The competition is a key part of EADS’ drive to expand its foothold in the United States, which accounts for half the world’s defense spending.

News of the delay in the WTO panel decision on the EU countersuit came shortly after the WTO released a final ruling in the U.S. case, which said EU export subsidies to Airbus had hurt Boeing and must be scrapped. [ID:nL8377482]. The European Union is widely expected to appeal the WTO panel ruling.

EADS had hoped the decision on the EU case would take the sting out of Boeing allegations that the A330 being offered to the Air Force was only made possible by illegal subsidies.

A preliminary ruling in the EU countersuit had been expected on Friday, but has now been put off until September.

Pentagon officials have said they will not consider the WTO ruling at all in the tanker competition, which has angered some U.S. lawmakers supporting the Boeing competition.

EADS still felt that it had a fair chance to win the U.S. tanker competition, Gallois said, noting that the U.S. government was treating the European company fairly and EADS remained convinced it was offering a better plane.

The 8,800-page EADS bid was submitted to the Air Force last Thursday, Gallois said. A third competitor, U.S. Aerospace Inc (USAE.OB), submitted a last-minute bid together with Antonov, the state-owned Ukrainian plane builder.

Gallois said the tanker competition was clearly “a big deal” for EADS and a victory would make the European company, with big factories in France, Germany, Spain and Britain, “a citizen of the U.S.” in terms of manufacturing aircraft.

But he said EADS planned to expand its U.S. presence whether it won the tanker deal or not, given the huge size of the U.S. defense market.

“We have to be in the U.S. It is a huge market and clearly, we need to win in this country,” he said, although he noted the tanker order would involve production of just 15 to 18 planes a year, a small fraction of the 500 planes EADS builds each year for commercial and government customers.

EADS is also keen to build a new plant in the dollar zone to hedge against currency fluctuations, but Gallois welcomed the euro’s move to what he called “a more reasonable rate.”

“We know we have to adjust the company to a weak dollar so if the dollar is stronger, it’s upside for us,” he said. “We don’t think that the euro is weak at 1.20 (dollars).”

Gallois also rejected speculation by some U.S. critics that EADS had submitted a money-losing proposal. “We prefer to lose (the competition) than not to get money,” he said.

He said EADS was also still looking for acquisitions, after its board backed away from a deal valued at around $1 billion in late 2008 after the start of the global economic crisis.

The board was now more supportive of acquisitions, he said, given EADS’ strong cash position and the improving economy.

Gallois said EADS was ready to spend “a reasonable amount” on an acquisition in the United States, but declined to give details about any kind of price target.

Marwan Lahoud, chief marketing and strategy officer for the company, which is based in Munich, Paris and Madrid, said EADS was focused on several areas for possible acquisitions, including services and unmanned aerial vehicles.

“We need to find those targets that make the difference, whatever the size,” he said.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa and Matthias Blamont)

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EADS frustrated by delay in WTO ruling

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

FARNBOROUGH, England, July 18 (Reuters) – EADS (EAD.PA) Chief Executive Louis Gallois said he was “enormously frustrated” about another delay by the World Trade Organization in ruling on the European Union’s case against the United States over alleged illegal subsidies to the company’s arch-rival, Boeing Co (BA.N).

“I think it’s not a fair situation,” Gallois told reporters ahead of the Farnborough air show, noting that a preliminary ruling from the WTO on the EU case had been postponed three times now, and the delay could affect an aerial refuelling plane competition in the United States valued at up to $50 billion.

EADS and Boeing have been battling for a contract to build 179 refuelling planes to begin replacing the ageing U.S. fleet of Boeing-built KC-135 tankers, which are nearly 50 years old on average. [ID:nN02192170]

The competition is a key part of EADS’ drive to expand its foothold in the United States, which accounts for half the world’s defence spending.

News of the delay in the WTO panel decision on the EU countersuit came shortly after the WTO released a final ruling in the U.S. case, which said EU export subsidies to Airbus had hurt Boeing and must be scrapped. [ID:nL8377482]. The European Union is widely expected to appeal the WTO panel ruling.

EADS had hoped the decision on the EU case would take the sting out of Boeing allegations that the A330 being offered to the Air Force was only made possible by illegal subsidies.

A preliminary ruling in the EU countersuit had been expected on Friday, but has now been put off until September.

Pentagon officials have said they will not consider the WTO ruling at all in the tanker competition, which has angered some U.S. lawmakers supporting the Boeing competition.

EADS still felt that it had a fair chance to win the U.S. tanker competition, Gallois said, noting that the U.S. government was treating the European company fairly and EADS remained convinced it was offering a better plane.

The 8,800-page EADS bid was submitted to the Air Force last Thursday, Gallois said. A third competitor, U.S. Aerospace Inc (USAE.OB), submitted a last-minute bid together with Antonov, the state-owned Ukrainian plane builder.

Gallois said the tanker competition was clearly “a big deal” for EADS and a victory would make the European company, with big factories in France, Germany, Spain and Britain, “a citizen of the U.S.” in terms of manufacturing aircraft.

But he said EADS planned to expand its U.S. presence whether it won the tanker deal or not, given the huge size of the U.S. defence market.

“We have to be in the U.S. It is a huge market and clearly, we need to win in this country,” he said, although he noted the tanker order would involve production of just 15 to 18 planes a year, a small fraction of the 500 planes EADS builds each year for commercial and government customers.

EADS is also keen to build a new plant in the dollar zone to hedge against currency fluctuations, but Gallois welcomed the euro’s move to what he called “a more reasonable rate.”

“We know we have to adjust the company to a weak dollar so if the dollar is stronger, it’s upside for us,” he said. “We don’t think that the euro is weak at 1.20 (dollars).”

Gallois also rejected speculation by some U.S. critics that EADS had submitted a money-losing proposal. “We prefer to lose (the competition) than not to get money,” he said.

He said EADS was also still looking for acquisitions, after its board backed away from a deal valued at around $1 billion in late 2008 after the start of the global economic crisis.

The board was now more supportive of acquisitions, he said, given EADS’ strong cash position and the improving economy.

Gallois said EADS was ready to spend “a reasonable amount” on an acquisition in the United States, but declined to give details about any kind of price target.

Marwan Lahoud, chief marketing and strategy officer for the company, which is based in Munich, Paris and Madrid, said EADS was focused on several areas for possible acquisitions, including services and unmanned aerial vehicles.

“We need to find those targets that make the difference, whatever the size,” he said. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa and Matthias Blamont)

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EADS chief dismisses partnership talks with Embraer

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 13 (Reuters) – The head of Airbus parent EADS (EAD.PA) on Sunday dismissed speculation it wished to co-operate with Brazilian rival Embraer (EMBR3.SA) (ERJ.N) on making small jets that could compete with Bombardier’s (BBDb.TO) C-series.

“There is nothing going on,” Louis Gallois told LCI television. “It is not a reality,” he added, referring to speculation the two companies were holding concrete co-operation talks.

He said speculation came from comments he made previously, lauding Embarer’s work. Gallois on Sunday repeated he was impressed by Embraer and added: “We will have to see what we can do with them.” (Reporting by Astrid Wendlandt)

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France picks Thales,Safran in army overhaul-sources

June 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 11 (Reuters) – France will next week pick a consortium of Thales (TCFP.PA), Safran (SAF.PA) and Nexter as architects of a new generation of army battle systems known as Scorpion, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

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Their selection as preferred bidders is expected to be the key announcement at the biennial Eurosatory arms fair held outside Paris from June 14.

A consortium of the three French defence firms has been competing with a team led by EADS (EAD.PA) for the first phase of a series of contracts potentially worth billions of euros.

“They have been selected in the first tender,” one source familiar with the project said, asking not to be named. Two other sources also cited Thales, Safran and Nexter as winners.

French defence procurement service DGA declined to comment. (Reporting by Tim Hepher, Matthias Blamont; Editing by James Regan)

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EXCLUSIVE – Germany suspends EADS helicopter purchase

May 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Germany is suspending its 3 billion euro ($3.7 billion) purchase of EADS’s Tiger attack helicopter due to technical problems, potentially delaying delivery to its forces in Afghanistan until end-2011.

An internal ministry report obtained by Reuters on Tuesday said the step was being taken because of serious problems with the wiring of the helicopter built by EADS unit Eurocopter.

“Until the faults have been effectively and systematically rectified, the defence ministry plans to suspend the purchase of the … helicopters,” the report said.

The problems, which also cropped up with Tigers which had only had a few hours flying time, meant delivery of the first deployable helicopters would be delayed by at least seven months until November 2011, according to the report.

Germany’s order for the 80 Tiger helicopters was worth around 3 billion euros, according to previous estimates.

None of the 11 Tiger helicopters delivered so far has been suitable for operational use or training, the report added.

The Franco-German attack helicopter first flew in 2003 but its entry into service has been delayed by technical problems.

France and Germany ordered 80 Tigers each but they are being built in different versions to suit their operational needs.

France first deployed its version of the Tiger to Afghanistan last year. Germany is still waiting for the first fully combat-capable version of the type it has ordered.

Eurocopter said it was working on the wiring problems and would meantime continue to deliver helicopters for testing.

The freeze on deliveries ordered in the leaked report refers to the final version to be delivered to support combat troops.

INTENSIVE TESTS

“Corrective measures related to wiring problems have been developed, agreed by the customer and are being implemented,” a Eurocopter spokeswoman said in an e-mailed statement.

“The first two helicopters will be handed over to the German official services in June and July for intensive tests. In alignment with the customer, additional helicopter deliveries to the German Army are foreseen from the fourth quarter of 2010.”

The helicopter is needed to provide air support for German forces deployed in northern Afghanistan, where they face mounting losses due to an increase in the number of direct engagements with Taliban fighters, military sources say.

Germany’s area of operations includes difficult terrain with low visibility, where combat helicopters can deliver a clearer picture of the situation to the troops.

Currently German forces rely solely on American air support.

The fresh delay, coming two weeks ahead of the Berlin air show, is the latest in a series of setbacks for EADS.

It comes on top of delays to the A400M military transporter and the NH-90 multi-role helicopter, both of which have strained industrial relations between EADS and German defence chiefs.

Wiring was also blamed for delays to the A380 superjumbo built by Eurocopter sister company Airbus, but company officials insist there is little comparison between the two projects. EADS has made more reliable delivery a top priority.

Besides France and Germany, the battlefield Tiger helicopter has been ordered by Spain and Australia.

(Additional reporting by Tim Hepher; Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Louise Heavens and David Holmes)

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EADS wants U.S. growth regardless of tanker-paper

April 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

PARIS, April 8 (Reuters) – European aerospace and defence group EADS (EAD.PA) will continue to expand in the United States even if it does not bid for a major U.S. aerial refuelling contract, the chairman of its board of directors told Les Echos newspaper.

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Bodo Uebber, finance chief of Daimler (DAIGn.DE) which owns a 22.46 percent stake in EADS, said in an interview published in the French newspaper on Thursday the decision would not affect the Vision 2020 plan announced in January 2008.

The 12-year strategy aims to “rebalance” EADS as a global company with less reliance on airliner sales for its revenues and on high-cost European factories for its engineering and production work.

The group is considering whether to bid for the Pentagon’s multibillion dollar contract for aerial refuelling aircraft after U.S. partner Northrop Grumman (NOC.N) pulled out of the race and the Pentagon pledged to extend the deadline for a bid.

“We don’t change a plan like that because one contract is lost. What can change is the ways to reach the goals. Given the extent of its portfolio, EADS has a number of routes open to it to develop in the United States and beyond: helicopters, space, security, services … we could also progress through acquisitions,” Uebber said.

“We have not pursued certain projects in the past to protect the group’s treasury. But if air traffic and the economy in general pick up again then we could seize opportunities.”

Uebber said the company would have to draw lessons on programme and risk management from the troubled A400M military aircraft project which has suffered a raft of technical problems and delays.

“But we should also learn lessons, in agreement with our customers, on the way of making contracts. The board is also going to look into that subject in depth and has given some of its members the task of proposing solutions by the end of the quarter,” he said. (Reporting by Helen Massy-Beresford; editing by Karen Foster)

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Airbus has won 60 orders since start of year-paper

April 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

PARIS, April 8 (Reuters) – EADS (EAD.PA) planemaking unit Airbus has won 60 orders since the beginning of the year, 49 of which were in March, newspaper Les Echos said, without saying where it got the information from.

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The paper did not specify whether the tally was for gross or net orders.

The aircraft manufacturer has delivered 122 aircraft to airlines, including three A380 superjumbos, the paper said.

U.S. competitor Boeing (BA.N) has won 83 net orders in the same period, the paper said.

Airbus could not immediately be reached to confirm the figures.

(Reporting by Helen Massy-Beresford; editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

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UK says Oman intends to buy Eurofighters

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) – Oman has indicated that it intends to buy an unspecified number of Eurofighter warplanes, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s spokesman said on Friday.

In a statement, the spokesman said the possible deal followed three years of talks between Brown and the leaders of Oman. The spokesman gave no details of the size or timing of any sale.

British company BAE Systems (BAES.L) makes the Eurofighter Typhoon alongside Italian group Finmeccanica (SIFI.MI) and European aerospace group EADS (EAD.PA). The engines are supplied by a group led by Rolls-Royce (RR.L) and Germany’s MTU Aero Engines (MTXGn.DE). (Editing by Mike Nesbit)

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UK says Oman intends to buy Eurofighters

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) – Oman has indicated that it intends to buy an unspecified number of Eurofighter warplanes, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s spokesman said on Friday.

In a statement, the spokesman said the possible deal followed three years of talks between Brown and the leaders of Oman. The spokesman gave no details of the size or timing of any sale.

British company BAE Systems (BAES.L) makes the Eurofighter Typhoon alongside Italian group Finmeccanica (SIFI.MI) and European aerospace group EADS (EAD.PA). The engines are supplied by a group led by Rolls-Royce (RR.L) and Germany’s MTU Aero Engines (MTXGn.DE). (Editing by Mike Nesbit)

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Indian F-16s will be ‘superior’ to Pak’s: Lockheed

March 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Mon, Mar 29 05:17 PM

American aerospace giant Lockheed Martin on Monday assured India that the F-16s being offered to it would be “much more advanced” than the fighters provided to Pakistan.

“I can assure you, the Super Viper is much more advanced in all aspects than the F-16s being given to Pakistan,” Lockheed Martin’s Vice President-Business Development (India) Orville Prins told a group of visiting Indian journalists here.

The assurance comes in the wake of reports that India was concerned over US supplying a new set of F-16s to Pakistan, a decision which could be a crucial geopolitical factor when the Indian Air Force (IAF) decides on the USD 10 billion Medium Multi-role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender, described as ‘mother of all deals’.

“The F-16IN Super Viper will be more advanced than the F-16 Block 60 that were delivered to the UAE recently. The fighter jets being given to Pakistan by the US government are F-16 Block 50/52 aircraft,” Prins said here.

However, the official said he would not discuss anything more about the company’s dealings with Pakistan, except the fact that it was not the firm that was selling anything to any country, but was just partnering with the US Air Force.

“We don’t sell, the US government does. We only support the US government’s decisions,” he said when queried about the US military support to Pakistan in the form of a set of 18 new F-16 fighters.

In fact, Prins tried to defend the military sale of his company’s fighter jets to Pakistan despite India’s protest, saying it was not just Lockheed Martin that was supplying to Islamabad, but all the six contenders in the MMRCA race were, either directly or indirectly.

Other bidders in the MMRCA deal were US’ Boeing, French D’Assault, Swedish Gripen, European consortium EADS, and Russian MiG.

The programme to deliver 18 F-16s to Pakistan, named as ‘Peace Drive I’, will raise the total number of F-16s ordered by Pakistan to 54.

The ‘Peace Drive I’ order is for 12 F-16Cs and six F-16Ds, all powered by the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engine and these would be delivered by end of 2010.
Agencies

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Scientists design “gravity tractor” to save earth from asteroids

August 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Aug 30 (ANI): British space scientists have designed a special spacecraft that can save the earth from a catastrophic asteroid collision.

The 10 tonne spacecraft named “gravity tractor” would be deployed to intercept an asteroid en route to the earth and has the ability to fly 160 ft alongside it.

Once near an asteroid the craft will use gravitational force to pull the rock towards itself.

Gradually the gravity tractor will be able to change the asteroids path and thus make sure it misses the earth.

According to rough estimates of the American space agency NASA, there are more than 100,000 asteroids orbiting near the Earth and have the capacity to destroy cities.

The engineers of space company EADS Astrium, which designs crafts for NASA and the European Space Agency, have made the gravity tractor.

The team believes the craft could successfully divert the course of asteroids up to 430 yards across, which can release 100,000 times more than the Hiroshima bomb.

The Telegraph quoted Dr Ralph Cordey, science and exploration business development manager at Astrium as saying: “Anything bigger than 30m (32 yards) across is a real threat to the Earth.

“Unfortunately it is a matter of when rather than if one of them hits us.

“The gravity tractor exploits the principals of very basic physics – every object with a mass has its own gravity that affects objects around it. It can move fairly large objects 300 metres (984ft) to 400 metres (1,312ft) across.

“These asteroids are hurtling around our solar system at 10km per second, so when you scale that up, you just need a tiny nudge to send it off course.” (ANI)

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Chilean President Bachelet arrives in Paris

May 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Paris – Chilean President Michelle Bachelet arrived in Paris late Wednesday for a three-day visit that will include talks with her French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, French radio reported.

Bachelet’s schedule in France foresees meetings with Prime Minister Francois Fillon and the speaker of the National Assembly, Bernard Accoyer, on Thursday, according to a spokesman for the French foreign ministry.

On Friday, Bachelet will have a working lunch with Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and then travel to Toulouse to visit the company EADS-Astrium.

The company is building a satellite for the Chilean government that is scheduled to be launched into orbit early next year from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

Among other issues, Bachelet and French leaders will discuss collaborating in energy, with an agreement expected to be signed to establish a framework for the collaboration.

Bachelet will also meet with a number of French business leaders during her stay.(dpa)

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“Sails” to guide satellites and used rockets back to Earth

May 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, May 4 (ANI): Soon, satellites and spent rocket stages could deploy “sails” to guide them back to Earth much faster than they would otherwise fall out of the sky.

With space becoming ever more crowded, there is a need to remove redundant objects that could pose a collision threat to operational missions.

According to a report by BBC News, extending a sail on an old spacecraft would increase drag and pull it into the Earth’s atmosphere to burn up.

Major European space firm EADS Astrium says the scheme has great potential.

“It is an interesting solution, especially for the satellite that has no propulsion system at the end of its life,” scientist Brice Santerre told BBC News.

Santerre and colleague Max Cerf have been working on what they call the Innovative DEorbiting Aerobrake System (IDEAS).

The concept involves extending booms and sheeting from spacecraft to increase the amount of drag they experience from the residual air molecules still present at altitudes up to even 750km (470 miles).

“The principle of aerobraking is to increase the surface over mass ratio of an orbital object, to accelerate the fall-out by increasing the drag on the system,” Santerre said.

“To do that, we need to deploy a very light structure. That’s why we chose to use ‘gossamer structures’. These are composed of booms and very thin membranes,” he added.

Santerre and Serf have been developing an aerobraking sail concept for the forthcoming French Microscope satellite.

Microscope is a science mission that will investigate the force of gravity and the behaviour of free-falling objects in a test of what has become known as the equivalence principle.

The satellite will take about a year to make its measurements and will then have no further purpose.

Ideally, such a spacecraft would be removed from orbit, especially since it will be circling at an altitude where many important Earth observation satellites also operate.

“Microscope has no propulsion system so it cannot de-orbit by itself. If we were to do nothing, the fall-out duration would be between 50 and 100 years,” said Santerre.

By erecting their boom and membrane mechanism, Santerre and Serf believe Microscope could be brought out of the sky in less than 25 years, which meets international orbital junk mitigation guidelines. (ANI)

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EADS willing to split big tanker deal with archrival Boeing

April 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Paris/New York – European aerospace group EADS is willing to consider splitting a multi-billion-dollar US Air Force tanker deal with its American archrival Boeing, company head Louis Gallois was quoted on Friday as saying.

In return, Gallois told The New York Times, EADS and its American partner, Northrop Grumman, asked that they be allowed to build at least 12 tanker planes a year. That number was necessary to cover the cost of building a factory in Mobile, Alabama, he said.

Gallois made his comments after two US lawmakers proposed that the contract, worth an estimated 35 billion dollars, be split between the bidders.

The US Air Force has twice failed in its effort to award one of its biggest-ever contracts, which could be extended for decades and eventually cost 100 billion dollars for the construction of 400 tankers.

Last year, after EADS and Northrop Grumman were awarded the contract, Boeing filed a protest claiming that the procedure had been faulty. This prompted the Air Force to halt the bidding process.

As a result, two Democratic representatives, John Murtha of Pennsylvania and Neil Abercrombie of Delaware, suggested that the order be split.

However, Defence Secretary Robert Gates opposes dividing the contract. He said that setting up two production lines would make the cost of building the tankers even more expensive.(dpa)

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Space “aerobrakes” could bring used rockets back to Earth safely

April 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, April 18 (ANI): Scientists are working on ways to build a gossamer-thin space sail or “aerobrake” that would help bring back a used rocket back to Earth safely.

According to a report in New Scientist, space-flight engineers Max Cerf and Brice Santerre at the European aerospace firm EADS Astrium have put the idea forward.

Rocket stages are a particular risk to spacecraft because they often contain large amounts of unused fuel, which can explode when sunlight heats the tank. Leaking fuel can also act like a mini-thruster, pushing the rocket into an orbit where it may cause a collision.

One way to tackle the problem is to vent unused fuel in a controlled way, and drain power from the battery, but this is unlikely to eliminate all collisions.

Now, Cerf and Santerre are devising ways to build a sail that would quickly remove a spent rocket from orbit.

The sail or “aerobrake” would be deployed after a rocket has delivered its satellite into low-Earth orbit, slowing it down by friction with the thin atmosphere so that burns up in around 25 years, much earlier than conventional rocket stages, some of which are expected to survive for at least 100 years.

The aerobrake would be deployed after the rocket has delivered its satellite into low-Earth orbit.

For the final stage of an Ariane 5 launcher, the conical sail would need to have an area of about 350 square metres and be supported by an inflatable mast 12 meters long.

Cerf and Santerre propose a number of possible ways to build the mast.

The simplest envisages a woven polymer and aluminium tube that is kept inflated by nitrogen gas.

Another uses a tube made of polymer composite, which after being inflated with nitrogen is set hard by the sun’s ultraviolet rays. A third design uses epoxy resin that is set hard by solvent evaporation.

The pair revealed their designs at this month’s Fifth European Conference on Space Debris in Darmstadt, Germany, organised by the European Space Agency.

According to Peter Roberts, a space-flight engineer at Cranfield University in the UK, who is working on similar technology for small satellites, “It’s a good idea, says Peter Roberts, a space-flight engineer at Cranfield University in the UK.”

“The risk of fragmentation of end-of-life spacecraft due to impacts from other debris can be greatly reduced by deploying a drag sail,” he said. (ANI)

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RPT-UPDATE 3-Gates sees movement soon on arms buyer nomination

April 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

FORT RUCKER, Alabama, April 14 (Reuters) – Defense
Secretary Robert Gates said he expects U.S. Senate movement
soon on the nomination of Ashton Carter as the Pentagon’s chief
arms buyer.

“I have every hope and expectation that Dr. Carter’s
nomination will be moved in the near future,” Gates told
reporters at Fort Rucker, home of the Army’s main site for
training pilots and unmanned aerial system operators.

The Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month
approved Carter’s nomination. But several senators have put a
hold on it, citing concerns about the delayed $35 billion
competition between Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) and Boeing Co
(BA.N) to build 179 new aerial refueling tankers.

Gates said he hoped to move forward on the tanker
competition soon, and would let lawmakers review the proposed
competition criteria and get their input before releasing the
terms of a revamped competition.

Gates questioned congressional moves to block Carter’s
nomination, especially since many lawmakers were pressing the
Pentagon to undertake acquisition reforms — a job that Carter
would largely oversee.

“At a time when most of the Congress believes there is a
need for acquisition reform in the Department of Defense, to
delay the confirmation of the person who is most needed in that
effort clearly is counter-productive,” Gates told reporters.

This will be the Air Force’s third attempt to replace its
aging fleet of KC-135 refueling planes, which are more than 50
years old on average.

Congress in 2004 killed the first bid after an Air Force
plan to lease and buy 100 Boeing 767s failed amid a major
procurement scandal.

The Air Force then held a new competition and awarded a $35
billion contract to Northrop and its European subcontractor,
Airbus parent EADS (EAD.PA), in February.

But Gates canceled the deal last fall after congressional
auditors found problems in the Air Force’s handling of the
competition, and the process became very politicized.

On Tuesday, Gates said he hoped that a new tanker contract
could be awarded by early next year or next summer. “They’re
desperately needed by the Air Force,” he said.

Gates, the only member of former President George W. Bush’s
cabinet who stayed on under President Barack Obama, reiterated
his opposition to buying more tankers each year and splitting
the procurement between the two companies.

He said that would increase logistics, training and
maintenance costs over the long run. Development costs alone
would likely double from $7 billion to $14 billion, he said.

Carter, a Harvard University professor and former assistant
secretary of defense for international security policy, was
nominated for the job of overseeing more than $100 billion in
annual U.S. arms purchases and a $70 billion research
enterprise. If confirmed by the Senate, Carter would replace
John Young as undersecretary of defense for acquisition,
technology and logistics.

Senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby, both Republicans
of Alabama, where Northrop had planned to build its A330-based
tankers, have put a hold on the Carter’s nomination.

The senators say they have unanswered questions about how
open and transparent the next competition will be.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Gary Hill)

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