International Aerospace Discussion

Raj Malhotra · Post by **Raj Malhotra** » 16 Jul 2009 12:18

Does this South Korea and Angara thingie not banned by MCTR or whatever ?

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 17 Jul 2009 07:16

SpaceX has launched its first commercial satellite:

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 18 Jul 2009 05:25

New Photos Reveal Apollo 11 at First Moon Landing Site

The images, taken by NASA's first lunar scout in more than a decade, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), show the Eagle lunar lander at Tranquility Base, where Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on July 20, 1969. They were snapped between July 11 and 15 of this month and released by NASA today.

LRO Sees Apollo Landing Sites

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 18 Jul 2009 05:29

Reports: latest test of Russian ballistic missile Bulava fails in major setback

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 18 Jul 2009 08:43

South Korea postpones first rocket launch: official

Russian counterparts building the first stage of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 had called for more time for testing, said spokesman Kim Hong-Gab.

Blast-off was delayed from late 2008 to late June this year after China's Sichuan earthquake last year caused problems securing key parts. The launch was again delayed until late July to give engineers more time for tests.

Rahul Shukla · Post by **Rahul Shukla** » 21 Jul 2009 23:46

U.S. Senate votes to stop production of F-22 jet (Reuters)

The Senate voted 58 to 40 to strip $1.75 billion for the Lockheed Martin Corp-built planes from a $680 billion defense bill, overriding the objections of lawmakers seeking to protect manufacturing jobs in the midst of a deep recession.

The Senate's vote does not necessarily kill the program, as the House of Representatives included funding for the state-of-the-art fighter in its bill, which sets military spending priorities. The two chambers must resolve their differences before sending a final bill to the president to sign into law.

Obama has threatened a veto if Congress continues to fund the F-22 beyond the 187 planes already built or in the production pipeline. "At a time when we're fighting two wars and facing a serious deficit, this would have been an inexcusable waste of money," Obama said after the vote.

... each hour of flight time requires 30 hours of maintenance ...

The Pentagon wants instead to ramp up production of the cheaper, more versatile F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and Gates said last week that funding for that program could be jeopardized if Congress continues to fund the F-22.

Shameek · Post by **Shameek** » 22 Jul 2009 00:02

F-22 money removed

Another news report on ceasing the F-22 production.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 22 Jul 2009 03:54

Investigation into the Shipment of Sensitive Missile Components to Taiwan
http://www.newamerica.net/files/Donald_Report.pdf

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 23 Jul 2009 04:01

Power and fury of US Moon rocket

Dr Simon Prince, an aeronautical engineer at City University in London, says a huge step forward in engine technology was made during the development of the Saturn rockets.

This was the ability to deal with a phenomenon called combustion instability, which could tear apart rocket thrusters. The bigger the volume of the combustion chamber in an engine, the greater a problem it was.

Soviet engineers chose to sidestep the issue by clustering lots of small engines together in order to build up thrust. But with a manned lunar landing as their goal, the Americans had to go large. And that meant tackling combustion instability head on.

A technical solution - which involved a particular configuration of the injector plate inside the engine's combustion chamber - was achieved through a process of trial and error, resulting in the destruction of numerous engines.

"The biggest form of combustion instability they could simulate inside an F-1 rocket engine was a bomb," says Dr Prince.

"So they detonated (explosive charges) inside the combustion chambers and nosecones of the F-1 engines. If they could design an engine capable of surviving a bomb explosion, it could also survive combustion instability."

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 23 Jul 2009 10:10

saw a natgeo video on latest copters yesterday. slight coverage on S-92 and NH90 but pretty much on EH-101. its a huge copter 75ft long but seems to be
very agile and able to dive and climb almost vertically.

one new feature is the tips of the blades are shaped like oars . said to reduce
noise and the cloud of dust/snow when landing or hovering.

it can reach out 900miles. the SF version could probably put in extra fuel
tanks.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 23 Jul 2009 10:18

Isn't the three gas turbine engines on the EH-101 too much? It makes this bird quite a gas guzzler.
The rotor blade ends are supposed to provide a relatively dust free zone right under the helicopter, where the soldiers usually alight. It looks good on those animations, I wonder if it works for real.
My vote goes to the NH-90 any day.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 23 Jul 2009 10:37

News of MAKS,Russia's major air show.From AWST.

On August 18-23, the 2009 Moscow Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS), will enjoy its ninth outing since the first show held in 1993. A dress rehearsal took place in 1992, but this year it is officially number nine in 2009 for what has become the largest air show in all of the former USSR and Warsaw Pact nations.

AVIATION WEEK is proud to be the official media partners for MAKS this year. This newsletter is one in a series designed to inform visitors and exhibitors to the show about the changes being made to the exhibition site and other facilities. Those attending and participating in MAKS can expect it to be the best venue ever for seeing the accomplishments of Russian aerospace and its partner enterprises located in the CIS Republics.

Aside from being the one place in the world where you can see almost the entire family of modern Soviet and Russian-designed aircraft, engines, radars, air defense systems, etc. the aerodrome where MAKS takes place is unique it itself and lends a distinct historical atmosphere to the event. MAKS is held at none other than the Gromov Flight Research Institute (LII), which was the primary flight test centre for the Ministry of Aviation Production during Soviet times. Every military aircraft that was ever turned out by one of the famous design bureaux that line the northwest corridor of Leningradskoye Shosse saw its first flight take place from this airfield, which boasts the longest runway in all of Europe.

During the Cold War years western intelligence agencies did not even know LII's real name, and it was often referred to as Ramenskoye, which is the name of a nearby village that borders on one side of the massive aerodrome. In fact the LII facility was thought of as part of the city of Zhukovskiy, and was closely linked to the work of the neighbouring Central Aero and Hydrodynamics Research Institute (TsAGI), which is Russia's equivalent of the NASA/Ames facility in the US.

But, what can be seen sometimes on the flight line are some of the special variants of different models of aircraft that have the Cyrillic letters listed after their standard designation to denote their status as test bed aircraft. There is an Ilyushin Il-76LL that has been used as a test bed for new large engines, including the SaM146 engine that powers the Sukhoi Superjet 100. Another Sukhoi Su-30LL has been the test aircraft for several of the major systems that are on-board the new Su-35 Super Flanker. The biggest one of them all is the Tu-144LL supersonic test bed aircraft that was used in a joint experimental programme more than a decade ago by consortium led by NASA and Boeing.

Aside from the many unusual aircraft that cannot be seen any place else in the world, this year MAKS offers the opportunity for visitors to see a new and improved show site that will make the 40 kilometer journey from the centre of Moscow well worth the trip.

Organizer's made one of their goals to increase the size and significance of the MAKS show so that it rivals the other major European shows at Le Bourget, Berlin's Schonefeld airport, and the Farnborough airfield site outside of London.

The new organizers have promised numerous improvements to the air show site to bring it up to the level of Le Bourget and attract more foreign visitors. Concurrent with the running of the air show, the 2nd European Conference on Transport Aviation will be held (19-20 August). The computerized registration system will perform a "matchmaking" system that pairs participants with prospective customers and notifies them by E-mail of which companies they would most like to meet with during the show.

This year's show also promises a major upgrade in the infrastructure to the show site that includes air-conditioned pavilions and a press centre and business centre, new chalet lines, and more indoor dining areas. Because of the worldwide economic downturn and its impact on the aerospace industry many shows have seen their attendance drop by 30% or more, state the MAKS organizers. But because of the intense interest in this event and all that we are doing to make our show site more attractive to visitors we are not expecting a more than 20% drop in the number of visitors and exhibitors.

MAKS 2009 will also be the first year that visitors can see some of the consolidation that has taken place in the Russian aerospace industry. The combination of numerous enterprises to operate under the umbrella of the United Aircraft-Building Corporation (OAK) promises to demonstrate how the skills and competitive advantages of Russia's aerospace firms are now being maximized across a number of product lines.

Among the other changes to be seen will be how some of the major defense enterprises have now oriented themselves to the design and production of commercial aircraft. The two most significant of these are the Superjet 100 and the MS-21 series of airliners that are now being developed by the Irkut enterprise, which is widely know all over the world as the main supplier of fighters such as Su 27 UB and Su 30 MKI to world markets.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 25 Jul 2009 21:55

Israel says technical hitch halts US missile test

A target missile was already in the air when the Israeli operators of the Arrow, which is designed to shoot down ballistic missiles, decided to scrap the test on Wednesday

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 25 Jul 2009 22:33

Igorr, if you are reading this, will you be at MAKS 09 ?
if so could we have details about the next gen of air launched weapons ?
specifically the k-100 family, derivatives of the rvv-ae and the follow up to the r-73. is the k-74 project still on ?
Thanks in advance.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 25 Jul 2009 22:38

Singha wrote:saw a natgeo video on latest copters yesterday. slight coverage on S-92 and NH90 but pretty much on EH-101. its a huge copter 75ft long but seems to be
very agile and able to dive and climb almost vertically.

one new feature is the tips of the blades are shaped like oars . said to reduce
noise and the cloud of dust/snow when landing or hovering.

it can reach out 900miles. the SF version could probably put in extra fuel
tanks.

HAL is supposed to have a programme on this type of blades but progress made till date is unknown(that's not saying no progress has been made).

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 27 Jul 2009 10:15

humourous take on US mil projects.

Sadly these guys build these things like the Nazis built tanks. The Germans never did design a decent water pump for the Panther tank but they put the things together meticulously like they were swiss watches. Never got the hang of mass production the way way we did with our inferior Shermans or the Russians did out of pure necessity with their superior Stalin tanks. The Russians would drive those things out of the factory and into combat, literally a few blocks away in some instances. When you can hear the artillery in the burbs it sort of gives you an incentive to do your job fast and well.

The F-15 was a balky piece of crap that needed state of the art bugs worked out of it for the first ten years of it's service life too. That'll happen when you're designing something that's way beyond what's been built before.

Ever heard the story of the F-15? It's a classic tale of the Cold War. It illustrates Kissinger's two blind men boxing analogy. In the 50s we had the B-70 on the drawing board. A giant supersonic high altitude bomber capable of flying at mach 3 it was canceled after a few expensive prototypes were built and the Soviets shot down Gary Powers in his U-2. We realized it could be taken out by the same SAMS that blew him up. But we kept flight testing it til 69, mainly to gain knowledge for the canceled American competitor to the Concord.

So the Soviets, unaware we'd given up on deploying this monster built the MIG-25. The MIG-25 was a pure intercepter. It had the dogfighting capability of a Cadillac Sedan DeVille and ate jet fuel like a Hummer but the one thing it did well was climb to 90,000 ft like a rocket to launch missiles at the flocks of B-70s we never built.

During the early 1970s the Soviets gave some of these speedburners to the Egyptians to use as reconnaissance aircraft. The Izzies in their F-4 Phantoms couldn't shoot them down. But what really scared the hell out of everybody is that one Egyptian pilot, scared shitless flew one on afterburners at mach 3.2 from Jordan to Egypt. He cooked the engines, it never flew again. But we didn't know that. We thought the USSR had a goddam dogfighter that could fly at over mach 3 consistently. Hence the crash program to build the F-15. Took us about a decade to get that damn thing with it's expensive titanium engines running right. And the only place you could get titanium was the USSR and apartheid South Africa. No wonder Cheney thought Mandela was a communist. Now you can buy titanium golfballs.

We ought to stop building goddam prima donnas of the sky like money isn't an object. Russian fighters may not have the performance capabilities of our aircraft but they can be serviced and maintained by clinically depressed alcoholics (when they aren't drinking the windshield de-icer fluid) and land on gravel roads. We can build aircraft that can do things no human pilot can withstand these days if we want to. The question is can a remote pilot sitting in VA or FL tell what's happening around his aircraft (or does he care as much if that missile isn't going to go up his butt) and put his ordinance on a legit target as opposed to a wedding party celebrating with their NRA/RNC approved AK-47s? The fighter jock hierarchy of the USAF is going to have to be convinced. But millions of computer game playing kids won't.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 27 Jul 2009 11:33

New Russian AAM ( Medium and Short Range ) will be displayed at MAKS 2009

Medium Range RMA-SD

Short Range RMA-MD

SRay · Post by **SRay** » 28 Jul 2009 05:10

Pictures of a Russian Su-35UB deliberately flying w/o a canopy, and then having the nav pilot eject:

http://englishrussia.com/?p=3524

Unique pics. Exhilarating.

Note: seems like the ground pics are of a Su-27UB painted with the same serial #

Drevin · Post by **Drevin** » 28 Jul 2009 19:08

continental transport goin green.

Our goal is that this exercise brings us further on our alternative fuels roadmap, aiming for an eventual 100% alternative fuel flight – whether this to be GTL (gas-to-liquid), BTL (biomass-to-liquid) or second-generation biofuel, or anything that isn’t standard jet fuel. This is therefore not a one-off.”

Airbus takin cautious, deliberate, holistic approach to greener fuels

Drevin · Post by **Drevin** » 29 Jul 2009 09:35

Inside the worlds largest wind tunnel....a slideshow.
80by120foot:worlds largest

JaiS · Post by **JaiS** » 30 Jul 2009 05:13

Financial Crisis for Israel's Space Industry

Shameek · Post by **Shameek** » 02 Aug 2009 19:28

Remains of missing Gulf War pilot found

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 04 Aug 2009 10:36

http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... on-2009-06

June 17, 2009 | 133 comments
NASA's mission to bomb the Moon
NASA will tomorrow launch a spectacular mission to bomb the Moon. Their LCROSS mission will blast off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying a missile that will blast a hole in the lunar surface at twice the speed of a bullet. The missile, a Centaur rocket, will be steered by a shepherding spacecraft that will guide it towards its target - a crater close to the Moon's south pole. Scientists expect the blast to be so powerful that a huge plume of debris will be ejected.

SkyMania

NASA's mission to bomb the Moon

NASA's mission to bomb the Moon
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NASA will tomorrow launch a spectacular mission to bomb the Moon. Their LCROSS mission will blast off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying a missile that will blast a hole in the lunar surface at twice the speed of a bullet.

The missile, a Centaur rocket, will be steered by a shepherding spacecraft that will guide it towards its target - a crater close to the Moon's south pole.

Scientists expect the blast to be so powerful that a huge plume of debris will be ejected.

The attack on the Moon is not a declaration of war or act of wanton vandalism. Space scientists want to see if any water ice or vapour is revealed in the cloud of debris.

The spacecraft will not head straight for the Moon. First it will orbit the Earth a number of times while its precise target is identified. Finally, it will send the missile into the Moon at twice the speed of a bullet on October 8.

The shepherding spacecraft will follow close behind, taking pictures and analysing the ejected debris as it looks for evidence of water. It has just four minutes to do this before it crashes into the Moon itself, producing a spectacular explosion that should be visible in amateur astronomers' telescopes.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 06 Aug 2009 17:46

Commander outlines future of the Russian Air Force

In addition, Zelin said Russia had been developing a fifth-generation strategic bomber which could be used effectively in both conventional and nuclear conflicts.

"The new plane will use a wide selection of high-precision weapons, and will have a whole range of new combat capabilities, allowing it to apply new methods to carrying out deterrence tasks," he said.

Russia will also develop in the near future a number of advanced reconnaissance aircraft including a stratospheric plane capable of avoiding enemy air defenses.

"Ultra-high altitude reconnaissance planes will play a key role in future wars because they will be capable of staying in the air for a long time and conduct reconnaissance operations deep into enemy territory while avoiding hostile air defenses," the Air Force commander said.

From: Interfax-AVN

A manned reconnaissance plane, intended for flights in the stratosphere, outside the reach of enemy air defense systems, will be assigned to the Russian air force in coming years, Russian Air Force Commander Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin told the media on Wednesday.

“The systems in use now will be replaced by modern reconnaissance aircraft, cable of doing effective reconnaissance for the entire depth of tasks, fulfilled by tactical and strategic aircraft,” the general said.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 06 Aug 2009 17:47

Can we join the new Strategic Bomber Project ? Think they call it PAK-DA

RKumar · Post by **RKumar** » 06 Aug 2009 18:13

German Army Angry over EADS Delays and Technical Glitches

The A400M has been subject to so many delays and glitches that Europe's defense ministers threatened in March to cancel their deal to buy 180 planes at a price of €110 million ($158 million) each

The German army ordered 80 "Tigers." The prototypes delighted crowds at air shows from 1991 onwards. But the German army hasn't received a single Tiger helicopter that is capable of reliably hitting targets with its rockets and cannon. The 10 "Tigers" it currently has are only suitable to provide basic instruction for pilots. More have been built but they haven't been accepted -- mechanics recently complained about chafed cables.

The NH90 transport helicopter is also regarded as a flop by the military. The plans to develop the aircraft go back to 1992. The Bundeswehr had ordered 80 of the helicopters for a total of €1.7 billion. However, the first sample aircraft only arrived at the end of 2006. Admittedly, the army is now in possession of eight of them. However, they are only 26 percent fit for service. That means that on average only two of the helicopters are ready to start at any given time

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 06 Aug 2009 18:46

Austin wrote:Can we join the new Strategic Bomber Project ? Think they call it PAK-DA

wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAK_DA

old stuff?

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 07 Aug 2009 14:09

Russia working on undetectable spy plane: air force chief

"A special role in the air force's future strategy is set for a dramatically new class of spy planes -- high-flying stratosphere aircraft able to monitor a war zone without entering the defended air space," General Alexander Zelin was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency.

Russia currently relies on the Su-24MR and MIG-25RB intelligence airplanes, Zelin said, adding that the airforce had "a sufficient number of them."

Omar · Post by **Omar** » 09 Aug 2009 09:06

Brazils MMRCA?

Brazil issues 120-aircraft request to five fighter manufacturers

Brazil has revived its delayed search for a next-generation multirole combat aircraft, and in early June issued requests for information to five bidders for its new F-X2 contest. Its initial requirement is for a batch of 36 fighters, although the total programme is for 120 aircraft to be delivered from 2014 until post-2020.

Almost same line up too...

Bidders for the new contest have been restricted to the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab Gripen NG (Next Generation) and the Sukhoi Su-35.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 09 Aug 2009 19:57

AESA developments:

Joint STARS surveillance radar systems to be demonstrated by Northrop Grumman

Arunkumar · Post by **Arunkumar** » 10 Aug 2009 18:41

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_repo ... 6.appd.pdf

Short descriptions of tactical jet engines currently operated by USAF.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 10 Aug 2009 20:59

A helicopter attack team comes across insurgents setting up an IED on a road in Afghanistan.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 11 Aug 2009 18:47

Russia to revamp air-space defenses by 2020 - Air Force chief

"By 2030...foreign countries, particularly the United States, will be able to deliver coordinated high-precision strikes from air and space against any target on the whole territory of Russia," Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin said, referring to the potential for new hypersonic and space-based offensive weapons.

Zelin said under the new concept, air-space defense brigades will be created within Russia's Air Force, and they will be equipped with advanced S-400 and planned S-500 air defense systems.

"The S-500 system is being developed under a unique design...and will be capable of destroying hypersonic and ballistic targets," the general said.

Meanwhile, the Soviet-era MiG-31 Foxhound supersonic interceptor aircraft will most likely be used as part of the new air-space defense network, as was intended when it was designed.

"We are upgrading this system to be able to accomplish the same [air-space defense] tasks," Zelin said.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 12 Aug 2009 01:24

South Korea's first rocket ready - at last

Kailash · Post by **Kailash** » 12 Aug 2009 15:48

X-51A Second flight in December

wonder when HSTDV is going to be tested!

Drevin · Post by **Drevin** » 12 Aug 2009 16:26

Informative article. So South Korea has to launch its slv by the end of august or risk waiting it out till the end of the typhoon season ??

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 14 Aug 2009 23:15

NASA's moon plan too ambitious, Obama panel says

A panel reviewing NASA's current plans for human space flight will report that there is no realistic way to return to the moon by 2020 -- or even 2028.

Liu · Post by **Liu** » 15 Aug 2009 16:04

Gerard wrote:NASA's moon plan too ambitious, Obama panel says
A panel reviewing NASA's current plans for human space flight will report that there is no realistic way to return to the moon by 2020 -- or even 2028.

economy is the base ,and military,science sports and cultures are all the upper buildings on the base.

when the economy callopses, all upper buildings also collapse.

Mahendra · Post by **Mahendra** » 15 Aug 2009 16:11

Thank you for the gyaan sir

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 15 Aug 2009 16:12

sun tsu.