(Source: Flight Global & FAA Press  Release)

The FAA today finalised amended certification standards that will require makers of transport category aircraft to either have icing protection systems that automatically activate or provide a method to alert pilots that the system should be turned on.

The final rule follows more than a decade of research by the FAA, NASA and others initiated by the fatal crash of an American Eagle ATR 72 near Roselawn, Indiana, in 1994 due to ice build-up on the wings.

Under the new rule new aircraft and those undergoing “significant changes” that impact icing safety must either have an ice detection system that automatically activates or alerts pilots to turn on the system; a definition of visual signs that indicate ice build-up along with an advisory system; or a method of identifying temperature and moisture conditions conducive to airframe icing, alerting pilots of the need to turn on the protection system.

Regardless of the activation method, ice protection systems must then operate continuously, automatically turn on or turn off, or alert the pilots that the system must be cycled again after the initial activation.

“We’re adding another level of safety to prevent situations where pilots are either completely unaware of ice accumulation or don’t think it’s significant enough to warrant turning on their ice protection equipment,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt.

The FAA has previously addressed activation of pneumatic deicing boots on many aircraft models by requiring activation of boots at the first sign of ice accumulation. This new certification standard further increases safety by not relying on the pilot alone to observe whether the airplane is accumulating ice. Also this certification standard applies to all types of ice protection systems, not just pneumatic deicing boots.

The full text of the final rule is available at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-18483.htm

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: NY Times )

New York Times’ Sarah Lyall has penned a funny but interesting & intriguing profile of Mr. Michael O’Leary, chief executive of the European budget airline Ryanair.  A must read for those in low-cost commercial aviation business.  Here are some interesting excerpts from the article.

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He once dressed as the pope to advertise Ryanair’s new route from Dublin to Rome. He has declared that fat people should pay more for their seats, but that it would take too long to weigh them at the airport. And, at a news conference to discuss the possibility of starting trans-Atlantic flights, he suggested — to the consternation of the young woman gamely translating his remarks into German — that business-class customers would receive oral sex.

At 48, the quick-talking, blue-jean-wearing Mr. Michael O’Leary, chief executive of the European budget airline Ryanair,is one of the most successful businessmen in Ireland, presiding over an airline that is, remarkably, flourishin g in a brutal climate for airlines (and most other businesses). He is known for thick-skinned aggression, outrageous public statements and an implacable belief that short-haul airline passengers will endure nearly every imaginable indignity, as long as the tickets are cheap and the planes are on time.

“Soon he’ll be charging us for oxygen and number of limbs,” The Sun groused in a columnin June, when he unveiled his latest proposal — getting people to carry their own bags to the plane.

Ryanair’s post-tax profit fell by 78 percent in the year that ended in March, but still amounted to $149 million. While most carriers are hemorrhaging passengers, Ryanair expects its passenger numbers to increase, to 68 million this year from 57 million in 2008.

The mystery is why so many people are willing to put up with an airline that, in the words of The Economist, “has become a byword for appalling customer service, misleading advertising claims and jeering rudeness towards anyone or anything that gets in its way.”

(Source: Times of India)

Taking a leaf out of employees’ labour union books, private airlines on Friday threatened to suspend domestic operations on August 18 if the government did not give in to their demand for a bailout package in the form of lower sales tax on fuel and airporttaxes. Never before has an entire industry threatened to pull out from the market to arm-twist the government into buying its line.

“The airline industry realizes its role in the life of the nation. But in view of the indifference shown by the government, it may not be able to continue its operations… and so we have decided not to operate nationwide services on August 18,” Anil Baijal, secretary general of the Federation of Indian Airlines, the lobby group of airlines in India, announced at the Jet Airways office in Mumbai. “The idea is to highlight the urgency for the government to intervene urgently. If, however, an adequate response is not received, member airlines will be compelled to suspend their services for an indefinite period.” Baijal did not spell out the nature of the response or the level of commitment the airlines are expecting from the government in the next 18 days.

The no-fly decision was taken following an afternoon meeting attended by Jet Airways’ Naresh Goyal, Kingfisher Airlines’ Vijay Mallya and other members of FIA except those from Air India and Paramount Airways. Following the meeting, Baijal read out a statement to the media which began with the financial difficulties faced by the industry. The total losses incurred by the Indian airline industry in 2008-09 are estimated to be Rs 10,000 crore, he said, listing ATF sales tax, airport charges, depreciation in the value of India rupee, the economic meltdown and terrorists attacks as contributory factors.

Sudhakara Reddy, president, Air Passengers Association of India, a consumer rights organization, was scathing. “The losses are of their own making,” he said. “The two big airlines, Jet and Kingfisher, bought loss-making airlines like Air Deccan and Air Sahara. The government, on the other hand, gave airlines benefits like a credit period for payment to oil companies and airports. Then again, IndiGo and Spice Jet made a profit in the last quarter, which means there is a turnaround in the industry. When they make a profit, do they share it with the government or public?”

Although the relationship between governments and airline operators worldwide has never been an easy one, the threat by Indian private airlines is a first in the century-old history of the global airline industry. If it is indeed carried out, it will mean cancellation of about 12,000 domestic flights by airlines such as Kingfisher, Kingfisher Red, Jet Airways, Jetlite, IndiGo, Go Air and Spice Jet on August 18. The only option for the domestic air traveller will be the 300 scheduled flights operated by Air India and the additional ones it may mount to meet the demand.

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Sturday said that the government would not bailout private airlines. Patel advised the private carriers to withdraw their strike call on August 18. He stated, “Passengers interest would be safeguarded and DGCA would take action if needed.”

Air India will increase the number of flights to reduce inconvenience to passengers, Mr Patel said. It is not known if Paramount Airways will join its private sector peers in the strike.

The minister said that the ATF tax was an issue even before the private carriers started operations. Painting a desperate picture of their situation, industry lobby body Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) said unless the government helps them by lowering taxes on jet fuel and bringing down airport charges, their survival is in doubt.

Click here to read the entire article.

TransportGooru Musings: I can understand the plight of the airline operators in India, a country where rulers take a serious view of situations only when such harsh measures are called for.  As a proud practitioner of Democracy, the country has developed a unique way of making its rulers listen – Indefinite Strike.  Though this method has often been abused by many labor unions, especially the ones associated with employees of public sector banks & railways, this is the first time an entire industry is threatening to go on strike.   During my recent trip to India, me and my family flew on some of the domestic carriers mentioned here.  Though the original price of the tickets were really enticing, the additional costs for a ticket incurred by a passenger were often sky high.

For example, the price for two tickets from Coimbatore to Chennai (two Southern Indian cities) was Rs.1598 (roughly $35).  But the invoice showed a shocking total of Rs.5638, with a line stating  “Other Charges” worth Rs.4,391.44 (~$80). I am assuming that this “Other Charges” line envelops all the above mentioned items that the airline operators are fighting to remove.  If the airlines managed to achieve this, the cost of flying should become really cheap and would fuel a boom in traffic.  These sky high tariffs did really make me re-examine whether it is worth flying and given that the next best alternative is the Indian Railways, which takes six times longer to get me to the same desitination, I went ahead and paid for the ticket inspite of the heart-ache.

Here I’dlike to share an interesting story. My family hired this young driver, Suresh, to drive me around during this recent trip.  I spent a considerable amount of time with him in the car as he drove me around for nearly 2000 kms in a period of 20 days.  Sitting in traffic and during long stretches of driving (while I am not on the phone or sleeping), we asked a lot of questions about how it is to be living in our respective worlds (America & India) and shared stories about driving and the multitude of transportation problems we faced in our daily lives.  He was so fascinated by the idea of flying between cities in such short times compared to the trains.  When I asked him if he had ever flown in an airplane before, he said in a longing voice that he has never been inside an airport all his life (24years of age) and has always wanted to fly but never could afford a ticket due to his financial siuation.  He added that he always wanted to save money to buy a ticket to the nearest destination possible but was not sure how expensive it could be to fly compared to the buses or trains . When he picked me up at the airport, he inquired about how much I paid for the trip and I promptly shared the information.  He was sorta disappointed and said may be he will never get to fly if the prices were to be so high.  He said that flying will never become a reality for many people like him.

It got me thinking.  How is that a driver in India cannot afford to fly while someone holding the same job can do so in a country like America?  Here we have people like Suresh who are ready to fly but can’t afford to do so. There is a huge market that remains untapped and the private airline operators are definitely ready and willing to feast on this bonanza.  If the economics are worked out properly, this could be a wonderful way to resuscitate the ailing aviation industry.  I am no economist but it is not hard to understand what we are dealing with.  It is as simple as this:  There is a Huge Market, there are a number of willing operators, and a thriving industry that is raring to do everything possible to remain profitable.  With growth in passenger traffic, the Government can compensate for the loss of revenue experienced by the reduction in tariffs.   Moderizing the airport infrastructure and streamlining the current services can also help India’s aviation industry to a large degree.

But the only stumbling block that remains is some of the regressive policies of the Government, which is holding back the dreams of soaring high for people like Suresh. As a Transportation industry practitioner, I’d love to see the Ministry of Aviation taking a hard look at this issue and bring down some of these ridiculous charges.  Failing to do that would pretty much doom the industry and would prohibit the development of the aviation infrastructure, which the country needs to develop so badly.  Mr. Praful Patel, are you listening?

With all that said, I totally agree with Sudhakara Reddy, president, Air Passengers Association of India. Airline operators have goofed up tremendously in the past with their bad business moves (some of the horrible mergers and acquisitions are top among them) and can’t go penalizing the passengers like this.  It violates the obligation they have for serving the general public who put their faith in these airlines when they made travel plans.  For the airlines, it is their right to go on strike but that can’t come at the expense of the passengers.  It is a huge discomfort for the very passengers who keep these airlines in business.  It is the worst form of customer service.  Hope the issue gets resolved amicably.

(Source: Wired)

The awesome folks at Wired recently covered the AirVenture aviation show @ Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  Check out the excerpts below from the Wired article.

OSHKOSH, Wisconsin — For one week every year, the air traffic control tower at the small airport here is the busiest in the world. And today is the busiest day of all for the hand-picked all-star crew of controllers who will handle more than 3,000 flights in just 10 hours.

On a normal day, Wittman Regional Airport might see a few hundred take-offs and landings. But more than 10,000 aircraft from around the world descend on Oshkosh for the week-long AirVenture aviation show. On a slow day the controllers might direct 1,500 flights. Some days see more than 2,000. But with many of those who arrived early in the week heading home — and those coming in for the weekend arriving — Thursday is usually the busiest day of the week.

On this day last year, the tower directed 3,035 flights in just 10 hours. That’s about 400 more than the crew at Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport — usually the busiest in the world — handled on the same day, and the flights coming into Atlanta were spread out over 24 hours. Oshkosh tower manager and veteran controller Wanda Adelman told Wired.com there are some bragging rights that come with the job here, “we actually beat O’Hare” she says referring to the Chicago airport which is the busiest in the region, “we beat Atlanta too, but nobody cares about Atlanta. They just want to know that we beat O’Hare.”

They get a bright pink polo shirt that is one of the most sought-after prizes of their profession.

It’s a carefully choreographed ballet that requires the utmost attention from both the controllers and the pilots, who must read a 32-page guideline (.pdf) of the procedure. Flying into or out of Wittman during AirVenture can be unnerving for the uninitiated, as pilots often find themselves flying much closer to other airplanes than they typically would.

Inside, there are two teams of controllers at any given time. Each team has two people. One keeps watch over the airfield and the airspace through binoculars and relays information to the other person, who communicates with the pilots.

Click here to read the entire article and to check out some more awesome pictures.

(Source: BBC)

A crop area the size of the USA would be needed to biofuel all the world’s cars and alternatives, such as electricity, exist for them, it added.

Instead, it said the EU should fund research into using plant-based fuel for aviation to help cut emissions.

Sceptics say some biofuels create more carbon than they save and push up the price of food for the poor.

Most biofuels are derived from crops such as corn, sugarcane and rapeseed.

Join ITS America and AAAE at the Intersection of Intelligent Transportation Systems and Aviation!

Airport land side management has increasingly become a focus for airport managers and transportation management center mangers alike.  More and more, airport managers are turning to Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) to provide solutions to the challenges they face, such as managing parking, commercial vehicle movement, incident management, security and much more.  This conference is co-sponsored by the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) and the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) and will showcase the top industry leaders in the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) industry who are currently providing solutions for airport landside management.  The conference will also feature airport personnel sharing real-world results, lessons learned, success stories bad reasons why they have chosen ITS products and services as their airport land side management solution.

Details of Sessions:

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Keynote Address: Michael Huerta, President, MPH Consulting “Transportation Challenges Presented by the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, UT” – confirmed

Session 1:

“ITS Options in Airport Ground Traffic Management and Revenue Generation”

Moderator: Gary Duncan, Chief Technology Officer for Econolite (EGI) – confirmed

Panelists:

1. Dave Kinnecom, Utah DOT – confirmed

2. FAA –confirmed participation, speaker TBD

3. Stan Doepke, Eagle Integrated – confirmed

This session will focus on the challenges that airport landside managers face in effectively managing and tracking traffic flow in and out of the airport environment.  Discussion topics will include freeway and arterial signage, real time travel information, and other traffic management tools.  In addition to managing the traffic flow, airport managers have significant fiscal responsibility and this session will address those responsibilities and provide real examples of using dwell times, trip charges and airport usage fees from taxis and shuttles to provide a revenue stream for airport operations.

Session 2:

“ITS Options in Airport Ground Incident Management”

Moderator: Irv Rosenblum, Telegra – confirmed

Panelists:

1. Dan Lukasik, Delcan – confirmed

2.Dave Korzep, Salt Lake City Department of Airports –confirmed

3. Ron Sherwood, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – confirmed

This session will focus on the use of technologies to help airports managers address security issues related to curbside management of transportation taxis, limousines and buses. Additionally, panelists will address management of vehicle accidents on airport property, management of pedestrian flow, park and wait lots, and other security challenges.

Session 3:

“ITS Solutions to Airport Parking Conundrums”

Moderator: Mike Drow, Standard Parking – confirmed

Panelists:

1. Rick Warner, President of ParkingCarma – confirmed

2. Michael Howarth, Intelligent Devices – confirmed

3. Neal Heaton, BWI – confirmed

4. Jon Tarleton, Quixote – confirmed

Passenger parking is the largest source of revenue for most airports and proper management is of increasing importance.  The session will focus on ITS products and services and how they relate to “Parking Guidance Systems,” “Parking Reservation Systems,” and “Vehicle Locator Systems.”  Intelligent Transportation System technologies are now being used in some locations to take the guess work out of finding open parking lots and spaces, pick up points and drop off points for specific airlines. Discover some of the leading edge technology implementations that are working at airports today.

Session 4:

“Importance of ITS Standards in ITS Implementation at Airports”

Moderator: Casey Crabtree, Daktronics – confirmed

Panelists:

1. Rod MacKenzie, ITS America – confirmed

2. Bob Rausch, TransCore –confirmed

3. Marshall Elizer, Gresham Smith & Partners – confirmed

4. Tom Wunk, Sheidt & Bachmann – confirmed

ITS standards define an architecture of interrelated systems that work together to deliver advanced transportation technology and services across different agencies, modes and users. Most standards arevoluntary, consensus-based, and open, meaning that their use is not mandated by law,  they are consensus-based (meaning that a published standard has attained general agreement through cooperation and compromise in a process that is inclusive of all interested parties), and they are not proprietary and are available for anyone to use. The use of standards for airport ITS encourages growth of these services by minimizing development costs, increasing compatibility and interoperability, and increasing buyer and seller confidence in products. A standards-based approach to airport ITS integration helps to facilitate the exchange of transportation data as well as more easily accommodate future equipment replacements, systems upgrades, and system expansions. This session will explore standards available to ITS applications in the airport environment and how they are being used in airport ITS systems development today.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Session 5:

“Airport Management Roundtable”

Moderator: Mark Ozenick, Thomas Group – confirmed

Panelists:

1. Ron Sherwood, Atlanta – confirmed

2. Dave Korzep, SLC – confirmed

3. William Flowers, DFW – confirmed

4. Neal Heaton, BWI – confirmed

This exciting round table discussion will feature key airport executives discussing topics from the previous day as well as other important issues facing them and their thoughts about how technology has or might help them address these issues.  Real world examples from those who have been there!

Technical Tour of Utah Department of Transportation Traffic Management Center “ITS Implementation”

Registration

• ITS America / AAAE Members: $525
• Non-members: $575

(Source: New York Times & Air New Zealand)

Image Courtesy: Air New Zealand Website

Let us admit. Most of us don’t listen to those mundane sfaety instructions videos shown to us in the airplanes.  A lot of us simply ignore it knowing that it is same damn thing that we have heard umpteen times. Borrrrringgg!!  Not anymore.  Virgin America attempted to change this with its wonderfully creative pre-flight safety video shown before on their Airbus A320 airliners.

Now, Air New Zealand, already known for its innvoative marketing ideas has  done one better than Virgin America  with a safety video featuring its employees who are nude except for body paint and strategically placed seat belts.

Passengers on the video’s maiden flight Monday — the 7 a.m. from Auckland to Wellington, on New Zealand’s North Island — may have never paid more rapt attention to the line “undo the seat belt by lifting the metal flap.”

The video (shown below) — and a related ad campaign — are rare moments of levity in an industry that has been savaged by drastic drop-offs in passenger travel and air freight. Airlines around the world, including Air New Zealand, have had to cut flights, employees and investment plans.

The video and commercial are not as revealing as some might think (or perhaps hope, given the toned bodies of the employees). The realistic body paint makes it look as if the employees — flight attendants, baggage handlers and a pilot — are wearing uniforms. The one perThe video and commercial are not as revealing as some might think (or perhaps hope, given the toned bodies of the employees). The realistic body paint makes it look as if the employees — flight attendants, baggage handlers and a pilot — are wearing uniforms. The one person not shown doing his actual job is the company’s buff chief executive, Rob Fyfe, who plays a baggage handler.

The point of the three-and-a-half-minute safety video and the 45-second commercial that started running last month is that unlike other airlines, which increasingly add hidden charges to fares in an effort to increase falling revenue, Air New Zealand has nothing to hide.

“Which is why the price you pay includes everything — up front,” reads the ad’s tag line.

Click here to read the entire article.

TransportGooru Musing: I’d love to fly Air New Zealand and write a column about how their service matches against these sweet ad campaigns.  Also,  I am falling hard for Air New Zealand’s pleasant ambassadors  (read as hostesses, oohh lala)  with their accented “Kyora” (for those who don’t know what that means, it is the traditional Maori greeting).  Someone, please, tell Air New Zealand to give me a free ticket!  Mr. Rob Fyfe, are you listening??

(Source: Wikipedia, AOPA Blog, Hoax-Slayer.com)

For many of us, there exists on the world map a small state called Gibraltar, which is a self-governing British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula andEurope at the entrance of the Mediterranean overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory covers 6.843 square kilometres (2.642 sq mi) and shares a land border with Spain to the north. The Gibraltar Airport is 1,600 feet from the city, the shortest commute of any major airport in the world. One would naturally ask the question how difficult it is to operate and land aircrafts when the airport is so close to the city.  British Gibraltar has very little area, and the important airport runway takes up a major portion of land. To drive from Gibraltar to Spain, vehicles must cross the runway.The picture below (taken by a Cessna Pilot as he approached for landing) shows you what happens in Gibraltar where pedestrians and vehicles share the space with aircraft on the tarmac.

Image Courtesy: AOPA

7th International Energy Conversion and Engineering Conference (IECEC)

2 – 5 Aug 2009
Colorado Convention Center
Denver, Colorado

The 7th IECEC will explore the future of clean energy systems through a series of panel discussions and technical paper presentations. This year’s hot topics include:

Alternative power systems – such as fuel cell technology and solar system technology

Biofuels, including biodiesel fuels and fuels created from food-waste

Electric power systems which would replace traditional fossil fuel based propulsion systems

Nanotechnlology applications for solar power systems, among many others. There will also be a discussion of future energy policy needs to answer the demand for “green” energy systems.

Featured Sessions:

• Apollo Anniversary Panel (Joint Session with JPC): Gerry Griffin, Glynn Lunney, Frank Van Rensselaer, J.R. Thompson, Harrison “Jack” Schmitt, and Bob Sieck
• Joint IECEC/JPC Session: Electrical Power Extraction from Propulsion Systems, Meeting Increasing Demands: Features experts in propulsion and electrical power generation to discuss the issues and effects of supplying large dynamic electrical loads from air-breathing propulsion systems
• Energy Policies for a Green Future: An overview of the current and upcoming policies and activities in government, industry and academia that will lead to more efficient, less polluting energy systems
• Impact of the USAF/SMC Lithium Ion Battery Standard on Future Spacecraft Batteries: A discussion on the issues and implication of the new lithium ion battery standard
• Joint IECEC/JPC Session: Biofuels for Propulsion and Terrestrial Power Generation: A look into biofuel development as it relates to both propulsion and power generation applications

And Much More!

This event will be co-located with the 45th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit

REGISTRATION

Registering in advance can save conference attendees up to $100. A check made payable to AIAA or credit card information must be included with your registration form. Advance registration forms must be received by 06-Jul-2009. Preregistrants may pick up their materials at the advance registration desk.

Click here to learn more about the conference and to register.

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45th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit

2 – 5 Aug 2009
Colorado Convention Center
Denver, Colorado

http://www.aiaa.org/events/jpc

Early Bird Registration Deadline: 6 July 2009

AIAA, ASME, SAE, ASEE, and their industry partners, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, and Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, proudly invite you to Denver, Colorado, the Mile High City and Gateway to the Rockies, for the 45th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit, 2–5 August 2009.

The 45th JPC will field a strong lineup of keynote addresses, panel discussions, and technical sessions, examining the future of propulsion systems and their ability to meet the demand for “clean aerospace” technology. Highlights of the conference include a panel on the X-51 “Waverider” scramjet aircraft as it prepares for its maiden flight, a review of recent progress in the field of constant volume combustion, an analysis of the future of gas turbine technology, a critical examination of the history of liquid propulsion flight, and a look at the future of hypersonic propulsion systems. Keynote addresses will explore recent innovations in aeronautical and exo-atmospheric propulsion, the future of the Constellation program, and recent innovations in space launch and space propulsion systems.

The design of our next generation flight and space systems will be dependent more than ever on high performance, increasingly efficient, reliable and affordable propulsion systems. Our ability to incorporate new technologies into aircraft and spacecraft will have far reaching impacts to the evolutionary roles these complex systems play in our everyday lives. Our ability to incorporate new technologies into aircraft and spacecraft will have far reaching impacts to the evolutionary roles these complex systems play in our everyday lives. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, and Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control invite you to Denver and be a part of the exciting future of the aerospace propulsion industry.

Featured Speakers for 2009

Apollo Anniversary Panel:

• Gerry Griffin – Lead flight director in Mission Control for three lunar landings during the Apollo program, and was an integral part of the team that helped the astronauts of Apollo 13 safely return to Earth after their oxygen tank exploded on their journey to the moon.
• Glynn Lunney – An employee of NASA since its foundation in 1958, Lunney was a flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs, and was on duty during historic events such as the Apollo 11 lunar ascent and the pivotal hours of the Apollo 13 crisis.
• Frank Van Rensselaer – Has held various management positions with NASA during a 20-year period culminating at NASA headquarters where he was a charter member of Senior Executive Service, earning two of the three highest NASA awards.
• J.R. Thompson – Was the fifth Director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center located in Huntsville, Alabama. He served as Director from September 29, 1986 to July 6, 1989. Thompson also served as NASA’s deputy director from July 6, 1989 to November 8, 1991.
• Harrison “Jack” Schmitt – Played a key role in training Apollo crews to be geologic observers when they were in lunar orbit and competent geologic field workers when they were on the lunar surface. After each of the landing missions, he participated in the examination and evaluation of the returned lunar samples and helped the crews with the scientific aspects of their mission reports.
• Bob Sieck – Joined NASA at the Kennedy Space Center in 1964 as a Gemini Spacecraft Systems engineer. He served as an Apollo Spacecraft test team project engineer, Shuttle Orbiter test team project engineer, and in 1976 was named the Engineering Manager for the Shuttle Approach and Landing tests at Dryden Flight Research Facility in California.

Keynote:Innovation in Aeronautical and Exo-Atmospheric Propulsion :

• Dr. Werner Dahm, USAF Chief Scientist

Keynote:Innovation’s Future-Constellation Initiatives

• Brian Duffy, Lockheed Martin, Vice President Altair Program Manager

Award’s Luncheon Keynote: Innovation in Launch and Space System Propulsion

• Gen. Bob Kehler, USAF Space Command

Why Should You Attend?

Identify and highlight how innovative aerospace propulsion technologies get inserted into both new and evolving systems.

Attend special panel sessions with a focus on advanced system applications that can be used to showcase the propulsion systems, components and technologies that enable them.

REGISTRATION

Registering in advance can save conference attendees up to $100. A check made payable to AIAA or credit card information must be included with your registration form. Advance registration forms must be received by 06-Jul-2009. Preregistrants may pick up their materials at the advance registration desk.

Press Release for JPC: http://intranet.aiaa.org/industryresources/PDF/JPCRelease.pdf

Note seen below is applicable for both conferences:

NASA Conference Restrictions Lifted
NASA participation at technical conferences has been cleared per an April 10 NASA Interim Directive 9312.2. You are invited to read the Acting Administrator’s letter to AIAA. To read the letter, click HERE.