Week in review (3/19 to 3/25)

Get prepared for additional growth in the aerospace industry. The United States will see a "competitive and profitable aviation industry characterized by increasing demand for air travel [with] airfares growing more slowly than inflation" over the next two decades.

That's according to the FAA's annual Aerospace Forecast for fiscal years 2017-2037. "Looking ahead, there is confidence that the industry has been transformed from that of a boom-to-bust cycle to one of sustainable profits," FAA said in the report.

And airports in the region should take note. The FAA projected that "traffic growth by US mainline and regional carriers will increase at an average rate of 2.4 percent per year," while "passenger growth on US carriers will increase at an average 1.9 percent per year." (Post)

One of the companies that will be supplying jetliners for that growing industry is, of course, the Airbus manufacturing facility in Mobile, Ala. Made in Alabama, produced by the Alabama Department of Commerce, had a feature story during the week about the employees at the plant.

As you know, the first Alabama-made A321 jetliner took to the skies on its maiden flight a year ago, and the company is ramping up to eventually produce 40 to 50 jetliners each year. In the article, Gov. Robert Bentley noted that the plant is not only producing planes, but also creating opportunities that enrich the lives of the workforce. The story focuses on several of the plant's workers. (Post)

Space

The first RS-25 engine controller that will be used on the first flight of the new Space Launch System (SLS) was tested late in the week at Stennis Space Center, Miss. The new controller or "brain" has the electronics that operate the engine and communicate with the SLS vehicle.

Engine Controller Unit-2 was installed on RS-25 development engine No. 0528 and test fired for 500 seconds on the A-1 Test Stand. The engine controller will be installed on one of four flight engines that will help power the first integrated flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft.

This year, two more engine controllers for the first SLS mission will be tested on this development engine at Stennis and installed on flight engines. The fourth controller will be tested when NASA tests the entire core stage during a green run on the B-2 Test Stand at Stennis. That testing will involve installing the core stage on the stand and firing its four RS-25 flight engines simultaneously, as during a mission launch. (Post)

Bases

The Department of Defense announced during the week the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Freedom's Sentinel. Sgt. 1st Class Robert R. Boniface, 34, of San Luis Obispo, Calif., died March 19 in Logar Province, Afghanistan, from a non-combat related incident. The incident is under investigation. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (Post)

-- Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., is the recipient of a new weather training technology. The 355th Training Squadron’s Weather Training Complex is where you'll find a 48-inch carbon fiber globe suspended from the ceiling that comes to life thanks to the projectors that point at it from each corner of the room.

The Science on a Sphere uses computers with high-end graphic cards and video projectors to display data onto the globe. It was developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as an education tool to help illustrate earth weather science through animations of atmospheric storms, climate change and ocean temperatures.

The globe doesn't move, but gives that illusion. Instructors for Weather Initial Skills and Weather Officer Courses will use the system as a tool to help students gain an enhanced understanding of fundamental atmospheric and oceanographic processes. (Post)

Contracts

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $10.5 million delivery order against a previously awarded basic ordering agreement to complete a Selective Precision Effects At Range Capability 3 risk reduction and integration study of the F-35 air system for the government of the United Kingdom. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity. Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is home of the F-35 integrated training center. … Engineering Research and Consulting Inc., Huntsville, Ala., was awarded a $99 million contract for Seek Eagle modeling, analysis, and tools support. Work will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and is expected to be complete by Sept. 22, 2022. Air Force Test Center, Eglin Air Force Base, is the contracting activity. … The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded a $24.7 million modification to a previously awarded contract for QF-16 full-scale aerial target (FSAT) Lot 5A production. Contractor will provide 18 QF-16 FSATs and 18 associated four-year warranties for the QF-16 drone-peculiar equipment program. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity.