READY, HEAVY, GO!

Colossal in size, state-of-the art in technology and futuristic in manufacturing, the Boeing Delta IV Heavy is about to rocket its first payload into orbit. Launch is set for this fall.

The 235-foot-tall (72 meters) heavy lifter becomes the next entry in the Delta family of launch vehicles, joining the dependable Delta II and other variants of the IV. The Delta IV has a key role in the U.S. Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program—assuring access to space for the nation’s most critical satellite payloads.

“This mission represents a significant milestone for the nation in that the Delta IV Heavy is the first large multi-core liquid booster launcher in the history of the U.S. space program,” said Will Trafton, vice president and general manager of Boeing Expendable Launch Systems. “From the development of an all-liquid heavy-lift vehicle, to the robust RS-68 engine, the Delta IV Heavy was designed, built and tested with all the benefits and skills from across the Boeing enterprise and our outstanding team of suppliers and subcontractors.”

FULL STORY >>

How do you hit a bullet with a bullet?

Although the easing of tension between superpowers in the late 1980s and early ’90s reduced the likelihood of massive global conflict, a different kind of threat exists today—the availability of sophisticated missile technology in many smaller countries. Unfortunately, this missile technology has proliferated and is in the hands of some who are prepared to use it.

Among the champions of missile defense is the Patriot missile system—designed to detect, target and then destroy an incoming missile that may be no more than 10 to 20 feet long and is typically flying at three to five times the speed of sound. The latest version of Patriot does what scientists once said was impossible—hit a missile with another missile, or as some describe it: “hit a bullet with a bullet.”

FULL STORY >>

TUNNEL VISION

It doesn’t take long for visitors to the T-38 modification line to discover that even as outsiders, they’re not exactly going to be feted.

Boeing people at the Williams Gateway Airport facility, just outside Mesa, Ariz., are warm and friendly. They extend sincere greetings. Then they quickly return to business.

“Everyone is busy,” an observer noted. “The work ethic is amazing.”

With the focus and intensity of surgeons, T-38 teammates systematically remove and replace the aircraft’s avionics. Their actions are purposeful, for they are members of a small team with great responsibility. Every fighter or bomber pilot in the U.S. Air Force will train in T-38s under their care.

FULL STORY >>

Junkyard DOGS

They’ve poured sand out of parts from Apaches that patrolled the deserts of Iraq, Kuwait, Israel and Egypt. They’ve repaired Apache components that were plagued by bullets and mortar rounds, burned and smashed as they were put through wars.

They call themselves the “Junkyard Dogs.” This Stage II High Performance Work Team has the job of transforming parts that “look like junk” into nearly new condition for replacement on remanufactured Apache Longbows at Boeing Integrated Defense Systems in Mesa, Ariz.

“We’re like plastic surgeons giving extreme makeovers to Apache parts,” said Team Lead Bob Johnson. “We see how creative we can get.” In applying that creativity, the Junkyard Dogs continue to meet the challenge of keeping within the company’s safety and quality standards.

The 18-person team has nearly 150 years’ combined experience in repairing composites, sheet metal and mechanical subassemblies. Some team members have been doing the work for 20 years.

FULL STORY >>

Boeing’s strike force

Before retuning the Space Shuttle to flight, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board concluded that NASA needed to develop, validate and maintain physics-based computer models to evaluate Thermal Protection System damage to the Space Shuttle from debris impacts.

In response, a team of Boeing employees representing Integrated Defense Systems, Commercial Airplanes and Phantom Works began to pool efforts to increase understanding and predict the effects of foam, ice and ablators (insulators that act as a heat shield and help dissipate heat) striking the orbiter.

“We are running a series of tests and performing analysis to determine the impact of debris on the orbiter,” said Scott V. Christensen, Boeing manager for Orbiter Vehicle Engineering and overall lead for the debris analysis efforts.

FULL STORY >>

All the INFORMATION wherever you are

More than two dozen reporters from major broadcast and print media outlets gathered at three Boeing sites June 29 for a first-hand look at the power and potential of network-centric operations. What they saw was a multiscreen, multisite, multiplatform demonstration of the networks and tools Boeing uses to model, simulate, and test NCO concepts, programs and solutions.

The event also introduced reporters to the new Boeing Integration Center East in Crystal City, Va.

“Boeing has invested significantly in the Integration Center, in networking tools and the various battle laboratories we have across the country,” IDS President and CEO Jim Albaugh said at the event, which also was broadcast via video teleconference over the Boeing Intranet. “Using these capabilities, we’re going to create an information-rich environment to demonstrate how we are working with our customers to understand the power of a network-centric approach to the battlefield.”

FULL STORY >>