7 avril 2020 | International, Aérospatial
ByEd Adamczyk
April 6 (UPI) -- Boeing Co. announced an extension of a production suspension in its Washington state facilities, and signaled that layoffs and buyouts could be coming, to help stem the spread of COVID-19.
The company's Puget Sound and Moses Lake sites will be closed until further notice because of the spread of the coronavirus, additional advice from state health authorities and supply chain disruptions, the company said in a Sunday statement.
The original shutdown began on March 23 and was scheduled for two weeks.
The Puget Sound facilities are mostly known for constructing commercial aircraft, but the military's KC-46 tanker and P-8 maritime patrol aircraft are built on the same lines. Boeing officials said last month the stoppage is not expected to affect their production too greatly.
Boeing employs about 70,000 people in the region. Last week it announced a two-week closure of facilities in the Philadelphia area for two weeks due to the spread of the virus.
In a letter last week to employees, CEO David Calhoun predicted that the company's recovery from the health crisis will be lengthy.
"When the world emerges from the pandemic, the size of the commercial market and the types of products and services our customers want and need will likely be different," he said. "It's important we start adjusting to our new reality now."
Within several weeks, a buyout package will be offered to some of Boeing's 161,000 U.S. employees. Nearly one-third of its 27,000 unionized machinists are over 55, and with an aging workforce a buyout could find many takers.
While the company appears to be eligible to receive funds from a $17 billion loan available to the aviation industry included in the $2 trillion federal stimulus package it is required to maintain staffing at 90 percent of current levels.
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Nathan Strout WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has opened a lab focused on developing materials for new deployable space structures. Construction on the Deployable Structures Laboratory, or DeSel, began in December 2019 and opened Oct. 29, 2020. Scientists and engineers moving into the $4 million lab at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, will continue the work of the Spacecraft Component Technology Center of Excellence, which has a history of developing spacecraft structure materials. DeSel contains specialized equipment and a climate-controlled, vibration-isolated laboratory capable of testing spacecraft structures up to 20-by-15 meters, allowing AFRL to further research and develop high-strain composite materials. “I'm excited to have a facility that was specifically built for testing novel deployable space structures,” Benjamin Urioste, research engineer and lead for the Integrated Structural Systems team, said in a statement. “With the push toward hybrid architecture and smaller satellites, high packing efficiency structures and the ability to bring large satellite capability to small satellites is more important than ever.” “This new class of high strain composite enabled structures requires new ground test facilities,” he added. “Satellite deployments are nerve-wracking, one-shot endeavors and the high-fidelity ground testing that will take place in the DeSel is critical to ensuring on-orbit success.” Spacecraft Technologies Division chief Mark Roverse said the structures, made possible by high strain composites, "will enable new mission paradigms for the U.S. Space Force.” “AFRL has led development of high strain composites for deployed spacecraft structures, and we are excited to see the new mission capabilities that are being enabled,” Roverse added. One spacecraft in development that will benefit from these new structures is AFRL's Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstration and Research project. With the SSPIDR project, the lab wants to build a spacecraft capable of collecting solar energy on orbit and then transmitting that energy to forward-operating bases via radio frequency. Northrop Grumman was awarded a $100 million contract to support space-based experiments informing SSPIDR's development. The Space Force is testing that technology on the X-37B, the service's secretive spacecraft, but DeSel's work will provide the materials needed to build the SSPIDR craft. “This innovative research will help us to deliver the essential energy our warfighters need at the right place at the right time,” explained Col. Eric Felt, director of the AFRL's Space Vehicles Directorate. “Some of the first structures that we look forward to testing in this new lab are those required for our Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstration and Research (SSPIDR) project, one of our top priority programs.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/11/04/air-force-research-laboratory-open-new-space-lab/