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News briefs: August 12
Posted: Tue, Aug 13, 2002, 8:00 AM ET (1200 GMT)
- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is asking the Japanese government for permission to use an upper-stage engine it is jointly developing with Boeing on a future version of the H-2A launch vehicle. Reuters cited an article in the Tuesday issue of the Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun that claims Mitsubishi officials would like to use the MB-XX engine on the H-2A starting in 2006. The announcement came on the same day that Boeing announced that the two companies had completed preliminary testing of the engine's combustion chamber and injector assembly.
- A TRW engine that uses a gel propulsion system completed a series of cold-fire tests, the company reported Monday. The gel propulsion system is designed to combine the safety features of solid propellants with the throttlability of liquid propellants. TRW is designing the propulsion system for the US Army for use in tactical missiles; there was no mention any possible space applications of the system.
- Russia and China have agreed to 13 areas of bilateral space cooperation, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Monday. Those areas include remote sensing, telecommunications, an navigation. The scope of the Russo-Chinese sub-Commission on Space Cooperation does not include human spaceflight or military programs.
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