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HOUSTON, 4 Feb. 2012. NASA officials announced receipt of more than 6,300 applications from individuals desirous of becoming a NASA astronaut. The second highest number of applications ever received by the agency was logged between 15 Nov. 2011 and 27 Jan. 2012. NASA officials will select between nine and 15 people, following a thorough selection process that includes interviews and medical examinations, to become part of the 21st astronaut class.

NASHUA, N.H., 3 Feb. 2012. U.S. Army officials have named BAE Systems in Nashua, N.H., and Northrop Grumman Corp. in Manassas, Va., as the contractors, under a 21-month technology demonstration award valued at $38 million, to develop the next-generation Common Infrared Countermeasure (CIRCM) solution. U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine rotary-wing aircraft will employ the lightweight, directed infrared countermeasure system.

BLAGNAC, France, 03, Feb. 2012. Spirit Airlines has finalized its firm order for 75 Airbus single-aisles including 45 A320neo aircraft (new engine option).

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio, 3 Feb. 2012. Aircraft manufacturers at the Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) Defense, Space & Security segment in Long Beach, Calif., will build 10 C-17 Globemaster III military cargo jets for the Indian Air Force in New Delhi, India, under terms of a $1.8 billion contract modification announced Thursday from the U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The aircraft sale is part of the Foreign Military Sales program.

UPHAM, N.M., 3 Feb. 2012. The New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) personnel launched a STIG-A rocket designed and built by Armadillo Aerospace engineers from Spaceport America's vertical launch complex. Armadillo Aerospace’s research-and-development test flight enabled company engineers to test proprietary, advanced launch technologies.

TEMPE, Ariz., 2 Feb. 2012. GE Aviation and StandardAero have opened a $50 million aircraft engine testing, research, and development center (TRDC), capping off a 12-month developmental partnership launched in Feb. 2011. The new centre will perform icing certification testing on GE jet engines, as well as develop advanced testing methodologies and equipment for GE Aviation commercial and military aircraft engines. The 122,500 square-foot facility is located at the James A. Richardson International Airport in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

SAN FRANCISCO, 1 Feb. 2012. A news story about the FACE Consortium’s debut of the long-anticipated FACE technical standard inadvertently omitted three of principal members: GE Aviation Systems, Textron Systems, and BAE Systems.

REDONDO BEACH, Callif., 1 Feb. 2012. Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC) has released a statement related to the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) report, “Defense Budget Priorities and Choices,” which calls for the termination of  the Global Hawk Block 30 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program.

WASHINGTON, 1 Feb. 2012. Defense budget cuts are looming large, with U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) officials unveiling their “Defense Budget Priorities and Choices” report for 2012. The budget recommendations, as presented by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, include the termination of the Global Hawk Block 30 program, which directly affects prime contractor Northrop Grumman and its team of industry subcontractors. Northrop Grumman

BLACKSBURG, Va., 31 Jan. 2012. VPT Inc., a HEICO company (NYSE:HEI-A, NYSE:HEI), is now offering a new dual-output, 15-watt DC-DC converter with no cross regulation error. The new DVAB Series converter—well suited for commercial and military avionics and other critical reliability power systems—boasts a small size, extremely light weight, and the ability to withstand the full range of military-specified temperatures. The DVAB Series is designed to eliminate cross-regulation errors and offer tightly controlled line and load regulation errors through the use of two independent control loops.

SAN FRANCISCO, 31 Jan. 2012. U.S. Navy and U.S. Army officials joined forces with aerospace and defense industry leaders, including executives from Lockheed Martin and Rockwell Collins, to help ensure warfighters can benefit from continued software innovations, both more quickly and more affordably, despite anticipated U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) budget cuts. The Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) Consortium has released the FACE Technical Standard, providing guidelines for creating a common operating environment to support applications across multiple DOD avionics systems.

STAMFORD, Conn., 31 Jan. 2012. JetBlue Airways is deploying PASSUR Integrated Traffic Management (PITM) from PASSUR Aerospace Inc. at its system operations center and throughout its network. The PITM Web-hosted, integrated business-intelligence platform targets key constraints through the life cycle of a flight to optimize fuel costs and emissions, schedule integrity, and the passenger experience. JetBlue officials selected the following PITM solutions: Traffic Management Initiative Optimization, Diversion Management, Surface Management/Departure Optimization, Hub Control Center Management, and Tarmac Delay Management.

L'HOSPITALET DE LLOBREGAT, Spain, 30 Jan. 2012. Spanish airline Spanair in L'hospitalet De Llobregat, Spain, the fourth-largest Spanish commercial air carrier, ceased operation on Saturday, idling the airline's fleet of 29 aircraft and stranding more than 20,000 passengers across Europe and Africa. Spanair stopped its flights after Qatar Airways in Qatar Airways in Doha, Qatar, stopped talks to take over the ailing Spanair, which in 2010 reported an operating loss of nearly $152 million.

UVALDE, Texas, 30 Jan. 2012. Sierra Industries is launching programs in cooperative technology development with OEM companies, institutional aircraft maintenance contracting, and air charter and management services, as well as maintaining its focus on “the development of innovative solutions for business aviation,” says a spokesperson. The company has evolved from a small, service-oriented fixed-base operator (FBO) into a multifaceted aviation organization.

TOULOUSE, France, 29 Jan. 2012. Commercial jetliner manufacturer Airbus in Toulouse, France, had big announcements last week, closing deals with three separate airlines for 153 aircraft. Airbus sold 51 airplanes -- 33 eco-efficient A320neo and 18 A320 aircraft -- to AviancaTaca Holding Co. in Bogota, Colombia; two A330-200 freighters to Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and 100 A320neo aircraft to Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA in Bærum, Norway. No dollar value of the sales was released.

PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md., 26 Jan. 2012. U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) military aircraft purchases continued to roll along on Wednesday, with a U.S. Navy order of 15 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet carrier-based jet fighter-bombers under terms of a $687.5 million contract modification.

OSLO, Norway, Jan. 26, 2012. Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Norwegian have announced a firm order for 100 737 MAX airplanes and 22 Next-Generation 737-800s.

MANAMA, Bahrain, 26 Jan. 2012. 2012 Bahrain International Airshow attendees, which numbered roughly 60,000, logged more than $930 million in business deals at the event. Participants at the show included the U.S. Air Force, which flew aircraft from the Air Mobility Command and Air Combat Command, and the U.S. Navy, which also conducted stunning aerial displays.

BLAGNAC, France, 25, Jan. 2012. Hong Kong Airlines has become a new operator of Airbus single aisle aircraft, following the delivery of its first A320. The aircraft is the first of 30 A320s ordered by the airline.