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Frontierswww.boeing.com/frontiers SEPTEMBERAUGUSTJUNE 2009 20092009 / / / Volume VolumeVolume VIII, VIII,VIII, Issue IssueIssue IV VII Space for growth The arrival of Boeing’s newest satellite is opening doors to opportunities in the commercial market SEPTEMBER 2009 / BOEING FRONTIERS BOEING FRONTIERS / SEPTEMBER 2009 / VOLUME VIII, ISSUE V On the Cover 14 New bird Nearly one-third of the approximately 300 commercial satellites in orbit today were built by Boeing at its million- square-foot satellite factory in El Segundo, Calif. The latest model, known as the Boeing 702B, opens the door to many opportunities in the commercial market, where customers are looking for adaptable, medium- power satellites. Four years in development, the 702B from Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems made its debut in July. COVer IMAge: MiKE ConneLLY, Boeing InteLSAT PROGRAM DIRECTOR OF DIVISION OPERATIONS (LEFT), AND MIKE NEUMAN, 702B PROGRAM DIRECTOR, LEAD SPACE AND INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS’ 702B SATELLITE PROGRAM. DANA REIMER/BOEING AND BOB FERGUSON/BOEING PHOTO: SPACECRAFT TECHNICIAN PAUL IM OF BOEING’S EL SEGUNDO, CALIF., SATELLITE FACTORY, ASSEMBLES A BATTERY PANEL USED ON THE 702B. BOB FERGUSON/BOEING BOEING FRONTIERS / SEPTEMBER 2009 / VOLUME VIII, ISSUE V 3 Frontiers Publisher: Tom Downey Table of contents Editorial director: Anne Toulouse EDITORIAL TEAM Executive editor: Paul Proctor: 312-544-2938 Editor: James Wallace: 312-544-2161 Managing editor: Vineta Plume: 312-544-2954 Art director: Brandon Luong: 312-544-2118 24 Commercial Airplanes editor: Julie O’Donnell: 206-766-1329 Super trip in 82 days Engineering, Operations & Technology Earlier this year, a Boeing-led team that included two Super Hornets circled the globe, editor: stopping in a number of countries to perform at air shows and display the jet fighters. Junu Kim: 312-544-2939 It’s part of a strategy by Integrated Defense Systems to boost international sales. Human Resources and Administration PHOTO: KEVIN FLYNN/BOEING editor: Geoff Potter: 312-544-2946 Integrated Defense Systems editor: Diane Stratman: 562-797-1443 Shared Services Group editor: Beriah Osorio: 425-577-4157 ONLINE PRODUCTION Production manager: Alma Dayawon: 312-544-2936 Web designer: Michael Craddock: 312-544-2931 28 Graphic designer: Brandon Luong: 312-544-2118 Rewriting the rules of mobility Web developers: The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, with its unique tilt-rotor design and performance, Lynn Hesby: 312-544-2934 is flying a variety of missions for the U.S. military, from assault support transport Keith Ward: 312-544-2935 for the Marine Corps to inserting and extracting special operations forces with Information technology consultant: the Air Force. PHOTO: U.S. AIR FORCE Tina Skelley: 312-544-2323 HOW TO CONTACT US: E-mail: [email protected] 34 Mailing address: Boeing Frontiers MC: 5003-0983 100 N. Riverside Plaza Chicago, IL 60606 Phone: 312-544-2954 Tanker talk Fax: 312-544-2078 Rick Lemaster, KC-X program manager, tells Frontiers how Boeing is preparing for the upcoming KC-X tanker competition, including listening closely to the customer Web address: and incorporating lessons learned from the last round. Depending on U.S. Air Force www.boeing.com/frontiers requirements, Boeing is ready to offer either its 767 or the bigger 777 platform. Send all retiree address changes to Boeing Frontiers, MC 3T-12 PHOTO: RICHARD RAU/BOEING P.O. Box 3707 Seattle, WA 98124-2207 INSIDE Postmaster: Send address corrections to Boeing Frontiers, MC 3T-12 06 Leadership Message 08 Historical Perspective P.O. Box 3707, Seattle, WA 98124-2207 (Present addressees, include label) 07 Snapshot/Quotables 10 New and Notable 4 CONTENTS / BOEING FRONTIERS BOEING FRONTIERS / CONTENTS New editor to lead Frontiers 40 Earthrise The Obama administration soon will lay out NASA’s direction in human spaceflight, possibly setting a course back to the moon or even to Mars. Whatever the journey, Boeing will be there as a leader, just as it was in the heady days of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs when mankind took its first steps beyond Earth. PHOTO: NASA Taking the controls as Frontiers editor this month is James Wallace. One of the world’s leading aerospace journalists, Wallace joins Frontiers following 12 years covering the aerospace beat for Seattle’s Post- Intelligencer newspaper and Web site. During that time he covered Boeing, 42 Airbus, the airlines and the aerospace industry and reported on key issues, A planet-sized opportunity trends and events, developing a worldwide readership. He succeeds Employees throughout Boeing are using the power of Lean+ to drive efficiency—and help protect the environment and create a safer workplace. The initiative even has been Junu Kim, who earlier this year took a extended to Boeing’s global suppliers. new role supporting communications PHOTO: PAUL PINNER/BOEING for Boeing’s Engineering, Operations & Technology organization. PHOTO BY BOB FERGUSON/BOEING 52 Aircraft finance, explained A brief course conducted by Boeing Capital Corp. is helping employees across Boeing achieve a better understanding of a critical customer process—the financing of multimillion-dollar jetliners. They find it’s not unlike what’s involved in getting a home mortgage. PHOTO: MARIAN LOCKHART/BOEING 54 Stock Charts 58 Around Boeing 55 Milestones CONTENTS / BOEING FRONTIERS BOEING FRONTIERS / CONTENTS 5 Leadership Message Investing in the future Boeing continues to innovate the technology that defines aerospace John Tracy Chief technology officer, Boeing Senior vice president, Engineering, Operations & Technology PHOTO: BOB FERGUSON/BOEING oday, when Boeing is so strongly focused on meeting technology for potential U.S. Department of Defense solutions. the near-term challenges of the economy, our customers And even further benefits are being realized through greater Tand our development programs, it’s not always easy company-funded collaboration among Commercial Airplanes, IDS to look far ahead. and BR&T in the development of more innovative and affordable But to ensure the long-range competitive success of our technologies in areas such as composites, network systems, inte- company, we must—and do—look ahead at the various scenarios grated health management, and modeling, simulation and analysis. that might unfold for our customers five, 10 or even 20 years down In fact, this integrated enterprise approach is reinforced by how the road to determine what innovative technologies we need to Engineering, Operations & Technology’s new, centrally managed invest in now to meet their evolving needs. BR&T organization has been chartered to focus as much on pro- This is why we continue to read in Frontiers, Boeing News viding mid- to long-range technologies that benefit the enterprise Now and elsewhere about our efforts to develop exciting new as on near-term solutions. It does this not only by conducting its concepts for highly efficient, ultra-low emissions transport aircraft, own research and development but also by searching the world for autonomous unmanned vehicles, advanced satellite systems, the most innovative, cost-effective technology solutions possible. hypersonic vehicles, networked systems and more. Last year, for instance, BR&T opened a new research and tech- In addition to protecting our future, we also need our tech- nology center in Australia and another in India, adding to the nology investments to provide the maximum yield. This is why Boeing R&T centers already established in Europe and Russia. we have an integrated Enterprise Technology Strategy team that As we continue to tackle our near-term challenges, we also not only evaluates the long-term (as well as short- and mid-term) continue to plan for how we will continue to define the future of needs of the business units but also determines which technolo- aerospace in the same innovative ways we have over the past gies will meet those needs and whether we should develop them nine decades, during which our employees developed and in-house or acquire them elsewhere. produced such industry firsts as: all-metal airplanes; retractable Through this approach we have identified eight technology landing gear and controllable trim tabs; pressurized cabins and domains that we think are critical to our future success. Within high-altitude commercial airplanes; the flying boom and aerial these domains, engineers from Integrated Defense Systems, tankers; tandem rotor helicopters and manned hypersonic Commercial Airplanes and Boeing Research & Technology work on aircraft; geosynchronous communications satellites; and technology projects that benefit both our commercial and defense spacecraft that put man on the moon. businesses, and that might also open new business opportunities Yes, Boeing employees have done amazing, sometimes for Boeing. These collaborative teams also ensure that technology seemingly impossible things, and continue to do so. Furthermore, gaps and duplication are avoided and that replication is maximized. they manage to do all these amazing things even during times of As a result, our current integrated technology plan reflects significant global and economic challenge. more than $200 million in company investments that benefit So I’m confident we will succeed with our current challenges, multiple programs and fills gaps identified in such areas as rapid too, and I’m excited about what lies ahead. There will certainly be prototyping and open-fan engine technology. more challenges for us and our customers, and many of them will Additional savings are