frontiers aug12
TRANSCRIPT
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
1/40
Dreammaterial
www.boeing.com/frontiersFrontiersAUGUST 2012 / Volume XI, Issue I
787 pioneers advancedcompositesand waysto recycle them
http://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdf -
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
2/40
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
3/40
18Living in a materials world
On the Cover
Ater a decade o research, Boeing and the aerospace industry are on the threshold o large-scale compositerecycling. Its a signicant transormation that benets the environment, consumers and manuacturers. It alsomeans the 787 Dreamliner, the advanced passenger jetliner that makes extensive use o strong and lightweightcomposite materials, will be more recyclable than a metal airplane when it reaches the end o its useul lie.
COVER IMAGE: PAUL CAMPBELL, BACKGROUND, AND CHAN TEP INSPECT A 787 COMPOSITE STRUCTURE MANUFACTURED AT BOEINGS FREDERICKSON PLANT SOUTH OF SEATTL
BOB FERGUSON/BOEING
PHOTO: BETTY RAUTIO, FOREGROUND, AND RON SODEN CONDUCT THE COMPLEX BAGGING PROCESS OF COMPOSITE SKIN MATERIAL BEFORE LOADING IT INTO AN AUTOCLAVE
AT THE FREDERICKSON PLANT. BOB FERGUSON/BOEING
This ad shows a
777-300 Extended
Range jetliner fying
over Cape Town,South Arica. With
its long range, high
eciency and best-in-
class cargo capacity,
the 777 helps connect
Arica to the world. The
ad will run in trade and business magazines
throughout Arica.
The stor ies behind the ads in this issue oFrontiers.
Inside cover: Page 6:
Ad watch
This Flight International
ad eatures the winners
o the Boeing-sponsored
Engineering Student o theYear Award. Part o the
Flightglobal Achievement
Awards, it recognizes
outstanding students
working on aeronautical
or space technology and
was presented at last
months Farnborough
International Airshow in
the United Kingdom.
Design or the
Environment is one in
a series o innovation
stories told by Boeingemployees such as
Jeanne Yu. Learn more at
www.boeing.com/stories.
Back cover:
BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
4/40
Publisher: Tom Downey
Editorial director: Anne Toulouse
EDITORIAL TEAMExecutive editor:
Paul Proctor: 312-544-2938
Editor:
James Wallace: 312-544-2161
Managing editor:
Vineta Plume: 312-544-2954
Graphic designers:
Brandon Luong: 312-544-2118
Cass Weaver: 480-216-4539
Photo director:
Bob Ferguson: 312-544-2132
Commercial Airplanes editor:
Don Smith: 206-766-1329
Defense, Space & Security editor:
Diane Stratman: 562-797-1443
Engineering, Operations & Technology
editor:Junu Kim: 312-544-2939
Human Resources and Administration
editor:
Geo Potter: 312-544-2946
Shared Services Group editor:
Beriah Osorio: 425-577-4157
Staff writer:
Eric Fetters-Walp: 425-266-5871
ONLINE PRODUCTIONWeb manager:
Wendy Manning: 312-544-2936
Web designer:
Michael Craddock: 312-544-2931
Web developers:
Lynn Hesby: 312-544-2934
Keith Ward: 312-544-2935
Information technology consultant:
Tina Skelley: 312-544-2323
HOW TO CONTACT US:E-mail:
Mailing address:
Boeing Frontiers
MC: 5003-0983
100 N. Riverside Plaza
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone:312-544-2954
Fax:
312-544-2078
Web address:
www.boeing.com/rontiers
Send all retiree address changes to
Boeing Frontiers, MC 3T-12
P.O. Box 3707
Seattle, WA 98124-2207
Postmaster: Send address corrections to
Boeing Frontiers, MC 3T-12
P.O. Box 3707, Seattle, WA 98124-2207
(Present addressees, include label)
Frontiers
table oDierencemakersNearly 3,000 Boeing employees around
the world, along with riends and
amily members, pitched in to help
their communities last month during
Boeings annual Global Day o Service.
At events in more than a dozen countries
these volunteers showed Boeing
employees are dedicated to making
the planet a better place to live.PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
12
14 Early birdIt typically takes three to ve years tobuild and test a satellite. By streamlining
processes and standardizing designs,
employees with Space & Intelligence
Systems in El Segundo, Cali., have
turned that standard on its head,
delivering a new medium-power
satellite to the customer in recordtimejust 29 months.PHOTO: DANA REIMER/BOEING
Technologysbread and butteWhether its a saer and more ecient
way to test uel tanks or a device thathelps mechanics drill straight and true
each time, the replication o good ideas,
new technology and innovations across
the companys programs and worldwide
acilities, led by employees o Boeing
Research & Technology, bolsters saety,
productivityand competitiveness.PHOTO: MATTHEW THOMPSON/BOEING
26
http://www.boeing.com/frontiershttp://www.boeing.com/frontiers -
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
5/40BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
contentsINSIDE
28 Leading lightThe Airborne Laser Test Bed, a modied 747-400 carrying a hugechemical laser designed to shoot down ballistic missiles, has been
retired. But the groundbreaking research the program conducted in
directed energy weaponsand the talented employees who perormed
itare adding value throughout Boeing. PHOTO: KURTISS HUMPHREY/BOEING
Flying throughchangeBoeings rotorcrat acilities near
Philadelphia are being transormed aspart o a massive construction project
that is renovating actory and oce
space even as Chinook helicopter
production rates have increased. The
renovation has created an improved
working environment or employees
and is being accomplished on time
and on budget. PHOTO: FRED TROILO/BOEING
32
07 Leadership MessageBoeings people are the key to its utur
and its vital that the talent pipeline
continue to fow, says Mike Delaney,
vice president o Engineering, Boeing
Commercial Airplanes. The company
has great opportunities ahead, he says
but its also going to lose thousands o
years o experience as older employee
retire. Initiatives are under way to mak
sure a new generation o employees is
ready to lead the way.
08 Snapshot/Quotables
09 Why Were Here
10 Historical Perspective
37 Milestones
42 In Focus
http://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdf -
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
6/40
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
7/40BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
Leadership Message
People are Boeings uture and
its critical to keep the talent
pipeline fowing
Mike Delaney Vice president of Engineering, Boeing Commercial Airplanes
PHOTO: ED TURNER/BOEING
What makesBoeinggreat
The uture is bright or Boeing. We have great products,
great customers and huge market opportunities. Our people
create those products, serve those customers and enable
us to capture and sustain major portions o our markets. In other
words, our people make this company and its products great.
When talking with employees around the company, I am oten
asked what I oresee as potentially limiting Boeings ability to
prosper. That answer also has to do with people and whether
Boeing can continue in the uture to develop, build and support the
innovative products that saely serve millions every day, protect
reedom, and drive commerce and economies around the world.
We need to ensure we have the talent to compete in the uture.
Ironically, Boeing will soon nd itsel in a period o almost
unparalleled opportunity or its employees, coupled with an equalamount o risk. Let me explain.
We have a large population o employees nearing the end o their
careers, with decades o know-how, and a smaller but expanding
population with just one to ve years o experience. Between is a
deep valley; knowledge and experience are not equally distributed
across the workorce. This is important, as the leaders o tomorrow
those who will drive development o the next great productstypi-
cally emerge rom the population between early-career employees
and the more experienced. But that population is small.
For example, 22 percent o the Commercial Airplanes engineer-
ing workorce is eligible to retire. In ve years, another 25 percent
will become retirement eligible. While we dont expect everyone
to leave the company at the same time, once we hit this ve-year
window we could lose 1,000 to 1,500 o our most experienced
people in engineering every year. Thats 25,000 to 37,500 collective
years o experience leaving annually.
Unless we retain people or nd ways to pass along what they
know, we will lose that knowledge orever. The demographics are
comparable across many parts o the company and across the
aerospace industry in general.
Commercial Airplanes is working on a variety o talent-management
initiatives as part o our corporate Engineering Excellence eort
our strategy or achieving technical excellence while delivering
business results. Eorts include developing the pipeline o uture
technical employees by supporting Science, Technology, Engineerinand MathSTEM programsin school districts where Boeing has
large populations o employees.
We also are tapping surplus engineering talent rom Boeing de-
ense programs aected by shrinking deense budgets, and recruitin
the best, brightest, most capable people rom engineering schools
across the United States and internationally. Once they join us, key
initiatives such as the Ed Wells Partnershipadministered jointly b
Boeing and the Society o Proessional Engineering Employees in
Aerospacehelp develop these employees skills and careers.
Other eorts involve a number o methods to transer knowl-
edge rom our experienced employees to early-career employees
including training, mentoring, knowledge capture and leveraging
the learning o our subject-matter experts and Technical Fellows.
Even the way we identiy candidates or manager and executive
leadership positions likely will change. Given the demographics
I described, we need to promote people into management and
executive roles earlier in their careers than ever beore. This will
present great opportunity or many.
Boeing has a proud, long, pioneering history in aerospace.
Our colleagues beore us bequeathed us the responsibility to carry
on the tradition o building industry-leading productsproducts
that change the world. It is our turn to do the same.
Our people are our uture. It is time to challenge them and allow
them to grow into the leaders o tomorrow. n
Our people are our uture.
It is time to challenge them
and allow them to grow into
the leaders o tomorrow.
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
8/408 BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
Quotables
The language werehearing rom several o the
customers is that theyreready, and theyre vyingto be ... the rst.
U.S. Marine Col. Greg Masiello, who runs the V-22 Osprey
program, explaining the strong interest of international
customers in the Bell-Boeing V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft to
reporters at the Farnborough International Airshow in
the United Kingdom. Reuters, July 10.
Snapshot
We negotiated what webelieve to be the best
airplane with the bestengine at the best price.
Jeff Smisek, United Airlines president and chief executive,
telling reporters why the airline ordered 100 Boeing 737 MAX
airplanes instead of the competing plane from Airbus.
United also ordered 50 Next-Generation 737-900ERs
(Extended Range). Chicago Sun-Times,July 12.
UNITED WE STAND: An estimated 1,000 employees rom Boeings Renton and Fabrication acilities in Washington state commemoratethe more than 10,000 orders Boeing has received or all models o the 737 jetliner since the program began in 1967. Last months purchas
by United Airlines o 50 Next-Generation 737s and 100 o the 737 MAX now in development pushed Boeing past the milestone. The 737
is the only commercial jetliner to receive 10,000 or more orders. PHOTO: MARIAN LOCKHART/BOEING
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
9/40BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
Lasers can do wondrous things, and Boeing uses them
or applications such as helping align 777 uselage
sections during nal assembly and in precision-guided
and directed energy weapons. But since they can produce
tremendous energy, I know that this is not a place to take
shortcuts in workplace saety.
With 44 years experience in the design, development,
integration and test o electro-optical and high-power lasersystems, Ive taken it upon mysel to do what I can to help
create a saer workplace.
Early in my career, I saw a co-worker get badly hurt by
a laser. I had to physically push him out o the beam to stop
the burn. That incident really hit home or me and made me
realize that workplace saety is something we shouldnt
take or granted.
That interest in saety has inspired me to earn laser saety
certication and led to membership on a cross-industry
committee that oversees laser saety standards. Ive helped
create a comprehensive saety process and culture at my
Bright lights,big safety
Why Were Here
Boeing scientist has a laser-likefocus on workplace safety
By Terri Christofferson
work site, where we use potentially lethal high-energy laser
systems every day.
Ive also sought out training and seminars that enabled me
to create a custom electrical saety class, tailored specically or
our sites needs. The course, modied and certied by Boeings
Hazardous Energy Process Management team with Environment
Health and Saety, was approved or companywide use. Im
happy to see that my work is helping strengthen workplacesaety training at other Boeing sites.
Everyone is trying to be more productive. But sometimes it
seems that people are trying to do what they think will be aster
when they should ocus on doing things saely yet eciently.
There are always opportuni ties to work more saelywe
just need to identi y them and nd solutions. I eel ortunate to
work in an environment where those actions are recognized an
encouraged. And its gratiying to know that my contributions
help people across Boeing work saelyso they can be
productive both at work and at home. n
Denny Rossbach is a chie scientist or Boeing Test & Evaluation in Albuquerque, N.M., and an expert on laser technology. In thisFrontiers series that proles employees talking about their jobs, Rossbach explains why hes also developed a passion or workplace
saety. PHOTO: BOB FERGUSON/BOEING
http://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdf -
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
10/4010 BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
Compared with the massive and spacious International
Space Station that circles Earth today, Americas rst
space laboratory, Skylab, was a little like roughing it
in a tent on a camping trip.But Skylab, which was launched into orbit nearly our
decades ago, was a leap orward in spaciousness and amenities
compared with previous spacecrat, and it demonstrated that
people could live and work in the harsh environment o space.
Skylab has taught us that man is worth ar more than
his weight in machinery and computers in overcoming unore-
seen diculties in space, said Sanord Sandy N. McDonnell,
ormer president and chie executive o McDonnell Douglas
Corp., which built Skylab. This should put an end to the
debate about mans ability to perorm useul work in space.
The Skylab mission, however, almost ended beore it began.
During launch by a Saturn V rocket rom Cape Kennedy on
May 14, 1973, a meteoroid shield protecting Skylab tore o,
ripping away one o the spacecrats two solar panels that were
to provide electrical power.
The loss o the meteoroid shield caused the temperatures
in Skylab to rise to 126 degrees Fahrenheit (52 degrees
Celsius), making it uninhabitable. Engineers at NASA and
McDonnell Douglas, along with other industry experts, worked
or 10 days to devise a plan to train astronauts how to repair
the damaged station.
An Apollo spacecrat carrying astronauts Charles Conrad Jr.,
Paul Weitz and Joseph Kerwin was launched and rendezvoused
with Skylab on May 25. They successully made repairs, reeing
the remaining but jammed solar panel and placing a protectiveheat shield that dropped the inside temperature to 75 degrees
Fahrenheit (24 degrees Celsius).
By June 4 the orbiting workshop was ully operational.
Skylabs mission was not just to determine whether humans
could live and work in space or long periods o time. It was
designed as a laboratory to gather inormation about Earths
resources and the environment and to use its solar telescope
to better understand the sun and how it aects Earth.
The largest section o Skylab was a converted third stage o
the mighty Saturn V rocket developed to send U.S. astronauts
Higher
learningSkylab expanded our knowledgeabout Earthand how we couldlive and work in spaceBy Henry T. Brownlee Jr.
Historical Perspective
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
11/40BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
beyond Earths orbit on their way to the moon. McDonnell
Douglas in Huntington Beach, Cali., built the third stage o
the Saturn V or the Apollo lunar program and would modiy
it into the Saturn Orbital Workshop, the living and workingquarters o Skylab.
A separate Airlock Module or Skylab was built by McDonnell
Douglas in St. Louis.
In all, three three-man crews o U.S. astronauts, including
those on the repair mission, occupied the workshop or a
total o 171 days, 13 hours. Skylabs 10,000 cubic eet
(280 cubic meters) o living and working area was the site o
nearly 300 scientic, technical and lie science experiments,
according to NASA.
The nal Skylab crew let the workshop on Feb. 8, 1974,
ater completing its 84-day mission. Among its duties was
observing the comet Kohoutek.
Early on, there were discussions about possibly reurbishing
Skylab and boosting it into a higher orbit using a space shuttle.
But when the shuttle program was delayed, Skylabs ate
was sealed. Uninhabited, it re-entered Earths atmosphere in
July 1979 and burned up, scattering debris over the Indian
Ocean and sparsely inhabited Western Australia.
LeLand F. Belew, Skylab program manager at the NASA
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., perhaps best
summed up Skylabs accomplishments at the time, when he
said: The wealth o inormation obtained during mans longest
journey into space has provided the answers to many questions,
as well as revealing new questions and knowledge about the
sun, the Earth, space and man himsel. An adventure o today,Skylab was also an investment in tomorrow. Its results are
a legacy or all orever. n
PHOTOS: (Left) Ater Skylab was damaged during launch,astronauts reed its remaining stuck solar panel and placeda protective sun shield on the lab, shown here. (Insets, fromleft) The Skylab 4 crew demonstrates weightlessness; theSkylab 2 crew trains beore its fight. NASA
http://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdfhttp://c/Users/b311988/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version%207.5/en_US/Caches/InDesign%20ClipboardScrap1.pdf -
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
12/4012 BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
Sending a powerul message
about the importance o com-
munity service, thousands o
Boeing employees volunteered in
nearly 100 events in 13 countries
across the globe during Boeingsthird-annual Global Day o Service
last month.
From mentoring children in Beijing
and cleaning beaches in Caliornia
to assembling ood packages in Israel
and building oyster rees in Charleston,
S.C., nearly 3,000 employee volunteers
and their amilies and riends helped
in their communities.
The annual event serves as a
ocal point or the many volunteer
Thousands o Boeing employees volunteer or Global Day o ServiceBy Peter Pedraza
One day, a world of difference
activities that Boeing employees engage
in year-round.
For nearly 100 years, corporate
citizenship has been an important part
o Boeings culture, said Lianne Stein,
vice president or Boeing GlobalCorporate Citizenship. We continue
to contribute time, money and resources
to strengthen communities around
the world and we are proud that
Boeing employees give their talents
to help others. n
PHOTOS:(Clockwise from top left)Boeing South Carolina employeesrestore oyster habitat. JOSHUA DRAKE
Boeing India and Aviall employees hostan interactive learning event in New Delhi.ASSOCIATED PRESS Illinois Institute o TechnologysBoeing Scholars learn how to prepareresumes and cover letters. BRANDON LUONG/BOEING Employees host technology-centric
education or the St. Louis Youth andFamily Center. PETER GEORGE/BOEING Tel Avivemployees assemble ood packages orthe needy. ASSOCIATED PRESS Boeing Deence
Austral ia employees plant a ParadiseGarden at MacDonald Nursing Home.BOEING Employees clean up Navy Beachin Seal Beach, Cali. BRITTANY KUHN/BOEINGBoeing China supported Beijing SpecialOlympics students. LIU ZHIJIAN(Center)Boeing employees repair the ImagineChildrens Museum in Everett, Wash.PAUL GORDON/BOEING(Opposite page) BoeingSouth Carolinas Anthony Soto. JOSHUA DRAKE
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
13/40BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
We continue to contribute
time, money and resources
to strengthen communities
around the world and we
are proud that Boeing
employees give thei
talents to help others. Lianne Stein, vice president fo
Boeing Global Corporate Citizenshi
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
14/40
From celery to cellphones, the time it takes to get a product
to market is critical or sellers and buyers.
In the satellite business, the pressure is magnied. The
worldwide demand or servicessuch as mobile communication,Earth observation and space surveillanceincreases daily. But it
takes years to manuacture a complex spacecrat that can provide
the needed capability or a lie span o almost two decades.
Typically a new satellite gets bui lt and tested in three to ve
years. But Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems employees in
El Segundo, Cali., are turning that standard on its head.
They completed the companys rst 702MP (medium-power)
satellite in just 29 months, one month ahead o the aggressive
schedule set with its customer Intelsat, a Luxembourg-based pro-
vider o global mobile communications. The spacecrat, designated
Intelsat 22, or IS-22, was launched in March and is now on orbit
and providing video, network and voice service to customers.
With the second 702MP on deck or an August launch, the
Boeing team completes new 702MP
medium-power satellites in record timeBy Diana Eastman
Space & Intelligence Systems team has continued to keep an ey
on cycle time. It will deliver that payload ahead o schedule as
well. The third satellite also is on track or early delivery.
When we nished IS-22 and I heard we did it in 29 months,
I was pretty amazed, said Patrick Cooke, a structural analyst
engineer with the space systems team. Weve never done a rs
build that ast. Its a credit to the hard work o a lot o people.
The 702MP design was introduced to the market in 2009 in
Frontiers magazine, and Intelsat became the rst customer. The
spacecrat is engineered to hold both a primary and secondarypayload. A secondary, or hosted, payload enables a commercia
satellite provider to oer business, government and military
customers a aster, more economical way to get into space
than buying a dedicated satellite.
The introduction o a medium-power variation o Boeings
successul 702HP (high-power) spacecrat is part o an aggressive
strategy by Space & Intelligence Systems to re-establish its
business in the burgeoning commercial satellite market.
We are known or our technical excellence and breadth o expe
rience, but staying competitive means we also must oer aordabl
fexible and creative solutions. We see the 702MP and hosted
payloads as game-changers, said Jim Simpson, vice president o
Business Development or the Space & Intelligence Systems division
The 702MP is not a completely new designits an evolutiona
model that draws heavily rom the fight-proven 702HP, which
reduces the risk or customers. The satellites modular design
enables it to be scaled to dierent communication needs.
The division has kept the 702MP aordable in part by empha-
sizing standardization in design, electronics, supplier agreements
and production. Streamlining eorts in the satellite actory also has
reduced costs and increased throughput.
Our employees understand the marketplace and our need
or speed, Simpson said. Their success in building a new,
high-quality satellite in record time is a big deal and has led
to a very satised customer.n
14 BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
Early
delivery
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
15/40BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
Weve never done arst build that ast.Its a credit to the hardwork o a lot o people.
Patrick Cooke, structural
analyst engineer
PHOTOS: (Above) Space & Intelligence Systems developed the702MP (medium-power) satellite to extend market reach and helpmeet the global demand or greater communications bandwidth. BOEING(Insets, from top) Four 702MP satellites such as this one are beingbuilt or Intelsat at Boeings Satellite Development Center in El Segundo,Cali. CRAIG COOK/BOEING Structural analyst engineer Patrick Cooke inspectsthe center tube o a 702MP payload module during static testing, the
rst o a series o tests to ensure the satellite can withstand the rigorso launch and space. GLADYS WICKERING/BOEING
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
16/40
Saety coordinator Craig Morgan
knows rsthand how a workplace
injury can change a persons
lie. And hes committed to helping his
co-workers avoid a similar challenge.
Morgan was a mechanic installing 747
cargo doors at the Everett, Wash., actory
in 2002. One day, while using his eet
to help guide the rolling tool that carried
the doors, Morgans let oot slipped and
twisted on a tool edge, tearing tendons
and ligaments attached to his let ankle.
You know how everybody says they
want you to go home the way you came
in? That day I didnt, and it has aected
me ever since, he said.
Morgan has endured ve surgeries in
the past 10 years, and while able to work,
he can no longer take part in several o
his ormer avorite pastimes, including
competitive sotball and jogging.
He has, however, brought his personal
experience, perspective and passion or
saety to his current job as ull-time saety
coordinator in the 777 jetliner program at
the Everett actory. Saety coordinators
have played an important rolealong
with a robust saety plan, new workplace
saety tools and activities and engaged
leadershipin helping the 777 program
reduce the number o lost work-time
The 777 program
has sharply reduced
workplace injuries with
a ocus on saetyBy Patrick Summers and photos by
Gail Hanusa
Safety in actioninjuries by 42 percent in 2011.As the airplane program with the
largest number o employees at the Everet
site, the 777 had a lot o room or improve
ment, said Rick Monger, program saety
manager. We still have a lot o work to do
and a long journey ahead o us to reach th
target o zero workplace injuries.
Saety leaders aim to continue reducin
workplace injuries this year by building on
the oundation put in place with the 2011
saety plan. The strategy they designed
eatures both new and established solu-
tions and activities, including:
Newemployeesmustcompletea
seven-week physical conditioning clas
delivered by Shared Services Group
Health Services beore they start work
on the actory foor.
Athletictrainersandphysicaltherapists
16 BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
17/40
provide stretches or deep-tissue massage
to help prevent strains or sore muscles
rom becoming more serious injuries.
Safetycoordinatorsandmanagers
investigate every injury or near miss,
with the goal o being notied within
30 minutes o an incident.
Managerswalkthefactoryoorto
help ensure compliance with saety
requirements.
The 777 saety plan is supported by a
network o nearly 140 employees through-
out the program who address local saety
concerns and work with the coordinators
to ocus the companys resources on
issues that need attention.
Our attitude is saety in actioni
you see something that needs attention,
dont let it go; x it beore somebody
gets hurt. Be proactive, said 777 saety
coordinator Chris Malou.
Ater showing substant ial improvement
in 2011, the monthly-average rate o
decline in 777 workplace injuries leveled
o this year and began to move in the
wrong direction, prompting a sharp ocus
on compliance with saety requirements
and personal accountability.
The core o a saety culture is a
continuous-improvement mindsetthe
desire to always be better than the day be-
ore, said Jason Clark, 777 manuacturing
director. The areas where we have the
strongest saety culture are where we also
have the best demonstration o servant-
leadersmanagers who enable employees
to be active in the improvement process.
Clark said he has about 175 employee
involvement teams active in all areas
o operations, including saety.
A strong culture also means caring
enough to stop and tell a co-worker
i they arent wearing saety glasses
and having the person say thank you
because they are truly grateul or the
reminder, Clark added.
For Morgan, the visibility o the coordi-
nators helping people on the actory foor
may be the most important component
o a credible saety culture.
I used to walk out on the foor and no
get much o a response, he said. Now
Ill have our or ve people come up to me
and ask or help xing something. They
trust its going to get done.
Morgan said earning that trust is
important. I see a lot o people come
through here. I just want everyone to
go home sae. n
BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
PHOTOS: (Opposite page, clockwise from left) Saety coordinator Craig Morgan replaces a panel covering a gap on the foor; teamsaety leaders perorm regular workplace inspections; Trang Le perorms daily actory-foor warm-up exercises at the start o a shit;
Brandon Bent joins in. (This page, clockwise from left) Electrician Terence Page wins prizes in a weekly Treasure Chest drawing tharecognizes sae behavior, while Morgan looks on; Larry Seng, let, leads daily warm-up exercises; team saety leaders Robert Delvechio,let, and Ben Cool lead regular saety inspections; team saety leader Rob Huss, let, and Morgan replace protective temporary fooring.
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
18/4018 BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
Recycling composites oers many benetsor Boeing, the environmentand the 787By Robin McBride
advantage
Material
PHOTOS: (Clockwise from top left)Excess composite material let over romthe barrel-winding process at Boeing
South Carolina is collected and recycled.The site produces the 787 Dreamliner47 and 48 sections. ALAN MARTS/BOEINGSmall pieces o composite material rom ashredded 787 test wing are gathered orrecycling. BILL CARBERRY/BOEING Pete Georgeuses a kayak paddle made rom reclaimedcarbon ber; composite manuacturingemployees Chan Tep, let, and PaulCampbell prepare to perorm a qualitycheck on a 787 structure at theFrederickson, Wash., plant. BOB FERGUSON/BOEING A completed 787 Dreamliner.ED TURNER/BOEING
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
19/40BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
Pete George never expected his work with
advanced composites or the 787 Dreamliner
program to benet his weekend kayaking
getaways. But it has.
Our paddles have a bit o the Dreamliner in them,
said George, an Associate Technical Fellow with Next-
Generation Composites, Boeing Research & Technolog
They are lighter and more ecient, just like the 787.
Produced by a company in Washington state, the
kayak paddles used by George are the rst commercial
products to employ carbon ber reclaimed rom production o the 787.
These paddles are a great rst step in Dreamliner composites recycling, said Bill Carberry, project
manager and strategy leader or Sustainable Materials, Airplane Environmental Perormance and Boeing
Commercial Airplanes Product Development. Its a un and tting way or this benecial reuse to emerge.
Boeing and the industry today stand at the threshold o large-scale global composites recycling, a trans-ormation that will benet manuacturers, consumers and the environment. Getting to this point required a
decade o concerted eort across the enterprise as Boeing experts explored the issues then identied and
ostered technologies or composites recycling. Boeing also created benecial global alliances.
We are condent all this collaboration will pay o, Carberry said. We now know that when a composite
airplane like the 787 reaches the end o its useul lie, it will actually be more recyclable than a metal airplane
because we can reclaim a higher percentage o high-value material rom it.
Carbon-ber composite materials were essentially unrecyclable in 2002 when Boeing experts rst began
to study the issue. The 787 program was then two years away rom launch, and it would be many decades
When a composite airplane ...like the 787 reaches the end o its useul lie, it willactually be more recyclable than a metal airplane.
Bill Carberry, project manager and strategy leader for Sustainable Materia ls, Airplane Environmental
Performance and Boeing Commercial Airplanes Product Development
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
20/4020 BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
PHOTOS:(Clockwise from top left) Mechanics Zaak Walton,Jim Bush and Kipp Walter assemble a 787 vertical n; laminatingmachine operator Sun Vedder, let, and Quality Assurance inspectKandi Rowland inspect workmanship; mechanic Adrienne Fergusoworks on 787 tip assembly; mechanic Corey Haywood checks apart in the assembly process. BOB FERGUSON/BOEING
Making ...the 787 recyclable benets
Boeing by reducing the planes
environmental manuacturing
ootprint, and because
manuacturing scrap can
be turned into new airplane
components.
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
21/40BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
beore the rst Dreamliners were retired rom service. Nevertheless,
Boeings design ocus rom the start spanned the entire product
lie cycle o the Dreamliner, including what happens to the airplane
when its time to be scrapped at the end o its service lie.
At Boeing, we Design or Environment because its good
or the earth and good or business, said Jeanne Yu, director
o Environmental Perormance or Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
One aspect o our environmental commitment is that werealways looking to see how we can make tomorrows airplanes
even more recyclable than todays.
A recyclable Dreamliner benets airl ines because it is worth
more both during its service lie and when its useul days come to
an end and it is scrapped. Making the 787 recyclable also ben-
ets Boeing by reducing the planes environmental manuacturing
ootprint, and because manuacturing scrap can be turned into
new airplane components or sold to provide additional revenue.
Were deeply involved in composite recycling because it benets
us and our customers, Carberry explained. As this emerging
market sector grows, our strategy has been to align our suppliers
and ourselves with top-quality airplane recyclers worldwide.
Early on, Carberry and his team surveyed aircrat recycling
companies around the world and sought out alliances with the
best o them. Out o this activity grew the Aircrat Fleet Recycling
Association, ounded in 2005. This nongovernmental organization
supports the responsible recycling o all aircrat, whether metal
or composite. A valuable global orum, it promotes industry bestpractices, regulatory compliance and environmental sustainability
in aircrat disassembly and the salvaging or recycling o parts
and materials.
Known inormally as AFRA, this association has grown steadily
Today it has more than 60 members in 16 nations around the
world. In addition to dening recycler accreditation standards, the
association has published, with Boeing assistance, the industrys
rst-ever guidance or end-o-lie scrapping and recycling o
composite aircrat such as the 787.
Starting nearly a decade ago, Boeing also evaluated composite
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
22/4022 BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
recycling technologies. Most were in their inancy when the 787
program began.
We assessed emerging composite recycling startups around
the world and developed relationships with the nest o these,
George said.
In 2007, Boeing teamed with the University o Nottingham in
the United Kingdom because o promising composite recycling
research under way there. Stephen Pickering and his University o
Nottingham team were working on a novel way to restore someo the strength sacriced when cured composites are cut up or
recycling, severing their long carbon threads.
With Boeing nancial assistance and expertise, Pickering and
his team successully developed a process that removes these
chopped bers rom their encasing epoxy and then realigns
them to create a stronger recycled material.
The research weve completed is challenging, satisying
and important to the world, Pickering said. We look orward
to scaling these solutions up to commercial volumes.
Cured composites recycled in this manner will nd a variety o
Were always looking to see howwe can make tomorrows airplaneseven more recyclable than todays.
Jeanne Yu, director of Environmental Performance
for Boeing Commercial Airplanes
sporting, automotive and aerospace applications, though not in prima
structures such as aircrat uselages. With global demand or high
grade composites burgeoning, the patented University o Nottingham
Boeing process promises to increase prices that recycled composite
will command in the marketplace, ensuring the emergence o a
vibrant composites recycling industry without government suppor
Boeing experts also gained valuable hands-on experience by
scrapping a pre-production 787 uselage test section in 2009.
We learned quite a lot about how to take a 787 apart andhow not to take one apart, Carberry noted with a smile.
Building on this oundation, Boeing Fabrication recently implemente
pilot composite-recycling programs at two Puget Sound sites, Frede
ickson and Advanced Developmental Composites, as well as at Boein
South Carolina. Frederickson manuactures the 787 composite tail n
as well as other 787 parts. Boeing South Carolina assembles 787s.
At all three sites, workers routinely collect composite manuacturin
scrap, both uncured and cured. Uncured composite is a resin-
impregnated, pliable carbon-ber abric or tape. A cured composite ha
already been hardened into its nal shape by being baked in an auto-
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
23/40BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
PHOTOS: (Clockwise from left) Tim Anderson, ar let, andMarci Coen, background, use an instrument to check or leaksin the bagging material beore a part is cured in an autoclave,while Tim Wright checks the pleats in the material; compositeabricators conduct a nal check on a completed 787 verticaln beore shipping; mechanic Vadym Vasylyshyn on the 787vertical n assembly line; laminating machine operator SheilaLampkin bags a part or the autoclave. BOB FERGUSON/BOEING
clave. Boeing recycling eorts address both types. Cured composites
are a bit harder to recycle, but there will be greater need or cured ma-
terial as market demand grows or recycled ber, according to Carberry.
A cultural change is under way at the Boeing sites, too.
Workers are embracing the collection and segregation o scrap
or recycling. Some o the recovered material is used or research,
but the majority is sent to Materials Innovation Technology, a
pioneering composites recycler at Lake City, S.C., some 90 miles
(145 kilometers) rom Boeing South Carolina. Boeing hopes toeventually entice a similar acility to serve the Puget Sound region,
avoiding the need or transcontinental rail shipping.
Recycling composites oers countless benets, said Odette
Schindler, an environmental engineer with Environment, Health
and Saety at Boeing Fabrications Frederickson site.
One o those benets is helping Boeing meet whats known
as ISO 14001 requirements to continually decrease a sites
environmental impact. Frederickson is one o many Boeing sites
certied to ISO 14001, a comprehensive body o environmental
management standards promulgated by the International
95%Recycling composite scrap
material requires 95 percent less
energy than would be needed
to produce virgin material.
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
24/4024 BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
Most exciting ...and rewarding are the
environmentally responsiblematerial orms were creating.
Pete George, Associate Technical Fellow with Next-Generation
Composites, Boeing Research & Technology
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
25/40BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
Organization or Standardization.
Recycling is a key element o the comprehensive Boeing
Environmental Strategy, which also addresses energy use,
greenhouse gases, hazardous waste and water usage.
At Boeing South Carolina, or example, composite recycling
is one reason the site achieved the zero-waste-to-landll
designation in March 2011.
Composite recycling also allows signicant reduction in thecost and environmental impact o aircrat production. And there
are other advantages. Boeing engineers are pursuing closed-
loop reuse, a concept that will see lightweight composite scrap
material go back into new 787 Dreamliners.
We generate scrap when we cut out the 787s windows
and doors, said Tony Soto, the Environment, Health and Saety
senior manager at Boeing South Carolina. The companys vision
is to have this unavoidable scrap recycled and then put it back
into our products in nonstructural applications.
In a closed-loop system, what would normally be discarded
PHOTOS: (Clockwise from far left) Boeing manuacturing sitescollect excess carbon ber material or recycling. ALAN MARTS/BOEINGBoeing South Carolina produces one-piece 787 compositeuselage barrels, known as the at uselage sections 47 and 48.ED TURNER/BOEING Richard Moore loads a composite skin panel ontoan abrasive water jet trimming machine; mechanic Fred Staplesmeasures astener height on a 787 vertical n; CompositeManuacturing Center employees prepare to load a completed787 vertical n onto a trailer or shipping. BOB FERGUSON/BOEING
as waste or scrap is reused. This saves money and energy and
is better or the environment. Recycling the composite scrap
material requires 95 percent less energy than would be needed
to produce virgin material, according to Carberry.
On the commercial ront, recycled composites might become ai
crat lighting xtures, mounting brackets or passenger cabin sidewal
and ceilings. The Interiors Responsibility Center at Everett, Wash.,
which manuactures passenger cabin xtures and components oBoeing jetliners, is evaluating a newly developed recycled material
created rom uncured 787 composite scrap, that has a superb nish
As a chemical engineer, whats most exciting and rewarding
or me are the environmentally responsible material orms were
creating, said George, the Associate Technical Fellow. Its not
oten you get to bring something entirely new into regular use.
Small wonder, then, that George sees so much more than
mere paddles as he propels his kayak through the scenic waters
o the Northwest. n
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
26/4026 BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
Marty Inman, a 767 mechanic with Commercial Airplanes,
recalled the days o wearing protective suits and respira-
tors while running tests o the airplanes wing uel tanks.
The gear was necessary because the tests involved hazardous
ammonia gas and spraying indicator paint.
Today, his team can do the same work wearing jeans and
T-shirts, thanks to a new testing process that uses helium.
Using helium has improved the saety and testing processsignicantly, said Inman, a lead mechanic with the 767 wing
test team in Everett, Wash.
The helium leak test method, where workers pump a combina-
tion o helium and oxygen into uel tanks and then use wand-like
tools to detect leaks, was rst used by the 777 line in 2001. But it
has since been replicated on every airplane built in Everett, making
the site ammonia-ree or the rst time since the 1970s.
Its an example o how Boeing Research & Technology, part o
Engineering, Operations & Technology, is always nding ways to
replicate across the company the technology that is developed
to improve Boeing products or services.
Whether its a saer, more ecient way to test uel tanks or
a device that helps mechanics drill straight and true each time,
technologies that are benecial to the initial customer oten gain
more lie through replication at other Boeing acilities around
the world.
Replications are the bread and butter o technology develop-
ment, said Amir Anissipour, a program integration manager with
Boeing Research & Technology who helps connect successultechnologies with programs.
Theres no need to reinvent the wheel when innovative and
fexible options exist.
As the companys advanced, central research and develop-
ment organization, Boeing Research & Technology is strategicall
situated within the company to acilitate the dissemination o
ideas across Boeing. The organization supports not only Boeing
Commercial Airplanes and Deense, Space & Security business
units but also the U.S. Deense Department, Homeland Security,
NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration. All are trying to
nd better, aster and more aordable ways to design, develop,
successReplicating
Innovative minds at Boeing Research& Technology are replicating technologyacross the company By Nathan A. Hulings
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
27/40BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
produce, deliver, operate and maintain current and uture products,
systems and services.
When it comes to innovation that benets customers and
the Boeing enterprise, replication is just as important, i not
more important, as invention, noted Matt Ganz, Boeing Research
& Technology vice president and general manager.
Boeing has an advantage over other aerospace companies
its the power o One Boeing, Ganz said. When we combine
the talents o our business units with the technical and unctional
leadership provided by EO&T, we are able to solve our customerstoughest technical challenges. Once we do that, we want to
replicate the solution as much as possible. Given the size, scope
and diversity o our operations, its hard to imagine why we cant
replicate great ideas two, three or even more times in dierent
places throughout the enterprise.
Consider the widespread success story rom the use o a new
drilling device known as the Halosensor.
Like his other teammates, Dino Go, an engineer with Boeing
Research & Technology, keeps an eye out or discoveries that can
help multiple Boeing programs. Go knew he had a game changer
when he began working with the drilling device several years ago
ater seeing it demonstrated at a trade show in Seattle.
Equipped with a computer processor, the Halosensor works
by latching to the outside o a wing while a magnet is placed
on the blind side to create a magnetic eld. A screen showing a
cross-hair turns green once the pilot hole is ound, providing an
accurate location or nal drilling.
The devices accuracydown to the tens o thousandths
o an inchhas drastically reduced errors on the Everett and
Renton, Wash., assembly lines. Beore the Halosensor, workers
used a manual tool that was not as accurate, requiring timely an
expensive rework that added weight to the wing and required
additional stress analysis and FAA oversight.
We knew this device had the potential to solve a lot oproduction issues, Go said.
The devices original success on the 747 line caught the
attention o others, and soon the use o Halosensors was
replicated on the 737, 767 and 777 lines. n
Replicationsare the bread and butter o technology development.
Amir Anissipour, program integration manager, Boeing Research & Technology
PHOTOS: (Above) Marty Inman, a 767 mechanic, uses a wand-liktool to perorm a helium leak test on a 767 wing uel tank in EverettWash. (Below, clockwise from left) Mechanic Chung Nguyenperorms a helium leak test on the lower 767 wing uel tank at theactory in Everett, Wash.; Inman; Nguyen. MATTHEW THOMPSON/BOEINGGlaze operates the Halosensor. TIM STAKE/BOEING
PHOTOS:(Left) Mechanic Curtis Glaze operates the Halosensoron the 767 wing to locate blind pilot holes or more accuratedrilling. Since being introduced several years ago, the Halosensorhas been replicated on the 737, 747, 767 and 777 lines.TIM STAKE/BOEING
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
28/40
When a distinctly bulbous-nosed
747 landed on a cloudy day in
the Arizona desert earlier this
year, it closed out a two-decades-long
experiment that pushed orward the
possibilities o laser deense.
The Airborne Laser Test Bed, a modied
747-400 carrying a large chemical laser,may now sit in storage. But the program
let a legacy o not only technology thats
being used in Boeings continuing directed
energy programs but also a group o
talented engineers adding value to a
variety o programs across the company.
There is a realization, even i you
werent an Airborne Laser an, that there
was technology and lessons learned we
should hold onto or the uture, said Mike
Rinn, vice president o Directed Energy
Lessons learned rom Airborne Laser program will helpshape uture o directed energy technology By Eric Fetters-Walp
Ahead of its time
28 BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
KC-135 to test a small gas-dynamic laser
in its Airborne Laser Lab program. Beore
it was retired, the laser lab destroyed ve
AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and a
Navy BQM-34A target drone in tests.
While the rst proposals or the
Airborne Laser Test Bed program were
prepared in the early 1990s, it gainedocial ooting in 1996 when the Air Force
awarded a development contract to the
Boeing-led team. Boeing was tasked with
providing the aircrat, battle management
systems, overall systems integration and
testing. Northrop Grumman provided the
megawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine
laser, or COIL, and associated targeting
lasers. Lockheed Martin developed the
beam and re control systems.
Once the Airborne Laser Test Bed
Systems and the Airborne Lasers program
manager or several years.
Many o the Boeing employees who
developed the Airborne Laser, along with
colleagues rom Lockheed Martin and
Northrop Grumman, say the program
was unlike anything else on which
theyve worked.It was exciting. There were lots o
struggles, technically and programmatically,
but it was a great challenge and a very
rewarding time, said Richard Flanders,
ormer program manager or the Airborne
Laser Test Bed. It stretched people, and
I think they really enjoyed that.
The idea o an aircrat-mounted laser did
not start with the Airborne Laser program
in the 1990s. From the mid-1970s through
1984, the U.S. Air Force modied a Boeing
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
29/40
was assembled and tested, the COIL was
the highest-energy laser ever red rom an
aircrat and the most powerul mobile laser
device in the world.
The program, which averaged 500600
employees and peaked at about 1,200
people, was never large, but it was the
highest-prole program in Boeings laserweapons portolio or a long time, said
Dale Parkes, who was lead engineer or
the Airborne Lasers re control system.
At one point at the Albuquerque,
N.M., site, almost everybody had worked
on this program. It became an area or
career development in addition to the
intellectual property and technology,
said Parkes, now technical lead engineer
or Modeling and Simulation in Boeings
Directed Energy Systems organization.
BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
Robert Vets, who served in a variety o
systems engineering and team lead roles
on the Airborne Laser program between
1997 and this year, said the diculty o the
programs goal made it attractive.
The Airborne Laser is an important
type o program because we accomplished
things that had never been done and thatexperts said couldnt be done, said Vets,
now a project engineer or Boeing Com-
mercial Airplanes Innovation Center. Its
important or Boeing to have programs
that do the impossible and push the
rontiers o technology.
He and other alums remember well the
evening o Feb. 11, 2010, the programs
shining moment. The Airborne Laser
Test Bed aircrat took o rom Edwards
Air Force Base that day and headed or
the Western Sea Range o the coast o
Southern Caliornia. At 8:44 p.m. Pacic
time, a short-range ballistic missile was
launched rom a mobile launch platorm
on the ocean.
With a mix o Airborne Laser employees
military ocials and others watching rom a
control room at Naval Base Ventura CountPoint Mugu in Caliornia, the Airborne Lase
aircrats sensors detected the boosting
missile and tracked it with a low-energy
laser. The aircrat then red a second low-
energy laser to measure and compensate
or atmospheric disturbance. Finally, the
Airborne Laser Test Bed red the high-
energy COIL, which heated the boosting
ballistic missile to critical structural ailure.
Seeing that missile get destroyed, it
was remarkable, Flanders said. Given
We accomplished things thathad never been done and that
experts said couldnt be done. Robert Vets, who served in a variety of engineering and team lead roles
on the Airborne Laser program, now with the Boeing Commercial
Airplanes Innovation Center
PHOTOS: (Left) The Airborne Laser Test
Bed, a modied 747-400, fies over EdwardAFB, Cali. U.S. AIR FORCE(Inset) The beam romthe laser was directed through this optic inthe aircrats nose. KURTISS HUMPHREY/BOEING
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
30/40
all the publicity around the program, Im
not sure everyone understood what was
accomplished, what was demonstrated.
Added Parkes: The wow actor o
shooting down a ballistic missile with light
was just amazing.
The entire engagement occurred within
two minutes o the target missiles launch.
But they were eventul minutes, marking
the rst time a laser weapon had engagedand destroyed an in-fight ballistic missile
and the rst time any system had accom-
plished it in the missiles boost phase
o fight. It ollowed the Airborne Lasers
successul intercept and destruction o
a research rocket launched rom the
ground on Feb. 3, 2010.
Technical challenges prevented a
repeat o the successul shootdown in
attempts over the ollowing year. In all
2009, the Pentagon shited the Airborne
Laser rom a potential weapons system
program to a research and development
program and then canceled it in 2011.
Despite the challenges, the U.S. Missile
Deense Agency awarded its Technology
Pioneer Award in 2009 to three Boeing
Airborne Laser Test Bed engineers and
three o their teammates or advancing
key program technologies. And in 2010,
the Air Force Association honored the
program with the Theodore Von Karman
Award, the associations highest honor
in science and engineering.
The uniqueness o putting a powerul
laser on an airplane and then ring it,
accurately, while accounting or atmospheric
distortion it will be many years untilthose accomplishments are repeated,
said Greg Hyslop, vice president and
general manager o Strategic Missile
and Deense Systems. Those things
are no-kidding rocket science.
The Airborne Laser Test Beds complex
technology, including its adaptive optics
which corrected or atmospheric distortion
in targeting the laser on missile and sys-
tems or controlling high-energy lasers,
now is being used in other Directed Energy
Systems programs, other Deense Depart-
ment programs and even in astronomy. For
example, Rinn said, the High Energy Laser
Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD) program
or the U.S. Army wouldnt exist without the
Airborne Laser programs developments,
noting that programs manager and some
30 BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
o its employees came rom the Airborne
Laser team.
Former Airborne Laser employees also
are helping to develop the Mk 38 Tactical
Laser System as well as other Directed
Energy Systems weapons. Others who
worked on the Airborne Laser now are
applying their experience to engineering
and testing or Commercial Airplanes.
Very ew actually retired, said Flandersnow a scheduler or 787 Test & Validation.
We placed somewhere around 95 percen
o the engineering sta that was on
that program.
While the Airborne Laser Test Bed air-
crat now sits in the Air Forces Boneyard
in Arizona, many who worked on the
program say the groundbreaking research
and eats accomplished were ahead o
their time.
Were already looking at next-generatio
airborne lasers, Rinn said. Its taking the
pathnding work that the Airborne Laser
did and carrying it orward. n
The High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator
(HEL MD) program for the U.S. Army wouldnt
exist without the Airborne Laser programs
developments.
Mike Rinn, vice president of Directed Energy Systems
PHOTOS:(Right)The retired AirborneLaser Test Bed is now parked in theBoneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.KURTISS HUMPHREY/BOEING(Inset) The High EnergyLaser Mobile Demonstrator is being devel-oped or the U.S. Army by Boeing Directed
Energy Systems using knowledge gainedon the Airborne Laser Test Bed. BOEING
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
31/40BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
1996 U.S. Air Force awards contract to Boeing-led team to
develop the Airborne Laser.
2001 The Air Force acquires a Boeing 747-400 Freighter, retired
by Air India, and the aircrats wingless uselage was used
to test the systems components in the System Integration
Laboratory at the Edwards Air Force Base Birk Flight Test
Center in Caliornia. The chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL)in the lab was red successully more than 50 times.
2002 Ater completing major modications to a new 747-400F,
known as YAL-1, the aircrat makes its rst fight rom
Boeing Wichita on July 18.
2004 First light o the chemical oxygen iodine laser is achieved
in ground testing, along with the rst fight o the Airborne
Laser aircrat tted with the battle management and
beam/re control systems.
2005 While aircrat fight tests continue, the team res the
Airborne Lasers high-energy laser at lethal power andduration in ground tests.
2006 The team completes modications YAL-1 to accept the
COILs modules and integrate the systems two solid-state
illuminator lasers into the beam/re control system
on board the aircrat.
2007 During active fight tests, the Airborne Laser Test Bed
homes in on, tracks and then res a low-power test laser
at a target board attached to an Air Force test aircrat.
2008 The Airborne Laser team completes installation o the
high-energy COIL in the aircrat and begins ring the
laser in ground testing.
2009 The Airborne Laser begins fight tests in April with the
entire weapon system integrated aboard the aircrat.
In August, the high-energy laser res or the rst time
in fight.
2010 Ater tracking and engaging a target rocket during January
and destroying a ground-launch research rocket in early
February, the Airborne Laser successully destroys a boostin
ballistic missile o the coast o Caliornia on Feb. 10. Less
than an hour later, the system engages a second solid ue
short-range missile to meet all test criteria.
2012 The Airborne Laser Test Bed aircrat is fown on Feb. 14rom Edwards Air Force Base to Davis-Monthan Air Force
Base in Arizona, where it is in storage with the 309th
Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group.
Advancing technology at the speed of light
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
32/4032 BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
Anyone who has ever tackled a
home-renovation project knows
how tricky upgrading an older
home can be. One change oten leads
to others, and sticking to a budget and
schedule can be challenging.
Imagine renovating an 83-year-old
rotorcrat actory, upgrading 400,000 square
eet (37,000 square meters) o manuactur-
ing space and aging inrastructure, all
Makeover modelRenovation o Boeings rotorcrat site near Philadelphia is accomplishedwithout disrupting vital productionBy Debby Arkell and photos by Fred Troilo
while workers are building high-technology
helicopters at ever increasing rates.
Such is the task o Project Implemen-
tation teams at Boeings actory in Ridley
Township, a Philadelphia suburb, where
CH-47 Chinook military helicopters are built.
Fuselage assemblies or the V-22 Osprey tilt-
rotor aircrat also are produced at the site,
but in a dierent building.
Project Implementation, a service group
within Shared Services Groups (SSG)
Site Services, is responsible or the major
construction. In June 2009, Project Imple-
mentation teams in Philadelphia began this
massive project. That work continues
within budget and on schedule.
This is by ar the biggest Boeing
investment made at Philadelphia, said
Boeings Chris Calhoun, project manager.
Its one thing to build new to support a
PHOTOS: (Clockwise from above left) Upgrades completed at Boeings rotorcrat plant near Philadelphia have turned an 83-year-oldbuilding into a state-o-the-art manuacturing acility; reintroduction o windows at the Chinook actory lets in lots o natural light and allowemployees to see test fights o the helicopters they build; more than 1,100 construction workers have been involved in the renovationeort; the project has required careul choreography so construction crews do not interere with ast-paced helicopter production.
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
33/40BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
site like we did in South Carolina. To ully
overhaul existing, aging buildings is quite
another. At Boeing South Carolina, a
new nal assembly actory was built or
production o 787 Dreamliners.
The multimill ion-dol lar renovation to
the Ridley Park site, which has involved
more than 1,100 construction workers, is
occurring in phases. Phase one addressed
inrastructure needs associated withincreased Chinook production rates, which
will have doubled by the time the entire
project wraps up in 2015.
Flight ramp improvements and oce
and actory modernization are complete,
creating a much improved working environ-
ment or employees. (See the July 2011
issue oFrontiers.) Massive windows
replaced solid steel walls, providing terric
views and bringing natural light into the
work area; installation o a central utility
plant now provides much-needed
air conditioning.
Indeed, many o the sites buildings
were originally constructed in the 1920s
or steel manuacturing. The buildings had
no lights at the time; the work area used
natural lighting, streaming through glass
walls and an atrium, two design eatures
the renovation re-emphasized.
Its bright, clean and new, said engi-
neer Kevin Morais, H-47 Manuacturing
lead and a 20-year rotorcrat employee.
Theres more room or the support unc-
tions to colocate, and everyone I need tohelp support the production line is now
an arms length away. Its great seeing the
aces o olks coming through on tours.
They cant believe its the same place.
Construction teams now are replacing
the sites ancient boilers and reconguring
manuacturing-support areas into oce
and training space as well as a new
caeteria. Latter stages o the project
will include urther mechanical and
electrical inrastructure improvements
and conversion o the old boiler house
into a rehouse.The sitewide overhaul and consolida-
tion includes Boeings rst Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
actory renovation, meeting criteria en-
acted by the U.S. Green Building Council,
and supports Boeings initiative to be a
leader in energy-ecient design.
Wereoptimizingthis workenvironment
to bring thebest or theemployee,customerand Boeing.
Leanne Caret, vice president andH-47 Program manager
Leanne Caret, vice president and
H-47 Program manager, said the invest-
ment in upgrading to a world-class acility
was necessary to achieve productivity
targets needed to meet current customer
commitments. It also will help Boeing
win new business.
These renovations are a refection
o Boeings commitment to our customer
our employees and the Philadelphia regionCaret said. The way the improvements
are being executed demonstrates our
partnership with SSG and across the
enterprise, and we couldnt be more
proud o how were optimizing this work
environment to bring the best or the
employee, customer and Boeing.
The biggest challenge since the massiv
project began more than two years ago
has been managing the projects phases to
avoid disrupting Chinook production. Not
only has production increased during the
ongoing renovation, but the construction
work has been accomplished with no lost
time due to accidents.
They laid out a good plan beore start
ing each phase, Morais said. Disruption
has been minimal, and its been a pretty
smooth ride considering all the work that
been going on.
Tim Lunger, a manager with Deense,
Space & Security who serves as the project
actory representative, has worked closely
with Site Services and construction and
planning teams. He said the renovationrequired careul choreography between
construction and production work.
The success o undertaking such
a massive project and not interrupting
vital production, he added, mirrors the
groundbreaking Move to the Lake
initiative in Renton, Wash., where Boeing
builds 737 jetliners. Boeing consolidated
operations there nearly 10 years ago.
Engineering and administrative oces now
are close to the actory foor, improving
operations and eciency.
Like Renton, were connecting ocespace and the products we produce,
Lunger said. This investment speaks to
how important our work is to Boeing,
to our customers and to the soldiers
we support. n
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
34/40
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
35/40BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
Change is in the air at Boeing build-
ings around the world.
Advancing the environmental
perormance o the companys buildings
and acilities may not be the most visible
initiative at an aerospace company known
or its innovation and technology. But with
more than 85 million square eet (7.9 mil-
lion square meters) o actory, oce and
laboratory space to manage, operate and
maintain, the challenge to be cost-ecient
while moving toward more sustainable
business practices is a growing priority.
Taking specic measures to conserve
and increase energy eciency, said
Keith Warner, program manager or the
companywide Conservation Initiative,
has a direct impact on cost-savings or
our business partners while at the same
time improving the air quality or local
communities. Improvements such as thesebenet all stakeholders, including our
customers and suppliers.
The Uti lities and Conservation team
or Shared Services has been working
to apply a common set o environmental
building standards to Boeing acilities.
Most notably, Boeing has adopted the
U.S. Green Building Councils Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
rating system as a design standard or
increasing the sustainability o new con-
BuildingperformanceEcient acility operations support business goals and meetenvironmental challengesBy Kathy Spicer
struction or major renovations. Additionally,
Boeing has achieved the U.S. Environmen-
tal Protection Agencys ENERGY STAR
label or 10 buildings or outstanding
building energy eciency, and it has been
an ENERGY STAR Partner o the Year
or the past two years.
The benet o these programs, Warner
explained, is the ramework they provide
or Boeing to operate its acilities with
less waste, increased recycling and reuse
o materials, improved energy and water
eciency, and reduced pollution. Upgrading
and improving mechanical systemssuch
as air-handling, lighting and water tower
operationsare critical in maintaining
these savings.
Most recently, Boeing received an
ENERGY STAR or the central Boeing
Deense Systems building in St. Louis
and LEED certications or Boeings Space& Intelligence Systems headquarters
building in El Segundo, Cali., and the
chemical processing acility expansion
in Portland, Ore. The company is also
pursuing a LEED Silver rating or its joint
venture composite manuacturing acility
in Tianjin, China.
And there are plans to meet environ-
mental standards or the companys
new Boeing Long Bridge construction
in Arlington, Va.; the renovated Chinook
actory near Philadelphia; and the new
delivery center or twin-aisle commercial
jets in Everett, Wash.
Our goal is to operate our actories
and oces with the highest standards
o eciency while making the right
decisions or the environment, said
Rich Noviello, SSG Site Services Opera-
tions director, who is leading the eort
to collaborate with manuacturing and
process leaders to promote energy
eciency and conservation.
Its a big challenge, he said,
but with a building portolio the size
o Boeings, every inch o savings can
make a dierence. n
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
36/40
With a growing feet o Boeing jets, Oman Air is ocused
on expansionvertically.
Perhaps thats only tting or an airline based in Muscat,
nestled against the Hajar Mountains that dominate the landscape
o this country on the southeast coast o the Arabian Peninsula.
Vertical expansionadding fight requency, not more routes
continues to be key to growth or Wayne Pearce, the man who took
the reins o Omans national airline as chie executive earlier this year.
We want to urther enhance the operations o our current
feet by adding more fying hours to each aircrat, said Pearce,who expressed satisaction with the operating economics o the
airlines 737-800s. Oman Air operatesthrough lease and direct
purchasea feet o 13 737-800s and two 737-700s and has
six more 737-800s on order.
The 737 is able to operate eectively in very hot climates,
Pearce said, adding that the Boeing jet has proved itsel with its
dispatch reliability, ease o maintenance and saety record.
Keen to play an active role in promoting tourism in Oman, a
country known or its stunning natural landscapes, architecture and
history, the airline also plans to gradually expand its regional and
international destination network, especially ater it takes delivery
o its six 787s that were ordered at the Dubai Airshow in 2011.
The operating economics o the 787 and enhanced passenger
experience will not only allow us to continue pursuing our vertical
growth strategy, Pearce said, but will also enable our plans
to expand our network, while increasing business and leisure
trac into Oman.
The airline operates a feet o 26 airplanes and fies to 41 destina-
tions worldwide. It has won both praise as a Four Star airline (named
by SKYTRAX) and the title o Worlds Best Business Class Airline
Seat or two consecutive years (2011 and 2012 World Airline Awards).
Perhaps ew Omanis are bigger ans o Boeing airplanes
especially the Next-Generation 737sthan Adil Al Sheibani,
As it adds 737s, Oman Air is poisedor greater success By Saffana Michael
Upward mobility
36 BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
senior manager o Development Engineering or the airline. He
joined Oman Air in 1994 as an apprentice and has completed
a course in Renton, Wash., where the 737 is assembled, or
his B1 aircrat maintenance license.
This airplane has the minimum [entry-into-service] issues,
Al Sheibani said o the 737. I just want to thank the people up
at Renton or assembling such a great airplane.
Al Sheibani is part o the airl ines campaign to encourage mor
Omanis to join the aviation sector. Pearce noted that 57 percent
o the airlines pilots are Omanis, and many more will soon start
working or the airline.
We want to be prepared when we get our new 737s and
787s, Pearce said.
For Al Sheibani, its a matter o national pride.
Even today, he said, one o the most gratiying moments
is to see our airplanes take to the skies and know that our
engineering crew have ensured the saety and comort o our
passengers, which is o paramount importance to us. n
The 737 isable to operateeffectively invery hot climates.
Wayne Pearce, Oman Air CEO
PHOTO: OMAN AIR
PHOTO:An Oman Air 737 lands at Oman International Airport.With a current feet o 15 737s, the airline has six more 737-800son order. OMAN AIR
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
37/40BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
Milestones
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
38/4042 BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 201242 BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
In Focus
BANK SHOT
A Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet perorms a steep banking maneuver during a fight demonstration at last months Farnborough
International Airshow in the United Kingdom. The special eect is caused by water vapor that condenses around the aircrat during
high-speed maneuvering in certain atmospheric conditions, such as when the air is humid, and the low pressure o airfow around the
jet. Other Boeing aircrat making demonstration fights or on static display at the Farnborough show included the Bell-Boeing V-22
Osprey, F-15E Eagle, C-17 Globemaster III, AH-64D Apache, and the 737-900 and new 787 Dreamliner jetliners. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
39/40BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012BOEING FRONTIERS / AUGUST 2012
-
7/28/2019 Frontiers Aug12
40/40