News About Fascinating Projects - October 2006

Return To PM World Today

 

 



Curtis Island Resport Project Launched Off Queensland Coast

After more than ten years of planning and development, a major project to develop an all new resort has been launched on Curtis Island, off the Queensland coast in Northeastern Australia. The Villas on Curtis, a lifestyle residential/resort style project, is being developed at Turtle Street Beach on Curtis Island, which sits immediately adjacent to the Queensland coastline at Gladstone, QLD.

Lying just off the Queensland coast at the tip of the Coral Sea, Curtis Island is only 30 kilometres from the Great Barrier Reef. It is 50 minutes by plane from Brisbane, Queensland's capital and largest city. The island is virtually unpopulated.

Curtis Island is approximately 40 kilometres long and 19 kilometres across at its widest point. The Island is home to Monte Christo, a 23,500 hectare working cattle station. The Curtis Island National Park also incorporates approximately 66% of the Island. Curtis Island has 27 kilometers of sheltered bays and sandy beaches; the Great Barrier Reef is a 30-minute boat ride from the island. Curtis Island has over 13,250 hectares of National Park and Conservation Park and the development focuses on the natural beauty of the coastline and the wetlands, the historic cattle ranch and the abundant flora and fauna of this well-situated island.

Curtis Island's east coast features a highly scenic shoreline, including rugged bluffs and headlands, long stretches of sandy beaches and some large sand dune formations; one massive sand dune is a landmark known as Yellow Patch.

The project now has all local authority and environmental approvals in place and the development company, Queensland Resort Enterprises (QRE) is ready to commence pre-selling villas off the plan and to develop critical site related infrastructure.

The project includes the following special features:

The President and Managing Director of QRE is Mr. Timothy Reigel, who has directed the planning of this project for the last 15 years. The Executive Director of QRE, who is also heading project management and project financing efforts for the project, is Mr. David Mathie, a well-known former vice president of the International Project Management Association (IPMA) and the Italian PM Association.

More information about this unique and interesting project can be found at www.curtisisland.com



Top of Page

Return To PM World Today



Lockheed Wins NASA Orion Prime Contract

NASA announced on August 31 that it has selected Lockheed Martin Corp., based in Bethesda, Md., USA as the prime contractor to design, develop, and build Orion, America's spacecraft for a new generation of explorers.  The contract with Lockheed Martin has a seven-year base valued at about $3.9 billion for design, development, testing and evaluation of the new spacecraft. Contract options for production and sustaining engineering activities are estimated at another $4 billion through 2019.

Orion is the vehicle NASA’s Constellation Program is developing to carry a new generation of explorers back to the moon and later to Mars.  Orion will succeed the space shuttle as NASA's primary vehicle for human space exploration. 

Orion's first flight with astronauts onboard is planned for no later than 2014 to the International Space Station. Its first flight to the moon is planned for no later than 2020. Orion will be capable of transporting four crewmembers for lunar missions and later supporting crew transfers for Mars missions. Orion could also carry up to six crew members to and from the International Space Station.  Orion will form a key element of extending a sustained human presence beyond low-Earth orbit to advance commerce and science.

Manufacturing and integration of the vehicle components will take place at contractor facilities around the USA. Lockheed Martin will perform the majority of the Orion vehicle engineering work at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, and complete final assembly of the vehicle at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. All 10 NASA centers will provide technical and engineering support to the Orion project.

Orion borrows its shape from space capsules of the past, but takes advantage of the latest technology in computers, electronics, life support, propulsion and heat protection systems. The capsule's conical shape is the safest and most reliable for re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere, especially at the velocities required for a direct return from the moon.

Orion will be 16.5 feet in diameter and have a mass of about 25 tons. Inside, it will have more than 2.5 times the volume of an Apollo capsule. The spacecraft will return humans to the moon to stay for long periods as a testing ground for the longer journey to Mars.

NASA's Johnson Space Center manages the Constellation Program and the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Exploration Launch Projects' office for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in Washington, DC.

Versatility will be Orion's trademark. It is being designed to fly to the moon, but could also be used to service the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit.  Orion improves on the best features of Project Apollo and the Space Shuttle Program, increasing the likelihood of success.  Although Orion borrows its shape and aerodynamic performance from Apollo, the new capsule's updated computers, electronics, life support, propulsion and heat protection systems represent a marked improvement over legacy systems.

Unlike the winged space shuttle orbiter, which is mounted beside its external fuel tank and boosters for liftoff, Orion will be placed on top of its booster to protect it from ice, foam, and other launch system debris during ascent. Placing the spacecraft on top of the launch vehicle also allows the addition of an abort system that can separate capsule and crew from the booster in an emergency.

Among the most obvious improvements is the command module's size.  Orion will have more than 2.5 times the interior volume of the three-seat Apollo capsules that carried astronaut crews to the moon for missions lasting only several hours to several days in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Orion will be crucial for developing a sustained human presence on the moon. It will be able to carry four astronauts to the moon and support missions of up to six months.  For information about Orion, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/orion.



Top of Page

Return To PM World Today



Freedom Tower Project Takes Shape at Ground Zero
in New York City

Freedom Tower, the new centerpiece building for the new World Trade Complex complex, is now under construction at "ground zero" in the Lower Manhattan section of New York City. The original two spectacular
World Trade Center towers and adjacent buildings previously located at the site were destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 that killed 2,602 people and shocked the world. The new Freedom Tower will be located in the northwest corner of the 16- acre (65,000 mē) World Trade Center site, bounded by Vesey Street, West Street, Washington Street and Fulton Street in Lower Manhattan.

On June 28, 2006 the final design for Freedom Tower was unveiled. This included plans to clad its concrete 187-foot base in glass prisms, and to taper the corners of the base outward as they rise. The tower will be a "monolithic glass structure reflecting the sky and topped by a sculpted antenna." The Freedom Tower is scheduled for completion by 2012.

The height to the top of the spire is set to be 1,776 feet (541 m), a tribute to the year1776, when the United States Declaration of Independence was drafted. The Freedom Tower is intended to be taller than Chicago's Sears Tower and become the tallest building in the USA, and among the tallest buildings in the world when completed. Depending on the angle from which the building is viewed, Freedom Tower is designed to appear as either a cuboid shape like both of the previous towers, or as a massive obelisk design. The walls at the base are offset 45 degrees from the walls of the highest floor with interlocking triangle facades.

Construction on below-grade utility relocations, footings, and foundations for Freedom Tower began on April 27, 2006, the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Empire State Bulding in New York City, with a formal ceremony that took place when the construction team arrived. Work is now being performed on excavation of the bedrock for the building's foundation. It is projected that steel for the building will be visible above grade in 2008, with a topping out in 2010. The building is projected to be ready for occupancy in 2011.

Three other high rise buildings plus a residential tower are planned to surround a World Trade Center Memorial that is currently also under construction at the site, along with a museum and a cultural center.

Still maintaining its 1776-foot total height, the new tower will be set farther back from West Street than the original, will feature a cubic base, and will rise symmetrically to a building elevation of 1,368 feet, the exact height of the original Tower One. A mast containing a Metropolitan Television Alliance antenna will fill the remaining height, and will emit light, earning the name Beacon of Freedom.

The cubic-based structure will become octagonal at the middle through a gradual chamfering of the square edges, turning the elevation from a square into a set of eight isosceles triangles. Programmatically the building will start with an 80-foot-high public lobby at plaza level, topped by a series of mechanical floors. Together, these elements will form the 200-foot-high base of the building, which will be draped in a mixture of stainless steel and titanium for security reasons. Sixty-nine office floors will rise above the base, culminating in mechanical floors, two floors to be occupied by the Metropolitan Television Alliance, and a series of restaurants topping out at an observation deck and glass parapet that mark 1,362 feet (the height of the original Tower Two) and 1, 368 feet respectively.

More information about the Freedom Tower, the World Trade Center Memorial, and other projects underway or planned for Ground Zero in New York City are available at http://www.nyc-tower.com and at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation's website: http://www.renewnyc.com.



Top of Page

Return To PM World Today



Mega-merger Projects Return - Alcatel & Lucent to Create Global Communications Company

Shareholders of Alcatel and Lucent have approved the combination of the two companies, with the merger scheduled to close before the end of the year. The deal was approved by a wide margin by Alcatel shareholders, and fewer but still a majority at Lucent. Apparently there are only a few outstanding issues to resolve, such as control of the famous Bell Labs in the USA and secret defense work done by Lucent for the US government.

The primary driver was to generate growth in revenues and earnings for next-generation networks, services and applications, based on market opportunities and significant synergies resulting from the merger. The transaction was approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

A combined Alcatel and Lucent will be global in scale, have leadership in areas that will define next-generation networks, boast one of the largest research and development capabilities focused on communications, and employ one of the largest and most experienced global services team in the industry. Estimates are that Alcatel Lucent will become the worldwide wireline market leader at about 17-percent market share versus 7 percent for Nokia/Siemens and 10 percent for Cisco Systems. It will have a 16 percent wireless market share versus Nokia/Siemens at 23 percent and Ericsson/Marconi at 26 percent.

As structured, one share of Alcatel is being traded for five shares in Lucent, in a deal that will result in the following:

Serge Tchuruk, current Chair and CEO of Alcatel, will be non-executive chairman and Patricia Russo, current Chair and CEO of Lucent, will be CEO of the new company, to be based in Paris.

The combined company will be managed by a team that reflects a balance between the two organizations, taking into account the best talents of each company and the multicultural nature of its workforce. Beginning immediately after closing, there will be a Management Committee to work towards this end and ensure continuity in the management of the two companies.

The combined company will be incorporated in France, with executive offices in Paris. The North American operations will be based in New Jersey, USA, where Bell Labs will remain headquartered. The board of directors of the combined company will consist of 14 members and will have equal representation from each company, including Tchuruk and Russo, five of Alcatel's current directors and five of Lucent's current directors. The board will also include two new independent European directors to be mutually agreed upon.

The combined company will form a separate, independent U.S. subsidiary to hold certain contracts with U.S. government agencies. That subsidiary will be separately managed by a board composed of three independent U.S. citizens acceptable to the U.S. government. This type of structure is routinely used to protect certain government programs in the course of mergers involving a non-U.S. entity.

The combined company will remain the industrial partner of Thales (a leading European defense company) and a major Thales shareholder alongside the French state. Directors to the Thales board who are nominated by the combined company would be European Union citizens. Serge Tchuruk, or a French director or a French corporate executive of the combined company would be the principal liaison with Thales. Furthermore, the board of Alcatel has approved the continuation of negotiations with Thales with a view to reinforce the partnership through the contribution of certain assets and an increased shareholding position in Thales.

According to Patricia Russo, new CEO, "The strategic logic driving this transaction is compelling. The communications industry is at the beginning of a significant transformation of network technologies, applications and services -- one that is projected to enable converged services across service-provider networks, enterprise networks and an array of personal devices. This presents extraordinary opportunities for our combined company to accelerate its growth. The combination creates a new industry competitor with the most comprehensive portfolio that will be poised to deliver significant benefits to customers, shareowners and employees."

As previously mentioned in pmforum.org, mergers and acquisitions represent a growing field of project management application, especially on cross-border and global combinations. Undoubtedly, Alcatel and Lucent will spend millions on various activities associated with their merger. How much more savings in cost and time could the new company realize if professional project management methods are employed? To ensure successful mergers, companies should employ more modern and professional project management.

Information in this story is based on news releases issued simultaneously by both companies, in Paris and Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA on April 7, 2006. Lucent and Alcatel had attempted to merge back in 2001 but that deal fell apart. Some analysts consider this merger to be an acquisition of Lucent by Alcatel, since majority ownership will go to a company traded on the Paris stock exchange and headquartered in France. But that's another story!


Top of Page

Return To PM World Today



Space Shuttle Atlantis Lands Safely in Florida

The Space Shuttle Atlantis and its six-member crew landed safely this morning at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., concluding a successful mission to resume construction of the International Space Station. Touchdown occurred at 6:21 a.m. EDT (11:21 GMT) at the Shuttle Landing Facility. It was the 21st night landing for a space shuttle.

Atlantis launched Sept. 9 and arrived at the station on the 11th. The crew delivered a P3/P4 integrated truss segment to the station and conducted three successful spacewalks primarily devoted to preparing the truss and its solar arrays for operation. The 17.5-ton truss will provide power and data services for the station. The solar arrays, which were unfurled on Sept. 14, span 240 feet and will double the station's power generation capability once they become operational.

The orbiter landing convoy completed the process of "safing" the vehicle, and the six crew members took their first steps back on Earth as they exited Atlantis through the Crew Hatch Access Vehicle. After receiving a quick check by doctors, Commander Brent Jett was followed onto the runway by the entire crew. The astronauts performed a walk-around inspection of the vehicle to see how their ship fared through the 11-day mission

Atlantis' crew also included Pilot Chris Ferguson and mission specialists Dan Burbank, Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper, Joe Tanner and Steve MacLean, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut. Following the quick inspection of Atlantis after landing, Jett offered nothing but praise for the dependable ship. "It was critical that she perform well and she did," said Jett. "It was a pleasure to fly her and it's great to be home."

STS-115 was the 116th shuttle flight and the 19th mission to visit the space station. Atlantis has now flown 27 times and made six trips to the station. Atlantis' flight, STS-115, resumed construction of the International Space Station. Working with ground teams, the shuttle and station crews installed a girder-like structure, known as the P3/P4 truss aboard the station. The 35,000-pound piece included a set of giant solar arrays, batteries and associated electronics. The arrays eventually will double the station's power capability.

The space shuttle is one of the most complex machines every built. With its robust capabilities, the space shuttle has allowed humans to construct the International Space Station (the world's largest orbiting laboratory), paving the way back to the Moon, on to Mars and further into the universe. For more information about STS-115, visit www.nasa.gov/shuttle Information and images for this story were from NASA news releases, which can be found at www.nasa.gov


Top of Page

Return To PM World Today



The Music Genome Project - Six Years in the Making

Six years in the making, the Music Genome ProjectT is one of the most comprehensive analysis of music ever undertaken. It represents years of analysis by a trained team of musicologists, and spans sixty years of music. At Pandora.com, visitors are invited to enter the name of their favorite musician or song and get a stream of music in return with similar "DNA", creating a sort of internet radio station with music "micro-tailored" for each listener.

Each song in the Music Genome ProjectT is analyzed using up to 400 distinct musical characteristics by a trained music analyst. These attributes capture the musical identity of a song, along with many of the significant qualities that are relevant to understanding the musical preferences of listeners. The typical music analyst working on the Music Genome ProjectT has a four-year degree in music theory, composition or performance, has passed through a selective screening process and has completed intensive training in the Music Genome's rigorous and precise methodology and procedures. To qualify for the work, analysts must have a firm grounding in music theory, including familiarity with a wide range of styles and sounds.

The Music Genome Project's database is built using a methodology that includes the use of precisely defined terminology, a consistent frame of reference, redundant analysis, and ongoing quality control to ensure that data integrity remains reliably high. Pandora does not use machine-listening or other forms of automated data extraction. The Music Genome Project is updated on a continual basis with the latest releases, emerging artists, and an ever-deepening collection of catalogue titles.

The Music Genome ProjectT was founded by musicians and music-lovers and includes all kinds of music, from the most obtuse bebop, to the most tripped-out drum n bass, to the simplest catchy pop tune.

The Music Genome ProjectT is the creation of Pandora Media in Oakland, California, USA. The name Pandora means "all gifted" in Greek. In ancient Greek mythology, Pandora received many gifts from the Gods, including the gift of music, from Apollo. For more information, visit www.pandora.com. The Music Genome ProjectT is the creation of Pandora Media in Oakland, California, USA. The name Pandora means "all gifted" in Greek. In ancient Greek mythology, Pandora received many gifts from the Gods, including the gift of music, from Apollo. For more information, visit www.pandora.com. The Music Genome ProjectT is the creation of Pandora Media in Oakland, California, USA. The name Pandora means "all gifted" in Greek. In ancient Greek mythology, Pandora received many gifts from the Gods, including the gift of music, from Apollo. For more information, visit www.pandora.com. The Music Genome ProjectT is the creation of Pandora Media in Oakland, California, USA. The name Pandora means "all gifted" in Greek. In ancient Greek mythology, Pandora received many gifts from the Gods, including the gift of music, from Apollo. For more information, visit www.pandora.com. The Music Genome ProjectT is the creation of Pandora Media in Oakland, California, USA. The name Pandora means "all gifted" in Greek. In ancient Greek mythology, Pandora received many gifts from the Gods, including the gift of music, from Apollo. For more information, visit www.pandora.com.


Top of Page

Return To PM World Today



Japan Launches Satellite to Study the Sun

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announced that its Hinode (Solar-B) solar physics satellite successfully lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Center, at the southern tip of Japan, aboard a M-V launch vehicle at 0636 local time on Saturday, 23 September 2006 (2136 GMT Friday). Solar-B is one of a fleet of spacecraft dedicated to understanding the relationship between the Sun and the Earth. Next month, the US space agency (NASA) plans to launch its Stereo mission - twin spacecraft that will make 3D observations of our star.

SOLAR-B is the third solar physics satellite of the Japanese Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) which was approved as a successor of the highly successful Japan/US/UK YOHKOH (SOLAR-A) collaboration. The SOLAR-B spacecraft will be placed in a polar, sun-synchronous orbit about the earth, to keep the instruments in continuous sunlight, with no day/night cycling for eight months each year. The satellite weighs about 900kg and the length of Solar Paddles is about 10m.

The Solar-B is a highly sophisticated observational satellite equipped with three advanced solar telescopes. Its solar optical telescope (SOT) has an unprecedented 0.2 arcsec resolution for the observation of solar magnetic fields. It would resolve a feature with the size of 50cm, if it observed the Earth. The X-ray telescope (XRT) has a resolution of three times as high as Yohkoh, and the EUV imaging spectrometer (EIS) has sensitivity ten times as high as the ESA SOHO instrument. These X-ray and EUV telescopes should reveal the heating mechanism and dynamics of the active solar corona.

With this suite of telescopes, scientists can address the following key questions in solar physics: Why does a hot corona exist above the cool atmosphere? What drives explosive events such as solar flares? What creates the Sun's magnetic fields?

According to the JAXA website, SOLAR-B Program Objectives include the following:

  1. Creation and Destruction of the Sun's Magnetic Field - Magnetic fields permeate all space and play an important role in shaping the universe on all scales. The fields are continuously being generated by dynamos in stellar interiors and swept out into space by stellar winds. The solar dynamo is sufficiently near and operates on a short enough period, 11 years, that it can be studied directly.
  2. Modulation of the Sun's Luminosity - During the last decade observations from space have led to the profound discovery that the total output of energy from the sun is not constant but varies in phase with the magnetic activity cycle. SOLAR-B will make the first observations with resolution, wavelength coverage, and time-span adequate to determine the mechanism for the magnetic modulation of solar luminosity.
  3. Generation of UV and X Radiation - The sun is a powerful and highly variable source of ultraviolet, X-rays and energetic particles, which are known to have major effects on our environment. Due to its broad complement of instruments with high spatial and spectral resolution, SOLAR-B will study processes such as magnetic reconnection and wave dissipation that are believed to be responsible for the conversion of magnetic energy into UV and X radiation.
  4. Eruption and Expansion of the Sun's Atmosphere - The million-degree corona continually expands outward, becoming a supersonic wind that blows past the Earth, buffeting the geomagnetic field and energizing the upper atmosphere. In addition, large parts of the corona are seen to erupt, blasting through the solar wind and causing major magnetic disturbances on earth. SOLAR-B will provide accurate measurements of magnetic fields, electric currents, and velocity fields, thus revealing the root causes of the sun's eruptions.

The SOLAR-B mission is being conducted as a multilateral international collaboration including Japan (ISAS), the United States (NASA), and the United Kingdom (PPARC). As the senior partner, ISAS is responsible for the spacecraft and the optical telescope. More information can be found at

http://www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html.


Top of Page

Return To PM World Today