The California Department of Veterans Affairs has approved the preliminary design of the Air Force memorial slated for the Northern California Veterans Cemetery in the town of Igo, near Redding, reports the Anderson Valley Post. Sculptor Gideon Turner is now finalizing his concept—a 14-foot bronze and stainless steel statue titled “Into the Wild Blue Yonder”—meant to symbolize the Air Force’s history and mission. The monument will include a bronze globe, resting on a pyramid with a stainless steel contrail circling the globe and thrusting upward. The memorial committee hopes to have this monument in place and dedicated in 2013. The committee seeks to raise approximately $400,000 to $500,000 to erect the monument and care for the memorial, according to the newspaper.
RTX, parent of Raytheon, Collins and Pratt & Whitney, is getting out of the space prime business and focusing on its "strengths" as a maker of space sensors, buses, and components, company COO Chris Calio said during an earnings call.