The first images from the U.S. Air Force's new spacecborne strategic missile warning system are so far making good on the military's promise that they would surpass the quality provided by the decades-old Defense Support Program constellation.

The third time is anything but a charm for the Air Force, which has notified Congress--again--it needs more money for its next-generation missile early-warning system. Originally expected to cost about $4 billion, the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) High is now expected to total well beyond $10 billion. But needing more cash is not the only problem: Officials don't know just how much they need. The final amount is expected to be at least $1.5 billion, although officials say it could exceed $2.5 billion.

Restructuring in the U.S. satellite industry is generating new opportunities for fast-growing SES Global to mesh together its far-flung network of operating companies and to mold it into an efficient worldwide system.

NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center plans to conduct follow-on testing of a wing design that achieved supersonic natural laminar flow over more than 80% of a test article during initial flights.

The U.S. aerospace industry saw no major surprises in the most recent financial quarter, and analysts expect continued strong performance.

NASA/Boeing collaboration will demonstrate 41 advanced technologies for reusable launch vehicles NASA and Boeing's recent signing of a four-year agreement to build and fly a single X-37 reusable vehicle in orbit clears the way for demonstrating a wide range of technologies that eventually could cut the cost of accessing space from $10,000 to $1,000/lb.

The Paris-based Economic and Social Council plans to issue a report to the French government calling for closer integration of French and European space activities and in particular the creation of a new high-level European body to define common space strategy. The council is an independent organization that serves as a forum for discussion of public policy and a source of recommendations to the French government.

The appointment of a former U.S. Air Force chief of staff as board chairman of Pioneer RocketPlane Corp. is expected to accelerate financing and elevate the credibility of the start-up company's air-refuelable space launch vehicle program.