The recently passed House and Senate FAA reauthorization bills contain language that could benefit the helicopter industry, and helicopter advocates are optimistic that all the provisions will be retained when the two bills are combined in conference. The Senate overwhelmingly passed a $43.5 billion measure (S. 824) on June 12 that would reauthorize the FAA for three years by a vote of 94-0. The House passed a four-year $59 billion FAA reauthorization bill (H.R. 2115) by a vote of 418-8 the day before.
ISOLATION: ESA is seeking proposals from scientists to participate in ground-based studies to simulate the side effects of extended periods of space flight. A future human journey to Mars could last for six months and researchers are concerned about how the crew would react to extended periods of microgravity, isolation and confinement. ESA is seeking proposals for two studies. One is to conduct medical, physiological and psychological research at Concordia station, a new scientific base in Antarctica.
The U.S. Army has awarded General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) a $100 million contract for the second phase of the Objective Force Warrior (OFW) advanced technology demonstration program. Under the contract, GDLS will complete the detailed design for the OFW program and integrate component technologies and subsystems into an OFW "system of systems" over the next 25 months.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has announced it will begin a study later this year to help define the shape of a future missile defense architecture for the alliance. During a June 12 meeting in Brussels, Belgium, NATO defense ministers agreed to kick off the 18-month review when they meet informally in Colorado Springs, Colo., in October. Before the launch, multinational consortia led by Lockheed Martin Corp. and Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) are expected to bid for work on the project.
NEW MISSILE: Rafael of Israel has introduced the Python 5, the latest member of its Python air-to-air missile family, the company said June 12. The missile can be launched from very short range to beyond visual range and is resistant to countermeasures, Rafael said. The missile incorporates a new dual-waveband imaging seeker, the company said. The missile keeps the Python 4's airframe, inertial navigation system, rocket motor, warhead and proximity fuze.
June 15 - 22 - Paris Air Show, Salon International de L'Aeronautique et de l'Espace, Le Bourget Airport. For more information call +33 (15) 323-3333 or go to www.paris-air-show.com. June 16 - 19 -- Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) Industry Symposium, Sheraton New Orleans, New Orleans, La. For more information visit www.ndia.org/nmci.
HONEYWELL ORDERS: Honeywell said at the Paris Air Show that its aerospace business has signed more than $1.3 billion in new contracts with companies that include General Electric, easyJet, Airbus and Boeing. The deals include agreements to deliver avionics, engine controls, auxiliary power units, wheels and brakes, and other equipment.
NEXTVIEW: The National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) is expected to release a classified request for proposals (RFP) for its NextView program this week. NextView is the follow-on to NIMA's ClearView program, which awarded $100 million each to satellite imagery providers Space Imaging and Digital Globe to provide NIMA with imagery over a three-year period (DAILY, Jan. 21). In addition to covering imagery, NextView will help shape the next generation of commercial imagery satellites in the U.S., to a target resolution of either 0.25 or 0.5 meters.
Under contract from the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), satellite imagery provider Space Imaging of Thornton, Colo., is evaluating the national security value of a new technology that can search image databases for specific features such as vehicles, buildings, weapon systems, and geographical landmarks.
ACQUISITION OFFERS: Major providers of information technology (IT) products and services to the U.S. Defense Department may consider mergers and acquisitions following General Dynamics' acquisition of Veridian Corp., aerospace and defense company analyst Philip Finnegan of the Teal Group says. Other defense IT firms like CACI, Anteon, Titan and SRA International may consider similar acquisition offers or making additional acquisitions themselves, Finnegan says. "A number of them have already been making acquisitions.
Key technologies developed for a joint U.K./U.S. combat vehicle program will be further developed under a $4.75 million contract awarded by the U.S. Army last week, according to officials with Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control. The Army stopped funding the Tactical Reconnaissance Armored Combat Equipment Requirement (TRACER) / Future Scout and Cavalry System (FSCS) program last summer due to budget constraints.
SPACE TALKS: The European Commission (EC) and the European Space Agency (ESA) plan to wrap up talks later this month on the Green Paper on European Space Policy, which "looks into Europe's assets and weaknesses in this sector," according to a summary of the document. The Green Paper, prepared by the EC and ESA and released in January, looks at issues such as Europe's access to space, its industrial and technical base, international cooperation and other issues.
The Senate has approved legislation that would set up an office in the Transportation Department to improve coordination of aviation research programs across the federal government and promote the transfer of technology to the private sector (DAILY, April 7). Proponents of the proposed Office of Aerospace and Aviation Liaison say aviation activities, which are spread across many federal agencies, lack cohesion. They also say the process for transferring technology from the federal government to industry is slow and cumbersome.
CAIB CONFIDENTIAL: Congressional leaders have reached an agreement with the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) that will allow Congress access to approximately 200 confidential interviews conducted during the board's investigation. The agreement allows the chairmen and ranking minority members of the House Science Committee and Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee full access to unedited confidential statements, and gives committee leadership authority to grant access to additional committee members.
SPACE RADAR: Although the U.S. Air Force's Space Based Radar (SBR) is intended to track moving ground targets, the Defense Department believes the proposed system may have applications to missile defense as well. The Missile Defense Agency plans to examine whether SBR could be used to observe ballistic missiles in flight. "It's one of the technologies that we'll look at in our advanced systems" work, MDA spokesman Rick Lehner says. Congress also is interested in the idea.
The U.S. Air Force's Air Combat Command said it plans to temporarily store small numbers of Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missiles in new facilities to be built at Minot Air Force Base, N.D. The facilities, it said, would speed use of CALCMs in any future conflict. Construction would be completed in about 18 months.
AEGIS BMD: The next test of the Missile Defense Agency's Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system will use a Raytheon Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) kinetic warhead equipped with a new solid divert and attitude control (SDACS) system. The SDACS, which helps guide the warhead to its target, has fewer moving parts and is considered easier to produce than its predecessor. The test, called Flight Mission 5 (FM-5), is expected to occur on or about June 18 and use a short-range ballistic missile as the target.
COMPOSITE 7E7: Boeing's planned 7E7 mid-sized airliner (DAILY, Feb. 7) will be the first commercial jet to have most of its primary structure made of advanced composite materials, the company said June 12. That will include the wings and fuselage, Boeing said. The company has selected a graphite combined with epoxy resin as the main composite, and the wings will include TiGr composites, a combination of titanium and graphite.
The U.K.'s Ministry of Defence (MOD) said June 12 that it has chosen Raytheon Co. over a team of MBDA and Boeing to meet a Royal Air Force requirement for a new Precision Guided Bomb. Raytheon now will negotiate with the MOD for the contract, according to Mike Brown, a spokesman for London-based Raytheon Systems Ltd. The contract, with an anticipated value of $175 million, will call for Raytheon to produce 2,000-3,000 Paveway IV bombs, Brown said. Production will take place in the U.K. and will involve up to 200 jobs in southern England and Scotland.
FAST BUY: The General Services Administration presented the 2003 Ida M. Ustad Award for Excellence in Acquisition to Charles E. Bright of MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., a Special Operations Command contracting officer. Bright was honored for the speedy acquisition of a missile defense system for MH-53M Pave Low IV helicopters used in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The U.S. Senate should consider tax incentive bills to spur investment in space, Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), said June 12. Burns, a member of the Appropriations Committee subcommittee that helps fund NASA, said the Senate should follow the House's lead and consider such bills. "I think those are the kind of incentives we're going to have to promote," Burns told members of the Space Transportation Association.
