As part of its effort to return the space shuttle to flight, NASA has selected a new design for the bipod that attaches the orbiter to the external tank (ET) and is contemplating other changes to mitigate or eliminate foam strikes. The bipod and other critical areas of the ET are insulated with foam to prevent the formation of ice on the outside of the tank, which holds cryogenic fuel. The shuttle Columbia is believed to have been doomed by a piece of foam that broke loose from the bipod and damaged the orbiter's left wing shortly after launch Jan. 16.
LONDON - BAE Systems is continuing intensive development of the Hawk advanced jet trainer to meet fourth-generation requirements, including the Royal Air Force's new 12.5 billion pound ($20 billion) Military Flight Training System (MFTS) program. Since their 1976 RAF service entry, more than 800 Hawks have been sold to 17 customers worldwide, and production of 226 carrier-based T-45A/C versions by Boeing in the United States is more than half complete.
LAUNCH: Sea Launch sent the Boeing-built Thuraya-2 satellite into orbit on June 10 for Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co. of United Arab Emirates, the company said. The satellite was launched from the company's Odyssey Launch Platform on the equator in the Pacific, aboard a Zenit-3SL booster.
L-3 Communications said June 10 it plans to buy Bombardier Inc.'s Military Aviation Services business for nearly $90 million. Based in Mirabel, Quebec, Military Aviation Services (MAS) provides technical services for aircraft maintenance, military aircraft repair and upgrade and refurbishment and modernization for some commercial aircraft. Customers include the Canadian Armed Forces, the U.S. Department of Defense, other military organizations and original equipment manufacturers of military aircraft.
Senate-backed language on low-yield nuclear weapons is preferable to the House-approved approach because the Senate would give the Bush Administration "a greater level of freedom," according to former Pentagon official Keith Payne, who helped craft current U.S. nuclear policy. The Bush Administration has asked Congress to repeal a decade-old law banning research and development of low-yield nuclear weapons, saying such devices may be needed to counter weapons of mass destruction hidden underground in rogue states.
NASA successfully launched the first of its twin Mars Exploration Rover (MER) spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Fla., at 1:58 p.m. EDT June 10, marking the agency's first attempt to land on the red planet since its ill-fated Mars Polar Lander mission in 1999.
Lockheed Martin Corp. on June 10 filed a lawsuit against the Boeing Co. and three of its former employees, alleging that Boeing and the employees violated federal and state law by obtaining and using proprietary information during a competition for the U.S. Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The 23-count complaint was filed in United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Altair, a new unmanned aerial vehicle built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., flew for the first time June 9, according to NASA. The UAV features triple-redundant flight systems and avionics and was built to NASA specifications. The flight, at GA-ASI's El Mirage, Calif., facility, evaluated basic airworthiness and flight controls. It was conducted at low altitude within a relatively short range of El Mirage, NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center said.
A congressional panel plans to question Bush Administration officials on whether Russia can continue providing crucial support for the International Space Station. The House Science space subcommittee will hear testimony June 11 from John Schumacher, NASA assistant administrator for external relations, and Steve Pifer, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs.
STUDY WORK: Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman have been awarded design study contracts for NASA's Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. JIMO is to be the first outer planets mission under NASA's Project Prometheus, which is developing nuclear power and propulsion systems for future spacecraft (DAILY, June 4).
Three or four divisions of international peacekeeping forces may be required to stabilize Iraq over the coming weeks and months, according to a U.S. Defense Department official. But the strength of those divisions, their composition and when they will leave the country has yet to be determined, according to Joseph Collins, deputy assistant secretary of defense for stability operations.
Requests for proposals for the next phase of the Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) program will be released June 30 to Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp., according to the Air Force's Air Armament Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Responses will be due July 31, and one of the competitors will be chosen in October to proceed. The RFPs will be for the system development and demonstration (SDD) phase, and for production options.
General Dynamics Corp. said June 9 it plans to buy Veridian Corp., a major provider of defense information and technology products and services. Under the proposed deal, General Dynamics would offer Veridian shareholders $35 cash for each outstanding share of company stock. With the assumption of Veridian's $270 million debt, the cost of the transaction is expected to be about $1.5 billion. Subject to regulatory approval and a vote by Veridian shareholders, the deal is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2003.
SATELLITE LAUNCHED: After several delays caused by technical problems, International Launch Services (ILS) successfully launched SES Americom's AMC-9 satellite on a Russian Proton K booster from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on June 9. AMC-9, the 16th satellite in the company's communications satellite fleet, was placed in a geostationary target orbit and is scheduled to begin operations in July to support telecommunications in North America.
In an open letter published in several national newspapers June 9, Boeing Chairman and CEO Phil Condit said some Boeing employees "did not behave properly" during the company's competition with Lockheed Martin for launch contracts in the U.S. Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The Air Force helped fund the development of two rocket families in support of the EELV program, Boeing's Delta IV and Lockheed Martin's Atlas V. So far, Boeing has received 22 of 29 EELV launch assignments, with the remainder going to Lockheed Martin.
UAVS: Elbit Systems Ltd. has received a $47 million contract from the Israeli Ministry of Defense to supply unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems to Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the company announced June 9. The three-year contract is a follow-on to a previous contract with the IDF. Through its subsidiary Silver Arrow, Elbit Systems is the primary supplier of advanced tactical UAV systems to the Israeli military, according to the company. Silver Arrow's UAV systems are based on the Hermes family of tactical UAVs, including the Hermes 450, Hermes 180 and Hermes 1500.
SPACEX OFFICE: Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), which is developing a family of launch vehicles intended to reduce the cost of access to space, will open offices in Washington, D.C., the company said June 9. Frank Sietzen has been appointed director of Washington operations for the El Segundo, Calif.-based company. Sietzen is the former president of the Space Transportation Association, an industry association that represents launch companies on Capitol Hill.
Some of the requirements for the Battle Management Command and Control system (BMC2) to be installed aboard the Air Force's next-generation surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, the E-10A, have changed, officials with Lockheed Martin and Raytheon said June 9. In contrast to the draft request for proposals (RFP) released in March, the Air Force now seems to be placing more emphasis on software development for the system, Mike Schoultz, Lockheed Martin vice president for the E-10A BMC2 program said in a June 9 program briefing.
A House panel is expected to give the Deepwater modernization program a significant boost by adding more than $200 million to the Bush Administration's fiscal 2004 budget request for the Coast Guard effort. The House Transportation Coast Guard subcommittee plans to approve $702 million for Deepwater, $202 million above the request, when it takes up a Coast Guard authorization bill June 12, according to a spokesman for Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), who chairs the panel.
PRAGUE - The Czech ministry of defense will present the government with options for future air defense by the end of June as planned, despite the recent resignation of the defense minister over military budget cuts, according to the minister's deputy.
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) will focus on NASA management and culture in its final public hearing in Washington June 12, as members wind down their investigation and continue writing their final report.
