BOEING SATELLITE SYTEMS has shipped two communications satellites for a dual launch on an Ariane 4 rocket later this month from the European spaceport in French Guiana. The satellites JCSAT-8, built for the JSAT Corp. of Tokyo, and ASTRA 3A, built for SES ASTRA of Luxembourg, will be the first Boeing-built satellites to launch on a single vehicle in five years.
A second round of launch awards in the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program could occur in the latter half of this year, according to Mark Albrecht, president of International Launch Services (ILS). The EELV program is aimed at improving the reliability and reducing the cost of launching by at least 25 percent, compared with the cost of launching current Delta, Atlas, and Titan launch vehicles. The Air Force funded the development of two vehicle families in support of EELV, Boeing's Delta IV and Lockheed Martin's Atlas V.
Military officials from some of the United States' strongest allies acknowledged a growing capability gap between the U.S. and its military partners, but promised investment in key areas, such as strategic lift, reconnaissance, and command and control. Speaking March 7 at an air and space symposium in Washington, defense officials from Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom said their countries will pursue investment in niche areas and in strategic assets that would assist interoperability.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has a new, more powerful camera, the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), which was installed March 7 by astronauts Jim Newman and Mike Massimino. During the seven hour, 30-minute spacewalk, Newman and Massimino removed the last of the Hubble's original instruments, the Faint Object Camera.
Declining research and development investments and an overtaxed air traffic management (ATM) system jeopardize America's future position in the growing world commercial aviation market, according to a panel of experts testifying before the House space and aeronautics subcommittee. Aerospace R&D spending across government and industry has been cut in half since 1985, according to Rich Golaszewski, executive vice president of GRA Inc.
GILCREST ELECTRIC&SUPPLY CO. INC., MUNIZ ENGINEERING INC. and SA TECHNOLOGIES INC. are minority contractors that were honored by NASA for their innovations and contributions to the aerospace agency's mission. Gilcrest Electric&Supply, of Elyria, Ohio, was honored last month as NASA Minority Contractor of the Year. It supports Glenn Research Center's Facilities and Test Engineering Division. Muniz Engineering Inc., of Houston, was awarded Minority Subcontractor of the Year.
NASA's current budget plans "are not sufficient to improve or even maintain the safety risk level of operating" the space shuttle and International Space Station, says the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel's 2001 report, which was released March 7. While the panel doesn't believe safety has yet been compromised, "needed restorations and improvements cannot be accomplished under current budgets and spending priorities," the report says.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper said March 7 he sees no reason for the service to reduce the number of F-22 Raptors it plans to buy in fiscal 2003, despite a new recommendation by the General Accounting Office that procurement of the Lockheed Martin fighter aircraft be slashed from 23 to 13 planes.
MACDONALD, DETTWILER AND ASSOCIATES LTD. (MDA) has entered into an agreement with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to extend a mission feasibility study for a proposed RADARSAT-2/3 Topographic Mission. The value of the contract extension is $1.1 million, according to the company. MDA is the prime contractor to the CSA for RADARSAT-2, Canada's next-generation Earth observation satellite. CSA has funded modifications to the RADARSAT-2 spacecraft to support a proposed tandem mission with RADARSAT-3.
The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) approved an export-control bill late March 6 after dropping a provision that would have shifted licensing for commercial satellite exports from the State Department to the Commerce Department.
Astronauts John Grunsfeld and Rick Linnehan successfully replaced the Hubble Space Telescope's Power Control Unit during a nearly seven-hour spacewalk in the early hours of March 6. The Power Control Unit is the central controller for the Hubble's electrical system, and the space telescope had to be powered down for the first time in its history to make the exchange. It was powered down at 3:37 a.m. CST and powered up again at 8:02 a.m. CST after the new unit was installed, according to NASA.
The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence's QinetiQ, one of Europe's largest military research and development organizations, is seeking a strategic partner as the first stage in its transfer to the private sector. QinetiQ employs about 9,000 scientists, technicians and assistants.
The time may be right for the Department of Defense to consider developing space-based weapons to protect its space assets, according to Peter Teets, who is dual-hatted as the undersecretary of the Air Force for space and director of the National Reconnaissance Office. "I do believe the time has come for very serious discussions on the whole subject of space control and the projection of force in space," Teets told an audience in Washington March 6 at an air and space conference.
Air Force Secretary James Roche said March 6 that the service plans to spend the next several months analyzing technical information that the Boeing Co. and the European Aeronautics Defence and Space Co. (EADS) have submitted in hopes of paving the way to win a lease for 100 new aerial refuelers. The Air Force hopes the review will help it determine whether to negotiate a lease with one or both of the companies, Roche told reporters after testifying before the House Armed Services Committee on the Bush Administration's fiscal 2003 defense budget.
TRW has won a competition to consolidate contracts of the Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA), an effort that the agency says will improve its ability to meet mission requirements. TRW's Bellevue, Neb., operation was chosen by AFWA at nearby Offutt Air Force Base over Harris Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. for the Systems Engineering and Management Sustainment (SEMS) program, intended to integrate, modernize and enhance several current efforts. TRW won a $14.7 million contract and options could extend the work through September 2007.
U.S. Southern Command does not have enough reconnaissance aircraft to meet its intelligence requirements, according to Army Maj. Gen. Gary Speer, the command's acting commander in chief.
Japan plans to spend $2.5 billion on its space program for its fiscal year 2002, which begins in April, which is 11 percent less than it spent in fiscal 2001. The budget is expected to be approved by parliament by the end of the month and become effective April 1. Money for space programs is split between seven ministries and agencies, but the bulk of it will go to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, which will get $1.6 billion.
Nicholas J. Novasic, CFO, will be leaving the company's full-time employment in March, but will remain as a part- time adviser for capital market and related matters.
Bruce R. Aubin, retired senior vice president, technical operations, Air Canada, and U.S. Airways, and the first and only chairman of the SAE aerospace program office, has been named the 2002 recipient of the SAE Medal of Honor.
Larry McCracken, vice president of public relations at The Boeing Co., has been appointed chair of the Aerospace Industries Association's Communications Council for 2002. Phyllis Piano, vice president of corporate affairs and communications at Honeywell Co., has been named vice chair of the Communications Council for 2002.
SPACEHAB CONTRACT: Spacehab Inc. has signed a contract modification with NASA worth $4.2 million to provide its pressurized Logistics Single Module and unpressurized Integrated Cargo Carrier for two assembly and cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station, the company said March 6.
House lawmakers said March 6 they are skeptical of military plans to reform the defense acquisition process, and cautioned that the fiscal 2003 defense budget may not contain enough money to transform the forces while recapitalizing aging equipment.
Jeffrey D. Grant has been appointed vice president, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance for TRW Space&Electronics. Darryl M. Fraser and Maureen P. Heath have joined TRW as vice presidents of TRW Systems and Space&Electronics respectively. Dr. Donald C. Winter, president and chief executive officer of TRW Systems, has been elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
