The number of manned and unmanned space launches by China is expected to increase through 2021, while launches conducted by the U.S. are likely to remain flat, according to a report from the Futron Corp. China through 2021 is expected to conduct up to 10 launches a year, a 50 percent increase from previous years, the report says. "China appears ready to enter space with a degree of ambition matching the Americans and Soviets during the 1960s," according to the report.
SELLING GALILEO: The Galileo Joint Undertaking, which oversees Europe's planned satellite navigation system, is inviting industry to tender for operating the system. The undertaking, established by the European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA), will shortlist companies or consortia bidding to become the Galileo Operating Co., slated to take charge of the program in its operating phase.
The U.S. Army is moving forward with its Compact Kinetic Energy Missile (CKEM) program, awarding contracts to Lockheed Martin Corp. and Miltec Corp. for a 36-month advanced technology development program intended to further refine the concept of a lightweight hit-to-kill, vehicle-mounted battlefield missile.
The U.S. Air Force has begun conducting a formal assessment to determine whether the aging C-5A Galaxy fleet should be retired. The review by the Air Force Fleet Viability Board (AFFVB) began Oct. 1 and is slated to last about four months.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The U.S. Army activated a Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) brigade in an Oct. 16 ceremony at Peterson Air Force Base here. The unit, a command and control center for the country's projected missile defense system, will tell other units when to launch interceptors at attacking ballistic missiles. Thursday's activation, and the planned activation in December of a missile-launching unit in Alaska, are steps toward President Bush's goal of an operational missile defense system by late next year.
Senate proponents of equipping commercial airliners with anti-missile devices have backed away from proposing to tap the Pentagon's ballistic missile defense budget to pay for their plan. Instead, the legislation by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) would use money currently slated for Iraq reconstruction.
PRAGUE - European Commission officials outlined steps to help ensure the competitiveness of Europe's aerospace industry in a communication released Oct. 15 that calls for boosting spending on aerospace research.
After an assessment trip to Russia, a NASA Advisory Council task force on International Space Station (ISS) readiness has concluded that the Expedition 8 crew is ready to the fly to the ISS this weekend and that the station will be able to support them.
PRAGUE - Egypt and the Czech Republic will form a joint commission soon to examine areas for military cooperation, according to senior Czech defense officials. The news follows a visit to Egypt last month by Czech prime minister Vladimir Spidla, who discussed possible areas of cooperation with Egypt's minister of defense and military production, Mohamed Tantawi (DAILY, Sept. 11).
By using teaming arrangements, private industry is developing a culture of interoperability faster than the U.S. Defense Department, according to a Marine Corps general. Lt. Gen. James Cartwright, director of force structure, resources and assessments for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Oct. 16 that today's security environment requires a force capable of fighting anywhere in the world.
A panel of witnesses testifying on the future of human space flight before the House Science Committee Oct. 16 was evenly divided on the value of a potential lunar base, either for its scientific value or as a stepping stone for a future human mission to Mars. Bart Gordon (D-Texas), ranking minority member of the House Science subcommittee on space and aeronautics, raised the issue of a lunar base in his opening statement and asked the witnesses to offer opinions on its value.
REORGANIZATION: Lockheed Martin has reorganized its Information Systems business into two "mission areas," Flight Solutions and Ground, Maritime & Civil Solutions, the company said Oct. 16. The company will create several new focus areas, including Advanced Programs and United Kingdom Operations, it said. "By creating focus teams such as Biometrics and Homeland Security under our Advanced Programs, we can shape emerging opportunities while building new lines of business and applying our technical creativity to respond to critical national requirements," Daniel J.
Continued outsourcing of high-tech jobs overseas could jeopardize U.S. leadership in critical technologies, witnesses told members of the House Small Business Committee Oct. 16. Such outsourcing also could hurt the U.S. defense industrial base, one witness said. "I would suggest that we're not imperiled today," said Thomas Hartwick, chairman of the Advisory Group on Electron Devices, but he said trends show that U.S. high-tech manufacturing jobs are moving offshore.
Former Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) member John Logsdon is "cautiously optimistic" that NASA is capable of implementing the recommendations outlined by the board in its final report. "We were skeptical at the start [of the investigation] and at least partially skeptical at the end that [NASA] really is capable of doing what we thought needed to be done," Logsdon said in a speech at a luncheon sponsored by the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) in Washington Oct. 16.
PRAGUE - Three Europe-based companies have been shortlisted to supply up to 300 armored vehicles to the Czech army in a deal worth more than $1 billion over the life of the vehicles. The Czech ministry of defense said it would choose between products offered by Steyr Spezialfahrzeug of Austria and Switzerland's Mowag - both subsidiaries of U.S.-based General Dynamics - and Patria of Finland.
LOCAAS TEST: Lockheed Martin's Low Cost Autonomous Attack System (LOCAAS) successfully deployed its wings and started its engine in flight in a test at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., the company said Oct. 16. It also used its Laser Acquisition Detection and Ranging seeker to find and the correct target and guide a simulated warhead to it.
Raytheon Co. said it is working with Israel Aircraft Industries' Elta Systems in pursuit of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's program to equip commercial airliners with missile protection systems. Raytheon announced the joint effort as DHS officials were briefing industry representatives in Washington on the $100 million development program to defeat shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, also known as man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). DHS plans an "aggressive" system development and demonstration program (DAILY, Sept. 23).
MOSCOW - Russia plans to build two "universal" launch sites at the Plesetsk and Svobodnyi cosmodromes, which would be able to handle both Angara and Rus boosters, government officials said after a meeting about the country's space launch plans.
The U.S. Air Force announced Oct. 15 that the 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va., will be the first deployable unit to fly the new F/A-22 Raptor. Col. Frank Gorenc, commander of the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley, said in a statement that the 27th, also known as the Fightin' Eagles, was chosen because of its "impressive combat record" and its "heritage." The unit, the Air Force's oldest fighter squadron, was the first to fly the P-38 Lightning for the Army Air Force in 1941 and the first operational unit to fly the F-15 Eagle.
New rules aimed at increasing interoperability in the U.S. military are nearing completion, an official said Oct. 15. The Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Instruction (CJCSI) 6212 could be approved as early as November and will complement other Defense Department documents that already have been written to improve the ability of the military services to exchange information, said Navy Rear Adm. Nancy Brown, vice director for command, control, communications and computer systems for the Joint Staff.
