NASA is preparing to launch another two-persion crew to the International Space Station (ISS) on Oct. 18, while debating when a third crewmember might be added following the space shuttle's return to flight. Expedition 8 Commander Michael Foale, Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency (Rosaviakosmos) and Pedro Duque of the European Space Agency will launch to the ISS from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz TMA-3 vehicle.
REFUELING UCAVs: The Northrop Grumman-Lockheed Martin Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) team plans to make its unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) capable of both Navy and Air Force-style mid-air refueling, according to Scott Winship, Northrop Grumman's J-UCAS program director. "We're going to come up with a scheme to not only do it at the back of a KC-135, Air Force-style with a boom, but also do the [Navy-style] probe and drogue," Winship says.
SUPPLEMENTAL BILL: The Senate Appropriations Committee plans to meet Sept. 30 to consider the Bush Administration's $87 billion request for supplemental funding to pay for military operations and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. The request includes hundreds of millions of dollars for aerospace-related equipment (DAILY, Sept. 24). The House Appropriations Committee might hold its own markup of the bill later the same week.
BUY AMERICAN: Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, says a proposed compromise does not go far enough to address his concerns about the Buy American provisions in the House fiscal 2004 defense authorization bill. In a letter to the U.S. trade representative and other Bush Administration officials, Warner writes that the suggested language still has provisions that would significantly restrict the Defense Department's ability to buy foreign products.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.- The Department of Homeland Security's new Advanced Research Projects Agency, unlike its Pentagon counterpart, is focused on relatively near-term needs, according to its director, David Bolka. While the mission of the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) "is to augment the shorter-term R&D focus with long-term, requirements-free technological breakthroughs, ours is somewhat more constrained," Bolka said Sept. 25 at a symposium here.
Honeywell International Chairman and CEO David Cote on Sept. 26 warned an audience of military, academic and business professionals that American aerospace companies could suffer unless steps are taken to engage the Europeans in their modernization efforts.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Environment Center (SEC), which monitors and forecasts space weather, is in danger of losing half its staff or closing if proposed congressional spending cuts for fiscal year 2004 are signed into law, according to SEC personnel.
Although the threat of military force can be a useful tool in efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, the overt threat of regime change may be counterproductive, according to analysts speaking at a non-proliferation panel in Washington Sept. 26. During remarks at the 2003 Eisenhower National Security Conference, George Perkovich, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that the threat of regime change could work against non-proliferation efforts with countries such as Iran.
NO PEAKING: The notion that defense spending will peak in FY '06 may be premature, according to senior aerospace and defense analyst Byron Callan of Merrill Lynch. "The current [defense spending] 'cycle' has yet to see a lot of weapons produced," Callan says. Prior peaks in defense spending saw an increase in procurement spending of more than three times that spent on research and development (R&D). The current Defense Department spending plan through FY '09 shows spending on procurement increasing only 1.5 to 1.6 times that spent on R&D, he says.
U.S. policymakers are giving renewed attention to offset agreements that often require American defense firms to transfer technology or production work to other countries to secure the sale of major systems. The recently passed fiscal 2004 defense appropriations bill, which awaits President Bush's signature, will require the defense secretary to assess the impact of offsets on the U.S. industrial base. A report on the review will be due to Congress by March 2005.
NEW DELHI - India and Israel have decided to cooperate on military satellites, although Israel did not approve India's request to share imagery from its Ofeq-5 reconnaissance satellite. An official with the Indian defense ministry said India and Israel will develop a military satellite jointly. And although Israel rejected New Delhi's proposed use of the Ofeq-5 (DAILY, March 21), Tel Aviv has agreed to provide access to other military satellites it is developing.
SECNAV CONFIRMED: The U.S. Senate confirmed Gordon England as Navy secretary Sept. 26, returning him to a position he held for a 20-month period ending last January.
REMEMBER HERMES: The experience gained by Europe during the development of its now-defunct Hermes space plane could be of value to NASA's Orbital Space Plane (OSP) program if the U.S. is willing to cooperate, according to Francois Auque, head of the space systems division of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS). Like the OSP, Hermes was designed to launch atop an expendable rocket to transfer humans to orbit. "This is a field in which Europe has some experience," Auque says. "Hermes seems to be very close to what the U.S. [is] turning to today.
Congress's decision to fund additional upgrades to the Abrams tank will allow General Dynamics Land Systems to keep the vehicle's assembly and production lines open a bit longer. Had Congress not agreed to fund the upgrades, the latest multi-year funding agreement would have run out at the end of 2004.
Congress has approved legislation that eventually could lead to an increased role for the research arm of the U.S. Coast Guard. Language explaining the recently passed fiscal 2004 homeland security appropriations conference report calls for an independent study of the Coast Guard Research and Development Center to be completed and submitted to Capitol Hill by June 1, 2004.
DIRECTED ENERGY: Directed energy weapons could be a "primary weapon" in the U.S. Navy's arsenal, according to secretary-nominee Gordon England. "The Navy has unique platforms to utilize this technology," England says in a statement submitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee. "Specifically, many Navy ships have large power generation capability and sufficient space and volume to ease design constraints," he says. "That said, directed energy weapons still require large R&D efforts to field effective weapons for the Navy."
AURORA PLANS: European Space Agency (ESA) officials are planning the Aurora program, intended to lead to robotic and human exploration of the moon and Mars. Member states will be asked at the end of this year to contribute to a "bridging" phase to last until the program's funding for 2005-2009 is defined at an ESA ministerial council meeting planned for late next year.
SHIPBUILDING COSTS: The U.S. Navy's 30-year plan for shipbuilding is "realistic" in saying an average of $14 billion a year will be needed to build about 11 ships a year, England says. "Building a force of about 375 ships will take a major commitment of resources," his statement says. "... In addition to new construction, an average of $2 billion per year is required for conversion and overhauls."
ELUSIVE MARKET: How much benefit traditional defense contractors will gain from spending on homeland security and defense remains unclear, according to senior aerospace and defense analyst Byron Callan of Merrill Lynch. Although a House-Senate conference committee has passed a $29.4 billion homeland security appropriations bill, much of the funding appears to be allocated for training and personnel, he says. In addition, aid to states and local governments comes mainly in the form of grants.
PRAGUE - Czech defense officials welcomed news that the Administration has asked Congress to support a loan of $550 million to the Czech Republic to allow it to purchase 14 used Lockheed Martin F-16s (DAILY, Sept. 26). The loan, to be repaid within 12 years, also could be used for training, weaponry and logistical support for the aircraft.
NATO STUDY: A team led by Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) has been picked over a Lockheed Martin-led team for NATO's 18-month, $16.5 million contract to conduct a feasibility study of a missile defense system to protect alliance territory and forces. Both bids were "very high quality" but SAIC's was the "best value," NATO said.
Oct. 2 - 3 -- Night Vision USA, "Night Vision -- Making The Difference," Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel, Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.nightvisionusa.com. Oct. 8 -- Aviation Week's NetCentric Conference, National Press Club, Washington D.C. For more information contact Ryan Leeds at (800) 240-7645 x7 or go to http://www.Aviationnow.com/conferences. Oct. 8 - 9 -- Cyber Operations Technology Conference, Rome, NY. For more information contact Nicole Peterson, 703-247-9474, email [email protected] or go to www.ndia.org.
