NASA gave Congress a return to flight plan for the space shuttle Sept. 5, and Capitol Hill sources said it will take them some time to assess the highly technical document. The plan, which does not contain cost estimates, is intended to explain how NASA will implement the findings of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), which investigated the Feb. 1 Columbia shuttle disaster. The CAIB, which released its final report Aug. 26, made 29 recommendations and said 15 should be implemented before the shuttle begins flying again.
CAIB SUPPLEMENT: Air Force Brig. Gen. Duane Deal, a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), which released its final report Aug. 26, is expected to produce a supplemental document addressing several aspects of the space shuttle that he does not believe the CAIB adequately addressed. They include orbiter corrosion, crew survivability and the solid rocket booster external tank attach ring.
An advanced targeting pod long cited as a shortcoming for the F/A-18 Super Hornet fleet achieved high marks in a U.S. Navy operational evaluation, program officials announced Sept. 5. The ASQ-228 Advanced Targeting FLIR (ATFLIR, or Forward-Looking Infrared) pod, recorded "one of the best test reports I've ever seen," said a Naval Air System Command F/A-18 official. The third-generation Raytheon targeting system now can be deployed on F/A-18 Super Hornets that flew without them during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sept. 8 -- Long Island Technology Day, Northrop Grumman, Long Island, New York. For more information call Margaret Gilmartin at 516-575-4334. Sept. 8 - 11 -- World Satellite Business Week, Hotel Inter-Continental, Paris. Call +33 1 49 23 75 30 or fax: + 33 1 48 05 54 39. Email [email protected]. Sept. 8 - 12 -- Aerospace Congress & Exhibition, ACE 2003, "Creating the Next Century of Flight," Palais des Congrés, Montréal, Canada. For more information call 724/776-4970 or 1-877-606-7323 or go to www.sae.org/ACE/index.htm.
The Senate Appropriations Committee late Sept. 4 approved a fiscal 2004 NASA appropriations bill that trims the agency's budget request for the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) program but adds tens of millions of dollars for aeronautics research. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-Mo.), chairman of the committee's NASA panel, said the bill adds $50 million to NASA's $959 million request for aeronautics research to counter growing foreign competition in aviation.
FOREIGN SALES: Javelin missiles for Canada, new UH-60L Black Hawks and F-16A upgrades for Jordan, plus AH-64 Apache upgrades for the Netherlands highlight Foreign Military Sales proposals the U.S. Defense Department submitted to Congress Sept. 3 (see related story on Page 3). Jordan is the biggest potential customer, seeking to spend $220 million for the cargo helicopter fleet and up to $370 million for F-16 structural and engine improvements.
The Senate Appropriations Committee Sept. 4 unveiled a fiscal 2004 NASA appropriations bill that fully funds the Bush Administration's $3.97 billion request for the space shuttle but cuts $200 million from the Administration's $1.7 billion request for the International Space Station. The committee, which was meeting into the evening to consider the legislation, reduced the ISS funding because there are other pressing needs and because construction of the station has been suspended due to the grounding of the shuttle fleet, according to a bill summary.
NEW DELHI - The first test flight of the Pakistani-Chinese JF-17 Thunder occurred Sept. 3 from China's Sichuan province. The first flight of the aircraft, formerly known as the Super-7, was successful, said a diplomat with China's embassy here. The diplomat said the flight demonstrated the aircraft's interception and ground attack capability. The aircraft is a joint venture of the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and China's Chengdu Aircraft Co.
NEW FACILITY: Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Information Technology (IT) sector dedicated a new facility Sept. 4 in Lorton, Va., the company said. Northrop Grumman IT designed and configured a new, 22,000-square-foot facility to support the Land Information Warfare Activity (LIWA) contract, which the U.S. Army awarded to the company last year. The building will house 100 employees working on the LIWA contract, which calls for collecting and exploiting information for combat.
Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee expressed concern Sept. 4 about the costs of a U.S. Air Force plan to lease 100 767 aerial refueling tankers from the Boeing Co. The Senate Armed Services Committee must approve the plan for the deal to take effect. Three other house and senate committees already have approved the lease.
Boeing will build eight Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar systems under a $49.5 million low-rate initial production contract from the U.S. Navy, the company said Sept. 4. Production of the radars could begin as early as next month and the first LRIP 1 radar is scheduled for delivery in early 2005, Boeing said. The radars will be used on F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and E/A-18G Growlers.
A major overhaul of U.S. military space acquisition policy is expected to be unveiled next week as a new government report details a decade-long meltdown of management practices for buying satellites and launch systems. The latest reforms, outlined Sept. 4 by Peter Teets, the Air Force undersecretary for space, focus on reversing several fundamental themes of mid-1990s acquisition reforms.
IMCO BUY: General Dynamics has completed its buy of Datron Inc.'s Intercontinental Manufacturing Co. (IMCO), which builds aircraft bomb bodies, the company said Sept. 4. IMCO will become the Tactical Air Munitions unit of General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, headquartered in St. Petersburg, Fla.
A bold concept to finance a multi-billion dollar re-engining program for the B-52 fleet using future fuel savings still is under review, but early results have revealed problems with the business plan, U.S. Air Force officials said in an interview Sept. 4.
The U.S. may have the world's most capable armed services, but the perception of this power also is making it more difficult to achieve military triumphs like stealth that emerged during the Cold War, according to a new study. Without strong leadership from the Department of Defense, it says, breakthrough ideas will wither and die.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - A prime contractor for the Miniature Kill Vehicle (MKV) program likely will be chosen by the end of December, Army officials said at a recent space and missile defense conference here. There is still a remote chance that two contractors will be chosen to build hardware, but funding constraints probably will limit the selection to one company, said Jess Granone, director of the Army Space and Missile Defense Technical Center (SMDTC).
PRAGUE - The commander of the Czech air force has resigned over a fresh round of military reforms being imposed as a result of planned budget cuts. The departure of air force chief Jan Vachek was announced by defense minister Miroslav Kostelka Sept. 4 on Czech radio. The announcement comes as the Czech ministry of defense is preparing even deeper cuts than planned under original military reform proposals put forward by former defense minister Jaroslav Tvrdik.
President Bush has nominated Michael W. Wynne to be undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics (ATL), the White House said Sept. 3. If confirmed by the Senate, Wynne would replace former undersecretary E.C. "Pete" Aldridge Jr., who retired in May. Wynne has served as the principal undersecretary for ATL and has been acting secretary since Aldridge's retirement.
The Japan Defense Agency (JDA) is proposing to spend about 134 billion yen ($1.1 billion) in its next fiscal year to acquire land- and sea-based ballistic missile defense systems, according to Japanese and U.S. sources.
