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Magazine Issue

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, December 19, 2014

VOL. 250 NO. 53 December 19, 2014

Programs

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South Korea Mulls Lockheed Martin Upgrade Of F-16s

Dec 19, 2014
BEIJING—South Korea is checking whether it can satisfactorily contract Lockheed Martin to modernize most of its F-16s, following rejection of the price that the U.S. government put on an upgrade that was to have been done by BAE Systems. The defense ministry’s Defense Acquisition Program Agency says it has asked for a U.S. government quote for a price for a Lockheed Martin upgrade and will decide how to proceed once it gets a response.
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JLENS Data To Finally See Operational Use For NORAD

Dec 19, 2014
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Maryland — After a protracted development program, The U.S. Army is planning to finally deploy by year’s end the first of its new airships designed to aid in air and missile threat detection for the Northeastern U.S.
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SpaceX Slips ISS Cargo Run To Early January

Dec 19, 2014
PARIS—Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has postponed a Dec. 19 Dragon cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) to Jan. 6 after a recent static fire test of the Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle was cut short.
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India’s GSLV Mk. 3 Launch Successful

Dec 19, 2014
NEW DELHI – India successfully launched an unmanned crew capsule on its heaviest rocket – the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk. 3, during its first experimental flight Dec. 18, bringing the country a step closer to fulfilling its human spaceflight ambitions.
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France Accepts Sixth A400M; Germany To Get First

Dec 19, 2014
PARIS – France accepted its sixth Airbus A400M military transport aircraft on Dec. 12, French defense procurement agency DGA says. DGA said the tactical airlifter is expected to arrive soon at air base Orleans, and is to be handed over in the same basic configuration as the three preceding A400M units delivered last summer.
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France To Lead Ariane 6 Launch Pad Development

Dec 19, 2014
PARIS – French space agency CNES, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the new Airbus Safran Launchers signed an agreement Dec. 18 giving CNES the lead in designing and building a new launch pad for Europe’s next-generation Ariane 6 rocket.
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Boeing Ships Second Global Xpress Satellite To Baikonur

Dec 19, 2014
Inmarsat’s second Global Xpress (GX) satellite – Inmarsat-5 F2 – has arrived at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in preparation for launch atop a commercial Proton M/Breeze M rocket in early in 2015, the London-based fleet operator said Dec. 18. The Boeing-built satellite left the company’s El Segundo, California, manufacturing facility Dec. 16 and was flown from Los Angeles to Kazakhstan in an Antonov AN-124.
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Morpheus Closes Successful Planetary Lander Flight Test Campaign

Dec 19, 2014
HOUSTON – NASA is closing out the flight phase of project Morpheus following a final encore ascent and descent of the four-legged, methane-fueled prototype planetary lander onto a simulated lunar scape at Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 15.
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Revived Kepler Finds A Planet

Dec 19, 2014
NASA’s Kepler space telescope has detected its first exoplanet since it started operating with only two of its four reaction wheels functioning, validating the “K2” workaround that uses pressure from solar photons to hold its lock on nearby stars long enough to measure the faint dimming caused by transiting planets.
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Dscovr Space Weather Satellite Eyes Jan. 23 Launch

Dec 19, 2014
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-led Deep Space Climate Observatory (Dscovr) is closing in on a planned Jan. 23 launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, kicking off a mission to provide advanced warning of potentially dangerous solar storms. Operating from the L1 Lagrangian point 1 million mi. from Earth, the $340 million Dscovr – a joint effort by NOAA and the U.S. Air Force – is set to become the world’s first operational deep-space satellite.

SpeedNews Defense & Space

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SpeedNews Defense & Space

Dec 19, 2014
RAYTHEON has $344m USAF contract for logistics support for operational Command and Control Switching System; contract goes through 2019. PRAXAIR introduced SermeTel CF and SermLoy J CF chromium (VI)-free ceramic aluminum coatings for engine components ROCKWELL COLLINS has 4-year, $420m U.S. Navy contract to supply ARC-210 radios for >180 different aircraft platforms.

Business

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Cubic Buys Specialized Military C4ISR Provider

Dec 19, 2014
Cubic, a travel, defense and maintenance services provider, is buying Dtech Labs, a military communications provider, for up to $114.5 million. “Dtech is the first step in our near-term strategy to build a niche $100-200 million C4ISR business generating mid-teen [pre-tax] margins,” said Cubic CEO and President Bradley Feldmann. The deal announced Dec.

Funding & Policy

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U.K. Defense Needs To Spend Wisely, Top Officer Warns

Dec 19, 2014
NASA’s Kepler space telescope has detected its first exoplanet since it started operating with only two of its four reaction wheels functioning, validating the “K2” workaround that uses pressure from solar photons to hold its lock on nearby stars long enough to measure the faint dimming caused by transiting planets.