Jeff has been involved in aerospace journalism since the mid 1990s. Prior to joining Aviation Week, Jeff served as managing editor of Launchspace magazine and the International Space Industry Report. He has been the editor and chief of Aviation Week's Aerospace Daily & Defense Report since 2007 and has been a regular contributor to Aviation Week magazine. He received his B.A. from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer mission (IBEX) was launched successfully from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean Oct. 19, kicking off its planned two-year mission to map the outer edge of the solar system. Equatorial launch via Orbital Sciences’ Pegasus booster took place at 1:47 p.m. EDT, and the spacecraft separated from the third stage of the rocket at 1:53 p.m. The operations team is continuing to check out spacecraft subsystems, according to NASA. Heliosphere
FIRM COMMITMENT: Arianespace announced Oct. 17 that SES has committed to three new launches with the European launch provider under the Multi Launch Agreement signed in June 2007. The commitment covers three new satellites for the SES group, including Astra 3B for SES Astra plus two other satellites that have not yet been identified. The spacecraft are slated for launch between 2009 and 2012 using Ariane 5 rockets from the company’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
NASA AUTHORIZED: President Bush signed new authorizing legislation for NASA Oct. 15. The policy bill (H.R. 6063) requires NASA to add two space shuttle logisticts flights to the International Space Station to its baseline flight manifest and “take all necessary steps to fly a third” mission. It also requires the agency to take steps to ensure that the station remains viable through at least 2020.
