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.
AERO DEPUTY: NASA has appointed Thomas Irvine as the new deputy associate administrator for the agency’s aeronautics directorate. He will report to Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Jaiwon Shin. Since May 2005, Irvine has been the director of the Mission Support Office for the aeronautics directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington. “Tom has been instrumental in the restructuring and management of NASA’s aeronautics research programs,” Shin said in a statement.
JSC CLOSES: NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston closed at 12 p.m. CDT Aug. 4 and is slated to remain closed through Aug. 6 because of the threat of tropical storm Edouard. Edouard is predicted to cross the Texas coast early Aug. 5. Flight control of the International Space Station will continue from Houston, and the Space Station Mission Control Center at Johnson will remain open.
Iridium Satellite LLC has tapped Lockheed Martin and Thales Alenia Space for the final phase of the procurement process for the company’s replacement satellite constellation, Iridium NEXT. During this last nine-month phase, the two companies will vie for the Iridium NEXT prime contract, slated to be awarded by midyear 2009. The current generation of Iridium satellites are expected to begin reaching the end of their operational life around 2014.
