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.
The U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) has authorized a $343.3 million direct loan to Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. (AsiaSat) to finance the purchase of two Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) communications satellites, plus launch services. SS/L is building AsiaSat 6, a C-band satellite, and AsiaSat 8, a mixed Ku/Ka-band satellite, under a contract announced in November 2011. The launches, to be carried out by SpaceX, are planned for the first half of 2014. To date in fiscal 2013, the Ex-Im Bank has authorized $891 million in support of U.S.
Nearly a third of House lawmakers have signed off on a letter pressing U.S. Army leadership to fund production of the M1A2 Abrams tank System Enhancement Package in fiscal 2014, citing the “damaging impact to the highly specialized industrial base” if the line is not kept warm.
The White House is requesting $2 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) weather satellite programs in fiscal 2014, boosting funding for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite System (GOES-R) while trimming back the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). The moves are in line with the criticisms of an external review panel that last year deemed the agency’s satellite efforts “dysfunctional.” The White House is asking for $5.448 billion overall for NOAA in fiscal 2014.
