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.
Following its April launch, the U.S. Air Force’s Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite is now gathering data that scientists hope will enable better forecasting of ionospheric interference with radio communications. This interference, known as scintillation, occurs when radio waves traveling through the ionosphere at 50-360 miles altitude become distorted or lost. The phenomenon can cause serious transmission problems for communications or Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites.
A National Research Council (NRC) panel is recommending NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) consider orbiting a microwave radiometer to cover an anticipated climate data gap before the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) comes online.
H-46 CHIEF: U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Paul M. Riegert has taken command of the H-46 Program Office (PMA226) at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. As the H-46 program manager, he will lead a team of about 150 acquisition professionals and is charged with the life-cycle management authority for a fleet of 198 helicopters. The aircraft are heavily deployed in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and are used primarily in the assault support mission for the Marine Corps.
