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.
Although the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) program continues to face obstacles on Capitol Hill, it remains the only current viable option for sustaining the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, according to a retired U.S. Air Force chief of staff and former head of Strategic Air Command.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center is seeking information from industry in the run-up to the competition for the next Rapid Spacecraft Acquisition (RSA) follow-on program, known as Rapid III. “The Rapid III acquisition may result in the award of multiple fixed-priced, commercial, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts for spacecraft bus core systems that would be used to meet the government’s science and technology needs,” Goddard says in its June 26 request for information (RFI).
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) conducted a full launch dress rehearsal and hold-down firing of its third Falcon 1 rocket June 25 at its launch site at Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The test marked the first pad firing of SpaceX’s new Merlin 1C reusable engine – an upgraded version of the Merlin 1A used for previous Falcon 1 launches. The regeneratively cooled Merlin 1C operated at full power, with only the hold-down system keeping the rocket from lifting off, according to the company.
