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.
AUSTRALIAN TORPEDO: Australia test fired the new MU90 Lightweight Anti-Submarine Warfare Torpedo from the HMAS Toowoomba off Mandurah in Western Australia late last week. The MU90 “will provide a significant upgrade to the Anti-Submarine Warfare capabilities of the surface combatant platforms of the Royal Australian Navy, including the RAN’s FFG and ANZAC frigates,” Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said. The MU90 is being acquired in a three-phase program worth AUS$616 million.
EXPLORER: NASA has selected two science proposals to be the agency’s next Explorer Program Mission of Opportunity investigations. The first will provide a U.S. science instrument for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s New exploration X-Ray Telescope (NeXT) that will study black holes and other extreme environments in the universe. The other investigation will fly an atmospheric remote sensing instrument package aboard a yet-to-be-determined future commercial satellite. The investigation initially will be funded at approximately $250,000 for a concept study.
The Senate Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations subcommittee approved a fiscal 2009 CJS spending bill June 19 that includes $17.8 billion for NASA and more than $4 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
