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 Phoenix lander has run into trouble getting samples of the clumpy Martian soil at its north polar landing site into its ovens for analysis. Mission controllers discovered the problem over the weekend when a large sample dumped by the lander’s robotic arm onto a sifting screen on the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA) failed to yield enough particles for analysis.
NASA is in the final stages of vetting a review on the feasibility of accelerating the crew transport portion of its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, according to Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Rick Gilbrech.
The House Science Committee on June 4 approved a NASA authorization bill for fiscal 2009 that includes $1 billion to accelerate the Constellation program and sets the agency’s topline budget at $20.2 billion.
