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.
ROBOT ORDERS: iRobot Corp. has received a $16 million order, the third under the U.S. Army’s xBot contract, for more than 200 robots and spare parts to be delivered by Oct. 31, 2008. XBot orders to date now total $27 million out of a possible maximum value of $286 million. The company also received a $6.3 million U.S. Army delivery order for a combination of bomb disposal and explosives detection robots, as well as spare parts and equipment. iRobot expects to complete delivery by Sept. 30, 2008. The company has delivered more than 1,500 PackBot robots to date.
The Integrated Program Office for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite system (NPOESS) has selected the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) to develop the microwave imager/sounder sensor for the NPOESS constellation.
The Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM)/Jason 2 spacecraft is gearing up for a June 15 launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on a mission to help scientists better monitor rises in global sea level and more accurately predict climate change. The $432 million mission is a collaboration between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the French space agency CNES, and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT).
