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.
AEHF TESTING: Lockheed Martin has completed acoustic testing of the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military communications satellite, the company announced Feb. 28. The spacecraft was subjected to the sound and vibration levels expected at launch during the test, which was conducted at company facilities in Sunnyvale, Calif.
COTS SLIP: NASA says that SpaceX is projecting a slip of six to nine months in the first flight of its Falcon 9 rocket under the agency’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The mission, to demonstrate cargo transfer to the space station, is now planned for March 2010. The delay is due to technical issues with the new Merlin 1C engine that were “recently resolved,” as well as launch site preparations at Cape Canaveral, where the mission was shifted from its original site at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin offered Senate lawmakers a preview of an upcoming congressionally mandated report on projected center work force levels during testimony on Capitol Hill Feb. 27.
