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.
Despite assurances from DOD that its demand for satellite communications will remain insatiable, commercial satcom providers doing business with the military face uncertainty over the next few years as long-planned military-owned satcom systems come online and expected troop drawdowns reduce demand. The last five years have seen strong growth in DOD’s appetite for commercial bandwidth, according to USAF Maj. Gen. James Armor (ret.), former director of the National Security Space Office.
DDG-51 CONTRACT: Lockheed Martin Simulation, Training and Support of Orlando, Fla., is being awarded a $9.85 million U.S. Navy contract for DDG-51 Class Machinery Control System and Universal Engine Controller engineering, software, logistics, training, and fleet support services. The work will be split evenly between facilities in Philadelphia and Orlando, and should be complete by Jan. 2013.
The total cost of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission could reach $2 billion as the program races to surmount its developmental problems and make its scheduled 2009 launch, according to Associate Administrator for Science Alan Stern. A surface rover the size of a small car, the flagship-level MSL mission originally was approved at a cost of $1.5 billion, Stern told a Feb. 20 meeting of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) in Monrovia, Calif. The latest estimate for the program is $1.8 billion, but it continues to rise, Stern said.
