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.
REMOTE SENSING: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Northrop Grumman Corp. plan to collaborate on the development of advanced remote sensing systems for space and Earth science measurements. The two organizations will sign a Space Act Agreement governing the collaboration on Feb. 21 during a ceremony at the Maryland State Capitol in Annapolis.
Tests are under way at NASA’s Ames Research Center to evaluate the sensors that will enable the upcoming Kepler mission to hunt for planets orbiting other stars. Scheduled to launch in February 2009, Kepler will measure tiny variations in the brightness of stars to find planets that pass in front of them during their orbits. Although many Jupiter-like gas giants already have been detected, Kepler scientists hope to find smaller terrestrial planets where water, and perhaps life, could exist.
RSRM AWARD: NASA has awarded a contract modification valued at $812.5 million to ATK Launch Systems Inc. for continued delivery of space shuttle reusable solid rocket motors. The modification changes the current contract to align production to launch requirements through September 2010, when the shuttle is due to retire. Work will be performed at the contractor’s plants in Brigham City and Clearfield, Utah, along with facilities at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
