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.
A delay in the selection process for the next Mars Scout mission has forced NASA to slip its launch from 2011 to 2013, marking the first time in a decade that the agency will miss a launch opportunity to the Red Planet. The selection delay occurred after NASA discovered an organizational conflict of interest on the board that evaluates Scout mission proposals.
The U.S. Army has awarded iRobot Corp. the $286 million xBot contract for up to 3,000 military ground robots over the next five years, after stripping the award from original winner Robotic FX.
The first Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) system satellite remains on track for a December 2008 launch with some margin to spare, according to prime contractor Boeing. Boeing and Ball Aerospace are developing the SBSS Block 10 spacecraft, while Boeing is working with Harris Corp. and MIT Lincoln Labs on the SBSS operations center. Sixty percent of flight hardware and software for Block 10 has been completed over the past year, according to Todd Citron, Boeing's program director for space superiority and special missions.
