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.
Among the objectives of the next scheduled test of the space shuttle's reusable solid rocket motor (RSRM) is gathering further data on vibration loads that will be experienced by the RSRM-derived Ares I rocket's first stage, according to ATK ATK is both the prime for the RSRM and the first stage of the Ares I, which NASA will use to boost the Orion crew exploration vehicle to orbit. The Ares I first stage will be a five-segment version of the four-segment RSRM. The test is scheduled for Nov. 1. The last test was held in May (DAILY, May 29).
The Senate passed its $54 billion fiscal 2008 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill (H.R. 3093) by a vote of 75-19 on the evening of Oct. 16, approving a $17.5 billion budget for NASA and $4.2 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Passage of the bill brightens somewhat NASA's prospects of not having to suffer through another year-long continuing budget resolution for FY '08 - which would amount to about a billion-dollar cut from the agency's request - although the bill faces a showdown with the White House.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued 22 safety recommendations springing from its first investigation of an unmanned aircraft accident - the 2006 crash of a Predator B while flying a mission for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Arizona.
