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.
The U.S. Air Force will launch the first Wideband Global Satellite (WGS), SV-1, on Oct. 9 on board a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. WGS will augment and eventually replace the aging Defense Satellite Communication System, which has served as the Defense Dept.’s satellite communications backbone for the last two decades. “With the launch of WGS SV-1, we are on the cusp of providing more capacity than the entire on-orbit Defense Satellite Communications System constellation,” says Col. Donald Robbins, Wideband Satcom Group commander at the Milsatcom Systems Wing.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has approved the next phase of the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) system, which it is co-funding with the European Commission. Confirming the enthusiasm they showed when GMES was kicked off in late 2005, the ESA member states pledged €500 million ($710 million)—16% more than requested—for the so-called Phase 2, Segment 1 phase that covers development of the first three dedicated Sentinel GMES spacecraft and their related ground segment.
NASA’s Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle finally is nearing its weight target, says NASA project manager Skip Hatfield. Going into its most recent round of redesigns, the Lockheed Martin-built spacecraft was still about 5,000 lb. over its target weight (AW&ST May 21, p. 43). Removing a layer of redundancy from the vehicle’s systems has produced a stripped-down “zero-base” Orion design, to which the team is now judiciously adding systems back.
