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 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.
The Bush administration is threatening to veto the Senate's fiscal 2008 Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill, which includes the budgets for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), because the overall bill contains $3.2 billion in funding above the White House's request.
The Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle is finally nearing its weight targets, with the design team taking a bottoms up approach to trimming weight, informed by new thinking about redundancy in safety and mission-critical systems, according to NASA Project Manager Skip Hatfield. Going into its most recent round of redesigns, the Lockheed Martin-built spacecraft was still about 5,000 pounds over its target weight of 25 tons. That target provides a 25 percent margin for growth allowances and management reserve (DAILY, May 21).
