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.
Next week, NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center plans to fly the first operational mission of its Ikhana unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), mapping wildfires in the western U.S. using an infrared scanner built by Ames Research Center. The team plans a checkout flight on or around Aug. 4, then its first 24-hour fire mission Aug. 9, flying at 23,000 feet over as many as a dozen of the many fires that rage on in the western states at any given time during the fire season.
Tommy Holloway, chair of the International Space Station (ISS) Safety Task Force and former ISS manager for NASA, told House lawmakers July 24 that he doubts the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program can make up for a "substantial part" of the projected ISS logistics shortfall in the crucial first few years after the space shuttle's 2010 retirement.
Associate Administrator for Space Operations William Gerstenmaier says NASA has taken extra steps to ensure that the ongoing strike by roughly 570 space shuttle workers at Kennedy Space Center is having no impact on safety. "We've made sure that we are processing the vehicles in a safe manner," he told Congress July 24. NASA has provided more insight and oversight during "critical activities" in shuttle processing, particularly for operations inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), and brought in more safety inspectors, he said.
