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.
Although the typical operating altitude of the Defense Dept.'s hand-launched Raven unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is roughly 300 ft., if the mission demands it, soldiers and Marines flying the system in Iraq sometimes choose to cruise a little lower--or in some cases, a lot lower.
If the decision is made to reinstate the climate sensors cut from the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) back onto the second, third or fourth spacecraft, it shouldn't add cost or risk to the program, according to prime contractor Northrop Grumman. The suite of sensors to be carried on the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) pathfinder spacecraft in 2009 and on the first NPOESS spacecraft in 2013 already have been finalized, Northrop spokeswoman Sally Koris said, so adding sensors to those would add cost.
Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee, anticipates that the proposed European missile defense site will be a "contentious issue" when the Senate and House eventually confer on a final fiscal 2008 defense authorization.
