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.
International Launch Services (ILS) will orbit three Inmarsat-5 satellites aboard Proton vehicles launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in 2013-14. Based on Boeing's 702HP bus, the three Ka-band satellites will support Inmarsat's Global Xpress mobile broadband service. Inmarsat is investing $1.2 billion in the Global Xpress program, including launch costs. ILS also launched Inmarsat's most recent satellite, the third Inmarsat-4, from Baikonur in August 2008.
NASA has found “circumstantial evidence” of liquid water flowing on the surface of Mars at its southern mid-latitudes during the planet’s warmer spring and summer months. Images from the agency’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) show dark features appearing and extending down steep slopes during the planet’s late spring and summer, fading in winter, and returning the following spring.
NEW THRUST: Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) plans to formally announce development of a new “super high-efficiency, staged-combustion engine” by the end of the year or early next year, according to Elon Musk, the company’s founder and chief technical officer. “We want to make sure we have all our ducks in a row before we make that announcement,” Musk said Aug. 1 at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Joint Propulsion conference in San Diego.
