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.
Impacts from micrometeoroids and orbital debris represent a "high safety risk" to the International Space Station (ISS) and its crew, according to a report from a congressionally mandated task force. While the ISS is a "robust and sound program" in terms of safety, the risk of a micrometeoroid or orbital debris (MMOD) impact penetrating the outpost during the decade after its completion is 55 percent, with a 9 percent chance of a catastrophic hit, according to the ISS Independent Safety Task Force (IISTF).
NASA has added an unmanned orbital flight of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) in March 2013 to gather additional data prior to the first manned Orion flight scheduled for that October. "We wanted to insert an unmanned orbital flight before we put humans onboard," Exploration Launch Manager Steve Cook told The DAILY, Feb. 27. The Orion will be boosted to orbit by the Ares I - a modified five-segment space shuttle solid rocket booster.
In the wake of the White House's recently unveiled aeronautics research policy, NASA and the Department of Defense (DOD) have agreed to develop a cooperative strategy for maintaining the government's aeronautical test facilities. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin and Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Kenneth Krieg signed a memorandum of agreement (MOU), called the National Partnership for Aeronautical Testing (NPAT), in January.
