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.
Pressing operational requirements in the field are causing future Army information technology (IT) initiatives to be cut and delayed, which could jeopardize the service's future integrated IT vision, according to a top Army IT official.
SES Global has split awards for two new spacecraft, contracting NSS-9, intended for its New Skies affiliate, to Orbital Sciences Corp. and Astra 3b to EADS Astrium. NSS-9, a 2.2-metric-ton, 2.3-kw. spacecraft with 28 active C-band transponders, will be launched to 183 deg. E. Long. in 2008, permitting NSS-5 to be moved to an as-yet undisclosed orbital slot. The satellite will have three flexible beams serving the Western and Eastern Hemispheres and the entire visible planet, in line with New Skies' role as SES's third pillar, alongside Astra and Americom.
ICO Global Communications has requested that the Federal Communications Commission grant it a six-month extension for the construction and launch of ICO's planned hybrid mobile satellite system, because of production/delivery issues encountered by the spacecraft manufacturer, Space Systems/Loral. The extension would move launch from July 1, 2007, to Nov. 30, 2007, and the in-service date from July 17, 2007, to Dec. 31, 2007.
