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.
The U.S. Army is finalizing its program objective memorandum (POM) budget estimate for fiscal years 2008 through 2013, which by Thanksgiving should begin its final round of Pentagon vetting before the Defense Department budget submission goes to the White House next month.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has shifted $126.2 million in internal funding to help pay for a program restructuring and additional testing for the Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) Block 6 test satellite program. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for STSS, a planned constellation of satellites for tracking missiles and re-entry vehicles through the boost, midcourse and terminal phases of flight. STSS previously was known as the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Low, an Air Force-led program that was shelved in the late 1990s.
A new report from the Space Foundation pegs the global space industry at $180 billion for 2005, including $110 billion in commercial activity and $70 billion in civil government and military space. "This industry is much, much larger than most people think it is," Space Foundation President and CEO Elliot Pulham said during a conference call Nov. 14. "Space is not a little, interesting niche market... It's actually a very large and important industry."
