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.
Thales Alenia Space has delivered its first trio of Globalstar second-generation communication satellites and is set to deliver a second group of three by the end of the month. The six spacecraft are scheduled to be launched to low Earth orbit in October on a Soyuz rocket. The company is under contract to build 48 of these satellites, each weighing 700 kg. and generating 1.7 kw. of power. They are equipped with 16 C- and S- band transponders and are expected to have a 15-year operational life.
The U.S. spends about $4 million each year searching for near-Earth objects (NEOs), according to a new National Academies report, but this is insufficient to detect the majority of NEOs that may present a tangible threat to humanity. The majority of this funding supports the operation of several observatories that scan the sky searching for NEOs. “Impacts on Earth by near-Earth objects are inevitable,” the report says.
CSAR SHOWDOWN: Boeing has provided two responses to the U.S. Air Force’s request for information (RFI) on the HH-60 Personnel Recovery Recapitalization program, which aims to replace aging Pave Hawk helicopters used by the service for combat search and rescue (CSAR). One response, sent by Boeing alone, proposes a variant of the H-47 Chinook, which won an earlier, ill-fated CSAR replacement effort that was ultimately terminated after a series of bid protests. The second RFI response, sent in partnership with Bell Helicopter, proposes the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor.
