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.
NASA has decided to fly shuttle Discovery on its next mission without modifying the ice/frost ramp on the shuttle's external tank, which engineers have targeted as the next area of concern for foam debris shedding. The ice/frost ramps are ice-preventing buildups of foam that cover metal brackets connecting pressurization lines to the external tank. There are 34 ice/frost ramps on the tank - 12 on the liquid oxygen tank, 16 on the liquid hydrogen tank, and six on the inter-tank area.
The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet team is negotiating with the U.S. Navy about funding a number of targeting improvements that will take fuller advantage of the aircraft's new APG-79 radar and reduce engagement times to a minute or less, according to Boeing.
Senate lawmakers questioned NASA Administrator Michael Griffin on April 26 about unspent funds at the agency left over from previous fiscal years, which Griffin said were all slated to be spent on congressionally approved projects.
