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 Defense Department's fiscal 2007 budget request for research and development (R&D) is $74 billion, according to White House Science Adviser John Marburger, which is more than half of the government's entire R&D request for the year.
Undersecretary of the Air Force Ronald Sega is "hopeful" that the Defense Department's formal recommendation on the proposed United Launch Alliance (ULA) merger will be given to the Federal Trade Commission within a month. FTC then will make the final decision on ULA, which would merge production of Lockheed Martin's Atlas and Boeing's Delta rocket fleets while still maintaining two distinct families of vehicles. DOD's recommendation is expected to play a crucial role in FTC's ruling.
The House Science Committee is likely to hold a hearing on NASA's restructured aeronautics program, according to Chief of Staff David Goldston, amid concerns over the agency's shrinking aeronautics budget request. NASA's FY '07 request for aeronautics is $724 million, an 18 percent decrease from the FY '06 budget. The topline includes $447.2 million for fundamental aeronautics, $102.2 million for aviation safety, $120 million for airspace systems and $55 million to preserve the agency's wind tunnels.
