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 remove the Protuberance Air Load ramp from the space shuttle's external tank before its next flight, according to Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier. The PAL ramp is a large area of foam designed to deflect winds away from a cable tray that runs along the external tank. A large piece of foam debris broke loose from the PAL ramp during Discovery's launch in July, shocking NASA engineers who thought they had eliminated sources of dangerous foam debris in the wake of the Columbia disaster.
The Pentagon once again has certified the over-budget Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) High program and is moving forward with a new plan that would keep prime contractor Lockheed Martin but shift some funds to explore alternative technologies in the event that satellites under development experience further problems.
The defense acquisition reform panel led by retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Ron Kadish released the executive summary of its final report Dec. 14, with Kadish warning that its findings should not be used as a justification to reduce the Defense Department's budget. "We're not at all suggesting that if you take these recommendations you can take X-billion dollars out of the department's budget," Kadish said during a public meeting in Arlington, Va. "If that occurs, we have failed in reducing instability."
