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.
Space shuttle managers say July 26 is the earliest possible date for Discovery's launch as they continue to grapple with an elusive problem that is causing one of the shuttle's four liquid hydrogen fuel sensors to perform erratically. NASA has 12 troubleshooting teams analyzing the sensor issue, which caused the agency to scrub Discovery's first launch attempt on July 13. The sensor, which sends a signal to turn off the main engines if fuel in the external tank gets too low, occasionally has been showing false "wet" readings.
International Space Station prime contractor Boeing is brainstorming a list of possible experiments for astronauts to perform onboard the station that will help NASA plan for long-duration space voyages to the moon and Mars. "A big thrust on the station right now is to make it a testbed for exploration," said John Elbon, Boeing's vice president in charge of the ISS. Former astronaut Rich Clifford is leading the team at Boeing that is coming up with ideas, Elbon said.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - The launch of Space Shuttle Discovery will be postponed until next week at the earliest as NASA attempts to fix the faulty liquid hydrogen fuel sensor that caused the agency to scrub its July 13 launch attempt.
