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.
Although FAA has made progress recently in managing its troubled air traffic control acquisition programs, challenges remain for the agency as it seeks to keep pace with projected demand, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. FAA has spent $43.5 billion on airspace modernization since the early 1980s and plans to spend nearly another $10 billion through fiscal 2009. The effort has suffered from cost, schedule and performance problems and has been on GAO's list of high-risk programs since 1995, the report says.
ITT Night Vision and Northrop Grumman both submitted proposals July 11 for the Army's Omnibus VII night vision goggle procurement, which provides for up to 360,000 new goggles. The Army has purchased NVGs in large "omnibus" procurements since the 1980s. Omnibus VII will be the biggest yet, according to Larry Curfiss, ITT Night Vision's vice president and director of business development. An award is expected by September.
Despite worries about Hurricane Dennis as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico toward landfall in the U.S., NASA on July 8 decided not to roll shuttle Discovery back from the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center. Shuttle managers feared they might have to roll Discovery back into the safety of the Vehicle Assembly Building when Dennis began drifting eastward toward KSC on July 7. NASA's rules dictate that the orbiter be rolled back if sustained winds at the launch pad could exceed 69 mph.
