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.
Despite uncertain funding, NASA's aeronautics directorate hopes to fly a high-altitude unmanned aircraft by 2009 that is capable of staying aloft for 14 straight days without refueling. Although the budget is not yet in place to proceed to full-scale development, NASA engineers are hopeful they can sell agency leaders on the value of the aircraft as a means of studying hurricanes as they develop, according to Rich Wlezien, division director for vehicle systems at NASA headquarters.
By June 6 the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to release a request for proposals for the Oblique Flying Wing (OFW) advanced technology demonstration program. "The goal of the OFW program is to expand the design space for future aircraft concepts, particularly for those missions that demand both supersonic speed and long endurance," DARPA said. The program will build a supersonic, tailless X-plane demonstrator.
NASA is considering testing a free-floating camera for future inspections of the space shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) in orbit. Developed at Johnson Space Center in Houston, the Miniature Autonomous Extravehicular Robotic Camera (Mini AERCam) is a free-flying robotic inspection vehicle derived from the AERCam free flyer that flew as an experiment aboard the shuttle in 1997. The spherical Mini AERCam is 7.5 inches across and weighs about 10 pounds.
