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.
To overcome the challenges of maintaining continuous real-time satellite communications with hypersonic vehicles, the DARPA/Air Force FALCON (Force Application and Launch from the Continental U.S.) program is planning a communications demo for the second of its three hypersonic test vehicles.
Raytheon is gearing up to begin work on a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program that will further develop nonmechanical laser beam control technology originally created for the agency's Steered Agile Beam (STAB) effort. DARPA released a request for information for the program, dubbed APPLE (Adaptive Photonic Phase Locked Elements), in December and decided to award a sole-source contract to STAB prime contractor Raytheon. APPLE will focus on space-to-ground laser control.
NASA conducted a second fueling test of the shuttle Discovery at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on May 20, once again encountering an anomaly with a pressurization relief valve that opens and closes to ensure that the shuttle's liquid hydrogen fuel remains at the right temperature. During both the prior test on April 14 and the May 20 test, the valve cycled 13 times, compared with a more normal eight or nine times. Thirteen cycles does not violate the shuttle's launch commit criteria, but it is "out of family," according to shuttle officials.
