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.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) of Japan plans to begin offering commercial launches on its H-IIA rocket starting in 2007, according to Shoichiro Asada, the company's director of H-IIA launch services. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) currently delegates responsibility for managing H-IIA flights to Rocket System Corp., a consortium led by MHI. The eighth, ninth and 10th flights for the H-IIA are expected by the end of the year, according to Asada. Sole responsibility
Dave Ryan, head of Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS), predicts an upsurge in orders for commercial communications satellites toward the end of the decade, driven largely by replacement orders as current satellites are retired. The commercial satellite world still suffers from overcapacity in orbit, which has limited orders for new spacecraft to 15 or 16 per year. Ryan said he thinks that number could bounce back to the level of the late 1990s, roughly 20 to 30 new spacecraft per year, by 2007-2009.
International Launch Services (ILS), which has taken the lead in the commercial launch market while chief competitor Arianespace has grappled with technical problems on its Ariane 5 ECA, expects the market to "even out" again in the coming years as competition heats up, according to ILS President Mark Albrecht.
