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.
Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta on Feb. 10 announced draft safety guidelines for space tourism that would require spacecraft operators to obtain informed consent from passengers, who would undergo medical examinations to ensure their fitness for space travel. "Our guidelines say that operators who want to take passengers into space must clearly lay out the risks and must obtain informed consent from space flight participants before they fly," Mineta said at the FAA's 8th Annual Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington.
The Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory is working on several initiatives to upgrade the Dragon Eye unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), including improving its sensors, endurance and communications.
The Defense Department's total spending on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in fiscal year 2006 is likely to stay at roughly the same level as FY '05, according to Dyke Weatherington, head of the Pentagon's UAV Task Force. President Bush's FY '06 budget request for DOD includes between $1.7 billion and $2 billion for UAVs, according to Weatherington. Precisely calculating the total UAV request takes time after the budget is released because the services tend to "bury" some of their UAV funding, Weatherington said.
