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.
The Bush Administration released its long-awaited space transportation policy Jan. 6, which instructs the Department of Defense to retain its "assured access to space" strategy and continue to support Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle providers Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
While NASA is not rushing the space shuttle's return to flight, regaining its cargo capability will be crucial to ensuring that the International Space Station (ISS) won't have to be evacuated, according to Michael Kostelnik, deputy associate administrator for the shuttle and ISS.
After repeated delays late last year due to bad weather, Aurora Flight Sciences plans to conduct the first autonomous in-flight transition to forward flight for its GoldenEye-50 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in mid-January at a private airfield near Manassas, Va., a spokesman told The DAILY. A ducted-fan UAV with wings, the GoldenEye-50 uses thrust vectoring to pitch over into a horizontal orientation and achieve dash speeds up to 100 knots. It is a smaller cousin to the GoldenEye-100, which was designed for speeds up to 160 knots (DAILY, Sept. 11, 2003).