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.
Bigelow Aerospace still is drawing up the rules that will govern the $50 million "America's Space Prize" competition, according to Bigelow corporate counsel Michael Gold. Announced last month, the prize will be awarded to the first private team that sends astronauts to low-Earth orbit before the end of the decade. Former hotel entrepreneur and Bigelow Aerospace founder Robert Bigelow is putting up half of the $25 million purse himself, and is seeking sponsors to cover the rest.
Lessons and technology from Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne are being applied to the supersonic manned aircraft the company is developing for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) RASCAL program, according to Jacob Lopata, chief executive officer for RASCAL prime contractor Space Launch Corp.
The steering problem that first began affecting NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit on Oct. 1 continues to puzzle mission controllers, occurring intermittently as the team attempts to drive the rover from rock to rock.
