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.
NASA achieved the fastest flight of an air-breathing aircraft March 27 with the second flight attempt of its unmanned X-43A "Hyper-X" demonstrator, which reached speeds above Mach 7, according to the agency. "We can claim an air-breathing powered record today, no doubt about it," NASA Langley Hyper-X propulsion lead Larry Huebner said in a press conference March 27. "Bottom line is, it's time to roll up our sleeves and start looking at some data."
Mojave Airport in California has become the first inland site to file for a commercial spaceport license with the FAA and hopes to receive the license soon, according to airport manager Stu Witt. The license will authorize the operation of runway-launched winged space vehicles rather than vertically launched rockets, according to Witt. "The two concepts which we anticipate our license identifying will be that of Scaled Composites and that of XCOR Aerospace," Witt told The DAILY.
The NATO Response Force (NRF) will serve as a "forcing mechanism" for military transformation within NATO member countries by requiring interoperability between the systems that are contributed to it, according to Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
