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.
Following the recent selection of the metal beryllium as its primary mirror material, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) program has established its baseline telescope architecture and is well positioned for its system requirements review (SRR) in December, according to Project Manager Phil Sabelhaus.
The U.S. Army is developing a number of new technologies to protect ground vehicles against rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), including airbags, interceptors, and even electromagnetic fields that would vaporize incoming rockets. Plentiful and inexpensive, RPGs pose a serious threat to light vehicles such as Humvees and trucks, particularly in urban areas. Fatal RPG attacks on U.S. convoys in Iraq occurred as recently as late last month.
NASA plans to issue a request for proposals for the Orbital Space Plane (OSP) by about December, and likely will award a contract next summer, aerospace agency Administrator Sean O'Keefe said Sept. 11. In a roundtable with reporters, O'Keefe said the program's level two requirements have just been completed and industry officials will be briefed on them in "the next couple of months."
