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.
National defense and homeland security requirements in the wake of Sept. 11 are helping shape the government's interagency effort to increase the capacity of America's air traffic management (ATM) system, according to various participants.
The General Accounting Office (GAO) is recommending that the defense secretary direct the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program office to ensure that international supplier planning takes full account of the possible risks of transferring technology out of the United States. A large number of export authorizations must be processed to ensure that prospective suppliers from the eight international JSF partner countries have the opportunity to compete for key contracts and subcontracts on schedule, the GAO said in a report released July 21.
A July 21 panel of space industry experts agreed that NASA's Orbital Space Plane (OSP) must be capable of evolving beyond only serving the needs of the International Space Station (ISS) if it is to be a worthwhile and sustainable investment. The OSP is intended to provide crew return from the ISS as early as 2008, and crew transfer up to orbit shortly thereafter. NASA has offered an OSP cost estimate of $2.4 billion for FY '03 to FY '07, although the agency has said that number is a placeholder and will be revised as development progresses.
