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.
International Launch Services (ILS) has chosen April 29 as the date to launch SES Americom's AMC-9 communications satellite from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the company announced April 29. The Proton K launch vehicle will use a Breeze M upper stage, rather than a Block DM as was originally planned. The switch is the result of the Block DM failure during a Proton launch last November that left the Astra 1K satellite stranded in the wrong orbit (DAILY, Nov. 27, 2002).
The U.S. Air Force expects to receive a unique certificate from the FAA later this year that will authorize high-altitude flights of the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) anywhere in the country. Based at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., the Global Hawk currently operates under an FAA certificate of authorization (COA) that applies only to the FAA's Western-Pacific region. Each of the FAA's nine regions has a somewhat different COA process, and obtaining a COA can take 30-60 days.
Northrop Grumman and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS) Co.'s joint effort to market a European version of the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is on hold due to the deployment of Global Hawk personnel and equipment for the war in Iraq, according to Northrop Grumman.
