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.
Programs that have been certified under the Nunn-McCurdy Act won't be immune to termination if they subsequently fail to perform to expectations, according to Defense Department acquisition chief Edward C. "Pete" Aldridge. "From now on, a program must perform to survive," Aldridge said APril 24 during a keynote speech at the Global Air&Space 2002 symposium in Virginia. "Even after the certification ... if I see that the programs are failing, we will not hesitate to withdraw the certification and proceed on with program termination."
Despite recent incremental progress made in reducing the cost of launching to low-Earth orbit by programs such as the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV), driving costs down further must remain a top priority for U.S. aerospace, according to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.). Rohrabacher, who has served in Congress for 14 years, is in his last year as chairman of the House Science Committee's Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee.
NASA's Aqua satellite, which is in final preparations for launch next week, eventually could help weather forecasters extend their forecasts out to seven to 10 days, according to NASA. "We have five major weather forecasting operations around the world that now, on their own nickel, have set up shop to take the data from Aqua during its commissioning phase ... to help demonstrate the utility of the Aqua data," Ghassem R. Asrar, associate administrator for earth science at NASA Headquarters, said during an April 22 press briefing in Washington.
