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.
After a successful series of automatic collision avoidance flight tests, NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) team is turning its attention to other projects that could help get unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) accepted into the national airspace. The recent flight tests used Scaled Composites' Proteus as a UAV stand-in, as well as a variety of other manned aircraft flying simulated collision courses over Las Cruces, N.M. (DAILY, March 13).
The ongoing delay in raising NASA's newest Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) to its operational orbit is unlikely to affect the operation of the TDRS constellation, according to NASA. Satellite manufacturer Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS), which still owns the satellite, is working on raising TRDS-I to its operational geosynchronous orbit, after detecting a pressure problem in one of the spacecraft's four propellant tanks that could jeopardize its operational life (DAILY, March 25).
Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS) is working on a plan to get the company's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-I (TDRS-I) to its operational geosynchronous orbit, after detecting a problem with one of the spacecraft's four propellant tanks. Although there is enough propellant in the other tanks to raise the orbit, if the problem isn't solved it could jeopardize the operational life of the satellite, according to Boeing spokesman George Torres.
