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.
Long-endurance, high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) like the solar-powered Helios could have a major role to play in future humanitarian relief efforts around the globe, according to NASA. The technological descendants of Helios, which set a non-rocket-powered altitude record last year (DAILY, Aug. 15, 2001), will eventually be able to loiter at high altitudes for up to six months at a time, according to Helios Project Manager John Del Frate. He said that would make them ideal telecommunications nodes.
El Al Israel Airlines has selected Sanctum Inc.'s AppShield 3.1 firewall software to enhance the security of the company's Internet-based data and operations, Sanctum announced Jan. 14. Particularly since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, El Al is taking very seriously any illegal access to data or transactions through the company's website, according to David Yaacobi, the airline's manager of information systems security.
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center will be proposing a follow-on program to the Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program, the unmanned aerial vehicle development work that has resulted in the Helios and Pathfinder UAVs, among others.
