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.
A report released Oct. 1 by the General Accounting Office (GAO) says government efforts for dealing with bioterrorism are too fragmented, and contingency planning at the state and local level is insufficient to address the threat. Several federal agencies, including the departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, and Defense, have roles to play in responding to a bioterrorist attack against U.S. citizens, the report says.
Spacehab, Inc. and RSC Energia are still awaiting an answer from NASA on whether the space agency is interested in purchasing a "package deal" for both extra habitation and crew return capability for the International Space Station (ISS). The deal would allow the use of the companies' multipurpose "Enterprise" commercial module as living quarters for three more crewmembers - bringing the total ISS crew to six - as well as an additional Soyuz vehicle for crew return.
Filling an operational gap cited in the Defense Department's 2001 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) roadmap, the Army has awarded contracts for the development of signals intelligence (SIGINT) payloads compact enough to be flown on small UAVs. Although it has been widely recognized in the military that long-endurance UAVs are tailor-made for SIGINT missions, little work has yet been done to exploit them in this role, according to the DOD roadmap (DAILY, Sept. 18).
