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.
NASA and industry partners Boeing Rocketdyne and Pratt&Whitney/Aerojet are already developing prototype engines in support of the next-generation reusable launch vehicle (RLV), although the final configuration of the vehicle itself won't be decided until 2006. The two prototype engines, which are being developed under NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI), are Pratt&Whitney/Aerojet's COBRA (Co-optimized Booster for Reusable Applications - see photo, page 2), and Boeing Rocketdyne's RS-83.
The use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products in military systems has its share of advantages and pitfalls, according to a panel of Navy and industry experts at the second annual Naval-Industry R&D Partnership Conference in Washington Aug. 14. A key issue for using COTS products is the choice of whether or not to adapt them to military requirements, which are often more stringent than those in the commercial world.
A team from NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., is conducting flight tests of a prototype for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that may soar over the landscape of Mars later this decade. The prototype glider, nicknamed "Orville," had its latest test in the skies over Oregon's Tillamook airport August 9, when it was released from a helium balloon at an altitude of 103,000 feet.
