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.
The X-31 experimental test plane has come out of retirement at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., as part of a program to demonstrate innovative new takeoff and landing techniques that could significantly reduce stress on future aircraft. The Vectoring Extremely Short Take-Off and Landing Control Tailless Operation Research (VECTOR) program is a joint U.S./German test program which uses thrust vectoring - controlling the direction of engine exhaust - to develop extremely short takeoff and landing (ESTOL) capabilities.
New Skies Satellites N.V. has signed a contract with Boeing Satellite Systems, Inc. (BSS) to build its NSS-8 satellite to service the Americas, the companies announced Wednesday. The contract, reported to be worth up to $500 million, includes options for up to two follow-on spacecraft. New Skies already has five other satellites in geosynchronous orbit. Launch of NSS-8 is slated for the third quarter of 2003.
The U.S. armed forces must learn to rely on the commercial satellite industry if they expect to preserve information superiority into the 21st century, a panel of military communications experts said yesterday in Washington, DC. "Connectivity will have to be ubiquitous," said Brigadier General Michael R. Mazzuchi, director of U.S. Army CECOM Systems Management Center. Any shortfalls must be filled by industry, he said.
