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.
CHECKING OUT: Orbital checkout is under way for the U.S. Air Force’s second Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) spacecraft, which was launched successfully from Cape Canaveral, Fla., April 3. Built by Boeing at its factory in El Segundo, Calif., WGS-2 lifted off at 8:31 p.m. EDT aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 421 rocket. A ground station in Dongara, Australia, received the military communication satellite’s first signals 44 minutes later, and Boeing has confirmed that the satellite is functioning normally.
NASA is seeking information from potential industry partners interested in building a follow-on to the agency’s Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat). Targeted for launch in 2014, ICESat-2 would continue the measurements taken by ICESat, which was orbited in 2003 to measure the Earth’s polar ice mass. Ball Aerospace built the original spacecraft.
A team consisting of Atlas V rocket prime United Launch Alliance, ILC Dover of Delaware and NASA has completed preliminary design of an inflatable sun shield for the Atlas intended to prevent supercooled fuel in the rocket’s upper stage from boiling off.
