HOUSTON — A challenging weather outlook loomed as SpaceX readied its fourth Commercial Resupply Mission to the International Space Station (ISS) for a liftoff early Sept. 20. The flight will kick off a busy six weeks aboard the orbiting science laboratory, as well as another opportunity for Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX to advance its Falcon 9 first-stage reuse strategy.
LONDON — Scotland looks set to remain the home of the U.K.’s nuclear deterrent after voters decided to remain part of the U.K. A record number of voters – around 84.5% of the electorate – turned out for the Sept. 18 referendum, with 55% of the vote, just more than 2 million people, answering no to the question of whether Scotland should be an independent country.
Satellite communications provider Globalstar and its partner ADS-B Technologies have successfully completed what Globalstar says is the most rigorous demonstration to date of dual-link, space-based automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) services.
LONDON — Norwegian defense company Kongsberg has been contracted by the U.S. Navy to test-fire its Naval Strike Missile (NSM) from a Littoral Combat Ship. The weapon tests will be funded under the Foreign Comparative Testing program, and have been requested by the Navy to prove the weapon can engage a surface target at ranges of out to 100 nm.
HOUSTON – NASA faces challenging cost, sustainability and utilization issues as it strives to extend operations of the six-person International Space Station (ISS) from 2020 to 2024, an Inspector General’s audit says. The audit foresees higher-than-projected annual operating expenses, a decline in solar power availability aggravated by a gap in the ability to launch large critical spare parts, and troubles with ranking research priorities and encouraging outside experiments. The space
The Netherlands has decided to reverse its decline in defense spending, spurred on by unrest in the Ukraine and the Middle East and the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, with the loss of 196 Dutch citizens. Officials are initially increasing the budget by €300 million ($385 million) until 2017 and then by €100 million after that.
TEL AVIV — Israel’s Ministry of Defense has scrapped a potential sale of unmanned aerial vehicles to Ukraine. Growing interest from Kiev in Israeli UAVs has focused on systems that several former Russian republics have already purchased. However, due to the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine, and potential reaction from Russia, the Israelis opted to block the sale. Israeli UAVs participated in the Georgian crisis in 2008.
The Virginia-class submarine SSN 785 John Warner was launched recently into the James River at the Newport News’ Shipbuilding division in Virginia, kicking off the final outfitting, testing and crew certification phase of its construction prior to sea trials next year. The John Warner will be the sixth Virginia-class submarine to be delivered to the U.S. Navy by Newport News. Since construction began in 2010, nearly 4,000 shipbuilders have worked on Warner.
Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 4, the USS Coronado, recently completed firing exercises against representative fast-attack craft using the ship’s Mk.110 57-mm gun as part of seaframe developmental testing in conjunction with the Combat System Ship Qualification Trial (CSSQT). The exercises marked the first time an Independence variant LCS fired its core weapon system against a high-speed maneuvering surface target.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) sept. 22-26 — 28th International Symposium on Ballistics, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. For more information go to www.ndia.org/Divisions/Divisions/Ballistics/Pages/default.aspx Sept.
