India’s Insat-3D weather satellite is getting ready for liftoff on July 25 from Europe’s spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana. “The satellite has been installed on [an] Ariane 5 launcher for Arianespace’s heavy-lift mission and the final payload integration is under way,” a scientist at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) says. The Indian spacecraft is integrated in the lower payload position for Ariane 5’s dual-launch mission, along with Europe’s Alphasat telecommunications platform.
As the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and federal lawmakers both paint a bull’s-eye this week on the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program, service officials are trying to put the small combat ship in the best light.
Even as the U.S. Navy is spending a good part of this summer investing time and resources in rebuilding its forces abroad, the service also has to keep ships, people and equipment for missions closer to home. The Third Fleet area of operations conducts and supports maritime law enforcement, interdiction and security operations with the U.S. Coast Guard, similar to missions slated for the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), which is making its deployment debut this summer in Singapore.
A private company plans to mount the first commercial mission to the Moon as a step toward a private lunar sample return flight around 2020. Moon Express, Inc., a strong contender in the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize competition, says it will mount a follow-on mission to the Moon’s South Pole in partnership with the International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA), one of the piggyback customers for its X-Prize entry.
JAMMER PROTEST: BAE Systems filed a protest July 18 of the $279.4 million contract the U.S. Navy awarded Raytheon to develop the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) pod to replace the ALQ-99 tactical jamming system now carried by the EA-18G Growler. NGJ is planned to become operational in 2020. A Northrop Grumman/ITT Exelis team also bid for and lost the program. The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s decision on the protest is due by Oct. 28.
U.S. partners and allies in the Asia-Pacific region are about to embark on a spending spree for military purchases and research and development (R&D), according to an Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) analysis of data provided by Avascent Analytics.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) aug. 11 - 15 — AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, Hilton Head, S.C. For more information go to www.aiaa.org/EventDetail.aspx?id=13178 aug. 11 - 15 — AIAA Aerospace Sciences, Flight Sciences and Information Systems Event, Boston, Mass. For more information go to www.aiaa.org/Boston2013
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V lifted off July 19, carrying the second of the U.S. Navy’s new narrowband communications satellites. Liftoff occurred at 9:00 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite, made by Lockheed Martin, was lofted from an Atlas V 551, meaning it used a 5-meter fairing and five strap-on solid-rocket boosters. A 44-min. launch window opened at 8:48 a.m. EDT, but the launch was put on hold temporarily due to high upper-level winds.
ASPEN, Colo. — National Security Agency (NSA) Director Gen. Keith Alexander says the U.S. Intelligence community has “concrete proof” that terrorists are making changes in how they communicate, following the secret surveillance programs revealed by a rogue former NSA contractor.
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To better cushion itself from the financial blow of sequestration, the U.S. Navy is officially seeking reprogramming authority from Congress to shift certain funds, and also plans to scrutinize its major contracts line by line looking for immediate savings, says Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations (CNO.)
TEL AVIV — Under a veil of secrecy, Israel test-fired a ballistic missile believed to be an improved version of the nuclear-capable Jericho III on July 12. Israeli defense sources say that the test was “highly successful.” The missile was launched from the missile test center at Palmachim Air Force base, south of Tel Aviv, into an unknown range westbound, and landed in the Mediterranean. The launch of the heavy missile was clearly visible throughout Israel’s southern Mediterranean coast.
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The U.S. Army is still considering going forward with the Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) program, aimed at replacing the aging OH-58 Kiowa Warrior, with a variant of an off-the-shelf design, the service’s top procurement officer said July 18.
Orbital Sciences Corp. reported a drop in revenue for the second quarter of this year — $333.1 million as compared to $371.3 million in the second quarter of 2012.
The U.S. Army did not properly scrutinize some parts purchases for the CH-47F Chinook helicopter, allowing manufacturer Boeing to overcharge for some items, according to the Pentagon Inspector General (IG).
ELECTROSPRAY PROPULSION: Three organizations may get a chance to fly their electrospray microthrusters on a future orbiting testbed, following their selection for “game-changing” development grants from NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. Picked to negotiate for grants are projects proposed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Busek Company, Inc., of Natick, Mass., and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
