Pasadena, Calif. – Space Exploration Technologies ( SpaceX ) is negotiating with the FAA to allow the Grasshopper reusable launch test vehicle to fly at higher altitudes as part of a planned series of launch and landing evaluations.
If Congress fails to block a looming government-wide budget cut, the Pentagon will lose $54.7 billion and NASA about $1.7 billion, the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a report delivered to Congress Sept. 14. The cuts amount to a 9.4% cut to defense accounts and an 8.2% cut to other domestic discretionary programs, including NASA. The penalty known as sequestration was put in place last year by a bill designed to spur lawmakers to reduce the federal deficit by $1.2 trillion.
Berlin – Germany is expected to make a multibillion euro decision in the coming years on whether to continue with the Medium-Extended Area Defense System (Meads) or shift to a Patriot-based upgrade plan to modernize its air defense capability.
AEGIS UPGRADE: Lockheed Martin Mission Systems & Sensors has been awarded a $58,102,467 contract modification to support fielding Aegis modernization capabilities to the U.S. Navy fleet, the Pentagon said Sept. 14. The contract includes funding for the production of a fiscal year 2012 multi-mission signal processor equipment set, two ballistic missile defense 4.0.1 equipment sets, and one upgraded Aegis weapon system equipment set. The work is expected to be completed by December 2014. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington D.C., is the contracting activity.
Contractors hoping to cash in on NASA ’s plans to buy seats for its astronauts on commercial crew vehicles bound to the International Space Station will have to convince the space agency that their spacecraft are safe as they work to finish developing them.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) sept. 17 - 18 — International Aerospace Symposium of South Africa, The Royal Elephant Hotel & Conference Center, Bondev Park, Centurion. For more information go to www.iassa.org.za
Stephen Squyres, Chairman of the NASA Advisory Council, stressed the importance of equally funding the Orion/Space Launch System (SLS) project as well as the current Curiosity mission on Mars and potential future red planet missions during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee hearing on Sept. 12. “I would sincerely hope it is not an either/or proposition,” said Squyres.
Pasadena, Calif. – A prototype vertical takeoff and landing suborbital launch vehicle under development by Masten Space crashed Sept. 11 during a flight test at Mojave, Calif.
ST. LOUIS – The U.S. Navy is always searching for a way to clear the water and beachfronts of mines with as little risk as possible to sailors or Marines. Now a Boeing proposal to employ some of the company’s latest missile-guidance technology may help the service move closer to that goal.
WASHINGTON – The earlier phases of the proposed U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) plan to protect European allies through the European Phased Adaptive Approach ( EPAA ) should work if the right technology is in place, says a recent report by the National Research Council. However, the NRC report raises flags about the final phase.
Aerospace & Defense Programs November 6-7, 2012 Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, Phoenix, Ariz. Join top defense leaders for discussions on complexity, lessons learned, and affordability aimed at improving program performance! Aerospace & Defense Programs is the industry’s leading event for leaders in the areas of program management, engineering/ technology, supply chain (and associated areas), life-cycle management, and strategic planning.
Click here to view the pdf Fiscal 2013 Defense Senate Appropriations Markup: Changes to RDT&E Lines: Defense-wide, Army, Navy, Air Force ($ in thousands) Fiscal 2013 Defense Senate Appropriations Markup: Changes to RDT&E Lines: Defense-wide, Army, Navy, Air Force ($ in thousands)
CLASSIFIED PAYLOAD: A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 launched NROL-36, a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., Thursday at 2:39 p.m. PDT. As is typical of classified missions, there was only limited comment about the success of the ascent or the health of the payload. The only confirmation was success through the payload fairing separation. The launcher included a 4-meter fairing, no solid rocket boosters and a single Centaur upper stage.
The National Research Council ( NRC ) calls for the U.S. to stop investing in the Precision Tracking and Surveillance System (PTSS) for ballistic missile defense ( BMD ) in a recent report. “MDA should terminate the PTSS unless a more convincing case can be made for its efficacy for the mission that it is supposed to carry out,” says the report, “Making Sense of Ballistic Missile Defense : An Assessment of Concepts and Systems for U.S. Boost-Phase Missile Defense in Comparison to Other Alternatives,” released Sept. 11.
As CEO of EADS, Louis Gallois was repeatedly rebuffed by his board when he sought to acquire U.S. defense companies. Less than four months after Gallois’ retirement, a single deal could finally make EADS a top supplier to the Pentagon, and in the process create the largest aerospace and defense (A&D) company ever.
Houston – Japan’s third H-II Transfer Vehicle departed the International Space Station on Sept. 12 following a seven-week stay. NASA and Japanese astronauts Joe Acaba and Akihiko Hoshide unberthed the 32-ft.-long spacecraft from the station’s U.S. segment Harmony module using the Canadian robot arm shortly before 7 a.m. EDT. The capsule was released at 11:50 a.m. EDT .
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is a day away from finishing its thoroughgoing checkout period, and soon will begin driving in search of a good rock to touch with its robotic arm and analyze. Performance of the rover’s Canadian-built alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) has checked out on a sample target of polished basalt from Earth that is mounted on the rover’s deck. Plans call for Curiosity to set off Friday in search of a piece of Mars basalt to reach out and touch with the APXS sensor on the end of the rover’s robotic arm.
The high-profile military exercise Austere Challenge 12 – initially scheduled for April but postponed as Israel and the U.S. mulled Iran and their own relations – is now rescheduled for October. Although there seems to be a considerable reduction of U.S. military manpower taking part in the exercise in Israel, “Austere Challenge-12 remains the largest-ever ballistic missile defense exercise between our nations and a significant increase from the previous event in 2009,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Jack Miller, a Pentagon spokesman.
