CSBA SUGGESTIONS: A new report from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments outlines three approaches the Pentagon can take as it trims its budgets in light of deficit-control efforts and August’s Budget Control Act.
SPACE WEATHER: A new forecasting model is allowing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to improve its predictions of space weather events — geomagnetic and solar radiation storms that send streams of charged particles from the Sun’s upper atmosphere — that may interfere with GPS signals and interrupt satellite communications, the agency reports. The new model allows forecasters to narrow the window when spacecraft and other systems might be affected by such storms to 12 hr. The old model was no better than 30 hr.
The future for the U.S. Air Force’s Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS) fleet might not be replacement of the E-3s, or even a new radar, but pairing of the aircraft with UAVs to extend surveillance coverage. The technique is known as bistatic radar, where the transmitter (the AWACS) and the receiver (the UAV) are in different locations.
HOUSTON — A small international astronaut/planetary science team began a weather delayed, 13-day undersea asteroid analog mission on Oct. 20, as the participants descended to the Aquarius habitat below the Atlantic waters off Key Largo, Fla. Heavy rain and rough seas associated with a tropical depression prevented the originally scheduled start of the 15th NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (Neemo) exercise on Oct. 17 (Aerospace DAILY, Oct. 18).
In its zeal to launch more energy-efficient projects, the U.S. Navy ignored pricing and planning laws and policies, the Pentagon Inspector General (IG) says. The service must do a better job of selecting, locating and planning certain projects that intend to generate power using photovoltaic (PV) methods (i.e., solar panels), according to the IG.
BACK ON: The first mission of a Soyuz rocket from its new launch pad at Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana is targeting a liftoff at 6:30 a.m. EDT Oct. 21, after a one-day postponement to address a problem detected with ground equipment during fueling of the Russian rocket’s third stage. The Soyuz is carrying two Galileo navigation satellites.
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), one of the freshmen members of Congress elected on a platform of reining in out-of-control government spending, is one of the top five recipients of campaign contributions from the defense industry. During the 2012 election cycle, Brooks has already raked in $73,970 from defense companies and their political action committees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Once the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan finally wind down and the huge yearly Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) supplemental funding bills end, the services may have trouble funding the repair and modernization of their damaged or aging equipment. The end of OCO requests will save a huge annual sum. The Obama administration requested $118 billion for war funding for fiscal year 2012, down from $159 billion in fiscal 2011.
An International Launch Services (ILS) Proton rocket with a Breeze M upper stage placed ViaSat-1 into its geostationary transfer orbit Wednesday after a mission that lasted 9 hr., 12 min. The Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) spacecraft weighed more than 6.7 metric tons at liftoff, which came at 2:48 p.m. EDT from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Built on the SS/L 1300 bus for Carlsbad, Calif.-based Viasat, Inc., the satellite is designed to deliver total throughput of more than 140 Gbps from its operational position at 115.1 deg. W. Long.
As SPY-1 radar degradation problems on U.S. ships equipped with Aegis combat systems continue to bedevil the Navy brass, Naval Surface Forces leaders are preparing to launch a plan to better maintain the system and monitor its maintenance. Navy officials warned of the degradation problems with SPY-1 radars—as well as the cruisers and destroyers equipped with the Aegis system—last year, and the “casualty reports” (casreps) warning of further maintenance issues have continued to mount.
Both variants of the U.S. Navy’s new Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) are proving their worth, says Rear Adm. James Murdoch, LCS program executive officer, but there’s room for improvement. “We’re confident we’ve got good designs,” Murdoch said during an Oct. 19 briefing with reporters. “The lead ships are pretty good.”
The U.S. Navy is following the Marine Corps and Army in getting interested in unmanned cargo aircraft. A workshop scheduled for Nov. 1-2 in Washington will brief industry on the Office of Naval Research’s (ONR) Autonomous Aerial Cargo/Utility Vehicle (AACUS) innovative naval prototype program, which is planned to begin in fiscal 2012.
Air Combat Command (ACC) officials are planning within two weeks to present findings to U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz on whether the service can save money if it opts for a Goodrich ejection seat, rather than the Martin-Baker seat selected in 2001.
Aerospace & Defense Programs October 24-26, 2011 Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, Phoenix, AZ Strategic Performance, Innovation and Sourcing will focus on government customers — from the initiation of development throughout delivery of product. A&D Programs will bring together these professionals who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to interact and discuss common challenges and issues they face on a daily basis.
ABOARD THE USS WASP — A year ago, the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter was in the doghouse owing to lackluster performance in testing. Now, that has changed. The jets are up, operating and checking off test points. The timing for the turnaround is potentially fortuitous for the project, as only miles inland in Washington, officials overseeing the F-35 development program are trying to defend it from bean counters on the prowl for savings in the defense budget.
NO SPLURGE: Usually the end of the U.S. government’s fiscal year each September brings a gusher of government spending as agencies look to use what has been appropriated lest they get less next time. Not so this year, according to financial analysts Michael Lewis and Michael Smith at Lazard Capital Markets. “We do not believe the year-end ‘budget flush’ was as expeditious as in previous years, which may translate into lower-than-expected bookings for the group as a whole,” they say.
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) says she plans to introduce comprehensive legislation this year to reform the contracting system that has allowed up to $60 billion to be wasted in Afghanistan.
GROUND SEGMENT: NATO on Oct. 18 signed a satellite ground segment contract with Finmeccanica company Selex Elsag. The £37.2 million ($60 million) contract covers the rationalization and upgrade of NATO’s static ground satellite communications facilities, setting up two new multi-antenna satellite ground stations in Belgium and Italy, and the refurbishment of two single-antenna sites in Greece and Turkey. Selex Elsag also will help improve training at the NATO Communications and Information Systems School in Latina, Italy.
A nearly 2-min. burn of the Russian service module thrusters nudged the International Space Station 2 mi. higher on Oct. 19, setting up the orbiting science laboratory for Progress cargo and Soyuz crew transport operations in November. A second maneuver, scheduled for Oct. 26, will complete the phasing and precede by three days the scheduled departure of the trash-laden Progress 42 capsule, set for Oct. 29.
While the U.S. submarine force has shown its mettle in Libyan operations and continues to improve even its oldest boats, the fleet remains threatened by budgetary concerns and projected force shortfalls, according to Ronald O’Rourke, naval analyst for the Congressional Research Service.
LONDON — The scandal-driven departure of Liam Fox as the U.K.’s defense secretary may have been all but inevitable when it finally occurred late last week, but that will not make it any easier for his successor, Philip Hammond, to take over the role.
The Israeli military is changing its battlefield look as new threats emerge in the Middle East, in part from looted Libyan arms migrating across Egypt and into Gaza through the Bedouin smuggling pipeline.
