HOUSTON — NASA astronaut Tim Kopra, who was injured in a Jan. 15 bicycle accident, will be replaced as one of two spacewalkers assigned to shuttle Discovery’s STS-133 mission, the space agency announced Jan. 19. Veteran astronaut Steve Bowen will take Kopra’s place aboard Discovery, which is tentatively scheduled to lift off on a long-delayed 11-day assembly mission to the International Space Station on Feb. 24 at 4:50 p.m. EST.
Nearly 10% of funding cuts identified by the U.S. Air Force through Fiscal 2016 will be made possible through changes in how the service handles maintenance and support for its weapon systems.
PARIS — The European Commission (EC) says it is happy with progress made in developing Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system and will commit to seeing the 30-spacecraft constellation through to completion, even though doing so will hike the cost more than 50%.
NEW DELHI — India and Russia have held discussions ranging from the operational philosophies of their two navies to ongoing Indian navy projects and mutual training exchanges, following the visit of the Russian naval chief, Adm. Vladimir Vysotskiy, to New Delhi.
HTV DELAY: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has postponed the scheduled Jan. 20 launch of the second H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-2) due to unfavorable weather forecasts at Tanegashima Space Center. The new date will be no earlier than Saturday, Jan. 22 (Japan Standard Time). The launch window for the mission remains open until Feb. 28. HTV-2 is an unmanned cargo supply ship designed to dock with the International Space Station. It follows the successful demonstration of the first HTV, which docked with the station in September 2009.
JITTERY: Wall Street analysts are telling defense sector investors to steel themselves against a fateful decision on part of the U.S. Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS). Cowen and Co. analysts say with the Army vice chief of staff’s radio review still ongoing, and July 2010 demonstrations revealing “several shortcomings” with the Ground Mobile Radio (GMR) portion of the effort, there is potential for a “go/no-go” decision on JTRS GMR with the mid-February release of the Fiscal 2012 budget request.
While the U.S. Navy is still basking in the success of last month’s Super Hornet Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (Emals) launch, the Emals system remains a “significant risk” area for the development of the CVN 78 Ford aircraft carrier, according to the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Testing and Evaluation (DOT&E). The CVN 78 program also continues to have challenges with F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) integration, according to the DOT&E report, released earlier this month.
CAPE CANAVERAL — Scientists and engineers working on payloads slated to ride on Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital rocket are preparing to ship hardware, although they have not been told a launch date. “I don’t know when the flight will be. I only know that the flight hardware has to be ready in a few months,” says Rainer Kuhl, physical sciences program manager for German space agency DLR, a partner in a New Shepard project called Microgravity Experiment on Dust Environments in Astrophysics (Medea).
PARIS — Telespazio has purchased Vega Space, a consulting and engineering firm based in the U.K. specializing in space mission design, development and operational support. The company, which employs 400 people in Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Spain, was purchased from Finmeccanica, which owns Telespazio in collaboration with Thales. Finmeccanica acquired Vega in 2008 and shifted it to its Selex Sistemi Integrati affiliate before spinning off space activities into a separate unit.
NAVY Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Inc., Newport News, Va., is being awarded a $48,934,856 modification for planned supplemental work to previously awarded contract (N00024-09-C-2107) for the refueling complex overhaul of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). The work will be performed in Newport News, and is scheduled to be completed by February 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
LONDON — Airbus Military is targeting 28 deliveries in 2011, including the first six KC-330 tanker transports. The exact timing of the first handover of the KC-30A tanker to the lead customer, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), has still not been set. The program has suffered repeated delays; Airbus Military had committed to handing over the first KC-30As to the RAAF in 2010, but that did not happen. Airbus CEO Tom Enders says the handover is imminent.
An ad hoc committee of the National Academies will meet Jan. 28 in Washington to review and update the 2002 report on technical issues related to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The committee includes a former Strategic Command chief and the previous administration’s director of the National Nuclear Security Administration.
GROTON, Conn. — Modular construction techniques for the U.S. Navy’s newest nuclear-powered submarines can and should be adapted for public commercial power platforms, according to John Casey, president of General Dynamics Electric Boat, one of the builders of the nation’s submarine fleet. The submarine modular construction methods would be more efficient ways of building platforms for nuclear power, Casey told local leaders last week during a briefing on submarine programs.
U.S. Supreme Court justices sharply questioned a government lawyer Jan. 18 about why the government should be able to hold contractors for the canceled U.S. Navy A-12 stealth aircraft in default but still claim a privilege to withhold state secrets when the contractors tried to defend their work in court. The court’s ruling, which is due before the 2010-11 term ends in June, could have broad implications for any company working for the U.S. government on classified technologies.
Sikorsky has opened a virtual reality center for the CH-53K program, designed to help identify issues that could emerge during assembly of the heavy-lift helicopter, which is scheduled to fly in 2013. The center allows engineers to simulate assembly of the aircraft using the Catia three-dimensional design database. Twelve cameras capture the movements of the operator, who is then immersed into the digital environment via a head-mounted display, sensor-equipped gloves and a force-feedback gripping tool.
BOOM TIMES: Baghdad will invest an average of $12.5 billion annually through 2015 to beef up the Iraqi Security Forces, starting with the Iraqi Air Force, consultancy Forecast International says. The air force plans to field 500 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft by 2020, but its pressing needs include advanced jet trainers and combat aircraft. Besides Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are also driving Middle East defense growth under arms buildups supported by the U.S.
LONDON — U.K. military officials are preparing plans to bridge capability gaps that have emerged out of last year’s Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR) even as they brace for further cuts to plug remaining funding shortfalls.
ARIANE CONTRACT: Eutelsat has awarded Arianespace a contract to orbit a yet-to-be-designated satellite in 2012 using its Ariane 5 heavy-lift booster. Arianespace says the launch, awarded in December, is one of 12 orders received in 2010, and will apply to one of six spacecraft Eutelsat plans to launch between now and mid-2013. The Paris-based satellite operator is scheduled to orbit two spacecraft, W6A and W5A, in the third and fourth quarter of 2012. However, the deal also could apply to W2A and W3D, which Eutelsat plans to bring into service in early 2013.
ARMY Gargoyles Inc., Westminster, Md., was awarded on Jan. 10 an $11,115,156 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for transportation services in Iraq, including routine maintenance, emergency repairs, washing, dispatching and towing services. The work will be performed in Baghdad, Iraq, with an estimated completion date of July 9, 2011. Three bids were solicited with two bids received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Middle East District, Winchester, Va., is the contracting activity (W912ER-11-C-0012). NAVY
LONDON — The Brazilian government has given the green light for Embraer to complete the overhaul program for Brazilian air force AMX fighters. The company plans to fly the first of the structurally enhanced AMX prototypes next year. The program is a follow-on to the electronics upgrade of 43 of 56 AMXs into the A-1M standard, which adds a laser designator, night vision goggle capability, improved electronics and electronic warfare system. The new effort focuses on structural enhancements and replacing obsolete parts.
HOUSTON — NASA astronaut Tim Kopra, one of two spacewalkers assigned to the shuttle Discovery’s already delayed assembly mission to the International Space Station, suffered a hip injury during a Jan. 15 bicycle accident and may be replaced, according to the space agency. “That possibility is still being evaluated,” NASA says.
ARMY The Boeing Co., Defense, Space & Security, Mesa, Ariz., was awarded a $190,239,373 firm-fixed-price contract on Jan. 12, 2011. The award will provide for the remanufacture of 72 AH-64A aircraft into AH-64D aircraft along with one Longbow Crew Trainer. The work will be performed in Mesa, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2014. One bid was solicited with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, AMCOM, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-06-C-0093). AIR FORCE
