Preliminary analysis of the space shuttle’s Discovery’s leaking Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate (GUCP) shows a misaligned seal, a NASA spokesman said Nov. 11. “Not to get ahead of the engineering investigation, but they’re analyzing the flight seal, which they found wasn’t aligned properly. The team plans to install a new GUCP ... connectors, seal, etc., by tomorrow,” Kennedy Space Center spokesman Allard Beutel said in an e-mail to Aviation Week.
Cyberwarfare is sending everyone from U.S. Air Force commanders to the newest recruit back to school. Air Force Space Command (AFSC) planners, for example, are ensuring that senior Air Force commanders understand cyberoperations and do not hinder their introduction into the service as warfighting tools.
WEBB STUCK: The James Webb Space Telescope Independent Comprehensive Review Panel said late Nov. 10 that the minimum cost to launch the planned Hubble successor would be $6.5 billion for an earliest launch date of September 2015 – far above the $5.1 billion in the Fiscal 2011 presidential budget request in February. In turn, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said he agreed with the findings and that he was shaking up JWST managers in NASA headquarters and nearby Goddard Space Flight Center, Md. “The cost performance and coordination have been lacking,” he said.
LOS ANGELES – Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) plans to complete certification tests of the RS-68A heavy-lift liquid-fuel rocket at the end of November in the run-up to final tests and delivery of the first production units to United Launch Alliance (ULA).
Cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Skripochka will embark on a six-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Nov. 15 to retrieve and install external science experiments, attach a work platform and handrails, and perform maintenance tasks. The activities, limited to the outside of the station’s Russian segment, are scheduled to get underway at 9:25 a.m. Eastern time.
Fresh off its acquisition of CapRock Communications, Harris Corp. intends to buy Schlumberger Information Solutions’ Global Connectivity Services (GCS) business, bringing its combined investment in worldwide satellite communications to nearly $1 billion so far this year.
PARIS – Australia and the U.S. have agreed to work together to enhance protection of the space environment and provide more accurate warning and tracking of potential collisions in space.
LONDON – The U.K. is trying to develop a stronger involvement in the growing South Korean defense market and has signed an equipment cooperation agreement to push forward that agenda. The British government is looking to defense exports to help sustain its defense industrial capabilities at a time of shrinking budgets back home.
NEW DELHI – India will release its Defense Production Policy and also introduce major changes to the delayed 2010 Defense Procurement Policy (DPP) in January 2011, Defense Minister A.K. Antony said Nov. 10. “So now we are going to take some more drastic steps to achieve our goal of speedy indigenization,” Antony said. In anticipation of the move, many international companies have formed Indian subsidiaries.
Key Pentagon acquisition officials are expected to meet even more stringent measures starting Nov. 15 to target affordability and control cost growth, according to further affordability guidance issued by Ashton Carter, defense undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics. Defense analysts say Carter is honing his earlier message and guidance to keep a lid on program cost growth.
LONDON – AgustaWestland is preparing for a slightly delayed first flight of the T-129 attack helicopter for Turkey as the company also secures a top-up order from the Turkish army. The latest, €150 million ($209 million) deal for nine more units brings the order backlog for the T-129 to 60 helicopters. The helos will be assembled by Turkish Aerospace Industries. Turkey retains options for around 40 more units.
NEW DELHI – Finmeccanica is launching a subsidiary to cater to the Indian Navy’s blue-water desires. The company’s Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei (WASS) subsidiary has launched its own, first-ever subsidiary, WIN (WASS India), to offer service support, monitoring of the supply chain and to enter into industrial partnerships.
LONDON – As the U.K. looks to tighten its regulations to stamp out bribery in the pursuit of international business, industry officials warn about potential shortcomings in the rules due to come into effect in April. Although U.K. industry has been broadly supportive of the push, there are some concerns about the implementation language and competitive effects the measure may have.
The results of a review into what allowed 50 U.S. Air Force intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to go offline from remote control stations will be wrapped up within the next three weeks, says Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, who oversees the air service’s Global Strike Command.
The general officer overseeing the new U.S. Air Force command established to organize, train and equip the service’s strike forces is not involved in the day-to-day planning for a multibillion-dollar, next-generation bomber.
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NASA will negotiate with 13 contractors on possible systems analysis and trade study contracts aimed at refining choices for a U.S. heavy-lift launch vehicle and related technology. Companies selected will have a shot at $7.5 million in total contract awards, with a maximum value per contract of $625,000, to evaluate launch vehicle system concepts, propulsion technologies and “affordability,” the agency said late Nov. 8.
Even before India next year decides on its Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft supply of 126 fighters, the country dominates the recent history of sales for such aircraft. In a new update on the combat aircraft market, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute notes that in the 2005-2009 period, India topped the list of countries importing fighters with 12% of the total or 115 units. The United Arab Emirates came second at 11%.
