U.S. Aerospace, the company fighting for admittance to the U.S. Air Force’s $35 billion KC-X competition after submitting an allegedly tardy proposal, is forging a strategic partnership agreement with one of the many arms of Aviation Industries of China (Avic).
SAN FRANCISCO — A successful launch of the Boeing/Ball Aerospace Space-Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) satellite will “revolutionize the way we track objects in space” by giving the U.S. Air Force a high-powered telescope unrestricted by Earthly constraints to watch satellite maneuvers and buildups of space debris.
CATEGORY 5: The U.S. outlook for future science, technology, engineering and mathematical competitiveness has worsened since a 2005 call-to-arms, according to a new report by some of the same committee that issued the previous declaration. In “Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5,” members say while progress has been made in certain areas, the ability to fix problems already identified has been severely diminished by the economic recession and the growth of national debt since then.
JPSS-1 Contracts awarded: Ball Aerospace won a sole-source contract from NASA, acting on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, for the first Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1). The fixed-price contract for the civilian portion of the restructured National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite system (NPOESS) – a copy of the NPOESS Preparatory Project satellite – is worth $248 million. Meanwhile, NASA awarded two Raytheon units separate contracts for JPSS work.
CYBER NOISE: The debate over the seriousness of cyber threats continues with widely varying viewpoints. A major consulting firm this month says its research shows the level of alarm within industry and government has risen “considerably” in recent years, and now “paralysis has set in” over how to react. Moreover, the aerospace and defense industry is experiencing cyber threats “unmatched by virtually all other industries,” according to Alastair MacWillson, global managing director of consulting firm Accenture’s Security Practice.
Minnesota-based BRS Aerospace, manufacturer of whole-airplane parachutes, has been contracted to integrate and help certify its parachute recovery systems for India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) HPT-32 basic training aircraft used by the Indian Air Force. “This represents a strong market opportunity for BRS to install lifesaving parachutes on training aircraft, civilian or military,” said Gary Moore, BRS Aerospace vice president for sales and marketing.
JetBlue Airways and ViaSat Inc. plan to launch a new high-speed broadband telecommunications service on JetBlue’s fleet and market the service to other carriers, as well.
The House Science Committee has moved toward the Senate on reauthorizing NASA spending for the next three years with compromise language that calls for an immediate start on a heavy lift launch vehicle able to orbit a capsule based on the Orion crew exploration vehicle by the end of 2016.
The European Space Agency is embarking on an 18-month study to define a mission concept and detailed design for a proposed lander/rover mission to the south pole of the Moon.
Technicians at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory are ready to install a unique instrument on NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory that will allow the big rover to analyze the chemical composition of rocks and soil as far as 7 meters (23 ft.) away.
As Congress decides whether to follow the proposed U.S. Navy procurement plan for the service’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), lawmakers may want to look at whether the service should change its acquisition strategy or even if the Navy has provided enough time to review the proposed program, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
The Republic of Singapore Air Force has received the first of 10 modernized Lockheed C-130B Hercules transports that it tapped ST Aerospace to upgrade in March 2007. Systems modifications will give these older aircraft more commonality with RSAF’s younger C-130H fleet and should add about 20 years to their service life.
LIGHTER FLIGHT: The next Soyuz capsule launched to the International Space Station will be able to carry about 70 km. more payload, thanks to a digital flight computer that replaces the analog system used for the past 30 years. Cosmonaut Aleksander Kaleri will check out the new TsVM-101 computer in flight next month, when the Soyuz TMA-01M vehicle is launched to the ISS. Liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is scheduled for Oct. 8. The digital computer is baselined for the new Soyuz variant, according to the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
BEIJING – Japan is expected to decide by the end of the year whether to order four Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk surveillance aircraft that could later be upgraded to reinforce the country’s anti-ballistic missile defenses. The decision, which has been brewing for years, is due to appear in the National Defense Program Guideline, which will set out future military policy when it appears this year, program officials say.
CAPE CANAVERAL — Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is retargeting the launch of its next Falcon 9 rocket, which will carry an operational Dragon capsule, from Oct. 23 to early November. The flight is the first of up to three launches planned under SpaceX’s $278 million Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contract with NASA. The company also has contracts worth $1.6 billion for 12 cargo delivery runs to the International Space Station.
STAYING ON STATION: The International Space Station partner agencies met Sept. 21 by videoconference to discuss the continuation of station operations and science activities into the next decade. Japan has committed to continue supporting station operations beyond 2016. Current plans call for station operations to extend at least until 2020. “Coupled with the approval of the government of the Russian Federation for continuation to 2020, this progress is indicative of the strength of the station partnership,” NASA said.
Evaluators from the U.S. Government Accountability Office say the U.S. Global Positioning System remains at risk of losing full operability, despite upgrades implemented by the U.S. Air Force.
The global helicopter market is playing out like a Dickens novel these days, with civil business going through the worst of times and military sales seeing their best days, according to the recent Teal Group World Rotorcraft Overview. Teal Group expects civil deliveries to fall 20.8% in 2010, on top of a 13.3% decline in 2009, after experiencing “unprecedented growth rates in 2003-2008 … that transformed the industry,” the consultancy’s report says.
The U.S. Army has set Oct. 1 as the day it will brief industry on requirement changes in the Ground Combat Vehicle competition, which the service announced in August it was temporarily canceling until it issues a new request for proposals (RFP) for a retooled program.
