In observance of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, Aerospace Daily & Defense Report will not publish issues on Nov. 26-27. The next issue will be dated Nov. 30
The dozen space travelers on the space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station (ISS) said their farewells and went their separate ways Nov. 24, closing the hatches between their spacecraft in preparation for undocking early Nov. 25. NASA astronaut Nicole Stott joined the six men on the orbiter side of the hatch after wrapping up a three-month stint as an ISS flight engineer. She is scheduled to land with Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center early Nov. 27.
SLOW START: First flight of the U.S. Navy’s Northrop Grumman X-47B unmanned combat air system demonstrator has slipped from late 2009 to the first quarter of 2010 after propulsion acoustic and engine-start sequencing issues uncovered during ground checkout at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., forced adjustments and additional testing. Low-speed taxi tests are now expected to begin no later than December, the Navy says, adding that sea trials of the carrier-capable UCAS-D remain on schedule for 2012.
Pentagon acquisition czar Ashton Carter says that the Pentagon does not plan to change its strategy for the KC-135 replacement competition to account for a potential final World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling against the European Union for illegally subsidizing development of commercial aircraft by Airbus.
The U.S. Navy took delivery of the first three production MQ-8B Fire Scout vertical-takeoff-and-landing unmanned aerial vehicles (VTUAVs) from Northrop Grumman recently, completing the first year of low-rate initial production (LRIP).
GENOA, Italy — An Italian air force inquiry board is investigating the fatal crash of a Lockheed Martin C-130J belonging to the Pisa-based 46th Aerobrigade. Five crew members were killed. The aircraft crashed in the early afternoon on Nov. 23 during a training mission. It was initially scheduled to perform paratrooper launches working with the Folgore airborne brigade, based nearby, but local wind conditions were above the allowed limits and the launches were canceled.
LOS ANGELES — The newly-created 24th U.S. Air Force, the service’s latest numbered force, aims to establish the first elements of a cyberspace command operations center in San Antonio by the end of December.
STOVL HIATUS: The first short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35, aircraft BF-1, is expected to return to flight on Dec. 7 after being grounded for maintenance since it arrived at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., on Nov. 15 to begin powered-lift flight testing.
IN ORBIT: Eutelsat controllers were monitoring the new W7 satellite Nov. 24 after its ascent to orbit on an International Launch Services Proton-M flying from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Thales Alenia Space Spacebus 40000C4 satellite carries 74 Ku-band transponders. It will provide digital broadcasting service to customers in Europe and Russia, the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia from its orbital position at 36 degrees East Longitude. Liftoff came at 9:19 a.m. EST.
PARIS Engineers have switched on the Miras radiometer on Europe’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite, which will improve scientists’ understanding of the role these variables play in regulating Earth’s water cycle.
AgustaWestland, Bell, EADS North America, and Sikorsky are all in the fray for Iraqi light and medium military helicopter requirements with a package value of $1.2 billion. The Iraqi government has requested the helicopters through the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) process, according to a Nov. 19 announcement by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). The package would include the aircraft, as well as all associated parts, equipment, training and logistics support.
PARIS NASA has assumed ownership of Node 3, one of the last elements intended for the International Space Station (ISS), in preparation for launch to the orbital facility early next year. Node 3, baptized “Tranquility,” is to be orbited together with the Cupola on the STS-130 Shuttle mission.
Astronauts from the space shuttle Atlantis finished the third and final extravehicular activity (EVA) of the STS-129 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) Nov. 23 with a string of get-ahead tasks made possible by two extremely productive earlier spacewalks. “For EVA 3 we just took all of the tasks we had listed as get-aheads preflight … and finished them all,” said Brian Smith, the lead ISS flight director for the mission.
AIR FORCE Sierra Nevada Corp., Centennial, Colo., was awarded a $9,103,824 contract which will provide aircraft weapon integration. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. AAC/PKES, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA9200-10-C-0069).
MOSCOW More details are emerging on the Kosmos 2455 military satellite that the Russian Space Forces successfully launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome aboard a Soyuz-U booster on Nov. 20. Though Russian Ministry of Defense officials did not release any details on the payload, Kommersant newspaper reports officially identified the Kosmos 2455 spacecraft as a next-generation electronic reconnaissance satellite of the Lotos type, which in combination with a yet-to-be launched Pion satellite will form the Liana orbital intelligence system.
In the next few weeks, EADS North America will flesh out a concept for the U.S. Army’s yet-to-be-issued Armed Aerial Scout requirement, according to new CEO Sean O’Keefe.
The Pentagon is considering adding more flight test assets and software engineers to the $300 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program to avoid major delays to fielding the stealthy, single-engine aircraft. A Joint Estimate Team, consisting of career cost estimators and program evaluators, has found the Lockheed Martin F-35 program is at least $16 billion over its project cost, and achieving the current flight test schedule is unlikely.
LAUNCH DELAY: International Launch Services (ILS) has delayed the launch of the Eutelsat W7 communications satellite for 24 hours. Postponement of the launch, aboard a Proton M, rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, was caused by a standard procedural issue with the Kazakh authorities, ILS officials say. It involves no technical issues concerning either the rocket or the satellite, which are both in safe configuration mode, according to ILS. The launch is now set for Nov. 24 at 14:19 GMT, 15:19 CET.
Intelsat flight controllers are checking out Intelsat 14, the newest telecommunications satellite in the Intelsat fleet, after its launch early Nov. 23 on an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Liftoff of the Atlas V 431 came at 1:55 a.m. EST, with spacecraft separation at 3:53 a.m. United Launch Alliance provided the launch services.
A lot of investors are kicking themselves for not having more faith in the ability of Ford Motor Co. CEO (and Boeing Co. alum) Alan Mulally to revive the auto giant. A year ago, a share of Ford stock could be had for as little as $1.01. Last week, it was approaching $9 a share.
