TOKYO — Japan launched its first H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) to the International Space Station (ISS) on Sept. 11 local time from Tanegashima Island. A successful HTV mission is crucial not only for Japan, but also for the international space community, especially because of the vehicle’s large unpressurized cargo capability, which will be nonexistent during the gap made by NASA’s space shuttle retirement sometime after 2010.
NEW DELHI — Adm. Nirmal Verma says his priorities as naval chief will be consolidating and sustaining the growth of the navy, with a focus on indigenization. He cites the acquisition of the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya, the new long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft P8-I and the Scorpene submarine as being top priorities. Verma took over from Adm. Sureesh Mehta on Aug. 31 as India’s 20th Chief of Naval Staff.
FIRST GLOBAL: AeroVironment says its first Global Observer hydrogen-fueled, high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft will be delivered to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., within the next three months. Ground and flight-testing of the air vehicle at Edwards will be followed by payload integration and a military utility demonstration. AeroVironment is under contract to build three GO-1 aircraft, designed to provide up to seven days of endurance at 65,000 feet altitude with a payload up to 400 pounds.
Arsat, the Argentine government-owned company that has exclusive rights to operate and market Ku- and C-band telecom capacity at 72 and 81 deg. W. Long., has selected European contractors to help design and build Argentina’s first indigenous geostationary communications satellite. EADS Astrium will supply the central cylinder, bipropellant propulsion system and satellite processing unit for the spacecraft, Arsat-1, which is to be launched in 2012. Thales Alenia Space will provide the payload and Invap, an Argentine company, will be the prime contractor.
With a month of flying under its belt on the modified Gulfstream III Airborne Multi-intelligence Laboratory (AML), Lockheed Martin says it is already in talks with several customers regarding offshoots of the program. Although the countries haven’t been named, discussions are taking place with two customers for Gulfstream G550-based versions, and for a roll-on/roll-off system that could go on EADS Casa CN-295-type aircraft, says Charles Gulledge, program manager for strategic programs and Lockheed Martin’s C4ISR Systems Division.
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V orbited the U.S. government’s classified “PAN” communications satellite following a picture-perfect countdown and launch Sept. 8 from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The Atlas V 401 rocket lifted off at the very beginning of its launch window, at 5:35 p.m. EDT. The rocket used a single common core booster first stage powered by an RD-180 engine, which fired for about the first four minutes of the mission until stage separation. Centaur
CHINA LAKE, Calif. — The U.S. Naval Air Weapons Center here is developing a small, cheap missile capable of striking a target at short range without giving away the position of the shooter.
Washington and Riyadh are close to setting the framework that could ease the way for the Royal Saudi Air Force to buy an additional 72 Boeing F-15 Strike Eagles. Saudi Arabia has been looking at how to replace its F-15C/Ds for some time, with one area of sensitivity believed to be what standard of Strike Eagle would be made available. There are indications that progress is being made on resolving this. It remains to be determined whether Saudi Arabia would commit to a single purchase or acquire the replacement aircraft in batches.
SWEDISH ENGINEERING: Brazil’s Ministry of Defense has selected Rockwell Collins to provide its Suitcase CCT120 quad-band satellite communication terminals. The Suitcase CCT120 supports Ku, Ka, X and C band communications, and recently received XTAR, Skynet and U.S. Federal Communications Commission approvals. The satellite terminals feature a 1.2-meter antenna and CommuniCase Technology based on a common modular architecture that enables users to switch out and plug in standard modems, amplifiers and other transmission and auxiliary components.
Florida weather appears to be the biggest obstacle to an on-time return to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for the crew of the space shuttle Discovery, with forecasters calling for a chance of thundershowers at the coastal landing strip. Initial results from the Sept. 8 final inspection of the delicate reinforced carbon-carbon thermal panels on the nose and wing leading edges were positive, although the mission management team was taking one more look at results late Sept. 9.
A&D Programs Conference November 2-4, 2009 Phoenix, AZ A&D Finance Conference December 2-3, 2009 New York, NY Defense Technology & Requirements Conference February 17-18, 2010 Washington, DC AVIATION WEEK Laureates Awards March 17, 2010 Washington, DC
BIO FUELS: Sustainable Oils has received a Defense Department contract to supply 40,000 gallons of renewable bio-jet fuel derived from camelina for certification testing by the U.S. Navy. The contract includes an option for an additional 150,000 gallons. Camelina is a drought-tolerant plant that can grow on marginal land and does not compete with food crops, the company says. Feedstock for the Pentagon contract was primarily grown in Montana. Sustainable Oils sourced the camelina for Japan Airlines’ biofuel demonstration flight in January.
Astronomers and astrophysicists are looking forward to several more years of advancing human understanding of the universe with the Hubble Space Telescope, including laying plans for near-infrared deep-field exposures that may image galaxies just 500 million years after the Big Bang. The telescope is back online for scientific observations after a checkout and calibration period following the STS-125 Hubble Servicing Mission in May.
Following up on 18 so-called “intentions” noted in last year’s guidance for the service, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead last week revealed his plans for ensuring U.S. maritime global dominance. Roughead said his primary focus areas remain the same — to build the future force, maintain the U.S.’s warfighting readiness and develop and support sailors, Navy civilians and families. “These focus areas will endure throughout my tenure,” he noted in his guidance for 2010. He added that this year he will place particular emphasis on five areas:
BAE Systems has secured a launch customer for its Q-Sight helmet-mounted display, the first defense application of lightweight holographic waveguide optics. The U.K. Ministry of Defense has ordered 12 systems for use by door gunners on Royal Navy AgustaWestland Lynx HAS.8 helicopters. As a key element of the Gunner’s Remote Sighting System (GRSS), the clip-on Q-Sight will allow the video image and aiming reticle from a weapon-mounted thermal sight to be projected remotely onto a monocular display mounted on the operator’s helmet.
U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND General Dynamics Information Technology of Fairfax, Va., is being awarded a $10,116,177 contract. The contract has a 12-month base period and four 12-month option periods for the Trans Regional Web Initiative in support of U.S. Special Operations Command Joint Military Information Support Command. The work will be performed in multiple locations and is expected to be an ongoing requirement. The contract was awarded through full and open competition in accordance with FAR Part 15. The contract number is H92222-09-C-0045.
SPACEX WIN: Europe’s Astrium has hired Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) to launch an Earth-observation satellite on the California company’s planned Falcon 1e rocket. The spacecraft, to be designed either by Astrium or its Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. small-sat subsidiary, will fly on an “enhanced” version of the Falcon 1 launch vehicle, with upgraded structures, avionics and propulsion. The 1e variant also is slated to launch Orbcomm’s next-generation satellites (Aerospace DAILY, Sept. 4).
Raytheon is a little more than halfway through a company-funded effort to develop a new X-band radar system to guide the Evolved Sea-Sparrow Missile (ESSM) to its target. The device, called SPY-5, would replace existing target illuminating systems with a passive phased-array, continuous wave system able theoretically to guide 12 ESSMs to their target at the same time. Development began about 18 months ago and should be complete late next year, company program manager Richard Wayshville says.
NASA won’t be able to get human beings out of low Earth orbit (LEO) without about $3 billion a year more than it is getting for exploration, and even then it won’t be able to meet the ambitious back-to-the-moon goals of its current program, according to the presidential commission established to review U.S. human spaceflight.
