Nineteen U.S. senators are urging the Senate Appropriations Committee to include money for more C-17 cargo lifters when it considers the emergency wartime supplemental spending bill for fiscal 2009. The 30-member committee is slated to take up the $85.3 billion measure to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the swine flu outbreak on May 14.
The shuttle Atlantis suffered minor damage to a few ceramic tiles on a portion of its right wing as a result of launch debris during its ascent May 11, and NASA is trying to gather more imagery of the damaged area. Thermal protection system inspections by the STS-125 crew with the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) during their first full day in space May 12 revealed small “dings” in four ceramic tiles at the point at the starboard chine where the orbiter’s right wing meets the fuselage.
TITUSVILLE, Fla. - General Electric is testing a modified version of the F414 engine for the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and EF-18 Growler that could increase thrust by 20 percent while improving durability and reducing fuel burn. Although full details are not yet available, it appears the U.S. Navy-supported development is a combined product of two F414-400 upgrade efforts. One of these was originally focused on increasing the baseline durability of the engine, while the other is an ongoing study aimed at increasing overall thrust.
Military conflicts and differences in U.S. and NATO operations are making the job more difficult in Afghanistan, according to a recent report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). “The mission of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Afghanistan is a test of the alliance’s political will and military capabilities,” the report says.
The U.S. Army’s chief says the service will have a replacement ground combat vehicle for the canceled Manned Ground Vehicle (MGV) arm of its Future Combat Systems (FCS) within the next seven years.
The U.S. Army this month achieved its end-strength targets, according to Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey, a goal that was set to be reached in 2012. Under the so-called Grow the Army initiative, the service wanted to accelerate the end-strength growth of all of its components — active (to 547,400 soldiers), National Guard (358,200) and Reserve (206,000). Previously, the deadline was pushed up for the Army Reserve to 2010, and the goal of reaching 73 Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) and 227 Support Brigades by 2011.
Swedish Space Corp. (SSC) has bought its partner in the PrioraNet satellite tracking service and will operate as a worldwide commercial service based in Kiruna, Sweden. The move came after SSC received approval from the U.S. government to buy Universal Space Network, which will continue to operate as a U.S. corporation.
TITUSVILLE, Fla. - Having made six acquisitions in 2008, Boeing IDS continues to be on the lookout for fresh opportunities, both in the United States and internationally.
The Senate Appropriations Committee this week is expected to take up the second war-fighting supplemental spending bill for Fiscal 2009. House appropriators approved their version of the Fiscal 2009 supplemental last week. That panel approved the measure after adding $9 billion to President Barack Obama’s request, for a total of $94.3 billion, including $81.6 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Russian government has promised to boost its pursuit of upgrades on Sukhoi Su-27SM and Su-30 fighters in a move that should support the Sukhoi design bureau and its Komsomolsk-on-Amur KnAAPO serial production facility. Sergey Ivanov, deputy prime minister, made the announcement during a visit to KnAAPO.
A congressional subcommittee is slated May 13 to hear the pros and cons of equipping aircraft from the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) with defenses against surface-to-air missiles when they fly into war-torn areas. Although most airline groups oppose equipping regular domestic passenger flights with countermeasures against man-portable air defense systems, or MANPADS, saying they are too expensive and inefficient, one industry organization believes the government should launch an evaluation program that could cost about $20 million.
A story in the May 11 issue misstated how the global economic downturn is affecting EADS’ commitment to assembling A330-based tankers in Mobile, Ala., should the company win parts or all of the U.S. Air Force KC-X tanker program. With the market for freighters hurting, Airbus is evaluating the economic implications of assembling fewer of them as part of the Mobile final assembly line. The company is not retreating from its commitment to the site.
The Pentagon’s Fiscal 2010 budget includes an increased emphasis on space protection efforts, says Gary Payton, deputy under secretary of the Air Force for space. Unclassified Air Force space spending in Fiscal 2010 is estimated at about $9 billion, Payton says, up nearly $300 million compared to the Fiscal 2009 appropriation.
NEW CARRIER: The last of the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers was delivered to the U.S. Navy on May 11 by prime contractor Northrop Grumman. The USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) is the 10th ship of the class but includes innovations such as a new vacuum marine sanitation system, propellers, jet fuel distribution system, underwater hull-coating system, and other control systems and piping materials, according to the Navy and Northrop. Just more than 1,000 feet long, it weighs 97,000 tons, can carry more than 80 combat aircraft and can sail faster than 30 knots.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER - Boeing expects NASA to issue a draft request for proposals for its exploration ground launch services (EGLS) contract sometime between May 19 and May 31. The contract “picks up where the space shuttle flights stop” says Boeing Space Exploration Constellation Transition Director David Bethay, and has not been delayed by the recent decision to conduct a “blue ribbon” panel review of NASA’s manned space programs. T
SMALL WORLD: Under a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory program to take small unmanned aircraft systems from conception to evaluation as rapidly as possible, L-3 Geneva Aerospace is to develop a concept for an airborne tube-launched expendable UAV. The company is one of several selected to bid for individual task orders under the SURE program to develop platforms, sensors and other technologies for Tier II and III small UAVs.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — Shuttle Atlantis lifted off from Launch Pad 39A in nearly perfect weather at 2:01 p.m. EDT May 11, kicking off the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Veteran astronaut Scott Altman commands the 11-day STS-125 mission, with retired U.S. Navy Capt. Gregory Johnson serving as pilot. Aboard as mission specialists are veteran astronauts John Grunsfeld — making his third trip to Hubble — and Mike Massimino, along with first-time astronauts Andrew Feustel, Michael Good and Megan McArthur.
The U.S. Coast Guard is still in the market for a tactical unmanned aerial system (UAS) to extend the surveillance reach of the new National Security Cutter fleet, the head of acquisition for the service said May 11. “We do envision some UAS flying off the flight deck of the Bertholf [the first National Security Cutter],” Rear Adm. Gary T. Blore, the Coast Guard’s Assistant Commandant for Acquisition, told a reporters’ roundtable.
