FAA on April 6 released new guidelines for obtaining one-year experimental launch permits for reusable spacecraft that will give developers the opportunity to fly and test their vehicles before applying for an FAA launch license. Each permit will cover multiple vehicles of a particular design and will allow an unlimited number of launches. The vehicles must operate in an area large enough to contain its trajectory that is not close to any densely populated areas.
The four chiefs of the armed services have petitioned Congress for quick passage of the second supplemental fiscal 2007 request, asserting that the military "will be forced to take increasingly disruptive measures in order to sustain combat operations" if the additional funds are not provided as soon as April 15.
A March 29 DAILY story should have said that Alliant Techsystems (ATK) leads the Ares I upper-stage bidding team that also includes Pratt & Whitney/Rocketdyne and Lockheed Martin. Aerospace Daily regrets the error.
SAR: The Defense Department late April 9 unveiled the newest batch of Selected Acquisition Reports detailing program performance. For the December 2006 reporting period, there was a net cost increase of $56.287 billion, or 3.5 percent, over September 2006 estimates.
NASA has signed a $719 million modification to the current International Space Station (ISS) contract with Russia's Federal Space Agency in Moscow for crew and cargo services through 2011, the agency announced April 9. The firm-fixed price extension covers crew rotations for six crewmembers in 2009, six in 2010 and three in 2011, along with the delivery and the removal of 5.6 metric tons (12,300 pounds) of cargo.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin Space systems Corp. $25 million and Boeing Navigation and Communication Systems $18 million in contract modifications for the Global Positioning System (GPS) III program, the Pentagon announced April 6. This modifications fund the companies to perform Space Vehicle Risk Reduction and Systems Definition (SVRR&SD) through the end of September.
The overarching tactical air (tacair) plan being put together now by the U.S. Navy should address recent criticisms by congressional investigators that tacair programs aren't being integrated properly across the services, Naval acquisition officials said April 5.
Germany's defense procurement agency (BWB) on March 30 awarded a contract to Switzerland's Oerlikon Contraves for a counter-rocket, counter-mortar system. The system is supposed to be an evolution of Oerlikon's Skyshield air-defense equipment, which is aimed at defeating much larger threats. The initial focus of the contract is to hone the accuracy of the system's sensors and firing unit so it can intercept the faster-moving, smaller targets.
While the U.S. Navy is looking for earlier and deeper involvement in the development and acquisition of its ship and other weapons programs, the service does not plan to develop a one-size-fits-all management plan, said Delores Etter, service assistant secretary for research, development and acquisition.
Charles H. Allen has been appointed vice president and general manager of Rotorcraft Systems. Lizum Mishra has been named corporate communications director for Boeing India.
NASA's operating plan for fiscal 2007, still evolving as the agency struggles to accommodate a $528.1 million cut to its requested amount, kills a proposed robotic lunar lander as expected, and slips the initial operational capability of its planned Orion/Ares I follow-on to the space shuttle. But it adds funds to two high-profile (and high-cost) space science programs - the Mars Science Laboratory and the James Webb Space Telescope - to keep them on schedule for their planned launch dates in 2009 and 2013, respectively.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed agreements with NASA and Russia's Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP) for joint operational work and studies that can lead to greater cooperation in future human space exploration.
U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Trey Obering, director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), says he feels a sense of "urgency" in establishing the proposed Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) site in Europe, given the looming threat of Iran's missile program.
INSPECTION: NASA plans to remove all three engines on the shuttle Atlantis to ensure a putty-like silicone used to gauge changes in fuel-pipe liners hasn't contaminated the propulsion system. This may or may not affect the launch schedule, which remains in flux as NASA ponders whether to replace Atlantis' hail-damaged external tank.
Alain M. Bellemare has been named executive vice president for Pratt & Whitney Strategy and Development. Bellemare will also continue as president of Pratt & Whitney Canada.
