Small businesses seeking Defense Department work could enjoy unprecedented attention and access in the post-9/11 acquisition environment but also confront affordability concerns and pressure to adhere to acquisition "roadmaps," several DOD acquisition officials and business executives said Aug. 21.
TESTING CEV: NASA has selected Benham Constructors LLC of Oklahoma City to receive a $51.4 million contract to design, build and commission a vibration and acoustic test capability that will support development of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) at the Space Power Facility at Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio. Plum Brook Station is operated by NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.
Endeavour returned safely to Earth Aug. 21, reaffirming an extensive ground analysis that concluded that two damaged thermal tiles under the orbiter's right wing could support a safe reentry without repairs in space. "The tile did very well during reentry," said NASA Administrator Mike Griffin.
BLAKEY LANDS: Departing FAA Administrator Marion Blakey was named Aug. 21 as new head of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). Blakey, head of the FAA since September 2002, succeeds John Douglass as president and CEO of the industry group. Blakey's term as FAA chief ends Sept. 13. She has been shepherding FAA reauthorization through Congress as well as the development of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).
MCAS FUTENMA, OKINAWA - Soon a U.S. Marine forward observer will be able to call in a burst of electrons - for jamming or perhaps erasing computer memories - just as he now calls in artillery or a precision bomb.
LANGLEY AFB, Va. - The new A-10C Warthog was declared fully operational at a ceremony here Aug. 21 and will be deploying to Iraq in less than a month. "In simple terms: it went from analog to digital," says Lt. Col. Timothy Smith, USAF, A-10 pilot with the Maryland Air National Guard. "Now I'm integrated with the airplane a lot better. I can receive information and integrate it into my system faster, quicker, more effectively."
The competitive and government business cases for keeping an alternative engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter don't fly, according to a recently released briefing by the Lexington Institute. "GE and its legislative backers say the alternate engine will save money, bolster safety and strengthen the industrial base across the lifetime of the program," says the report by Loren Thompson. "Pentagon policymakers say there is no firm evidence to support those claims, and want to forego funding of the new engine.
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plan to strengthen their satellite ties in the coming fiscal year with the re-establishment of an effort modeled after the Operational Satellite Improvement Program (OSIP) the agencies implemented in the 1970s.
With the conclusion of the docked portion of the STS-118/13A.1 International Space Station (ISS) assembly mission, the ISS is ready for the final build-out to a facility able to support a crew of six in U.S., Russian, European and Japanese-built pressurized modules.
ARMING ALLIES: The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has detailed to Congress several Foreign Military Sales to Bahrain, Canada, Israel and Spain, according to DSCA letters published in the Federal Register Aug. 15. Under a $465 million deal, Israel asked for 10,000 Joint Direct Attack Munitions, 2,500 Paveway II full kits for the MK-82 warhead, 500 Paveway II kits for MK-83s, 1,500 MK-82s, 2,000 BLU-109 live bombs, 50 GBU-28 guided bombs and 20,000 live fuzes.
The Northrop Grumman-built amphibious transport dock ship Mesa Verde (LPD 19) successfully completed builder's trials in mid-August, the company and the U.S. Navy announced Aug. 20. "We had a very successful trial," said Philip Teel, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems sector. "The ship is in great shape, and this team performed incredibly well. This ship is ready to serve the Navy."
The results from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) year-long, 10-flight Autonomous Aerial Refueling Demonstration (AARD) were so successful that "four or five offices" in the military services were interested in a "fairly specific" follow-on activity, the Air Force program manager told Aerospace Daily.
Some U.S. military vehicle and equipment makers with goods destined for Iraqi forces are apparently having production issues, according to Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.). Levin, who briefed reporters Aug. 20 by telephone from Tel Aviv, Israel, said he could not recall details but said that he believes problems revolve mostly around production capability and may include paperwork issues as well. Levin further said Defense Secretary Robert Gates has tasked Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England to clear up the matter.
Even as the Indian government moves ahead with implementing its new agreement on U.S.-India civil nuclear cooperation, India's Left party continues its face-off on the deal and is threatening a pullout that could bring the ruling government down.
Boeing officials say their Laser Avenger, a humvee-mounted air defense system they plan to test with a 1-kilowatt laser, will require "single-digit minutes" to destroy improvised explosive devices or unexploded ordnance. An article in the Aug. 17 DAILY said the operator could destroy a target after up to 40 minutes of lasing.
The STS-118 crew and Mission Control checked out Endeavour's new three-string Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation suite Aug. 20 in preparation for Endeavour's planned reentry and landing at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Aug. 21. Endeavour, making its first reentry since December 2002, is the first vehicle in the orbiter fleet to have its old Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) receivers replaced by GPS.
