NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has begun flight tests at Dryden Flight Research Center in California to confirm the performance and structural integrity of the highly modified Boeing 747SP. The first flight took place Oct. 11, according to NASA, marking the beginning of several flight and ground-test phases that will validate the airborne telescope's performance. The flight lasted over five hours and went smoothly, NASA says. It took place with the cavity door that accommodates the 2.5-meter infrared telescope closed.
Soyuz TMA-11 docked with the International Space Station (ISS) Oct. 12, delivering the Expedition 16 crew and a Malaysian "spaceflight participant" to the orbiting facility. Soyuz commander and Expedition 16 flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko flew an apparently flawless approach, docking without incident at the Zarya nadir port at 10:50 a.m. EDT. The crew later entered the station to begin preparations for a formal handover from Expedition 15 on Oct. 19.
UNMANNED TRAINING: Forces in Europe face a challenge in figuring out how to train with unmanned systems, according to Gen. David McKiernan, commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe. Unmanned aircraft "introduce some spectrum management challenges with host nation aviation," he says. "So we have to develop some strategies on where and how we're going to train with these systems." The German army faces the same challenges in training with platforms such as Euro Hawk.
In two separate letters to U.S. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne, members of the Senate and the House expressed strong opposition to a split-buy on the KC-X Tanker recently suggested by an Alabama delegation.
CHINA RADAR: The coverage of China's air defense radars now almost matches those of western countries, the People's Liberation Army says in its official newspaper. The network is seamless and covers all mainland airspace, it says.
Raytheon has demonstrated a 20-kilowatt laser weapon prototype using only off-the-shelf products, according to Mike Booen, who heads Raytheon's directed energy effort at its Tucson, Ariz., facility. Booen's team bundled 40 500-watt, solid-state, fiber lasers together and, without expensive beam control devices (in fact with no beam control at all), were able to detonate suspended 60mm mortar rounds at 500 meters in an 80-knot wind with a 4-inch, baseball-sized beam.
ONE SHOT: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) expects to downselect between SRI International and Lockheed Martin by next fall for phase two of the One Shot program. The One Shot sniper system will profile and compensate for downrange crosswinds to help snipers hit targets over long distances (DAILY, Nov. 20, 2006). Lockheed Martin announced its $2 million phase one contract last week (DAILY, Oct. 9). In the 18-month second phase, the winning contractor will produce a prototype.
ABERDEEN SUPPORT: The U.S. Army has awarded SI International, Inc. a contract to provide personnel administration and human resource automated systems operations supporting the military personnel services mission of the U.S. Army Garrison, Aberdeen Proving Ground. The contract has a one-year base period with three one-year option periods. The value is approximately $10 million if all option years are exercised.
NAVY NUKES: Bechtel Bettis Inc. is receiving a $450.7 million cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract for Naval Nuclear Propulsion work at the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory. Work will be performed in West Mifflin, Pa. Contract funds in the amount of $242.2 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
LAUNCH RECOVERY: When Lockheed Martin's first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) finally launches, it will have fully automated stern doors, an articulating stern ramp and side launch doors, each of which are key elements of the ship's unique launch and recovery system. The stern ramp will provide the capability to launch and recover large, hard-bottom vehicles such as 11-meter rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) or the special operations forces high-speed boat while the ship is underway.
WITHHELD: The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) applauded the House of Representatives for passing a tax bill that, among other provisions, would delay implementation of a new 3 percent tax withholding on all payments made by any federal, state or local governments for goods and services. The looming withholding requirement, long feared and criticized by industry, has prompted vocal complaints from a chorus of trade lobbyists in Washington who bemoan it as an unfair budgetary gimmick by a Congress hungry for funds (DAILY, Oct. 2).
A recent Rand Corporation report urges the U.S. Army to adopt "niche capabilities" to promote interoperability with non-allied armies. The recommendations are part of a larger project entitled "A Capabilities Based Strategy for Army Security Cooperation," that supports the Army's efforts to bolster multinational force compatibility (MFC) with varied armies. The niche-based approach is geared toward identifying shortfalls or gaps within the U.S. Army and then filling those holes with the capabilities of other armies.
SMALL ADVANCE: Congressional auditors are recommending that the Defense and Homeland Security departments and the General Services Administration reinvigorate their reporting regarding government practices favoring small businesses. "To ensure compliance with federal contracting regulations and more transparently disclose the availability of subcontracting opportunities for small businesses," the biggest-spending federal agencies should issue guidance, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said.
On Oct. 12 Japan's Selene lunar orbiter released its second 50-kilogram (110-pound) daughter satellite, the Very Long Baseline Interferometer (VRAD), positioning it in an orbit about 800 kilometers (500 miles) above the moon. Separation was confirmed through images onboard the main spacecraft, dubbed Kaguya following a poll of the Japanese public. The probe will work with VRAD and a twin microsatellite -- Rstar -- to produce the first global gravity map of the moon. Rstar was released Oct. 8 (DAILY, Oct. 9).
OMAHA, Neb. -- The loss of a classified satellite after only 7 seconds on orbit prompted the review of software and processors that has caused the most recent delay and a potential $1 billion overrun in Lockheed Martin's Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS), says Gary Payton, deputy under secretary of the Air Force for space programs.
BANG FOR BUCK: President Bush is asking for a "baseline" Pentagon budget for fiscal 2008 of $481.4 billion, but altogether the national security budget requests he has submitted amount to $802.9 billion, according to Washington watchdog Center for Defense Information (CDI). A new for-sale publication by the group portrays how as defense budgets have increased in recent years to historic highs in dollar amounts, U.S. military forces have been shrinking.
RDT&E SQUEEZE: Changes to the Defense Department's budget are "inevitable and potentially significant" considering elections for control of the White House and Capitol Hill next year, the Aerospace and Defense group at consultancy Frost & Sullivan says. "There is a good likelihood that successful [research, development, testing and evaluation] efforts will receive continued, although reduced, funding in the out-years.
EGYPTIAN MISSILES: The U.S. Navy will sell $125 million worth of Raytheon missiles and related services to Egypt under a Foreign Military Sale (FMS), according to a notice to Congress. The deal involves 139 RIM 116B Block 1A Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAMs) with MK-44 Guided Missile Round Packs and related contractor logistics, material and support. The RAMs and packs provide the weapons used by the MK-31 RAM Guided Missile Weapons System as part of the Egyptian Fast Missile Craft (FMC), which VT Halter Marine is building for the Middle Eastern ally (DAILY, Nov.
A dispute among engineers over the safety of some of the reinforced carbon carbon (RCC) panels on the wing leading edges of the space shuttle Discovery could delay the upcoming International Space Station (ISS) assembly mission significantly - perhaps stalling it until next year.
International Launch Services (ILS) hopes to have its Proton launch vehicle back in operation before the end of the year, following the release of Russian government findings into a Sept. 6 accident that sidelined the heavy lifter. In a report issued Oct. 11, the Russian State Commission investigating the mishap attributed the failure to a damaged pyro firing cable on the interstage truss that prevented the activation of pyro bolts, preventing the separation of the first and second stages of the rocket (DAILY, Sept. 7).
AERO RESEARCH: NASA's aeronautics directorate is looking for research proposals that address the "Integration of Advanced Concepts and Vehicles into the Next Generation Air Transportation System," known as NextGen. The agency wants to explore issues associated with deploying new, advanced vehicles by assessing the tradeoffs among procedures, vehicle characteristics and overall NextGen performance. The research announcement can be found at nspires.nasaprs.com.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The National Security Space Institute (NSSI) will find out on Dec. 4 whether it will move from under Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) to the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The potential realignment raises funding and advocacy concerns for NSSI. The school, which provides continuing education and training to space professionals in all the services, currently enjoys the dedicated funding and attention of outgoing Air Force Space Command chief Gen. Kevin Chilton. Priority
