SATCOM NETWORK: Yah Satellite Communications, an affiliate of Abu Dhabi government-owned Mubadala Development, says it has selected EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space to supply a 5 billion dirham ($1.4 billion) dual-use satcom network to serve the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia. Neither manufacturer would comment on the deal, but based on past collaborations by the two firms, Astrium could be expected to supply the two spacecraft and Thales the payload and ground segment.
NOSTRADAMUS: Onera, the French aerospace laboratory, says it plans to begin work on an advanced derivative of the Nostradamus over-the-horizon ionospheric radar brought into service in late 2005 with the French air force. The new version, which is expected to receive a green light later this year or in early 2008, probably would employ the same star-shaped network architecture as Nostradamus. But it has not yet been decided whether to upgrade the existing facility or build an all-new installation.
EATC: France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium have signed an agreement to prepare the way for a European Air Transport Command (EATC), intended to plan and deploy tactical and strategic airlift capacity for the European Union and ensure the standardization, safety and interoperability of airlift fleets. The agreement aims to have an initial EATC operating capability - one of the European Union's primary capability shortfalls - by 2009.
SOFIA ARRIVES: NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) soon will begin its multi-phase three-year test flight program, having arrived at its new home at Dryden Flight Research Center in California May 31. The heavily modified Boeing 747SP was ferried to Dryden from Waco, Texas, where L-3 Communications Integrated Systems installed a German-built 2.5-meter infrared telescope and made other major modifications over the past several years.
The U.S. military has rolled out $635 million more for production of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, with $623.1 million to a unit of Navistar International for 1,200 Category I MRAPs and an additional $12 million for 14 Category IIIs from high-profile provider Force Protection, according to the Pentagon and the contractors.
The U.S. Air Force and National Security Space Office (NSSO) have launched a study into the feasibility and practicality of developing a solar energy harvesting system that uses satellites to collect sun power and beam it to Earth-bound collector systems via laser, microwave or similar transmissions.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] June 4 - 6 -- AVIATION WEEK's Defense Suppliers Forum, "Mitigating Supply Chain Risk Through Improved Compliance and Contracting Programs," Washington Marriott, Washington, D.C. For more information call Rachelle Young at (212) 904-2779, email: rachelle_ young@ aviationweek.com or go to http://www.aviationweek.com/ forums.
COUNTDOWN: NASA will start the launch countdown for STS-117 at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, June 5, at the T-43 hour point. The countdown includes 27 hours, 32 minutes of built-in hold time leading to a preferred liftoff time at approximately 7:38 p.m. Friday, June 8. During the 11-day assembly mission to the International Space Station, shuttle Atlantis' crew will help install the S3/S4 truss segment, unfold a new set of solar arrays and retract one array on the station's starboard side.
ON DEMAND: A concerted effort by the U.S. Air Force and National Security Space Office (NSSO) to use satellites to collect solar power and transmit it to the planet's surface (see story p. 4) could provide the Army with its oft-stated need for "energy on demand," says the co-chairman of the study to do the task, Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Hornitschek. Another benefit of the space solar-satellite energy effort could be the development of cheaper access to space, he says.
WITHHOLDING: Aerospace and defense lobbyists in Washington are making limited but significant progress in their effort to undo a looming requirement to withhold 3 percent from certain federal contract payments starting in 2011. They are trying to spotlight the alleged cost of establishing the bureaucracy to enact it, the potential impact on contractors' performance and supposed costs returned to taxpayers.
NEXT-GEN SUPPORT AIRCRAFT: The U.S. Navy has chosen L-3 Communications Integrated Systems for a $42.2 million contract to develop a Next Generation Range Support Aircraft, a modified P-3. Contracted work includes designing, developing, documenting, installing, integrating and testing modifications and range instrumentation. The work will be performed in Waco, Texas, and is expected to be completed in April 2011, the Defense Department announced May 30.
Boeing has unveiled details of its X-45D Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D) design, which is vying with a Northrop Grumman design in the U.S. Navy's effort to put a long-range unmanned recce/bomber on carrier decks by 2025. Visually, it will look much like a larger version of the X-45C, which was built for high-stealth attack missions. Internally it has been strengthened to survive operations at sea and enlarged to carry larger weapons and a battery of forward-looking sensors for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR).
NMT AWARD: The U.S. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) has selected Raytheon over Harris Corp. for the Navy Multiband Terminal, awarding a $20.6 million Raytheon that could be worth $960 million eventually. The Pentagon said May 31 that the deal combines purchases for the U.S. Navy (94 percent), Canada (3.54 percent), the United Kingdom (1.68 percent) and the Netherlands (.78 percent). Most of Raytheon's work will occur in Largo, Fla., but some work will take place in Marlborough, Mass. (17 percent).
LOS ANGELES AFB and SUNNYVALE, CALIF. - Pentagon acquisition chief Kenneth Krieg plans to review the status of the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) June 14.
RESTARTING BELL: U.S. Army acquisition executive Claude Bolton has given the nod for the service to negotiate with officials at Bell Helicopter on a get-well plan for the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH). Paul Bogosian, program executive officer for aviation, says he has until the end of June to report back to Bolton with a final restructuring proposal. He predicts an 18-month slip, until April 2010, for the first unit to be equipped with the modified 407 airframe. Cost hasn't yet been ironed out.
ROBOTIC ROLL CALL: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is calling on Japanese industry to offer current terrestrial robotic technology for present and future space missions. JAXA thinks robotic technologies already used in factories and micro-robots could be adapted for satellites, rovers and equipment for supporting human life in space. Robotics is deemed essential in space, particularly because of the time limits on astronauts working outside of spacecraft.
Astronaut Navy Cdr. William Oefelein, the man at the center of a love triangle involving former astronaut Navy Lt. Cdr. Lisa Nowak, has been fired from the NASA astronaut office and is returning to a Navy assignment. Oefelein, who was the co-pilot on a space shuttle Discovery mission to the International Space Station last December, is being reassigned to a Navy space planning facility in Virginia.
Space shuttle managers expressed continued confidence in repairs made to Atlantis' external tank following a day-and-a-half review that formally green-lit the shuttle to launch on mission STS-117 on the evening of June 8. "We are extremely confident we have done perfectly good repairs and we will have a tank that is safe to fly," Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale said during a news conference May 31 following the flight readiness review (FRR).
Lockheed Martin should receive the third HC-144A Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) made by EADS CASA in Spain by the middle of June, an industry representative said. Under a revised schedule for installing C4ISR systems and testing them, the first MPA should be delivered to the Coast Guard in early fall, while all three are to be handed over to the service by the end of the year.
The U.S. Navy said May 31 that it finished production of the Vehicle Tethered Dual Mounted Stinger to help qualify Lithuania for NATO membership. The air defense system is supposed to arrive there in late summer. "Air defense is critical for Lithuania as the political climate in Eastern Europe changes," said a Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) statement.
The companies competing for the U.S. Air Force's combat, search and rescue (CSAR-X) helicopter replacement fleet have adopted a mostly wait-and-see public posture following this week's release of the revised request for proposals (RFP). But losing bidder Sikorsky had some stronger remarks. "We are extremely disappointed," company spokesman Paul Jackson said. "The Air Force has been largely unresponsive to our questions and concerns."
Over the course of May 25-31, the DAILY ran several stories about the U.S. Air Force's acquisition and deployment of Thales Raytheon Systems' (TRS) Battle Control System-Fixed (BCS-F), an upgraded and modernized command-and-control system meant to help marry FAA and NORAD radars for the defense of North America. This integration is intended to help prevent further terrorist attacks with hijacked civilian jets.
