HUBBLE TRAINING: The astronauts that will conduct the final space shuttle servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope in 2008 are at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., this week for their first formal crew orientation. Goddard personnel are briefing the crew and discussing the mission's five spacewalks, which will install two new science instruments and perform upgrades. Veteran astronaut Scott Altman will command the mission and U.S. Navy Reserve Capt. Gregory C. Johnson will serve as pilot.
A longtime finance executive who left Boeing in 2003 is rejoining the aerospace industry as Northrop Grumman's new chief financial officer (CFO). Northrop Grumman's appointment of James F. Palmer on Feb. 13 ends a long CFO search that began when Wesley G. Bush was promoted to company president in May 2006. Bush had retained the dual titles of president and CFO while the search for a new CFO was conducted.
The American Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is recommending that the U.S. establish a base at the lunar south pole base sooner than currently planned and work with international partners to establish the basis of a robust lunar commerce. In January 2004, President Bush announced plans for NASA to develop a new human spaceflight vehicle to succeed the space shuttle that would return astronauts to the moon no later than 2020. The agency plans to establish a base at the lunar south pole later in that decade (DAILY, Dec. 5).
China's National Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan says there won't be a repeat of the Jan. 11 anti-satellite weapon test that scattered more than 900 trackable pieces of debris across the most heavily used satellite orbits in space. Fukushiro Nukaga, the former Japanese minister of state for defense, told reporters in Tokyo that during a meeting in Beijing Cao also repeated past Chinese denials that the test was a hostile act.
NASA's current strategy of favoring large astrophysics missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope at the expense of smaller missions could be closing the door on future scientific discoveries, according to the National Academies' National Research Council (NRC). The NRC's Space Studies board performed a one-year survey of NASA's astrophysics portfolio at the agency's request to assess, among other things, how well it matches with the priorities of the National Academies' decadal survey, which polls scientists on their highest-priority research goals.
The Swedish government is looking to buy small explosive ordnance disposal robots in the near future. The military's Defense Material Administration, or FMV, indicates a formal procurement program of systems in the 15-kilogram to 50-kilogram range could emerge in the coming months. The systems would serve as complements to medium-sized explosive ordnance disposal systems the military has already fielded. The new robots would be used to deal with explosives in hard-to-reach places, including inside commercial aircraft or buses or under vehicles.
U.S. and European guided-weapons manufacturers are lining up to slug it out over a slew of anti-ship missile requirements for the Indian military. India has requirements for additional maritime patrol aircraft and for a naval multirole helicopter. Part of the weapons package for both will be an anti-ship missile. There is also a requirement to replace the Sea Eagle for the maritime strike role for the Jaguar aircraft.
The top two U.S. Air Force officials made a forceful presentation to House defense appropriators Feb. 12, citing a possible reversal in plans to cut personnel, as well as reiterating longstanding requests to retire aging aircraft to free up $1.7 billion annually. In turn, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Gen. T. Michael Moseley, chief of staff, largely received a sympathetic reception during the public hearing over Air Force budget requests.
The Pentagon, the FAA and the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) community have regrouped since the cancellation of a NASA-funded program to improve the access of unmanned aircraft to civil airspace, and a key report on how to facilitate these operations will soon be delivered to the FAA.
The U.S. Navy hopes to finally release its master plan for unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) within the next two months, according to service officials. The document's expected completion slipped from last year while the service wrestled with its overall USV strategy (DAILY, Aug. 20, 2006). Once the final draft undergoes internal review, the plan will be posted on the Internet.
NAVY Kollsman Co., Merrimack, N.H., is being awarded a $33,777,350 modification to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (M67854-06-C-6001) for the production of an additional 400 U.S. Marine Corps Laser Target Designators. The work will be performed in Merrimack, N.H. (70 percent), and Rehovot, Israel (30 percent), and is expected to be completed by June 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
SCIENCE CHIEF: NASA has named S. Alan Stern the new head of the agency's Science Mission Directorate, effective April 2. Stern will succeed Mary Cleave, who is retiring. Stern joins NASA from the Southwest Research Institute's Space Science and Engineering Division in Boulder, Colo., where he has been serving as executive director. A planetary scientist, Stern served as the principal investigator on a number of NASA missions, including the New Horizons Pluto-Kuiper Belt mission.
AIR FORCE Boeing Co., Seattle Wash., is being awarded a $23,533,000 firm-fixed-price contract modification. This delivery order provides funding for CY07 Communication Equipment Subscription Services for the C-32A and C-40B aircraft. At this time, total funds have been obligated. This work will be complete by January 2008. Headquarters Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-01-D-0013/No modification number at this time).
A recent Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) report said the EA-18G Growler program is risky, but prime contractor Boeing says the risks are being addressed and the program remains on schedule and in some areas ahead of its development timetable. DOT&E called the Growler program "aggressive," but said testing is adequate to support low-rate production decisions. "Primary EA-18G risks center on integrating the AEA (Airborne Electronic Attack) weapons onto the F/A-18F platform," the report said.
With Boeing's Feb. 12 announcement that offers the KC-767 aircraft as the Air Force's next tanker, the company set the stage for a stark and distinct competition. Boeing's medium-sized tanker entry will take on the Northrop Grumman team's large Airbus 330 derivative, the KC-30. Boeing's KC-767 focuses on runway access to smaller airstrips - 8,000 feet or possibly even smaller - and the ability to put "more booms in the air," said John Sams, Boeing Air Force programs vice president, during a briefing.
PLEDGELESS: Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he is not aware of any efforts to formalize an agreement with Russia to underline the Bush administration's claim that an Eastern European-based element to the U.S. ballistic missile defense system would not be a threat to the former Cold War adversary. "We've made quite clear to them that it's not directed at them, and in fact, in India, the deputy prime minister acknowledged that it posed no threat to Russia or to its strategic deterrent," Gates maintains. "This was a few weeks ago.
PRESSURE POINT: Top Northrop Grumman and EADS officials struggled until the last minute last week to create a competitive KC-30 tanker bid that trims airframe costs and highlights the design's greater cargo, passenger and fuel capacity. They now expect a strong showing against Boeing's smaller, less expensive KC-767 for the Air Force tanker contract. But experienced Air Force acquisition officials say there is a deeper game afoot.
