U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) controllers are preparing a pair of rocket-plume characterization tests later this year now that an Orbital Sciences Minotaur I solid-fuel rocket has orbited the Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE). The second Minotaur I launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at Wallops Island, Va., early April 24 placed the 494-kilogram (1090-pound) spacecraft in its target orbit of 250 by 450 kilometers inclined 48.2 degrees to the equator.
The European Commission has OK'd the proposed takeover of Smiths Aerospace by General Electric. When first announced, the deal raised some eyebrows among European aerospace prime contractors about potential ramifications for them as GE gained increasing power to bundle products. But the EC says "the proposed transaction would not significantly impede competition" in its area.
U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley says he's had enough of protests on the service's combat, search and rescue (CSAR-X) helicopter replacement program.
The U.S. Army could fund its operational needs until June or even July by shifting funds from other sources, according to a recent report by the Congressional Research Service.
The U.S. Army is gearing up to test, introduce or expand use of several new precision strike munitions, including the Global Positioning System-guided Excalibur projectiles, in Iraq starting next month, Army officials said April 24. The effort comes as the Army has cut its artillery force structure in half as it tries to modernize, restructure and push down formerly division-based capabilities to the tactical brigade level, the officials told the Precision Strike Association's annual program review conference in Springfield, Va.
IT JUSTICE: The U.S. government has formally joined three whistleblower suits alleging that Hewlett-Packard, Accenture and Sun Microsystems solicited and provided improper payments and other in-kind, so-called "benefits" to favored subcontractors on information technology contracts with government agencies, the Justice Department said. The whistleblower suits, originally filed in U.S.
SARLUPE LAUNCH: Launch of the second of five SARLupe radar reconnaissance satellites has been set for July 1, according to prime contractor OHB-System. Like the first unit, orbited on Dec. 19, the new spacecraft will be sent aloft atop a Cosmos 3M booster from Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia. The system, being procured by the German armed forces, is to enter initial operation in the autumn, once the second satellite has been brought into service. Full operating capability is expected by the end of next year, following launch of the three remaining spacecraft.
The competition to supply Turkey with a new anti-tank weapon will be fought out in the coming months between South Africa's Denel, Israel's Rafael, Russia's Rosoboronexport, and Raytheon. The four companies have asked for the formal request for proposals for the so-called Medium-Range Anti-Tank Weapon Systems program. The deadline for requesting the bid documents remains open until the end of the month. The competitors have until June 29 to finalize their offers and pricing packages for MRAWS, according to the Turkish defense ministry.
GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER, Md. - Scientists analyzing the first 3D images of the sun returned by NASA's twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft believe the extra detail they are getting will help them hone their ability to forecast dangerous solar storms.
EGYPTSAT-1 LAUNCHED: The chances for a late May/early June launch of Germany's TerraSAR-X 1-meter resolution commercial radar imaging satellite look better following the successful April 18 sendoff of an Egyptian remote sensing/scientific satellite, EgyptSat-1, by a Russian Dnepr-1 rocket, the intended TerraSAR-X launch vehicle. Dnepr-1 had been sidelined since a July 2006 failure caused by a premature first stage engine shutdown.
Under the current CG(X) development plan, the Navy would likely need to start ordering some components for a nuclear-powered ship if it wants that type of propulsion for the ship, says a recent report by the Congressional Research Service.
The United States and Russia will form a working group of experts to discuss the proposed U.S. plan to base missile defenses in Eastern Europe, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced April 23 in Moscow. We "would like to have the Russians as partners in this process," Gates said. "We would like to share information with them. We're prepared to co-locate radars with them. We think there are some real opportunities here for both sides." Not a threat
If weapons costs grow in the near future as they have over the past 30 years, spending requirements for the Defense Department's planned purchases in 2011 - excluding cost risk associated with ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - would average about $195 billion annually, or $19 billion more than the Bush administration has outlined, congressional budgeters have reported.
ARMY FLIR Systems Inc., Wilsonville, Ore., was awarded on April 5, 2007, a delivery order amount of $14,678,393 as part of a $14,678,393 firm-fixed-price contract for FLIR StarSAFIRE sensors. Work will be performed in Wilsonville, Ore., and is expected to be completed by Aug. 1, 2007. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on March 27, 2007. The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Huntsville, Ala., is the contracting activity (W9113M-07-D-0001).
NFIRE LAUNCH SCRUB: Ground-support equipment problems postponed the April 23 launch from the NASA Wallops Island Facility, Va., of a four-stage Minotaur I rocket carrying a Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE) satellite for NASA, the Missile Defense Agency and the Air Force. A new attempt was scheduled for 2:48 a.m. EDT April 24. The primary payload is the Track Sensor Payload that will collect images of the exhaust plume from two rockets to be launched later this year from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
The Pentagon's outlines for how it plans to handle intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets and operations need some fine-tuning, according to recent congressional testimony by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
FOREIGN RAPTORS: The Pentagon is looking at "softening" the restraints on releasing some of the F-22 Raptor technology to make it easier to export, according to industry sources familiar with the aircraft and the Defense Department review. But the department also is looking at changing some of the avionics in the Raptor to make it more current and common with its newer cousin, the Joint Strike Fighter. Possible export customers mentioned as being interested and capable of buying some Raptors include Japan and Israel.
JAPAN AGREEMENT: Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) will help support Japanese users of the International Space Station (ISS) under a memorandum of understanding the company recently signed with Japan Manned Space Systems Corp. RpK is developing its K-1 launch vehicle for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, in which the company is competing with SpaceX to provide cargo and possibly crew transport to the ISS. Japan Manned Space Systems Corp. was established to provide the same services that RpK would provide to NASA if it is the low bidder for COTS.
