UNCLEAN BOOKS: Audited accounting from the Defense, Energy, Homeland Security and State departments, as well as NASA, all were deemed so problematic that federal auditors could not evaluate their submissions, according to White House Office of Management and Budget data. Otherwise, 18 of 24 federal agencies received "clean" or "qualified" audit opinions for fiscal 2006, the OMB announced Nov. 16.
SPLIT AWARDS: SES Global has split awards for two new spacecraft, contracting NSS-9, intended for its New Skies affiliate, to Orbital Sciences Corp. and Astra 3b to EADS Astrium. NSS-9, a 2.2 metric ton 2.3 kW spacecraft with 28 active C-band transponders, will be launched to 183 degrees east longitude in 2008, permitting NSS-5 to be moved to an as-yet undisclosed orbital slot.
The federal government, except for the Defense and Homeland Security departments, remains funded by a continuing resolution (CR) through Dec. 8 - and may even stay there for the rest of fiscal 2007 under one scenario brewing on Capitol Hill.
RESEARCH CENTER: Thales has opened a vast new research center in Palaiseau, France,which is intended to enhance synergies with public universities and research institutes. Sized to house 500 researchers, the center near Paris is located next to Polytechnique, France's most prestigious engineering school, and near other major R&D centers, including the Saclay complex operated by the Atomic Energy Commission CEA.
The United States will sell $1.5 billion worth of defense articles and services to Saudi Arabia, namely 155 General Electric F110-GE129 engines for the country's F-15S aircraft and 20 Pratt & Whitney F100-PW229 engines to restore the current inventory there.
ProtoStar, a Bermuda-based startup planning to offer direct-to-home broadcasting coverage across Asia, says it has completed financing needed to acquire and launch the first of three spacecraft to provide the service. The $210 million financing package, consisting of $160 million in senior secured convertible notes and $50 million in equity from venture and private equity funds, will complement initial funding raised in early 2005 from the new Enterprise Association and SpaceVest.
The U.S. Navy is on the cusp of an unprecedented transition in its mine warfare capabilities, assuming Congress and defense planners follow through on planned funding, the program manager for mine warfare told The DAILY on Nov. 21.
CV-22 SUPPORT: Boeing and partner Bell Helicopter are performing support services for the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command's CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor at Hurlburt Field, Fla., following a Nov. 16 ceremony commemorating the first aircraft delivery there. The Bell-Boeing team is providing performance-based support for the first nine production CV-22s, five of which will be assigned to the 8th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field. The remaining four are assigned to the 71st Special Operations Squadron at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
The U.S. Air Force still has work to do to improve its cost estimates at the outset of space acquisition programs, which have been marred by over-optimism and pressure to keep costs unrealistically low, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
SUBMARINE C4ISR: L-3 Communications' Titan Corp., Science Application International Corp.'s Technology Services Co. and Serco Inc. all won potentially three-year, multimillion-dollar awards to bid for task orders to support the U.S. Navy's Submarine Communication Information and Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) Systems Division, with technical support services for submarine and satellite communication, information technology and other C4I efforts. According to a Nov.
ROOSEVELT OVERHAUL: The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command has given the go-ahead to Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Newport News, Va., shipbuilding unit to begin planning for the refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and its reactor plants. The work could eventually be worth $558 million, according to the company, although Navsea's initial cost-plus-fixed fee, level-of-effort contract for fiscal 2007 advance planning was worth $65.3 million.
International partners in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program are preparing to put several billion dollars into the effort to help finance production tooling and future upgrades of the aircraft. The spending is part of the sign-up costs as the countries become partners in the Production Sustainment and Follow-On Development phase. The outlays represent a large financial commitment, although the actual spending rate is relatively low since it is stretched over 40 years.
Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky have filed protests with the U.S. Government Accountability Office against the Air Force award of its combat, search and rescue (CSAR-X) helicopter program to Boeing Co., an acquisition deal worth between $10 billion and $15 billion. Sikorsky filed its appeal Nov. 17. A company release said, "Sikorsky seeks to ensure the selection process accurately evaluated the characteristics and performance of its HH-92 helicopter."
The recent successful on-orbit checkout of the first Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) High highly elliptical orbit (HEO) payload bodes well for the ongoing development of the future geosynchronous (GEO) sensor, according to U.S. Air Force space officials.
MH-60R HELOS: The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command has awarded United Technologies Co.'s Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. a $138.5 million contract modification for 12 MH-60R full-rate production Lot IV helicopters. Almost all the work will be performed in Stratford, Conn., but some will be carried out in Troy, Ala., and is expected to be finished in December 2007.
The U.S. comptroller general, the head of the congressional Government Accountability Office, has provided a list of suggested oversight topics to Congress for lawmakers to consider when the Democratic-controlled legislature convenes in January. Among numerous recommendations, David Walker suggests the 110th Congress require agencies with significant acquisition budgets, namely the Defense Department and NASA, to better align requirements, budget and acquisition processes to reconcile the differences between wants, needs, affordability and sustainability.
BYE-BUY AMERICAN: As the Iraq war continues and the 2008 presidential campaign looms, Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO John Douglass doesn't expect much change in defense spending under a Democratic Congress. "I do not believe either party will come out with a 'slash defense' strategy," he says, but one likely change is an end to what he calls the "draconian" Buy America legislation that has come out of the House of Representatives every year.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has received a $24.6 million contract for planning and design for CVN 79, the second aircraft carrier of the CVN 78 class, the company said Nov. 15. The company's Newport News, Va., business unit will perform the work, which includes planning, feasibility studies, system development, engineering services and other design efforts. Construction on CVN 79 is slated to begin in 2012, with delivery to the U.S. Navy in 2019.
Demands on the European Defense Agency (EDA) are starting to increase, with member states calling on the organization to start tackling critical issues affecting long-term spending plans next year. The work program agreed to by the EDA steering board last week is the latest step in trying to expand the power and influence of the European Union agency. The Council of the European Union has put long-term planning for EDA at the top of its agenda.
A new Lockheed Martin/U.S. Air Force modernized Global Positioning System navigation satellite is en route to its assigned slot in the GPS constellation following launch from Cape Canaveral on Nov. 17 onboard a Boeing Delta II. The launch followed a one-day delay because of bad weather.
