NASA did not adequately explore alternatives to the space shuttle for ferrying cargo to the International Space Station, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Canada wants to purchase up to $34 million worth of U.S. Link 16 terminals and related equipment, according to the Pentagon. If Congress approves the deal, it apparently would be Canada's first buy of the Link 16 Multifunction Information Distribution System (MIDS)/Low Volume Terminals (LVT). They would be used in Canada's F-18 aircraft, and would allow Canadian forces to operate more closely with those of the United States.
SILICON CARBIDE: The Office of Naval Research has awarded Cree Inc. of Durham, N.C., a $12.1 million contract to develop prototype high-voltage switches and diodes using Silicon Carbide. The contracted work will be performed in Durham and is expected to be finished by November 2006.
The U.S. Army is gearing up to reveal plans for a new guided rocket, an effort designed to replace recently canceled work that was led by General Dynamics. The Army intends to release a draft request for proposals (RFP) the week of June 20-24 and hold an industry day the week of July 4-8, said Dan O'Boyle, a spokesman for Army Aviation and Missile Command.
U.S. Defense Department and Air Force agents were involved in the federal government's recent search of Orbital Sciences Corp. facilities, DOD and Air Force spokespersons said May 31. The agents were from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations (OSI). DCIS is the criminal investigative arm of DOD's Inspector General. OSI is the Air Force's main investigative service and reports to the Air Force's Inspector General.
The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded United Defense LP's Armament Systems Division of Minneapolis a maximum $376 million contract to continue working on the Advanced Gun System (AGS) for the DD(X) destroyer program. Most of the work under the contract will be performed in Minneapolis with the rest in Orlando, Fla. It is expected to be finished by September 2010, the Defense Department announced late May 27.
MICROWAVE DEALS: Herley Industries will supply microwave technology for the U.S. Navy's "Coyote" Supersonic Sea-skimming Target Missile, an Air Force air-to-air missile and high-speed commercial communications systems under contracts totaling $3.6 million. The company said it expects order booking to continue "at a healthy pace" for the rest of its fiscal 2005.
A shipbuilding benchmarking study is recommending that the United States establish a five-year, $148.2 million Shipbuilding Industrial Base Investment Fund that would help the two major U.S. defense shipbuilders better design and produce vessels, outsource services and supply and streamline the government's involvement in the shipbuilding process.
Air-breathing hypersonic stages for future launch systems could offer significant benefits in safety and mission flexibility over today's rockets, according to hypersonics engineers at NASA.
CHINA RISING: Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) is forming the Congressional China Caucus because of the Asian giant's burgeoning economic and military capacity. "China's economic output is expected to triple over the next 15 years, and its militarization efforts have raised concerns worldwide," a Forbes statement says. "The Congressional China Caucus is being formed to raise awareness on and serve as a forum of discussion for U.S.-China interests in the U.S. House of Representatives." Other members include Reps.
SUPER HORNETS: The Boeing Co. is open to selling additional numbers of F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters to the U.S. Navy and to India and Japan, a Boeing official says. "We're always working with our Navy customer ... we'll sell as many Super Hornets to the Navy as they would like to buy," Bob Farmer Jr., Boeing's director of business development for the F/A-18, said recently.
With renewed hope that NASA may restore funding for hypersonics, engineers at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., are crafting a revamped proposal for the X-43C, a larger follow-on to the record-setting X-43A demonstrator that flew twice in 2004. Funding for hypersonics appeared to dry up last year as the agency's space exploration plans took center stage and various aeronautics efforts were scaled back or canceled. Engineers at Langley were ordered to stop work on the X-43C, a 16-foot-long vehicle that would have used hydrocarbon fuel.
South Korea will buy another round of fighter aircraft worth 5.6 trillion won ($5.6 billion) and spend 800 billion won ($799 million) on 20 other weapons programs between 2006 and 2010, the defense ministry said May 26.
The value of new orders for the defense sector of the U.S. aerospace industry for the first quarter of 2005 indicates that the current boom will continue a bit longer than expected, said David Napier, director of the Aerospace Industries Association's Aerospace Research Center.
The U.S. Navy late May 26 announced it had awarded roughly $30 million in research and development (R&D) work to General Dynamics Electric Boat Division of Groton, Conn., and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., of Sunnyvale, Calif., for undersea warfare activity.
DSP-23 SHIPPED: The last of the Northrop Grumman-built, missile-launch-detecting Defense Support Program (DSP) satellites was shipped to Cape Canaveral, Fla., May 9 to process it for launch, the U.S. Air Force says. DSP-23 is scheduled to lift off in December.
PARIS PRESENCE: The U.S. Defense Department plans to display eight to 10 aircraft at the Paris Air Show in mid-June, according to Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kohler, head of the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The aircraft likely will include Apache and Black Hawk helicopters, C-130J and C-17 transports and the F/A-18E/F fighter. In addition, the Boeing Co. says it plans to send over the first KC-767A tanker, which it built for the Italian air force. "It's one of the most robust shows we've had in a long time," Kohler tells The DAILY.
DE-MATING: Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center will de-mate the shuttle Discovery from its external tank (ET-120) on May 31 and attach it to a new tank, ET-121, on June 7. The second tank to feature safety improvements developed in the wake of the Columbia accident, ET-121 originally was scheduled to fly with Atlantis on the second return-to-flight mission, STS-121. A new heater will be installed on ET-121 on the feedline bellows, where engineers are concerned that ice may form.
Rep. Robert Andrews (D-N.J.) is on a mission that hobby enthusiasts young and old could thank him for: cutting some of the cost of toy military aircraft and ship models. The lawmaker successfully amended the House's fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill to require the Defense Department to prohibit defense contractors from requiring U.S. toy and hobby manufacturers, distributors or merchants to obtain licenses from, or pay fees to, the contractor for the use of military likenesses or designations on items provided under DOD contracts.
SATS DEMO: NASA, the FAA and industry partners plan to demonstrate new small-aircraft aviation technology at "SATS 2005: A Transformation of Air Travel," on June 6 at the regional airport in Danville, Va. The Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) is intended to develop technologies to let small airplanes fly safely into community airports that don't have radar or extensive ground navigation systems, so people can fly from these airports on demand.
UAV FLIGHT HOURS: The ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle, developed by Boeing Co. and the Insitu Group, has surpassed 3,000 combat flight hours in Iraq in just 10 months, Boeing said May 26. The ScanEagle was deployed by the First Marine Expeditionary Force beginning in August 2004 and provides intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, the company said.
Orbital Sciences Corp. announced May 27 that it is involved in a federal investigation into U.S. government launch vehicle contracts. The company said in a brief statement that federal authorities are believed to be probing contracting procedures for "certain" launch vehicle programs and that government agents executed search warrants May 26 at Orbital's Dulles, Va., and Chandler, Ariz., facilities.
