MOSCOW - Russia's Federal Space Agency launched a Foton M space materials processing research laboratory on May 31 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The 14,400-pound spacecraft is based on the proven design of manned Vostok capsules and unmanned Zenit photoreconnaissance satellites. The spherical return capsule carries about 60 Russian and European Space Agency (ESA) experiments, including a fluid dynamics research package.
NAVY United Defense L.P., Armament Systems Division, Minneapolis, is being awarded a $44,164,231 contract modification to a previously awarded contract for three 5"/62 MK 45 MOD 4 Gun Mounts. The work will be performed in Minneapolis (60 percent) and Louisville, Ky. (40 percent) and is expected to be completed by December 2007. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington D.C., is the contracting activity. (N00024-99-C-5206) AIR FORCE
MOSCOW - On May 28, RSC Energia shareholders elected Nikolai Sevastianov president of the company, Russia's main contractor for manned space programs. Sevastianov got 53% of the votes from attendees of a shareholders' meeting and about 43% of the total vote. Although he was backed by the Federal Space Agency, which owns about 38% of the company, he was opposed by company management, who wanted to retain Yuri Semyonov in the post (DAILY, May 27). - Dmitry Pieson ([email protected])
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.
June 1 - 2 -- National Small Business Conference, "Opening New Frontiers Through Effective Partnering," Los Angeles Marriott Airport, Los Angeles, Calif. For more information go to www.ndia.org. June 5 - 7 -- SATS 2005: A Transformation in Air Travel, "Demonstration of the capabilities of the Small Aircraft Transportation System project," Danville Regional Airport, Danville, Va. For more information contact September Moon Productions at 248-355-3700, email [email protected] or go to www.sats2005.com.
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.
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.
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 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.
