Shuttle mission STS-117 will be extended for two days to enable repair of a tear in a thermal blanket on its left Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pod. Johnson Space Center managers and engineers were to decide late June 12 when and how the repair would take place. A significant question raised by the repair decision, however, is whether at least two and as many as seven previous shuttle crews were placed at significantly greater re-entry risk than believed at the time their flights landed.
The U.S. Coast Guard will cap task orders at 18 months under its latest Deepwater contract with Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS) so the service - which is racing to regrow its in-house acquisition capabilities - can boost contracting oversight, the commandant told lawmakers June 12. Adm. Thad Allen outlined the task order limit as part of the "acquisition blueprint" and other Deepwater changes being implemented in light of program problems like shipbuilding and technology.
RESTRUCTURING: Northrop Grumman Corp. and Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) on June 12 announced a plan to restructure their joint venture, AMSEC LLC, by dividing the company along customer and product lines. AMSEC is a full-service supplier that provides engineering, logistics and technical support services primarily to U.S. Navy ship and aviation programs.
The Defense Department spends too many of its resources on fighting current conflicts, while the services are too centered on themselves, a recently released RAND study says.
British Defense Minister Des Browne reiterated June 12 that Iran is providing military assistance to insurgents inside Iraq, in particular help with sophisticated improvised explosive devices. Browne says there are "specific kinds of improvised explosive devices (IED) that our intelligence tells us can only be manufactured in Iran, not in Iraq."
Mary Armstrong has been named vice president of Environment, Health and Safety, a new organization designed to integrate and expand the focus of the separate environmental groups and initiatives that currently exist within the company. Armstrong had previously been president of Boeing's Shared Services Group (SSG). Vivek Lall has been appointed vice president of business development for the company's Integrated Defense System (IDS) business in India. Lall has been managing director of Boeing Commercial Airplanes in India for the past four years.
Guy Norris has joined the editorial staff as Senior Editor. He will cover technology developments across the industry. Previously he worked for Flight International, first as Technical Editor based in the U.K. and most recently as U.S. West Coast Editor.
The U.S. Army needs better scrutiny of its Future Combat Systems (FCS) program lead systems integrator (LSI) structure, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says in a recent report. The GAO says the Pentagon needs to see if the LSI setup - for its multiple new systems linked by a first-of-a-kind information network - will affect other acquisitions. The Army contract for FCS gives the LSI a more expansive role than that of a typical prime contractor.
Richard J. Boak has been named vice president and controller for the company's Information Technology (IT) sector. Carl Johnson has been appointed to vice president of Programs-Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) within the company's Integrated Systems sector.
B-2 COMMS: Northrop Grumman Corporation has begun work on a 62-month, $171 million system development and demonstration (SDD) contract for the first increment of a new extremely high frequency (EHF) satellite communications system for the U.S. Air Force's B-2 stealth bomber, the company announced June 11. Under a planned three-increment upgrade program, the new EHF system will eventually allow the B-2 to send and receive information up to 100 times faster than its current ultra-high frequency (UHF) satellite communications system, the company said.
CAD RESPONSE: As U.S. defense officials combat the traditional sovereignty that contractors have exhibited over the designs of their products and services, leaving them struggling years later to modernize or replicate parts and platforms, one low-profile Coast Guard acquisition is taking the unique step of trying to computerize a whole new class of boats. A special provision in Marinette Marine's $600 million, year-old contract requires each of the Response Boat-Medium's 5,000 parts to be fully modeled in CAD [computer-aided design] software.
RESELLER: Iridium Satellite announced June 11 that Astrium Services, a subsidiary of EADS Astrium, has signed an agreement to become a value-added reseller (VAR) of Iridium satellite communication equipment and services. Under the VAR agreement, Astrium Services is authorized to package Iridium-based satellite voice and data services for international defense and commercial customers.
European transport ministers on June 8 agreed that the public sector will take over financing the deployment of Galileo, Europe's future satellite navigation system. "We have succeeded in outlining certain solutions," German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said. One possibility is to fund the system through the European Space Agency (ESA), Tiefensee confirmed. The European Commission is now scheduled to table detailed alternative proposals by September 2007, and the Council of Ministers said it will make a choice "in early autumn 2007."
Abigail D. Harper has been named the new deputy assistant administrator for systems. Harper fills a newly created position and will be responsible for the overall policy direction, coordination and management of NOAA's satellite acquisitions
Dr. Marv Sambur has been appointed to the board of directors. Sambur serves on the Air Force Science Advisory Board and the National Academy of Science Studies Board.
MARITIME GROWTH: Iridium Satellite reported June 11 that its mobile satellite services business in the maritime sector continues to show steady growth, with the number of subscribers up 17 percent over the same time last year. Maritime traffic through the satellite network is growing at an annual rate of 12 percent, according to the company.
Steve Schneps has been named vice president of operations for its Electronics & Integrated Solutions (E&IS) operating group. Schneps previously served as director of operations for several of the unit's major lines of business - Information Warfare, and most recently Electronic Warfare.
