LUNAR IMPACTS: NASA will send dual impactor spacecraft to the moon with the launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, scheduled for October 2008, to search for water ice that could be used during future exploration. In Figure 1 the two spacecraft - a 2,000-kilogram (4,409-pound) spent upper stage and a "Shepherding spacecraft" - approach the moon. Figure 2 shows impact in Shackleton Crater near the lunar south pole. Satellites and telescopes will scan the impact plume for evidence of water (DAILY, April 11). Images courtesy of NASA.
The Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) program has received final Pentagon approval for its new program plan, which aims to curb the delays and overages that nearly cost Boeing its JTRS Cluster 1 prime contract last year. On March 31, Pentagon acquisition chief Ken Krieg signed an Acquisition Decision Memorandum (ADM) officially approving the way ahead for JTRS, the Department of Defense announced April 17. Krieg was first briefed on the program's new requirements and budget in November 2005 (NetDefense, Feb. 23)
Seven capital-expenditure (capex) projects have been approved or are in development to help General Dynamics Corp.'s Electric Boat and Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Newport News slice costs off the Virginia-class submarine program, Navy Rear Adm. William Hilarides said April 17.
Orbital Sciences Corporation successfully launched six small scientific satellites into low-Earth orbit for Taiwan using its Minotaur I rocket April 14, the company announced. Launch took place at 6:40 p.m. Pacific Time from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The mission is known in the U.S. as the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC), and is owned and operated by Taiwan's National Space Program Office (NSPO).
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and Lockheed Martin launched a payload to test various ballistic missile defense sensors on April 13 from Kauai, Hawaii, as part of the agency's Critical Measurements/Countermeasures program, Lockheed announced April 17.
Lockheed Martin Corp. said April 17 that it was awarded a $17.4 million contract for systems engineering and integration services for the U.S. Navy's Combat System Warfare Federated Tactical Systems, which manages and oversees all technical products integrated into submarine combat systems. The contract is funded for the first year and includes options for up to 10 years.
TANKER RFI: The U.S. Air Force's request for information to recapitalize its aerial tanker fleet should be out before May, the Pentagon said April 17. A draft request for proposal (RFP) is expected in the fall, with a final RFP next January and a contract award next summer. "We must ensure that this program models a traditional competitive acquisition program and that every step proceeds in a deliberate and transparent fashion," Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said.
Navy United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Group, East Hartford, Conn., is being awarded $8,195,925 for priced order 5139 under a basic ordering agreement contract (N00383-04-G-003M) for turbine blade sets used on the J-52 engine, which powers the EA-6B aircraft. Work will be performed in Hartford, Conn., and is expected to be completed by November 2008. Contract funds will not have expired at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not awarded competitively. The Naval Inventory Control Point is the contracting activity.
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software is a term that means a lot of different things to different people, but the head of an influential market research firm says that Dassault Systemes owns 70 percent of the aerospace market for these products and services.
The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command has given General Dynamics Corp.'s Bath Iron Works a $42.8 million award for more DD(X) transition design efforts, initial detail design and long-lead material procurement for ship construction. "The requirements for DD(X) will be procured, without full and open competition, from Bath Iron Works, one of only two qualified sources capable of completing the Flight 1 Class design and building a lead ship," said a Defense Department announcement on April 13.
MORE MIP FUNDING: Pentagon officials are touting success in their new resourcing and accounting system for intelligence programs, adding that the Military Intelligence Program - or MIP, pronounced "mip" - garnered 7 percent more funding in the fiscal 2007 budget proposal, now before Congress, than its predecessor programs.
Changes made in the Defense Department's acquisition policy over the past five years have not eliminated cost and schedule problems for major weapons development programs, the congressional Government Accountability Office reported April 13.
TOMCAT CEREMONY: The U.S. Navy's Tomcat program will host a public "disestablishment ceremony" at 2 p.m. Eastern time April 27 in hangar 2133 at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md. "We are recognizing a legacy - the effort of sustaining the Tomcat, a mainstay in naval aviation for 32 years," says Navy Lt. Cmdr. Bob Hyde, assistant program manager for logistics. The swing-wing Tomcat, initially operable in May 1972, has been modified over the years from a single mission air-to-air fighter to a precision strike aircraft and a digital tactical reconnaissance platform.
ATV TESTING: After long months of rework to modify software and equipment bay structural elements, the first flight model of Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) for International Space Station resupply is ready to begin an extensive test campaign. The space tug will begin acoustic testing at the European Space Agency's Estec engineering center in the Netherlands in May, followed by thermal-vacuum testing in August, says ESA project manager Alan Turkettle.
GLOBAL STRIKE AOA: "Prompt global strike" would provide the United States an unprecedented ability to "kick down the door" by attacking high-value, anti-access targets within hours, not days, says Air Force Maj. Gen. Roger Burg, director of strategic security in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Air, Space and Information Operations, Plans and Requirements. Among the options under an ongoing analysis of alternatives are delivering conventional payloads via missiles and bombers to nonkinetic means, such as attacking an adversary's computer network, he says.
After reorganizing its space programs, Boeing has shuffled top management in its new Space Exploration business unit to focus on NASA's Constellation initiatives for return to the moon and deep space manned missions. Formerly called NASA Systems, the new Space Exploration unit is to be headed by John Elbon as vice president and general manager. He succeeds Chuck Allen, now vice president of Boeing business operations in Huntsville, Ala.
NET CENTRIC CENTER: The Army's chief information officer and Materiel Command are establishing a net centric data center of excellence at Fort Monmouth, N.J., and it should begin operating next month. The center should reach its full capability by November, says Lt. Gen. Steven Boutelle, Army CIO.
SAT LAUNCH: International Launch Services will launch the Astra 1KR direct broadcast satellite aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral on April 20. To be operated by SES Astra of Luxembourg, the satellite will provide direct-to-home telecommunications services for European customers. Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems in Newtown, Pa., built the spacecraft. The flight will mark the 100th mission for ILS, which markets commercial launches on Atlas and Russian Proton rockets.
