The White House late Feb. 16 submitted its expected supplemental request to Congress, which among dozens of provisions would provide $389.9 million to fund the replacement of U.S. Air Force MC-130H aircraft, Predator drones, C-17 spares and various other items. A total of $65.3 billion of the new $72.4 billion request is for the Defense Department, while $2.9 billion is for intelligence community and classified programs supporting global antiterrorist operations, the White House Office of Management and Budget said.
An F-15K aircraft built by Boeing for South Korea's air force recently dropped three Mk-82 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) at the same time and scored three direct hits on ground targets during testing, the company says. They were the first guided releases of JDAMs from an F-15K.
The fate of NASA's troubled SOFIA observatory program will be decided following an "intensive" review due to conclude in April, according to agency officials. NASA chose to cancel the $57.1 million fiscal 2007 budget funding request for the airborne observatory following a two-year schedule slip and cost growth due to technical problems.
NASA continues to hold to May as the launch date for the space shuttle's second return-to-flight mission, STS-121, which will further verify safety procedures and equipment developed in response to the 2003 Columbia accident. But the agency is not rushing any steps to ensure it makes the window, according to STS-121 Commander Steve Lindsey.
SHIP ON WAY: A U.S. Navy ship is on its way to an island in the Philippines to help with disaster relief after a Feb. 17 mudslide killed at least 200 people and left more than 1,000 missing, the Defense Department says. The Philippine Red Cross has also asked the U.S. for helicopter support. The mudslide took place in the village of Guinsaugon on Leyte Island. The Navy ship, which was not identified, was taking part in Exercise Balikatan '06 at Subic Bay, which is less than 621 miles from Leyte Island.
JDAMS TESTED: An F-15K aircraft built by Boeing for South Korea's air force recently dropped three Mk-82 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) at the same time and scored three direct hits on ground targets during testing, the company says. They were the first guided releases of JDAMs from an F-15K. The testing took place at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The JDAMs were released at Mach 0.9 from about 20,000 feet and hit their targets within an average of 2.1 meters.
CAPITAL FUND: NASA is preparing a public/private investment fund -- patterned on the In-Q-Tel fund that Administrator Michael Griffin once ran for the CIA -- to back companies with technology that might aid the lunar exploration effort. Funded at $11 million in the current fiscal year, NASA says its Red Planet Capital fund could grow to $20 million a year. NASA tells potential fund managers in a request for information published Feb.
Representatives of the Boeing Co. proposing the HH-47 helicopter for the Air Force's Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR-X) aircraft competition are seizing a recent revision to the program's plans to re-emphasize supposed cost savings they are proposing. The revision, in which the Defense Department has asked how bidders would spend $849 million outlined in the defense budget (DAILY, Feb. 15), allows Boeing to highlight its proposal to incorporate Block 10 aircraft in the production line and retrofit fewer Block 0 helicopters than previously thought.
Exploration planners at NASA are interested in small nuclear reactor technology under development by Japan as a potential power source for future bases on the moon. Briefing reporters last week on NASA's fiscal 2007 budget request, Administrator Michael Griffin said his agency "will seek to leverage the work of other nations which have developed small nuclear reactors that could be applied to space," and specifically mentioned Japan.
NASA REVIEW: NASA should wrap up its review of practices and procedures in releasing scientific findings "in a few weeks," looking to fix apparent political meddling on global warming issues that triggered a flurry of unfavorable news accounts as the agency issued its contentious fiscal 2007 budget request. Administrator Michael Griffin has already weighed in on the inviolability of scientific results regardless of their political impact (Aviation Week & Space Technology, Feb. 13).
CHINA CARD: Some U.S. lawmakers warn that China is a threat to send humans back to the moon before NASA does. "NASA is hoping to schedule its first manned mission in about 2018," says Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Science space and aeronautics subcommittee. "China is heading for a landing as early as 2017." Although most U.S. experts in China's human spaceflight program consider that unlikely, the agency is maintaining an arms-length relationship with the world's newest human-space power.
CORVETTE COMMISSIONED: The South African navy's first MEKO A-200 SAN corvette, the SAS Amatola, was commissioned during a Feb. 16 ceremony in Simonstown, South Africa, German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems said. The SAS Amatola is the first of four corvettes built for South Africa's navy by ThyssenKrupp in Kiel and Hamburg. The SAS Amatola was sent to Simonstown in 2003, followed by the SAS Isandlwana. The SAS Spioenkop and SAS Mendi arrived in 2004.
Feb. 21 - 24 -- Software Radio Conference, "Connecting Warfighters & First Responders for Maximum Interoperability," Sheraton Premier at Tysons Corner, Vienna, Va. For more information go to www.idga.org. March 7 - 10 -- AVEX 2006 -- 2nd International Air Show & Aviation Expo, Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, Cairo, Egypt. For more information go to www.avex-2000.com.
DEBRIS RE-ENTRY: The spent inertial upper stage that first sent NASA's Galileo spacecraft on its way to Jupiter in 1989 is set to re-enter Earth's atmosphere on late Feb. 19 or early Feb. 20, but the space agency doesn't yet know where the pieces may land. A significant portion of the 11-foot long cylinder's 1.5 tons is expected to survive re-entry because the stage contains an inner cylinder made of titanium. Air Force Space Command in Colorado is tracking the debris and will be giving NASA continuous reports as the stage nears Earth's atmosphere.
BETTER ARMED: After coming under heavy fire for almost two years for under-equipping troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Army leaders think the numbers show the situation has improved. As part of their budget presentations, they lay out how in a number of areas, from body armor to unmanned aircraft, things have changed. And more is yet to come. For instance, the Army notes that in September 2003 none of its fixed-wing aircraft had self-protection gear and many helicopters were only in the process of receiving it.
LOGISTICS SUPPORT: The Boeing Co. will provide logistics support for the British military's fleet of 40 Chinook helicopters until 2040 under a new contract agreement, the United Kingdom's defense ministry says. The contract is worth 199 million pounds ($347.8 million) over the first five years. Boeing will manage maintenance, provide spares, and make sure that an agreed number of serviceable aircraft are available at RAF Oliham, the U.K.'s main Chinook operating base, and at its depth maintenance hub at DARA Fleetlands.
The Coast Guard's fiscal 2007 budget request includes $62.4 million to pay for the aircraft and infrastructure to patrol the no-fly zone of the National Capital Region (NCR), according to Adm. Thomas Collins, the Coast Guard commandant.
WEATHER REPORT: A European team has developed a computer model that makes it possible to predict cloud formation and distribution on Jupiter's moon Titan. Based on observations from the U.S. Cassini orbiter, the European Huygens probe that landed on Titan in January 2005, and Earth-based observations, the model combines separate one-dimensional circulation and microphysical cloud models to predict ethane and methane cycles and droplet formation.
SUPPLEMENTAL: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the White House will request $65.3 billion more in additional supplemental warfighting appropriations this fiscal year for the Defense Department. The secretary, testifying before the House Appropriations defense subcommittee Feb. 16, said the supplemental would be sent to Capitol Hill that afternoon. Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.), subcommittee chairman, told reporters after the hearing that the panel had not received details yet.
Charles McQueary, undersecretary for Science and Technology at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is stepping down. McQueary, who joined the then-fledgling department in March 2003, oversaw several research and development programs, including efforts to develop protection for commercial aircraft from portable, surface-to-air missiles known as MANPADS (for Man Portable Air Defense Systems.) McQueary said in a Feb. 10 resignation letter to President Bush that he plans to leave government March 25. He did not disclose his future plans.
