The planned Jan. 17 launch of the New Horizons mission to Pluto aboard an Atlas V rocket was scrubbed due to unacceptably high winds at the launch site in Cape Canaveral, Fla. NASA plans to try again Jan. 18 during a two-hour window opening at 1:16 p.m. Eastern time, according to Fran Slimmer, spokeswoman for launch manager International Launch Services. Air Force weather officers predict a 70 percent chance that the mission will be able to launch, Slimmer said.
DESTROYER NAMED: The Navy's newest Arleigh Burke-class DDG-51 guided missile destroyer will be named for the late Vice Adm. James Bond Stockdale, a renowned leader of U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. His plane was shot down in 1965 while flying combat missions over North Vietnam. Stockdale, who died last year, was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1976.
NOT MISSION MODULE: Navy admirals are promoting a so-called Global War on Terror mission package for the Littoral Combat Ship, but lower-ranking officers note it isn't a true mission module - which would otherwise mean a change in the LCS program's requirements. The primary GWOT capability, a boarding-party function, would come on top of the three planned anti-mine, anti-submarine and surface warfare packages.
Turkey has asked for bids for a new basic training helicopter. Ankara says it plans to buy 36 basic trainers and has an option for another 19 of the aircraft. Bids are due May 5, with a decision expected later in the year. As with all its procurements, the country is demanding extensive work for local procurements. The Turkish program is specifying a tandem-seat configuration and single turboprop propulsion system. A full glass cockpit is also being demanded.
DON'T STUMBLE: The Army can't afford to falter as it transforms Army aviation, according to service officials. The service is about halfway through a three-year restructuring plan using the $14.6 billion saved by the cancellation of the Comanche helicopter. Given the pressures on the Army's budget, "it is imperative that we stay the course on the schedule we laid out, on the requirements that we laid out, because I'm here to tell you, if we falter one nanosecond, the money on that program is gone," Assistant Secretary of the Army Claude Bolton says.
The Army hopes to be able to rethink its acquisition strategy for the Aerial Common Sensor program and restart the competition in 2009 following a new study by the Pentagon on joint airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance requirements. The service chose to terminate prime contractor Lockheed Martin's $879 million ACS development contract rather than proceed with any of the company's proposed options for saving the program following the revelation last year that the company's chosen ACS aircraft was too small (DAILY, Jan. 13).
NEW ADVISER: A senior Defense Department acquisition specialist is now the DOD's senior acquisition sources adviser for business transformation initiatives. Mark Kyzysko was named Jan. 5 as assistant deputy undersecretary for strategic sourcing and acquisition processes. He joins other executive leaders of the department's newly created Business Transformation Agency, which is supposed to help the largest federal agency get its financial house in order.
OSPREYS TO FARNBOROUGH: With the international market in mind and an OK from test officials, the Pentagon is going to send two of its $59 million V-22 Osprey tiltrotor transports to Britain's Farnborough International Air Show in July. If the aircrews can get permission, they hope to conduct a flight demonstration. However, even with program planners working to reduce costs by $1 million per aircraft, it's still going to be a tough sell to European customers.
CORRECTION: A study titled "The Market for APU/GPU Gas Turbines" was conducted by Forecast International, not Frost & Sullivan, as reported in the story "Study: Honeywell to keep dominating APU, GPU market" (DAILY, Jan. 13).
NASA's Stardust mission is on track to return a capsule to Earth on Jan. 15 that contains samples of comet dust and interstellar dust, the space agency said. Following a scheduled course correction maneuver on Jan. 13, Stardust's sample return capsule is set for a parachute landing in the Utah desert at roughly 5:12 a.m. Eastern time on Jan. 15, NASA said.
PUBLIC SERVICE ADS: The Defense Department was one of seven federal agencies spending a total of $152 million on public service announcement campaigns over two and half years, a congressional audit says. The DOD spent $36 million - all but $1.58 million of it outsourced - between fiscal 2003 and the middle of fiscal 2005, on radio, TV, Internet and print ads, the Government Accountability Office says.
BUDGET REQUEST: The U.S. Coast Guard's Deepwater recapitalization program is scheduled to request $752 million for fiscal 2007 - but that was dependent on FY '06 appropriations of $966 million, and Congress provided only $933 million. Under five-year budgeting projections after Deepwater was rebaselined last year, the program is supposed to request $766 million for FY '08, $780 million for FY '09 and $796 million for FY '10.
ROTORCRAFT RESEARCH: The Army is putting the finishing touches on a broad area announcement that will kick off the competition to establish a new Vertical Lift Center of Excellence (VLCOE) for academic research on rotorcraft. The current VLCOE is co-located at Georgia Tech, Penn State and the University of Maryland. The new center will receive $2 million in annual funding for five years, to be split among the participating universities. Universities can propose whatever teaming arrangement they like, according to Army Chief Scientist Thomas Killion.
RENO, Nev. - NASA is backing away from flight demonstrations in its aeronautics program to refocus efforts on fundamental research and development of design tools, Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Lisa Porter told an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics conference here Jan. 12.
U.S. Army officials say they are on schedule for the first flight of the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter in March, although they acknowledge the program's schedule is tight and risky. Bell Helicopter won the ARH development competition in July, and limited user testing is scheduled in August. Officials expect the first 38 ARH deliveries (30 for operational use and eight for training) in the summer of 2009. The Army plans to buy 368 ARH units at a cost of about $2.2 billion.
STARSEM LAUNCH SET: Starsem, the Arianespace affiliate that markets Soyuz-Fregat launches, has won a contract to launch Canada's Radarsat-2. The launch, scheduled for December, will be the fourth on Starsem's manifest this year. Arianespace officials also say they have been chosen to orbit SES Global's Astra 1M telecom spacecraft, assuming that the backup spacecraft is assembled as planned. The Astra 1M award compensates Arianespace for the loss of Astra 1KR, which was transferred to International Launch Services.
NO FEAR: Fears of a wholesale slashing of defense acquisition budgets in coming years are unfounded, says Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO John Douglass. Pentagon memos directing the military services to scale back future budgets actually refer to spending outlooks that were over and above levels spelled out in last year's five-year defense spending plan.
BLACKWATER GROWING: International security firm Blackwater USA says it is branching out with Blackwater Airships. The new subsidiary will develop and use small, remotely piloted airships that will be able to stay aloft for up to four days and be equipped with surveillance and detection equipment that is linked in real time to friendly forces. They will primarily target terrorists. Follow-on projects are planned for larger airships to support humanitarian and peacekeeping missions.
Matthew O'Connell, president and chief executive officer of GeoEye, the new satellite imagery company created by Orbimage's $58.5 million acquisition of Space Imaging (DAILY, Jan. 13), says his focus now is on business plan execution. "We've done a big acquisition and our mantra right now is execute, execute, execute," he said in a telephone interview from Dulles, Va., the day after completion of the long-anticipated deal was announced. It cuts the number of industry players from three to two -- GeoEye and DigitalGlobe.
LUNAR MISSION BOOSTER: China's Plan China intends to launch four unmanned space missions this year and to start work on its lunar launch vehicle. Scheduled for launch in 2006 are the large Xinnuno 2 communications spacecraft, a new weather satellite and two space science missions. Fabrication is under way on the Long March 3A booster that China plans to use for the April 2007 launch of the Chang'e spacecraft into lunar orbit. The $137 million Chang'e development is also progressing.
At least five other nations have expressed interest in buying the seaframe to the U.S. Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), and 26 have voiced interest in their own nation-specific mission modules - developments that Navy officials believe will help control, if not lower, costs in the prominent new class of combat craft.
