NASA has decided to remove the Protuberance Air Load ramp from the space shuttle's external tank before its next flight, according to Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier. The PAL ramp is a large area of foam designed to deflect winds away from a cable tray that runs along the external tank. A large piece of foam debris broke loose from the PAL ramp during Discovery's launch in July, shocking NASA engineers who thought they had eliminated sources of dangerous foam debris in the wake of the Columbia disaster.
The Pentagon once again has certified the over-budget Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) High program and is moving forward with a new plan that would keep prime contractor Lockheed Martin but shift some funds to explore alternative technologies in the event that satellites under development experience further problems.
House and Senate negotiators have agreed on the first authorization measure for NASA in five years, which endorses President Bush's manned moon-Mars exploration vision, as well as rejuvenated aeronautics research and other science missions.
Stability operations are now a major priority for the Defense Department, on par with combat operations, and will receive more planning and funding, DOD officials have said. A DOD directive signed Nov. 28 provides guidance on the operations and assigns responsibility for planning, training and preparing them. Stability operations are defined as those other than combat operations that involve violence or the threat of violence.
Lockheed Martin Corp. said it was recently awarded its second S-3 Prime Vendor Support program contract by the U.S. Navy. The contract, worth up to $28.5 million, includes four years of fleet engineering support and two years of depot maintenance and material support. The contract will coincide with the decommissioning of the last Navy S-3 Viking squadron in 2009. The first such contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin in March 2001.
The defense acquisition reform panel led by retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Ron Kadish released the executive summary of its final report Dec. 14, with Kadish warning that its findings should not be used as a justification to reduce the Defense Department's budget. "We're not at all suggesting that if you take these recommendations you can take X-billion dollars out of the department's budget," Kadish said during a public meeting in Arlington, Va. "If that occurs, we have failed in reducing instability."
A Raytheon-led team competing for the U.S. Army's Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) said Dec. 14 that it has conducted successful wind-tunnel tests of its laser-guided 2.75-inch rocket system. The tests, held Sept. 25 to Oct. 11 at the Trisonic Wind Tunnel facility in El Segundo, Calif., completed and verified details of the vehicle's aerodynamic design, including canard and improved tail fin design.
DIVIDEND: Raytheon Co. said Dec. 14 that it has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 22 cents per share of its common stock. The dividend is payable on Jan. 31, 2006, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Jan. 3, 2006.
Frederick J. Harris has been named a corporate vice president and president of subsidiary National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. He replaces Richard H. Vortmann. Deborah Lucas has been appointed a corporate director and will serve on the board's Audit Committee and Benefit Plans and Investment Committee. Chris Marzilli has been named a corporate vice president and president of business unit General Dynamics C4 Systems. Marzilli replaces Mark A. Fried.
Rep. David Hobson (R-Ohio), a major thorn in the side of Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) advocates, warned mid-level Bush administration personnel to drop any future efforts to resurrect the nuclear bunker-buster and promised to kill it again next year, if confronted. "It's dead, forget about it! Go conventional," Hobson said Dec. 14 at the Center for American Progress in Washington. "If I have to kick three times or four times, I'm going to keep kicking at it until we think we've totally gotten it out of the way."
EXPANDING: Rolls-Royce and Timken announced an alliance on Dec. 14 to increase the parts and services that Timken will offer under license from Rolls-Royce for Model 250 helicopter turboshaft engine parts and component repair. The engine is used widely in light helicopters, Timken said.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin is on the verge of naming retired USAF Brig. Gen. Simon P. "Pete" Worden director of the Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., sources told The DAILY. The agency is putting together its Lunar Robotic Exploration Program at Ames, and both Worden and the director he would replace have experience in the field.
Defense electronics and support company Engineered Support Systems Inc. said Dec. 13 that its fiscal 2005 net revenue grew to a record $1.02 billion while net income climbed 12.1 percent. The St. Louis-based company also posted gains in both categories in the fourth quarter of FY '05, with net revenue inching up 2.3 percent and net income improving 7.5 percent. The FY '05 net revenue gain was a 15 percent increase over net revenue of $883.6 million in FY '04. Net income for FY '05 was $85.1 million, compared with $75.9 million the year before.
The Missile Defense Agency successfully tested an operationally configured Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) interceptor missile, MDA said late Dec. 13.
The aerospace industry's recovery remains on course, but real sales growth is expected to slow in 2006 as a surge in civil aircraft revenues is partially offset by lower military aircraft sales. That's the upshot of an annual forecast unveiled by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) on Dec. 14. The trade group sees U.S. aerospace sales reaching $184 billion next year ($176.8 billion in current dollars), an inflation-adjusted increase of 3.9 percent over 2005 and less than the 5.7 percent increase the industry is expected to notch this year.
General Dynamics will acquire information technology and systems integration company Anteon for about $2.2 billion, including the assumption of Anteon's $100 million debt. The boards of directors of both companies have approved the deal, which calls for General Dynamics to pay $55.50 in cash for each outstanding Anteon share. Assuming approval from Anteon shareholders and the regulatory process, the transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter of 2006.
Defense business pushed Cubic Corp.'s sales up 11.3 percent in fiscal 2005, but contracts to install several automatic mass transit revenue collection systems drove net income down 68.5 percent, the company said Dec. 14. FY '05 sales grew to $804.3 million from $722 million the year before, but net income fell from $36.9 million, or $1.38 per share, to $11.6 million, or 44 cents per share, in '05.
Adm. Walter F. Doran (USN Ret.) has been named Navy Service Executive. Dan Smith has been appointed to the Alliance Principals' Council for Australia's Air Warfare Destroyer Program. Smith is president of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems.
