SpaceDev made a secured $1.2 million loan to Starsys Research Corp. of Boulder, Colo., which provides mechanical systems to the aerospace industry, in exchange for exclusive merger talks, the company said Sept. 15. In connection with the loan, Poway, Calif.-based SpaceDev entered into an agreement with Starsys "which provides that Starsys will not discuss a material sale of its assets, a material sale of its stock, a merger, or similar transaction with any other party" until Oct. 31, satellite and spacecraft builder SpaceDev said.
GMD LEADER: The U.S. Missile Defense Agency plans to hold a Sept. 23 ceremony in Huntsville, Ala., to mark the assignment of Army Brig. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly as program director of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system. O'Reilly has been the Army program executive officer for combat support/combat service support in Warren, Mich.
COM SYSTEMS: DRS Technologies Inc. said Sept. 16 that it has been awarded $12 million in new contracts to provide tactical data, information link and high-frequency data communications systems for U.S. and allied military applications. The systems will be installed on ships, submarines, aircraft and land-based platforms to allow information exchange for integrated battle space operations.
Boeing is expected to lose its multi-billion-dollar contract to develop secret imaging satellites owing to ballooning costs and schedule slips, and U.S. National Intelligence Director John Negroponte will likely hand the work to rival Lockheed Martin. The government's decision to switch contractors could be finalized as soon as Sept. 16, sources close to the program told Aviation Week & Space Technology.
The Army on Sept. 15 announced its intention to purchase up to 360,000 night-vision goggles from Northrop Grumman and ITT Industries under the service's Omnibus VII procurement over the next five years. The Army will place Omnibus VII orders between now and September 2009, with each company's share depending on how well their systems perform in the field.
ENGINE AWARD: General Electric Co. was awarded a $500 million contract for parts and services for U.S. Navy F404 engines, the Department of Defense said Sept. 16. The work is to be finished by Sept. 15, 2008, the DOD said. F404 engines power F/A-18 Hornets, among other aircraft.
NPOESS WOES: Angry House lawmakers have told the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration "in no uncertain terms" that they expect the agency to be more forthcoming about the problems that have befallen the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (DAILY, July 5). NPOESS is $1 billion or more over budget and at least a year behind schedule, says David Goldston, chief of staff for the House Science Committee.
Sept. 19 - 20 -- Next Generation Tactical Data Links, "Opportunities and Requirements," Holiday Inn On The Bay, San Diego, Calif. For more information go to www.technologytraining.com. Sept. 19 - 20 -- IPv6, "Understanding DOD's compliance requirements and latest challenges for implementation," Holiday Inn On The Bay, San Diego, Calif. For more information go to www.technologytraining.com.
The U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command has awarded the Raytheon Co. an additional $5.3 million for the fifth and sixth production systems under the company's proof-of-concept contract for the Complementary Low Altitude Weapon System (CLAWS). The contract modification, awarded Sept. 13, would be finished next June, the Navy announced Sept. 14. Raytheon received $9.5 million for the CLAWS proof-of-concept/production-representative phase in April 2001 (DAILY, Sept. 2, 2004).
The U.S. Navy's DD(X) destroyer program last week wrapped up its critical design review, marking the end of its third phase of development ahead of a top-level acquisition review at the Pentagon, the Naval Sea Systems Command said.
Earth imagery products and services provider Orbimage Holdings Inc. of Dulles, Va., said Sept. 16 that it has agreed to buy satellite imagery provider Space Imaging of Denver for $58.5 million. The purchase is subject to government approvals and other conditions. Orbimage expects the buy to close before Dec. 31.
GMD TEST: The next flight-test of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system is slated to occur sometime between mid-November and mid-December, according to a government official. The non-intercept test had been expected to occur in September, but the U.S. Missile Defense Agency has concluded that it needs more time to ensure it works out bugs in the system, the official tells The DAILY. GMD failed to launch interceptors during its two most recent tests.
VIBRATION TROUBLES: The Planetary Fourier Spectrometer on the European Space Agency's Mars Express has developed problems that may have hurt its functionality, and an ESA team is setting up an investigations board to look into the problem. The instrument, which studies the composition and movement of Mars' atmosphere, began having trouble, which has been tentatively blamed on vibration effects from the spacecraft. The board could find a work-around, or may have to rely on the spacecraft's other six instruments.
HURRICANE BRAC: Hurricane Katrina, which has stormed Capitol Hill to preoccupy the legislative agenda this month, is being eyed as a potential hook to save some military facilities targeted for closure or realignment. Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas) asked President Bush unsuccessfully to reconsider decisions by the Defense Department and independent Base Closure and Realignment Commission that affect naval air stations in Pascagoula, Miss., and Corpus Christi, Texas, based on their Gulf Coast location. Nevertheless, Bush on Sept.
POSSE CONSENSUS: Washington officials are wondering what changes need to be made to century-old laws that restrict or guide the U.S. military's involvement in domestic operations. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has written President Bush asking the executive branch to review the Posse Comitatus Act and other so-called insurrection statutes that followed the Civil War. Warner said Congress likely would do the same.
SBX TESTS: The Sea-Based X-Band (SBX) Radar, which is involved in sea trials in the central Gulf of Mexico, transmitted a radar beam for the first time Sept. 11 and will soon start high-power operations and a period of radar calibration, according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. SBX, which consists of a radar atop a modified oil-drilling platform, is designed to improve the ability of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system to track long-range ballistic missiles and distinguish between warheads and decoys.
NATIONAL FLEET: As part of its fiscal 2006 policy bill for the Coast Guard, the House has approved a provision that would make it easier for the president to make the Coast Guard operate as a U.S. Navy service instead of under the Department of Homeland Security. Under a manager's amendment approved by unanimous consent and led by Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), the House agreed to remove the requirement that a declaration of war - an act of Congress - be made before the president can order the naval rollup.
LRIP MINED: The U.S. Navy has given Raytheon the go-ahead for the low-rate initial production of the AN/AQS-20A sonar, the primary mine-hunting system to be integrated into the Navy's MH-60S Airborne Mine Countermeasures Helicopters aboard the Littoral Combat Ship. Raytheon's award from the Naval Sea Systems Command is worth almost $55 million and should be completed by March 2010.
ISS CONFIGURATION: Before the end of the month, congressional staffers with the House Science Committee hope to receive formal briefings from NASA on the agency's scaled-back plans for the International Space Station. The briefings have been delayed as NASA continues to vet the plans with the White House Office of Management and Budget, although staffers already have a sense of the space station's future based on informal meetings with NASA Administrator Michael Griffin.
The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MOD), Scottish emergency services and other organizations tested their plans and procedures for a nuclear incident in Exercise Senator on Sept. 14-15 in Scotland. Hundreds of people took part in the exercise, which simulated a serious traffic accident involving a nuclear weapons convoy, MOD said. Details of the scenario were revealed gradually to make the exercise as realistic as possible. It included an intense fire and the release of radioactive material.
HEAVY TRAILERS: Engineered Support Systems Inc. of St. Louis said Sept. 14 that it has been awarded a five-year, $40 million contract to provide the U.S. Army with more than 500 M989A1 Heavy Expanded Mobility Ammunition Trailers (HEMATs). Up to 583 trailers will be delivered. The initial order calls for 61 HEMATs worth $4.8 million. The work will take place at the company's St. Louis and West Plains, Mo. facilities. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich.
The United Kingdom navy's Type 23 frigates will be armed with the DS30 Mk2 Automatic 30mm Naval Gun under a GBP 15 million (USD $27 million) deal with MSI-Defence Systems Ltd., the company said Sept. 14.
