PUSHED BACK: NASA says it will not be able to launch Space Shuttle Discovery from Kennedy Space Center in Florida before the end of next week at the earliest. Engineers continue to troubleshoot an elusive problem with a hydrogen fuel cutoff sensor that forced a scrub of Discovery's first launch attempt on July 13. NASA must launch the shuttle by July 31 or wait until the next window in September, which would bump the next scheduled flight, STS-121.
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq - Marines stationed in Iraq are field-testing a satellite communications system meant to help them overcome challenges of radio use in such a spread out environment. Marine Regimental Combat Team-2, based out of Al Asad Air Base in Al Anbar province, are using the Command and Control On-The-Move Network, Digital Over-The-Horizon Relay (CONDOR) program to relay data, allow tactical data to retain connectivity while on the move and allow radio systems to enter the tactical network.
Aug. 31 is the final day for submission of proposals to the National Reconnaissance Office for its annual effort to fund new ideas that may make classified U.S. reconnaissance satellites more effective. This year's version of the Director's Innovative Initiative, or DII, differs in several respects from those of previous years, NRO says. For one thing, it wants ideas with a potential effect on near-term, not just long-term, operations.
The U.S. Defense Department's new advisory panel on acquisition reform plans to study whether DOD is properly equipped to oversee major weapon system programs, according to a key player in the review.
AVIATION MERGER: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has decided to combine the aviation fleets of the Office of Air and Marine Operations (AMO) and the Office of Border Patrol (OBP). But it remains unclear what shape the merger will take. To achieve efficiencies, AMO was recently moved from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which already included OBP (Homeland Security, April 20). AMO's aircraft modernization plans are on hold while details of its transfer to CBP are worked out.
TESTING CABLE: The U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center has awarded Andrew Corp. of Orland Park, Ill., a potential five-year, $9.8 million contract for up to 7,275,000 meters (7,956,036 yards) of fiber optic micro cable to support fleet testing of submersible systems.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - New Zealand's military has opted for NH Industries' NH90 helicopter to replace its fleet of 14 aging Bell UH-1H Iroquois. It is likely that 14 of the NH90s will be purchased, although the exact number has not been determined. The NH90s can carry 16 fully equipped troops, compared with seven in the Iroquois. New Zealand's military is also seeking a new training/light utility helicopter to replace its Bell 47 Sioux aircraft, according to the ministry of defense (DAILY, June 21).
INTEGRATED LEARNING: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is seeking proposals for a new program to develop computer software capable of learning general plans or processes from humans after being shown one example. Dubbed "Integrated Learning," the software will learn by "opportunistically assembling knowledge from many different sources, including generating it by reasoning," DARPA says. Integrated Learning technology will enable low-cost military decision/planning support systems, according to the agency.
The Senate late July 14 passed its version of the fiscal 2006 Homeland Security Department spending bill, appropriating $30.8 billion altogether and including money and direction for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), countermeasures for man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) and the Coast Guard's Deepwater recapitalization effort. The vote was 96-1.
WELCOMING: Much of the United States' military superiority can be "traced to its willingness to welcome people and ideas from other countries," says Dick Olver, chairman of British company BAE Systems. Olver says attempts to pass "buy American" legislation in Congress are "misguided" (DAILY, July 13).
SUMMER TESTING: This summer, the U.S. Navy's Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX-1) is putting MH-60R test aircraft through a final operational evaluation test phase, Lockheed Martin Corp. said. The tests, at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland, are expected to wrap up in September. Lockheed Martin is the systems integrator for the MH-60R and provides the avionics suite common to all MH-60R and MH-60S helicopters.
URGENT ISR: The U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command has awarded Boeing Integrated Defense Systems a $19.5 million contract for additional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance services for the Marine Expeditionary Force II, some of which is deployed in Iraq. The sole-source ISR procurement was acquired under an "urgent universal need statement," with 80% of the services to be provided in theater. The contract runs until July 2006, the Navy announced late July 14.
July 19 - 20 -- Tactical IA, "Precise, Immediate, Secure Information Exchange on the Battlefield," Doubletree Hotel Crystal City, Arlington, Va. For more information go to www.idga.org. July 26 - 27 -- Nanotechnology for Defense, Georgetown Conference Center, Washington, D.C. For more information call 1-800-882-8684 or go to www.idga.org.
VeriSign Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., which provides infrastructure services for the Internet and telecommunications networks, has purchased Reston, Va.-based security intelligence company iDEFENSE for $40 million in cash, VeriSign said July 14. VeriSign said in a statement that the purchase will expand its ability to monitor and assess security threats in real time. VeriSign's name will be taken on by iDEFENSE, which will continue to market its intelligence services. VeriSign also said it will retain iDEFENSE employees.
Lockheed Martin will integrate anti-submarine and surface warfare systems on six MH-60R helicopters under a $49.8 million Navy contract, the company said. The aircraft comprise the third and final phase of low-rate initial production before full production begins next year, Lockheed Martin said July 14. It said the Navy is expected to order as many as 254 MH-60Rs through 2015, with production increasing from 6 to 30 aircraft per year.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - The launch of Space Shuttle Discovery will be postponed until next week at the earliest as NASA attempts to fix the faulty liquid hydrogen fuel sensor that caused the agency to scrub its July 13 launch attempt.
An acquisition of Unocal Corp. by China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) would place the United State's only domestic source of rare earth minerals, important for some weapons such as precision-guided munitions, in the hands of the Chinese government, the House Armed Services Committee heard July 13.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malayasia - The South Korean government has decided to build a ground tracking and control station on Cheju Island worth 33 billion won ($32 million). Construction on the 115,500 square meter (126,312 square yard) site began July 14 and is set to be finished in June 2006. The station will track spacecraft and satellites launched from a space center being built in Kohung in the south of Cholla Province. The space center will be ready in 2007.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - Boeing's vice president for the International Space Station expects the station's configuration to be "somewhat" scaled back as NASA balances its desire to minimize the number of shuttle flights with its obligation to launch modules built by the station's international partners.
Singapore officially mothballed its aging UH-1H Huey helicopter fleet in a ceremony on July 12, and will replace them with Super Puma and Chinook helicopters. The ceremony marked an end to almost three decades of service for the Huey in Singapore's air force, the Singapore ministry of defense said, and the breakup of the air force's oldest helicopter squadron.
STRYKER SUPPORT: GM GDLS Defense Group L.L.C. has been awarded a $17.4 million contract modification to provide logistics support for the U.S. Army's Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, the Defense Department said July 14. The work will be done in Sterling Heights, Mich., Auburn, Wash., and Ontario, Canada. It is expected to be finished by Dec. 31. The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich.
In a compromise that favored several Democratic provisions, including shielding Earth and space science missions, the House Science Committee unanimously approved a fiscal 2006 and 2007 NASA authorization bill July 14. "We support the goal of human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit," Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), the committee's ranking Democrat, said at the panel's markup. "We just want to make sure that it is properly paid for and not funded by cannibalizing NASA's other important missions."
Rising oil prices have not spurred design changes to the U.S. Defense Department's biggest acquisition effort, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, but higher fuel bills could influence how the aircraft is used, according to the program's leader.
