The managers of the Hubble Space Telescope's observation schedule are re-examining and reprioritizing requests for time on the telescope in light of a recent failure that has left its primary spectrograph inoperative. On Aug. 3, the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) instrument onboard Hubble stopped working, most likely because of a failed power supply. Installed by astronauts during the second Hubble servicing mission in 1997, the STIS had exceeded its five-year design life, according to NASA.
InHand Electronics, Inc., a provider of low-power system technologies for wireless devices, won a multiyear contract from General Dynamics' Eagle Enterprise unit (GDEE) to incorporate its BatterySmart power management software and hardware technologies into the Future Force Warrior (FFW) program, InHand Electronics said Aug. 9.
ALLEGENT TECHNOLOGY GROUP, Woodbury, N.Y. Donald Gilberg, senior director of Civitas, has been appointed chairman of the company's board of advisers. BALL AEROSPACE & TECHNOLOGIES CORP., Broomfield, Colo. William F. Townsend has been named vice president and general manager of civil space systems. Townsend previously was deputy director at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Md. BEARING INSPECTION, INC., Los Alamitos, Calif. Drew Baker has been promoted to president.
THE CENTER FOR SPACE STANDARDS & INNOVATION (CSSI) is offering a free current list of potential close approaches in space of satellites to spacecraft and debris, CSSI said Aug. 6. The list, called Satellite Orbital Conjunction Reports Assessing Threatening Encounters in Space (SOCRATES), is available at CSSI's Web site, http://www.CenterForSpace.com. The site lists the top 10 possible conjunctions, listed by minimum range and maximum probability.
The Office of Naval Research has moved into the second phase of the Revolutionary Approach to Time-critical Long Range Strike (RATTLRS) program, aimed at demonstrating greater capabilities and performance for expendable supersonic vehicles. Lockheed Martin said Aug. 11 that it and teammate Allison Advanced Development Co. received an ONR contract July 20 for a five-year effort that follows a first phase effort of about a year and a half. The goal of that phase was to define a plan for development.
NASA will extend the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) through the end of 2004. The extension will be handled jointly by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Data will be provided during another storm season in the U.S. and Asia. TRMM has helped the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other government agencies over the past seven years to monitor and predict rainfall and storms. TRMM was launched in 1997 and designed as a three-year research mission.
Raytheon Co. filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Aug. 2, contesting the Army's recent award to Alliant Techsystems (ATK) to develop the Precision Guided Mortar Munition (PGGM). "Now we are waiting for the GAO ruling, which will take between 30 and 60 days," a Raytheon spokesman told The DAILY. Raytheon was not selected to proceed to the final competition. Lockheed Martin, which was in the final competition, protested the decision Feb. 17, and GAO upheld Lockheed Martin's protest, the spokesman said.
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is developing an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) autonomous sonar system to prevent aircraft from having to hover over ocean sonobuoys and to keep ships out of harm's way. The Littoral Acoustic Multistatic Processing (LAMP) active sonar system would, for the first time, deploy an offboard, autonomous sound source tens of miles away from a ship and process information inside the sonobuoys instead of in a P-3 aircraft, Frank Herr, acting head of ONR's Ocean, Atmosphere and Space Department, told The DAILY.
NASA's new technology push in nuclear-electric propulsion and power systems for spacecraft is sparking new interest in the possibility of a probe that could travel beyond the boundaries of our solar system within 15-20 years of launch.
CIA NOMINEE: President Bush said he will nominate Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the White House announced Aug. 10. "He is well prepared for the mission," Bush said. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he "strongly" endorsed Goss for the position.
SIGNED: Michael Wynne, the acting secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, on Aug. 6 signed an acquisition decision memorandum approving the Medium Extended Air Defense (MEADS) program's entry into the design and development phase, according to an information paper released Aug. 10. A defense acquisition board had approved the move last month (DAILY, July 7). The Italian government approved its country's participation in the D&D phase of the multinational program earlier this month (DAILY, Aug.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Lockheed Martin's Single Integrated Space Picture (SISP) system performed well last week in the Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and the prototype is being refreshed accordingly, company officials said. The first operationally tested system will be rolled out in about a year, and the first system to be cleared for top secret work will follow about six months later, they said.
The U.S. government should use a military model in establishing a National Counterterrorism Center, an agency that would collect and coordinate intelligence information, according to the chairman of the panel investigating the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
After encountering "significant technical challenges," NASA is abandoning attempts to develop a rigid overwrap to patch large holes in the space shuttle's reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) panels in the event of damage during flight, and instead is pursuing other methods that probably won't be ready in time for the shuttle's return to flight, according to agency officials.
The U.S. Army and The Boeing Co. have agreed to provide the Future Combat Systems' system development and demonstration phase up to $6.4 billion more in funding, the company said Aug. 9. The agreement will expand the FCS program's scope and make it available to military forces sooner.
NEW ENTERPRISE: Lockheed Martin Corp. has formed the Focused Logistics Enterprise to support network-centric defense programs, the company said Aug. 9. The enterprise, part of the Integrated Systems & Solutions business area, will "address 'factory to foxhole' challenges faced by our defense customers," Stan Sloane, the executive vice president for IS&S, said in a statement.
The House and Senate defense oversight committees should regularly assess the U.S. Northern Command's strategies and planning to defend against military threats to the United States, according to the panel investigating the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
RADAR UPGRADES: Northrop Grumman Corp. will develop a replacement kit to improve the performance and reliability of radars in U.S. Air Force F-16C and D aircraft, the company said Aug. 10. The two-year, $22 million contract is for the AN/APG-68(V)9 kit, which provides a 33 percent improvement in the air-to-air detection range of earlier versions of the radar, the company said. It also allows high-resolution ground mapping for 24-hour, all-weather precision strike capability.
LONDON - With the market for air-to-air refueling tankers estimated by the Boeing Co. to reach up to $100 billion over the next three decades, many of the major players in the sector are gearing up with new technological innovations and procurement options.
COMBAT READY: United Defense Industries Inc. has won a $42.9 million contract modification to team with the Red River Army Depot and the Army's PM Combat Systems to return 131 Bradley A2ODS vehicles returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom to combat readiness. United Defense will partially disassemble the vehicles and ship more than three dozen subsystems and components to Red River for overhaul and repair. The contract includes a $3.8 million option to integrate the enhanced 25mm main gun used on the Bradley A3 into these vehicles.
7E7 DISPLAYS: The Boeing Co. has tapped Thales to supply the Integrated Standby Flight Display for the 7E7 Dreamliner, Boeing announced Aug. 9. The displays will provide an integrated display of airspeed, altitude and airplane pitch and roll attitude. Thales also was tapped last week to supply the Electrical Power Conversion System for the aircraft.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is evaluating industry proposals for the preliminary design of the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) spacecraft, in anticipation of awarding a contract by October. Teams led by Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman submitted their final proposals last month, according to Ray Taylor, acting director for Project Prometheus at NASA's Office of Exploration Systems. In collaboration with JPL, the winning team will create a preliminary design for the spacecraft, which NASA plans to launch sometime in the next decade.
