SEA LAUNCH: A Zenit-3SL rocket delivered the Intelsat Americas-8 communications satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit after lifting off from Boeing's Sea Launch platform at 14:03 GMT June 23. Early data indicates the spacecraft is in good condition.
Senate lawmakers moved to send NASA's fiscal 2006 appropriations and authorization bills to the floor of the Senate for a vote during separate markup hearings on Capitol Hill June 23. The Senate Appropriations Committee endorsed the $16.4 billion FY '06 NASA appropriations bill that was marked up by the Commerce, Justice and Science subcommittee earlier this week (DAILY, June 22). The bill includes $250 million to continue preparations for a space shuttle mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.
The proposed DD(X) destroyer is the U.S. Navy's "bridge" to the CG(X) destroyer and a major technology development program, and the futuristic ship will have several advantages over the current DDG-51 class of destroyers, especially in the littorals, admirals said June 23. Without the DD(X), "we will not have the capability to dominate the maritime theater and air missile defense of the future," Vice Adm. Joseph Sestak, deputy chief of naval operations, told reporters. But he continued, "are there other areas you can help mitigate that? Absolutely."
The Joint Common Missile (JCM) has achieved several recent technical and political victories, giving prime contractor Lockheed Martin hope that the program will continue in some form despite being targeted for termination by the Pentagon. Rick Edwards, director of tactical missiles at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said June 23 that all 17 JCM subsystems have successfully completed their preliminary design reviews (PDRs), keeping the program on track for a system-level PDR June 29-30.
TAIWAN DEFENSES: Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems will provide Taiwan with "elements of a missile and air defense capability" under a $752 million contract, the Department of Defense said June 23. The system includes an Ultra High Frequency phased array radar integrated with identification-friend-or-foe beacons supplied by Taiwan; two Missile Warning Centers; and communications and interfaces architecture, "consistent with United States government restrictions," the DOD said.
MOVING: Intelsat General Corp. has consolidated its headquarters in Bethesda, Md., from Washington, D.C., the satellite networking services company said June 22. The move puts all its employees under one roof in Maryland to "better serve our customers and increase our overall productivity," IGC President Susan Miller said in a statement. The company is a subsidiary of satellite communications provider Intelsat Ltd.
Democratic lawmakers and panelists at a Capitol Hill event on June 23 said there is a need for data addressing the perceived drain of U.S. science and technology jobs to other countries. "No person or organization known to me has any credible way of forecasting what science and engineering sectors of the U.S. economy will look like in 2010 or 2012," Michael Teitelbaum, program director of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation said at a workforce roundtable sponsored by Democratic members of the House Science Committee.
House appropriators made clear June 22 that they expect a single Deepwater recapitalization plan from the U.S. Coast Guard by July 14 so that congressmen and senators can work out a fiscal 2006 budget this summer when they meet in conference. The Coast Guard commandant said he got the message and would relay it to Bush Administration officials, including the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Coast Guard's parent agency, the Homeland Security Department.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a request for proposals June 21 for an off-the-shelf medium-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle system to patrol the U.S. border with Mexico. The UAV system will patrol the area within 25 miles of the U.S./Mexico border, extending from Yuma, Ariz., to El Paso, Texas. Responses to the RFP are due by July 19 and DHS expects to be operating the system no later than October.
Col. James "Jay" DeFrank (USAF-Ret.) will become executive director, Research & Analysis, effective July 18, leading the new enterprise from the foundation's Washington offices.
Alliant Techsystems (ATK) recently successfully demonstrated the XM25 advanced airbursting weapon system using developmental ammunition, the company said June 22. The XM25, when fielded, will fire a high explosive, air-bursting 25mm round capable of striking enemies hidden behind walls or inside buildings or foxholes, ATK said. The system does not require impact to detonate, but uses a laser rangefinder to measure the distance the round has traveled to detonate it at a precise point in the air.
SAFARI: A $14 million airplane initiative is expected to lead to a request for proposals in September, the U.S. Coast Guard commandant said June 22. Speaking to House appropriators, Adm. Thomas Collins said the service is working with the Air Force's Safari program to develop a small, slow, manned aircraft for surveillance. Rep. Harold Rogers (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee's homeland security subcommittee, helped push the initiative last year.
ROBOTS: The U.S. Navy's explosive ordnance disposal program has received approval for full-rate production of the Man Transportable Robotic System, which revolves around Foster-Miller Inc.'s Talon IV and iRobot's PackBot. An acquisition review board granted full production for the system May 31, the Navy announced recently. The military plans to buy 960 systems, with the Army getting 461, the Marine Corps 205, the Navy 154 and the Air Force 140.
Craig E. Steidle has been named vice president of international affairs. Steidle is the former NASA associate administrator for the Office of Exploration Systems, and will replace Joel L. Johnson.
The first components of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air System's Common Operating System software have been delivered to the program, setting the stage for a combined interoperability software demonstration with J-UCAS contractors Boeing and Northrop Grumman later this year.
Gen. Charles Holland (USAF-Ret.), Col. William Grimes (USAF-Ret.) and Capt. Jack Menendez (USN-Ret.) have been named to the company's new board of advisers.
Northrop Grumman is developing a "self-healing" system for monitoring the health of spacecraft subsystems such as those for power, propulsion and life support, the company said June 22. The system is being developed under a contract awarded by NASA's Ames Research Center, Calif., and could be worth up to $26.8 million if all options are exercised.
EADS North America will assemble KC-330 tankers in Mobile, Ala., if it wins a potential U.S. Air Force competition to supply refueling aircraft, the company announced June 22. Even if it does not get a tanker contract, the company plans to build an engineering center at the Mobile site to support Airbus commercial aircraft. That center is expected to open in about a year. EADS North America said it picked Mobile over three other finalist sites in Florida, Mississippi and South Carolina mainly because of its closeness to a deepwater port.
The radar modernization program (RMP) for the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber has successfully completed its final design review (FDR), according to the U.S. Air Force. The May 24 review took place at the Palmdale, Calif., facilities of B-2 prime contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. and was intended to finalize the RMP design and ensure the design is mature enough to support such activities as production planning, advanced software development and flight testing, the Air Force told The DAILY in a statement responding to questions.
Offshore Systems International Ltd. of Vancouver will supply an integrated submarine navigation and weapons management system for the Canadian navy's Victoria-class subs, the company said June 21. The work will be done under a Cdn$1.7 million ($1.4 million) contract from the Canadian Department of Public Works and Government Services. The new system will replace the existing 1960s-era Shipboard Navigation and Plotting System (SNAPS) on four submarines and at two shore facilities, Offshore said.
