NASA Administrator Michael Griffin has approved Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., to begin preparing for a fifth space shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Griffin had promised to revisit previous Administrator Sean O'Keefe's decision to cancel the mission, known as SM4, following the space shuttle's return to flight (DAILY, April 20). Now that the shuttle's launch has been postponed to July, "we're going to start early in reviewing the Hubble decision," Griffin said April 29.
MATURED TECH: The U.S. Army Science and Technology directorate is paying particular attention to accelerating mature technologies with promising capabilities into the current force, according to the consulting company Federal Sources Inc. These technologies include: networked battle command and logistics systems; networked precision missiles and gun launched munitions; improved intelligence sensors; active and passive protection systems; unmanned ground and air systems; and low-cost, multispectral sensors.
The U.S. Navy said April 27 that Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. of Sunnyvale, Calif., is being awarded an $11.4 million contract to support the fiscal 2006 award for the United Kingdom Technical Services in support of the Trident Strategic Weapons System. The work will be performed in Sunnyvale and should be finished by March 2006. The contract was not competitively procured, the Navy said.
Net sales for body armor producer Ceradyne Inc. jumped 90% in the first quarter of 2005 and net income climbed 20%, the company said April 28. Net sales increased to $69.8 million from $36.7 million in the first quarter of 2004. Net income rose from $5 million to $6 million, the company said. Earnings per share for the first quarter of '05 grew to 24 cents per share compared with 21 cents a year ago, the Costa Mesa, Calif.-based company said.
Goodrich Corp. reported first-quarter 2005 sales of $1.3 billion, a 10% increase over the same period of last year. First-quarter net income per share was 47 cents, a 21% increase over 2004, the company said April 28.
A panel of expert witnesses warned House Science Committee lawmakers about the possible consequences of NASA's proposed scaling back of its efforts in Earth science observation during a hearing April 28.
Potential nuclear Earth-penetrating weapons, which could be used by the United States against hardened enemy bunkers, still would lead to thousands - if not more than a million - civilian surface deaths in dense cities, depending on the bomb's yield and other factors, a committee of experts convened by the National Research Council has concluded. "A nuclear weapon burst in a densely populated urban environment will always result in a large number of casualties," the group said in a report.
Combat vehicle and weapon builder United Defense Industries Inc. reported a drop in net income from $41.9 million in the first quarter of 2004 to $32.7 million for the first quarter of 2005. UDI said April 28 that the decrease mostly is due to an earnings loss from the company's Turkish joint venture and to expenses from its pending acquisition by BAE Systems.
About 123 remote sensing satellites worth an estimated $14 billion are scheduled for production between 2005 and 2014, a new market study from Forecast International says. "Efforts to protect the Earth's natural resources are propelling the need for remote sensing satellites and the imagery products they generate," John Edwards, Forecast's international space systems analyst, said in a statement.
The U.S. Air Force is taking a hard look at how it will support the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS), a top general said April 28. The Air Force is evaluating such things as how to resupply FCS units and how to meet the Army's desire to be able to transport the system through hostile territory, said Gen. John Jumper, Air Force chief of staff. FCS, which is under development by a Boeing-SAIC team, is designed to be a network of unmanned aerial vehicles and manned and unmanned ground systems.
The U.S. Air Force has decided to recompete most of its C-130 avionics upgrade program to address claims that the Boeing Co. received preferential treatment when it was picked to be the prime contractor. The Air Force said April 28 that the Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) will hold a new competition for two future phases: production and installation. Boeing will remain the contractor for AMP's development, which has been under way for several years.
DEDICATED: Boeing held a ceremony April 27 to mark the official opening of its new Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. SLC-6 is the new West Coast launch site for the Boeing Delta IV, which supports the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program. The site will give the Air Force the capability to launch national security satellites to polar, sun-synchronous and high-inclination orbits, the company said April 28. The first launch of a Delta IV from the site is scheduled for later this year.
A squadron of U.S. Air Force Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will be permanently stationed on the island of Guam in 2008 or 2009, according to Gen. Paul Hester, commander of Pacific Air Forces.
Armament and defense electronics company EDO Corp. reported revenue of $116.5 million in the first quarter of 2005, up 5% from the $110.9 million recorded in the same period of 2004.
Thales will offer expanded sales, support and maintenance for the aerospace industry in a new expansion in Singapore, which will be built by local company Ascendas. Ascendas will own, develop and manage the property for Thales, which will be the sole tenant, the Paris-based company said April 28.
(Editor's note: The following is excerpted from written responses by Kenneth J. Krieg, who has been nominated to be undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, to written questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee. Krieg testified April 21). Q: How important is it, in your view, for the department to mature its technologies with research and development funds before these technologies are incorporated into product development plans?
Net income for Northrop Grumman Corp. surged 73% in the first quarter of 2005 and sales increased 4%, the company said April 28. First quarter 2005 net income grew to $409 million, or $1.11 per share, from $236 million, or 65 cents per share, a year earlier. The 2005 first quarter net income includes an $11 million after-tax gain from the sale of Teldix GmbH, the company said. First quarter 2005 sales increased from $7.2 billion to $7.5 billion, the company said.
Coast Guard Rear Adm. Patrick Stillman, the program executive officer for the Deepwater recapitalization program, on April 28 defended the revised budget plan recently provided to Congress and asserted that the service is on top of its implementation. "I appreciate the fact that there are some individuals that call for acceleration," he said. "I, on the other hand, recognize that this is a marathon, and one that has to be undertaken with due diligence."
UAV TEAMS: Lockheed Martin, Aerosonde North America and Aerosonde Pty Ltd. have established a "multinational strategic alliance" to provide unmanned aircraft systems for U.S. and international markets. The companies will build, integrate and test advanced unmanned systems for customer demonstrations and trials, Lockheed Martin said April 28.
Raytheon Co.'s net income and net sales grew in the first quarter of 2005, and its earnings per share outlook also increased, the company said April 28. First quarter 2005 net income was $166 million or 36 cents per share, compared with $128 million or 30 cents per share in 2004, the company said. Net sales grew from $4.7 billion in the first quarter of 2004 to $4.9 billion in the same period of 2005. Raytheon also upped its 2005 earnings per share from continuing operations to $1.85-1.95. Its previous guidance was $1.80-1.90.
The consulting company Input of Reston, Va., has released its tally of top federal information technology contractors, a list dominated by defense-related firms. According to the firm, the contractors received more than $36 billion of the overall $50 billion spent by the federal government in fiscal 2004, with more than $17 billion going to the top 10.
CORRECTION: A story in the April 27 issue of The DAILY, headlined "Israel requests 100 bunker-buster GBU-28s," included incorrect information from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) that said Lockheed Martin is the contractor. The company is not involved in the program or the proposed sale. The primary contractors for the sale are Raytheon Co., Ellwood National Forge Co. and Kaman Dayron, DSCA told The DAILY.
Missile and bomb contractors are getting ready to demonstrate that their weapons can be networked together, government and industry officials said. The overall goal of the effort, being carried out under the Weapon Data Link Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (WDL ACTD) program, is to develop a common backbone that would connect air-to-ground systems in the same way that aircraft and ships, for example, are now being linked.
