Northrop Grumman Corp. conducted the first flight of a new configuration of the U.S. Army's RQ-5A unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system, called the Endurance Hunter (E-Hunter). Conducted on March 17, the test is part of an ongoing cooperative effort with the Army to extend the range, endurance and payload capacity of the Hunter system. Northrop Grumman operated the new UAV under the control of a prototype Army One System ground control station, the company said April 11.
The Senate Armed Services Committee's readiness and management support subcommittee has drafted legislation calling for a chief management official (CMO) at the Defense Department, a move long advocated by critics of DOD's business management although the department continues to resist the change.
Gregory P. Boyer has been named to the board of directors. Boyer served as principal of Century Administrative Services in St. Louis. Daniel A. Rodrigues has been promoted to president and chief operating officer. Michael F. Shanahan Sr. will serve as nonexecutive chairman of the board of directors. Shanahan co-founded ESS and has been president, CEO and chairman for 23 years.
Peter C. Belford Sr. and Rear Adm. Daniel P. March (USN-Ret.) have been named to the board of directors. Belford was president of the former Analex Corp. March is a former commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet and is a consultant to the Navy, Defense Department and intelligence community.
Bernard W. Chau has been promoted to general manager of the Imagery Programs Division in Chantilly, Va. Wayne R. Fenner has been named a distinguished engineer in the Planning and Communications Division. Randolph L. Kendall has been appointed principal director of the Launch Directorate in El Segundo. Stephen A. Stoops has been named principal director of the Communications Systems Information Engineering Directorate at Chantilly.
Two U.S. Air Force entities have agreed to work together to improve the sharing of surveillance information among air, space and near-space systems. Lt. Gen. Charles Johnson, commander of the Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., and Lt. Gen. Brian Arnold, head of Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., approved the new arrangement, said Gen. Gregory Martin, commander of Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
C-130J SHAKEUP: The U.S. Air Force announced late April 13 that it is converting the C-130J program from a commercial contract structure to a more traditional one. Critics have said that the commercial contract makes it difficult to audit the government's costs. The Air Force said the new structure will apply to modification and sustainment of the C-130J, as well as any purchases of additional aircraft.
Lockheed Martin and Boeing delivered the first Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (MTADS/PNVS) system to the U.S. Army this month for deployment on AH-64D Apache helicopters. The Army's first unit equipped with MTADS will be fielded this July, Frank Winget, manager of business development for MTADS at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, told The DAILY April 12. MTADS is an upgrade to TADS, which are being used on Apaches in Iraq.
Orbital Sciences Corp. has successfully launched an $80 million experimental Air Force satellite designed to explore future military space applications and a new Medium Range Target vehicle for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, the company said April 12.
EnerSys, which builds industrial batteries, announced April 11 that it was awarded a $4.6 million contract by the U.S. Navy for continued development of advanced submarine batteries. The contract - coming after an initial $1 million award to the Reading, Pa.-based company in March 2004 - is part of an ongoing effort by the Navy to retrofit the entire nuclear submarine fleet with valve-regulated lead-acid batteries in place of flooded lead-acid batteries.
Mike Griffin told Senate lawmakers April 12 that if confirmed as NASA administrator he will push to accelerate the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) from its current schedule, which has manned flights beginning in 2014, four years after the proposed retirement of the space shuttle. "I think that's too far out," Griffin said during his nomination hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee in Washington. "President Bush said not later than 2014. He didn't say we couldn't be smart and do it early. And that would be my goal."
A bill headed for the House floor that is intended to boost U.S. supercomputing capabilities by realigning research and development at six civilian agencies, including NASA, would cost $220 million between 2006 and 2010, the Congressional Budget Office said. That assumes lawmakers appropriate "necessary" funds for the new directives in the bill, H.R. 28. Nevertheless, CBO estimates that enacting the legislation, sponsored by Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), would have no effect on direct spending or revenue.
Iridium Satellite LLC has begun preliminary talks with satellite manufacturers about building replacement satellites that could start being launched early in the next decade. The Iridium constellation includes 66 operational satellites and 13 spares occupying six orbital planes in low-Earth orbit. The company plans a gradual, 10-year replenishment program, according to Chairman and CEO Carmen Lloyd. Recent projections show current spacecraft lasting until roughly 2014.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Cisco Systems recognizes the value of leveraging commercial-off-the-shelf technology for space systems, and is working to help change current business practices that often don't allow its full potential to be achieved, according to Rick Sanford, director of space initiatives for the company's Global Defense, Space and Security group.
NAVAL GUNS: United Defense Industries Inc. of Arlington, Va., has been awarded a $43.3 million contract modification to produce three Mk 45 Mod 4 Naval Gun systems, the company said April 11. The contract was awarded by the Naval Sea Systems Command. The 5-inch, 62-caliber Mk 45 Mod 4 is a fully-automated naval gun. It can support anti-surface, strike, fire support and anti-air warfare missions. The guns will be installed on DDG 110 through DDG 112 Arleigh Burke U.S. Navy destroyers.
Proposed cutbacks in the F/A-22 Raptor fighter program could have a big effect on "both the scope and composition of the world market for fighter/attack/jet trainer aircraft over the next 10 years," according to a new market analysis from Forecast International.
CRYOGENIC TANK: XCOR Aerospace of Mojave, Calif., has signed a $7 million contract with NASA to develop a composite cryogenic tank to hold liquid oxygen (LOX), the company said April 12. The contract is part of NASA's Exploration Systems Research and Technology program to develop key technologies for manned exploration of the moon and Mars. The LOX tank will be designed to reduce weight by serving as both an insulated tank and vehicle structure. The tank materials would retain their toughness and flexibility at cryogenic temperatures and be nonflammable, the company said.
ASTEROID AWARDS: Proposed legislation to encourage amateur astronomers to discover and track near-Earth asteroids would pay awards of $3,000 each and would have a "negligible" effect on NASA's bottom line, the Congressional Budget Office said. CBO estimates that implementing the legislation, H.R. 1023, would have no significant effect on the budget and would not affect direct spending or revenues.
