An expansion of SpaceDev's Air Force research and missile defense-related work helped increase the company's third-quarter revenues by 60 percent, the Poway, Calif.-based company said Nov. 16. SpaceDev reported that quarterly revenues went from $767,780 in the third quarter of 2003 to $1.2 million, "primarily due to the addition and expansion of our contracts with the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Missile Defense Agency, which created new revenue."
Spaceborne observations have helped give scientists an unprecedented understanding of climate change in Antarctica, a NASA official told the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Nov. 16. NASA has developed "dozens of airborne and spaceborne sensors and funded hundreds of scientists over the last 30 years," said Ghassem R. Asrar, deputy associate administrator in NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
The U.S. Air Force is making progress revamping the Space Based Radar (SBR) program in response to congressional concerns about the satellite effort, according to a program representative.
Two companies from Australia and Canada have been awarded contracts by Northrop Grumman Corp. for components in the next-generation radar of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Northrop Grumman said Nov. 16. Terms of the agreements were not disclosed. Semi-rigid radio frequency cables will be provided by Cablex Pty. Ltd. of East Bentleigh, Victoria, Australia, Northrop Grumman said. The cables will allow communication between the radar and other elements of the F-35's avionics.
The U.S. Navy has awarded UQM Technologies Inc. of Frederick, Colo., a $70,000 contract to design a compact, lightweight, diesel-driven generator for small unmanned military boats, the company said Nov. 16.
Aerospace, defense and electronics sensors company Meggitt has agreed to acquire Wilcoxon Research Inc., a supplier of vibration sensors and accessories. Maryland-based Wilcoxon will become part of Meggitt's Electronics division. That division is led by California-based subsidiary Endevco, which provides sensors for aerospace and defense markets.
SMART ORBITS: The European Space Agency's SMART-1 (Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology-1) probe has successfully entered lunar orbit. Europe's first lunar probe, it will begin a six-month survey of key chemical elements on the moon's surface in mid-January.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and France's CNES space agency have signed a memorandum of understanding to proceed with developing and launching the Megha-Tropiques joint atmospheric satellite mission. The MOU outlines the arrangements for developing and launching the satellite, operating it in orbit and using the scientific data it returns on the effect of the tropical atmosphere's water cycle on the Earth's climate. Megha-Tropiques is derived from the Sanskrit word for cloud and the French word for tropics.
PREDATORS: General Atomics-Aeronautical Systems will provide seven MQ-1L Predator unmanned aerial vehicles and 14 ruggedized aircraft maintenance test stations under a $22 million contract modification, the Department of Defense said Nov. 15. The work is to be complete by January 2007.
The German Bundestag's budget committee has approved buying eight P-3C Orion maritime reconnaissance aircraft from the Netherlands navy as well as 55 Dingo 2 armored transport vehicles, the German defense ministry said Nov. 12. The aircraft cost totals 271 million euros ($352 million), including simulators, documentation, spare parts, ground service and testing equipment. Deliveries of the P-3Cs are to begin next year.
General Dynamics C4 Systems, located in Taunton, Mass., won a $14.9 million increment as part of a $112 million contract for development of an initial architecture for the Warfighter Information Network -Tactical Communication System (WIN-T), the Defense Department said Nov. 15.
ACQUIRED: Honeywell is now sole owner of GEM Microelectronics Materials, which manufactures chemicals for the semiconductor industry. Honeywell acquired Mitsubishi Chemical America's 40 percent stake in the company for an undisclosed amount. Honeywell will market GEM's products under its Honeywell Electronic Materials business.
Goodrich yesterday predicted that its sales in 2005 will jump about 6-8 percent from levels this year to about $5 billion, partially due to help from its military unit. Military sales are expected to increase roughly in line with overall military budgets around the world, which are expected to grow in the low single-digit range for 2005, compared with 2004, the company said. Earnings per share next year are expected to be in the range of $1.60-$1.80, an increase of 20-35 percent from the earnings per share predictions for 2004.
NASA is lobbying Congress for the authority to award prizes of more than $250,000 in its Centennial Challenges program, and hopes to get a green light during the current lame-duck session of Congress or early next year. NASA needs authorization from Congress to award prizes of more than $250,000. Centennial Challenges Program Manager Brant Sponberg met with authorizers on Capitol Hill to discuss the issue Nov. 15.
The U.S. Air Force's E-10A Multi-sensor Command and Control Aircraft has received a vote of confidence from a key Pentagon panel, a program official said Nov. 15. The Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) Oct. 14 approved a document outlining the need for the E-10A, which is designed to replace the E-8C Joint STARS air-to-ground surveillance aircraft, said Col. Joseph Smyth, E-10A's program director, who spoke at the Defense News Media Group's ISR Integration 2004 Conference.
Christie Immersive Solutions Group signed an agreement with Computer Sciences Corp.'s Defense Solutions Division to provide visual projection systems for six simulator installations for the U.S. Army Maritime Integrated Training Systems program, the company said Nov. 15. The Immersive Solutions Group is part of visual systems provider Christie Digital Systems Inc. The contract includes the installation of 31 Christie DS30W wide-screen digital projection systems for three Full Mission Bridge (FMB) and three crane simulators.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The U.S. Defense Department's concept of transformation was greeted with skepticism by speakers at a conference here, with one, a former Army colonel who left the service in June, saying the emphasis in changing the armed forces to meet new challenges should be on thinking, not technology.
Rolls-Royce is establishing a University Technology Centre (UTC) at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom, to study what it dubbed future "more electric" engine technologies. Developing engines that rely more on electricity for ships could lead to weight savings, reduced fuel use, increased cargo space and simpler maintenance, the company said Nov. 15.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University are designing an inflatable, expendable, high-altitude vehicle that could stay aloft for weeks monitoring a battlefield.
The contractor team that will build NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has opened a new facility in Cullman, Ala., where the telescope's optical components will be machined into the proper shape, Northrop Grumman announced Nov. 15. Axsys Technologies Inc. owns the facility, which houses advanced computer-aided manufacturing and metrology equipment that will shape JWST's optical components. The telescope's 6.5-meter (20-foot) primary mirror will consist of 18 hexagonal beryllium segments.
Former Boeing Co. Chief Financial Officer Michael Sears will be sentenced in January after entering a guilty plea Nov. 16 in connection with improper dealings with former Boeing executive and Air Force acquisitions official Darleen Druyun. Sears pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Virginia to one count of "aiding and abetting acts affecting a personal financial interest," court documents said. The maximum penalties are five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Judge Gerald Bruce Lee set a sentencing date of 9 a.m. Jan. 21.
