Lockheed Martin has received another increment in its overall $1.5 billion contract for the Integrated Space Command and Control (ISC2) program, intended to modernize the command and control system of North American Aerospace Defense Command and the U.S. Strategic Command. The $54.2 million contract exercises the fifth option for ISC2, according to an Oct. 6 announcement by the Department of Defense.
An instrument on the European Space Agency's Envisat satellite has helped create a high-resolution global atmospheric map of nitrogen dioxide pollution to show how human activities affect air quality, ESA said Oct. 11. The Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography (SCIAMACHY) records the spectrum of sunlight shining through the atmosphere. The results then are studied to find spectral absorption "fingerprints" of trace gases in the air, ESA said.
Finmeccanica would be required to ensure that AgustaWestland will have the capabilities to design, develop and maintain helicopter systems within the United Kingdom before acquiring the company under an Oct. 6 proposal from U.K. Competition Minister Gerry Sutcliffe. Italy's largest defense company said earlier this year that it would buy GKN's 50 percent stake in AgustaWestland, their joint helicopter venture (DAILY, May 27), for $1.9 billion to "directly increase its exposure to the U.S. and U.K. defense budgets."
Kollsman, Inc., headquartered in Merrimack, N.H., intends to spin off its international defense business, and is calling the new business Advanced Defense Systems (ADS) Inc., Kollsman said Oct. 4. The reason for the spin-off is to "enhance Kollsman's focus on its core business area of commercial aviation, and to ensure the international defense business had its own unique focus," Randy Moore, Kollsman executive vice president and general manager, said in a statement.
In a compromise $447 billion fiscal 2005 defense authorization bill, House and Senate conferees prohibited the U.S. Air Force from leasing aerial refueling tankers from Boeing Co., gave the Department of Defense authority to move ahead with base closures and approved a watered-down version of the House's Buy American provision. The House and Senate were expected to vote on the bill Oct. 8.
Oct. 12 - 14 -- Aviation Week presents MRO Asia, Shanghai Convention Center. To register go to http://www.AviationNow.com/conferences. Oct. 12 - 14 -- Precision Strike Technology Symposium, "Accelerating Joint & Coalition Technology Advances for Precision Strike," Kossiakoff Conference Center, The John Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md. For more information, go to www.precisionstrike.org.
UNCLEAR SUCCESSION: The U.S. Air Force is seeking to resolve a succession problem caused by the decision of Gen. Gregory S. Martin to withdraw his name from consideration for commander of U.S. Pacific Command (DAILY, Oct. 8). Criticism from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) over Martin's past as an acquisition official led to the withdrawal, although Martin said he was not involved with the KC-767 tanker lease deal with Boeing Co. that McCain opposes. However, Lt. Gen. Bruce Carlson already has been confirmed to take Martin's place as head of Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC).
CRYOSAT MILESTONE: The SAR/Interferometric Radar Altimeter (SIRAL) instrument has been delivered to EADS Astrium for integration into the CryoSat spacecraft, marking a milestone for the satellite, the European Space Agency says. The Alcatel Space-developed SIRAL is the key instrument for CryoSat, which is intended to study sea-ice thickness in the Arctic basin when it is launched next March. SIRAL will precisely measure the thickness of floating sea ice so that annual observations can be made, ESA says.
FOLLOW THE MONEY: The Senate defeated an amendment proposed by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that would have given appropriations authority to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, a move recommended by the 9/11 Commission. McCain proposed the amendment Oct. 7 to Senate Resolution 445, which contains an amendment offered by Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that overhauls how Congress oversees U.S. intelligence activities (DAILY, Oct. 6).
TURKEY F-16s: Turkey plans to buy up to $4 billion in equipment from the United States to modernize 218 F-16s, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) says. If all options are exercised, the proposed deal, which Congress is expected to approve, will include the purchase of 180 AN/APG-68(V)9 radars, 200 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems, 200 AN/AVS-9 Night Vision Goggles, 225 AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles and small quantities of several weapons for integration and testing.
UPCOMING DEADLINE: A request for proposals for the U.S. Army's Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) is expected by early December, an Army representative says. Responses are due back from industry within about 45 days and a decision is due next spring, the Army says. The draft RFP for the ARH, released Sept.
MISSILE TRACKER: The U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) program is on schedule to launch two research and development satellites in less than three years, according to a Defense Department official. The sensor payloads, under development by Raytheon, are due to be delivered to STSS prime contractor Northrop Grumman in 2005 and integrated with the rest of the spacecraft in 2006. The two satellites, which are designed to track hostile ballistic missiles, are slated to lift off aboard a single Boeing Delta II booster in June 2007.
The U.S. Air Force's Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) program is progressing toward a Pentagon review next spring that will determine whether the air-to-surface weapon can begin low-rate production, according to a program official. The program has conducted 13 flight-tests so far with positive results, said Air Force Col. Jim McClendon, SDB's program director. "In every case, the key aspects we've looked for have functioned," McClendon told The DAILY in a recent written response to questions.
GROWTH RATE: A projected growth rate of less than 5 percent a year for the U.S. defense budget isn't enough to absorb the $90 billion in contracts that have been issued just since July, according to Credit Suisse/First Boston. "That amount [$90 billion], whose average expected duration is just over five years, suggests that the annual increase in defense investment (research and development plus procurement) spending would have to rise nearly 12 percent to cover these awards alone," CSFB says.
SWORN IN: Dionel M. Aviles was sworn in Oct. 8 as undersecretary of the Navy. Before his appointment, Aviles was assistant secretary of the Navy for financial management and comptroller. From 1995-2001, he was a professional staff member on the House Armed Services Committee.
WestStart-CALSTART of Pasadena, Calif. has been awarded a $4.4 million contract by the U.S. Army's National Automotive Center (NAC) to speed development of advanced heavy-duty vehicle technologies for commercial and military uses, the company said Oct. 6. The contract will cover dual-use technology development and heavy-duty hybrid truck deployment.
Ottawa, Canada-based Telesat's Anik F2, the world's largest commercial communications satellite, became fully operational this week after final in-orbit testing, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) said Oct. 7. With its C- and Ku-band transponders and Ka-band demonstration module, the Anik F2 will give customers across North America multimedia services and is the first satellite to fully commercialize the Ka frequency band, CSA said.
SEA LAUNCH: Sea Launch says it's ready to return to flight following an independent review that confirmed a cable short as the likely culprit in an anomaly that left Telstar 18 in a lower-than-planned orbit after its June 28 launch. The short caused the Zenit-3SL rocket's Block DM-SL upper stage to consume fuel faster than planned and shut down prematurely. Telstar 18 later was raised to its proper orbital position and is fully operational. Corrective actions have been taken to ensure the fault doesn't happen again, according to the company.
APPROVED: The Senate Armed Services Committee approved the nomination of Francis Harvey to be secretary of the Army and sent the nomination to the Senate floor Oct. 7, the Association of the United States Army said Oct. 8. Harvey is to take over for acting secretary Les Brownlee.
According to a new report from EADS North America, the company's KC-330 tanker "offers the best overall performance relative to the [EADS] KC-310 and both versions of the [Boeing] KC-767," which the Air Force planned to lease from Boeing before the deal was suspended.
All of the space shuttle's bolt catchers produced from 1995 to 1998, including those that flew on Columbia's last mission, should have been rejected by government inspectors, according to a recent report by NASA's inspector general (IG).
ROBUST GPS: The Global Positioning System could continue to function even if up to four satellites were disabled, according to a study commissioned by the Federation of American Scientists. The study found that the GPS constellation is "very robust because of the altitude (roughly 20,000 kilometers, high enough that it takes 12 hours for each satellite to complete one orbit) and the large number of satellite used, a total of 24." The FAS study recommends that smart weapons that use GPS be "made more robust."
Space Imaging's future is in doubt following the loss of the second and final NextView contract, which was integral to the development of the company's next-generation imaging satellites. Competitors DigitalGlobe of Longmont, Colo., and Orbimage of Dulles, Va., both have received NextView contracts from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) that could be worth up to $500 million each and will help the companies build next-generation imaging satellites with resolutions of 0.5 meters or higher.
