The third of a class of four "air independent" non-nuclear submarines was christened Sept. 13 in Germany, according to HDW, the sub's builder. It said the submarine, designated U33, is slated to enter service in the German navy on Jan. 31, 2006. The Class 212 A subs feature HDW's air-independent propulsion system, based on the hydrogen fuel cell. The cell produces electricity from hydrogen and oxygen and enables the subs to remain submerged for weeks at a time, according to the company.
HONORED: NASA honored three companies at its 13th annual Minority Business and Advocates Awards ceremony in Washington, the aerospace agency said Sept. 14. Science Systems and Applications Inc. of Lanham, Md., was named minority contractor of the year, Crewstone Technologies of Hampton, Va., was named minority subcontractor of the year and Cimarron Inc. of Houston was named women-owned business of the year.
The Netherlands has requested the sale of 55 Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) Block IIIA missiles, 55 MK 14 MOD 0 canisters and related equipment, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress on Sept. 15. The deal could be worth $70 million, including spares and repair parts, training and support, DSCA said. "The Netherlands navy intends to use the SM-2 missiles on its destroyer-class surface ships for self-defense against air and cruise missile threats in the Netherlands and the NATO theater," DSCA said.
PREPARING FOR IVAN: NASA is securing Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans in anticipation of the arrival of Hurricane Ivan. Most workers at both facilities were sent home Sept. 14, according to NASA, except for a skeleton crew that will remain on site through the storm. At Stennis, two flight-qualified space shuttle main engines (SSMEs) have been secured. At Michoud, where Lockheed Martin manufactures the shuttle's external tanks, equipment has been moved indoors and buildings sandbagged.
Aerojet has successfully hot-fire tested a solid propellant Throttling Divert and Attitude Control System (TDACS) for the U.S. Navy's Standard Missile-3 (SM-3), the company said Sept. 15. The July 28 test demonstrated the increased performance, operating flexibility and durability of the TDACS in a simulated mission scenario, the company said.
Recent Joint Forces Command exercises that showed how multiple, dissimilar unmanned aerial vehicles can share imagery and command and control functions used a video system from Sarnoff Corp., the company said Sept. 14. The Forward Look exercises (DAILY, July 2) used the Princeton, N.J.-based Sarnoff Corp.'s VICE video exploitation system, the company said.
By combining the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) program contract to include both General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin, the U.S. Army will accelerate the program's development, the WIN-T project manager said Sept. 14. Combining contractors establishes a single baseline for the WIN-T program, rather than two that would be offered by competing WIN-T teams, according to Col. Angel Colon, the WIN-T project manager. Under the previous acquisition strategy, the Army would have selected one of the proposed systems in late 2005.
The consolidation of Minneapolis-based Alliant Techsystems' (ATK) medium-caliber manufacturing operations to the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in Rocket Center, W.Va. has been successfully completed, the company said Sept. 15. Four months after stopping production in Minnesota, the company is producing medium-caliber components in West Virginia.
BAE Systems Avionics Group and Kaman Aerospace Corp. are teaming to provide an intermediate maritime helicopter package based on BAE Systems' mission system and sensor suite and Kaman's SH-2G Super Seasprite, BAE Systems said Sept. 14. Initial efforts will be focused on autonomous self-protection suites, NATO interoperable communications and navigation systems, and sensor and target acquisition packages, as well as a range of anti-surface and anti-submarine weapons, the Basildon, England-based company said. Kaman Aerospace is based in Bloomfield, Conn.
The U.S. Air Force is attempting to pull together a set of joint requirements from across the services to build a stronger case for the beleaguered Space Based Radar (SBR) program, according to Peter Teets, undersecretary of the Air Force for space.
The U.S. Air Force/Department of Defense's acquisition system needs to go "back to the future" to improve its speed and efficiency, a retired lieutenant general's study has concluded.
The U.S. Air Force is writing a new concept of operations (CONOPS) for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) that will help guide future acquisition decisions, a general said Sept. 14.
Starting Sept. 14, a NASA-led team will spend two weeks in the desert near Flagstaff, Ariz., testing prototype equipment that could be used for the human exploration of the moon and Mars. The sand, dust, rough terrain, and temperature variations in the desert help approximate conditions that may be encountered on the moon or Mars, according to NASA. As part of the Desert Research and Technology Studies (RATS) program, engineers and scientists from inside and outside NASA will wear new prototype spacesuits as they evaluate the new gear.
Information technology provider Titan Corp. will open its new 280,000 square-foot office complex in Reston, Va. on Sept. 15, the company said. Titan's new, 16-story facility, located at Two Freedom Square, will serve as the company's Washington headquarters for five of its eight business sectors that provide technology and systems to the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the intelligence community and other government agencies, the company said Sept. 14.
External Tank 120, scheduled for the space shuttle's return to flight mission next spring, has been moved to the vehicle assembly building at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, La., to prepare for the application of foam insulation to a tank structural connection point, NASA said Sept. 13. The move is "a major step toward returning the space shuttle to flight," NASA said. The loss of the shuttle Columbia in 2003 has been blamed on shedding foam that punched a hole in a thermal panel on the shuttle's wing.
U.S. Air Force officials are expressing renewed confidence about the service's two fighter aircraft acquisition efforts. Air Force Secretary James Roche told reporters late Sept. 13 that the F/A-22 Raptor, now in a key test phase, is exceeding a requirement to be twice as capable as the F-15 it is designed to replace. "The data so far show it to be more than twice as capable over and over and over and over," Roche said at a press briefing at the Air Force Association's Air & Space Conference.
CIT: BAE Systems Information & Electronic Systems Integration Inc. of Greenlawn, N.Y., will provide 33 new F/A-18 combined interrogator transponder (CIT) receiver-transmitters under a $6.5 million contract, the Department of Defense said Sept. 13. The contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy (94 percent of the contract) and the government of Australia under the Foreign Military Sales program, DOD said.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.'s new aerial refueling boom is using electrical instead of hydraulic systems as much as possible to reduce weight, EADS officials said Sept. 14 at the Air Force Association's Air & Space Conference in Washington. "We are reducing the workload on the boom, and making it fail-safe so no single failure could abort it, and using as many commercial off-the-shelf equipment as possible to reduce cost," said David Ferro, EADS' technical director for its advanced tanker team.
Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) has been given responsibility for exploring the military utility of "near-space" altitudes, according to AFSPC Commander Gen. Lance Lord. Near-space is defined as altitudes of 65,000 to 350,000 feet, according to Lord. Because this area is not technically part of space, some have wondered whether near-space would be under the province of AFSPC or Air Combat Command (ACC).
Intelsat has been tapped to be the lead provider of satellite capacity for oil and gas companies, as Houston-based SkyPort International has bought two long-term capacity leases on the IA-7 satellite, the company said Sept. 14.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are playing a prominent role in the war on terror, and the retooled CV-22 Osprey has an "awesome capability," the commander of the Air Force Special Operations Command said Sept. 14. Lt. Gen. Michael W. Wooley, speaking at the Air Force Association's Air & Space Conference in Washington, said the UAVs act as "tiny eyes in the sky" and are saving coalition forces' lives. Some of the UAVs weigh as little as two pounds, he said.
ITT Industries will deliver instruments for the next generation of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) under a NASA contract that could be worth up to $359 million through 2029. The company will deliver infrared and visible-wavelength environmental imaging instruments for the GOES-R satellite series, to replace older instruments.
The head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Airborne Laser (ABL) is expressing cautious optimism that the program will meet its goal to achieve two key milestones by year's end.
