Launch of the AMC-15 satellite for SES Americom has been delayed to allow additional testing of one of the Proton booster's avionics subsystems, launch provider International Launch Services said Sept. 9. The satellite was to be launched in late September from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, but the subsystem is being returned to the Russian manufacturer, ILS said. A new launch date will be set after the assessment is completed.
Despite the severe damage done to NASA's Genesis sample return capsule when it crashed into the ground in Utah Sept. 8, the science team remains "very hopeful" of getting good scientific results out of the mission, according to David Lindstrom, Genesis program scientist at NASA headquarters.
Northrop Grumman Corp. will develop an advanced power amplifier unit for the U.S. Army's Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) that will increase the range of radios operated by troops on the ground, the company said Sept. 8. This is a new power amplifier requirement for JTRS Cluster 1, designed for Air Force, Army and Marine ground systems, as well as for Army rotorcraft, Greg Jones, JTRS program director at Northrop Grumman Space Technology, told The DAILY.
BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE, Washington Frederick W. Smith, chairman, president and CEO of FedEx Corp., has been named chairman of the security task force. CERADYNE, INC., Costa Mesa, Calif. Marc King has been named vice president of armor operations in Ceradyne's new office in Alexandria, Va. DIGITALGLOBE, Longmont, Colo. Bettina Eckerle has been appointed general counsel and secretary. DUCOMMUN INC., Los Angeles John J. Walsh has been named president of the Ducommun Technologies subsidiary.
Brazil has requested 10 UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress on Sept. 7. The deal, including associated equipment and services, could be worth up to $250 million, DSCA said. The government of Brazil requested the helicopters with T-700-GE-701C engines, 25 spare T-700-GE-701C engines, 22 7.62mm M134 Mini Guns, search and rescue equipment, litters and hoists, spare and repair parts, logistics support and other equipment and services.
The Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. were awarded contracts for the pre-system development and demonstration phase of the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Airborne and Maritime/Fixed Station (AMF) program, the Department of Defense announced Sept. 8. Boeing received a $54.6 million contract and Lockheed Martin received a $51.4 million contract, DOD said. Northrop Grumman also had been vying for the work (DAILY, Aug. 12).
VEHICLE BUY: The Israeli government is seeking to purchase 103 troop carrier armored vehicles, services and equipment worth up to $99 million from the Textron Corp. of Providence, R.I., the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said. The DSCA notified Congress of the possible foreign military sale on Sept. 7. Israel is planning to upgrade its armored vehicle fleet and needs a more maneuverable, smaller vehicle for urban settings.
Commercial space services provider Spacehab Inc.'s fourth quarter, which ended June 30, resulted in a net loss of $2.3 million, compared with a fiscal year 2003 fourth quarter net loss of $20.1 million, the company said Sept. 8. Net earnings for fiscal 2004 were $2.1 million, compared with a net loss in fiscal 2003 of $81.8 million.
NASA's Genesis solar sample return mission ended in disappointment Sept. 8 when its sample capsule failed to properly deploy its parachute and crashed at the Army's Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. The Lockheed Martin-built spacecraft spent two years orbiting a libration point between the sun and the Earth, trapping solar atoms on delicate wafers of gold, sapphire, silicon and diamond. It released its sample capsule into Earth's atmosphere at approximately 9 a.m. PDT Sept. 8.
E-8C DELIVERY: Northrop Grumman Corp. is on track to deliver the 17th and final E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) aircraft to the U.S. Air Force in March 2005, company officials said Sept. 8. There are no plans to produce an 18th E-8C, despite congressional interest in buying more Joint STARS, the officials added. The E-8C is a modified Boeing 707 equipped with a ground surveillance radar.
Prime Research, LC of Blacksburg, Va. was awarded $2 million to develop and manufacture fiber optic sensors for the U.S. Navy, Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) announced. The Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) selected Prime Research, a subsidiary of Prime Photonics LC, to develop high-temperature photonic sensor instrumentation to support the Navy's Condition Based Maintenance program for marine power gas turbine engines. The goal is to increase the efficiency, reliability and performance of gas turbine engines.
President Bush's plan for revamping the intelligence community would keep the bulk of the nation's intelligence agencies within the Department of Defense. Bush detailed his plan to congressional leaders in a White House meeting on Sept. 8, giving his support to providing full budget authority to the proposed national intelligence director (NID).
During a Capitol Hill hearing Sept. 8, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) urged NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe to quickly deliver cost estimates of the damage done to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) by Hurricane Frances so the agency can get its share of the emergency relief bills being drafted by Congress.
SEEKING SOURCES: The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command is seeking sources capable of manufacturing and integrating full-rate production systems and performing design and development upgrades to the Airborne Command and Control System (A2C2S). The request for information (RFI) was posted Sept. 1, with responses due by Oct. 15.
Northrop Grumman Corp. is trying to convince the U.S. Defense Department to develop a battle management system to integrate a host of future electronic warfare (EW) platforms. Company officials said at a Sept. 8 press briefing that they believe some sort of manned system will be needed to coordinate the growing number of EW platforms that DOD plans to field in the coming years.
PAC-3 EXPORT: Japan plans to buy 20 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) interceptor missiles from Lockheed Martin Corp., the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said late Sept. 7. The deal, if finalized, will include support equipment and services and be worth up to $79 million. The sale would make Japan one of the first foreign buyers of the PAC-3 missile, which already is in use by the U.S. Army.
The Marines of Fox Battery, 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment recently tested 19 M198 howitzers at the Prospect Range on the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif., the Marine Corps said Sept. 7. The tests were conducted on Aug. 27. The M198s are used by Marine Air Ground Task Forces for indirect and direct artillery support. They 155mm M198s are towed pieces of artillery.
The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded a $144 million Foreign Military Sales program contract modification to General Dynamics' Electric Boat Corp. The contract provides design support services for the United Kingdom's Asute-class Submarine. It provides for U.S. submarine design and production expertise, assistance with using computer-aided design tools for submarine design and production processes, and exchanging of expertise on submarine design techniques.
A prototype of the U.S. Air Force's Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) radar has finished its first set of tests. Northrop Grumman Corp. and Raytheon Co., which are developing MP-RTIP, said Sept. 8 that the prototype met or exceeded key design specifications during the recent test program. Installed on a building near Los Angeles International Airport in California, the radar detected targets simulated on another facility about a mile away.
WELCOMED: Tina W. Jonas was officially welcomed Sept. 8 as the Department of Defense's new comptroller, the DOD said. Jonas, previously the chief financial officer of the FBI, was nominated to succeed Dov Zakheim on March 11, confirmed by the Senate on July 22 and sworn in on July 28.
The government of Pakistan hopes to purchase High Frequency/Very High Frequency Radio Systems and related equipment and services worth up to $78 million from Harris Corp. of Rochester, N.Y., the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said.
SCRUBBED: For the second consecutive day, NASA has scrubbed a planned captive-carry flight for the "Hyper-X" X-43A hypersonic demonstrator due to a hydraulic problem on its B-52 carrier. In a dress rehearsal for the X-43A's third and final flight attempt next month, the B-52 was to take off from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California and carry the X-43A and its modified Pegasus booster to their release altitude of 40,000 feet during a two-hour flight. Originally scheduled for Sept.
MILESTONE: Lockheed Martin Corp.'s A2100 communications satellite fleet has reached 100 years of successful accumulated in-orbit operations, the company said Sept. 3. The A2100 satellite series has 900 transponders and 24 satellites with more than 4,000 years of accumulated orbital operations. The fleet is manufactured and designed at Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems in Newtown, Pa. The first A2100 satellite, AMC-1, was launched Sept. 8, 1996. AMC-15, a hybrid Ku/Ka-band satellite, is scheduled for launch later this year.
