NASA has selected a data visualization and simulation package used by Mars rovers and landers, and software that can be used for aerospace and industrial flow applications, as the "best of the best" software developed by the agency this year. The Science Activity Planner was developed by officials at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., to provide an intuitive interface for Mars vehicles. A version has been released to the public under the name Maestro. The TetrUSS 2004 is a suite of computer programs used for fluid dynamics and aerodynamics analysis.
AWARD PENDING: The U.S. Air Force and Navy on Aug. 23 will select up to two winners of the presystem development and demonstration (SDD) contract for the Joint Tactical Radio System's (JTRS) Airborne Maritime/Fixed Station (AMF) Cluster, Daryl Mayer, an Air Force spokesman for the Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., told Aerospace Daily & Defense Report affiliate NetDefense. The services are expected to award up to two $54 million contracts for the 15-month pre-SDD phase.
Raytheon Co. filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Aug. 2, contesting the Army's recent award to Alliant Techsystems (ATK) to develop the Precision Guided Mortar Munition (PGGM). "Now we are waiting for the GAO ruling, which will take between 30 and 60 days," a Raytheon spokesman told The DAILY. Raytheon was not selected to proceed to the final competition. Lockheed Martin, which was in the final competition, protested the decision Feb. 17, and GAO upheld Lockheed Martin's protest, the spokesman said.
ALLEGENT TECHNOLOGY GROUP, Woodbury, N.Y. Donald Gilberg, senior director of Civitas, has been appointed chairman of the company's board of advisers. BALL AEROSPACE & TECHNOLOGIES CORP., Broomfield, Colo. William F. Townsend has been named vice president and general manager of civil space systems. Townsend previously was deputy director at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Md. BEARING INSPECTION, INC., Los Alamitos, Calif. Drew Baker has been promoted to president.
InHand Electronics, Inc., a provider of low-power system technologies for wireless devices, won a multiyear contract from General Dynamics' Eagle Enterprise unit (GDEE) to incorporate its BatterySmart power management software and hardware technologies into the Future Force Warrior (FFW) program, InHand Electronics said Aug. 9.
THE CENTER FOR SPACE STANDARDS & INNOVATION (CSSI) is offering a free current list of potential close approaches in space of satellites to spacecraft and debris, CSSI said Aug. 6. The list, called Satellite Orbital Conjunction Reports Assessing Threatening Encounters in Space (SOCRATES), is available at CSSI's Web site, http://www.CenterForSpace.com. The site lists the top 10 possible conjunctions, listed by minimum range and maximum probability.
A key Pentagon official gave the V-22 Osprey a strong vote of confidence Aug. 11, saying he believes the Bell-Boeing tiltrotor aircraft has overcome its design challenges and is unlikely to sustain major funding cuts in future budget deliberations. "It truly is a remarkable airplane now," said Navy Secretary Gordon England, whose department oversees the V-22. "I'm very, very hopeful for the program."
NASA will extend the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) through the end of 2004. The extension will be handled jointly by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Data will be provided during another storm season in the U.S. and Asia. TRMM has helped the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other government agencies over the past seven years to monitor and predict rainfall and storms. TRMM was launched in 1997 and designed as a three-year research mission.
NASA has approved a two-year, $3.6 billion extension of the Space Flight Operations Contract (SFOC) that supports the space shuttle program. The deal extends the contract period of performance with United Space Alliance (USA) of Houston through Sept. 30, 2006.
The Office of Naval Research has moved into the second phase of the Revolutionary Approach to Time-critical Long Range Strike (RATTLRS) program, aimed at demonstrating greater capabilities and performance for expendable supersonic vehicles. Lockheed Martin said Aug. 11 that it and teammate Allison Advanced Development Co. received an ONR contract July 20 for a five-year effort that follows a first phase effort of about a year and a half. The goal of that phase was to define a plan for development.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Lockheed Martin's Single Integrated Space Picture (SISP) system performed well last week in the Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and the prototype is being refreshed accordingly, company officials said. The first operationally tested system will be rolled out in about a year, and the first system to be cleared for top secret work will follow about six months later, they said.
NASA's new technology push in nuclear-electric propulsion and power systems for spacecraft is sparking new interest in the possibility of a probe that could travel beyond the boundaries of our solar system within 15-20 years of launch.
RADAR UPGRADES: Northrop Grumman Corp. will develop a replacement kit to improve the performance and reliability of radars in U.S. Air Force F-16C and D aircraft, the company said Aug. 10. The two-year, $22 million contract is for the AN/APG-68(V)9 kit, which provides a 33 percent improvement in the air-to-air detection range of earlier versions of the radar, the company said. It also allows high-resolution ground mapping for 24-hour, all-weather precision strike capability.
After encountering "significant technical challenges," NASA is abandoning attempts to develop a rigid overwrap to patch large holes in the space shuttle's reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) panels in the event of damage during flight, and instead is pursuing other methods that probably won't be ready in time for the shuttle's return to flight, according to agency officials.
NEW ENTERPRISE: Lockheed Martin Corp. has formed the Focused Logistics Enterprise to support network-centric defense programs, the company said Aug. 9. The enterprise, part of the Integrated Systems & Solutions business area, will "address 'factory to foxhole' challenges faced by our defense customers," Stan Sloane, the executive vice president for IS&S, said in a statement.
The U.S. Army and The Boeing Co. have agreed to provide the Future Combat Systems' system development and demonstration phase up to $6.4 billion more in funding, the company said Aug. 9. The agreement will expand the FCS program's scope and make it available to military forces sooner.
SIGNED: Michael Wynne, the acting secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, on Aug. 6 signed an acquisition decision memorandum approving the Medium Extended Air Defense (MEADS) program's entry into the design and development phase, according to an information paper released Aug. 10. A defense acquisition board had approved the move last month (DAILY, July 7). The Italian government approved its country's participation in the D&D phase of the multinational program earlier this month (DAILY, Aug.
LONDON - With the market for air-to-air refueling tankers estimated by the Boeing Co. to reach up to $100 billion over the next three decades, many of the major players in the sector are gearing up with new technological innovations and procurement options.
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is developing an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) autonomous sonar system to prevent aircraft from having to hover over ocean sonobuoys and to keep ships out of harm's way. The Littoral Acoustic Multistatic Processing (LAMP) active sonar system would, for the first time, deploy an offboard, autonomous sound source tens of miles away from a ship and process information inside the sonobuoys instead of in a P-3 aircraft, Frank Herr, acting head of ONR's Ocean, Atmosphere and Space Department, told The DAILY.
The House and Senate defense oversight committees should regularly assess the U.S. Northern Command's strategies and planning to defend against military threats to the United States, according to the panel investigating the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
CIA NOMINEE: President Bush said he will nominate Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the White House announced Aug. 10. "He is well prepared for the mission," Bush said. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he "strongly" endorsed Goss for the position.
The U.S. government should use a military model in establishing a National Counterterrorism Center, an agency that would collect and coordinate intelligence information, according to the chairman of the panel investigating the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Congressional defense committees are awaiting a report from the U.S. Army outlining the program definition, including missile configurations, of the U.S. Army's Non Line of Sight-Launch System (NLOS-LS). In the fiscal 2005 defense appropriations bill, conferees provided $58.2 million for NLOS-LS as a new line item and directed the secretary of the Army to provide the program definition report no later than Nov. 1. Army officials had no immediate comment on the study.
