Arianespace is trying to sign a customer for the March 2004 requalification flight of its Ariane 5-ECA vehicle, according to a spokeswoman for the company. The Ariane 5-ECA is an enhanced version of the company's basic Ariane 5 heavy-lift launcher, featuring a new cryogenic upper stage and Vulcain 2 main engine that give it the ability to launch 10 tons of payload. The first flight of the ECA failed last December, destroying Eutelsat's $250 million Hot Bird 7 satellite and prompting a redesign of the engine (DAILY, Dec. 13, 2002).
Plans are on track to begin converting the USS Florida from a ballistic missile submarine to a cruise missile submarine, according to a senior U.S. Navy program official. The USS Florida, the second of four ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) to be converted to cruise missile submarines (SSGNs), will enter Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va. on August 1 to begin refueling and preparations for conversion work, Capt. Brian Wegner told The DAILY May 30.
EVALUATION: The U.S. Army has found that although both the Stryker infantry carrier vehicle and the M-113A3 armored personnel carrier enable the infantry to complete its missions, the Stryker provides more force protection, more support for dismounted assaults and is more survivable. The Stryker is more expensive to buy but less costly to operate and maintain, the Army says, according to a General Accounting Office report on the Army's review.
PRAGUE - The Czech Republic's defense minister has resigned for the second time in less than 36 hours over planned military budget cuts, after withdrawing his earlier resignation following a meeting with the prime minister. Jaroslav Tvrdik's departure, and proposed long-term military budget cuts amounting to some $1.4 billion, have cast doubt on plans for the protection of Czech airspace.
The Canadian government hopes that becoming a participant in U.S.-led ballistic missile defense programs will improve its chances of derailing American proposals to develop space-based weapons, according to a key Canadian official.
FOAM TEST: A recent test in which a piece of insulating foam was fired at a mockup of the leading edge of the space shuttle's wing created a long, narrow gap between a leading edge panel and its adjoining T-seal, an effect the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) calls "significant." During a test conducted at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, a 1.67-pound piece of foam was fired at mockup at 779 feet per second, striking it at an angle of 20 degrees and causing the T-seal between leading edge panels six and seven to shift, the CAIB says.
The Pratt & Whitney engine that will be used in the development phase of the Defense Department's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program has successfully completed its last major design review before testing of the engine begins later this year, according to a Pratt & Whitney source. Although details of the critical design review (CDR) will not be disclosed until the week of June 2 at the earliest, "very generally, I can say the results were positive," the source told The DAILY May 30.
OFFSETS COMMISSION: The Presidential Commission on Offsets in International Trade shows no sign of life, and has not issued a congressionally mandated final report that was due in October 2001, according to the General Accounting Office. The Bush Administration never announced replacements for the five commission seats by Clinton Administration officials (DAILY, Jan. 17, 2002). "The last commission meeting was held on December 4, 2000, and no further activity is apparent," the GAO says. Offsets are technology transfers and other benefits that U.S.
The U.S. Air Force estimates that reactivating 23 B-1B Lancer bombers that were slated for retirement would create a $1 billion hole in its operations and maintenance accounts through fiscal 2009. The Senate and House armed services committees have approved separate proposals to force the Pentagon to reactivate 23 out of 32 B-1Bs that were to be retired.
Calling friendly fire the "biggest disappointment" of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), a U.S. Marine Corps commander said the creation of a foolproof combat identification system is a post-war priority. "The man who invents that will be very rich indeed," Lt. Gen. James Conway, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) in Al Hillah, Iraq, said May 30 in a videoconference with reporters.
June 2 - 4 -- 3rd Annual National Symposium and Exhibition on Terrorism Preparedness & Response, "Enhancing the Capabilities of First Responders." Contact Simone L. Baldwin at (703) 247-2596, email [email protected] or go to www.ndia.org. June 9 - 12 -- 3rd Annual Intelligent Vehicle Systems Symposium, Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, Traverse City (Acme) Mich. Call Dawn Harper at (703) 247-2584, fax (703) 522-1885, email [email protected] or go to www.ndia.org.
MARS EXPRESS: The European Space Agency's Mars Express, which includes and orbiter and the Beagle 2 lander, is scheduled to launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, June 2. The orbiter is scheduled to arrive at Mars in late December to begin two years of study, while the Beagle 2 explores the surface for about six months.
HELIOS: NASA's high-altitude, solar-powered Helios unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is gearing up for a long-endurance flight of nearly two days and nights later this summer to test its newly developed fuel cell-based electrical energy system, according to NASA. The 256-foot-wide flying wing will be powered by solar arrays by day, which also will charge the electrical system for use at night. The two-day flight could occur as early as mid-July from the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, NASA says.
DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION: When Congress reconvenes the week of June 2-6 following its week-long Memorial Day recess, House and Senate negotiators will begin trying to craft a final version of the fiscal 2004 defense authorization bill. It is difficult to predict when the legislation will be completed, as lawmakers need to work out differences over several highly controversial issues, including base closings and personnel policies.
PRAGUE - Plans for the future protection of Czech airspace were thrown into uncertainty May 29 when the Czech defense minister resigned over planned cuts in next year's military budget.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., has chosen Northrop Grumman as its industry partner for the proposed Eclipse planet-finder mission, the company announced May 29. Proposed as one of NASA's low-cost Discovery missions, Eclipse would perform the first sensitive imaging of nearby Jupiter-like planetary systems using a high-contrast optical telescope and coronagraphic camera, according to Northrop Grumman.
Telephonics Corp. will provide three ground surveillance radars to the U.S. Air Force under a contract from L-3 Communications, the company said May 29. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. The radars will be deployed by the USAF's Force Protection Unit as part of a program to establish an integrated base defense system. Deployable in less than five minutes, the radars are suited for fixed or mobile surveillance operations in sensitive and high-value potential target areas, company officials said in a May 28 statement.
NEW DELHI - India wants to acquire U.S. Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) interceptors as part of a push to procure anti-missile systems, a defense ministry official said. Indian officials discussed the buy during the visit of Stephen G. Rademaker, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for arms control, here last week. An official with the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the move comes as part of improving defense relations between the U.S. and India.
The U.S. Air Combat Command (ACC) is rewriting mission needs to codify and expand the close air support (CAS) role for bombers and other strike aircraft that emerged during wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "We are building a concept of operations that will ensure that every one of our Air Force weapons-delivering aircraft will possess the capability to conduct close air support, and will be able to do so in the most demanding threat environments," said Maj. Gen. David A Deptula, ACC's director of Plans and Programs.
The U.S. Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems-Undersea Systems a $13 million contract for seven AN/AQS-232 Airborne Mine Neutralization Systems (AMNS). The contract includes support equipment, shipboard containers, expendable neutralizer vehicles and training. Each of the seven AMNS systems to be delivered includes 10 unmanned, wire-guided, neutralizer vehicles called SeaFoxes. The SeaFox is lowered into the water by an operator aboard a heavy-lift MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter.
CARRIER TRIALS: The newest and most advanced nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), has completed acceptance sea trials and is awaiting its July 12 commissioning, Northrop Grumman Corp. said May 29. The ship is the seventh Nimitz-class carrier built by the company's Newport News sector.
