Lawmakers have kicked off the new 108th Congress by introducing legislation that would help guide the development of technology in aerospace and other sectors. Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) has proposed reviving the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), which Congress eliminated in 1995 to save money. Holt's bill, introduced Jan. 7, would provide members of Congress information and analysis on a range of science and technology (S&T) topics, including aerospace.
NASA's ICESat and CHIPSat science satellites were launched at 4:45 p.m. PST Jan. 12 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on a Boeing Delta II booster. ICESat, which stands for Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation satellite, made initial contact with the Svalbard Ground Station, Norway, 75 minutes after launch, NASA said. CHIPSat, which stands for Cosmic Hot Interstellar Spectrometer satellite, made contact 98 minutes after launch.
The Coast Guard is leaning away from buying Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as part of its Deepwater recapitalization effort, and is considering General Atomics' Predator to fulfill its high-altitude surveillance requirements, according to the Coast Guard's UAV program manager.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has begun an informal investigation into the accounting practices of Raytheon Aircraft, which builds the Hawker and Beechcraft line of commuter aircraft, Raytheon officials said Jan. 13. Officials with Raytheon could not be reached for comment by presstime. But in a Jan. 13 statement, officials said they "believe the accounting practices at RAC [Raytheon Aircraft] are appropriate, and [the company] will cooperate fully with the SEC's informal inquiry." The investigation covers the period from 1997 to 2001.
The Army has launched a contractual effort to field its first weapon-carrying unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and the first since the Air Force's Predator pioneered the modern armed drone concept two years ago. The Army intends to award a sole-source contract to Northrop Grumman to equip the aging Hunter UAV, a short-range reconnaissance drone, with Brilliant Anti-Armor (BAT) submunitions, according to a Jan. 10 notice. The deadline to respond to the notice is Jan. 14.
Boeing's sea-skimming Pelican Ultra Large Transport Aircraft (ULTRA) concept is beginning to gain favor with Army and Air Force strategic planners, according to company officials. The Pelican is mentioned by name in the Army's Transformation Plan as a promising system the service wants to explore, according to John Skorupa, senior manager of strategic development for advanced airlift and tankers at Boeing Phantom Works. The Air Force's Air Mobility Command also describes a Pelican-like aircraft in its strategic plan, calling it "C-X," he said.
SPACE POST: Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), who said in November he expected to become chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee's science, technology and space subcommittee (DAILY, Nov. 8, 2002), probably will not head the panel after all, congressional sources said Jan. 13. Instead, a senator with more seniority on Commerce likely will chair the subcommittee. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) is now the leading candidate, but Sens. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) and Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.) also are possibilities.
FACTORY WORK: Spectrum Astro has completed the financing for its new, 115,200-square-foot "Factory of the Future," the company said Jan. 13, and work on the facility will accelerate. The Gilbert, Ariz., facility, dedicated to building space and missile defense systems, is due to be finished by February 2004.
NEW DELHI - After conducting about 30 trials in the last six years, the Indian air force has threatened to abandon the indigenously developed Trishul air defense system, saying it is a poor performer. Trishul, intended as a quick-reaction air defense missile, is being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) for all the military services.
SALE COMPLETE: Boeing completed the sale of its plant in Spokane, Wash., to Triumph Group, the company said. The facility will continue to supply floor panels, air ducts and flight deck components to Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
GUN WORK: General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products will provide 40 M61A1 20mm Gatling Guns and ammunition feed systems to Boeing for the F-15, under an $18.9 million contract.
'POLITICAL PROBLEM': Poland's decision to buy 48 F-16 Block 52 Fighting Falcons is of "no consequence" to Dassault Aviation, Dassault spokesman Gerard David says. Poland on Dec. 27 chose the F-16 over Dassault's Mirage 2000-5 MK 2 and Gripen International's JAS-39. The Polish decision represents a problem for Europe, David says. "For Dassault at this time, 75 percent of our turnover is for the Falcon business jet. We have lot of deliveries expected for the Rafale and the Mirage 2000-5, including the [United Arab] Emirates and Greece," he says.
With funding support from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is proposing a fiscal year 2004 Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) that would develop a football field-length hybrid airship capable of carrying 30 tons of military cargo. The Joint Chiefs and various logistics organizations within the Defense Department are interested in the hybrid airship as a means of carrying large loads directly into the theater of operations, according to Steve Huett of NAVAIR.
EASING THE STING: The Navy plans to spend more than $400 million on training systems to ease the sting of closing its controversial live-fire training base on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. Military training at the Caribbean range will cease by May 1, Navy Secretary Gordon England says. Navy officials have found training alternatives that will cushion the loss of Vieques, and which include "new technologies and range announcements," according to a Navy statement.
The Norwegian Air Force has chosen an American supplier of information technology and engineering services to provide Link-16 training for its fleet of F-16 Fighting Falcons. Under the $6 million contract awarded in December, MATCOM International Corp., of Alexandria, Va., will instruct Norwegian F-16 pilots on the use of the Link-16 system and provide ground personnel with testing, evaluation, maintenance and systems management to deploy the system.
The Boeing Co. said Jan. 10 it has made an acquisition that will help it serve the intelligence community. Boeing acquired Conquest Inc., an Annapolis Junction, Md.-based company that supplies enterprise architecture, systems engineering and software technology to the intelligence community. The company, founded in 1989, has 20 contracts worth more than $250 million over the next three years, company officials said.
NASA FUNDING: The Senate Appropriations Committee has postponed action on its remaining fiscal 2003 appropriations bills until at least the week of Jan. 13-17, because the Senate has been unable to reach agreement on how to organize itself for the new 108th Congress. The committee had hoped to meet Jan. 10 to approve revisions to its remaining fiscal 2003 appropriations bills, including NASA's (DAILY, Jan. 7). The Senate has even begun to consider skipping the Appropriations Committee and sending the revised bills directly to the full Senate in an effort to save time.
SEE AND AVOID: Autonomous "see and avoid" capability will be essential for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as they become more prevalent on future battlefields, according to Joseph Thomas, vice president of UAV programs for AAI Corporation. "One of the tenets of aviation that I've [lived] with all my life is 'see and be seen,'" Thomas says. "That's your first responsibility - to keep your head on the swivel, make sure you see what's out there, and avoid it. Now a UAV can't do that ...
AGING AIRCRAFT: Even if the Defense Department carries out all of its current modernization plans for weapon systems, the age of Air Force airlifters, bombers and fighters will remain a concern, the Congressional Budget Office says in a new report. By 2020, each type of aircraft is expected to have an average age exceeding half its service life. For instance, mainly due to the aging C-130 fleet, the average age of airlifters is projected to rise to 29 years by 2020, nearly 40 percent above the top of the half-life range.
The House member whose congressional district includes the Lockheed Martin F/A-22 and C-130 production lines in Marietta, Ga., has picked up a seat on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), which will help him look out for the interests of those aircraft facilities. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), who won a new House seat in the November elections, also has Naval Air Station Atlanta and Dobbins Air Reserve Base in his district.
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski's visit to the White House this week will set the stage for a new round of talks to complete a $3.8 billion fighter contract awarded last month to the Lockheed Martin F-16, according to a source close to the Polish delegation. Poland's fighter competition, which was decided Dec. 27, likely will come up in talks between Kwasniewski and President Bush, the source said. "I would assume they would touch upon that particular issue," the source said, "but I doubt that they would go into details."
CONTRACT ADDITION: The Boeing Co. awarded Orbital Sciences Corp. $50 million in additions to its contract to develop and build interceptor boosters for the missile defense program, Orbital said Jan. 10. The addition supports nine demonstration and test flights of Orbital's Ground-based Midcourse Defense booster, beginning early this year, the company said. The total value of Orbital's work on the program now stands at around $1 billion, including production options, the company said.
MAJOR FIX: Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall may be overly optimistic when he says another Ariane 5 ECA heavier-lift could be ready for launch again in six months, space analyst Marco Caceres of the Teal Group says. An Ariane 5 ECA had to be destroyed shortly after liftoff Dec. 11 following an engine nozzle malfunction. "That's pretty significant," Caceres says. "Anytime you have to modify something structural, it's major.
