NEW DELHI - The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has postponed the second development flight of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D2) by a month. A senior ISRO scientist said Jan. 7 that the launch is now slated for March instead of February, due to bad weather that is delaying earlier launches and pushing back the schedule.
The Pentagon is nearing the first contract decision in a quickened acquisition process for a single system intended to replace the military's airborne radios. The Air Force, as executive agent for the airborne cluster of the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS), will seek approval for the program's acquisition strategy later this month, according to industry and military officials.
NEW DELHI - India does not plan to follow China and mount a manned space mission soon, according to the head of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). "This is not the time to do it," said ISRO chief K. Kasturirangan, who said the returns from such a mission wouldn't make up for the financial and technological resources required to mount it.
LAUNCH: The launch of NASA's CHIPsat and ICESat satellites has been tentatively rescheduled for Jan. 10, 11 or 12, according to CHIPSat builder SpaceDev. CHIPSat is intended to examine the gas that fills the space between stars, and ICESat is to gather data on the changing elevation of ice sheets. The launch of the satellites was postponed from Dec. 19 after a signal relay problem was found on the Boeing Delta II booster (DAILY, Dec. 19, 2002).
ARROW TEST: Israel conducted a successful multiple firing of the Arrow anti-missile system against computer-simulated targets on Jan. 5, according to the Israeli defense ministry. The test was the fifth of the complete system and the first in a series of tests designed to "evaluate the system's performance against the next generation of incoming threats," the ministry said.
The Army has awarded Raytheon Missile Systems a $265.8 million contract modification to further develop the capabilities of the XM 982 Excalibur precision-guided projectile, company officials said Jan. 6. Excalibur was identified in June as one of the programs to receive accelerated funding following the Defense Department's cancellation of the Crusader self-propelled howitzer program in May (DAILY, Aug. 8, 2002).
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) of Richmond, British Columbia, will deliver a new imaging and surveillance radar system for the country's fleet of CP-140 Aurora patrol aircraft, the company said Jan. 6. The work will be done under the CDN$200 million ($128 million) Imaging Radar System project, which will be done in four phases. Prime contractor MDA will complete the high-level design of the new system under the first phase, the company said.
TANKER WORK: Telephonics Corp. will provide the audio intercom system for the Boeing Co.'s 767 tanker/transport aircraft, the company said Jan. 6. The work includes systems for U.S. and international customers of the aircraft and is valued at more than $5 million, according to Telephonics, a subsidiary of the Griffon Corp.
NEW DELHI - Pakistan plans to buy arms from Western nations and China under a multimillion-dollar procurement plan. The country's shopping list includes surveillance and information management systems and combat simulators. The procurement plan is being personally drafted by President Pervez Musharraf, according to diplomats based in Islamabad.
After fixing some problems that plagued two previous flights in 2001, NASA's Ultra Long Duration Balloon (ULDB) program is preparing to make another flight attempt in Australia later this month. The disposable ULDB already has been shipped to Australia, according to NASA spokeswoman Betty Flowers. During two flight attempts in 2001, leaks forced controllers to bring the ULDB down early (DAILY, March 13, 2001).
The U.S. Air Force has agreed on the first self-imposed cuts to its future F/A-22 fleet, but will continue to seek ways to fund more aircraft within its $41 billion cost cap. To help address a cost overrun of up to $1 billion, the Air Force intends to buy 20 F/A-22s in fiscal 2003 instead of the previously planned 23 aircraft, a congressional source told The DAILY Jan. 6. More procurement cuts are expected in FY '04 and beyond. So far, the Air Force plans F/A-22 airframe cuts for the next two years.
Northrop Grumman has demonstrated a live data link between a modified Litening Extended Range (ER) targeting pod aboard a Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier and a ground station for a Pioneer unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the company announced Jan. 6. The modifications to the pod involved adding a data/video transmitter compatible with the Pioneer UAV, along with a commercial off-the-shelf transmit antenna. The changes to the pod took less than a month, according to the company.
NASA is faring well so far as Senate appropriators try to cut billions of dollars from the remaining fiscal 2003 appropriations bills, a Senate Appropriations Committee aide said Jan. 6. With Republicans taking over the Senate, the Senate Appropriations Committee is revising the FY '03 NASA appropriations bill and 10 other FY '03 appropriations bills that were written under Democratic leadership. Senate Republicans want to reduce spending to lower levels favored by President Bush and the GOP-led House.
NEW DELHI - India plans to test a series of missile systems in 2003, according to the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). The missiles include the shorter-range Agni-1, medium-range, surface-to-air Prithvi-2, medium-range air defense Akash, anti-tank Nag and the ship-launched, cruise missile BrahMos.
An industrial group representing the military's dwindling pool of sophisticated weapons fuze suppliers is attacking a Defense Department effort aimed at drawing more suppliers into the struggling market. In response to a request by The DAILY, Eric Guerrazzi, chairman of the Industrial Committee of Ammunition Producers [ICAP], published an issue white paper last week outlining the industry's concerns.
CONGRESS RETURNS: Lawmakers, who have been absent from Washington since late November, return Jan. 7 to kick off the 108th Congress. Matters they will try to resolve early include picking chairmen of the House Science Committee's space subcommittee and the Senate Armed Services Committee's airland and seapower subcommittees, and deciding whether to revamp the House Armed Services Committee to make its subcommittee structure more like that of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Lawmakers also will try to complete the fiscal 2003 NASA appropriations bill.
JAN. 6 - 8 -- The Association of the United States Army presents the AUSA Aviation Symposium and Exhibition, "Army Aviation - A Firm Foundation, Forging the Future." Fairview Park Marriott Falls Church, Va. For more information go to www.ausa.org. Jan. 14 - 16 -- Naval Institute and AFCEA West 2002-From Change to Transformation, San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, Calif. For more information contact Kim Couranz at (410) 295-1067 or visit [email protected].
DECOY: The BAE Systems AN/ALE-55 Fiber Optic Towed Decoy (FOTD) could gain a new customer within a few weeks. Already in testing with the B-1B, the F/A-18E/F and the F-15E, the towed device is expected to be added this month by Boeing to the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program, as part of upgrades for the AC-130 gunship, a corporate source says. A redesigned FOTD has passed a series of flight tests on the B-1B after a hardware problem was discovered last spring. The device is part of the U.S.
REBUTTAL: Missile defense pioneer Bill Davis says that despite claims to the contrary, nearly nine out of 10 tests of hit-to-kill technology are successful when unrelated mechanical failures aren't calculated. Davis, the Pentagon's former deputy program director for missile defense, sent The Daily a two-page rebuttal to a paper published last month by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), which accused the Pentagon of inflating the historical success rate of its missile defense tests. The UCS says Lt. Gen.
