NASA has postponed a spacewalk set for Dec. 12 due to a "potential medical concern" of one of the Expedition Six crewmembers, NASA said Dec. 10. Expedition Six Commander Ken Bowersox and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin were to continue outfitting the Port 1 station truss segment, recently delivered to the station (DAILY, Nov. 26), and perform "get-ahead" tasks for the arrival of the next truss segment, slated for May. NASA spokesman Kyle Herring would not discuss the crewmember involved or the nature of the problem, citing medical privacy.
SES Astra's Astra 1K satellite was de-orbited over the Pacific Ocean Dec. 10, less than two weeks after a launch failure left it stranded in the wrong orbit. The Block DM upper stage of a Proton K launch vehicle failed during the launch. The satellite, the largest commercial spacecraft built in Europe, separated from the upper stage while still in the parking orbit (DAILY, Nov. 27).
The National Imagery and Mapping Agency has delayed awarding contracts for its new production services program from mid-December to early to mid-January, according to an agency spokesman. No reason was given for delaying the contract awards for the Global Geospatial Intelligence (GGI) program, which is expected to replace NIMA's Omnibus Geospatial Information and Imagery Intelligence Solicitation (Omnibus) program and the NIMA Production Prototype (NPP) effort.
GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) have signed an agreement to begin integrating GEAE's F414 engine with EADS' Mako family of advanced fighters and trainers. Under the agreement, GEAE and EADS will complete the technical definition of the Mako aircraft and the F414M installation. The F414M is a variant of the F414-GE-400 engine that powers the U.S. Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
A scheduled review by the Defense Department's acquisition chief of a cost reduction proposal for the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle has been postponed two weeks, according to an Air Force spokeswoman. E.C. "Pete" Aldridge Jr., the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, now plans to meet with Air Force officials about the proposal on Dec. 18, the spokeswoman said. The original date, Dec. 5, coincided with a Defense Acquisition Board review of the F/A-22 Raptor program.
Lockheed Martin envisions the laser sensor the company is helping develop for Project SOCRATES as part of a future aircraft wake vortex advisory system that could enhance safety and increase capacity at airports. Wake vortices are unstable, high-velocity airflows created by aircraft wingtips that can be dangerous to trailing aircraft, particularly on landing approaches. Over the past five years, the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) has recorded 45 wake turbulence-related accidents and incidents, including seven fatal accidents.
General Atomics is targeting U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) as a major customer for its proposed homeland security package in which the company's unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) would perform surveillance over the borders and coasts of the U.S. The package involves the company's RQ-1 Predator or smaller I-GNAT UAVs beaming surveillance data to command centers that would distribute the information to other agencies (DAILY, Aug. 13).
BAE Systems North America has completed its acquisition of Condor Pacific Industries, Inc., the company said Dec. 9, a buy it says will strengthen its position in the precision munitions market. Condor Pacific Industries (CPI), of Westlake Village, Calif., builds sensors and electronic subsystems for control and stabilization; position, attitude and heading reference, navigation and guidance; and fire control applications.
A story on the F/A-22 Raptor program in the Dec. 9 issue of The DAILY failed to specify that Boeing is the integrator for the aircraft's avionics system, not just an avionics supplier.
PRAGUE - The Czech cabinet has decided to bring ZVI, an ailing privately owned arms producer, into state hands. ZVI signed a $65 million contract in September 2001 to supply 144 20mm Plamen (Flame) cannons and ammunition for the Czech army over the next 15 years, for use in Aero Vodochody's subsonic L-159 aircraft. But development stalled at a late stage this year after ZVI's owners, the Trustfin group, ran into serious financial difficulties. It is now temporarily under the management of the state bailout agency, CKA.
General Dynamics Decision Systems is probing the roughly $250 million bomb fuze market for a re-entry opportunity almost nine years after the unit's former owners abruptly abandoned the business, company officials and industry sources say. "We do have 30 years in the fuze business and have capabilities and significant domain knowledge," said John Cole, vice president and general manager of the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company. "So it's only natural for us to evaluate potential opportunities, such as re-entry into the fuze market."
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) has avoided becoming the fifth member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) to lose re-election this year. Landrieu, whose state is home to Barksdale Air Force Base, defeated Republican challenger Suzanne Haik Terrell Dec. 7 after pre-election polls showed them running a close race.
Arianespace has chosen Dec. 11 to make the second try to launch the Hot Bird 7 and Stentor satellites atop a new version of its Ariane 5 launcher that can carry 10 metric tons. Originally scheduled for Nov. 29, the first launch attempt was aborted in its final seconds when an anomaly was detected with two external chill-down igniters. The igniters burn off accumulated hydrogen used to chill down the launcher's Vulcain 2 cryogenic main engine before it begins operation.
Encouraged by the performance of the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey military tiltrotor aircraft since its return to flight, Bell/Agusta Aerospace Company is moving forward with the development and production of its BA609 civilian tiltrotor. Despite significant differences between the two aircraft, the future of the BA609 had been in doubt after the V-22 was grounded after two fatal accidents in 2000. Bell/Agusta elected to slow production of the civilian version, pending the results of the V-22's return to flight (DAILY, April 17).
DEFENSE PAC: The National Defense Political Action Committee, which backs military veterans who run for Congress and are deemed to favor a strong national defense, said 57 of the 75 congressional candidates it endorsed this year were elected to office last month. Both numbers are several times higher than comparable figures for 2000, the PAC's first year of operation, but the committee said it still has plenty of work to do, as military veterans continue to retire from Congress at a faster pace than they take office. One of this year's successful candidates, incoming Rep.
LONDON - Technical issues over type certification procedures and acceptance of the Eurofighter will delay initial delivery acceptances of the aircraft for up to six months, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MOD) confirmed last week.
JSF DIAGNOSIS: The Dutch Prognostic Health Management Consortium will provide self-diagnostic technology to Lockheed Martin for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, the consortium said Dec. 9. The consortium, led by Perot Systems of Plano, Texas, is performing the work under an $8 million contract. The technology will be integrated into the JSF's Autonomic Logistics Information System, which will help locate problems that are complex and difficult to isolate.
Air Force contracts to Raytheon Co. and TRW Inc. mark the first significant funding for research and development on solid-state laser weapons, putting this class of lasers on the road to someday catching their more mature chemical laser relatives, officials of both companies said. The companies on Dec. 6 received Air Force Research Laboratory awards to demonstrate 25-kilowatt lasers in 2004.
Raytheon engineers have found an answer to the severe vibrations encountered by the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) on some configurations of the Air Force F-16, according to a senior Air Force official. Raytheon is strengthening the weapon's control section fin mechanism to fix the problem, said Judy Stokley, Air Force program executive officer for strike weapons. JSOW is managed by the Navy, but the Air Force is a large customer.
SATELLITE STUDY: Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, want the General Accounting Office to review whether the Defense Department's practices for buying commercial satellite services promote competition in the industry. Intelsat was required to convert from an intergovernmental organization to a private firm under a two-year-old federal law designed to promote competition for satellite communications services. But some Intelsat competitors contend that DOD's procurement practices still favor Intelsat.
Dec. 10 - 12 -- Association of the United States Army Space and Missile Defense Symposium Exhibition - "Integrated Air and Missile Defense in a Transforming World." For more information contact Christine Ferraro at (703) 907-2687 or [email protected]. Dec. 10 - 12 -- 2002 USAF Aircraft Integrity Program Conference. Harbor Resort, Savannah, Ga. For more information call (937) 255-5458 or go to www.asipcon.com.
