NASA's Office of Aerospace Technology at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. announced the formation of seven new University Research, Engineering and Technology Institutes (URETIs), including three devoted to nanotechnology. Each URETI research focus represents a "long-term strategic interest to the agency and the nation," NASA said. Samuel Venneri, NASA's associate administrator for aerospace technology, made the final selections. The universities selected for negotiation of URETI agreements are:
ATK (Alliant Techsystems) will continue to build solid propulsion systems for all three stages of the U.S. Navy's Trident II Fleet Ballistic Missile, the company announced June 12. The work will be done under a $65 million contract from Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co.'s Missiles & Space Operations division of Sunnyvale, Calif. The contract covers production of the propulsion systems through 2005. The Trident II was deployed in 1990 and is planned for deployment beyond 2020.
The U.S. State Department is concerned about the increasing use of West European companies to divert U.S. defense technology to embargoed countries, according to an annual report to Congress. Since 1990, the State Department has conducted a series of overseas inspections to ensure that U.S. arms exports have reached their proper destinations. The results of these inspections, which are known as the "Blue Lantern" program, are summarized in the report.
When NASA's Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) launches next month, it will mark the beginning of a highly flexible mission that will bring the spacecraft into unprecedented proximity with at least two comets. Comet nuclei are thought to be chunks of ice and rock left over from the formation of the solar system that are hidden from distant observers by the comet's atmosphere and tail. Some scientists believe comets may have brought the building blocks of life to Earth 3.8 billion years ago.
The Hayman Fire, considered a serious threat to the Lockheed Martin Astronautics Waterton plant southwest of Denver, grew to 87,000 acres on June 11. On June 12, company officials said the fire had advanced to within 12 miles of the facility, where Titan and Atlas rockets and a number of NASA spacecraft are built.
NASA has formed three teams to assess the ramifications of the June 8 on-orbit failure of one of the International Space Station's (ISS) four control moment gyros (CMGs). The station uses the 800-pound CMGs, which spin at 6,600 rpm, for propellantless attitude control and maneuvering. NASA first detected a problem with the gyro roughly 17 hours before it failed, according to ISS Deputy Manager William Gerstenmaier.
PARIS - Thales Airborne Systems officials said June 11 that the company is evaluating what electronic systems payloads it could develop for unmanned aerial vehicles. "We want to address this market not only as an equipment supplier but also as a high-level solutions provider," Loic de La Bourdonnaye, director of business development, told a group of visiting aerospace journalists.
Israel may need to buy additional batteries of the Arrow Weapon System to protect itself against growing threats from ballistic missiles, according to a missile defense expert from Israel. Israel currently plans to deploy three batteries. The first one, located in the central part of the country, became operational in 2000, and two more batteries are slated for deployment in northern and southern Israel.
APACHE DELIVERY: The Boeing Co. has delivered the final AH-64D Apache helicopter to the Netherlands' air force under a 1995 contract, the company announced June 10. The 30th Apache bought under the contract was delivered to Dutch officials at a ceremony at Boeing facilities in Mesa, Ariz.
The Navy's trainer programs, which have long suffered the brunt of cuts in the department's budget wars, may get the funding they need to push forward with modernization plans, according to the chief of Naval Air Training.
NASA has selected an industry team led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, to provide the primary near-infrared science camera for the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST). The team will be led by Marcia Reike of the University of Arizona, and includes Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, Palo Alto, Calif.; EMS Technologies, Ottawa, Canada, and COMDEV Ltd., Cambridge, Canada.
Lockheed Martin Corp. has added Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers to the Defense Department's tethered aerostats that guard the southern U.S. border, according to the company. Operated by Lockheed Martin for the Air Force, the Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) consists of a number of blimp-like balloons that monitor the border. Although their primary mission is drug interdiction, the radars on the aerostats are used to track a number of possible threats to the United States.
ABM SUIT: Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) June 11 endorsed a lawsuit by 31 House members seeking to prevent the Bush Administration from pulling out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The lawsuit, spearheaded by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), contends that congressional consent is required for the withdrawal, which takes effect June 13. As expected, the House members filed the suit June 11 (DAILY, June 11).
The international Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) soon may refine its list of restricted exports, a U.S. State Department official told a congressional panel June 11.
Under continued pressure to cut costs, International Space Station (ISS) officials now say they have enough funding to carry the program through the "U.S. core complete" state in February 2004. However, during a June 11 meeting of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) in Washington, NAC member Roger Tetrault expressed doubts that NASA could achieve its cost targets. "If you don't continue to pursue the cost items, and get the cost out of the program now, you won't be able to get to the end of the program," Tetrault said.
NEW DELHI - India's government has begun talks with France's Dassault Aviation to both purchase Mirage 2000-5 multirole fighters and build them under license. A senior Indian defense ministry official told The DAILY June 11 that company executives gave a presentation on the Mirage 2000-5 to Indian air force officials last month.
THE GE-P&W ENGINE ALLIANCE, a joint venture between GE Aircraft Engines and Pratt & Whitney, will provide GP7000 engines to Emirates, the international airline of the United Arab Emirates, to power its Airbus A380-800 aircraft. Emirates is the main launch customer of the A380-800 double-decker aircraft, with 22 on order and 10 options. The engine order is worth $1.5 billion, including options.
SATELLITE PLANS: China plans to launch a constellation of ocean-monitoring satellites by 2010, government officials said recently. Following the successful launch of the HY-1, the first in the series of satellites, China plans to place another remote-sensing satellite in 2004. The HY-1, launched May 15, is the country's first oceanic satellite and is expected to be ready for use by the State Oceanic Administration in a few months. Further ocean-monitoring satellite launches are planned for 2005 and later.
China's leading spaceship designer said in Beijing recently that the successful mission of the unmanned Shenzhou III spacecraft in March gives him confidence China could launch a manned space mission in the near future.
MOSCOW - A Proton K booster launched a new satellite for Russia's national telecommunications constellation on June 10. The Express-A1R satellite was delivered to geo transfer orbit to occupy a 40 degree East orbital slot.
The Pentagon notified Congress June 7 that Switzerland has requested a possible foreign military sale of 222 AIM-C Sidewinder Tactical Missiles and associated equipment, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).
Air Force Space Command is proposing disseminating information from its space surveillance network through a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) rather than through NASA, according to a letter from the General Accounting Office (GAO). The space surveillance network comprises 40 optical and radar sensors located around the globe that track objects in space. U.S. Space Command maintains and operates the network at an annual cost of roughly $60 million.
