RLV DEBATE: The cost for NASA to develop a second-generation reusable launch vehicle has been estimated informally at about $10 billion, but some experts say the space shuttle will meet NASA's RLV needs until a "third generation" vehicle becomes available in 2025, according to a new report by the Congressional Research Service.
A successful test last week of the Air Force/Lockheed Martin Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) clears the way for the next phase of testing, according to an Air Force official. Dale Bridges, technical director of the Lethal Strike Program Office at the Air Armament Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., said the April 4 test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., was the last in a series of development firings and that operational tests are slated to start next month.
EXPLOSIVE PARTNERSHIP: Raytheon and Northrop Grumman are teaming to pursue a contract to train personnel and install explosive detection equipment in all commercial U.S. airports by year's end, in accordance with the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001. The act mandates that all checked baggage in all 438 commercial airports in the U.S. be screened by Dec. 31. The team expects to install 1,850 to 2,200 explosive detection machines and 5,000 explosive trace detection machines within nine months if it wins the contract.
EXPLOSIVE PARTNERSHIP: Raytheon and Northrop Grumman are teaming to pursue a contract to train personnel and install explosive detection equipment in all commercial U.S. airports by year's end, in accordance with the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001. The act mandates that all checked baggage in all 438 commercial airports in the U.S. be screened by Dec. 31. The team expects to install 1,850 to 2,200 explosive detection machines and 5,000 explosive trace detection machines within nine months if it wins the contract.
REBOUND: The global aerospace and defense sector has improved steadily since its low point shortly after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, but U.S. companies are attracting most of the investment, according to a report from Deutsche Bank. Christopher Mecray, senior aerospace and defense analyst with Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown, says, "Driven by the combination of U.S. defense budget increases and a growing focus on playing cyclical stocks, the sector has rebounded strongly from its low point following Sept.
Senate Armed Services Committee member Bob Smith (R-N.H.) has asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to support spending $190 million to $250 million to conduct two flight tests and buy 10 interceptors and related equipment for the Army's kinetic energy anti-satellite (KE-ASAT) program.
A successful test last week of the Air Force/Lockheed Martin Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) clears the way for the next phase of testing, according to an Air Force official. Dale Bridges, technical director of the Lethal Strike Program Office at the Air Armament Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., said the April 4 test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., was the last in a series of development firings and that operational tests are slated to start next month.
AEROSPACE AGENDA: After a two-week recess, Congress returns to Washington the week of April 8 with a flurry of aerospace-related activity. Events include Senate Armed Services Committee hearings on Navy equipment, military transformation and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance programs. In addition, the House Appropriations VA-HUD-NASA subcommittee is scheduled to hear testimony from congressional witnesses on the fiscal 2003 budget.
NASA has set April 8 as the new launch date for the shuttle Atlantis' mission to the International Space Station to install part of its truss.A hydrogen leak on the shuttle's mobile launch pad forced NASA to scrub the planned April 4 launch.
In a new regulation that took effect March 29, the Department of State has exempted universities and other accredited institutions of higher learning from registration and licensing requirements that normally would be imposed on all entities involved in developing commercial satellites.
H-1 BREACH: The Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) held an interim meeting April 3 to review the troubled H-1 helicopter upgrade program, which was reported in breach of the Nunn-McCurdy Act last month. Based on the Nunn-McCurdy Act, Pentagon acquisition czar E.C. "Pete" Aldridge, Jr. must certify the program is necessary for national security, that no alternatives exist, and that the program can be restructured to maintain costs. If those conditions are not met, Aldridge must terminate the program.
Senate Armed Services Committee member Bob Smith (R-N.H.) has asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to support spending $190 million to $250 million to conduct two flight tests and buy 10 interceptors and related equipment for the Army's kinetic energy anti-satellite (KE-ASAT) program.
ISR MANAGER: Raytheon's command, control, communication and information (C3I) segment plans to focus the majority of its resources on developing a system to coordinate the operations of all platforms with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems, says Frank Marchilena, executive vice president of Raytheon's C3I Systems segment. Marchilena says the ISR market represents about $15 billion for Raytheon over the next five years.
The Department of Defense announced April 5 that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Norwegian Minister of Defense Kristin Krohn Devold signed a bilateral declaration of principles intended to strengthen defense cooperation. The declaration covers "harmonization of military requirements, assurance of supply of defense goods and services, export procedures, information and technology security, ownership and corporate governance, and research and development cooperation," according to a Pentagon statement.
REBOUND: The global aerospace and defense sector has improved steadily since its low point shortly after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, but U.S. companies are attracting most of the investment, according to a report from Deutsche Bank. Christopher Mecray, senior aerospace and defense analyst with Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown, says, "Driven by the combination of U.S. defense budget increases and a growing focus on playing cyclical stocks, the sector has rebounded strongly from its low point following Sept.
Raytheon Co. plans to draw on its expertise as a systems integrator and designer to compete for several contracts relating to homeland security and defense, a senior Raytheon official said last week during the company's annual investors conference. Hugo Poza, vice president and general manager of Strategic Systems, said Raytheon sees homeland security as a rapidly emerging market. "While funding is becoming more clear, the requirements are still evolving," he said.
Engine firings to raise the orbit of Boeing's troubled Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) should resume by the third week of April, according to Boeing spokesman George Torres. In the interim, engineers at Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS) are continuing their analysis of a workaround solution for propellant tank problems on TDRS-I that could jeopardize its operational life.
MILESTONE REVIEW: Canada's RADARSAT-2 payload passed its critical design review, satellite builder MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) announced April 5. The imaging satellite's bus passed its critical design review in December, and final manufacture can now begin, the Richmond, B.C.-based company said. The payload includes a synthetic aperture radar active phased array antenna. RADARSAT-2 is slated to launch in 2003, and once launched it will be operated by MDA for the Canadian Space Agency.
H-1 BREACH: The Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) held an interim meeting April 3 to review the troubled H-1 helicopter upgrade program, which was reported in breach of the Nunn-McCurdy Act last month. Based on the Nunn-McCurdy Act, Pentagon acquisition czar E.C. "Pete" Aldridge, Jr. must certify the program is necessary for national security, that no alternatives exist, and that the program can be restructured to maintain costs. If those conditions are not met, Aldridge must terminate the program.
MILESTONE REVIEW: Canada's RADARSAT-2 payload passed its critical design review, satellite builder MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) announced April 5. The imaging satellite's bus passed its critical design review in December, and final manufacture can now begin, the Richmond, B.C.-based company said. The payload includes a synthetic aperture radar active phased array antenna. RADARSAT-2 is slated to launch in 2003, and once launched it will be operated by MDA for the Canadian Space Agency.
ISR MANAGER: Raytheon's command, control, communication and information (C3I) segment plans to focus the majority of its resources on developing a system to coordinate the operations of all platforms with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems, says Frank Marchilena, executive vice president of Raytheon's C3I Systems segment. Marchilena says the ISR market represents about $15 billion for Raytheon over the next five years.
LAUNCH BUMP: NASA has set April 8 as the new launch date for the shuttle Atlantis' mission to the International Space Station to install part of its truss. A hydrogen leak on the shuttle's mobile launch pad forced NASA to scrub the planned April 4 launch.
April 6 - 11 -- NAB 2002 - The Convergence Marketplace, Las Vegas, NV. For more information or registration, go to www.nab.org/conventions or call 1-202-429-5419 or 1-800-342-2460. April 8 - 11 -- The Space Foundation presents the 18th National Space Symposium- Opening the Space Frontier, The Next Giant Step. The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, CO. For more information call (800) 691-4000. (Exhibit hall sold out)
Autonomous robots that operate on a perception basis and that would work with the Army's Future Combat System (FCS) and similar initiatives are being eyed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Under the Mobile Autonomous Robot Software (MARS) program, the agency plans to develop software that "will create significant, asymmetric, military advantage by enabling the pervasive employment of an entirely new class of unmanned, autonomous military systems."
