SBIRS LOW AND WEATHER: One of the battle space characterization missions of the SBIRS Low satellite system, says Patrick P. Caruana, VP and program manager for TRW, will be to supply weather information to commanders. "You're going to have a globally deployed ... system that will be able to see around the world at any time and there'll be some modest weather capability, if in fact the government fully incorporates all that they're asking us to look at," he says in an interview.
SBIRS ADVANTAGE: SBIRS Low will also give commanders a boost in finding mobile targets, Caruana says. During the Gulf War, he says, "We sat up night and day with airplanes in the air trying to find these [Scud] launchers. With a SBIRS Low system system ... you could pinpoint a launch point very, very accurately." It's true that the launch would have to come first, he says, but a strike at the launcher could come quickly with the new system.
CHEERY-Os: As part of the Army's transformation efforts, the service's Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) is developing an Operational and Organizational (O&O) concept for the Objective Force. "As we change, we will continue to develop our concepts" as transformation efforts move forward, says Lt. Gen. Mike Steele, Combined Army Center commander, and as such, "ultimately, you'll see many O&Os," he explains. While the original O&O has been anticipated for some time, Steele says he thinks "the first edition" will be out sometime this summer.
HUBBLE VISION: A life-and-death struggle taking place in a cloud of dust and gas 1,500 light-years from Earth, and viewed by the Hubble Space Telescope, could hold the key to how many planets exist in the Milky Way galaxy, NASA says. Images taken by Hubble provide the first direct evidence for the growth of planetary building blocks inside embryonic dust disks around dozens of stars in the giant Orion Nebula.
INTERNATIONAL LAUNCH SERVICES has signed a contract with France-based Alcatel Space for the launch of two spacecraft for GE American Communications Inc. in 2002 and 2003. The contract allows for launch on the Khrunichev-built Proton rocket, with a Lockheed-Martin built Atlas V available as a backup. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. ILS said this is the first geostationary transfer orbit launch contract awarded directly to a U.S. launch services company by Alcatel Space.
SBIRS SHIFT: The U.S. Air Force is on track to transfer management authority for the SBIRS Low to the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization by Oct. 1, as required by the fiscal 2001 defense authorization act (DAILY, Oct. 10, 2000), according to Booen. "It's going to happen," Booen says. "I think it's just a matter of implementation at this point." Lawmakers approved the transfer last year after accusing the Air Force of stalling progress in developing the low-orbit, missile-tracking satellite system.
BAE Systems, EADS and Finmeccanica have agreed to incorporate a single company that will regroup the missiles and missile systems work of their subsidiaries Matra BAe Dynamics, EADS Aerospatiale Matra Missiles and Alenia Marconi systems, the firms announced April 27. The name of the new company will be MBDA. EADS' CEOs, Philippe Camus and Rainer Hertrich, said in a statement that the MBDA consolidation is aimed at ensuring the European missile systems' industry against competition from U.S. competitors.
EUTELSAT announced it has signed a contract with Astrium Space Industries for the delivery of a new satellite called W3A. The procurement of this new 50-transponder spacecraft will meet Eutelsat's plan to consoliDATE APRIL 30, 2001its market position in Europe for multimedia services, reinforce its expansion path into Africa and strengthen its in-orbit redundancy programs. In addition to Ku-band transponders, W3A will initiate Eutelsat's second Ka-band mission and also incorporate a SKYPLEX payload for onboard digital multiplexing.
The Pentagon should be cautious of any procurement strategy that would lock the military into weapon systems and platforms that may be inappropriate for future threats as they continue to evolve, a defense policy expert said on Capitol Hill April 27.
TELESCOPE TEST: The U.S. Air Force plans to use a powerful telescope at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex in Hawaii during an upcoming National Missile Defense flight test in hopes of learning how to resolve problems discriminating between decoys and warheads, according to Col. Michael Booen, director of the Air Force's Space Based Infrared Systems (SBIRS) program.
Several senators objected April 26 to legislation that would update restrictions on dual-use exports, arguing that the bill would give China greater access to sensitive U.S. technology. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-Va.) said the proposed Export Administration Act doesn't adequately protect hot-section jet engine technology and other sensitive technologies that can be used for both military and civilian purposes. EP-3E incident cited
SPACE MEDIA INC., a subsidiary of Spacehab, Inc., announced its online retail division, The Space Store, has consigned a Russian Soyuz TM-26 space capsule to Superior Galleries of Beverly Hills for sale at auction next month. Superior Galleries will conduct the auction of the spacecraft as part of its "Spring Memorabilia Auction" to take place May 5-6 at the Santa Monica Museum of Flying. In addition, Icollector.com will conduct real-time global online bidding.
BALANCING ACT?: Since 1992, the approach of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan has been linked to "local military balance" rather than Chinese policy, says Chas Freeman, former Assistant Secretary of Defense.
Integral Systems, competing with TRW to design and demonstrate a replacement for the U.S. Air Force's MILSATCOM command and control segment, is hoping that a win will position it to compete for other government contracts of the same kind.
THE BOEING CO. and SPACE SYSTEMS/LORAL confirmed that a Brazilian telecommunications satellite will be launched on a Delta IV rocket next year. The launch of Estrela do Sol, which will provide telecommunications services to North and South America, is scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., during the second half of 2002. Loral Skynet will operate the satellite, built by Space Systems/Loral.
The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered an inspection of the engines that power Embraer regional jets, saying they could be prone to "rapid" bearing failure, Aerospace Daily affiliate Aviation Daily reported.
EW EFFORTS:The U.S. Air Force is actively involved in the Navy-led large-scale Electronic Warfare (EW) Analysis of Alternatives (AOA) currently underway, says Maj. Gen. John Baker, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations. The study is to determine the EW needs and capabilities of the U.S. military about five to 10 years out. The Air Force is involved because the service relies heavily on the Navy's aging EA-6B Prowler as an airborne jammer for force protection.
UNIVERSAL SPACE NETWORK, INC., of Horsham, Pa., is providing engineering services to Orbital Sciences Corp. to augment its mission operations team in Dulles, Va. USN has helped to support the launch and in-orbit testing and verification of the first of two Japanese BSAT-2 geostationary direct-to-home broadcast communications satellites. Japan's Broadcasting Satellite System Corp. (B-SAT) selected Orbital to manufacture and launch two geosynchronous satellites for the BSAT-2 program.
EMS TECHNOLOGIES, INC., said its X-Band Deep Space Network Solid State Amplifiers are on board NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey mission, which launched April 7 on its six-month journey to Mars. NASA acquired the first transmissions from Odyssey soon after takeoff as it rose over NASA's ground station in Australia. Odyssey is due to arrive at Mars on Oct. 24. EMS supplied the amplifiers to Lockheed Martin Astronautics for use in its telecommunications subsystem, which will transmit scientific data and spacecraft telemetry data from the spacecraft to Earth.
The U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Orlando, Fla. on April 26 conducted the first full-up live-warhead test of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), N.M. The autonomous missile was released from an F-16D at Mach 0.80 flying at an altitude of 7,000 feet, or 2,800 feet above the test range desert. In an 18-minute flight, JASSM flew through its six waypoints, pushed over, sought its target - a command van simulating an air defense site - and destroyed it.
Boeing is considering ranges for its new "sonic cruiser" of up to 10,000 nautical miles - which would allow nonstop service between cities as far apart as Sydney and New York. The sonic cruiser, which currently has no model designator, will carry between 175 and 250 passengers, and will cruise at 41,000 feet at speeds between Mach .95 and .98, according to Boeing.
Aviation and aerospace leaders, space explorers, a Russian/U.S. rocket development team, U.S. Coast Guard heroes and an electronics innovator were inducted into the Aviation Week&Space Technology Laureates Hall of Fame at a dinner at the Smithsonian Institution National Air&Space Museum on April 25. Laureate recipients are permanently enshrined in the Hall of Fame, which is anchored by a display in the Air&Space Museum. The 2000 Aviation Week&Space Technology Laureate recipients are:
Problems with the International Space Station's command-and-control computers forced mission controllers April 25 and April 26 to scrap a planned robot-to-robot handoff of a 1.5-ton packing crate from the station's new arm to its smaller counterpart on board space shuttle Endeavour. NASA will try to perform the three-hour task today if the computer problems can be solved. "We're into something here that we don't understand," said Milt Heflin, mission operations manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
International Licensees, LLC announced April 26 it bought the business and assets of Orbcomm Global, which provides satellite-based monitoring, tracking and messaging services. International Licensees is a consortium of Orbcomm licensees and other investors which plans to refocus the company in coming weeks, according to Don Franco, chairman of Satcomm International Group Ltd., a major shareholder in Orbcomm's European licensee.
The U.S. Navy's Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER), made by Boeing, conducted its first developmental test launch utilizing its Automatic Target Acquisition (ATA).
