SBIRS SOFTWARE: The U.S. Air Force expects to finish the development test/operational test phase for SBIRS Increment 1 software May 1 and start the initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) phase about mid-May, says Booen. IOT&E will last about 90 days, and the software is slated to be turned over to Air Force Space Command in November. Increment 1 will consoliDATE APRIL 30, 2001the SBIRS command and control and data processing elements on the ground in Denver.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
The Defense Dept. needs 170 to 180 Boeing C-17s, compared with the 134 it is authorized to buy, so it can eliminate a shortfall in airlift capability, according to U.S. Air Force Gen. Charles Robertson, the head of U.S. Transportation Command.
NASA workers installed a new Space Shuttle Main Engine, called the Block II configuration, on the Shuttle Atlantis, NASA announced April 26. Atlantis' first flight using the new engine, built by Boeing Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., is targeted for no earlier than June 14 on mission STS-104 to the International Space Station Alpha, the space agency said. Atlantis will use one Block II main engine and two older Block IIA main engines to complete its full three-engine complement.
The Bush Administration's choice to head the Defense Dept.'s weapons acquisition efforts has told the Senate Armed Services Committee that a decision on the fate of the Joint Strike Fighter should take into account the "international implications" of the program.
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.
The Space Based Laser (SBL) Integrated Flight Experiment program will need tens of millions of dollars above its current funding level to move into the design phase within the next few years, according to U.S. Air Force Col. Neil McCasland, the project's director.
THE ROYAL AIR FORCE's most up to date version of the Tornado, the GR4, has been declared fully operational, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence announced. The aircraft features forward-looking infrared vision equipment and updated avionics and flight controls. It will now be available for deployment on future operations, including with the U.K.'s Joint Rapid Reactions Force.
