Booz-Allen and Hamilton, McLean, Va., is being awarded an $10,848,952 firm-fixed-price contract to provide for telecommunications engineering support to the Military Satellite Communication (MILSATCOM) Joint Terminal Engineering office in conduction user-to-user systems engineering to integrate satellite communication terminals into DoD military satellite communication architecture. This system will insure interoperability for the warfighter. The work is expected to be completed February 2002. There was one proposal received.
The first scientific research rack loaded onto the International Space Station Alpha is a laboratory for experiments aimed at measuring how living in space affects the human body. Called the Human Research Facility (HRF), it will enable researchers to measure and evaluate the physiological, behavioral and chemical changes brought on by the space environment. Those experiments will provide data relevant to longer-term human adaptation to space.
Two leading missile defense advocates in Congress are urging the Bush Administration to avoid moving ahead with construction of a land-based system until it assesses other options, including sea and space-based systems.
Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, praised the Bush Administration yesterday for deciding not to seek Senate ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
Lockheed Martin Corp., Marietta, Ga., is being awarded a $40,000,000 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract to provide for one month (March 2001) advance procurement in support of Low Rate Initial Production of thirteen F-22 aircraft and associated equipment (Lot II). The work will be performed at The Boeing Co., Seattle, Wash. (52%), Lockheed Martin Corp., Ft. Worth, Texas (35%), and other locations. Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-00/0020, P00002).
Harris Corp. has been awarded a $1.3 million contract by the Boeing Co. to provide cockpit Memory Transfer and Storage Units for the U.S. Army AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter, the company announced yesterday. The MTSU provides onboard, pilot-accessible mass memory for the aircraft's avionics systems and mission computers.
A U.S. Navy F-18C from the USS Truman dropped a 500-lb. live bomb on military members training below, killing six - including one from the New Zealand Special Air Services - and injuring as many as 10 at Udairi Range, 45 miles northwest of Kuwait City, at 11 a.m. EST yesterday. The USS Truman, in the Persian Gulf in support of the 5th Fleet, was undergoing a night portion of close air support training in a U.S./Kuwait/Britain exercise, part of the regular rotation of forces to Kuwait called "Intrinsic Action," according to Pentagon and Navy sources.
NASA's Ultra Long Duration Balloon (ULDB) fell from the sky ahead of schedule Sunday, after pressurization difficulties prompted controllers to terminate the flight. After receiving the flight termination command, the payload parachuted down and impacted harmlessly within 1/2 mile of the coastline, near Carnarvon in northwest Australia. "The differential pressure didn't rise to what it was supposed to be," Steve Smith, project manager at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility, told The DAILY.
National Technologies Associates Inc., Alexandria, Va., is being awarded a $12,837,648 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for warehouse and material control support services in support of the Naval Aviation Depot at Jacksonville, Fla. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Fla. (98%); Beaufort, S.C. (1%); and Norfolk, Va. (1%); and is expected to be completed by March 2002. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $62,273,824 modification to firm-fixed-price contract DAAH01-00-C-0047 for Tube Launched-Optically Tracked-Wire Guided (TOW) missiles. This modification provides for 2,251 TOW 2A missiles and 375 TOW 2A practice missiles for the countries of Saudi Arabia, Japan, Jordan, Oman, and Belgium. Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2003. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This is a sole source contract initiated on Oct. 15, 1998. The U.S.
EXPORT JOB: President George W. Bush plans to nominate James Jochum to be assistant commerce secretary for export administration, the White House announced last week. Jochum is a former counsel to the Senate Banking Committee.
The X-35C naval Joint Strike Fighter demonstrator, which completed its testing March 11, was easier to fly in carrier approach tests than the fleet's F/A-18 Hornet, a Lockheed Martin test pilot said yesterday. "It was significantly easier to fly the ball ... than with the F/A-18," said Joe Sweeney, who also is an experienced Hornet pilot.
Space Shuttle Discovery's astronauts early yesterday attached a cargo-laden logistics module to the International Space Station Alpha in preparation for this week's transfer of supplies for the new Station crew. Like a moving van for a new home, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module name "Leonardo" is crammed with experiments and supplies too big to fit inside the Shuttle's mid-deck compartments, Aerospace Daily affiliate AviationNow.com reported.
Now that the X-35C naval Joint Strike Fighter demonstrator has completed all tests at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, the X-35B STOVL may fly cross-country to the Maryland base to complete its testing, Lockheed Martin officials said yesterday. The X-35B STOVL version is undergoing hover pit testing at Palmdale, Calif., while engine testing is being conducted at West Palm Beach, Fla., said Tom Burbage, executive vice president and general manager of the Lockheed Martin JSF program.
The Federal Aviation Administration is forecasting a ninth consecutive year of traffic growth this year, but the "optimistic" forecast for both this year and next is for slower traffic growth with many "ifs" that could lower the actual results for both years, John Rodgers, director of the Office of Aviation Policy, said yesterday in Washington.
Airbus has selected BFGoodrich Co. to provide landing gear for its new A380 aircraft, a deal potentially worth $2 billion to $3 billion over two decades, the company announced yesterday. Under the contract, Goodrich will engineer and manufacture the gear and ensure customer support once the aircraft enters commercial service in March, 2006. The A380 is slated to seat 555 passengers in a three-class layout, making it the largest commercial passenger aircraft in the world, Goodrich said.
Raytheon Systems Co., Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $64,201,467 firm-fixed-price contract to provide for the following component kits in support of the GBU-16 all-up-round (1,000-pound version) and GBU-12 air foil group (500-pound version) Paveway II laser-guided bombs: 1,954 MAU-169H/B computer control groups; 977 MXU-667/B air foil groups with containers; 977 MXU-650/B (GBU-12) air foil groups with containers, and associated data. This effort supports Navy requirements. There were two firms solicited and two proposals received.
Raytheon Co., Goleta, Calif., is being awarded a $5,406,710 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract to provide for the AN/ALE-50(V) towed decoys Production Program Lot 5, installment of 52 1x4 dual compatible launchers; five 1x4 dual compatible launcher spares; 156 1x4 operational magazines; and ten operational magazine spares in support of the B-1 aircraft. The work is expected to be completed February 2003. Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins AFB, Ga., is the contracting activity (F33657-96/C-0036, P00044).
The House Appropriations Committee's transportation panel is getting three new members for the 107th Congress: Reps. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), John Sweeney (R-N.Y.) and James Clyburn (D-S.C.). Staying on the panel are Republican Reps. Harold Rogers (Ky.), Frank Wolf (Va.), Tom DeLay (Texas), Sonny Callahan (Ala.), Todd Tiahrt (Kan.), Robert Aderholt (Ala.) and Kay Granger (Texas) and Democratic Reps. Martin Sabo (Minn.), John Olver (Mass.), Ed Pastor (Ariz.), Carolyn Kilpatrick (Mich.) and Jose Serrano (N.Y.).
DynCorp Technical Services, Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded an $11,154,776 modification to firm-fixed-price with cost reimbursable line items contract DAAH23-00-C-0226, to provide life-cycle contractor support for C-12, RC-12 and UC-35 aircraft. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2003. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This is a sole source contract initiated on March 8, 2000. The U.S. Army Aviation&Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasianov signed a decree on March 11th supporting a cooperative effort between the Russian Aerospace Agency and the Australian Asian Pacific Space Center company to develop a new launch vehicle. The planned joint project will include development of the mid-class Aurora launch vehicle, equipped with a Corvette upper stage, and construction of a launch facility on Australia's Christmas Island.
Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) will likely replace Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee's space panel, which oversees NASA. Allen's elevation requires the approval of the full committee, which could happen as early as Thursday during a markup of aviation-related legislation. The post would enhance the freshman senator's ability to look out for his state's space interests, including NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island and the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton.
General Electric Aircraft Engines, General Electric Company, Lynn, Mass., is being awarded a $5,980,000 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-00-C-0185) to exercise an option for the redesign and procurement of six Full Authority Digital Electronic Controls, nonrecurring redesign effort, technical data associated with the redesign effort, and an Operational Security Program used on the F/A-18 E/F. Work will be performed in Binghamton, N.Y. (90%) and Lynn, Mass. (10%); and is expected to be completed by December 2001.
Russia's Mir space station is now slated to meet its fiery end over the South Pacific on March 21, according to Mir deputy flight manager Viktor Blagov, and final preparations for that have already begun, including turning on the onboard computer to guide the aging station's fall. In case things don't go as expected and the Mir crashes down safely, Russian Aerospace Agency officials announced they are forming an insurance pool of up to $200 million to reimburse for possible damages.
ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES announced it is the successful bidder for the asset purchase of Orbcomm Global LP, the first commercial provider of global low-Earth satellite data communication services. The transaction is subject to the approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Delaware. The company said full details of the transaction will be released when it is complete.
