COMSAT General Corp., Bethesda, Md., was awarded $1,328,996 on Oct. 1, 2000, as part of a not-to-exceed $7,111,980 time and materials contract for the maintenance of satellite communications system and data. Work will be performed in Honolulu, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2005. There were three bids solicited on July 6, 2000, and three bids were received. The U.S. Army Maryland Procurement Office, Fort George G. Meade, Md., is the contracting activity (MDA904-01-C-2701).
High winds at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., yesterday forced Space Shuttle managers to delay launch of the Shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station by at least a day, after two separate mechanical issues were resolved over the weekend. Winds gusting to 52 mph at the launch site violated a safety constraint on fueling imposed by risk to ground personnel and the possibility the winds could damage the gaseous oxygen arm that rotates over the top of the big external tank, according to a NASA spokesman.
The General Accounting Office is warning that the Defense Dept. may not be able to carry out all of its modernization plans for aircraft and other weapons systems due to higher than planned costs for operation and maintenance and the weapons themselves. A "mismatch exists between [DOD's] plans and the projected available funding," the GAO said in a report released last week.
The FAA is funding two electrical wiring projects for the Dept. of Defense that are "worth highlighting," Alex Stefani, Dept. of Transportation assistant inspector general for auditing, told the House Transportation Committee's oversight subcommittee. Recent accidents, notably TWA Flight 800 and Swissair Flight 111, have heightened concerns about the safety of nonstructural aircraft systems such as wiring.
After testing out a full-scale mock-up of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) team has concluded its JSF stealth design can stay stealthy in a severe combat environment and might save more than $50 billion on maintenance versus other stealth designs. The team recently finished JSF radar cross-section (RCS) testing to confirm the stealthy shape and resilience of its low-observable (LO) materials and check out potential cost-savings.
Lockheed Martin is now targeting mid-October for the first flight of its X-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, company officials say, pushing the date back a couple of weeks from earlier expectations. Company executives note "we have never given a specific date," but word has long been that Lockheed Martin would fly its entry in the competition for what promises to be the largest military aircraft contract ever in late September or early October.
Arianespace used an Ariane 42L rocket to orbit the N-SAT-110 telecommunications satellite Friday, sending the big Lockheed Martin A2100AX satellite into its geostationary transfer orbit for service to the Japanese archipelago. Liftoff of the Ariane 4 variant that carried two liquid-fuel strap-on boosters came at 7 p.m. EDT Friday, and the satellite separated as planned 20 minutes later. Lockheed Martin said its tracking station in Uralla, Australia established contact with the spacecraft at 8:04 p.m. EDT, confirming a successful launch.
Teledesic LLC and Motorola, Inc. threw in the towel on their service agreement last week, as the "Internet-in-the-Sky" broadband satellite company moved to complete its merger with New ICO, the reincarnation of ICO Global Communications (DAILY, May 18).
Ericsson Saab Avionics' digital solid-state recorder (DiRECT) was chosen by Kaiser Electronics, a division of Kaiser Aerospace and Electronics, for the upgrade of Spain's EF-18A/B aircraft under the Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) program.
Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded on Oct. 2, 2000, a $15,822,336 modification to a firm-fixed-price contract to provide for 34 Air-to-Air Interrogator (AAI) retrofit kits, diminishing manufacturing sources parts, and associated support for the F-16 aircraft. The AAI kits will upgrade the Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) system on the F-16 Block 50/52 aircraft by integrating the IFF transponder, interrogator, and secure mode computers into a single unit. This will provide enhanced capacity to distinguish between friendly and unfriendly aircraft.
Pemco Aeroplex Inc., Birmingham, Ala., was awarded on Sept. 29, 2000, a $144,000,000 option to a fixed-price-incentive contract to provide for FY2001 programmed depot maintenance for the KC-135 aircraft. Expected contract completion date is 240 days after input, or as negotiated based upon extend of repair. Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker AFB, Okla., is the contracting activity. Thomas Patton, (405) 739-5404, is the POC. Contract Number: F34601-94-C-0664-P00189.
An agreement to give the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization greater control over the Air Force's Airborne Laser program is a "reasonable compromise" between competing House and Senate proposals, a Senate Armed Services Committee aide said last week.
Primex Aerospace Company, Redmond, Wash., was awarded on Sept. 29, 2000, a $233,291,000 (maximum) indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide for the acquisition by the Air Force and other Department of Defense agencies of a range of items and services provided by the contractor on a sole source basis. This effort includes spare parts for the Defense Logistics Agency and spares, modification kits, engineering/ contractor support services and repair services in support of the F-16 aircraft.
Sarnoff Corp., Princeton, N.J., is being awarded a $9,440,757 expansion modification to Other Transaction for Prototype Projects Agreement for evaluating and demonstrating the feasibility of using commercial technologies to develop prototype communication system solutions for the Navy. Work will be performed in Springfield, Va. (52%), and Princeton, N.J. (48%), and is expected to be completed by January 2002. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured through a Broad Agency Announcement.
Charles Stark Draper, Cambridge, Md., is being awarded a $123,060,995 cost-plus-fee contract for tactical engineering support for the United States and United Kingdom MK-6 Guidance Program and guidance test equipment; tactical engineering support for investigation, evaluation, and development of SPALT (SP alteration) plans and/or special studies for the MK-6 guidance system.
Continental Airlines choose Rolls-Royce's RB211-535E4B engines to power its 15 firm Boeing 757-300 aircraft, handing out a contract worth $264 million to the British engine manufacturer. James M. Guyette, president and CEO, Rolls-Royce North America, said, "Continental has been a valued customer of ours since the mid-1990s and this follow-on business is a powerful endorsement of the performance of its current fleet of 41 Rolls-Royce powered 757s."
TRW Inc., Clearfield, Utah, was awarded on Sept. 29, 2000, a $119,497,282 modification to a fixed-price-incentive contract to provide for low rate initial production, test support, and ordnance, in support of the Propulsion Replacement Program for Stages I-III of the Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile system. Expected contract completion date is Sept. 30, 2002. Solicitation issue date was July 13, 1997. Negotiation completion date was Nov. 21, 1997. Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill AFB, Utah, is the contracting activity.
BAE Systems Applies Technologies, Inc., Rockville, Md., is being awarded a $41,052,964 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide system integration support for the Trident I (C4) and Trident II (D5) fleet ballistic missile programs in implementing interface control programs and performing special technical investigations. Work will be performed in Rockville, Md., and is expected to be completed by September 2002. Contract funds in the amount of $28,090,434 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured.
The second Predator unmanned aerial vehicle crash within one month was reported to have occurred at 1:30 p.m. local time on Oct. 4, two miles northeast of El Mirage Test Facility, Calif., while the UAV was undergoing a routine test, according to a statement from the U.S. Air Force. The aircraft was completely destroyed, although no injuries on the ground and no fire upon impact were reported. The reconnaissance aircraft was assigned to Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
MV-22 ROLE: A mass demonstration by university students Oct. 4 at the U.S. embassy in Damascus, sparked by deaths of Palestinians in and around Jerusalem, showed one potential use of the MV-22 Osprey, a Marine Corps spokesman says. The service, he says, believes the tilt-rotor aircraft would be right for "this or any kind of non-combatant evacuation in any part of the world." The requirements for the Osprey were developed after the failed attempt to rescue hostages in Iran twenty years ago, he explains.
NADER THE NIXER: Long-shot presidential candidate Ralph Nader probably won't get a lot of votes from people in the aerospace and defense industries. The Green Party nominee says he would cut the Defense Dept. budget roughly in half and scrap three major aircraft programs: the F-22 Raptor, the Joint Strike Fighter and the V-22 Osprey.
A House-Senate conference committee finished work Friday on a fiscal 2001 defense authorization bill that fully funds the Clinton Administration's request for the Navy F/A-18E/F and the Air Force F-22 but cuts funding for the Joint Strike Fighter. The total amount for each program is the same or nearly the same as what has already been enacted in fiscal 2001 defense appropriations bill.
TERRAFORMING: Researchers gather at NASA's Ames Research Center this week to discuss how Mars might one day be transformed into a planet that can support life, possibly including humans. In the belief that Mars once might have supported life, conference organizer Chris McKay refers to the possibility of "re-creating a biosphere on Mars," as a first step in "expanding life beyond the earth." Topics at the conference will include near-term missions; how to warm Mars; models for "terraforming," and creating oxygen in a carbon-dioxide atmosphere.
PRICE LIST: Spacehab Inc. and RSC Energia have listed prices for their planned "Enterprise" commercial module on the Russian side of the International Space Station, giving microgravity researchers what could be a cheaper option for ISS facilities but charging more for getting their gear to the orbiting lab. Mike Lounge, Spacehab's Enterprise program manager, says 90 days in a space equivalent to a Space Shuttle middeck locker will cost $900,000, plus $19,500 a pound each way for transportation.
SOLAR FIX: PanAmSat may try to use the heat of the sun to repair the xenon ion engine on its Galaxy VIII-i spacecraft, but only after it gets a backup satellite in place to take over customer service. The company plans to send Galaxy III-C into the same orbital location as the faltering platform following its planned launch in the second quarter of 2001.
