RADIATION PROTECTION: NASA commissioned the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) Oct. 14 at the Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y. The laboratory, built in cooperation between the agencies, will simulate the harsh space radiation environment to help NASA biologists and physicists ensure the safety of spacecraft crews.
FLIR CONTRACT: FLIR Systems Inc. will supply enhanced targeting sights for use with the Special Operations Forces Laser Marker (SOFLAM) under a $19.8 million U.S. Navy contract, the company said Oct. 14. The sight is a companion sight for the SOFLAM. Deliveries are expected to begin in early 2004 and be completed in by July 2005.
Orbital Sciences Corp. has joined the Lockheed Martin-Northrop Grumman team to compete for the contract to design and build NASA's Orbital Space Plane (OSP), company officials said Oct. 14. Orbital had been negotiating with both the Lockheed Martin team and the team led by the Boeing Co. (DAILY, Oct. 1). Northrop Grumman, which at one time led a team of its own, officially joined the Lockheed Martin team in early October. Orbital Sciences had been a member of the Northrop Grumman team.
Tactronics, a prime contractor to Special Operations Command (SOCOM), is undertaking an internally funded effort to create a handheld computer for special operators that can run a full 32-bit operating system, according to company president Billy Silhan.
Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control has received a $119 million contract from the U.S. Army to develop and demonstrate a Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) variant with a unitary warhead. Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will develop 86 rockets, 71 of which will be flight articles. The remainder will be used for tests and other activities.
Operation of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles that work together to carry out missions as part of the Future Combat Systems (FCS) is the subject of an exploratory development program being run by the U.S. Army's Aviation Applied Technology Directorate at Fort Eustis, Va.
AIR SUPPLY: Boeing will use air transportation as the main method for delivering supplier parts for its new mid-sized 7E7 passenger aircraft, the company said Oct. 13. The company projects savings of 20 to 40 percent compared with traditional shipping methods, Boeing said, and will cut delivery times to as little as one day. The company plans to use at least three modified 747-400s to move the 7E7 components.
On Oct. 15 the U.S. Air Force will make its third attempt since early 2001 to launch an upgraded Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft atop a refurbished Titan II missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. A series of technical issues and schedule bumps have plagued the $450 million spacecraft, which was removed from the launch pad twice in 2001 and 2002 (DAILY, Jan. 24, 2001). Launch is now set for a 10-minute window opening at 9:17 a.m. PDT Oct. 15.
Major aerospace and defense contractors are expected to post strong earnings for the third quarter, according to senior aerospace and defense analyst Christopher Mecray of Deutsche Bank. "We expect most aerospace and defense companies to meet or beat expectations, with lingering concerns [about the commercial sector] lying mostly beyond 2004 and defense names benefiting from the ramp-up in budget outlays," Mecray says in an investor's report released last week.
HONEYWELL TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS INC. (HTSI) has been awarded NASA's Near Earth Networks Services (NENS) contract, with an estimated maximum value of $785.2 million. HTSI will support NASA's Space and Ground Networks managed by Goddard Space Flight Center's Mission Services Program. Major elements of the work include administration of an integrated contract team for Space and Ground Networks operations and maintenance; hardware and software development; and systems engineering.
MBDA CONTRACT: The French defense ministry has awarded MBDA a contract to integrate the ASMPA medium-range air-to-ground missile on the next-generation variant of the French air force's Mirage 2000 N, the 2000 N K3, the company said. ASMPA, which has a tactical nuclear warhead, will replace the current ASMP missile, which has been in service on the Mirage 2000 N since 1988, the company said.
NEW DELHI - The Indian government is looking to international markets for beyond-visual-range (BVR) missiles to be installed on the Sea Harrier fleet on the country's only aircraft carrier, INS Viraat. Defense ministry officials said the purchase of 20 BVR missiles and training missiles is part of a project to upgrade India's Sea Harrier fleet. The ministry has invited Israel's Rafael and Elbit Systems, the United Kingdom's BAE Systems, South Africa's Denel, Russia's Rosoboronexport and France's MBDA to submit offers for the missiles.
Gripen International has opened the production line for 28 Gripens ordered by South Africa, the company said Oct. 13. Jacob Zuma, the deputy president of South Africa, opened the line at an Oct. 10 ceremony at the Saab Aerosystems plant in Linkoping, Sweden.
HONEYWELL BUY: Honeywell International will acquire video monitoring company Silent Witness of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, Honeywell said Oct. 10. The company plans to buy all outstanding shares of Silent Witness for CDN$11.27 ($8.6) per share. The buy will broaden Honeywell's capabilities in the video surveillance market, the company said.
SPOTTING MOONS: The European Space Agency is planning Eddington, a space telescope with a precision photometer that it predicts not only could find planets outside our solar system, but could detect moons orbiting those planets. Eddington, named after astrophysicist Sir Arthur Eddington, is scheduled to launch in 2008 and will seek planets by detecting the drop in light when a planet passes in front of its parent star.
SUPPLEMENTAL DEBATE: The full House and Senate are expected to consider their versions of the $87 billion fiscal 2004 supplemental appropriations bill during the week of Oct. 13-17. Among the matters that could come up during those debates is a proposed amendment by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) that would provide $655 million to install anti-missile devices on the 300 aircraft in the Civil Reserve Aviation Fleet (CRAF) (DAILY, Oct. 1).
