Electro Design Manufacturing Inc., Decatur, Ala., is being awarded a $24,150,836 firm-fixed-price contract for TOW2 (tube-launched optically-tracked wire-guided) Missile Systems and auxiliary equipment. Work will be performed in Decatur, Ala., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 30, 2002. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were seven bids solicited on July 31, 1998, and two bids were received. The U.S. Army Aviation&Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (DAAH01-00-C-0007).
The Senate passed the fiscal year 2000 NASA authorization bill on Friday, clearing the way for conference with the House on the bill The Senate passed the bill (H.R. 1654) to authorize $12.7 billion for NASA for FY' 00. The Senate also voted to appoint conferees to work on the bill with the House this week.
Mars Polar Lander controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have changed the procedures they will follow next month when their spacecraft begins its descent toward the Red Planet's South Pole, after receiving a warning from the outside panel reviewing loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft that a problem could exist.
Computer Systems Center, Inc., Springfield, Va., is being awarded a $12,491,346 cost-plus-fixed-fee completion contract to provide platform specific engineering, technical and operational mission expertise for systems integration, technical studies and analysis with particular focus on cooperative engagement capability (CEC) test and evaluation. This contract contains options which, if exercised, will bring the total cumulative value of this contract to $24,144,681. Work will be performed in Springfield, Va. (75%) and San Diego, Calif.
Sen. Max Cleland (D-Ga.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, announced his plans for an initiative next year to bring more debate to the Senate floor on national security issues. The plan calls for debate every four to six weeks on topics including the role of the U.S. in peacekeeping missions, Cleland told reporters on Thursday. Cleland sent a letter to his fellow senators last week addressing his concern about lack of constructive dialogue in the Senate and inviting them to participate in debates starting in January.
Lockheed Martin said it validated the aerodynamic design of its Joint Strike Fighter low- and high-speed wind tunnel tests. The testing, it said, validated the latest Preferred Weapon System Concept (PWSC) designs of all three variants - the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant for the U.S. Air Force; the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant for the U.S. Marines, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy; and the carrier-suitable variant for the U.S. Navy.
Lockheed Martin Underseas Systems, Manassas, Va., is being awarded a $20,208,053 modification to previously awarded contract N00019-98-C-0012 to upgrade 2 SH-60F helicopter weapon systems trainers by integrating the H-60 common visual system and incorporating aircraft survivability equipment simulation. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Fla. (50%); and North Island, Calif. (50%), and is expected to be completed by November 2001. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
BF Goodrich Company, Troy, Ohio, was awarded on Nov. 4, 1999, a $15,608,331 firm-fixed-price contract, F42630-99-C-0255, to provide for the following components of the Improved Replacement Wheel and Brake System applicable to the F-16 aircraft: 1,322 wheel assemblies, 8,882 brake assemblies, and associated data. There were 12 firms solicited and one proposal received. Expected contract completion date is August 2010. Solicitation issue date was May 27, 1999. Negotiation completion date was Aug. 3, 1999.
Pilots of Operation Allied Force "never did figure out" the thinking behind Serb surface-to-air missile activity, or even if there was an overall plan, according to one American F-16 pilot.
U.S. ARMY CREWS will inspect all 743 of the service's AH-64 Apache attack helicopters after a crash at Fort Rucker, Ala., last January was traced to a crack in a hangar bearing in the tail rotor system. Hydrogen embrittlement is suspected as the cause of the stress corrosion fractures that cost the Army an aircraft and minor injuries for its two-person crew. None of the helicopters will be allowed to fly again until they pass the one-hour inspection, which will determine which series of hangar bearing assemblies are installed.
Lockheed Martin Mission Systems, Colorado Springs, Colo., is exercising an option on a previously awarded $36,570,879 cost-plus-award-fee contract, F04701-96-C-0033-P00045, to provide for FY2000 hardware and software maintenance, system and site level engineering and integration, and on site support for the Command and Control Segment of the Air Force Satellite Control Network. Expected contract completion date is Oct. 31, 2000. Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles, Calif., is the contracting activity.
United Technologies Corp., West Palm Beach, Fla.; and General Electric Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, are being awarded a $5,500,000,000 ($2,700,000,000 to United Technologies Corp; $2,800,000,000 to General Electric Co.) indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract, F33657-98-D-0018, United Technologies Corp; F33657-98-D-0019, General Electric Corp., to provide for various quantities of the F100 engines (United Technologies) in support of the F-15 and F-16 aircraft, and the F110 and F118 engines (General Electric) in support of the F-15, F-16, and B-2 aircraft.
The House on Friday passed the fiscal year 2000 foreign operations appropriations bill by a 316-100 vote, adding $800 million to the White House's $12.6 billion request. The bill include an additional $27 million for reconstruction activities in Kosovo and $1.8 billion to supplement the Wye River peace accord agreement. Some Pentagon and Hill officials had worried procurement programs, including some ballistic missile defense efforts, would be raided to pay for the Wye Accords if Congress did not find the funding.
SIMON RAMO, who co-founded TRW in 1953 and was the chief engineer on President Eisenhower's ICBM project, was honored last week for his achievements by both NASA and the Smithsonian Institution. NASA awarded Ramo its Distinguished Public Service Medal, while the Smithsonian honored him with its 1999 National Air and Space Museum Trophy for Lifetime Achievement.
STATION HOMEWORK: NASA's efforts to push commercial utilization of the International Space Station have received a skeptical reception in Europe, even among those with a keen interest in making money on the orbiting facility. Stefan-Fritz Graul, who heads the DaimlerChrysler Aerospace unit building Europe's contributions to the International Station, tells a Washington audience there is no clear picture of the market the Station will serve. "We have some homework on our table, and we have to do this homework up front," Graul says.
Alcatel and Thomson-CSF will strengthen industrial and technological cooperation to go along with Alcatel's increased 25.3% stake in Thomson-CSF, the two companies reported Friday. The companies have identified five major new common areas that build on cooperation over the last 16 months and that are focused on research and development, industrial cooperation and space.
AlliedSignal on Friday began its previously announced tender offer for shares of Dallas-based TriStar Aerospace Co. The offer, being made under terms of an agreement dated Oct. 31, is scheduled to expire at midnight, New York City time, on Dec. 6. AlliedSignal Aerospace, a $7.5 billion unit of AlliedSignal Inc., wants to acquire the provider of fasteners and related hardware for $291 million. The move is part of AlliedSignal's strategy to expand its offerings in the aerospace consumable hardware and aftermarket services areas (DAILY, Nov. 2).
CORRECTION: The target slated to be used in an upcoming test of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile defense system is a Storm, not a Hera as reported in the Nov. 6 issue of The DAILY. The Storm is built by Orbital Sciences Corp. Coleman Research builds the Hera.
HAINAN AIRLINES has taken delivery of the first jet-powered regional airliner to be operated in China, Fairchild Aerospace said. The plane was delivered to the airline during a ceremony at Fairchild's Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, facility on Nov. 3. The 32-seat, twin-engine 328JET is the first of 19 firm and 20 optional planes ordered by Hainan.
SOYUZ SPIN-ON: Some commercial upgrades to Russia's venerable Soyuz rocket being developed by the design bureau associated with the Samara rocket production center will also be used to deliver crews and supplies to the International Space Station, according to Victor Nikolaev, managing director of the Franco-Russian Starsem joint venture. Starsem is pushing the Soyuz as an ultra-reliable, low-cost launch vehicle for medium payloads to low Earth orbit, aiming at the constellation and constellation replenishment markets (DAILY, July 29).
Marconi Aerospace Defense Systems, Rockville, Md., a unit of Marconi North America, has won a contract worth over $14.5 million to develop and integrate a night vision imaging system for the Canadian CH-146 helicopter.
CPU Tech, Pleasanton, Calif., said it has delivered prototype chips to Honeywell Defense Avionics Systems for the U.S. Air Force's Common Configuration Implementation Program (CCIP) to upgrade F-16 fighters. Rich Comfort, CPU Tech vice president, said the delivery was on time and under budget.
GONE MISSING: Valuable space stuff seems to keep walking away from NASA facilities, to the tune of $8 million worth for the first six months of this year. Jack Dailey, who handles day-to-day agency management at NASA headquarters, tells top officials 1,240 items were lost in the first half of the year. That 0.27% loss rates threatens the 0.5% loss rate NASA tries to maintain, he says, noting that headquarters has already busted the target with a 0.67% loss rate in fiscal 1999. During the period that ended Sept.
A Russian failure review panel is set to report on last month's Proton space launch vehicle failure by Nov. 17, but the failure's impact on two pending Proton launches remained uncertain Friday.
