Boeing’s 702 Small Platform electric satellite series has cleared its critical design review, permitting the first spacecraft to move into the assembly phase and remain on schedule for launch in the first quarter of 2015.
Deputy NASA Administrator Lori Garver, who has been a policy lightning rod at agency headquarters as the Obama administration worked to shift U.S. human spaceflight from a government-run operation to a commercial venture, has resigned to take a job as general manager of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot, the agency’s No. 3 manager and top-ranking civil servant, is a likely possibility to fill Garver’s post on an acting basis until the White House can nominate another political appointee.
Deputy NASA Administrator Lori Garver, a policy lightning rod at agency headquarters as the Obama administration worked to shift U.S. human spaceflight from a government-run operation to a commercial venture, has resigned to take a job as general manager of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) expect to greet the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s HTV-4 early Aug. 9, following the unmanned cargo resupply spacecraft’s successful weekend liftoff from the Tanageshima Launch Center.
WGS WINDOW: The U.S. Air Force is anticipating a launch window for its sixth Boeing Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) spacecraft of 49 min. starting at 8:29 a.m. EDT Aug. 7. The satellite, which will provide high-bandwidth data and voice communications for U.S. and Australian forces, will be lofted by a United Launch Alliance Delta IV with four solid-rocket motors and a 5-meter fairing, from Cape Canaveral.WGS-6 is the final “Block 2” standard satellite, which includes a bypass to allow for quick transfer of video data collected by unmanned aircraft.
A more robust and maturing sensor network for the U.S. missile defense architecture is allowing planners to expand the options for an enhanced kill vehicle (KV).
The European Union is keen to set up its own network of space surveillance assets that could track spy satellites and near-Earth objects, help satellite operators avoid orbital-debris collisions and protect critical infrastructure when spent spacecraft or other objects enter Earth's atmosphere. (Photo: NASA)
A Lunar X-Prize contender plans to mount a commercial mission to the Moon as a step toward a private lunar sample-return flight around 2020 and ultimately, perhaps, lunar mining for water and valuable minerals. Moon Express Inc.—a strong contender in the $30 million Google Lunar X-Prize competition—says it will mount a follow-on mission to the Moon's south pole in partnership with the International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA), one of the piggyback customers for its X-Prize entry.
As the European Union's biggest defense powers pare back military budgets, the crisis in public spending is bolstering the EU's case for taking on more responsibility in the realm of defense, space and security. The European Commission (EC) issued a long-awaited slate of broad policy proposals last month that would harmonize defense commerce in Europe, develop common standards, fund dual-use R&D and ultimately see the EU's executive arm purchase and operate its own military hardware.
Tap on the icon in the digital edition of AW&ST for an interactive map with more on the U.S. missile defense sensor architecture, or go to AviationWeek.com/misdef
FALCON FLIGHT: Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is set to launch three Canadian-built C-band Earth-observation radar satellites for MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates under a “launch reservation contract” awarded to the Hawthorne, Calif.-based launch service provider July 30. Funded by the Canadian Space Agency, the Radarsat Constellation Mission is designed to continue the C-band dataset of earlier Radarsats with as many as four daily passes over Canadian territory and “several” passes a day over the Northwest Passage.
Despite NASA being an early pioneer in the field of cloud computing, the agency’s cloud-based systems and data could be at risk due to weaknesses in its IT oversight, according to the agency’s Inspector General (IG).
FRANKFURT — EADS has decided to make significant changes to its corporate structure and put the entire company under the Airbus brand. The board of directors followed a proposal put forward by CEO Tom Enders to change the company’s name to Airbus Group. Defense and space units Cassidian and Astrium will be merged and called Airbus Defense and Space. Eurocopter also will lose its current brand and be re-launched as Airbus Helicopters.
EADS has decided to make significant changes to its corporate structure and put the entire company under the Airbus brand. The board of directors approval followed a proposal put forward by CEO Tom Enders to change the company’s name to Airbus Group. Defense and space units Cassidian and Astrium will be merged and called Airbus Defense and Space. Eurocopter also will lose its current brand and be re-launched as Airbus Helicopters.
FRANKFURT — Berhard Gerwert is expected to be named as the CEO of EADS’ new joint defense and space unit. Industry sources tell Aviation Week that the current CEO of EADS defense division Cassidian will run the joint entity. The future of Astrium’s current CEO, Francois Auque, is unclear.
EADS’s board of directors is scheduled to meet today to approve sweeping changes to the group that, if approved, will renamed the company Airbus Group and reduce the number of divisions from four to three. The new structure will merge EADS’s defense and space operations into one entity, which will be called Airbus Systems. Berhard Gerwert, currently head of EADS’s defense unit Cassidian, is expected to be named CEO of the new unit, industry sources tell Aviation Week. The future of Francois Auque, CEO of EADS’s Astrium space division, is unclear.
