Brazil's new entrants in aviation design and manufacturing are specializing in niche markets for domestic consumption and are receiving support from industry, academia and government agencies.
It has been through some tough times, but now the James Webb Space Telescope project has pulled up its socks and is slogging through one of the most complex space engineering efforts ever attempted.
India's long struggle for strategic parity with China passed a milestone last week, with ramifications for India's self-confidence and China's rise, after India's indigenously developed Agni-V missile hit a pre-designated target in the Indian Ocean with a high degree of accuracy during its first test-flight.
Amy Svitak (Paris), Robert Wall (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)
The space industry usually takes a crawl, walk, run approach when pursuing new challenges. But flush with cash and hungry to propel itself to the forefront of the global aerospace market, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has no time for baby steps. The UAE is one of a number of Middle Eastern countries that is gradually building a portfolio of space initiatives in response to growing instability in the region, a perceived threat from Iran and a desire to spur local industry.
An article in the April 16 issue (p. 44) incorrectly stated NASA's plans for launching cargo to the International Space Station. The agency plans to use commercial rockets for the missions.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Orbital Sciences Corp. has installed its Antares medium-lift launch vehicle on the pad built for it at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, in preparation for a hot-fire test of the new rocket later this spring.
AEHF LAUNCH: The second Lockheed Martin Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite is set to be launched by an Atlas V rocket on May 3 with a backup window of May 5, only days after the scheduled April 30 launch of Space Exploration Technologies’ Falcon 9, both from Cape Canaveral. Operational testing of the spacecraft is set for next year. One of the first two AEHF satellites will eventually be placed in geosynchronous orbit over Europe for Washington to fulfill its agreement to share some of the capacity with the U.K., Canada and the Netherlands.
A repairable fault with a piece of electronics onboard the Space-Based Space Surveillance satellite is prompting Air Force Space Command to hold off on declaring initial operational capability.
In Washington, when the administration proposes, Congress disposes. That was certainly the case this week with NASA’s $830 million budget request for development of a commercial crew vehicle (CCDev) to provide rides to the International Space Station. Instead, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle cut the request by about $300 million and provided more funding for the Orion multipurpose crew vehicle and the heavy-lift Space Launch Vehicle (SLS).
Desire to allow domestic companies to be more competitive in the global marketplace, but allowing for stricter restrictions against countries including China, Iran, North Korea and Syria.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) plans to load “late cargo” into its Dragon capsule around April 20 after passing NASA’s final flight readiness review in advance of the first private space mission expected to dock with the International Space Station (ISS).
PARIS — Aerospace supplier Honeywell says it has signed an exclusive agreement with Inmarsat to provide global in-flight connectivity services to business, commercial and government aviation customers. The services will be provided through London-based Inmarsat’s Global Xpress network, the first Ka-band constellation designed to provide global inflight broadband to the aeronautical, maritime and land-mobile markets.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Several next-generation satellite systems built by the U.S. Air Force could rely on smaller, simpler and cheaper designs, says Gen. William Shelton, Air Force Space Command chief. Shelton says he continues to push for “disaggregation” of U.S. military satellites, which calls for separating payloads once hosted on large satellites and placing them on more numerous, smaller systems with an eye toward distributing capability and controlling costs.
The Pentagon is nearly finished renegotiating contract for troubled airborne satcom terminals, USAF is establishing alternate program path in case the company fails to perform.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Worldwide space spending grew by more than $31 billion in 2011, but the laggard global economy continues to exert downward pressure on the industry, according to the latest report of the National Space Foundation.
ABU DHABI — The former head of the New Mexico spaceport effort, Steve Landeene, will now work as chief adviser to the proposed spaceport in Abu Dhabi with an eye on clearing the way for potential Virgin Galactic operations. Landeene’s initial focus will be on the regulatory environment. The focus would then shift to determining the right location for the spaceport, Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides said during the Global Aerospace Summit here.
COLORADO SPRINGS — The Pentagon has declared that the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) project has exceeded its original projected per-unit cost by 58.4%, triggering a rigorous review under the Nunn-McCurdy program oversight law. Through the EELV program, the government procures Atlas V and Delta IV rockets from United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing. The cost growth was reported April 13 to Congress.
CYBER GAME: A U.S. Air Force cyber and outer space wargame starting April 20 at Nellis AFB, Nev., will for the first time include representatives from NATO members Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey. Australia, Canada and Britain already are partners of the Schriever Wargame 2012 International Game. The wargame scenario depicts NATO counter-piracy operations around the Horn of Africa.
COLORADO SPRINGS — Though parts for the new GPS III satellites are costing more than planned, Lockheed Martin says the rigor applied by the U.S. Air Force in quality assurance is setting a new industry standard.
Senators approved draft legislation April 17 that rejects parts of the president’s budget request for NASA, cutting nearly $300 million from the development of commercial crew vehicles. The fiscal 2013 spending bill passed by the Senate Appropriations commerce, justice, and science subcommittee adds back close to $200 million for the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS), a priority for Republicans Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas) and Sen. Richard Shelby (Ala.).
COLORADO SPRINGS — As part of a broad initiative to boost its share of the launch market and particularly the tightly contested medium commercial sector, Lockheed Martin is stepping up sales campaigns for its Atlas and Athena vehicles and appointing space and satellite marketing veteran Robert Cleave to head the business.
