Jeff has been involved in aerospace journalism since the mid 1990s. Prior to joining Aviation Week, Jeff served as managing editor of Launchspace magazine and the International Space Industry Report. He has been the editor and chief of Aviation Week's Aerospace Daily & Defense Report since 2007 and has been a regular contributor to Aviation Week magazine. He received his B.A. from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
In observance of the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday, Aerospace Daily & Defense Report will not publish on Nov. 27 and 28. The next issue will be dated Dec. 1.
FALCON FIRE: SpaceX conducted a full mission-length test firing of its Falcon 9 launch vehicle’s first stage at its McGregor Test Facility in Texas on Nov. 22. The first stage fired for 178 seconds while secured to a vertical test stand, generating 855,000 pounds of sea-level force at full power. All nine Merlin engines fired for 160 seconds, at which point two were shut off, as would happen during a typical ascent to limit acceleration. The first Falcon 9 launch is scheduled for next year from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
STENNIS CHIEF: NASA has named Arthur “Gene” Goldman the new director of Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Goldman has served as deputy director since October 2006. He replaces Bob Cabana, who left last month to take the reins at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Prior to that, Goldman served as manager of the space shuttle main engine project at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., from March 2004 until he moved to Stennis in 2006.
