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.
NASA has picked Lockheed Martin to support agency systems at Johnson Space Center and elsewhere that are used for training astronauts and conducting human spaceflight missions, awarding the company a contract with a potential total value close to $1 billion. The new Facilities Development and Operations Contract (FDOC) replaces the Mission Support Operations Contract and incorporates portions of the work performed under the Space Program Operations Contract currently held by United Space Alliance.
The second Mercury flyby of NASA’s Messenger probe has filled in more blanks that should help scientists understand the closest planet to the Sun, and other rocky planets as well. The October flyby produced imagery and other data of terrain previously unseen at such close quarters (AW&ST Oct. 20, p. 59). New information from the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) matches high-resolution imagery collected by Messenger and by Mariner 10. This should enable scientists to correlate high-resolution topography measurements with high-resolution images for the first time.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is raising questions about NASA’s ability to develop its follow-on Ares/Orion human spaceflight systems on time and on budget, given the agency’s recent history and fiscal tribulations. Under its Constellation program, NASA is planning initial operating capability (IOC) for the Ares I rocket and Orion spacecraft in March 2015, and has a 65 percent confidence level of making that target. (See charts pp. 6-8.)
