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.
If NASA decides by this summer to proceed with the development of crew transfer capability under the agency’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, SpaceX founder Elon Musk says his company could be ready to conduct crew flights to the space station by early 2011.
ROXEL REINFORCED: Bayern-Chemie has completed the spinoff of Protac, an affiliate specialized in complex metal structures, thermal insulation, laser welding and civil pyrotechnics, to Roxel, a rocket motor and solid propellant venture owned by MBDA and SNPE. The sale will permit Bayern-Chemie, acquired by MBDA last year, to focus on its core rocket motor business, and reinforce Roxel’s product range. Protac employs 90 people at a plant in La Ferte Saint-Aubin, France, 100 miles south of Paris, and generates annual sales of 28 million euros ($45 million).
NEW CUTTER: The U.S. Coast Guard took preliminary acceptance of the National Security Cutter (NSC) Bertholf during a ceremony at Pascagoula, Miss., May 8. Capt. Pat Stadt hopes to take the ship and its crew to sea in about 10 days and stay under way for a week, performing damage control drills. The 418-foot ship will be in and out of the shipyard until June 13, and eventually be commissioned by the Coast Guard at Alameda, Calif., on Aug. 4.
