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.
A LEGEND PASSES: Space visionary and author Arthur C. Clarke died March 19 at his home in Sri Lanka, after reportedly suffering respiratory problems. He was 90 years old. Clarke is credited with first proposing the concept of geostationary satellite communications in a 1945 article in Wireless World magazine. The first geostationary telecommunications satellite, Syncom 3, was launched in 1964. In later years Clarke also championed the concept of space elevators as a low-cost means of transferring cargo to orbit.
NOAA AWARDS: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has chosen Integrity Applications Inc., of Chantilly, Va., for an award worth up to $9.9 million to provide systems engineering and technical support for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R) system.
ALTAIR STUDIES: NASA has chosen five companies to receive a total of $1.5 million in study contracts to evaluate NASA’s in-house design concepts for its Altair lunar lander. The selected companies are Andrews Space, Boeing, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Northrop Grumman and Odyssey Space Research. Each company received no more than $350,000, NASA says. The Altair is intended to deliver four astronauts to the lunar surface by 2020.
