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 preliminary DOD study points to the need for more Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) sea-based missile defense interceptors and Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors, according to Lt. Gen. Kevin Campbell, commander of U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC).
Space shuttle managers expressed unanimous confidence in repairs made to Atlantis' external tank during a review May 11, clearing the orbiter to roll out to its launch pad at Kennedy Space Center as early as May 15 for a scheduled June liftoff.
NASA is considering an alternate stage separation scheme for its Ares I rocket that would use struts driven by compressed gas rather than the modified shuttle hardware in the current design, and is asking industry to weigh in. The current design uses Space Shuttle Booster Separation Motors (renamed Booster Deceleration Motors, or BDMs) to separate the Ares I after the first stage has spent its fuel and prior to upper-stage ignition.
