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.
Intelsat has reported a problem with the deployment of the New Dawn satellite’s west antenna reflector, which controls C-band communications. Intelsat and satellite manufacturer Orbital Sciences Corp. are investigating this issue and assessing possible corrective actions, Intelsat said May 10 in announcing first-quarter financial results. For the time being, deployment of the east Ku-band antenna reflector also has been postponed until the issue with the west reflector is resolved.
Orbital Sciences Corp. reported year-over-year revenue growth for the first quarter of 2011, although its operating income took a hit from the early March failure of the company’s Taurus XL rocket. The March 4 fairing separation glitch claimed NASA’s Glory climate satellite, and echoed the 2009 loss of NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory , which also was lost when its Taurus XL fairing failed to open (Aerospace DAILY, March 7).
Senate lawmakers pressed high-level NASA witnesses during a Capitol Hill hearing March 15, skeptical that the agency is taking its most recent authorization bill seriously. “Five months have passed since the law’s passage, and we’re still waiting for signs that the agency will comply,” Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) said at the outset of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee hearing.
