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.
Ondas Media, which proposes to build a European mobile digital audio radio system (DARS), says the Spanish government has filed a new application with the International Telecommunications Union on its behalf. Teamed with Club DAB Italia, a consortium of media companies, Ondas is one of several ventures vying to start European mobile satellite radio/TV service. The company said the filing reflects the transitioning of the system, expected to start operations in late 2009, to a more advanced phase.
International Launch Services (ILS) has scheduled its next Proton M launch--the second since the booster returned to service and the first since the withdrawal of Lockheed Martin from ILS--for Nov. 9. The payload will be Badr-4 (Arabsat 4B), the first of two fourth-generation satellites to be put in operation by Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat). The 32-transponder K u-band spacecraft was built by Astrium with the payload supplied by Alcatel Alenia Space.
Moving to a collaborative digital design process has helped reduce scrap and rework rates for structural parts an estimated 40-50 percent on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program as compared to previous efforts, according to Lockheed Martin JSF Program Deputy Mike Walters. The multinational fighter program, which is still in its system design and development (SDD) phase, currently has more than 1,000 suppliers. That number will continue to expand globally as the program ramps up into full-rate production during the next decade.
