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.
With a second successful flight-test under its belt, the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Extended-Range (JASSM-ER) program is lobbying Senate appropriators to try to stave off a potential $40 million procurement cut in fiscal 2007. The second flight-test for the Lockheed Martin cruise missile took place from a B-1B bomber at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., on Aug. 9. The first flight took place in May. Flight-testing is expected to extend through 2008, when the system will be turned over to the U.S. Air Force.
Despite experimenting with a variety of techniques, NASA is unlikely ever to develop a truly "certified" method for repairing the space shuttle's thermal protection system (TPS) in orbit, says Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale. "We are going to have some repair techniques, but I doubt that in the life of the shuttle program we will be able to achieve what we would normally call a 'certified' capability," Hale said Aug. 11 during a news conference at Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Following the space shuttle's next flight, STS-115, NASA hopes to free the orbiter from its current daylight-only launch restriction, instituted after the Columbia accident to allow clear photography of the vehicle during ascent. "With a good outcome on this flight ... we think we'll be a in a posture to move to 'anytime' operations, which is certainly something that you've got to have if you want to fly in the winter half of the year," Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale said during a news conference in Houston Aug. 11.
