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.
AIRCRAFT SUPPORT: The U.S. Navy is awarding Honeywell International, Inc. of Tempe, Ariz., a $35 million contract for support for auxiliary power units for the F/A-18, P-3, S-3, C-2, and KC-130 F/R; F404 main fuel controls used on the F/A-18 aircraft; the P-3 engine driven compressor; and support for the Australian F/A-18 Super Hornet. Work is expected to be complete by June 2011.
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE: NASA has picked Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., to launch the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) satellite in February 2013 aboard a Taurus XL 3110 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The estimated total cost for the launch services is $70 million. Designed to create a global map of carbon dioxide emission sources in support of climate change research, the first OCO was lost in February 2009 when the fairing failed to open on its Taurus XL. Orbital also built the OCO satellite, and is building OCO-2.
Lockheed Martin is trimming its Orion spacecraft workforce by 20% as it works with NASA to redefine the vehicle as a crew rescue capsule for International Space Station crews. The cuts amount to 300 Lockheed Martin employees and 300 subcontractor personnel. While the company is working to find new positions for the displaced staff within the company, “layoff notices are probably inevitable, and that will happen shortly,” according to Linda Karanian, Lockheed’s Washington-based director of human space flight programs.
