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.
Due to an ongoing union dispute with FAA, current air traffic controllers are not participating in the Joint Planning and Development Office's effort to create the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS), a panel of government witnesses told House lawmakers March 29. Testifying before the House Science subcommittee on space and aeronautics, Gerald Dillingham, director of Civil Aviation Issues at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), called the lack of controller input a "serious problem."
Following the completion of an analysis of alternatives on the military's requirement for a Joint Common Missile, the Pentagon is expected to make a decision about the future of the effort in May, according to Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey. Senior Pentagon officials terminated the Army-led JCM program in December 2004 over the objections of some military leaders and members of Congress. Lawmakers have since inserted money into annual budgets to keep the program alive, but the Army has not requested any JCM funding in FY '07.
A fuel leak of "unknown origin" was responsible for the loss of Space Exploration Technologies' (SpaceX) Falcon 1 rocket shortly after liftoff on its inaugural flight March 24, according to company founder and CEO Elon Musk. Twenty-five seconds after ignition, the fuel leak caused a fire around the top of the main engine that cut into the first stage helium pneumatic system, Musk said in a statement. When pneumatic pressure dropped too low, the engine shut down 29 seconds into the flight.
