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.
NASA announced March 27 that it is reinstating the Dawn asteroid rendezvous mission, which the agency canceled earlier this month due to technical problems and cost overruns. Propelled by xenon ion engines, Dawn is to investigate Vesta and Ceres, two of the largest asteroids orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. The Orbital Sciences-built spacecraft is expected to launch in the summer of 2007, roughly a year behind its original schedule, and rendezvous with the asteroids in 2016.
The new request for proposals (RFP) for the Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) is largely the same as the draft RFP for the Future Cargo Aircraft (FCA) released by the Army last year prior to the Air Force coming onboard the program, according to competitor Raytheon.
SpaceX's Falcon 1 rocket was lost on its long-awaited inaugural launch from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean on March 24. The rocket failed shortly after launch from the 7-acre Omelek Island. The low-cost rocket was carrying the FalconSat-2 spacecraft for the Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). "Clearly this is a setback, but we're in this for the long haul," said Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's vice president of business development, shortly after the mishap. No further details were available at press time.
