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.
A Russian Proton rocket failed to burn its upper stage engine for as long as planned during a launch from Kazakhstan Feb. 28, leaving the Arabsat 4A satellite stranded in a low orbit, International Launch Services (ILS) announced. The Proton lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 3:10 p.m. Eastern time. Preliminary flight information indicates that the Breeze M upper stage shut down early. Arabsat 4A separated from the rocket as a contingency.
NASA is considering whether to remove a tiny particle of debris caught in a pre-valve screen in one of shuttle Discovery's engines that some engineers worry could cause problems if it is dislodged and pulled into the engine. NASA's worry about the piece, which Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale described as being about the size of the point on a mechanical pencil, is that it could either clog up engine components or ignite in the oxygen-rich environment of the engine.
NASA's latest estimate for the total cost of returning the space shuttle to flight following the Columbia accident is $1.267 billion total spent from fiscal 2003 through FY '06. The cost estimates are included in the latest update to NASA's return-to-flight (RTF) implementation plan. The update, released Feb. 24, is the 11th edition of the plan and the first since the shuttle resumed operations with mission STS-114 in July 2005.
