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.
The Boeing Delta IV team preparing to launch a National Reconnaissance Office satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California is waiting to hear from the NRO whether or not to de-stack the rocket to avoid a potential fly-over concern during an upcoming Lockheed Martin Titan IV launch. The Titan IV, carrying another NRO satellite, will follow a flight path that takes it over the Delta IV's launch pad, raising the possibility that a Titan launch failure could rain debris down on the Delta IV with the satellite sitting on top of it.
Officials with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Stanford Racing Team's autonomous ground vehicle "Stanley" credit its winning performance in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge to its onboard software. The Stanford University team, with participation from Volkswagen, won the $2 million prize Oct. 8 by finishing the rugged 132-mile course through the Mojave Desert in six hours, 53 minutes and 58 seconds at an average speed of 19.1 mph. Stanford did not participate in the first Grand Challenge race in 2004.
The Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle program has achieved cost savings of $82 million since December 2002 through the application of lean manufacturing principles, according to industry officials. The actual savings are higher, prime contractor Northrop Grumman says, because they include costs that were avoided altogether. These achievements have been overshadowed by overall cost growth on the program created by technical and programmatic issues as Northrop Grumman gears up to produce the upgraded RQ-4B Global Hawk for the Air Force.
