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.
Two years after the U.S. Navy tapped Raytheon to replace the aging ship-based Cobra Judy radar system, the program is facing a few challenges but is generally on track, according to a Navy official. The Cobra Judy Replacement (CJR) program held a "successful" preliminary design review (PDR) in February and is on schedule for a critical design review in January 2006, said Capt. Sheila Patterson, the Navy's major program manager for above-water sensors.
The additional delays caused by Hurricane Katrina make it highly likely that the next space shuttle launch will slip to no earlier than May 2006, according to NASA. The agency had been planning tentatively to launch the shuttle in March, until Katrina struck both Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where the shuttle's external tank is built.
Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) defended beleaguered space technology acquisition programs during an address in Washington Sept. 22, warning that they should be dealt with "gently" to avoid undue damage to the industrial base.
