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.
On Sept. 19 NASA will formally unveil its plans to return astronauts to the moon as early as the summer of 2018 using hardware that to some extent mirrors that of Project Apollo. The Crew Exploration Vehicle would resemble the Apollo Command Module, and would be boosted to Earth orbit atop a Crew Launch Vehicle consisting of a modified space shuttle solid rocket booster. The CEV then would dock with a Lunar Surface Access Module and an upper stage for transit to the moon.
The Army on Sept. 15 announced its intention to purchase up to 360,000 night-vision goggles from Northrop Grumman and ITT Industries under the service's Omnibus VII procurement over the next five years. The Army will place Omnibus VII orders between now and September 2009, with each company's share depending on how well their systems perform in the field.
Late this month the Air Force will meet with researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., to discuss how "lean" industry principles can be applied to the service's acquisition process. The goal is to create a "value stream map" of the Air Force's entire acquisition enterprise. Value Stream Mapping involves drawing a visual representation of every process in a manufacturing line to identify and eliminate sources of waste.
