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 launch of the Global Positioning System IIR-M1 spacecraft aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is being delayed until mid-September at the earliest as Boeing tries to diagnose recent problems with the batteries used in the Delta rocket family's flight termination systems. The batteries power the avionics that command the rocket to destroy itself if it veers off course. GPS IIR-M1 will not launch until engineers are certain the batteries will perform as needed, according to Boeing spokesman Robert Villanueva.
The Raytheon/EADS team vying to build the Army's Future Cargo Aircraft is concerned about the procurement quantity in the service's recent draft request for proposals, which has dropped from an expected 33 to a maximum of 30.
The James Webb Space Telescope industry team has finished the first major step in building the telescope's primary mirror, although the future of the observatory remains in doubt as NASA grapples with how to rein in an estimated $1 billion cost overrun on the project, budgeted at $3.5 billion.
