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.
NASA has decided Space Shuttle Discovery is safe to re-enter Earth's atmosphere with the damaged thermal blanket under its port cockpit window left as is, formally putting to bed the last known issue standing between the orbiter and its scheduled return to Earth on Aug. 8.
Expedition 12 Commander William McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev hope to bring the International Space Station's crew complement back up to three when they welcome European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter aboard during shuttle flight STS-121, despite uncertainty over when that flight will take place. "We think we're quite prepared to continue ops with just the two of us, but we are very excited at the thought that Thomas will join us," McArthur said during a press conference at Johnson Space Center in Houston Aug. 4.
STS-114 Mission Specialist Steve Robinson performed a first-of-its-kind repair of shuttle Discovery during a spacewalk the morning of Aug. 3, pulling out two protruding gap-fillers that might have caused the orbiter problems during re-entry. Robinson "gently tugged" on the protrusions until they popped out, according to NASA, completing the repair just before 9 a.m. EDT. "It looks like this big patient is cured," he said afterward.
