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 will try again to launch Space Shuttle Discovery from launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:39 a.m. EDT on July 26, the agency announced. Engineers have spent the past week troubleshooting a problem with one of the shuttle's four liquid hydrogen engine cutoff (ECO) sensors that caused the agency to scrub the first launch attempt for STS-114 on July 13. NASA now suspects the intermittent failure of the ECO sensor, which has been showing false "wet" readings, may be the result of electromagnetic interference due to improper grounding.
In late summer or early fall the U.S. Navy plans to assess a miniaturized Cooperative Engagement Capability terminal developed by prime contractor Raytheon that takes advantage of modern computer technology to reduce the system's size and power requirements. CEC links radar systems on Navy ships and aircraft to create joint radar tracks and enhance targeting. Based on 1990s technology, the current Block I CEC system costs roughly $6 million per installation.
Space shuttle managers say July 26 is the earliest possible date for Discovery's launch as they continue to grapple with an elusive problem that is causing one of the shuttle's four liquid hydrogen fuel sensors to perform erratically. NASA has 12 troubleshooting teams analyzing the sensor issue, which caused the agency to scrub Discovery's first launch attempt on July 13. The sensor, which sends a signal to turn off the main engines if fuel in the external tank gets too low, occasionally has been showing false "wet" readings.
