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 scientists are still analyzing data from the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensor Satellite (Lcross) impact at the Moon’s south pole on Oct. 9, but it turns out that the European Space Agency’s Smart-1 lunar orbiter apparently produced a bigger plume than its larger NASA cousin when it plowed into the lunar surface. The angle of incidence seems to be the reason, says Bernard Foing, ESA’s Smart-1 project scientist. While Lcross hit the bottom of the Cabeus crater at the Moon’s south pole at a relatively steep angle, Smart-1 came in at a shallow angle and bounced.
An astronaut, a cosmonaut and a circus clown returned to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) early Oct. 11, capping a standard ISS tour for the two spaceflight professionals and what may be the last space tourist flight for awhile. Canadian Guy Laliberte, the billionaire founder of Cirque du Soleil, joined Russia’s Gennady Padalka, outgoing commander of ISS Expedition 20, and Expedition 20 flight engineer Michael Barratt of NASA in the landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan. Their Soyuz TMA‑14 touched down at 12:32 a.m. EDT, after a nominal return from the ISS.
Thales Alenia Space and EADS Astrium expect to submit the first commercial bids for their Alphabus 12-18-kw., 6-8-metric-ton large telecom satellite by the first or second quarter of next year, and to have an initial order by mid-to-late 2010, according to Thales Alenia officials. Backed by funding from the European Space Agency and French space agency CNES, Alphabus is aimed at helping the European satellite makers compete with top-of-the-line U.S. telecom satellites like Boeing’s 702 and the Space Systems/Loral FS1300, which can serve requirements up to 20 kw.
