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.
Supplies of food are getting tight aboard the International Space Station (ISS), prompting program officials to begin thinking about a possible evacuation of the station in case the next resupply by a Russian Progress cargo vehicle doesn't take place on schedule. ISS managers try to retain 45 days of margin for each of the critical consumables onboard the station, including food, water, and air. Food supplies crossed this threshold on Nov. 14, and water is expected to drop below the margin Dec. 14.
The National Academies panel tasked with assessing options for extending the life of the Hubble Space Telescope is recommending that NASA send the space shuttle to service the telescope as soon as possible, having concluded that the agency's planned robotic servicing mission is riskier and might not launch in time.
NASA is considering shifting the near-term focus of its Prometheus nuclear power and propulsion technology program away from the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) mission to alternative applications that might be achieved sooner. Begun as NASA's Nuclear Systems Initiative, the Prometheus program is developing space nuclear power and propulsion technology to cut interplanetary trip times and increase the power available to spacecraft.
