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 U.S. Army still awaits an official waiver from the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) that would allow it to buy nearly 6,000 MicroLight portable radios for dismounted soldiers, according to manufacturer Raytheon. OSD requires a waiver when a service wants to buy a radio system that is outside of the upcoming Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS), even if the system is JTRS-compliant. MicroLight is the radio for the Army's Land Warrior program, according to Raytheon (DAILY, Sept. 14).
Several of NASA's low-cost Discovery space science missions are facing cost overruns and technical challenges, according to Andrew Dantzler, acting director of the solar system division in NASA's Science Mission Directorate. One such mission is Deep Impact, which will send a large copper projectile into a comet to reveal its internal composition and structure. The Deep Impact spacecraft has been shipped to the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., according to Dantzler. The program has run into cost overruns, he said.
The mission team for NASA's Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) is weighing the pros and cons of incorporating a lander that would touch down on the surface of Europa. JIMO's Science Definition Team (SDT) has recommended that the spacecraft include a lander that would perform a soft landing on Europa and bore into its frozen surface. The team determined that the lander was valuable enough to devote up to one quarter of the JIMO's 1,500-kilogram (3,306 pound) science payload to it.
