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.
Application-specific integrated circuits are going the way of the Studebaker at NASA, at least when it comes to common spaceborne applications. Under its Communication, Navigation and Networking Reconfigurable Testbed (Connect) effort, the U.S. space agency is funding development of software-defined radios (SDRs) that can be reconfigured for different purposes quickly and relatively cheaply. Headed by a team at Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, the Connect studies aim to test reconfigurable SDRs on the International Space Station beginning in 2011.
Orbital checkout is underway for the U.S. Air Force’s second Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) spacecraft. Built by Boeing at its factory in El Segundo, Calif., WGS-2 lifted off at 8:31 p.m. EDT Apr. 3 on board a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 421 rocket. A ground station in Dongara, Australia, received the military communication satellite’s first signals 44 min. later, and Boeing confirmed that the satellite is functioning normally. After a series of in-orbit maneuvers and tests, WGS-2 will be turned over to the Air Force.
The chief designer of China’s manned space program, Zhou Jiaping, says more tests of the spacesuit used in his nation’s first spacewalk are upcoming, along with upgrades planned to meet long-term requirements for lunar exploration. Speaking at the National Space Symposium, Zhou also adds that China plans to continue using the Russian-made Orlan suit as a backup. Describing the Chinese-developed suit used in the Sept. 27, 2008, extravehicular activity, Zhou says it is pressurized to about 5.8 psi. and provides life support for 6 hr.
