LightSquared is calling for an investigation of the source of possibly leaked data from the recently completed GPS interference tests conducted by the U.S. government that evidently contradict more favorable test results recently promoted by the company.
LONDON — In formally notifying the U.S. Congress over Iraq’s plans to buy 18 F-16IQs, the Pentagon also has detailed what choices Baghdad still faces under a deal that could reach $3.2 billion.
PARIS — The European Space Agency (ESA) signed a fixed-price contract with EADS-Astrium Dec. 13 to manage the continued operation and use of the European components of the International Space Station (ISS). The contract, valued at €233 million ($310 million) through next year, represents the first phase of a long-term service agreement between ESA and Astrium for the planned service life of the ISS through 2020.
NEW DELHI — India ranked as the third-largest purchaser of U.S. arms exports in fiscal 2011, with contracts worth $4.5 billion, according to a Pentagon report. U.S. arms sales to India included naval reconnaissance aircraft, transport aircraft, sea-skimming missiles and other weapon systems. U.S. foreign military sales (FMS) overseen by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) passed the $30 billion mark for the fourth consecutive year, with the total reaching $34.8 billion.
SEATTLE — Aiming to return to a time when the U.S. can fly its own astronauts into space — or anyone else with money enough to buy a ride — Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and his SpaceShipOne partner, experimental aircraft designer Burt Rutan, plan to use the equivalent of two 747-400s to airlift a Falcon 9 derivative launcher for drop-launches into orbit by the end of the decade.
BEIJING — The launch of a Japanese radar satellite is to be followed by a second in 2012-13, as the country builds up its space-based reconnaissance capability.
EARLY START: NASA’s Mars Science Lab rover, dubbed “Curiosity,” has begun monitoring space radiation during its 8-month trip from Earth to Mars, following its Nov. 26 launch. The research will aid in planning for future human missions to the Red Planet, NASA says. The car-sized rover carries an instrument called the Radiation Assessment Detector that monitors high-energy atomic and subatomic particles from space. These particles constitute radiation that could be harmful to any microbes or astronauts in space or on Mars.
An announcement by a group of largely Republican lawmakers about coming legislation to roll back the sting of steep budget cuts by reducing the deficit could come as early as this week. In August, Congress put in place a requirement for lawmakers to find $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction. A Super Committee put in place to find those budget cuts failed, setting in motion a potential cut of the same amount for all government agencies, including an additional $600 billion in defense cuts over the next decade.
HOUSTON — NASA’s Johnson Space Center has joined with the Houston Technology Center (HTC) under the terms of a Space Act Agreement signed Dec. 13 to leverage the talents of laid-off shuttle and Constellation program workers to establish new high-technology companies with the potential to create thousands of new jobs.
PARIS — Russian space agency Roscosmos launched Israel’s Amos 5 communications satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Dec. 11, pairing the 2,000-kg (4,410-lb.) spacecraft with the agency’s Luch-5A data relay satellite atop a Russian Proton M/Breeze M rocket.
LONDON — The U.S. arm of European missile maker MBDA has completed a key element of its expansion plan, securing a long-term production capability as part of its acquisition of Northrop Grumman’s Viper Strike munition business. The deal’s terms have not been disclosed, but Jerry Agee, CEO of MBDA Inc., says the company has completed the regulatory review under the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. process. The engineering and production capabilities will be managed under the special security agreement governing MBDA Inc.
The U.S. Navy set a speed record for a service surface craft using alternative fuel blends during a test this month. A landing craft air cushion (LCAC) amphibious transport boat reached 50 kt. on Dec. 7 using a 50/50 algae-derived, hydro-processed algal oil and petroleum F-76 blend, the Navy reports, breaking the previous record of 44.5 kt. by the Riverine Command Boat-Experimental (RCB-X) in October 2010.
LOS ANGELES — The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Jasdf) is expected to announce the result of its exhaustive F-X fighter contest this week, with Lockheed Martin’s F-35 strongly tipped as the winner. The other contenders for the $4 billion contract, Boeing and BAE Systems, are understood to have been advised of the Jasdf’s decision over the past few days. Boeing was offering the F/A-18E/F in conjunction with the U.S. Navy, while BAE Systems was leading a Typhoon bid for Eurofighter with support from Japan’s Sumitomo Corp.
Safety concerns about getting a commercial crew vehicle away from the International Space Station in an emergency are driving NASA’s preferred design to a docking system instead of the grapple-and-berth linkup to be used on upcoming commercial cargo flights.
The Pentagon’s Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (Jieddo) has spent more than $21 billion since its inception in 2006 in an all-out effort to counter the roadside bombs and homemade land mines that have proven to be the most deadly weapons used against American and NATO forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
NEW DELHI — BAE Systems has bagged a ₤59 million ($92 million) contract from India to supply spares and ground support equipment to aid the operations of the Indian air force’s Hawk Advanced Jet Trainers. The latest order brings the total value of Hawk-related contracts won in India to more than ₤600 million in the last 18 months. Hawk Advanced Jet Trainers (AJTs) are manufactured in India under license by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), with materials, parts and support services provided by BAE Systems.
Congressional Democrats are waving off the possibility of steep cuts to defense spending in January 2013. According to the Budget Control Act passed in August, defense accounts are in line for a $600 billion hit over the next nine years starting in 2013 — a penalty that will be imposed if Congress fails to agree to $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction by that time.
JOHNSON SUPPORT: NASA has awarded a $165 million, one-year extension of the agency’s Facilities Development and Operations Contract with Lockheed Martin Corp., of Gaithersburg, Md., for support services within the Christopher C. Kraft, Jr., Mission Control Center and the Jake Garn Mission Simulator facility at Johnson Space Center. The agreement represents the first of two one-year extension options negotiated between NASA and Lockheed Martin under a base contract agreement that took effect on Jan. 1, 2009. The new option period extends from Oct. 1, 2012 through Sept.
ANOTHER ONE GONE: Michele Flournoy, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for policy, announced her resignation Dec. 12, citing the need to be with her family. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta praised her as an “invaluable advisor.” Flournoy will stay on until early next year to ease the transition.
FILTON, England — With defense spending likely to slow the growth in demand for new military aircraft engines, Rolls-Royce is exploring ways to enhance its service offering, both in terms of global footprint and the range of services offered. The goal is to double revenue and, in the process, increase the share of turnover derived from support services to 55-60% from 52%, says Paul Craig, executive vice president of defense services for Rolls-Royce.
