The first complete J-2X upper-stage rocket engine should be installed in the historic A2 test stand at Stennis Space Center, Miss., on June 10, after a ground-support-equipment glitch stymied installation on June 8. Mike Kynard, the J-2X project manager at Marshall Space Flight Center, says the hydraulic ram used to raise the engine to its testing position in the stand malfunctioned June 9, so the engine was returned to storage until a different ram “that we know works” could be substituted.
HOUSTON — Russia’s Soyuz TMA-02M/27S spacecraft docked with the International Space Station late June 9, completing a two-day transit for Sergei Volkov, Mike Fossum and Satoshi Furukawa, the Russian/U.S./Japanese crew. The linkup at 5:18 p.m. EDT united the newcomers with Expedition 28 commander Andrey Borisenko and flight engineer Alexander Samokutyaev, both of Russia, and NASA astronaut Ron Garan.
The U.S. Marine Corps is looking to cut down the time it takes to complete its analysis of alternatives (AOA) for the replacement for its Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) by at least half, according to Marine Lt. Gen. George Flynn, deputy commandant for combat development and integration and commanding general of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command. Traditionally, an AOA of this type would take about 18 months, Flynn said June 9 at an event in Washington sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
LOS ANGELES — Scaled Composites says flight tests of the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo (SS2) modified with nose strakes indicate the devices produce “much improved longitudinal dynamics in the feather.” The strakes were tested on the 10th glide flight of SS2 following release from the White Knight Two (WK2) mothership over the Mojave Desert, Calif., on May 25. The test is only the second time the feathering re-entry mechanism has been activated in flight since the first feathering flight on May 4.
JOINT CUT: The U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy may experience even less ability to influence upcoming defense budget cuts compared with previous rounds, like in the 1990s, says a former USAF chief of staff. Retired Gen.
Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have submitted bids to develop the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM), each arguing their different approaches to the crucial tri-mode seeker offer the U.S. Army the best option for replacing its widely used Hellfire. Seeker capability and missile performance during the competitive JAGM technology development (TD) phase have become the battleground as the companies bid for a program expected to exceed 33,000 missiles. Award of an engineering and manufacturing development contract is expected in October.
The first two production F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) will begin flying the initial training syllabus this month at the U.S. Air Force’s test center to determine whether the aircraft is ready to begin pilot training.
SEATTLE — Boeing sees a potential market for more than 150 special-mission 737 military aircraft derived from either the P-8 maritime patrol aircraft or Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft. The focus is largely on missions currently using C-130, P-3 or 707-based aircraft, which “are getting old,” says Bob Feldmann, Boeing vice president and general manager for surveillance and engagement.
ARLINGTON, Va. — While the U.S. Navy continues to enhance its existing radar systems — and develop new ones — for ballistic missile defense (BMD) using maneuvering interceptors, the service’s research arm is focusing on developing hypervelocity projectiles and directed-energy technologies for the mission.
LONDON — Airbus Military has completed the first flight of its C-295 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) prototype, but there are signs the already-crowded marketplace for such a system will only get worse.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A bill pending before Florida Gov. Rick Scott would count severance pay for laid-off workers when calculating unemployment benefits, a policy that could affect thousands of NASA contractors sidelined by the space shuttle’s retirement. If Scott, a Republican who supported earlier versions of the bill as it wound through the legislative process, signs the new law, known as HB 7005, the double-pay benefits would stop effective Aug. 1.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is taking developing of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover mission down to the wire, and probably will need another shot of funding before the mission’s launch window opens Nov. 25 to avoid a costly delay until the next planetary window in 2013.
PHILADELPHIA — With industry waiting to hear from the U.S. Air Force in the coming months about detailed plans for its T-X trainer modernization program, Boeing officials believe the program could slip a few years owing to budget constraints. Boeing still is keeping its options open over whether to partner with an existing training aircraft provider or offer a clean sheet design, but Darryl Davis, head of Boeing Phantom Works, suggests the program could be delayed around two years due to financial constraints on the USAF.
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — As Huntington Ingalls Industries moves into the assembly phase of the next-generation CVN-78 Ford-class aircraft carrier, company CEO Michael Petters stays awake at night focused on one worry: CVN-79 and beyond. “The thing I’m a little concerned about with carriers is: what’s going to happen to the follow-ons?” Petters tells Aviation Week.
SEATTLE — Boeing P-8 program managers have not yet determined how the company’s deliberations over its 737 commercial strategy will affect the maritime patrol aircraft. It’s not yet clear whether the P-8 program will change if the company decides to reengine the 737, one of the options Boeing Commercial Airplanes is studying as part of its review of its single-aisle strategy. Options would include keeping the production of regular 737s open, or perhaps working with customers to switch to the new version if it is offered.
PLAN AHEAD: Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn III says that despite the shrinking U.S. defense budget, the military must still plan for a series of “long-range commitments” and maintain an “adequate force structure” to engage in long-term conflicts against enemies using “asymmetric” tactics like the Taliban or Hezbollah.
ST. LOUIS — Boeing understands that the main reason for the elimination of the Super Hornet from India’s Medium Multi-role Combat Aircraft evaluation was a decision by Indian officials not to give the fighter credit for a more powerful engine offered by General Electric. “That’s the customer’s prerogative,” Boeing Super Hornet Program Manager Mike Gibbons said in St. Louis on June 8 during the company’s pre-Paris air show media briefing tour.
PHILADELPHIA — V-22 program officials are taking another run at bringing down the tiltrotor’s price tag and also hope to further slash operating costs.
Lockheed Martin is to produce another 29 tethered aerostat surveillance systems for the U.S. Army, taking the total ordered to 66, the majority for deployment to Afghanistan to provide base security. The $184 million contract calls for delivery of the additional Persistent Threat Detection System (PTDS) aerostats, each carrying dual L-3 Wescam MX-20 electro-optical/infrared sensors, by May 2012.
JPSS ANTENNA: The first ground antenna that will receive data from the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) has been installed, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). A team from Raytheon recently installed the antenna receptor at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. It is designed to capture up to five times more environmental data than current polar-orbiting satellites, NOAA says.
