DESIGN ISSUE: A “design artifact” unique to a new electrical starter/generator configuration is the likely cause of the in-flight dual generator failure on F-35A test aircraft AF-4 on March 9, according to the Joint Program Office (JPO). The newer engine-driven generator is installed on test jets AF-4, BF-5 and CF-1, as well as low-rate initial production F-35As AF-6 and -7, which remain grounded. The other aircraft — AF-1/2/3 and BF-1/2/3/4 — have the older generator configuration.
Boeing is eyeing opportunities to expand its military space business despite being left out of the government’s plans to implement a satellite block-buy approach under the U.S. Air Force’s Evolutionary Acquisition for Space Efficiency (EASE) procurement strategy.
The U.S. Air Force plans to compete its Common Vertical Lift Support Program (CVLSP) for up to 205 helicopters for ICBM-field security and executive transport, addressing concerns raised by earlier comments suggesting the service might push for sole-source procurement of Sikorksy HH-60M Black Hawks.
Senate lawmakers pressed high-level NASA witnesses during a Capitol Hill hearing March 15, skeptical that the agency is taking its most recent authorization bill seriously. “Five months have passed since the law’s passage, and we’re still waiting for signs that the agency will comply,” Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) said at the outset of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee hearing.
HOUSTON — NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency on March 14 signed a two-year, $753 million agreement extending the purchase of Soyuz spacecraft for the transportation of U.S., European, Japanese and Canadian astronauts to the International Space Station through June 2016.
The U.S. Seventh Fleet has temporarily repositioned the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its other ships and aircraft away from Japan’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant after detecting low-level radiation in the air and on its aircraft operating in the area. The source of this airborne radioactivity is a plume released from the power plant as a result of Japan’s massive earthquake and tsunami, officials said.
CAPE CANAVERAL — A United Space Alliance (USA) worker died March 14 after falling off Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, where shuttle Endeavour is being prepared for an April 19 launch. Emergency medical personnel were unable to revive the man, identified as James D. Vanover, an engineer for shuttle contractor USA. NASA canceled all work at the pad for the rest of the day and offered counseling and employee assistance to workers. The incident is under investigation, NASA said in a statement.
LONDON — Dassault Aviation and BAE Systems will work together to address future Franco-British medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft requirements. The two companies have been in talks for several months after Paris and London laid out plans to make the MALE UAV requirement a cornerstone of their cooperation agreement finalized in November.
MARINE JSF: The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have signed a memorandum of understanding formally acknowledging that the Marines will buy F-35Cs designed for use from aircraft carriers. The Marine Corps will buy 80 F-35Cs and 340 F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing variants. The F-35 program has slipped substantially, with the B-version being placed on a two-year probation.
HOUSTON — The scheduled March 30 launch of three U.S. and Russian Expedition 27 crewmembers to the International Space Station will be delayed, most likely for a few days, by an electrical issue with the Kvant-V communications system on their Soyuz TMA-21/26S spacecraft, NASA and Roscosmos announced March 14.
CAPE CANAVERAL — A United Space Alliance (USA) worker died March 14 after falling off Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, where shuttle Endeavour is being prepared for an April 19 launch. Emergency medical personnel were unable to revive the man, identified as James D. Vanover, an engineer for shuttle contractor USA. NASA canceled all work at the pad for the rest of the day and offered counseling and employee assistance to workers. The incident is under investigation, NASA said in a statement.
CAPE CANAVERAL — A classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) lifted off aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta 4 rocket on March 11. The 211-ft.-tall Delta 4 blasted off at 6:38 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Launch Complex 37. The rocket used a single common booster core with a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) RS-68 main engine; two Alliant Techsystems GEM 60 solid rocket motors; a PWR RL10B-2 upper-stage engine; and a 4-meter-dia. upper stage and composite payload fairing.
RAF BRIZE NORTON, England — The U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) is considering acquiring a simulator for its Boeing C-17 Globemaster IIIs as the service starts examining requirements beyond near-term operational demands.
HOUSTON — NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency on March 14 signed a two-year, $753 million agreement extending the purchase of Soyuz spacecraft for the transportation of U.S., European, Japanese and Canadian astronauts to the International Space Station through June 2016.
LONDON — Dassault Aviation and BAE Systems will work together to address future Franco-British medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft requirements. The two companies have been in talks for several months after Paris and London laid out plans to make the MALE UAV requirement a cornerstone of their cooperation agreement finalized in November.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) will launch the SES-8 medium-sized communications satellite on a Falcon 9 vehicle in 2013, under the startup launch service provider’s first geostationary communications satellite launch contract.
The U.S. Seventh Fleet has temporarily repositioned the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its other ships and aircraft away from Japan’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant after detecting low-level radiation in the air and on its aircraft operating in the area. The source of this airborne radioactivity is a plume released from the power plant as a result of Japan’s massive earthquake and tsunami, officials said.
RAF BRIZE NORTON, England — The U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) is considering acquiring a simulator for its Boeing C-17 Globemaster IIIs as the service starts examining requirements beyond near-term operational demands.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) will launch the SES-8 medium-sized communications satellite on a Falcon 9 vehicle in 2013, under the startup launch service provider’s first geostationary communications satellite launch contract.
The U.S. Air Force will have to reduce its current procurement and research and development (R&D) accounts for fiscal 2011 by as much as $4 billion if Congress continues to fund at fiscal 2010 levels through continuing resolutions, according to senior service officials.
ARMY AM General, LLC, South Bend, Ind., was awarded a $546,464,268 firm-fixed-price contract on March 4, 2011. The award will provide for the procurement of 2,845 High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles. The work will be performed in Mishawaka, Ind., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2012. One bid was solicited with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-10-C-0405).
