NASA and International Space Station partners are assessing the effect of the shutdown of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s control center in Tsukuba following the 8.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Japan on March 11. JAXA oversees the station’s Kibo laboratory complex, as well as the HTV-2 cargo ship docked at the station’s Node 2 nadir port. NASA control centers in Houston and Huntsville, Ala., took over control from JAXA after Tsukuba was evacuated on March 11. Damage assessments to the center, located 30 mi. northeast of Tokyo, are under way.
STUDENT SCRAMJET: Aerospace engineering researchers and students at the University of Virginia will display a hypersonic “scramjet” engine prototype March 19. The research team is preparing to unveil an engine that can travel at five times the speed of sound, along with a two-stage sounding rocket, on the front lawn of the university’s Thornton Hall.
NASA and International Space Station partners are assessing the effect of the shutdown of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s control center in Tsukuba following the 8.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Japan on March 11. JAXA oversees the station’s Kibo laboratory complex, as well as the HTV-2 cargo ship docked at the station’s Node 2 nadir port. NASA control centers in Houston and Huntsville, Ala., took over control from JAXA after Tsukuba was evacuated on March 11. Damage assessments to the center, located 30 mi. northeast of Tokyo, are under way.
The U.S. Air Force has terminated funding for an infrared search and track (IRST) upgrade for its F-15C/D fleet as part of the service’s push last year to produce savings for the Pentagon’s fiscal 2012 budget.
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.
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.
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.
STUDENT SCRAMJET: Aerospace engineering researchers and students at the University of Virginia will display a hypersonic “scramjet” engine prototype March 19. The research team is preparing to unveil an engine that can travel at five times the speed of sound, along with a two-stage sounding rocket, on the front lawn of the university’s Thornton Hall.
The U.S. Air Force has terminated funding for an infrared search and track (IRST) upgrade for its F-15C/D fleet as part of the service’s push last year to produce savings for the Pentagon’s fiscal 2012 budget.
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.
Aviation associations and avionics manufacturers have joined other transportation sectors in launching a coalition to tackle the jamming threat from plans to expand wireless broadband coverage of the U.S. using a satellite spectrum adjacent to that of the Global Positioning System. GPS is a key component of NextGen satellite-based air traffic control.
SPOTTING FAKES: Government and industry must forge a closer relationship to halt the surge of counterfeit parts in aerospace programs, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) says in a recent report. “Unlike other industries, counterfeiting in the aerospace industry may have life-or-death consequences,” AIA says. “All stakeholders from industry and government must work together to effectively reduce the introduction of counterfeit parts into the aerospace supply chain and minimize their impact.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) mar. 14 - 15 — 19th Annual International Conference on ISO 9000 & QMS, “The World’s Leading Conference on the ISO 9000 and Related Standards,” Grand Hyatt Riverwalk Hotel, San Antonio, Tex. For more information go to http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=885231
BENGALURU, India — India’s Strategic Forces Command (SFC) on March 11 test-fired the nuclear-capable Prithvi II missile and Dhanush ballistic missile from separate locations off the Orissa coast. Dhanush—the naval variant of Prithvi—was tested at 10:03 a.m. India standard time from a warship anchored off the Puri coast, while the Prithvi II was test-fired from Launch Complex-3 at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur at 11:00 a.m.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — Fresh on the heels of shuttle Discovery’s return from its final spaceflight, shuttle Endeavour reached the launch pad on March 11 for preparations to deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the International Space Station during the STS-134 mission. The launch, scheduled for 7:48 p.m. EDT on April 19, will be the 25th and last flight of OV-105, the replacement orbiter for Challenger that first flew in 1992.
HOUSTON — International Space Station crewmembers Catherine Coleman, Paulo Nespoli and Scott Kelly returned the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s H-II-Transfer Vehicle (HTV-2) Kounotori to its original berthing port during robot arm operations on March 10. The spacecraft was berthed to the Harmony module’s Earth-facing port by the astronauts following a Jan. 27 rendezvous.
The Royal Australian Navy is moving to acquire a fast multi-hull commercial ferry to help bridge a gap between its worn-out amphibious assault force and the commissioning of new ships in the middle of the decade. Austal Chief Executive Andrew Bellamy confirms that one of the company’s unsold 102-meter (334-ft.) trimarans is an option. Defense Minister Stephen Smith says the navy also could acquire a catamaran—presumably from Australia’s other major fast-ferry builder, Incat.
MARSHALL SUPPORT: NASA has awarded a potential $99 million, five-year contract to AL-Razaq Computing Services of Houston for acquisition and business support services at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The contract, effective April 1, includes a one-year base period and options for four one-year extensions. The company primarily will support Marshall’s office of procurement and that of the chief financial officer.
The scientific community has U.S. Navy submarine operations and data to thank for a truer picture of how climate change is affecting the world’s polar regions. Now, though, the service needs to tweak its anti-submarine warfare (ASW) methods to better prepare for the effects of the climatic changes in those regions, according to a National Academies report released on Thursday, “National Security Implications of Climate Change for U.S. Naval Forces.”
TERMINATED: U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has terminated all active contracts with Georgia-based Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow, Inc. (ASFT). The president of ASFT and a Navy systems engineer have been charged with bribery of a public official in connection with “an alleged ongoing kickback scheme involving approximately $10 million of naval funds,” the service says.
HOUSTON — With the lengthy assembly of the U.S.-led International Space Station nearing completion this year, NASA is leading an unprecedented effort to expand the use of the orbiting laboratory by other domestic agencies, academia and the commercial sector under the National Laboratory status established by Congress.
F-22 PREP: “The F-22s at Langley [AFB, Va.] are being updated right now with the latest versions [of] avionics, low observable treatments and engine mods so they can respond immediately if required for the Libya operation,” says a veteran fighter pilot who is a regular visitor to Langley. Undoubtedly, the Raptors’ electronic surveillance systems are being updated with electronic order of battle and ground forces movement information collected by E-3 Awacs, E-8 Joint Stars and RC-135W electronic surveillance aircraft, which have been flying near the coast of Libya.
