PARIS — Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg says the Ottawa-based operator has decided not to exercise an option to fund a Canadian payload on ViaSat-1, a high-speed Internet satellite to be orbited in early 2011, although it will continue studying other potential contributions, such as gateways.
AIR FORCE Lockheed Martin Corp., Marietta, Ga., was awarded a $143,212,054 contract which will provide C-5 Avionics Modernization Program sustainment support. At this time, no money has been obligated. The contracting activity is 330 SW, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., (FA8525-06-D-0001, P00013).
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) hopes next year to begin full-scale development of its three-stage Advanced Solid Rocket (ASR), with a first launch to follow in 2012 or 2013. To be built by IHI Aerospace, the ASR is Japan’s proposed future launcher for medium scientific payloads.
LAUNCH DELAY: The U.S. Air Force’s launch of Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) spacecraft No. 3 from Cape Canaveral has slipped from its intended Nov. 8-9 slot due to high winds, according to a service statement. The Boeing WGS spacecraft are replacing the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) constellation now in orbit, and each WGS satellite is said to add ten times the capacity of the entire DSCS system. The spacecraft’s batteries are now being recharged at the Astrotech satellite processing facility. A new launch date hasn’t yet been set.
A pair of private equity firms will pay $1.65 billion to acquire a Northrop Grumman consulting business, signaling renewed private interest in the aerospace and defense sector. General Atlantic LLC and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP reached an agreement with Northrop on Nov. 8 to acquire TASC Inc., a 5,000-employee operation that provides system engineering and advisory services to the U.S. Defense Dept. and other national security agencies.
MOSCOW — Russia’s Pacific Fleet has lost a Tupolev Tu-142 M3 anti-submarine turboprop plane, which crashed on its approach to Khabarovsk air base on Nov. 6, killing all 11 crewmembers onboard. The aircraft with call sign 55 was on its return from a training flight and disappeared from radars on its third turn some 20 kilometers (12 miles) away from the airfield over the ocean while descending from 1,200 meters (3,600 ft.) to 700 meters. No malfunction reports were received from the aircraft.
LONDON — The British Defense Ministry is effectively ruling out the Nimrod MRA4 as the basis of a Nimrod R1 electronic intelligence aircraft replacement, unless BAE Systems revises the proposed timescale of its offer. Quentin Davies, the minister for defense equipment and support, wrote recently to the company confirming that there would be little reason for it to continue preparing a full proposal.
LaserMotive, a startup based in the Seattle suburb of Kent, Wash., took home $900,000 in prize money for sending a laser-powered climber 1 kilometer (3,280 feet) up a cable in NASA’s Power Beaming Challenge. The contest at Dryden Flight Research Center, Calif., pitted three teams in a Centennial Challenge competition designed to seed development of power-transmission technology that in theory could power a space elevator.
Boeing is preparing to make the much-delayed delivery of the first pair of Australian 737 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft for Project Wedgetail later this month, after completing tests of the countermeasures dispenser system (CMDS).
NEW DELHI — India’s ministries of defense and civil aviation are showing a keen interest in partnering with small- and medium-sized U.S. aerospace suppliers, according to U.S. Deputy Assistant Commerce Secretary Karen Zens. Many of these companies are tier one and two suppliers to major U.S. primes including Boeing, GE, Honeywell and Lockheed Martin. Forecasts predict the world aerospace industry will grow $3 billion to $4 billion a year for the next 10 years, with a significant part of the growth coming from India.
BEIJING — A Chinese fighter of nominally the same technology generation as the Lockheed Martin F-22 will soon enter flight testing, while a jet airlifter larger than the Airbus A400M should be unveiled by the end of this year, officials said. The new fighter “is currently under development,” says deputy air force chief Gen. He Weirong, adding that it “may soon undertake its first flight, quickly enter flight testing and then quickly equip the forces.
NEW DELHI — Swedish Trade Minister Ewa Bjorling led a high-level defense delegation to India Nov. 6 to participate in a seminar on defense partnerships and alliances organized by the federation of Indian chambers of commerce. The trip was fueled by an amendment to India’s defense procurement policy, effective as of Nov. 1, that now allows the issuance of requests for proposals (RFPs) to foreign vendors for so-called “Buy and Make” programs, in which Indian industries undertake the manufacture.
LONDON British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is warning that if the Afghan government fails to tackle critical issues such as corruption and improving its military performance then it will “have forfeited its right to international support.”
BINDING TIES: Europe’s and Russia’s main aerospace and defense research associations have inked an agreement to work more closely together. The respective association presidents, Pier Francesco Guarguaglini for the Aerospace and Defense Industries Assn. of Europe, and Alexey Fyodorov, for the Union of Aviation Industry In Russia, formalized the deal in Rome.
With two proposals in, the U.S. Air Force’s source selection for the 250-lb. Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II) moving-target killer is under way, and this will be the first of potentially many fixed-price competitions the Pentagon says will come for major development contracts. Raytheon and a Boeing/Lockheed Martin submitted their proposals for the SDB II Nov. 5, and a winner is expected to be announced in May. Both contractors have been working under competing $150 million risk reduction contracts for 42 months.
South Africa has pulled out of the Airbus Military A400M airlifter program, abandoning its intention to buy eight of the type. South Africa ordered the A400M in 2005. Reuters quoted South African Defense Minister Lindiwe Sisulu as saying: “We have terminated the contract with Airbus but we’ve not terminated our quest to ensure we have the necessary capabilities. That is very clear.”
LOOKING OUTSIDE: L-3 Link Simulation & Training will supply its Advanced Helmet Mounted Display (AHMD) capable of simulating “out-the-window” computer generated imagery on F-16 Unit Training devices (UTD). The AHMD replaces existing flat panel equipment, allowing the pilot to view imagery across a 360-degree field of regard. The unit also supports night vision goggle training and incorporates F-16 symbology for the airplane’s HMD.
EFFICIENT THRUSTERS: Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology (GTI) will develop components to boost the efficiency of electric propulsion systems used on satellites and planetary probes. The work, funded under a $6.5 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (Darpa) Defense Sciences office, will center on demonstrating the use of non-propellant cathodes with Hall effect thrusters to reduce fuel consumption and allow spacecraft to remain in orbit longer.
