PRAGUE — Europe’s planned ExoMars lander/orbiter mission is likely to be split into three parts to permit the industrial arrangement for the modified mission to be recast in a way that is acceptable to all the countries backing the endeavor. European Space Agency (ESA) officials say that the prime contract for the European part of ExoMars, currently held by Thales Alenia Space, is likely to be split into three contracts — for the Entry Descent and Landing System (EDLS), the rover and the orbiter, with ESA assuming the role of prime contractor.
So far, 2009 is shaping up to be a costlier year for U.S. Army aviation accidents and incidents, according to an Aerospace DAILY analysis of data provided by the Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center (USACRC). The average cost per accident or incident for this calendar year was about $220,178 as of July 28, the last date for which data were provided, compared to about $176,638 for all of 2008, the analysis shows.
Worry already surrounds planning for the next phase of fighting in Afghanistan, with specialists and warfighters saying that advanced non-kinetic technologies being injected into the country as part of the buildup will be hamstrung by technical inflexibility, an inability to transfer data, digital bottlenecks and a lack of information fusion.
CLEAR VISION: Consultancy Forecast International believes an estimated $24.75 billion will be spent on 36 major airborne and space-based electro-optical efforts over the next decade. Aerospace and defense analyst Theresa Hartley says the market follows the U.S. military’s commitment to increase intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) for combat operations overseas. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems will hold the top spots in terms of value.
CYBER-SPENDING: Federal IT consultancy Input claims demand for vendor-furnished information security products and services by the U.S. government will grow from $7.9 billion this year to $11.7 billion in 2014 at a compound annual growth rate of 8.1 percent — more than twice the rate of total federal information technology (IT) spending. Cyber attacks on the federal government are up 300 percent since 2005, notes Kevin Plexico, Input’s senior vice president of research and analysis.
PEACEFUL PURPOSE: One of two NASA-owned Global Hawk unmanned aircraft had its first flight under agency operation Oct. 23. The former military aircraft, to be used for Earth system science research, flew four hours during a functional check flight in restricted airspace over Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The first Earth science mission for the aircraft will be the Global Hawk Pacific campaign, or GloPac, to be carried out in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
FLORIDA WINS: Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D) is crowing over his state delegation’s victory against Virginia lawmakers in allowing the U.S. Navy to perform more work toward eventually stationing a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Mayport, Fla. — and likely at the expense of Norfolk, Va. Nelson’s comments came after the Senate approved the congressional compromise over Fiscal 2010 defense authorization legislation Oct. 22, sending the measure to President Barack Obama to sign into law as expected.
The U.S. Defense Department’s reliance on the commercial electrical power grid is placing it at tremendous risk, according to a new report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). DOD’s critical assets are “vulnerable to disruptions in electrical power supplies,” GAO noted Oct. 23. Thirty-one of 34 assets identified by DOD that require a continuous electrical supply to support their military missions rely on commercial power grids.
The European Commission (EC) will order only 22 of 28 satellites needed for full operation of the Galileo satellite navigation system, leaving the remaining six to be purchased later.
PRAGUE The European Union (EU) and the European Space Agency (ESA) held a high-level conference here Oct. 23 to kick off definition of roadmap for Europe’s participation in international space exploration. The EU has made exploration one of four top new space priorities for the coming years, and European Commission (EC) President Manuel Barroso, who was recently reelected for another five years, vowed on Oct. 15 to make it — and space activities in general — one of the primary objectives of his second term.
ARES A GO: NASA is proceeding with plans to launch the Ares I-X test flight at 8 a.m. EDT Oct. 27 from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., following a flight test readiness review Oct. 23. Doug Cooke, associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, says the group was unanimous in its assessment that the vehicle is ready to launch. Meanwhile, checks at Launch Pad 39B continued, with the rocket undergoing a successful test of its auxiliary power units Oct. 22. Launch countdown preparations will begin Oct. 26.
The economic downturn has depressed Saab order intake, but in reporting third quarter results, the company was able to boost its full-year sales guidance. Early in the year, Saab was warning sales might be flat for 2009 compared with 2008 levels, but company CEO Ake Svensson said Oct. 23 that 5 percent sales growth is expected. In fact, on an organic basis, the company has been broadly ahead of that level, although its defense and security sector has been lagging slightly.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Oct. 26 - 28 — Unmanned Systems Interoperability Conference, San Deigo, Calif. For more information go to www.auvsi.org/events/ Oct. 27 - 29 — Precision Strike Technology Symposium, Johns Hopkins University — Applied Physics Laboratory, Kossiakoff Center, Laurel, Md. For more information go to www.precisionstrike.org/events.htm
TRIDENT TASKING: Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company of Sunnyvale, Calif., will provide support in the Trident II (D5) missile production and deployed system support under an $853.3 million cost-plus-incentive-fee/cost-plus-fixed-fee contract awarded by the U.S. Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs office in Arlington, Va. Mature production efforts will transition to fixed-price-incentive contracting in Fiscal 2011, according to the Defense Dept. Work is expected to be completed Dec. 30, 2013.
LIKE MINDS: Support for U.S./China cooperation in human spaceflight is growing, with the Augustine panel on the future of U.S. human spaceflight the latest to weigh in. “It is the view of the Committee that China offers significant potential in a space partnership,” the panel notes in its final report, citing China’s success with human spaceflight and its plans to build a space station with the new Long March V launch vehicle.
RAFALE TALKS: The French Defense Ministry says France has begun negotiations with the United Arab Emirates for the purchase of 60 Rafale fighters under a comprehensive defense agreement between the two countries. The agreement includes installation of a joint military base in Abu Dhabi.
The U.S. Air Force’s draft request for proposals (RFP) for the KC-135 refueler replacement program worth up to $35 billion lacks some key elements in assessing the risk and past performance of proposals, according to industry officials.
Meetings between South Korean officials and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates are showing all the good will and civility that earlier meetings between Japanese officials and the Pentagon chief did not. Gates and National Defense Minister Kim Tae Young agreed to continue the Joint Vision strategic plan agreed to in June, to not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapon state, that recent ballistic missile launches were United Nations violations and that South Korea will continue to support operations in the Gulf of Aden and Lebanon.
DANISH DELAY: Denmark is deferring a decision on a new fighter until at least 2010, abandoning a plan to make a choice this year among the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Saab Gripen NG. The Danish government also has concluded that the country’s aging F-16s can fly for two years longer than planned, delaying the arrival of replacements until 2018.
LONDON The British Royal Air Force (RAF) would not be able to mount an Iraq-2003 level of campaign if called on to do so in the near future, as a result of long-term operational pressures, according to a senior RAF official. Air Vice-Marshal Tim Anderson, the assistant chief of the air staff, says the air force would not be in a position to replicate the level of effort produced in 2003 for the invasion of Iraq. He says it “will be a considerable period of time until it is regenerated.”
SLIMMING DOWN: To counter the downturn in commercial helicopter sales, Eurocopter has launched restructuring plan that aims to shave €200 million ($300 million) in annual costs and streamline operations. However, Eurocopter says it will not crimp on research and development funding, particularly given the growth of new competitors that will be challenging its market dominance. Part of the effort is a reduction of inventories to preserve cash, with employees also being shifted between jobs. Business processes are also being targeted to simplify the company’s activities.
POLISH PLAN: The U.S. would install land-based SM-3 interceptors in Poland starting around 2018, U.S. officials indicated last week during Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Poland. Poland previously had agreed to host ground-based interceptors under the Bush administration’s missile defense system, before Washington recently changed course. The U.S. also had indicated it would meet Poland’s longstanding request for Patriot PAC-3 short-range missile defense systems.
RADARSAT NET: Telespazio executives say the ground segment for the CosmoSky-Med radar intelligence satellite network, which it designed, is now fully operational. Three of the four spacecraft in the constellation are currently in orbit and the fourth is to be added next year.
