To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Sept. 5 - 7 — The Cleveland National Air Show, Burke Lakefront Airport, Cleveland, Ohio. For more information go to www.clevelandairshow.com Sept. 7 - 10 — Asian Aerospace International Expo and Congress, Asia World Expo, Hong Kong. For more information go to www.asianaerospace.com
South Korea will try again on Aug. 25 to launch its first space rocket after identifying a software fault as the source of the problem that caused it to cancel an Aug. 19 attempt eight minutes before its scheduled lift-off. The glitch was in software used in measuring pressure in high-pressure tanks in the KSLV-1 rocket, says Deputy Science and Technology Minister Kim Jung-Hyun (Aerospace DAILY, Aug. 20). Data showed the tanks losing pressure, but in fact there was no hardware problem, he says.
BIG BOMBS AWAY: The U.S. Air Force has awarded two key weapons contracts. Boeing snagged a $12.5 million contract to provide three Massive Ordnance Penetrator separation test vehicles and a B-52H aircraft for two tests — the first a single release, the second a double release — of the 30,000-pound deep penetrating bomb for hardened and deeply buried targets. The Pentagon has accelerated the program so that the weapon will be operational by summer 2010. Meanwhile, Raytheon won a $21 million contract for system improvement of the Aim-120 AMRAAM air-to-air weapon.
SHIP AVAILABLE: The Lockheed Martin-built USS Freedom, the nation’s first Littoral Combat Ship, is scheduled to complete its Industrial Post Delivery Availability in early September. According to U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command, after the ship has completed the availability it will undergo extensive at-sea engineering and combat systems testing to validate shipboard systems.
IN MEMORIAM: The USS New York is scheduled to arrive in New York City the week of Nov. 2. It is the first of three LPD 17-class amphibious transport dock ships built in honor of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The U.S. Navy officially accepted delivery of the future USS New York from Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Aug. 21 at the company’s Avondale shipyard in New Orleans. The ship’s bow stem was constructed using 7.5 tons of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center.
CONTROL FREAKS: Small satellites are often seen as potential competition for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the race to provide commanders in far-flung regions on-the-spot services, such as intelligence gathering or communications relays. With far more operational experience, UAVs have the edge. Army Lt. Gen. Kevin Campbell, the Space and Missile Defense Command chief, has some advice for the space cadets, though: Small satellites must be as responsive and persistent as UAVs to gain the trust of field commanders.
NO MEANS NO: Responding to 24 percent cost growth in the Pratt & Whitney engine being readied for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Defense Secretary Robert Gates brushes off the question by saying “there is always cost growth associated with a developmental aircraft. It’s one of the reasons we have over $4 billion in the FY ’10 budget to reduce the program risk [by allowing] for more engineers, more testing time, more airframes for testing. We think that fixing the problems we’ve encountered ... with the engine is something that’s quite manageable.
ENERGY MANAGEMENT: U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) will be honored Oct. 27 with the Fiscal 2008 Secretary of the Navy (Secnav) award for outstanding performance in energy and water management. The Secnav awards are presented annually to ships and activities that have made notable progress toward achievement of Navy and federal goals for the reduction of energy and water consumption. Seven of NAVSEA’s activities will be recognized at this year’s awards ceremony.
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. will use its new second-generation UK-DMC2 multispectral imaging satellite to help map sub-Saharan Africa under a contract awarded this week to affiliate DMCii. Launched on July 29 with another second-generation spacecraft, Deimos-1, the 22-meter resolution satellite makes it possible to map large areas within a much tighter timescale than earlier 33-meter resolution imaging birds.
CYBER STANDUP: The 24th Air Force, dedicated to space and cyber operations, was activated last week at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Its first commander is Maj. Gen. Richard Webber. The unit is to provide forces for sustained cyber warfare fully integrated with air and space operations. In addition, the Air Force Information Operations Center has become the 688th Information Operations Wing and the 67th Network Warfare Wing has been shifted to the 24th Air Force. The 67th will execute computer network exploitation and attack.
STEREO TRACKING: The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is preparing two Northrop Grumman Space Tracking and Surveillance Satellites (STSS) for launch in September. The satellites, designed under the former Space-Based Infrared System-Low plan, will fly in tandem in low Earth orbit to provide precise targeting data on ballistic missiles in the midcourse of flight. Targeting in this phase is not available now. In-orbit checkout likely will take about 45 days, with 2-3 months for early sensor testing.
READ MY LIPS: With more Capitol Hill battles looming, President Barack Obama continues to declare his intention to reject defense bills that feature too much congressional meddling. “If Congress sends me a defense bill loaded with a bunch of pork, I will veto it,” Obama says. “This is pretty straightforward: Cut the waste. Save taxpayer dollars. Support the troops. That’s what we should be doing.” The “waste” includes poached funds toward the F136 alternative engine for the Joint Strike Fighter, Obama asserts, and the VH-71 presidential helicopter.
HEAR YE: At least 18 U.S. senators are calling on their appropriators to fund a dozen additional Boeing C-17s in the fiscal 2010 defense spending bill, which the Senate is expected to take up next month. Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Kit Bond (R–Mo.) and 15 others who might benefit from local work stemming from the airlifter wrote to the Democratic chairman and ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, claiming that the planned cessation of C-17 production would not only undermine U.S. national security, but severely degrade U.S.
The Netherlands is looking to buy another 14 Bushmaster vehicles, with an option to take eight more as the country tries to maintain equipment levels for forces deployed to Afghanistan. In a letter to parliament, Defense State Secretary Jack de Vries says the deal will cost around €10.9 million ($15.5 million), with further allocations needed for support. The rapid fielding program should lead to the vehicles being ready for delivery in October and November. The Netherlands has already acquired 62 Bushmasters.
The U.S. military’s Tactical Satellite-3 (TacSat-3) has completed an extended three-month calibration phase and is now gearing up to begin its planned series of payload demonstrations. TacSat-3 launched on an Orbital Sciences Minotaur rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on May 19 (Aerospace DAILY, May 21). Its nominal mission duration is one year.
U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen briefed the Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee Aug. 20 on the state of the service’s three-ship icebreaker fleet, and stressed the growing importance of the Arctic region.
SENSOR ALTERNATIVE: Retired Israeli Gen. Uzi Rubin, an acknowledged missile defense expert, says one alternative to a long-range X-band radar proposed by the U.S. for tracking ballistic missiles heading to Europe is the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense sensor being fielded now in the U.S. Army. The proposed site is now the Czech Republic. But Rubin says two AN-TPY-2s could be put in Turkey. With each facing in different directions, the coverage would be significant, he told the Space and Missile Defense Conference 2009 in Huntsville, Ala., last week.
A&D Programs Conference November 2-4, 2009 Phoenix, AZ A&D Finance Conference December 2-3, 2009 New York, NY Defense Technology & Requirements Conference February 17-18, 2010 Washington, D.C. AVIATION WEEK Laureates Awards March 17, 2010 Washington, DC www.aviationweek.com/events
NEW FACES: The first 4,100 of the new federal employees planned for the Pentagon’s acquisition workforce are expected to be hired through a competitive selection process during fiscal 2010, according to Shay Assad, acting deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition and technology. Under plans announced by Defense Secretary Robert Gates in April, DOD will boost the number of federal civilian employees conducting acquisition-related jobs by 20,000, while reducing its contractor work force by about 10,000.
Early test results of a dual-mode ramjet/scramjet show a scaled-up version will have the capability to power a reusable, air-breathing hypersonic vehicle such as the canceled HTV-3X/Blackswift demonstrator to Mach 6.
The European Space Agency (ESA) and its Italian counterpart, ASI, will hold a three-day international workshop in November to discuss puzzling data related to the presence of methane on Mars and plan possible strategies for more in-depth study of Martian methane mechanisms.
CHINOOK LOSS: A British Royal Air Force Chinook has been destroyed in Afghanistan as the result of an engine fire shortly after takeoff during operations near Sangin. The aircrew made an emergency landing just more than a half mile from the takeoff site, and all four personnel were recovered by a second helicopter. The Chinook was then destroyed by a “coalition airstrike” to stop it from falling into the hands of the insurgents. The incident occurred Aug. 19. The U.K. Defense Ministry has not yet ruled out “enemy action” as the cause of the engine fire.
