NEW DELHI – The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) soon will ask the Indian government to approve a human spaceflight mission by 2014-15 at a projected cost of $2.5 billion. The Space Commission headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will review ISRO’s request, contained in a report on the agency’s next five-year plan. A decision is expected by the end of 2008.
MOVE ON: The U.S. Army has approved the final design of Increments 1 and 2 of the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) program, authorizing General Dynamics and partner Lockheed Martin to prepare for field testing in October 2008. Testing will be followed by deployment of WIN-T on-the-move communications capabilities in 2009. The approval follows successful critical design reviews (CDR) conducted in January and February. During the CDRs, the Army assessed the systems’ final designs to validate that baseline requirements would be met.
NEW POSITION: SES Astra has begun operating a new orbital position at 31.5 deg. E. Long. that will enhance operational flexibility at neighboring slots, notably 5 and 23.5 deg. E., and provide a solid springboard for development of markets in Central Europe and the Middle East. The position will initially be filled by Sirius 2, an older satellite with up to 26 active transponders owned by SES’s Scandinavian affiliate, Sirius. Transfer of this spacecraft, renamed Astra 4A, was made possible by the launch of Sirius 4 late last year.
STILL WATERS: Congress wants to make sure the U.S. Coast Guard doesn’t forget its acquisition responsibilities for the Integrated Deepwater Program by including the details of its implementation in its recent authorization bill. Threats of a presidential veto of H.R. 2830 have focused on objections to a provision requiring the Coast Guard to assess whether security resources at a liquid natural gas site are up to standard. Commandant Adm. Thad Allen issued a statement last week echoing President Bush’s objections. But no mention has been made of the Deepwater provision.
The U.S. Air Force has put research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) money at risk by improperly funding some of the contract work, a recent report by the Defense Department Inspector General (IG) says. “The Air Force’s management of incrementally funded RDT&E contracts was not effective to ensure that vendors were paid in accordance with laws and regulations,” said the IG review, “Report on Management of Incremental Funds on Air Force Contracts,” released earlier this month. Examples
MAINTAINING RELATIONSHIPS: The U.S. Navy’s selection of the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk for its Broad Area Maritime Surveillance program raises the opportunity of shared maintenance, suggests Michael Wynne, the U.S. Air Force Secretary. Commenting on the Navy’s choice, Wynne notes this will provide a “complementary capability,” and adds: “We may share maintenance.”
PARIS – The Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) has shown its ability to reboost the International Space Station (ISS) – one of the three critical station functions the European freighter is designed to perform. The ATV space tug docked with the ISS for the first time on April 3 carrying 1,150 kilograms (2,540 pounds) of dry cargo plus a large supply of water, oxygen and fuel.
Subscribers, profits and revenue were all up markedly in the first quarter for satellite services provider Iridium, which ended the first quarter on March 31 with revenues of $74.3 million, a 41 percent increase over $52.7 million in the same period last year. The company also has broken through the quarter-million subscribers milepost, up 37 percent over 183,000 at this time last year. Matt Desch, chairman and CEO, said the results make Iridium “the fastest growing and second largest mobile satellite services company in the world.”
BEIJING – China is beginning the geosynchronous orbit checkout of its first relay satellite to increase communications coverage for manned Shenzhou spacecraft. The relay program is analogous to the U.S. Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) system and indicates that China is installing major infrastructure for long-term manned space operations. The Tianlian I spacecraft was launched from the Xichang space center April 25 onboard a Long March 3C booster.
The Australian Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT), the first developmental Airbus A330-based tanker, has been grounded since March while receiving new parts for its refueling boom system. The MRTT also is receiving some production configuration equipment, such as the remote air refueling station and other mission systems, during this time on the ground. This follows what Northrop Grumman officials say was the first phase of MRTT flight-test last year and this year.
Anticipating a glut of flight requests from prospective commercial operators of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the next several years, FAA has assembled a rulemaking committee to develop regulations for their use. The charter for the committee is signed and the group’s first meeting is scheduled for next month, according to Doug Davis, head of FAA’s UAS program office. The committee’s goal will be to develop draft policies for the commercial use of UAS below a specified weight, speed and/or altitude.
SAY WHAT: Northrop Grumman, as part of the Global Linguistic Solutions (GLS) team, was awarded a subcontract to provide management of translation and interpretation services for the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The GLS teams also includes 11 other subcontractors, and will employ about 7,000 locally hired Iraqi citizens and more than 2,000 U.S. citizens as interpreters. The Interpreter and Translator Management Services-Iraq subcontract has a potential value of $135 million over five years.
Raytheon will produce and install upgrade kits for the U.S. Army’s Secure Mobile Anti-jam Reliable Tactical Terminal (SMART-T) under an $86.7 million contract, the company announced April 28. SMART-T is designed to communicate with DOD’s Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) communications satellites. Raytheon’s upgrades will be installed on joint and international terminals for the U.S. Army, Air Force and Marine Corps as well as for Canada and the Netherlands.
LINKOPING, Sweden – Sweden’s Gripen Demo prototype, unveiled here last week, is designed to fill two roles, according to company executives. It is an aerodynamic and propulsion prototype for a Gripen Next-Generation (NG) design, being offered to Norway, Denmark and other customers, for deliveries in 2015 or later.
Top Pentagon leaders recently have made genuine progress in adopting necessary acquisition policy reforms, according to a congressional investigator, but they continue to battle an ingrained community and Congress still may have to consider massive overhaul legislation.
BOOMING SPENDING: When all potential defense-related costs are considered, the Bush administration’s fiscal 2009 defense budget may represent close to 5 percent of gross domestic product, according to consultancy Forecast International. Although the administration listed $515 billion in its noncombat-oriented baseline request, tens of billions of dollars more are expected through supplemental appropriations across the Defense Department, and the armed services have outlined an additional $30 billion or so in requirements not provided in President Bush’s budget.
An industry-academic team from California is claiming what it believes is the first successful flight of a liquid oxygen (LOX)-methane powered rocket engine. The milestone was achieved on April 12, when the Garvey Spacecraft Corporation (GSC) and California State University, Long Beach (CSULB)-developed Prospector 14LM (P-14LM) reached an altitude of 5,500 feet after launching from a test site near Mojave, Calif.
The U.S. Army has opened an indefinite delivery and quantity contact with Alloy Surfaces Co. Inc. so it can purchase up to $348 million worth of the M211 special material decoy countermeasure that is protecting fixed and rotary wing aircraft in Iraq and Afghanistan.
TANKS LOT: Rockwell Collins announced the completed delivery of the first 505 Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) for the Tank Urban Survivability Kit (TUSK) program. TUSK is part of an upgrade designed for M1A1 and M1A2 Abrams tank crews. As part of the TUSK upgrade program, Rockwell Collins will provide the HMD for the Loaders Thermal Weapon Sight (LTWS). The same HMD fielded for the Land Warrior and Mounted Warrior Soldier System (MWSS) program is being used as a remote viewer LTWS.
Congressional Democrats have moved to widen their battle with the Bush administration over soaring oil prices, and are issuing new threats to OPEC producers and oil companies that they are prepared to take retaliatory action over sky-high prices by using Foreign Military Sales as leverage.
CHEAP SPACE: Two years after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) first reported on DOD’s operationally responsive space (ORS) efforts, a new report found numerous challenges remain. The Defense Department has made progress, including providing Congress with an organizational plan, launching one of its TacSat satellites and developing interface standards for satellite buses. But GAO still found the department wanting. “Achieving success in ORS will be challenging,” the April report said.
