A surge of defense-oriented acquisition reform legislation on Capitol Hill has opponents and supporters fighting a war of words ahead of the next battlefield, the Senate, while federal regulators move to make changes of their own. The House of Representatives has approved the so-called Contractors and Federal Spending Accountability Act of 2007 (H.R. 3033), the Close the Contractor Fraud Loophole Act (H.R. 5712), the Government Contractor Accountability Act of 2007 (H.R. 3928) and Contracting and Tax Accountability Act of 2008 (H.R. 4881).
If congressional opponents of the U.S. Air Force’s decision to award its KC-X aerial refueling tanker program to a Northrop Grumman-EADS team get their criticism written into law, it could become the greatest earmark in modern times.
The draft future airlift study plan released last month by the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) lacks requisite detail, the Government Accountability said April 28, precluding GAO from conducting a full analysis.
The new Land Launch rocket has entered commercial service with the successful launch of Spacecom’s Amos-3. The Zenit-3SLB-based booster, a derivative of Sea Launch designed to operate from the Baikonur, Kazakhstan cosmodrome, lifted off for the first time at 5 a.m. GMT April 28 with the Israeli telecom satellite on-board. The mission, initially set for April 24, was held up because of a launcher support arm problem.
A pair of launches have put a total of 11 satellites in orbit, 10 of them on an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and one – the second test satellite for Europe’s planned Galileo constellation – on a Russian Soyuz rocket.
The U.S. Air Force is considering fielding a variant of its next-generation bomber that could collect intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) undetected behind enemy lines. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne says the service is on “a quest to have long-range reconnaissance.” He says that an unmanned version of the bomber, which is expected to be fielded in 2018, would be a strong candidate for this mission.
PROPELLING PRISMA: Swedish Space Corp. has selected a Kosmotras Dnepr booster to launch two Prisma satellites. The Prisma spacecraft, to be orbited in 2009 from either Baikonur, Kazakhstan, or Yasni, Russia, will experiment with formation-flying technologies, including environmentally benign and micro propulsion systems. France, which is participating in Prisma, also may launch its Picard climate research satellite on Dnepr.
LATE FLIGHT: Denmark plans to fly air force pilots in the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet as part of its fighter evaluation process. The Danish Defense Ministry has asked the U.S. Defense Dept. to release additional information on the aircraft. The Saab Gripen and Lockheed Martin F-35 also are contenders. A selection is expected by mid-2009.
Scientific research on the International Space Station (ISS) should soon kick into high gear, with two new laboratory modules spinning up and the crew size set to double in about a year. Early results could produce new treatments for infectious diseases, experts tell Congress. But NASA has no current plans to continue its station role beyond 2016, leaving the decision whether to do so to the next occupant of the White House.
FLORIDA LINK: Space Florida, an economic-development organization established by the state legislature to promote aerospace-industry development, is teaming with Spacehab Inc. to establish a “space-based, biotech corridor” linking laboratory space on the International Space Station (ISS) with the state-owned Space Life Sciences Lab at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Space Florida will provide Spacehab with financial backing and use of its research facility to develop commercial uses of U.S. experiment-rack space on the ISS.
SHORT FUZE: The first preliminary report from the new Pentagon task force on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) is due to Defense Secretary Robert Gates on May 1, with further reports to follow each month. The task force is charged with finding news ways to provide ISR to troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, and also how to beef up unmanned aerial vehicle operations in theater (Aerospace DAILY, April 22). The task force was given 90 days to deliver its full assessment.
GPS III: U.S. Air Force Col. Anthony Russo, deputy director of the U.S. National Coordination Office for Space-based Positioning, Navigation and Timing, says the contractor for Global Positioning System III, initially expected to be announced in April, has been selected and will be revealed “in the next few days.” John Duddy, Director of GPS Programs at Boeing, says the announcement is anticipated in May. Bruce Tanner, Lockheed executive vice president and CFO, told analysts the same thing last week.
BULLET POINT: NASA argues that congressional permission for its astronauts to continue flying on Russian Soyuz vehicles after 2011 is “mandatory” if the International Space Station (ISS) is to continue operating. The agency’s human spaceflight chief, William Gerstenmaier, tells the House aeronautics and space subcommittee that Russia understands it can’t operate the ISS without U.S. crewmates to run the U.S. power and cooling systems that keep the massive spacecraft functioning. But a congressional exemption to the Iran nonproliferation law permitting the U.S.
The Pentagon is considering accelerating a program to field a wide-area surveillance sensor to support operations in Iraq, according to Defense Dept. and industry officials. The Wide-Area Airborne Sensor (WAAS) requirement grew out of a desire from ground troops for more streaming video imagery in U.S. Central Command. Though previously slated to get under way in fiscal 2009, planners at the Pentagon are considering jump starting the effort with $40 million in the fiscal 2008 supplemental spending request now being crafted.
AUTO DEFENSE: The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is investing $8.5 million in BAE Systems to develop a mobile communications network that will be intrinsically secure from cyber attacks. The package is to support all aspects of network communications and data, and is part of the agency’s Intrinsically Assurable Mobile Ad Hoc Network program, which has become a priority since mobile elements of integrated networks such as missile launchers and vehicle-mounted radars have become primary targets for network attack.
GIOVE B: Arianespace says Giove B, the second Galileo test satellite, has been cleared for liftoff after a final launch review. The 1-metric ton spacecraft, built by a team led by EADS Astrium, is to be lofted into orbit from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, aboard a Starsem Soyuz Fregat rocket on the night of April 26-27. It is intended to validate key technologies for Galileo, in particular a new passive hydrogen maser atomic clock, an improved rubidium clock and a signal generator compatible with the new MBOC standard agreed upon with the U.S.
Paul Verhoef, the head of the European Commission’s Galileo unit, says the European Union might have to seek an amendment to the Outer Space Treaty to allow it to meet liability issues with respect to Galileo on behalf of its member states.
ECHOSTAR: Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) will build an eighth EchoStar satellite for Dish Network. SS/L has a string of Dish contracts in the works, including a pending summer liftoff of EchoStar XI on Sea Launch. CMBStar and EchoStar XIV are under development at the company’s Palo Alto, Calif., factory. All the Dish spacecraft are based on the SS/L 1300 platform. A launcher for EchoStar XV has not been selected. The launch is scheduled for 2010.
EXTRA EDGE: U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets will receive ITT Corp.’s ALQ-214(v)3 integrated countermeasure system for protection against enemy air defense and air-to-air weapons through a $111-million full rate production contract. In addition, some of the systems will go to the Royal Australian Air Force’s newest batch of Super Hornets. But that’s nothing compared to the company’s $312-million contract with Special Operations Command for a suite of integrated radio-frequency countermeasures.
Bell Helicopter Textron has agreed to revised delivery and cost targets with its cabin supplier for U.S. Marine Corps UH-1Ys, and the company is discussing the implications with the Corps, Textron executives told analysts during a quarterly conference call.
SLOW MO: The Joint Strike Fighter simulator hints at the aircraft’s abilities. Lockheed Martin will not show targets at ranges greater than 80 nautical miles to pilots in its F-35 simulator, but radar specialists say the fighter’s radar range is around 125 nautical miles. Raytheon is already testing variants of the Aim-120 AMRAAM that can reach into space to kill ballistic missile warheads.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicated new calendar listing.) April 29 - May 1 — AHS International – The Vertical Flight Society, 64th Annual Forum & Technology Display, Montreal, Canada. For more information call (703) 684-6777 or go to www.vtol.org April 29 - May 1 — NTSB Safety Forum Unmanned Aircraft Systems, NTSB Board Room and Conference Center, Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.ntsb.gov
