Crew members on the International Space Station (ISS) retrieved a critical spare part from storage Jan. 2 as planning continued for a spacewalk to recover some of the mobility in the station's frozen starboard solar array. Engineers believe the bearing rotor roll-ring module - a power slip-ring known as the "broom" - on one of the beta gimbal assemblies that tilt the starboard array to face the sun is damaged.
Launch crews have finished loading and sealing the cargo hold and mating the two halves of Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) in preparation for the freighter's inaugural mission in February. The five-day loading process, completed in mid-December at the S5 payload processing building in Kourou, French Guiana, included the installation of 1.3 metric tons of food, clothing, spare parts and other dry cargo and 268 liters of drinking water.
Edward T. Alexander has been appointed corporate lead executive for company business with the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles. Darryl M. Fraser has been named vice president of business development and strategic initiatives for the Mission Systems sector. John R. Landon has been named vice president of missiles, technology and space programs. Vice Adm. Stanley R. Szemborski (USN Ret.) has been appointed vice president of corporate strategy.
UPGRADED ABRAMS: The U.S. Army has signed with General Dynamics Land Systems to reset 180 Abrams tanks under the Abrams Improved Systems Enhancement Package (SEP) Reset program. The program could total in excess of $320 million if all options are exercised, the company said Dec. 20. Under the reset-turned-upgrade program, M1A2 SEP Version One tanks are modified to the second version, which includes improved displays, sights, power and a tank-infantry phone.
NASA has picked Boeing Satellite systems of El Segundo, Calif., to build two replenishment satellites for the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) system, which relays communications from spacecraft in low Earth orbit to ground controllers. TDRS is the primary source of voice, data and telemetry for the space shuttle and International Space Station programs. The first TDRS replacement spacecraft, TDRS-K, is slated to launch in December 2012, followed by TDRS-L in 2013. Each has a design life of 15 years.
Dr. Christopher L. Greer has been appointed director of the National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development.
The Army tested two Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser-guided rockets developed by BAE Systems by firing them from a Kiowa Warrior helicopter Dec. 13 as the weapon system is prepared for operational use. The APKWS can be fired from any helicopter that can launch 2.75-inch rockets including the Kiowa Warrior, Cobra and Apache, according to Frank Wilson, vice president of precision targeting at BAE Systems in Nashua, N.H.
Jack L. Kerrebrock, professor emeritus of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been named principal engineer for propulsion.
The Bush administration's nominee for a top Pentagon international policy post suggests NATO could close the missile defense gap left by the U.S. program in Europe by expanding its ballistic missile program for protecting deployed NATO forces. Mary Beth Long, nominated to be assistant defense secretary for international security affairs, said in written answers to questions submitted by the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) that it would be "premature to discuss possible funding arrangements for any defense in addition to those the U.S. is proposing."
USAF EA-18G's?: Industry and Pentagon sources say the U.S. Air Force has made little headway on its lingering electronic attack requirements, and some in the Pentagon are pushing the service to buy EA-18G Growlers designed for Navy requirements. The service had been pursuing a standoff jammer based on the venerable B-52, but the program cost crept upward to around $7 billion - too much in the Pentagon's tight budget environment. Lt. Gen.
TANK WORK: NASA has signed a $465.7 million contract modification with Lockheed Martin extending all activities associated with the production of space shuttle external tanks to 2010, when the shuttle is slated to retire. The cost-plus-award fee/incentive fee contract brings the total value of the original October 2000 contract to nearly $3 billion, covering 17 external tanks. Lockheed Martin produces the tanks at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
WORK FORCE STRATEGY: The fiscal 2008 omnibus spending bill that Congress plans to send to President Bush for final approval requires NASA to deliver a report within 90 days of the bill's enactment on how it plans to minimize job losses as it transitions from the space shuttle to the successor Orion and Ares vehicles.
MRAP NEEDS: The Pentagon still wants at least 15,374 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles despite a downturn in Marine Corps demand, and the Defense Department could even raise its overall goal eventually, a Pentagon spokesman says. "That is the current joint requirement. But that number could still rise as the Army continues to evaluate its needs," Press Secretary Geoff Morrell says. Afghanistan commanders may want more MRAPs, for instance. "We're relooking it two ways," says Gen. Richard Cody, Army vice chief of staff.
ORION SUPPORT: Barrios Technology Ltd. of Houston will perform integration services for NASA's Orion project under a three-year small business contract, NASA announced Dec. 18. The contract has a base value of $29 million but could be worth up to $49 million with two one-year options. Barrios will provide critical products and services supporting development of the Orion vehicle, which will transport astronauts to the International Space Station, the moon and beyond.
TOKYO -- The future of a detachable experiment pallet on Japan's Kibo module for the International Space Station (ISS) has been cast into doubt by the scheduled 2010 retirement of the space shuttle.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Jan. 7 - 10 -- 46th American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit. Grand Sierra Resort Hotel, Reno. Call +1 (703) 264-7500, fax +1 (703) 264-7551 or go to www.aiaa.org Jan. 27 - 31 -- AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Winter Meeting. San Luis Resort, Galveston, Tex. Call +1 (703) 866-0020, +1 (703) 866-3526 or go to www.space-flight.org
